The 2014 Rules and Sign-ups Post: "I still find life exciting. I think I've got more to give."

[brightknightie]

Sign-ups for the 2014 fkficfest/fkficfest exchange ficathon are now open! This is our 5^th annual game. In a jubilee, all past defaults are forgiven; the slate is clean. Let’s celebrate Forever Knight and each other!

Please read the rules in this post and ponder your prompts. Then, to sign-up, comment on this post (on LJ or DW) by Saturday, June 7 (11:59 PM Pacific Time). Once you post your prompt slate, it's final; please don't edit it. Please do promote the game to your friends — new FK fans and old! Come one, come all!

Comments are screened. I'll unscreen any questions and answer them for all to see. Sign-ups will remain screened. Please ask any questions separately from your sign-up.

What’s new for 2014? We'll play mostly as we did in 2013! However, we're running two new experiments to learn how happy they make us: (1) with certain requirements, crossovers will be permitted, and (2) multiple related small stories may add up to the 1,000 word minimum.

Timeline | Mod | Rules | Posting | Signing Up

Timeline

• 5/21: Sign-ups open.
• 6/07: Sign-ups close.
• 6/09: Prompt assignments sent.
• 7/09: Deadline to drop out without any fuss.
• 8/09: Stories due.
• 8/10: Pinch-hitter assignments sent.
• 8/11: Stories begin revealing.
• 8/18: Pinch-hitter stories due. (This date may shift.)

All deadlines are 11:59 PM Pacific Time (or, practically, whenever I get up the next morning).

No stories will be revealed until all stories are in or assigned to a pinch-hitter. Stories will probably be revealed 1 per day up to 14 players, and 2 per day above 14 players. Stories will release in an order determined by me to help maximize readability and fun for everyone (rotating between genres, ratings, lengths, characters, etc.). Release order may or may not reflect submission order.

Meet Your Mod

Your mod is me! brightknightie/brightknightie/brightknightie (Amy R.). You may remember me from the PSU email lists in days of yore, or know me from LJ/DW/AO3 more recently. All FKFicFest admin statements come from me. Please contact me directly at my LJ or DW accounts, or my personal email address (the same one I’ve used on the FK lists since '99). The FKFicFestMod account/address won't be used this round.

As an aside, I hate surprises. If something in the game is awry, please let me try to help in advance! Please give me as much of a heads-up as you can. Ask early; ask often; get it fixed before it makes someone unhappy. :-)

Rules

FKFicFest celebrates Forever Knight (1992-1996) and its amazing, brilliant, delightful fans.

— Game Play Summary —

Each player (1) submits a slate of 3-4 prompts, (2) receives in return a slate of 3-4 prompts submitted by someone else, (3) writes 1 story (or story sequence) of at least 1,000 words (or draws 1 picture of at least 500x500 pixels) to fulfill any one of the prompts received, (4) receives 1 story (or picture) that fulfills 1 of the prompts submitted, and (5) a wonderful Forever Knight time is had by all.

Each day of the festival, I'll (1) reveal a story from the community’s AO3 collection and (2) announce the story on LJ and DW. (ForKni-L announcements may be every second or third day instead of daily; we'll see.)

— The Rules FAQ —

1. So that's 3-4 prompts, but only 1 story or picture?
   Yes. Each player submits and receives 3-4 prompts, but writes 1 story (or draws 1 picture). Writing more than 1 story is permitted, but is not required, expected or typical.
   
   
2. Why 3-4 instead of 3 or 4?
   The 4^th prompt slot is optional, for crossover prompts only. Some players will choose not to submit a crossover prompt. (This is an experiment in 2014's game.)
   
   
3. What are the 3-4 kinds of prompts?
   Each player must submit 1 gen, 1 pairing, and 1 wildcard prompt. Players may also choose to submit 1 crossover prompt. This gives the writer/artist options! In FKFicFest, we use these definitions:
   
   
   • Required: "Gen" is primarily about anything except romantic and/or sexual relationships or activities. So stories that are primarily about solving a crime, finding a cure, saving a life, taking a life, fixing the Caddy's brakes... all these are "gen." (Yes, romance and sex may be mentioned in gen stories. But in a gen story, those are minor elements.)
   
   
   • Required: "Pairing" is primarily about romantic and/or sexual relationships or activities. So stories that are primarily about finding love, losing love, having sex, getting married, entertaining certain fantasies... all these count as "pairing." (Yes, by all means, mysteries may be solved, lives saved and brakes fixed in pairing stories. Pairing stories are not necessarily "plot, what plot?"! Although they may be, if you and your recipient would like that.)
     Important: M/f, m/m and f/f are all equally allowed, rated and respected in FKFicFest.
   
