Sleeping Among Us

Zine
Title:	Sleeping Among Us
Publisher:	Knightwriter, Greycloud Services
Editor(s):	Janet Ellicott
Date(s):	undated
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Highlander
Language:	English
External Links:	archived online flyer
	Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
	Contents 1 Issue 1; 2 Issue 2; 3 Issue 3; 4 Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3; 5 Issue 4; 6 Issue 5; 7 Special Edition 1; 8 Special Edition 2; 9 Special Edition 3; 10 Special Edition 4; 11 Sleeping Among Us: The Collected Volumes; 12 Sleeping Among Us: Special Editions Collected; 13 References;

Sleeping Among Us is a slash Highlander anthology.

It is a sister zine to Hiding Among Us.

Several issues contain this statement: "WARNING. The stories in this zine depict a homosexual relationship. Please do not buy it if you object to this premise.

There is also a collected volume issue that incorporates the first five regular issues. See Sleeping Among Us: The Collected Volumes.

There is also a collected volume that contains the Sleeping Among Us: Special Editions Collected.

Issue 1

Sleeping Among Us 1 contains 103 pages. It is not dated.

cover of issue #1

All fiction is by Rowan.

Watching ("Joe Dawson is surprised to discover that Duncan is in love again, with a most unlikely person.) (3)
Better than a Quickening (When Duncan wakes up in bed with Methos, he has to think back to the circumstances which got him there.") (4)
Interlude ("A missing scene from "Deliverance". Duncan is himself again but Methos wants to make absolutely sure and Duncan can't kill him while they're still on Holy Ground.") (8)
Ah, Paris! ("Joe is delighted when Amanda's Watcher ends up in his bed. He assumes Amanda is in Duncan's. What he doesn't know is that someone else is also there.") (10)
Retribution ("Methos has his own reasons for wanting Kristen dead. And, while he has accepted an invitation to stay at the loft, he doesn't intend to sleep on the couch.") (13)
Disclosures ("Richie has questions for his mentor and is surprised at some of the answers.) (20)
House Guest (Methos has taken Kristen's head but the quickening wasn't enough. He has certain needs and only Duncan is available.") (24)
Making Up ("Duncan has been much too hard on Richie, training him hard enough to kill a mortal. When he tries to make amends, Richie is surprised to discover that he has been covering his true feelings.") (28)
Seduction ("When Methos keeps a promise, cooking Duncan a promised meal, Duncan wants to know why.") (33)
Practical Experience ("A postscript to "Prodigal Son". Richie isn't quite drunk enough to forget what a quickening usually did to Duncan. On the barge, they share some memories of past quickenings, Duncan's and Connor's.") (40)
Who Watches the Watchers? ("Connor comes to the States in search of Methos. He has pieced together some memories and legends, and wants answers. He also wants to know where Duncan met his new Immortal friend, and exactly what their relationship is. Methos, on the other hand, has decided that there are things Duncan needs to know, Duncan, Richie and Joe. And there are headhunters in town. Four Immortals together are too much of a temptation.") (49)

Issue 2

cover of issue #2

Sleeping Among Us 2 contains 86 pages. It is not dated.

Attraction by Rowan ("Duncan had gone back to the States to put some distance between himself and the older Immortal but Methos had followed him, and he seemed to be deliberately fanning the attraction between them.") (3)
Reparation by Rowan ("The last time they met, Duncan had tried to take Richie's head. He had to do something to restore their friendship and perhaps send it in a different direction.") (9)
A Different Kind of Game by Rowan (A sequel to "Finale") ("Amanda had gone and Methos dropped by the barge with something more than friendship on his mind. After a pleasant day together, he let Duncan know what was on his mind.") (25)
Surprises by Jan ("When Duncan returned from a trip, he knew at once that there was another Immortal in the loft. Going inside, he discovered Richie and Methos in bed together, and their reason for what they'd done was even more of a surprise.") (30)
Innocence Regained by Rowan ("Things were better between them after Clay's death but there were still things to be discussed. After leaving Joe's, Richie went over to the dojo to make Duncan talk about them.") (37)
Fantasies Fulfilled by Rowan. A missing scene from "They Also Serve". ("Michael Christian was dead but the whole thing had given Richie a bad scare. It was about time he told Duncan something about his feelings.") (46)
Payback ("Sometimes an Immortal had his heart set on a certain head. Thomas Bosanquet wanted Darius. To get him off Holy Ground, he decided to go after Duncan and, to get to Duncan, he used Richie. But it wasn't only Richie. Bosanquet had also abducted a former pupil of his own, a young Immortal who was no longer the cowed child he had been, though he had not yet taken a head. While half the Immortals in Paris were looking for them, Robert was plotting his own escape, and planning to take Richie with him.") (54)

Issue 3

cover of issue #3

Sleeping Among Us 3 contains 98 pages.

