Entries tagged with fanfic:fandom:highlander

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HLH_Shortcuts '24 Recommendations

We had 20 new Highlander stories in

hlh_shortcuts this year. Find them all on the AO3.

Here are some that I, personally, subjectively, enjoyed most:

"Moondance or A Series of Extraordinary Events" by

hafital
G, gen; ~19K words
Joyful. This story wraps a final sci-fi Gathering apocalypse -- starring Richie and Methos -- around many independent but threaded shorter missing-scene stories from throughout canon and beyond -- starring Richie and Angie, Richie and Tessa, Richie and May-Ling, Richie and etc. -- and not only delivers a happy ending at the last, but is again and again joyful and uplifting throughout. Each of the embedded stories would be lovely on its own. Yet they're strung like pearls on a necklace, progressing in a line, in a circle, in an orbit. It's more than its parts.

"Duo" by

jasmasson
G, m/m; ~3K words
Amusing. A sensible outsider perspective delivers grins as it clashes with not-at-all sensible run-a-day HL canon in the persons of Duncan, Methos, and a hunter. The narrative packs satisfying, appropriately worded, canon references that fly over the head of the perspective character straight to the audience.

"Guests for the Weekend" by

Annavere
G, gen; ~8K words
Unexpected. I was taken by surprise by how well this combination of characters -- Amanda, Anne, Richie -- came together in this off-to-the-side whodunnit romp of a mini-vacation for Anne, where the stakes are set by thieves so incompetent and security precautions so lacking that Amanda feels embarrassed and Richie plays the bait.

"Holy Ground" by

merriman
G, gen; ~2K words
Historical. Have a Darius-lives scenario, with Methos and early Icelandic history. You're welcome. Bonus: Rumination on how the "Light Quickening" did and didn't do the work of reforming Darius, which he must have thought on often, and which I have opinions about.

Richie & Connor:

"In Good Company" by

Teratornis
G, gen; ~6K words
Cathartic. Structured mostly as an action scene, a dojo workout, this piece has Richie process some of his many emotions in the wake of Tessa's death, his own immortality, and his encounter with Annie Devlin.

"Cousin's Retreat" by

Sharpest_Asp
G, gen; ~1K words
Companionable. Richie gets to train with Connor for a while, as the audience gets to enjoy comparisons and contrasts between our two MacLeods, and the conviction that Richie is an adopted son of this clan.

Randi:

"The Pitch" by

havocthecat
G, gen; ~2K words
Constructive. This piece worldbuilds around Randi across a decade, keeping her consistently canonical as it kneads and stretches her more realistic first-season world until it merges seamlessly with the more fantastic late-season canon, landing her as if fated in Joe's lap as he works to reform the Watchers.

"Behind the Story" by

coralysendria
Unrated, gen, ~2K words
Transporting. Step into the heart of second season with the groundedness of first season. Tessa's murder is news; it's part of Randi's job. Tessa is also someone she knew; it's emotionally jarring, and emotion is not something Randi is particularly good at, so she gropes through the culturally prescribed motions until she finds her way to Richie, grieving, stunned, alone. We see Tessa through both of their eyes, Richie in that moment through Randi's eyes, and the world that was canon in those days as it must have been.

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HLH_Shortcuts 2024 author reveals

Later, I'll share a proper

hlh_shortcuts '24 recs post! Right now, I just want to share the names of the two generous authors who wrote stories for my exchange match, and unveil which story I wrote, myself:

For me:

"The Pitch" by havocthecat (G, gen, ~2K words) (Randi, with Joe, Methos, and Duncan)
"Behind the Story" by coralysendria (Unrated, gen, ~2K words) (Randi, with Richie and memories of Tessa)

By me:
"Garbage and Flowers" for

argentum_ls (T, gen, ~5K words) (Gregor, with Richie, Jennifer Hill, and memories of Alec Hill)

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A second HLH_Shortcuts '24 story for me!

hlh_shortcuts has now released 18 of its 20 total 2024 stories. See the list. I expect that tomorrow, Monday, will bring the final releases, to be followed by the event’s traditional author-guessing game.

