Recently on my LJ Friends List:

Memes and Miscellaneous

• On 10/19, endaewen's copy of the second-season DVD set arrived. :-)
• On 10/18, gnosticdiva vented a pet peeve in fanficrants, about fanfiction spelling of FK characters' names in general, and in Janette's dialogue in particular.
• On 10/12, cousinmary played the episode title meme with FK.

Ficathons

• On 10/24, abby82 clued us in about oxoniensis's second "Fall Fandom Free-For-All."  There is one FK request so far, for Nick/Janette (that's "Immortal Beloved" or "IB," for anyone who doesn't know).
• On 10/23, havocthecat very kindly promoted the fkficfest (about which you will hear more; oh yes...).
• On 10/16, oldschoolfic opened a poll to gage interest in a "December Carnival" all-holiday exchange ficathon.  (This is the periodic ficathon celebrating out-of-production fandoms like FK.)

Fanfiction

• On 10/31, ithildyn counted her Divia-flashback story "Shattered" as a Halloween story for its overall creepiness.
• On 10/25, abby82 posted a character study in the form of a five-scene story titled "five facets of a metro homicide detective," starring Tracy and Nick, which I was privilaged to beta-read.
• On 10/23, gnosticdiva posted a short piece titled "That Time of the Month," starring Natalie and Nick.
• On 09/10, merfilly posted a near-drabble titled "An Earthquake," starring Lacroix.  (I missed this one back when it was first posted.)

Should I say?

• On 10/30, under lock, someone reminisced about the long-gone days of long journeys to celebrate FK with each other.
• On 10/22, under lock, someone used FK as a theoretical example to illustrate optimal fanfiction recommendations.
• On 10/16, under lock, someone posted at length about potential FK stories she has in mind to write.

What's Good?  The poetically constrained "Lest We Forget" (just 273 words) by endaewen is October's recommendation-of-the-month.  At a Remembrance Day (Veterans' Day, Armistice Day) observation, Nick's memories pull him through time.

      A poppy. Red and black. This one pinned on Natalie's shoulder. In his mind, the one became many. Fields of the flower, growing where death had lain heavy. After both wars, he had seen them silvered by the moonlight, like drops of blood.

What's New?  In September, fkfic-l saw one story, "Reconstruction" by Walt D. (1 post, 42 KB).  However, in October so far, we've seen three stories by three authors on list.

The story written for one of my prompts in gen_ficathon turned up this week (the author generously picked it up as a pinch-hitter after someone else defaulted).  This is the ficathon for celebrating fanfiction beyond romance.  Titled "Hero," by alexajohnson, it's for my Star Trek '09 prompt.  The other prompts I submitted in that event were Forever Knight (of course), Highlander, Young Blades, and Star Trek: The Next Generation -- highest number of prompts requested/allowed in any ficathon I've played in yet.

Speaking of ficathons, oldschoolfic is running a poll about holding a "December Carnival" all-holiday exchange event.  This is the ficathon for celebrating out-of-production fandoms.  They're guaging interest, dates, and preferred minimum length, to start.  If you're interested, please drop by.  (If FK is eligible this time, and if I think I have good odds of getting an FK or HL asignment, and if Real Life keeps itself to itself, I plan to play.  A lot of "if"s, I know -- but three Buffyverse assignments in a row this year!  I'm fond of the Buffyverse, but I've got to come home to my own fandoms to recharge my hobby.)

Still speaking of ficathons, fkficfest is up.  It's not quite ready for members, insofar as we have some testing yet to do with posting from different accounts, and holding and releasing a queue -- I've never modded a community before -- and you don't need to live through that on your Friends List/Reading Page.  But if you're interested in taking a look, please let me (or co-mod amilyn) know what you think.  We plan for sign-ups to begin in February, and stories to release in May.

I've been out of touch.  I'll catch up this weekend!

Recently on my LJ Friends List:

Airings

• On 10/09, abby82, reminded us that Chiller has scheduled two more FK marathons: Saturday 10/10 ("Dark Knight" through "Cherry Blossoms"), and Thursday 10/15 ("I Will Repay" through "Only the Lonely"), both 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Likely these will be the CBS cuts, as in FK's first Chiller outing.
  