   
   • Required: "Wildcard" may be anything you like except a crossover. You may list another gen prompt, or another pairing prompt, or something combining the two. (This would be the place for a threesome or moresome request, rather than under "pairing.")
     
     
   • Optional: "Crossover" crosses or fuses Forever Knight with another fandom such that FK receives more than half of the story focus. (Minimum: 51% FK, however you choose to measure.) The crossover request may be gen, pairing or wildcard, and it may identify any other fandom that complies with all gameplay rules. If desired, as long as the same 1 prompt description is used, this prompt slot may list up to 3 fandoms from which the writer may choose to fill that 1 prompt. (I expect that matching on crossover fandoms will be chancy at best! I'll try, but please have realistic expectations. We all love FK, here; what else we love differs.)
   
   Tip: An ampersand ("&") designates a gen combination, and a slash ("/") designates a pairing combination. (For example, "Nick & Lacroix" is a gen, Cousin-of-the-Knight prompt, while "Nick/Lacroix" is a pairing, Unnamed Faction prompt.)
   
   
4. How long must/may a story be?
   All stories must be a minimum of 1,000 words. However, as an experiment in 2014's game, a series of closely related shorter stories (including stories using the popular "5 Things" or "5 Times" frames) are also permitted, as long as they (1) add up to at least 1,000 words, and (2) post within a single file on the AO3 (the chapter functionality may help with this).
   
   We have no maximum length for stories posted directly to the AO3.
   
   
5. What about beta-reading?
   Yes, please! Borrow a fresh pair of eyes, and then revise and edit! Please show off your great ideas to their best advantage with good spelling, grammar, punctuation, fact-checking and canon-checking! Yay!
   
   There will be a post to help beta-readers and writers to find each other. I'm unable to individually match beta readers with writers and I'm officially unavailable for beta-reading purposes — although I may volunteer on the beta post when the time comes (just like you!).
   
   
6. CANS O' WORMS! What is forbidden?
   
   
   • Underage Sex. No character who is or appears to be under the age of eighteen may be depicted "on screen" in sexual activity. If a plot requires such activity, it must happen "off screen." (For example, Divia sex scenes are prohibited.)
   
   
   • Human Incest. No characters with human family consanguinity within the third degree may be depicted "on screen" in sexual activity with each other. If a plot requires such activity, it must take place "off screen." (For example, Richard/Natalie is prohibited.)
   
   
   • Real People. No real private individuals. But public figures may play roles in your story consistent with their accepted roles in history and the example of FK canon (for example, Saint Joan in "For I Have Sinned," Rasputin in "Strings," Hitler in "Jane Doe," Jack the Ripper in "Bad Blood" and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in "Blind Faith").
   
   
   • Trolling or Flaming or Offensive Prompts. If I believe that you've trolled or flamed, I will ban you. This community is pro-Forever Knight, diversity, tolerance, kindness, respect, truth, justice and the Canadian Way … oh, wait, that's the Knightie Creed. But you know the drill! Constructive criticism is fine. Bashing is not.
     
     
7. What if I have to drop out?
   We'll understand. We'll also be sorry to lose you! Of course, for any drop-outs, I must scramble for a back-up writer, so the game has deadlines and penalties.
   
   If you know you're going to drop out, please do so by one month before the due date. The deadline to drop out without any penalty or recriminations is July 9, 2014.
   
   However, if something unavoidable comes up in the final month, please talk to me as soon as possible! Don’t just vanish! I'll try to work something out with you, but I can do that only if you get in touch and stay in touch. (Seriously, do not provoke me by surprising me.) Anyone defaulting by not posting as agreed and/or not responding to my emails/PMs about a missing story will not be allowed to participate in future FKFicFest ficathons, and nobody wants that! We all want to play together!
   
   
8. When can I post my story elsewhere?
   Please wait until after the last story is revealed in the ficathon before also posting your story to fkfic-l, your blog or elsewhere. We're hoping that people will come to the community (via LJ, DW or the AO3) to read your story, and stick around to read others' stories, too! By all means, please do point out your story as soon as it's revealed so that your friends can find both your story and the rest of the ficathon. But please wait until the game's "masterlist" goes up to post elsewhere.
   
   
9. What if I don’t have an AO3 account?
   Ask me for an invitation! The AO3 is very easy to use, and using it gains our ficathon many advantages. (However, if you have a personal reason for avoiding the AO3, you may post to LJ or DW. If you need this exception, please discuss it with me in advance.)
   
