I don't see it going anywhere onscreen either -- Jack and Daniel, or Jack and Sam, or really Jack and anybody, which makes me feel sad for onscreen Jack and makes me wish they'd get him reconciled with Sara. The ptb may still feel differently about the onscreen romo they want to present, although at least one of their pairings is increasingly hobbled by logistics. It will be really interesting to see if that preference for UST changes for you now that the weekly series is done.

I think maybe I feel a bit differently about canon. The show's just a starting point for me, a jumping-off point and an inspiration. Working between the lines of canon is a challenge I enjoy taking on and watching other people take on, but I get just as much pleasure from interpretations that take major liberties with onscreen canon, and in a lot of ways I like the fic a lot more than I do the source. In fact, weird as it sounds, I have more issues with what's onscreen than I ever do with what's in fic, so a lot of the fic that isn't to my taste is actually strictly very canonical, and that's why it's not my thing.

I think it's great that you can make that separation in your writing, and I don't think it's weird at all. Soapbox writing has never appealed to me, but idea-based and character-based writing do, and writers who explore story instead of pushing agendas.

So true about Kerry being a plot device. I just really find the actor adorable and appealing, and I liked the character a lot from what we saw of her. It makes a huge difference if she didn't appeal to you. I think she was a threat to/violation of two of the most popular OTPs, which cuts way down on the number of people who might take a shot at writing her, but I keep hoping.