I love good guys

I fell behind on my halfamoon '22 recommendations challenge. Here's the last.

For the seventh and final theme, "Generations," I recommend this bright, encouraging, inspiring encounter with Michelle Webster (from "Rite of Passage"). It chatters backstory as Michelle bucks herself up to face her present. She reflects a little on her parents and how she believes she failed them -- a topic perhaps still too sore -- and a great deal on her various immortal teachers, whom she has not failed. She receives a kind of generational legacy from each, but the story makes a special connection from Rebecca, to Amanda, to Michelle.

"Even Better" by Melina
~1K words
T

The rarewomen ficathon released last Sunday! (AO3 collection here.)

For myself, I wish it would have released last Saturday, as originally scheduled, for then I would have had a little time to go through its riches of 231 stories (in 218 fandoms) starring female characters unjustly neglected by their creators and/or fans. Instead, I have been so slammed this week, from Sunday noon to Friday sunset, that I have read only five of the stories, and haven't even yet managed to return and squee at deserved length over the story written for my prompt. I'll be back with recommendations when I've got more of the stories under my belt, but for the moment, please let me just point out:

• For Me: "What Isn't Being Said" by lady_ragnell (Young Blades, ~3K words, gen, starring Jacqueline and Queen Anne)
  In this progression of "unseen scene" episode tags, Jacqueline repeatedly encounters the Queen in a delicate dance around their respective secrets of identity and insight. (Despite the form, this is indeed a unified story if you know the canon — yay, YB canon! — not an ordinary "Five Things" assortment.) Please consider taking a peek for this writer who bravely ventured into a microscopic fandom — and remember that you can watch YB on YouTube! The Canadian cuts, even!


• By Me: "Yet There Are Many" for ladysilver (Highlander, ~3K words, gen, starring Michelle Webster)
  The prompt asked what Michelle had been doing for the past two decades since she became immortal in "Rite of Passage," and what kind of person she grew up to be. I found what I hope is an underutilized corner of larger HL canon suited to the character's scant personal canon, and... turned her loose. (Duncan, Amanda and Cierdwyn walk through Michelle's memories, but not the story's present.)

That said, what's up with fkficfest/fkficfest? Are you going to play? Are you going to invite your friends? We've got only one week left to sign up! C'mon: we'll have a blast. :-)

This year, I've decided — for my own personal self only, as a player, not a mod! — to go with quotations and keywords as prompts, rather than plot scenarios. I often prefer receiving scenarios or "what if?" questions, myself, but I've also seen writers drive themselves barmy trying to fit a square story peg into a round scenario prompt. Perhaps writers and readers alike would be happier with more generous sizing, I'm wondering. Also, plot ideas are precious and few; maybe I should write mine myself in the good ol' way, and not wait on ficathons. ;-)