   
10. How will the “announcements” to LJ and DW work?
    As in past games, each author and/or the mod will post an "announcement" to the LJ and DW communities with the story header information and a link to the story on the AO3.
    • Please do write your own announcement in the format below and post it to the community queue on LJ, DW or both. (Why? Posting it yourself means that any comments on it go directly to you!)
    • I'll release your announcement(s) on LJ and DW after I release your story on the AO3.
    • If you don't create an announcement for LJ or DW or both, that’s okay! I'll create and post them for you.
    • Separately, I'll also post announcements to ForKni-L with links to the stories on the AO3.
    
    
    
11. How will visual artists participate?
    As part of signing up, all players will state (1) whether they wish to play as a writer or as a visual artist, and (2) whether they prefer to receive a story or a picture in answer to their prompts. (Most people will receive stories, regardless of preference, because most players will be writers.)
    
    All rules (including content rules) apply to visual artists exactly as to writers, with these medium-specific variations:
    • The picture must be created from scratch, not from screenshots. That is, all forms of original drawing and painting (whether by hand, mouse or other tool) are eligible, but manips and collages (which begin with existing images) are not eligible. (I make manips and collages myself. This is not a slam at those art forms! It's just a parameter for exchange gameplay.)
    • The image must be at least 500x500 pixels. There is no maximum.
    • The image must be hosted on the artist’s own webspace, somewhere the mod can see and confirm it in advance, but where it will not draw attention in advance that would spoil the reveal. (LJ and DW scrapbooks are okay! So is Deviantart.)
    • Using an “img” tag and an “a” tag, the AO3 post should display/embed a thumbnail that links to the full-sized image, if the AO3 layout doesn't accommodate the full-sized image itself. (People do this on the AO3 with vids all the time, and I've done it with stills, personally. It works.)
    • Please note that comic strips and animation drawn/painted from scratch are eligible, but vids from existing footage are not. (An FK vidfest would be a blast! But this isn't that.)
    
    
    
12. What's with all the jargon? -or- Help! I don't know the factions!
    Faction/affiliation names and other jargon from the PSU lists and the show itself are some of the joys of FK fandom! However, our special FK language has evolved through generations of fans. In our prompts, we should translate for each other, defining "Immortal Beloved" or "IB" as "Nick/Janette," for example. For more information on factions, check out the detailed "Factions" entry on the FK Wiki. Or … ask!

Posting

Post your story directly to the AO3. Posting to our community collection on the AO3 gives us many advantages! Perhaps the most popular advantage, however, is that authors are able to edit their stories while they sit in the queue. If you find a last-minute typo, or have a last-minute inspiration, you can get right in there before your story releases.

When you finish your story, please post it to the 2014 FKFicFest collection on the AO3. It's very important to add your story to the collection when you post! If you don't add it to the FKFicFest collection, your story will be visible to everyone immediately, instead of veiled as a “mystery story” until its turn comes. Please note that the parent FKFicFest collection is permanently closed; stories should always post to the applicable annual sub-collection (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014).

Steps:

1. Click the “Post New” button.
   
   
2. In the “Tags” block, select a rating and set any applicable warnings. Enter Forever Knight as the fandom and identify the correct category (gen, m/f, etc.). Further tagging (characters, relationships, etc.) is recommended but not required.
   
   
3. In the “Preface” block, enter your title and identify yourself as the author. A summary and notes are recommended but not required. (Note that clicking one of the two checkboxes for notes locations opens the text box for notes content.)
   
   
4. In the “Associations” block, enter “2014_FKFicFest” for “Post to Collections / Challenges.” THIS IS VITAL! Then enter your recipient’s AO3 username for “Gift this work to.” Select any of the other options that apply. (Don’t forget the “This work has multiple chapters” option, if applicable.)
   
   
5. In the “Work Text” block, paste your story. Note that you may work in “plain text with limited HTML” or click the “Rich Text” button.
   
   
6. In the “Post” block, consider using “Preview” before posting. Then post! Your story will be visible to you (and to me), but everyone else will see a “mystery work” until the reveal.

When the fest starts, I'll reveal 1 story per day (depending on the number of players). Many multi-fandom ficathons release all their stories at once in a great waterfall of fiction, but since we're all-FK here, we’ll enjoy a steady stream of stories and hope everyone finds time to read and comment on many of them!

Post your announcement to LJ and/or DW. Please write your own announcement in the format given below, and post it to the community queue on LJ, DW or both. I'll release your announcement(s) on LJ and DW after I release your story on the AO3. If you don't create an announcement for LJ or DW or both, that’s okay! I'll create and post them for you, based on the header information in your AO3 post.