• On 09/08, abby82 uploaded the three promos for Chiller's Labor Day FK marathon.  ("Before Edward. Before Angel. There was Nick. The original vampire with a heart is back. The cult hit that drew first blood and proves that you can't have twilight without the Knight.")  And she teased those of us who do not get the Chiller channel with the observation that "Chiller edits made completely new scenes!"  (Turns out, it was the original CBS cuts, which, yep, had their own special versions of several scenes.)

Discussing Writing

• On 09/20, abby82 recapped her summer FK writing, of two short stories and an in-progress scifibigbang novella or novel -- an AU, perhaps interestingly, as I know some of you love AUs best, and FK fandom doesn't often do them.
• On 09/15, ithildyn offered to write about Lacroix/Triona (an original character) and Methos/Lacroix/Triona in the "Couples" meme.

Fanfiction

• On 10/01, cousinmary reposted her "Yellow Jonquil," a Tracy story for a "medieval floral codes" challenge.
  
• On 09/21, genficathon released another batch of stories, including an FK one: "When Your Blood is Gone, How Will You Survive?" by abby82, which stars Nick and Lacroix through several flashbacks.

Miscellaneous

• On 10/04, endaewen noted that Amazon has dropped the price on FK's second season, and that she's ordered a set at last.
  
• On 09/27, abby82 shared many Lisa Ryder screenshots from her four-episode run on The Newsroom in 1996, following FK's cancellation.  Very PhotoShop-able into Tracy.
  
• On 09/23, abby82 uploaded a snippet to share from her DVDs of season two of The Border, a funny anecdote by Catherine Disher.  She also posted a still screenshot of CD.

I actually posted September's recommendation-of-the-month to my site days ago, so it's not quite as late as it looks from here. :-)

What's Good?  Sweet-by-bittersweet, Mary Co.'s "Last Things" runs happily-ever-after all the way into heaven.  It's unapologetically sentimental, and exemplifies a distinct and popular subgenre of N&N romance that, intriguingly, is almost never applied to any other FK characters.

        Any illusions that they might keep the change in their relationship a secret were quickly shattered. It took Don Schanke exactly seventy-two hours to figure it out, and he confided to Nick that if Myra hadn't been off at a Skin Pretty convention, and therefore unavailable for consultation, he would probably have tumbled to it sooner. So they gave up the pretense and she moved -- lock, stock and Sidney -- into the loft.

What's New?  In August, fkfic-l saw three new stories by two authors: ( List )

The Fall 2009 oldschoolfic fest (the one for canceled series) released this weekend, with a total of eight stories in six fandoms.  One of them, "The Fall Rolled in on the Back of Summer" by abby82, is FK!  Written for a prompt by me!  (My entry, "What Remains has Always Been," was written for a BtVS request.)

The inaugural gen_ficathon fest (the one for other-than-romance) is still waiting for the final entries to be submitted.  They've released twenty-two (about half of their total) in fifteen fandoms so far.  One of them, "The Code of Friendship" by foxy11814, is FK!  (My entry, "From Now On," as previously mentioned, was written for a BtVS request.)

With my co-moderator, I am planning to soon begin setting up that little FK-only event, with stories to be due May 18 (the LK anniversary).  I'm figuring we'll want about two months to write, so assignments would be distributed no later than March 23 (hopefully sooner), sign-ups due by March 18, sign-ups open on February 18.  Sound about right?

What I've been up to is: work eats my life and health and I would like a different job.  What you all have been up to is the following lovely FK-ness on my LJ Friends List:

Labor Day Marathon on Chiller!
On 09/04, abby82 shared the great news that the Chiller channel is marathoning the first fifteen FK episodes (that's "Dark Knight" through "Dying for Fame") on Monday 09/07.  There may be a better way to observe the Labor Day holiday than with our favorite civil servants, club owner and temporarily dead DJ... but I'm giddy that FK is on TV in the US again!

