The rules do ask that authors of stories not join in discussion of their work in the comm--it's all explained in the rules posts, so I won't go over it all again, here. After giving it some thought, I'm making some exceptions for Cath's post--I'm also allowing her to reference an author's words (after okaying it with me, first), as explained in her notes. This post is an essay on a topic that's informed by references to stories that illustrate Cath's points, rather than a review of the stories mentioned. This isn't a summation of Cath's thoughts and feelings about these stories in and of themselves, thoughts that can be 'trumped' by a writer's refutation of the readers' thoughts through sharing what her intent was; the authors' intent in these stories is, in large part, what the essay is about, along with the tropes and conventions we use in fanfic and how some stories can turn them on their ears, etc. Plor, I'm not going to ask you to remove this comment because of the different nature of this post, though on a regular review post, I would. If anyone has any issues or questions about my allowing certain things in this post that generally aren't, they can let me know in my journal (on any post) or through email.