To my surprise, I’ve received a second story for my fest request this year: “The Pitch” (G, gen, ~2K words). (For a completely spoiler-free reading experience, follow the link now and come back later for the rest of this post.) It stars Randi, supported by Joe, with cameos by Duncan and Methos.

Riding the wave of Randi’s conviction that Duncan could be the biggest story of her career, this piece sweeps from Randi spotting Joe near MacLeod & Noel Antiques, through a decade of dogging the literal and paperwork footsteps of Duncan and his friends, to Joe offering her the biggest story of her life... with one little catch.

This Randi is properly tenacious and perceptive. The story compellingly suggests how very much her interests, talents, and drive converge with the commitments and needs of the Watchers, to the point that it set me ruminating on the meta level where Randi and her local TV station may well have been a certain kind of unwitting structural first draft for Joe and the Watcher organization. (But why not both? ~grin~)

More comments on the story itself, of course! Take a look? Or, if this is not your personal HL flavor, try one of the others!

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Richie & Connor

Every

hlh_shortcuts, certain thought trends seem to emerge through the stories, particular themes or questions or canon moments that pop up independently in multiple unrelated, unalike stories that year.

This year, so far, "Richie & Connor after Tessa's death" seems to be a biggie. I have not yet read all the stories released to date, yet I believe I've already bumped into this concept four separate times, one way and another. (See the list of works.) I wonder whether there was a conversation about it somewhere that planted and nurtured these seeds, or whether the thought was carried on the wind long ago and only finally now the conditions for sprouting have arrived. As a trend, I'm certainly enjoying it!

Another trend this year, so far, seems to be very little Duncan. Few appearances, fewer as the perspective character. This is not as new or distinct. I suspect that, at this end of history, many folks find more unplucked story fruit with other characters.

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HLH_Shortcuts is releasing! And the story for me is already available!

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.

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My '20 HLH_Shortcuts story: "The Power That’s Inside (We All Live in a Pokémon World)"

My 2020

hlh_shortcuts contribution was, obviously, "The Power That’s Inside (We All Live in a Pokémon World)" (7K words, PG, gen) (Duncan, Methos, Joe, Giovanni, Emolga, Charmander).

My recipient's sign-up included “crack taken seriously” and the “reality of being immortal,” and allowed “most stuff” for crossovers. I agonized over what direction to take (as usual, but more) and consulted

celli on the nature of the crack-fic genre and this idea. I almost instead went for a Very Serious concept about Joe and all the institutional betrayals he's suffered. (I can do "taken seriously." It's whether I can do "crack" that's in question.) Instead, we start with Methos as a PokéTuber a la TrainerTips, and then it gets even stranger.

I lucked out. My recipient knows and likes main-series Pokémon through her daughter. Whew!

I regret that I ended up with all the women characters off-screen. Angie, Anne, Mary, Amanda, and Jessie all had scenes in my head that ended up as Duncan telling the key takeaway, rather than me showing the encounter. And I see now how I could have done better by digging into Duncan's motivations and memories more, and more frankly (as nudged by

leela_cat's perceptive beta).

But when the story rolls into crack-ness, I think it works.

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2018 Fanfiction Year-in-Review

The 2018 HL exchange authors have been revealed on the AO3! So I can now share my own tiny annual round-up:

"The European Occultists"
beta by skieswideopen, for Merfilly, in fkficfest
crossover between Forever Knight and Nick Knight (~4K words, G, gen)
Jul. '18 to date: 146 hits, 10 kudos, 7 comment threads

"Halcyon"
beta by skieswideopen & batdina, plus a note from senmut, for killabeez, in hlh_shortcuts
Highlander (~2K words, G, gen)
Dec. '18 to date: 191 hits, 26 kudos, 9 comment threads