Vids and Graphics.

• On 08/24, pj1228 marked Lacroix's 1930th Conversion Day with a collage.
  
• On 08/20, abby82 shared her Nick Knight 20th Anniversary fanvid (that's right, the original Rick Springfield vehicle from which sprang the FK we know and love).

Cast and Crew.

• On 08/25, the Gemini Nominations were announced, and abby82 let us know that Catherine Disher is nominated for The Border!
  
• On 08/16, abby82 noted the twentieth anniversary of Nick Knight is August 20.

Fanfiction.

• On 09/05, the oldschoolfic fest released "The Fall Rolled in on the Back of Summer" by abby82, set the summer after first season and featuring Nick and Rebecca (from "Dying for Fame").
  
• On 08/24, falcon_horus asked for recommendations of stories starring Fleur (she's already read all of mine).  If you recommend any to her, please clue me in, too!
  
• On 08/24, the gen_ficathon released "The Code of Friendship" by foxy11814, set after second season's "The Code" and featuring Nick, Natalie and Schanke.

What's Good?  Thanks to hearts_blood, I did get August's recommendation-of-the-month up this past Tuesday, setting a new lateness record.  (Sorry! My blunder!)  So what do I think is so much worth the time in the little bit of August left?  Her Vachon character sketch "Nocturnal Pleasure" (2003).

        Which meant that if he skipped town, Nick would kill him, and if he brought Tracy across, Nick would kill him, and if he didn't bring Tracy across, the Enforcers would kill them both.

What's New?  In July, fkfic-l saw two authors posting three new stories.  ( List with Links )

Okay, that's as caught up as I'm going to get!  :-)  Recently, in FK on my LJ Friends List and DW Equivalent:

Vids.
On 08/02, abby82 shared her new FK vid "Vampire," which she describes as "copious amounts of big, scary vampire fangs" from throughout FK.

Memes.
On 08/07, havocthecat played the Massive Top-5 Meme, and listed Janette as the second of her "Top 5 Bad Guys/Girls." And when ithildyn played the same meme, she listed FK as the second of her "Top 5 Fandoms."

Cast and Crew.

• On 08/02, pj1228 recommended and reviewed Passage, a historical documentary featuring Nigel Bennett, filmed on location in London, the Orkney Islands and Nunavut.
  
• On 07/19, abby82 shared a photo-spread on John Kapelos's appearance on Lois and Clark.
  
• On 07/01, abby82 let us know that Jim Parriot's new show, Defying Gravity, airs on ABC this summer.  It stars Christina Cox, who starred in Lifetime's BloodTies, but is much more importantly known for her Joan of Arc in FK's "For I Have Sinned" and her traffic cop in FK's "Close Call." ;-)
  
• On 06/28, ithildyn posted a link to YouTube footage of the famous Green Eggs and Ham reading by Nigel Bennett and John Kapelos at Syndicon '97.  Natsuko Ohama is with them.  (I was actually at that con!  You will not be surprised that the "Unsuited" affiliation was invented following this event.)
  
• On 06/26, pj1228 let us know that Nick Knight has at last been released on DVD in Germany (titled Twilight Vampire Cop), and she reviewed all the interesting peculiarities of the voice-over casting as well as the titling.
  
• On 06/03 (I missed it the first time around), abby82 shared that Nigel Bennett is reportedly up for a lead in Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

Ficathons.

• On 07/19, both amilyn and abby82 clued us in to the matrithon, a ficathon celebrating female characters 40+ years old (Janette is listed). Prompt claiming runs till 07/31. Art and vids as well as stories: stories must be at least 500 words. Posting 09/07-10/05.
  
• On 07/15, both havocthecat and abby82 shared news of the First Annual Femslash Kink Meme (a Nanette prompt was submitted).

Fanfiction (including Fancomics).

• On 07/29, someone under lock recommended "Support Group for Fanfic Characters, Slash Chapter, Forever Knight and Many Other Fandoms" by cousinshelley.
  
