Favorite Fanfics
Jade pointed me to this unscientific collection of favorite fanfics at the J/C Index message board. The focus is on J/C, since they’re the Most Beloved Couple of Trek Time, but there are crewfics listed as well.
Someone took a poll that was, I think, restricted to five favorite fics (with no author overlap) per respondent, and made a list of them. You can see some influence of the AAA in there, as to what people have been reading lately, and some general J/C tendencies, but if, say, Zendom wanted to do a best-of list, this approach would certainly be worth consideration, maybe with a restriction that only fic that got on more than one person’s list made the final collection.
The list got interesting reactions, starting with the disappointment of someone who didn’t make the cut. To summarize for those of you low on message-board time: that author complained, mildly, that she wasn’t mentioned on the list. Someone else suggested that said author wasn’t quite up to the level of the all-time Voy favorites. Other participants called such constructive criticism cruel, objected to the existence of such a list at all, expressed dismay at a proposal of more fic discussion, and maligned a children’s book author who dared judge fanfic. There were some lovely snarks along the way, as well as a classic threat to leave fandom.
It was an exemplary tempest in a teapot, but in the end, the only good outcome is the list itself. Maybe I’ll read a few (or at least re-read The Best of Both Girls), to feed the muse.