Times like this I REALLY wish my hard drive hadn't crashed.  Needless to
say, it's a dark time for me around here.

Fanfic conventions are fuzzy things.  Most are extrapolations from
existing manga and anime canon; some people see it as possible, and others
don't.  They are judgment calls, and with any judgment will come those who
disagree with them.

Someone (I forget who; my time this session is limited) made two great
points, both of which I think should be reiterated and expanded on.  One
is to know as much about the series as possible. Read as much manga as you
can; see as much anime as you can.  Let your opinion be formed from this.
Unfortunately, it will still differ from everyone else's, but that's to be
expected.  

The other is to love what you do.  Put your heart and soul into it, and
let the story take life from that.  I could not write what some others
here say is 'canon'; I do not see the characters in the same way that they
do, even though we have read the same manga and watched the same anime.
However, I try to let what I write come from the heart, and hopefully
that can get beyond others' prejudices concerning the series.  Maybe that
makes me some sort of outlaw; personally, I don't care.  I tell my story,
and maybe, just maybe, someone's soul was touched by it.  

-- Nick