Remember that LJ and DW use different username tags (“lj user=brightknightie” vs “user name=brightknightie”). If that’s confusing, just write the usernames in plain text.

Steps:

1. Give your announcement post a subject line with your title, rating and type (gen or pairing).
   
   
2. In the header text block, list at least your title, author, recipient, beta-reader, rating, and any warnings. (Any more is up to you.) The template is below, so you can copy-and-paste, and fill it in. Please note that we use the "white on white" warnings format, so that people can choose to avoid spoilers.
   <b>Title: </b> <b>Author: </b> <b>Beta-Reader: </b> <b>Recipient: </b> <b>Prompt: </b> <b>Length: </b> <b>Rating/Warnings: </b> InsertRatingHere. Highlight to view: *<span style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: #FFFFFF"> InsertWarningHere </span>*
   Tip: If your story is a crossover, also identify the other fandom!
   
   
3. After (under) the header block, type the title again, and link that to your story post on the AO3. You may want to put this link in bold, or center it on the page.
   
   
4. Select the applicable tags.
   
   
5. Check that your post is not friends-locked, and that it has the appropriate “adult content” setting if applicable.
   
   
6. Submit the post to the community.

The community is set to moderated posting on both LJ and DW. Your announcement post will go into the queue, and will stay there, invisible and unreachable, until I release it. (I can also delete posts from the queue as needed, but you can't update them once submitted.)

— Example Announcement Subject Lines and Headers —

Natalie's announcement post subject line and text might look like this:

Janette's announcement post subject line and text might look like this:

"Cause of Life" by Natlamb (PG, gen) (FK/SH) Title: "Cause of Life" Crossover: Forever Knight/Sleepy Hollow Author: Natlamb Beta-Reader: Raven2U Recipient: Plantsaretheanswer Prompt: Natalie & Katrina & Nick. "It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive" — Springsteen, "Badlands" Length: 1,300 words Rating/Warnings: PG-13. Highlight to view: * No Warnings * Summary: With Katrina's help, Natalie reconsiders Nick's "Near Death" insights about a cure, forgiveness and the door between worlds. “Cause of Life”

"A High-Walled Garden" by Raven2U (NC-17, m/f) Title: "A High-Walled Garden" Author: Raven2U Beta-Reader: Littlebear Recipient: DarkButton Prompt: Tracy/Vachon. Tracy's interest in past lives disturbs Vachon. Length: 3,481 words Characters: Tracy, Vachon, Nick, Urs, Reese, Natalie, Screed, Others Rating/Warnings: NC-17. Highlight to view: * explicit sex, explicit violence, character death * “A High-Walled Garden”

Tip: You can post your announcement to your own journal — set “private,” so no one else can see it! — before posting it to the community queue. This lets you check its appearance and link.

Signing Up

To sign up for this game, reply to this post with your answers to the little form below. Please list a reasonable number of characters for your writer/artist, and remember that your writer/artist may also include any other character(s) he or she wishes to write/draw. If you include a crossover request, please understand that your writer/artist may not know your crossover fandom(s).

(There's space to state what you'd rather not receive or create. Please don't bash other characters, pairings or factions; please do say clearly when they don’t happen to be your cup of Ribena.)

The Sign-Up Template:
<b>LJ Username</b>: <b>DW Username</b>: <b>AO3 Username</b>: <b>Email Address</b>: <b>Are you playing as a Writer or as a Visual Artist</b>? ~~~~~~~~~~ FOR YOUR WRITER/ARTIST TO SEE <b>REQUIRED: Gen Request</b> <b>Characters</b>: <b>Prompt</b>: <b>REQUIRED: Pairing Request</b> <b>Characters</b>: <b>Prompt</b>: <b>REQUIRED: Wildcard Request</b> <b>Characters</b>: <b>Prompt</b>: <b>OPTIONAL: Crossover Request</b> <b>Fandom(s)</b>: <b>Characters</b>: <b>Prompt</b>: <b>Faction/Affiliation or Favorite Character</b>: <b>Preferred Ratings Range (G/PG/PG13/R/NC17)</b>: <b>5 Things You LOVE To Read</b>: <b>5 Things You AVOID Reading</b>: <b>Optional: If you have a "Dear Author" letter, share its URL here</b>: ~~~~~~~~~~ FOR YOUR MOD TO USE <b>3 Things You Will NOT Create</b>: <b>3 Things You LOVE To Create</b>: <b>Are you willing to be a back-up writer/artist?</b> <b>Do you prefer to receive a story or a picture in reply to your prompts?</b> <b>How much do you want to write/draw a crossover?</b> <b>If you're willing to write/draw a crossover, please name up to 3 fandoms in which you'd enjoy doing that</b>: ~~~~~~~~~~

