First of all, thank you to everyone who flocked to my defense; as the author in question, though, I must add my own response.
My Father is a psychiatrist, and I have worked with him as a secretary in the past...
Psychiatric illness is a grave and serious matter, and although manageable, it sort of touches a lot of nerves with me if I see people joking around about it... not that I take personal offence nor do I think that you intended to offend... just that It is sort of an area where I feel off at the thought of jokes made on the subject
I read somewhere that few people ever read the forewords, prefaces, and introductions of books. I guess this same is true for Author's Notes on fanfic.<g>
I was not trying to make a joke here. Yes, I have a reputation for being one of the clowns of this fandom; but every now and then, I hear the siren song of "serious writing".
Perhaps the "Twist" threw some people off; it is awfully close to my style of punch-line. If I have offended, I apologize, though this was certainly not my intent.
In fact, I'll let you all in on a little secret.
You may notice that I said in my Author's Note that the vignette was written while I considered what to do with another Help-I've-Bitten-More-Than-I-Can-Chew angst fic I was writing, called
White-Washed History . I didn't want to say in the notes, because it would spoil the end, but this is meant to be a part of the story's canon (check out the first segment). I've been considering abandoning this fic and maybe writing its prequel instead (which would expand on the vignette you've just read).
As much as I love a joke, I like to think I know when to shut up. I try to be as respectful as I can with topics that warrant it. (I've used homosexuality as a punchline at times, but never knowingly as a "Ha Ha, look at the gay person!" kind of situation. The joke was usually at someone else's expense...all two times. :rolleyes: )
But thank you for the friendly warning. Yes, I will try to be careful.