2018 AO3 statistics (total 105 works in 12 fandoms):

36 Kudos 16 Comment Threads 0 Bookmarks 337 Hits

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2017 Fanfiction Year-in-Review

I posted only 2 stories in 2017, I'm afraid:

"The Decline and Fall of the Murphy Case"
beta by sholio; for lastscorpion in fkficfest
(Forever Knight; ~2K words; G, gen; Schanke, Nick, Stonetree, Norma)
05/30/17-01/06/18: 88 hits, 14 kudos, 7 comment threads

"To Reason Why "
beta by batdina; for morgynleri in hlh_shortcuts
(Highlander; ~3K words; G, gen; Methos, Grace, original characters)
12/20/17-01/06/18: 169 hits, 19 kudos, 5 comment threads

2017 AO3 statistics (across 103 works in 12 fandoms):

  33 Kudos
  12 comment threads
    2 bookmarks
    0 subscriptions
257 hits

I'd never noticed the AO3's "Statistics" tab until I picked up on it from

senmut. I learned that my most viewed story ever, by leaps and bounds, is my one BSG78 story. I had no idea (it's earned 7 kudos in 6 years, so who could have guessed?). Anyway, if you've never looked at your AO3 "Statistics," you might find them interesting. :-)

And I do still owe several fanfic "gift certificate" fulfillments from years past (list). Sorry!!!

Crossposts: http://brightknightie.livejournal.com/250699.html

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2016 Fanfiction Year-in-Review

I wrote only three stories in 2016, I'm afraid:

myoldfandom 2016 Exchange: "The Wand of Siora the Wise"
beta by Skieswideopen; for DesertVixen
(Dungeons & Dragons (1983-85); ~9K words; G; Sheila, Eric, Hank, Bobby, Diana, Presto, etc.)

   This was my first writing in this lifelong-loved fandom. I tried so hard to fulfill the prompt and be episode-like that I may have overdone it. Yet I learned about the characters as you do only when you're writing them, and found much delight in them and their universe! I want to write them again, and read them more.

fkficfest 2016 Exchange: "The Time Will Come"
beta by Batdina; for Merfilly
(Forever Knight; ~3K words; G; Janette, Alma, Aristotle, the Enforcers)

   Late summer and all fall are lost to me in a haze of overwork. I don't recall just how this concept found me, only that it felt important to stake FK's claim on an open future. I learned more about Canadian security than the story needed, not to mention Syrian brutality. But the story, I think, I hope, is finally full of hope and determination — first-season-style, today.

hlh_shortcuts 2016 Exchange: "Ships in the Night"
betas by Skieswideopen, Celli & Sholio; sounding-board-ing by ArgentumLS & Skieswideopen; for Idontlikegravy
(Highlander; ~1K words; G; Richie, Michelle, Angie)

   I almost didn't sign up for this fest. And then I almost dropped out. HLdom often seems to me as monolithic as FKdom is diverse; I worried and fussed. The kind people listed above helped me through. I do love HL dearly, for all that I'm lost in HLdom. I hope that I did right by it and by the other players, and maybe they won't mind me playing again someday.

( Still-unfulfilled fanfic IOUs )

( Still-unwritten fanfic just for me )

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HL Fanfic: "Ships in the Night" (my 2016 HLH_Shortcuts story)

The story that I wrote for the 2016 hlh_shortcuts released (appropriately) on December 21: the winter solstice, Duncan MacLeod's birthday. The fest authors revealed (even more appropriately) on January 6: Epiphany.

This is the first time that I've participated in this fest. I was all over anxious that I'd blow it. As long and deep as I've loved HL, my HL love doesn't usually seem to fit in HL fandom. Many, many thanks to argentum_ls and skieswideopen for each helping me brainstorm toward the story. When it came, the idea warranted a novella, but the time allowed a short. (Thanks also to skieswideopen, celli, and sholio for beta-reading at the last minute, catching typos and confusions!)

