I started experimenting with fanfic in my late teens, and as chance would have it, got into a fandom where we were using the canon setting, but with all original characters.

That's interesting. That was Elfquest, right? I've of course read plenty of fic featurig OCs, sometimes without any canon characters, but I've never been in a fandom that does that predominantly.

But I never, ever thought of fanfic as anything but an end in itself.

*nodnod*