Knighties
| Forever Knight Faction | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Knighties |
| Abbreviation: | |
| Date(s): | late 1993 to present |
| Leaders: | |
| Founder: | |
| Type: | original faction |
| Focus: | Nick Knight |
| Wars: | all |
| Community: | Knighties Yahoo!Group |
| URL: | Forever Knighties! earlier site |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
[1] The Knighties are a faction of Forever Knight fandom comprising fans who declare an affiliation with Nick Knight. This is one of the original six factions that took part in the first Forever Knight War.
The Knighties' faction symbol is a knight in armour.
Faction History
The creation of a faction for Nick was prompted by the establishment of the Cousins as followers of LaCroix. However, in the period prior to the first Forever Knight War, discussion on the FORKNI-L list had not quite settled on the best name for Nick's faction. Another proposed name was Nicholaaahs. This was used by some participants during the first War; but the name "Knighties" had been fully established by the time of the second War.
As one of the first factions to be created, the Knighties are simply affiliated with Nick. Initially, this resulted in various shades of interpretation. However, it shortly became clear that only a minority of the members preferred the idea of Nick embracing his vampire side. Eventually these fans broke away to form a fraction faction, the Dark Knighties. Subsequently, the Knights de Soir a/k/a Twilight Knighties was created by fans who preferred to balance Nick's dark and light sides. Although the term "Light Knighties" has occasionally been used contrastively, it is rare. Rather, as a consequence of the fractionalization, the original Knighties faction has itself become primarily focused on Nick's "lighter" side—in particular, supporting his desire to return to mortality.
Within Forever Knight fandom there have always been fans who explicitly enjoy considering Nick Knight's physical attractions; and, not surprisingly, these have been particularly found among the Knighties. For this reason, there have sometimes been loops and groups within the faction who have dubbed themselves with semi-official (typically tongue-in-cheek) subfactional names. Examples include the See-Through Knighties (in the late '90s) and Knaughtie Knighties (current).
Nicknames
Some fans who identify themselves as members of the faction have, at least during war, adapted the Cousins' habit of nomenclature, and prefix their personal name or pseudonym with "Knightie" (e.g. Knightie Nat, Knightie Katrinka). This is particularly likely if there is a risk of ambiguity: if, for example, there is a player in another faction with the same first name.
Faction Groups
The faction has a Yahoo!Group, Knighties Yahoo!Group, that was founded 29 June 1999.
Faction Websites
Characteristics
Each Forever Knight faction has its own characteristics, and tends to appeal more to some fans than others. As Nick is the hero of the show, the Knighties naturally attract many people who are not especially interested in joining one of the more specialized factions.
[...] I think a lot of us relate to hating something about ourselves, to finding something that we wish we could change, but seems impossible. [...] Nick hates being a vampire, he wants out of a nearly impossible situation. When he has had brief successes ("The Fix"), he always reverts back. I think a lot of people can relate that to something in their own lives.
As well, there are a number of fans who consider Nick (or the actor playing him) to be notably good-looking, and have a bit of a crush on him. These fans may join the Knighties in order to rave about him on the faction list; and they may choose to participate with that faction in war in order to "meet" him, if only in fiction.
- At the beginning of War 2, Janette is "administrative assistant" in charge of all the fan mail from people declaring their affiliation. She expresses her frustration to Nick, identifying the type of letter from each faction. Of a letter from a prospective Knightie, she says, "Half the information's missing, and the half that's there is on the wrong line, or makes no sense whatsoever...."
Forever Knight Wars
The Knighties have participated in all the Forever Knight Wars. Although they generally field a relatively large number of players and always participate in the main story arc of the war, they tend not to take the initiative in inter-faction rivalries. However, they readily respond when attacked, enthusiastically playing their own pranks on whichever rival faction has targeted them. A series of such attacks and counter-attacks comprised the very first War, and has been a traditional War activity ever since.
Because the Knighties support Nick's quest to return to the mortal condition, they are in natural opposition to those factions that support other vampire characters—especially the Cousins, who support LaCroix (who canonically wishes Nick to abandon his quest and embrace his vampire side). In particular, in those Wars whose plot involves a potential cure for the vampire condition, Knighties seek to discover it, while the Cousins strive to thwart them.
Nevertheless, a significant proportion of Knightie war posts also relate their own interactions, i.e. activities that involve only members of the faction itself. From this perspective, a War is essentially a reunion not unlike that of a group of sorority sisters, and takes the form of a rather overcrowded, two-week-long sleepover. While some participants will have been in many previous Wars, others will be relative newcomers; yet all have much in common, and strangers quickly become friends.
Participating Knighties stay at Nick's loft, crashing on the floor of the living room and cooking for themselves in his kitchen. They are aware of the fact that they are descending on their host without warning (albeit having have a tacit, standing invitation), and that their numbers can be more than a little overwhelming. Nevertheless, their posts make it clear that Nick is willing to have them stay, and enjoys meeting his fans. Indeed, some Knighties make sure to write themselves a one-on-one war post in which they talk to Nick on their own. (However, it should be noted that these encounters are chaste, though the writer makes it clear that she has a crush on Nick, of which he is usually aware). Nick is always gentle with the feelings of his fans.
In many Wars, part of the Knighties' communal faction activities involve shopping (typically for food, party clothes, and war supplies) using platinum credit cards supplied by Nick, drawing on his vast fortune.
Faction Symbol
A knight in armour suitable for the thirteenth century, including sword, shield, and great helm. The original version of this symbol appears on the Cousins' affiliation pin.
Faction Icon
In 2012, Greer Watson created an icon for the Knighties as part of her project to create a set of icons for all the Forever Knight factions. The design composits a screen capture of Nick with a Great Helm and sword (upper left and centre) and the CN Tower and a wallet with police ID (lower left and centre). The former not only represent Nick's past as a Crusader, but also relate to the original faction symbol. The latter represent Nick's present as a police detective in Toronto.
References
- ^ This information is largely drawn from the article "Knighties" in the Forever Knight Wiki.
- ^ Excerpted from the post, "Re: Knighties?", on [email protected], 16 October 2013.