On Friday, havocthecat wished for picspam of "awesome women."  In response, I made this batch of new userpic icons featuring female FK characters together.  The exercise brought home how rarely the women are on screen at the same moment, even when they are the only two characters in the scene; typically, FK's camera moves back and forth, from one character to the other, instead of showing them together.   (Cohen with Natalie was harder to run down than I expected, and of course the only recurring female character with whom Urs ever shares a shot is Divia.)

Available if you would like them:

01. Natalie and Grace	02. Natalie and Janette	03. Brianna and Janette

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The original screenshots for most of these come from Nancy T.'s Knight Watchman.  I tried to drop by Kristen H.'s Knight Vision, too, but it's gone!  This of course means I've let my links go way too long unchecked, and I should run backward through forkni-l digests until I learn what happened.  (If I heard of this and forgot, I shall be covered with embarrassment, but don't let that stop you from reminding me. ~g~)

This is the little story I posted to fkfic-l on the thirteenth anniversary of "Last Knight," written just because I wanted to post something new that day.  (The story has nothing to do with LK.)

My thanks to much_madness for the prompt of Tracy and Schanke discussing Nick, and to leela_cat and amilyn for the eleventh-hour scrutiny and scrubbing that let me post on time.  (tv_elf? Happy Easter.)

	•	Title:	"When Donut Met Button"
	•	Length:	~1,600 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L May 18, 2009
	•	Rating:	G
	•	Summary:	Tracy receives advice from Schanke on partnering with Nick.
	•	Setting:	Shortly after "Outside the Lines"
	•	Characters:	Tracy, Schanke
	•	Quotation:	"Trust me: he's not so generous with his pats on the back that you can afford to brush them off."

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.

I posted my galpalficathon story from November to fkfic-l (272 recipients) in the closing hours of New Year's Eve, hoping to tidy up and close out the old year for a better start on the new.  One spellcheck-immune typo has been corrected since the ficathon, but the piece is otherwise unchanged.  My thanks to wiliqueen for the prompt, and much_madness for the beta-read.  (Credits are in the end-note, as always.)

I put Tracy and Natalie together twice in 2008, both times for prompts, and both times really challenged me.  I rewatched all the scenes with them together, and they simply never clicked -- which is certainly common enough with coworkers, but they are additionally separated by their respective secrets.  Natalie knows Tracy knows, but Tracy thinks she is all alone -- as Natalie used to think she was.

In any case, that's the end of 2008.  Here's wishing us all a happier, healthier 2009!

	•	Title:	"Milepost"
	•	Length:	~2,400 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L December 31, 2008
	•	Rating:	PG-13
	•	Summary:	Tracy receives advice from Natalie on facing difficult crime scenes.
	•	Setting:	After "My Boyfriend is a Vampire," before "Fever"
	•	Characters:	Tracy, Natalie, Nick
	•	Quotation:	"She had tried to become friends with the curly-haired coroner when she first got this assignment, but they just hadn't clicked."

The galpalficathon was due on November 16, but stories continue to trickle in.  (As a reminder, this was the "female friendship" ficathon.)  The prompts offered a wide variety of fandoms and characters, but it seems to me that relatively few people finally participated; the timing may not have been good, as those who play in ficathons may all already have had their eyes on the big holiday fiction games.

So far, two Forever Knight stories have appeared there:

• "Rogue Vampire" by abby82, featuring Janette and Alyce Hunter, before and after the tag scene of "Dark Knight, the Second Chapter."  (~3K words)
• "Milepost" by me, featuring Tracy and Natalie, after "My Boyfriend is a Vampire" and before "Fever."  (~2K words)

If anyone feels like chiming in, this ficathon community gives all signs of being ongoing and deadline-free.  The single-fandom and crossover prompts all remain available.

What's good?  I'm running late on the recommendations project this month; my apologies.  Now that we're here, I am so pleased to get to highlight the energetic, enthusiastic, insightful, 1995 novel "Protect and Serve" by butterflykiki!  This unique angle on the Enforcers focuses on the human characters.

Natalie:	"Do you ever think that our lives would be a lot simpler if we just gave up on the secrecy and published the truth in the Enquirer, Nick?"
Nick:	"I don't need my life simplified that much."

What's new?  In October, fkfic-l saw one new story, a one-parter titled "Hallowe'en" by Walt D.  (Yea, Walt!)  November, by comparison, has gotten off to a sprinter's start, with three stories by three authors already!

I began posting my oldschoolfic ficathon story to fkfic-l today.  I'm grateful to amilyn for the ficathon prompt, and her enthusiastic reception of the story!  And I'm obliged to my generous beta-readers (see the story's end note) as always.  This is the longest piece I've yet written solely from Natalie's perspective.