On the AO3:	"Ships in the Night"
Length:	1,406 words
Date:	December 2016
Rating:	PG; gen
Characters:	Richie/Angie, Michelle
Setting:	Winter 2017, Oakland, CA; divergent reality; branched from canon in early fifth season
Summary:	A hundred times since he’d tried to lay down his sword, Richie had walked away without a confrontation. Didn’t look like this was gonna be one of those times.

If you read it, please consider letting me know what I should learn from this to improve the next? (And check out the other fest stories!)

I'm often canon-bound. This "Clan Denial" request cracked that shell. I discovered that I very much like the man Richie might have grown to be, given the example and support of those he respects and loves.

Crossposts: http://brightknightie.livejournal.com/249835.html

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"Bag of Bolts" HL/FK crossover in HLH_Shortcuts

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.

Crossposts: http://brightknightie.livejournal.com/170370.html

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My Fandom Stocking Stories: FK "In Pursuit of the Paladin" and HL "Lazarus Heart"

I've previously posted about the nice things that I received in my own Fandom Stocking this year, and about the neat things that I spotted in other people's Fandom Stockings, so tonight I thought I'd point out the items that I stuffed into some Fandom Stockings myself. I didn't create as widely or well as I'd have liked, but I did have fun writing:

Highlander: "Lazarus Heart" (Methos/Alexa, 918 words, G) (beta-read by celli!) for beccadg's wish
I'd never tried Methos/Alexa before, but the attempt turned out surprisingly satisfying for me. I hope that it works as well for readers, and doesn't bog down when I poke around inside Methos's head for a bit in the middle.

Forever Knight: "In Pursuit of the Paladin" (Lacroix & Natalie with Nick implied, 991 words, PG) (beta-read by skieswideopen!) for pj1228's wish
This led me to a new approach to the ever-vexing problem of how to write for fellow FK fans who personally prefer "dark" takes that I can't support, myself. Here, I imagined a "bright" scenario that I'd love, but told it from Lacroix's perspective. It worked better for me than some past, straining attempts to approach "dark" prompts, but I don't know whether it really bridges the problem of sufficient respect for preferences I can't share. Maybe it's better not to try? There are so few of us! Are mismatches better than no matches, or not?

A handful of fanfiction "gift certificates" in FK and HL for stories to be posted to the AO3 sometime in 2014
(Four have been redeemed/accepted so far. Coincidentally, that's the same number I still owe from the last time I tried this — you know who you are. ~grin~)

Crossposts: http://brightknightie.livejournal.com/159937.html

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A Tale of Two Ficathons

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. ;-)

Crossposts: http://brightknightie.livejournal.com/106812.html

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HL Fanfic: "When Everything was New"

I wrote "When Everything was New" for hl_flashfic's "Second Banana" event, to the prompt: "Alexa meets Tessa at an art show." I'd written HL in multi-fandom games before, and just because, but this was my first attempt in an HL-specific venue.

Thanks to sholio and skieswideopen for beta-reading!

Available:	The Ficathon \| My Fansite \| The AO3
Length:	~4,800 words
Date:	HL_FlashFic 08/12/11
Rating:	PG
Characters:	Tessa, Duncan, Alexa, Martin Sorrel, uncredited cameos
Summary:	Tessa exhibits in the juried division of the 1986 Seacouver Art & Wine festival.
Quotation:	"Tessa hesitated. Pressing for public reaction was rarely wise; and, usually, she was content with her own assessment and Duncan’s, other critics be hanged. But she remained unsure where her efforts fit at this festival, if they fit at all."

Crossposts: http://brightknightie.livejournal.com/87921.html

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HL Fanfic: "Comes but Once a Year"

This little Highlander Christmas story is not for any fest or ficathon. It's just because. My thanks to batdina for beta-reading, and to celli for Chicago-checking. As always, constructive criticism is welcome.