• "Forever Janette" continues (WIP) on Rich's Comix Blog.  And don't miss the the video version of the first three installments!
  
• From 07/08-07/10, cousinmary reposted in four parts her 1999 story, "That Old Black Magic," which asks, what if the plane crash hadn't happened?
  
• On 07/15, abby82 described how she left a Janette/Natalie prompt at the First Annual Femslash Kink Meme, and in less than two hours, received "AU (Very AU)" by... well, it was posted anonymously, but then merfilly accepted the thanks for it, so...

What's good?  July's recommendation-of-the-month is wiliqueen's "Silent All These Years" (1992), an amazing early take on Janette's origins.  The many elements it shares with the episode "A Fate Worse Than Death" (1994) testify to the cohesion of Janette's character, while the differences bore perceptively into Janette's relationship with Lacroix.

     [Janette] cursed herself for her sentimental refusal to sell the thing, meaningless as she knew it to be in a world shaped by Roman hands. She could have been free by now; and though she would always be a barbarian and therefore inferior in that world, her lineage and looks might have won her a marriage into the puppet Gallic nobility. Instead she had nothing all over again.

What's new?  In June, fkfic-l saw five stories, all by one author.  ( List with Links )

What's good?  I'm happy to get to present lizbetann's "Night in Hell" as June's recommendation-of-the-month.  Written shortly after "The Human Factor" first aired, this story fits one scenario neatly into the infamous gap -- once a subject of fervent debate -- between Nick's agonized cry and Reese's phone call.  Unusually, this story addresses that key lacuna from Natalie's perspective.

     The house was crawling with police and the fire department when she got there.  She didn't even bother trying to fight her way through the crowds.  If Nick had gotten out, but was hurt, he would be nearby.  He would need her.  She refused to consider the thought that he hadn't gotten out.

-----
What's new?  In May, fkfic-l saw six stories by two authors.  ( List with Links )

Recently, in FK on my LJ Friends List:

Fanfiction.

• On 05/27, gen_ficathon opened voting for the official fandoms for their event. Voting is open through 06/03. That's TODAY!
  
• On 05/22, the unwritten prompts for the 2009 femme_fic event went up. Two are FK.
  
• On 05/05, abby82 posted "Perchance to Dream: Ghost Song," an R-rated series of scenes in the "Curiouser & Curiouser" AU.
  
• On 05/12, merfilly posted "Does He Love You?," a very short Natalie and Janette reply to a "stuck in an elevator" prompt.

Cast and Crew.

• On 05/18, abby82 linked to iFMagazine's interview of Jon Cassar, and excerpted the FK-specific portion.
  
• On 05/10, pj1228 reviewed The War of 1812, a Gemini-winning documentary in which Nigel Bennett plays General Winfield Scott.  She shares many screenshots.  (I would note that FK's one reference to that war is in "Unreality TV.")

13th Anniversary of LK.

• On 05/25, abby82 posted 20 beautiful userpic icons from "Last Knight." I wouldn't have thought of LK as beautiful, but she shows it so.
  
• On 05/19, ithildyn recalled one of her "Blood Ties" (FK/HL crossover) stories, and mused on the thirteen years since LK.
  
• On 05/18, abby82 scanned and shared an LK image from the liner-notes for the second soundtrack.  (If you're lacking either of Mr. Mollin's two FK soundtrack albums, Amazon sells both CDs and downloads.)

Memes and Miscellaneous.

• On 05/29, havocthecat posted some screenshots of women characters and/or actresses, and her F-List joined in as invited. FK is represented!

Several people posted assorted FK things under locks, too.  For those, you're on your own. :-)

The femme_fic queue is released!  This is the "We Love Female Characters" ficathon, with a wide mix of fandoms and genres.  There are unfortunately no FK stories this time (only falcon_horus and I submitted FK prompts), but there are over fifty stories celebrating female characters!  Take a glance at the catalogue post, and you're likely to see something in one of your fandoms.

