I love good guys

This is the mini-story that I wrote for Raven skieswideopen in the 2010/2011 fandom_stocking event.  My thanks to ithildyn for beta-reading.

I took so long to post this piece only because I couldn't bear to archive one more story on my ancient HTML-only template.  "Before" premieres a proper CSS-controlled template, which I will use on all my fanfic going forward (conversion backward... well, we'll see).  This change should be nearly invisible to readers, but it's a first step in restoring my dignity as a web designer in relation to my fansite. ;-)

	•	Title:	"Before" (also on AO3)
	•	Length:	~200 words
	•	Date:	Fandom Stocking 01/06/11, FKFic-L 02/21/11
	•	Rating:	G
	•	Summary:	Janette's childhood included happy days.
	•	Characters:	Janette
	•	Quotation:	"It was how things were — which was to say, how they always had been and always would be."

This was my match story for the May 2010 fkficfest ficathon.  My thanks to wiliqueen for her prompt, in which Nick "has seen artistic revolutions come and go, and has his own perspective on the group of young people calling themselves the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood."  My thanks also to havocthecat and natmerc for beta-reading, swiftly and on-target.

The opportunity to sweep Nick and his concerns into this milieu was delightfully consuming.  The request to include real historical figures as supporting characters was a new challenge for me, and I learned a lot about balancing historical precision with storytelling momentum.  I have increased respect for those who do it well!

	•	Title:	"True to Life" (also on AO3)
	•	Length:	14,644 words
	•	Date:	Posted to fkficfest on May 16, 2010; not yet posted to FKFic-L
	•	Rating:	PG-13 (gen)
	•	Summary:	Janette visits Nick in his life on the edge of the Pre-Raphaelite circle; with her comes everything he is trying to escape.
	•	Setting:	1857 London
	•	Characters:	Nick, Janette, Others
	•	Quotation:	"How often had he truly rescued her, and how often had he unwittingly used her as bait -- or had she used herself?"

This is the story I contributed to the December 2009 oldschoolfic ficathon.  My thanks to senmut for her prompt of "Nick and Lacroix, Family Bonding," and to batdina, amilyn, leela_cat and much_madness for beta-reading and discussion.  This prompt nudged me to reacquaint myself with some episodes I rarely watch, and revisit some themes I hadn't touched in years.

	•	Title:	"In a Family Way" (also on AO3)
	•	Length:	~7,700 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L January 30, 2010
	•	Rating:	PG-13 (gen)
	•	Summary:	Nick makes friends on a flight to Paris to see Janette, but Lacroix is on the same plane.
	•	Setting:	December 2009
	•	Characters:	Nick, Lacroix, Janette, Others
	•	Quotation:	"Your denial of the natural law does not alter it, Nicholas." / "Your rejection of hope does not defeat it, Lacroix."

This set of three flashbacks was my submission to the "Claire Rankin Characters Mini-Ficathon."  They're set in my "Fireweed" AU, in which Janette brought Fleur across, accelerating Nick's rejection of vampirism.  (No need to read the original. That's all the context.)

I have a soft spot for Nick's sister.  My 1998 "Fireweed" vampire Fleur differs from my 2008 "Starwort" human Fleur, I noticed as I revisited her.  Different lives made different women from the same origin.  Yoked to Lacroix, "Fireweed" Fleur's development was constrained.  "Starwort" Fleur grew further faster, living human.  One of these days, I will finish "Amaranth" Fleur, who goes farthest of all.

	•	Title:	"Three Fireweed Seeds"
	•	Length:	~3,300 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L March 5, 2009
	•	Rating:	PG-13 (gen, f/f, m/f)
	•	Summary:	"Reconnection:" Nick watches over Fleur.  "Responses:" Fleur tries to comfort Erica.  "Recoil:" Lacroix  has driven Fleur away.
	•	Setting:	1229 Paris, 1700 London, 1966 Bonn
	•	Characters:	Fleur, Nick, Erica, Lacroix
	•	Quotation:	"So then why, why, why had he burned the Abbarratt without letting her read it first?"

"Responses," the second of the three ficlets, replied to an f/f prompt.  It is my first try at such, and I suspect I failed the prompt's intention.  One lesson I'm taking is that a fully successful run at that prompt would require its own custom AU.

I posted my second oldschoolfic story to fkfic-l this weekend.  A few scenes have been rewritten since the ficathon, but it's largely the same.  I'm grateful to abby82 for the ficathon prompt!  And I'm obliged to my beta-readers (see the story's endnote, as always).

"Fearful Symmetry" is entirely from Nick's perspective.  I don't often narrate from Nick's point of view, and that's curious to me.  I've been wondering from where that comes (among what the series presents, what I'm any good at writing, and what people seem to like to read).

	•	Title:	"Fearful Symmetry"
	•	Length:	~9,900 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L November 1-2, 2008
	•	Rating:	PG (gen)
	•	Summary:	As the asteroid panic gets a second wind, Nick revisits his experiences during the 1950s Red Scare.
	•	Setting:	Flashbacks to 1954 ("Spin Doctor").  Present after "A More Permanent Hell."
	•	Characters:	Nick, Natalie, Lacroix, Janette, Others.
	•	Quotation:	"He had been so proud to be awarded tenure last year, to be recognized as a worthy and wanted permanent member of the faculty."