	•	Title:	"A Delicate Balance"
	•	Length:	~9,900 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L July 27-29, 2008
	•	Rating:	PG
	•	Summary:	Natalie takes a break from a murder investigation to attend an unusual memorial for her brother, while considering a new approach to Nick's condition.
	•	Setting:	After "1966."  Flashbacks to Natalie's childhood.
	•	Characters:	Natalie, Nick, Schanke, Richard, Sara, Nana, Janette, Grace, Stonetree, Tracy and others.
	•	Quotation:	"The mesmerism-enforced lie that had covered Richie's vampirism curdled on Natalie's tongue."

Addendum:  By the way, the fkfic-l "ACK" states that the posts are reaching 279 recipients.  (I presume that is "mail" and "digest," not "nomail," but I don't know for sure.)  Those of you who have FK fanfic you've posted on LJ but not the list, please do consider sharing with the biggest FK audience still assembled.  We miss you.

I've spent most of my fandom hobby time lately working on my oldschoolfic ficathon story.  I got an FK prompt!  And I'm trying to deliver an episode-like response, cop-plot and all.  Eeep!  (Cop-plot stuff is hard.)  Yet in the "vacuum the cat" tradition of ducking the dreaded blank page by any means available, I've also made my second batch of "up for grabs" FK icons (below); the first was that Natpacker set, of course, and so I've now made a smattering of userpics for most other factions.  If you pick one up, please let me know, and credit as appropriate.  Constructive criticism is also welcome.

The original screenshots for many of these come from Nancy T.'s Knight Watchman; others come from Kristen's Knight Vision; and a few have actually been on my hard drive since the series was still on the air (uh, successive hard drives, that is ~g~).  I believe the FK logo GIF with the red letters was created by Nancy K.

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What's good?  For June in the recommendations project, I'm pleased to get to spotlight Ell's "Keeping it Together" (2008).  This tiny song-challenge ficlet concisely captures Tracy in that period after Lacroix takes her memories of "Ashes to Ashes."  (Interestingly, however, not only does the vignette leave Lacroix's involvement unhinted, it appears to leave Tracy's knowledge of Vachon's vampirism intact, which imparts a certain extra spin.)

(Anyone who's presently subscribed to fkfic-l and feels shortchanged by a recommendation of something she just read on list in April ... speak up, and I'll privately email you a link to a never-yet-recommended story worth reading.  Consider it your prize for having emailed Ell with a comment already. ~g~)

What's new?  In May, fkfic-l saw two new stories posted, both originally written for Medie's comment-fic-fest:

• "Clearing the Air" (1 Part), that Tracy and Natalie drabble by me
• "Cutthroat Business" (1 Part), Janette's purchase of the Raven by abby82

By my calendar, today (May 18, 2008) is the twelfth anniversary of the first broadcast of "Last Knight."  Your syndication may have varied.  I considered marking the day by digging up my original 2006 fkspoilr post responding to that airing.  Instead, I sent "Clearing the Air" (my entry in Medie's drabble-a-thon) to fkfic-l and archived it on my site.

On this twelfth anniversary/memorial, I just wanted to say, hey, we're still here, and I'm so glad.  Thank you, all!

	•	Title:	"Clearing the Air"
	•	Length:	100 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L May 18, 2008
	•	Rating:	G
	•	Summary:	Tracy asks Natalie why things are so strained between them.
	•	Setting:	During "My Boyfriend is a Vampire"
	•	Characters:	Tracy, Natalie
	•	Quotation:	"Do you blame me for Detective Schanke and Captain Cohen's deaths?"

 

I posted two contributions to medie's week-long "Because We're Awesome"/"About the Girls" comment-fic fete today:

• "La Ville-lumière," a graphic for the prompt "Janette : Paris"
• "Clearing the Air," a traditional drabble (100 words) for the prompt "Natalie and Tracy : Talk"

I spent all my spare moments this week chewing over the MBIAV drabble; by contrast, the Paris graphic came smoothly and quickly on Friday night.  I'm not sure whether I should send the drabble to fkfic-l, or compile a cycle of drabbles or something else to make it worth the list's time.

There are two hours yet to midnight Saturday (the end of the event) here in the Pacific time zone, and more yet in Alaska, and Hawaii, and west to the dateline.  So more FK contributions may appear.  At the moment, however, it seems that abby82's "Cutthroat Business" (for the prompt "Janette : Business") is the only other FK posting.

batdina posted an icon meme on Friday, and agreed to play it with me.  Would you like to join in?

