Wow.
One of the first things I read when I started writing fanfiction was
some original version of this posted on a website somewhere. Parts of
it are still in my memory, and I still reread it once in a while.
You have amazing timing, though. I have just begun a "The Prince and
the Lecher"-style rewrite of a fic, with the intention of writing a
primer afterwards on the principles of fanfic writing. But it would be
more of an instruction manual than a work of art, so you've still got
your niche and I've got mine.
So, yeah, er. Wow.
(For some reason, this essay reminded me of the fic "Ranma and Akane:
A Love Story", even though the only butterfly is right at the end.)