I received a Buffy the Vampire Slayer Jenny Calendar prompt imagined by havocthecat, and wrote "Fortune Prove" in response.  Of the prompts I submitted, pervyficgirl picked my Marvel Comics Scarlet Witch prompt, and wrote "Magic Mirrors Looking at People Who Belong to Us," which indulges me by crawling into the canon space after issue #12 of the second V&SW limited series (which they should reissue now).

It will take me weeks to read my way through the ficathon, but I want to note up front that there are new stories by havocthecat, amilyn and falcon_horus from my LJ F-List (did I miss anyone?), and that I had the privilege of beta-reading for amilyn and seshat_maat.  I'd also like to thank my own generous beta-readers: amilyn, batdina, much_madness and wiliqueen.

What's good?  Enthused about alternate universes, coming off the new Star Trek movie?  For May, I'm excited to get to recommend a story set in FK's one canonical AU.  "Perchance to Dream: Ghost Song" (2009, rated R) by abby82 plunges beautifully, wretchedly into the "Curiouser & Curiouser" inversion.

Slowly, Janette's perfume surrounds him like a comfortable blanket and for a few precious moments Nick pretends this is exactly what he wants--the trappings of domestic bliss. ... Nick sneaks a look at his watch. If he leaves now, he can make it.

Happy tenth anniversary to the recommendation-of-the-month project!  In May 1999, the very first recommendation was of susanmgarrett's "Peerless Pressure."

-----
What's new?  In April, fkfic-l saw three stories by three authors.  ( List )

What's good?  For April, I recommend neonhummingbird's brassy Nick and Natalie short story "If I Were You" (1998), which runs Nick from hope to despair and back, while Natalie insists on balance and realism.

"That's enough, Nick!" Her voice cut through the darkness like a whip crack over the noise of the skycaps and the crowd milling around the terminal, even at 4 a.m.  ...  "You listen to me, detective.  You are not the walking jinx you think you are."

-----
What's new?  In March, fkfic-l saw four authors post eight stories.  Completed tales in order by the date of the final installment: ( List )

Recently, in FK on my LJ Friends List:

Vids.  abby82, on 03/23, posted her new Fang Gang vid "La familia" (Mirah).  On 03/03, she mused on Nick/Natalie versus Nick vidding plans, and on 03/01, posted her new Divia vid, "Burn" (Nine Inch Nails).

Meta. 

• mysticalcat7, on 03/23, announced that she has uploaded the last of fkspoilr, the June 1996 digests, following her 03/07 announcement that she uploaded the May 1996 fkspoilr digests.  Fkspoilr, of course, was the spoiler discussion list (a sibling of fkfic-l), and those were the days of "Last Knight"'s first airing.
  
• endcredits, on 03/02, snuck an FK reference into her reflections on the season finale of Being Human.

Memes. 

• ithildyn, on 03/24, answered about Janette in a Five Questions Per Character meme, and on 03/07, shared a Canadian Foods Meme.  What, no ribena? :-)
  
• abby82, on 03/04, addressed a WIP Meme. Four of hers are clearly FK.
  
• ithildyn, on 03/02, in a Five Things Meme, mentioned first meeting ninjababe on the FK IRC channel, and the collaborative origin of her FK/HL universe.

Fanfiction. 

• abby82, on 03/30, posted a new, G-rated, N&N story titled Change Upon Us, written for the "Fic Drought NNFic Challenge" at the NNFic Yahoo! Group (which I didn't know existed; good for them!).
  
• dj_clawson, on 03/11, discussed the possible publishing future and challenges of her Aristotle stories.
  
• falcon_horus, on 03/03, listed and linked all the submissions to her Claire Rankin Character Mini-Ficathon.  The FK entries are: "Not in the Stars but in Ourselves" by tanaquisga (FK/SGA), "Memories" by falcon_horus (FK/SGA), and "Three Fireweed Seeds" by me (FK).

Cast and Crew. 

• abby82, on 03/29, reviewed Deborah Duchene's episode of Beyond Reality (1991), a two-season Canadian series with lots of FK cast and crew. She's generous with screenshots.
  