— Example Sign-Ups —

If Nick were playing with us, his sign-up might look like this:

If Lacroix were playing with us, his sign-up might look like this:

LJ Username: NBK DW Username: not applicable AO3 Username: NickBK Email Address: nknight@metropd.gov.ca Are you playing as a Writer or as a Visual Artist? Visual Artist ~~~~~~~~~~ FOR YOUR WRITER TO SEE REQUIRED: Gen Request Characters: Natalie, Schanke, Nick Prompt: “True is it that we have seen better days . . . therefore sit you down in gentleness” -- Shakespeare REQUIRED: Pairing Request Characters: Emily/Nick Prompt: What if Emily Weiss (from “Stranger Than Fiction”) regained her memory? REQUIRED: Wildcard Request Characters: Lacroix Prompt: Nero, Charlemagne and Genghis Kahn OPTIONAL: Crossover Request No, thank you. Faction/Affiliation or Favorite Character: Die-Hard (Refuse to Choose) Preferred Ratings Range: ~PG-13 5 Things You LOVE To Read: angst with hope, Nick regaining mortality, historical fiction, spiritual struggles, automotive trivia 5 Things You AVOID Reading: non-con, evil triumphant, Nick embracing vampirism, Valentine (Lacroix/Natalie), Lacroix inside Nick's mind ~~~~~~~~~~ FOR YOUR MOD TO USE 3 Things You Will NOT Create: non-con, humor, Nick killing people 3 Things You LOVE To Create: introspection, baseball, characters who are musicians or artists like Nick Are you willing to be a back-up writer/artist? No Do you prefer to receive a story or a picture in reply to your prompts? Story How much do you want to write/draw a crossover? Not at all If you're willing to write/draw a crossover, please name up to 3 fandoms in which you'd enjoy doing that: Knight Rider (1982) ~~~~~~~~~~

LJ/DW/AO3 Username: Rosebud Email Address: rosebud@freenet.to.ca Are you playing as a Writer or as a Visual Artist? Writer ~~~~~~~~~~ FOR YOUR WRITER TO SEE REQUIRED: Gen Request Characters: Lacroix & Nick Prompt: The Nightcrawler wins a major broadcasting award. Nicholas is impressed. The Enforcers are not. REQUIRED: Pairing Request Characters: Lacroix/Nick Prompt: What if Janette, instead of Lacroix, had brought Nick across in 1228? REQUIRED: Wildcard Request Characters: Nick/Janette & Lacroix -or- Lacroix/Nick & Janette -or- Lacroix/Nick/Janette Prompt: a box full of letters or photographs OPTIONAL: Crossover Request Fandom(s): MCU or The X-Files Characters: Lacroix & Fury -or- Lacroix & Skinner Prompt: "Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead." Faction/Affiliation or Favorite Character: Cousin, UF, Valentine, Faithful, Seducer, Dark Knightie… Preferred Ratings Range: No limits 5 Things You LOVE To Read: plot, metaphor, Nicholas embracing vampirism, Lacroix winning, vampire eroticism 5 Things You AVOID Reading: fluff, Nicholas regaining mortality, Lacroix stymied, Nicholas/Natalie, mpreg Dear Author Letter: http://www.cerk.com/rosebud/likesdislikes.html ~~~~~~~~~~ FOR YOUR MOD TO USE 3 Things You Will NOT Create: Nicholas regaining humanity, Nicholas romancing a mortal successfully, "Lite" Lacroix 3 Things You LOVE To Create: Nicholas/Janette, Nicholas embracing vampirism, monologues Are you willing to be a back-up writer/artist? Yes Do you prefer to receive a story or a picture in reply to your prompts? Either is fine How much do you want to write/draw a crossover? Neutral If you're willing to write/draw a crossover, please name up to 3 fandoms in which you'd enjoy doing that: Person of Interest, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, First Century CE RPF ~~~~~~~~~~

Want to know more about your recipient's preferences? Check out your recipient's blog or fanfic! If you have friends in common, you might ask them. But please try to keep secret from your recipient that you're the one. Your story will be a surprise gift to your specific recipient (as well as a treat for all FK fanfic readers).

Thank you very much for playing! It'll be fun! Yay, Forever Knight! Yay, Forever Knight fans!

———

Don't forget to join the community journal(s), and to watch the admin posts! All reminders will be posted on LJ and DW.

Crossposted on LJ