Nunkies Anonymous
| Forever Knight Faction | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Nunkies Anonymous members are called "Addicts" |
| Abbreviation: | NA |
| Date(s): | 1997 - present |
| Leaders: | Bonnie Rutledge |
| Founder: | |
| Type: | character-focused, writing group (parody/humour) |
| Focus: | LaCroix |
| Wars: | 8-12 |
| Community: | NunkiesAnonymous Yahoo!Group |
| URL: | Nunkies Anonymous Jewelled Peach (fanfic archive) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Nunkies Anonymous is a Forever Knight faction for fans who are addicted to LaCroix.[1] The name is derived from the word "nunkies", a pet name for "uncle". (It should be explained that "Uncle" is a common way for Forever Knight fans to refer to LaCroix.)
Members of the faction often refer to themselves as Nunkies Addicts, or simply Addicts. For convenience, the name of the faction is often abbreviated to NA.
Faction List and Groups
Nunkies Anonymous has a Yahoo!Group, NunkiesAnonymous, that was started in 2001.
Faction Websites
The eponymous faction website includes, among other things, screen and sound capture archives and a diagram of the faction headquarters, the Nunkies Shrine. The faction also has a separate fiction archive, The Jewelled Peach, whose name refers to a line in one of LaCroix's monologues. The webmistress for both sites is Bonnie Rutledge.
- Nunkies Anonymous - main faction site (website location)
- The Jewelled Peach - fiction archive (website location)
- We Come in Peach - War 12 website (website location)
History[2]
The roots of the Nunkies Anonymous faction lie in a series of comedic fan fiction written by Nancy Young (among other contributors). The name Nunkies Anonymous first appeared in the story, "Noctambulist IV"[1], where the organization was referred to as a Twelve Steps program for people addicted to LaCroix, who was suing them for defamation of character. Presented as a late-breaking news item, the entry included the following passage:
My client strongly objects to the 'goody-goody' image of him which this programme fosters in people. It's definitely bad for business," said barrister Ann Lipton, a member of LaCroix's legal team. When asked to elaborate, Ms. Lipton declined to answer, explaining that it will be a subject for the courtroom, should the case proceed to trial.
Meanwhile, counsel for Nunkies Anonymous are hoping to reach an out-of-court settlement. "No offense or injury was intended," said Ms. Annie Raper, founder of the self-help group. "The members of this organisation are very fond of Mr. LaCroix. In fact, Nunkies Anonymous aims to help the addicted adjust their sugar-coated view of him. We feel that this is simply the result of a misunderstanding on the part of Mr. LaCroix's advisors." -- from "Noctambulist IV"
"Noctambulist IV" was posted to FKFIC-L in December 1996. The actual NA faction then started as an e-mail loop of people who enjoyed this sort of fan fiction, and contributed additional humorous pieces. Membership ran parallel with that of the Cousins, since many members of the NA were members of that faction as well (though there were also a few Ratpackers and Vaqueras).
As Bonnie Rutledge put it in an e-mail to [email protected], 10 March 2011, "Nunkies Anonymous has always been irreverent in spirit."
At one time, Bonnie Rutledge received a cease-and-desist notice from Narcotics Anonymous regarding the faction's use of the abbreviation "NA" in their logos, and making fun of 12-Step programs. As a result, she largely switched to using "NunkAnon" as the shorthand for the faction name. Few others have followed suit.[3]
Peach References
The members of the NA were taken by a line in LaCroix's monologue in the series finale, "Last Knight", in which he says, "Life is a gift. As sweet as a ripe peach, as precious as a gilded jewel..." Thus the name of the faction's fan fiction archive is The Jewelled Peach, and their war site for War 12 was given the name We Come in Peach. Peach references abound.
FK Wars
The Nunkies Anonymous faction first took part in War 8 (June 1997). Thereafter, until War 12, they regularly participated as a separate faction.
The faction headquarters of the NA is the Nunkies Shrine. This was destroyed in War 11; and, in War 12, the faction threw a carnival mid-war in an attempt to raise money to rebuild it. However, in War 13, all but one of the NA members played with the Cousins; and the remaining member, Bonnie Rutledge, stayed with them at their headquarters, CERK Radio Station.
The faction also owns a restaurant, the Jewelled Peach. In War 13, because the restaurant's activities had been legally restricted because of all the trouble there, it opened a small branch in the lobby at CERK for the duration of the war.
Characteristics
Various attempts have been made to distinguish the NA from the Cousins. The "What's in a name -- that's what I wanna know!" thread on [email protected] in November 2001 included the following:
- "The Cousins are LC's followers in general. Nunkies (from the slang "nunk" for uncle, of course) like to kid about their er, worship of LC." - Lisa McDavid, 5 November 2001
- "Without trying to start a war :), it looks from my viewpoint as though [the Nunkies Anonymous] relate to LC as if they were dogs -- or at least at his orders -- whereas Cousins are more like cats. Especially when it comes to trying to get us to do anything together. <g>"
- This elicited the response: "Ok McLisa gets 20 lashes with a wet noodle. To tell the truth I never thought of it this way, but it fits." - Desiree, 5 November 2001
- "From what I've read, I got the impression that NA are slavishly-infatuated fans (see the drool cups) who also kind of girl-bond with each other (down to, and including, the pub crawls and catfights), while the Cousins sound more like the admirers who are a bit in awe of Lacroix and who might secretly want to be more like him..." - Brenda Bell, 6 November 2001
Faction Icon
In 2012, Greer Watson created an icon for the Nunkies Anonymous as part of her project to create a set of icons for all the Forever Knight factions. The design composits a screen capture of LaCroix with a large picture of a peach (in lieu of an official faction symbol).[2]
References
- ^ The contents of this article have largely been adapted from the article on the Nunkies Anonymous in the Forever Knight Wiki.
- ^ This information was supplied by Bonnie Rutledge in an e-mail to [email protected] on 10 March 2011.
- ^ Information supplied by Bonnie Rutledge in an e-mail sent to [email protected] on 10 March 2011.