• When the news about the SciFi Channel rebranding itself "SyFy" (um, right, that'll make 'em cooler than us) came out, many remembered the days when Ms. Hammer ran the USA network and with it FK's third season, including ithildyn here, wiliqueen here, studiesinlight here...
  
• pj1228, on 03/15, reviewed A Bug and a Bag of Weed, a comedy with Nigel Bennett.

What's good?  I've wanted to spotlight Scottie's "Flowers in the Night" (1993) in the recommendations project for years, and this month I get to!  This short story vividly displays first-season Nick and Janette, when Lacroix is dead and possibilities cluster so thick and unimagined that they hardly know where to begin.

"The club was almost deserted, I was bored, and I thought perhaps two old friends could enjoy a talk and a bottle of wine."  He didn't respond.  She raised the glasses... "It's wine, Nicholah.  Just wine.  Nothing else -- nothing that could contaminate you."

-----
What's new?  In February, fkfic-l saw nine stories by three authors.  In the order posting completed:

• "Heartfelt" by Walt D. (1 post)
  
• "Rock-y Horrors" by Walt D. (1 post)
  
• "The Life and Times of a Macedonian Vampire" by dj_clawson (14 posts)
  
• "Illusions of Mortality" by abby82 (1 post) (adult)
  
• "Pshrink" by Walt D. (3 posts)
  
• "The Life of a Macedonian Vampire and His Son Alexander" by dj_clawson (16 posts)
  
• "Hurt" by Walt D. (2 posts)
  
• "Chess" by Walt D. (1 post) (adult)
  
• "Complaint" by Walt D. (1 post)
  

Busy month! :-)

Recently, in FK on my LJ Friends List:

Graphics.  abby82, on 02/14, shared many Natalie collages created for halfamoon.

Comparisons.  endcredits, on 02/20, compared a BBC show titled Being Human to FK.  BH features a vampire and a werewolf (both with Nick-ish humanity-love) who share a house with a ghost.  There are Lacroix and Natalie equivalents.  Her clever post made me laugh a lot.

Fanfiction. 

• falcon_horus, on 02/26, posted "Memories," a SGA/FK crossover, with Nick, Schanke, Natalie and Kate Heightmeyer -- for a prompt I submitted in her Fleur Mini-Ficathon!  Cool.  (My own entry is here.)
  
• abby82, on 02/17, listed her active FK projects, including Tracy and Nick&Natalie stories.
  
• endcredits, on 02/16, mentioned her unfinished FK angst stories.
  
• havocs_cry, on 02/13, enthusiastically recommended two FK stories by fickitten, both starring Natalie and Janette, one post-series, and one between episodes.
  
• abby82, on 02/09, recommended three FK drabbles: one FK/Torchwood, one Ravenette, and one Nanette.
  
• A person posting behind a lock, on 02/08, announced a new author's FK Fanfic Page.

Actors. 

• abby82, on 02/24, revealed that Ion (which used to be Pax, which used to air Young Blades) has picked up The Border for US broadcast!  This is the current series costarring Catherine Disher and Nigel Bennett.
  
• pj1228, on 02/12, reviewed The Summit, a thriller in which Nigel Bennett plays the UK Prime Minister.  She shares screenshots.  The DVD seems presently available in Region 2 only.
  
• abby82, on 02/08, completed her review of American Psycho 2 starring Geraint Wyn Davies.  She notes that the DVD commentaries say some very nice things about GWD, and she mentions geraint_fans.

What's good?  I'm pleased to get to feature "The Night Was Dark, and She Was the Owner" by Elisabeth as February's recommendation-of-the-month.  This ficlet crosses over with Highlander, but requires no HL knowledge to enjoy its full FK potential.

       "Buy the lady a drink?"
       The question, asked in the patois of her childhood by a vaguely familiar voice, triggered Janette's protective instincts. Even as she swung around, she clamped down on her body's impulse to flash fangs.
       Elbows resting on the wrought iron fence that separated the café tables from the pavement, he smiled at her. That nose, those eyes, that horrendous hair. He could be only one man. Methos, her memory supplied, along with a string of other, temporary, names.