1. Reply to this post, and I will pick up to four of your icons.
2. Make a post of your own (including the meme info) and talk about the icons I chose.
3. Other people can then comment to you and make their own posts, in a spreading spiral of icon squee!

( Batdina selected my Tracy, Natalie and IB icons. )

Someday, I may write a sequel to this novella, and it may be called "Under a Long Shadow."  Someday.  If I figure out the theme.  I know what happens next, you see, but I'm not sure it matters, because "In the Light of Day" fulfills its whole original purpose.  To write, I must have purpose.

"In the Light of Day" is a parallel-reality tale.  The break with canon comes after "Fever," and the story then progresses through "Dead of Night," "The Games Vampires Play" and "The Human Factor," reworking each episode given Nick's new mortality, until things are so different that the parallel snaps, and the alternate reality floats free.

One tidbit of which I'm fond here is Natalie's on-the-fly psychoanalysis of Lacroix, in which she concludes that no one will ever love another person as much as he has, over eight centuries, convinced himself he loved Fleur.  I also like the garden I built for Feliks Twist (but I really owe him a nice story of his own for his fate here).  And the flashbacks!  I did more research for them than any before or since (so far).  For this story, I became queen of a certain slice of Trivial Pursuit questions.  :-)

	•	Title:	"In the Light of Day"
	•	Length:	~53,000 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L in October 2003
	•	Rating:	PG-13
	•	Summary:	Nick regains his humanity, but he's not the only one.  And no one is prepared for all the consequences.
	•	Setting:	After "Fever," with flashbacks 1226-1228
	•	Characters:	Natalie, Nick, Norma, Stonetree, Urs, Tracy, Reese, Vachon, Feliks Twist, Lacroix, Myra Schanke, Janette, Others
	•	Quotation:	"Nick strolled back to his loft in the crisp morning light, feeling everything was right with his world. Granted, his arm was in a sling, his shoulder throbbed like thunder, he remained on enforced medical leave, his partner might never again pass a police physical, and the Enforcers could well be coming to get him and the woman he loved..."

This weekend, my fanfiction retrospective reaches "Another Officer Vetter."  The title, of course, comes from Tracy's chat with Marian in "Blackwing," and the protagonist from "Avenging Angel."

As far as I know, this is the only fanfiction solely from Tracy's mother's perspective.  It was challenging, and I'm still proud of the achievement.  (I hope that's not too foolish.)

	•	Title:	"Another Officer Vetter"
	•	Length:	~3,600 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L in September 2002
	•	Rating:	PG
	•	Summary:	Barbara Vetter learns of two important choices her daughter has made.
	•	Setting:	1990 Toronto
	•	Characters:	Barbara Vetter, Tracy Vetter, Richard Vetter, Other
	•	Quotation:	"Tracy had done well enough in every course she tried, and Barbara had hoped each time that this was it, this was the path less traveled than the Vetter destiny."

 

"Fireweed" is my longest story to date.  (To my surprise, "In the Light of Day" falls short by 11,000 words!)

This alternate universe diverges during the "Be My Valentine" flashbacks with Janette bringing Fleur across, and then parallels canon, asking what would have been different had Fleur been there.  I named the story for Epilobium angustifolium, a particular flower species [Fleur] that thrives in the aftermath of wildfires ["Ashes to Ashes"] in northern climates [Toronto].

	•	Title:	"Fireweed"
	•	Length:	~64,600 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L in December 1998
	•	Rating:	PG-13
	•	Summary:	As Natalie strives to derive a cure for vampirism from Divia's lethal venom, Fleur returns to her family.
	•	Setting:	After "Ashes to Ashes," with flashbacks to 1229
	•	Characters:	Nick, Natalie, Janette, Lacroix, Fleur, Grace, Tracy, Others
	•	Quotation:	"I hope, Doctor Lambert, that you will tell my brother of my attempt last night to dissuade you.  He will be looking for a scapegoat, and I'm not eager to take on the role again so soon."

And Another Thing 10:39 PM:  I almost forgot to mention that "Fireweed" was a nominee in the 1998 FK Fanfiction Awards!  My sincere thanks to those who nominated it and voted for it.  Your kindness still matters.

Putting this fanfiction retrospective back on chronological track, the next story up is "England's Rose."  It seems peculiar now, over a decade later, on this side of 9/11 and war and all the rest, the volume of grief lavished on Princess Diana's loss.  But at that time, much of a generation saw a mirror crack, and felt their reflection shatter.  Natalie is part of that generation.

FK's timeline warps to accommodate this story.  "Nobody dies, nobody ever dies," so that the entire cast can register reactions.

