hlh_shortcuts began releasing on the Winter Solstice, Duncan's Birthday, as is traditional, and will continue releasing a few stories per day until they're all shared. Many thanks to our new moderator team for all their efforts! Thanks to them, and to everyone who wrote and beta'd! Time to read:

• Check out all the 2024 stories.
• Revisit out all the stories from all the AO3 years (probably not the LJ years)

The story written for my '24 fest match released on Sunday: "Behind the Story" (~2K words, gen). The anonymous creator chose not to use archive warnings and not to supply a rating; with no disrespect to those choices, I'd rate it "G" and No Archive Warnings Apply. If you're an HL fan, you're unlikely to find anything triggering here; this is what the show is about, I've always thought.

"Behind the Story" follows Randi McFarland in the days after Tessa's murder, how and where it touches her work and her conscience and her heart, culminating in a Randi & Richie scene I never knew I needed. There is so much Tessa here, through their eyes, and I love it. The story briskly opened long-shuttered second-season rooms in my imagination, and, in passing, dropped at least two bonus story ideas on the side.

I shared a longer comment on the story itself. You can read that for more on what in it caught my attention. Or ask! And of course there are many other stories to choose from, if this isn't your personal flavor of HL.

I'm playing halfamoon '22 as a recommendations challenge...

For the sixth theme, "Sickness and Health," I'm torn between two favorites. So: bonus! One rec for health, another for sickness.

First, a rich take on Forever Knight's Grace Balthazar. This Grace is both the pathology professional we know and also a Gullah Herb Doctor with a supernatural role -- akin to Doctor Chung, Marian Blackwing, and Denise Fort. In letters from Grace to her mom, the story recaps much of canon from this fascinating perspective while quietly building a new subplot. It then diverges firmly with a burst of... wingfic! (Yes, wingfic.)

"Full of Grace" by LastScorpion
~7K words
T

Second, an unforgettable Highlander divergence in which Tessa lived through "The Darkness." The bullet entered just a little to the side, and everything was different. Tessa, Duncan, and Richie got decades more of life and love together. Now, Tessa, ill, sees her own death coming unstoppably this time and she worries, fears what it will do to Duncan. I have teared up every time I've read and re-read this story over the years.

"All That Glitters" by killabeez
~3K words
M

All 20 works in this year's hlh_shortcuts are now revealed! All are still anonymous, pending this fest's traditional author guessing game. (I haven't yet read 6, including the 25K-words one. Sorry!)

May I commend to you the story written for my prompt/match?
"Paris, 1978" (gen, G, 2K words)

The story begins with a pleasantly cheeky little preface in which young Tessa crosses paths with several immortals we know, in various ways, without effect. The story then moves into an encounter with effect: between young Tessa, bursting with inspiration, determination, and energy, and an original character who is weary, without inspiration, perhaps without purpose. Each gives the other something needed from her or his plenty.

I like it very well! And if it's not just happy coincidence, the author put some generous thought into carefully including story elements I enjoy, not just the character and tone, but things like reasons to live and things to learn.

The story written for me in the hlh_shortcuts exchange has revealed. I think that many of you may enjoy it! Take a look? It's a first-season HL/FK crossover starring Tessa and Natalie. The plot depends on each acting with professional passion and authority. A clever conceit amusingly finesses the crossover.

"Bag of Bolts" by [currently Anonymous]
G, gen, 7K words
Natalie, Tessa, Duncan, OCs
Summary: Natalie attends an ME convention at a hotel where Tessa is installing a sculpture. Danger. Bonding. Pie.

More like Yuletide than FKFicFest, the HLH_Shortcuts prompt slates seem to be pretty loose suggestions. I didn't specifically request (or imagine) this scenario. All credit to the author for the happy surprise.

Of both series, I do dearly love their first seasons, when motivations were clear and rich, and triumphant possibilities endless. Their first seasons, I rewatch just for fun, just for joy.

rarewomen, a ficathon for rare women characters in large fandoms (like HL) and all women characters in small fandoms (like FK), has opened nominations (01/07-01/21) for its upcoming game.  Only nominated fandoms and characters will be available for sign-ups (01/25-02/08), so if you're planning to play (stories due 04/30), please pitch in.  (Each player may nominate up to five fandoms, one of which must be "large," and up to five characters per fandom.)

I'm not positive that I'll play, but I'm leaning toward it.  How about you?  In "large" fandoms, a woman character is eligible if she appears in under 20% of the fanfiction.  (Tessa Noel, btw, is tagged in under 2% — yep, two; that's not a typo — of the HL fanfic on AO3. I feel that Tessa epitomizes the "rare" woman character.)

( my likely nominations )

At this time, gehayi has nominated FK, and karrenia_rune has nominated HL.  None of the other fandoms in which I write are yet nominated, but it is awfully reassuring to see both FK and HL in the mix this early.

Addendum: See the masterlist for the ongoing compilation of nominated fandoms and characters.

I don't talk about it as often, but I am very much a Highlander fan, too.  These days, I read HL mostly via the hl_flash bulletin.  Here are some gen pieces from there that I've enjoyed recently:

• "Fight Another Day" by sholio (PG, ~1K words, Duncan and Methos and Amanda).  Duncan loses a hand (as Xavier St. Cloud did) and holds on to his honor.


• "Watcher" by elistaire (G, 320 words, Joe, implied Duncan/Tessa).  It's the '80s.  As Joe watches Duncan, he also gets to know Tessa.


• "Next Time, Buy a Ferrari" by medie (PG, ~2K words, Methos and Connor and Heather, implied Connor/Heather).  What if Methos, rather than Ramirez, had taught Connor?


• "Convent Mouse" by elistaire (G, ~2K words, original character, Methos, implied Methos/Alexa).  This predator and this prey... are both survivors.


• "Spring" by devohoneybee (G, 69 words, Methos).  A poem.

I wrote this Highlander story as a gift for Leela-cat and a challenge for myself.

•	Title:	"Get Well Soon" (also on AO3)
•	Length:	~900 words
•	Date:	December 2007
•	Rating:	G (gen)
•	Summary:	Tessa is home sick.
•	Setting:	1992-1993 Seacouver
•	Characters:	Starring Tessa.  Also with Richie.