-----
What's new?  In January, fkfic-l saw three stories finish posting, including the one that began in December.  (As a reminder, the line-limit doubled during January.  Post-count for story-length will be a whole new metric going forward.)

• "A Question of Loyalty" by dj_clawson (6 posts)
  
• "Rogue Vampire" by abby82 (1 post)
  
• "Lost Scene from 'Father Figure'" by Walt D. (1 post)
  

Four stories have completed their runs in February so far, including one that began in January and is the largest to post in almost four years.

Recently, in FK on my LJ Friends List:

• Poll.  oldschoolfic (out-of-production-fandom fanfic) is taking a poll.  What would inspire you to write or read more FK?  Let them know!
  
  

• abby82:
  • Challenge.  On 01/17, mentioned an upcoming multi-fandom challenge using Twilight Zone episode titles, and how she thought FK's assorted dream sequences (and one AU) might fit.
    
  • Fiction.  On 01/11, posted her fiction year-in-review, including five FK stories. She listed her Cohen story as the one that most "shifted perceptions of the characters" in 2008.  On 12/25, she recommended two FK Yuletide stories. 
    
  • Vidding.  On 12/31, posted her vidding year-in-review, which includes four FK vids about different characters.  On 12/27, posted -- Ravens and IBs, take a look! -- the Janette one of those vids, "What You Are," with a snazzy banner by 77words to boot.  And on 12/24, she happily pondered more vids, including a Nick one.
  
  

• Fiction.  amilyn, on 01/02, revealed that the Yuletide story written for her was an FK one, Natalie and Janette, "Conversations in Passing" by kynical.
  
  

• Reviews.  pj1228, on 01/01, announced that she will be expanding her LJ from just FK fanfiction to commentaries and reviews of other things with the FK actors, the first of which she posted about The Border (CD and NB) later that day, and the second of which appeared on 01/12, about "Jesse Stone: Sea Change" (NB).
  
  

• Fiction.  havocthecat, on 12/31, posted her 2008 Fanfiction Round-up, which includes one full FK story and two FK crossovers.  She named her FK story, "Could They Choose Between," her favorite of the year.
  
  

• Crossovers.  ithildyn, on 12/21, mused on crossing Magnificent Seven with FK.

What's good?  I'm proud to begin the new year of the recommendation-of-the-month project with amilyn's novella "Slippery" (2003).  Undeniably harsh, the story dramatically explores what might happen if, one of the times he tells Natalie to get away and she doesn't, a blood-stoked Nick unintentionally lashes out -- with his muscles (rather than his fangs).

   "How long before someone in your department ends up with you as one of their cases -- just like you had to cut up Maggie Dwyer and God only knows how many others like her?"
   "That is enough!" Natalie interjected, her voice sharp. "That was very different. This... this was an accident. He did not mean to hurt me. I know that, and he knows that."
   "Oh, really?" Tracy caught Natalie's eyes. "Then why is he scared silly he's going to do it again?" Tracy paused, looking for a long moment at Nat, then added carefully, "And why are you?"

What's new?  In December, fkfic-l saw three new stories, a filk, and one piece identified as a repost (which is technically against the list rules without permission, so I wouldn't advise it as a trend).

• "Disclosures" (6 posts) by pj1228
• "Dashing Through the Snow (Vampire Style)" (filk) (1 post) by Kristen F.
• "Birthdays" (1 post) by Walt D.
• "Snowy Knight" (1 post) by J.L.K.
• "Milepost" (1 post) by me

There is also a six-post story that began in December, and has finished in January.  So this month so far is not empty, but not crowded.

leela_cat wrote, and batdina beta-read, several ficlets as personal holiday gifts this year, three of them FK, and one of them for me!

This is the first time leela_cat has written FK in, oh, vampire's years.  She was good then, but she's even better now.  Please consider reading these and lavishing her with thoughtful comments to encourage her to indulge FK again someday.

• FK: "Even a Fine Line Has Two Sides" for Natpacker amilyn. 300 words. G. Natalie, Sidney, Nick.
  