	•	Title:	"England's Rose"
	•	Length:	~5,572 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L in September 1997
	•	Rating:	PG
	•	Summary:	Princess Diana's death distresses Natalie and reminds Nick of Queen Caroline.
	•	Setting:	August 31 and September 6, 1997; Flashbacks 1981 and 1783
	•	Characters:	Natalie, Sara, Grace, Schanke, Nick, Janette, Lacroix, Urs, Vachon, Screed, Tracy, Cohen
	•	Quotation:	"Natalie had turned nineteen the summer of the royal wedding, and there had been something inescapably exciting about watching this girl, her own age, walk onto the world stage."

 

This was my first lengthy fanfiction.  I'm still pleased with it.  It shows traits of its age (among other things, I appear to have owned stock in semi-colons), but it musters an actual mystery, and builds a future and a past for the characters.  When writing it, I didn't make an outline, and I'm not sure I even knew how it would end when I began -- imperatives when writing today -- but it came like an onrushing wave, covering all the ground, and then there it was.

Tracy's guy, Paul, is my best original character yet.  Her coworkers and the people from whom she gets clues aren't just stick figures, either.  I seem to have felt much more free to invent guest stars in those days, for some reason.  You can't let them overshadow the canonical characters, of course, but the presence of guest stars is certainly canonical; rereading this story has made me wonder where that's gone for me.

	•	Title:	"Corners of the Mind"
	•	Length:	~32,200 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L in June 1997
	•	Rating:	PG-13
	•	Summary:	Resurging memories plunge Tracy into the unsolved mysteries of Natalie's murder and Nick and Vachon's disappearances.
	•	Setting:	Three years after "Last Knight"
	•	Characters:	Tracy, Reese, Lacroix, Janette, Vachon, Screed, Bourbon, Jenny Schanke, Others
	•	Quotation:	"She told him everything she had learned about that wrinkle in their reality -- everything, except that her own blood spoke of apricots and calla lilies. For now, she kept that to herself."

Fluff.  Utter, unremitting fluff.  My first fiction response to "Last Knight" was apparently thoroughgoing denial wrapped in sappiness and sprinkled with humor.  Eeep!  A few years on, this would have been satire, but at the time, I meant it just as it is.

	•	Title:	"Happiness Is"
	•	Length:	~1,700 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L in June 1996
	•	Rating:	G
	•	Summary:	Natalie and Nick chat about friends and family, happily ever after.
	•	Setting:	"Nobody Dies; Nobody Ever Dies"
	•	Characters:	Natalie, Nick, references to everyone else (that's right: everyone!)
	•	Quotation:	"How about you, Natalie Lambert Knight, love of my eight hundred and four years?  Are you happy?"

I wrote "Guitars and Roses" in the week between "Ashes to Ashes" and "Last Knight," and posted it to fkfic-l a few hours before I saw LK.  I had a Hamlet quotation in my signature line at the time, and with all the fannish grief in the air -- the story was written with someone mourning Vachon in mind -- many people naturally read the "sweet prince" as a reference to their own characters (well, the factions with male leads, anyway).  In rereading this piece, I was interested to rediscover that the story's Lacroix is convinced that Tracy was in love with Vachon; I've personally since been swayed to the position that she was not, or, at any rate, was doing her best to choose not to be.  Not that that makes her loss any less.  Or changes what Lacroix would have seen.

	•	Title:	"Guitars and Roses"
	•	Length:	~1,100 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L in May 1996
	•	Rating:	G
	•	Summary:	Lacroix approaches Tracy at the Raven after Vachon's death and Nick's request.
	•	Setting:	After "Ashes to Ashes," before "Last Knight"
	•	Characters:	Lacroix, Tracy
	•	Quotation:	"He had promised Nicholas, after all.  But when he had promised, he had not known she was in love."

[Crossposted from forkni-l. Backdated.]

A person wrote me from my website tonight, asking if I could point her to any Cousin-of-the-Knight fanfiction archives.  Are there any dedicated CotK archives or recommendation lists?  Actually, she didn't ask using the affiliation name; she specified that she was looking for good stories about Nick and Lacroix that do not happen to be slash stories.

Coincidentally, I had been thinking about posting to ask for recommendations on a different scenario.  I had gotten to thinking about how we never see Tracy in Nick's loft on screen -- unless I've forgotten a scene?  Even Vachon and Urs get there ("Fever" and "Ashes to Ashes," respectively), and they would seem less likely than Tracy, given how often Schanke popped by.  Would anyone like to recommend any fanfiction stories with memorable uses of Tracy in Nick's loft?  I've been thinking that might be fun.