•	Title:	"Comes but Once a Year" (also on AO3)
•	Length:	~1,400 words
•	Date:	December 2010
•	Rating:	G
•	Characters:	Starring Joe Dawson. Also with Lynn Horton and other relatives.
•	Summary:	Joe babysits his sleepy niece on Christmas Eve 1978.
•	Quotation:	"For ten years, Joe had gotten fairly sedate, settled assignments, and it wasn’t like he didn’t know why. But that was about to change, he told himself."

Posted in the oldschoolfic community.

Crossposts: http://brightknightie.livejournal.com/77884.html

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HL Fanfic: "Present Company"

This is the Highlander story that I wrote for the Summer 2010 oldschoolfic event. My thanks to karrenia_rune for the prompt, and to batdina for the beta-reading. (As always, constructive criticism is welcome.)

I'd never written Charlie DeSalvo before, and I'm not sure that I'd ever read a story from Charlie's perspective, either. When I looked for screenshots from which to make an icon to go with this story on the ficathon, I found only half a dozen unique images of Charlie on the entire Internet. It's curious. He really is a significant character, if not as significant as some.

•	Title:	"Present Company" (also on AO3)
•	Length:	~2,900 words
•	Date:	July 2010
•	Rating:	PG
•	Characters:	Starring Charlie. Also with Richie, Randi, Duncan and Joe.
•	Summary:	Charlie has a lot on his mind when Duncan finally returns to Seacouver.
•	Quotation:	"Charlie thought again about legitimate reasons that a stranger might have popped up like this -- and about how very little he wanted to end up charged with assault -- but the weight in the man's right hand inside his pocket skewed the odds."

Crossposts: http://brightknightie.livejournal.com/66588.html

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HL Fanfic: "So This is Home"

[Back-posted]

This is the Highlander story I contributed to the December 2008 oldschoolfic ficathon. My thanks to Dragonsinger for her prompt of "Richie never expected that his first Christmas with Duncan and Tessa would involve a swordfight," and to Batdina and Wiliqueen for beta-reading.

•	Title:	"So This is Home" (also on AO3)
•	Length:	~5,400 words
•	Date:	December 2008
•	Rating:	G (gen plot, m/f subplot)
•	Summary:	A first-season Christmas season, with a theft at the shelter where Angie works.
•	Setting:	December 1992 Seacouver
•	Characters:	Starring Richie. Also with Duncan, Tessa, Angie, Randi, Powell and many more.

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FK/HL Fanfic: "An Appointment Unkept" (a New Year's Story)

Again prompted by the season, I'm going to tweak this rolling retrospective out of chronology to bring up my one New Year's fanfiction, "An Appointment Unkept," which is also my one true crossover to date. In this case, the cross is Forever Knight/Highlander. The story is less about those lost than those who miss them.

•	Title:	"An Appointment Unkept"
•	Length:	~2,982 words
•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L December 31, 2005
•	Rating:	PG
•	Summary:	Nick and Darius have a longstanding appointment, but neither of them make it.
•	Setting:	Paris, New Year's Eve 1999
•	Characters:	Original HL Immortal, Janette
•	Quotation:	"She met his eyes, her own again a rich blue. The depth of the sorrow there shocked him. Carefully controlled, it nevertheless went down, and down, and down, perhaps without end."

Crossposts: http://brightknightie.livejournal.com/66954.html

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HL Fanfic: "Get Well Soon"

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.

Crossposts: http://brightknightie.livejournal.com/67211.html

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HL Fanfic: "Conversational Snippets"

I wrote these Highlander snippets in my notebook back when I used to take the train to work. There are two ripped-out pages between them; I don't remember why I ripped them out.

•	Title:	"Conversational Snippets"
•	Length:	~200 words
•	Date:	February 2005
•	Rating:	G
•	Summary:	Just two unrelated snatches of dialogue.
•	Setting:	Unspecified, after third-season
•	Characters:	Duncan, Methos and Joe