• FK: "A Strange Comfort" for Knightie me. ~1,090 words. G. Nick, Schanke, Natalie, Janette.
  
• FK/HL: "The Night Was Dark, and She Was the Owner" for Ravenette loreleif. ~1,200 words. G. Janette, Methos, Natalie.

Recently, in FK on my LJ Friends List:

• abby82 shared a new T+V vid to the song "Almost Lover" on December 17; this is one of precious few Tracy vids I've ever seen.  She also posted a new N&N story titled "Flight of the Imagination" (Rated R) on November 16.  (It has not yet appeared anywhere else.)  And on November 11, she posted about her works in progress, several of them FK, including a crossover with The Border.
  
  
• dj_clawson mused on vampirism and abstinence in FK and Twilight on November 23.
  
  
• amilyn added a link to her fanfiction to her LJ sidebar sometime before November 30 -- at least, I think she added it.  I think it was not there when I'd looked previously, but I'm not always alert to these things.  In any case, she's got five FK pieces and one FK/BloodTies crossover there, none of which, I believe, are in the usual FK archives.
  
  
• ithildyn, challenged to list all her holiday fanfiction, noted her "A Ghost of Winter's Past," with FK's Lacroix and HL's Methos, on December 8.  And on December 4, she recalled meeting ninjababe on IRC in the FK channel, back when.
  
  
• endaewen talked about updating her fanfiction site on December 13, with the Forsaken Fandoms award she won for her "Faire Things" (Best Fluff), and a new FK crossover ficlet with Highlander: The Raven, titled "The Raven In The Raven."
  
  
• pj1228 posted her episode-like second-season novella "Disclosures" on December 17.  I had the privilege of beta-reading this one, and she has said she is thinking of a possible sequel.
  
  
• There have been many wonderful memorial posts about tv_elf, some of them mentioning her FK fandom.  Thank you to everyone who has shared memories of her!  If you posted only to your own LJ, please consider cross-posting or linking your memorial post on the Horsechicks' memory post; that specific URL has been shared with her family and non-fannish people who love her and miss her.  (They're hard posts to make, I know. I keep crying when I try. I got to be at her memorial, though; the Horsechicks, bless them, characteristically dubbed it "Abby-Con," and that's amusing her no end, I'm sure.)

What's good?  This year's final recommendation-of-the-month is kirbyfest's sentimental N&N interlude, "The Heart of the Holidays" (1996).  It grants Natalie and Nick a Christmas Eve of quiet joy and gentle comfort in one another.

"Richard and I used to play outside for hours.  He loved the snow.  I don't think I've played in it since we were little kids."  She looked up at Nick and saw the concern in his face.  "I'm fine, really.  I can talk about him now.  That's what holidays are for -- remembering the people we love, and the good times."

(I apologize for the unprecedented lateness of the recommendations project this month.  If you noticed my previous mention of asking an author, that was someone I couldn't reach.  I would be pleased to feature either story any month!)

What's new?  In November, fkfic-l greeted a gracious plenty of new stories:

• "Fearful Symmetry" (4 posts) by me
  
• "Corpus Aristotelicum" (7 posts) by dj_clawson
  
• "Remembrance" (1 post) by Walt D.
  
• "Act of Remembrance" (1 post) by Angela G.
  
• "Nor'ever Night" (1 post) by Walt D.
  
• "Memoirs" (1 post) by Walt D.
  

And there have been three tales by three authors in December so far!

[Cross-posted from ForKni-L.  And if you're on a Horsechick's f-list, you've doubtless seen the news there.]

Good friend and FK Fan tv_elf, whom you'll remember as a Merc and a FoD from the old days, and whom you may have met at Bridging the Knight or any Vividcon, or perhaps from her most recent FK fanfiction, has been in the hospital since Friday night.

We are not yet ready to lose her, not by a long shot.  If you're inclined to pray, please include her now.  Please.

Thank you very much.  I've never before gone the prayer-request route on forkni-l, but needs must.