This account is mainly for the purpose of critiquing and reviewing of other authors, as well as pestering them to finish their stories.
When it comes to fanfiction, I'm pretty lenient when adding a story to my favorites; by this I mean, it may not be on the level of Lolita for me in terms of reading, but I enjoyed it. That's all that really matters, right?

I would write fanfiction, except a few things discourage me from doing so-

a.) Playing the role of a canon character, so as to not butcher him/her/it, is pretty challenging. You have to fully immerse yourself into the character's world, question their motives on their level, distinguish between what is irrelevant from what is character breaking (or making). It isn't easy to temporarily, but fully possess someone else's character, as if it was born from your own mind. I could take the easy route, use cliches in attempt to make the character appear canon, but that would simply be not fun for me (or any potential readers, I'd imagine).

b.) Creating a plot that is original, moves forward, and somehow manages to remain complex enough to surprise and/or be compelling, without becoming convoluted. All the while making it fit into the fandom. You have to ask yourself- do the characters work with the plot? Does the plot work with them?

c.) I'd probably be more partial to sharing musings and drabbles, because it requires a lesser burden of accuracy pointed out in A and B. I can summon up an image and scenario, without having to outline an entire story. The only problem here is that there is always a deeper meaning behind the "one shot" and it would be hard for me to hold back.

So, the writer in me is more partial to creating original works of fiction. Less constraints, my own rules, etc. A certain famous author (shall remain nameless) despises fanfiction, citing that it hurts budding writers and their creativity (not a direct quote, of course). Discourages them from expanding as authors. Or something to that effect. I strongly disagree. I believe it sets up a pretty tough challenge for writers that, should they overcome it, will help them face other challenges in the field. I see it no different than being inspired by an image or phrase, setting limits in your own world and abiding by them, or making use of a prompt. Fandoms gives them tools and rules to work with. Creativity and free rein is a beautiful thing that should never be denied to any artist, but challenging yourself makes you, and your future work, much stronger and more personalized.

That is assuming these writers aren't writing for instant self-gratification that everyone knows as Mary Sue-ism. If he was referring to that, then I agree. Unfortunately, you'll find Mary Sue in published works from "respected" authors, so I don't think ostracizing them from fandoms is going to end the blight. coughBELLASWANcough

As for my username, it's just a piece of lyric taken from a song- I'm not goth or emo. I'm 22, and when I'm not at work at the movie theater, I tend to spend my days playing PC games (retired competitive all star gamer here, sup), reading, enjoying life, and sleeping. I'm hopelessly addicted to Howrse. I'm an unfortunate nicotine addict and rarely do TV shows hold my interest enough for me to watch religiously, but I will drop everything I'm doing if I catch a House episode on. (I soooo have mixed feelings about them possibly hooking House and Cuddy up- I'm thrilled by them as a couple, to the point I'm frothing like a rabid animal and shaking excitedly, but the show will probably jump the shark if those two seal the deal)

Current original fiction I'm working on...

A glory bound, would-be knight embarks on a journey to the highlands to slay the last remaining dragon. He meets a witch in the wilderness, who reluctantly agrees to help him. Loosely Celtic-based.

Noah Doukas is caught in an intoxicating, tumultuous relationship with a drug-addicted, mentally unstable woman. He finds himself drowning in self-destruction, but finds a beacon of light shining through the stormy waters.

With war, poverty, starvation, plagues, crumbling governments, oil spoils, pollution, crime rates, and the superstitious 2012 looming, no one realized what was happening before it was too late. Several people find out they are immune, but carriers, to a strange disease and begin to question their own humanity as the modern world falls into an apocalypse.