Renewal by Rowan ("The morning after he'd taken Harrish Clay's head, Duncan woke with the feeling that he'd done something he shouldn't have done. Richie was asleep beside him and it was pretty obvious what they'd been doing before they went to sleep.") (3)
Something Old by Rowan ("Methos had no choice when he took Shane Richardson's head, but Duncan was out of town and Richie knew what Duncan needed after a quickening. He went over to the dojo to see if he could help. After all, there was something very mysterious about Adam Pierson. However he behaved, he had the power of an Immortal even older than Kamir.") (7)
Forsaking all Evil by Merlin ("Kuyler's quickening left Duncan with a problem Tessa couldn't help him with. Kuyler was a homosexual and Duncan needed to have sex with another man.") (21)
Changes by Rowan ("Richie didn't have anywhere to stay, so Duncan took him back to the barge, and told him about the Horsemen. Richie already knew.") (38)
Forgiveness by Rowan ("When Duncan went to St Joseph's, he was surprised to find Methos already there. Darius was dead, but there was a chance to repair his friendship with someone else.") (41)
I Am the One by Katareya ("Alone in bed, Methos has a ghostly visitor.") (47)
In the Beginning by Janus ("With Tessa and Duncan away, Connor decides to track Richie down.") (53)
Darkness by Rowan ("Joe knew there was something wrong with the quickening but Methos disappeared before he could question him. In the end, he had to call in Duncan to help their friend, but Duncan had other things on his mind, and what Methos really needed was something Duncan couldn't - or wouldn't - give him.") (70)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

[In the Beginning]: I read an excellent Connor/Richie story in the British fanzine Sleeping Among Us 3 called "In The Beginning" by Janus. The premise is that Connor fell in love with Richie at first sight during "The Gathering". I know this may sound unlikely, but the author made it believable. ^[1]

Issue 4

cover of issue #4

Sleeping Among Us 4 is a collection of 8 stories and 82 pages long.

Friendship Resumed by Rowan ("Clay wad dead. Duncan hoped that his friendship with Richie hadn't gone the same way.") (3)
New Year Party by Rowan ("For an orphan, New Year was like Christmas, nothing to celebrate. Richie was delighted to be invited to spend the evening with Duncan, but Duncan had undisclosed plans for him, plans which Methos was happy to go along with.") (8)
Surprise Reunion by Rowan ("Richie was surprised to meet Methos drowning his sorrows in a bar, and even more surprised to learn the reason.") (17)
Ah, Flamenco by Rowan ("After the quickening, the dance of love.") (23)
Role Reversal by Rowan ("There was one thing which Duncan couldn't teach Richie, and it was something Richie decided to teach him.") (25)
Who are You Kidding? by Rowan ("Methos and Duncan were in competition, for Richie!") (33)
Once Begun by Janus (A sequel to "In the Beginning".) (40)
Rescue by Rowan ("Lucas Carroll liked to torture young Immortals before taking their quickening. Methos found Richie before he could lose his head, but Carroll had left Duncan with a massive problem on his hands.") (56)

Issue 5

cover of issue #5

Sleeping Among Us 5 is a collection of 4 stories and 82 pages long.

Chains of Love by Rowan ("Marina had kidnapped him and tied him to a bed, and Richie thought that was a good basis for a relationship. Duncan thought he had it coming.") (3)
Peace Talks by Rowan ("After the meeting in the graveyard, Duncan asked Methos to go back to Paris with him. They had a lot of talking - and forgiving - to do if their relationship was ever going to be rebuilt, and Kronos didn't want them to rebuild.") (8)
Lost Innocence by Merlin ("Duncan needed certain things after a quickening. When he took Sheriff Crowley's head, Tessa was back home and he had only a young pre-Immortal for company.") (39)
Buried Memories by Rowan (A sequel to "Payback" which appeared in "Sleeping Among Us 2" - "Richie had told Duncan his true feelings once and had no intention of doing so again. But Robert kept insisting, Richie was still getting nightmares and then there was Duncan's feelings to consider.") (47)

Special Edition 1

Sleeping Among Us Special Edition 1 is a 70-page novel by Rowen called "Rage Against the Dying of the Light."

Summary from the publisher:

Alexander is one of the few truly old Immortals left. He is also one of the truly evil Immortals. When Methos goes head hunting, he kills one of Alexander's students instead, a younger Immortal who shared his mentor's tastes, and it is left to Duncan to search for Alexander, while Richie and Methos protect the two not-yet-Immortals they've rescued from Alexander. Both the dead Immortals were child molesters and their quickenings, while not exactly dark, are definitely grey. Duncan has the sense to talk to a counsellor and then go to Connor for comfort but Methos doesn't have any family left. And the problem isn't just mental. Both Duncan and Methos have been left impotent by their quickenings. Reluctantly, Methos agrees to a shared holiday but impotence isn't the only problem: if Duncan can't make Methos talk about his inherited memories, he wil never recover, and Methos seems much more interested in being the comforter than in accepting comfort himself.

Special Edition 2

cover of Special Edition issue #2

Sleeping Among Us Special Edition 2 is a 101-page novel by Rowan called "Demons."

Summary from the publisher:

A possible sequel to "Archangel. They had all seen it but, when Duncan and Methos went back to bury Richie's body, there was no body. When Richie turned up on the barge a little while later, Methos was forced to admit what he had known for some time - Kronos' Quickening had been a bad one, and it was exactly what the demon needed, two Immortals who were no longer in control of their own minds. Duncan was not the only one who had a demon to fight: Methos had to fight the demon which had once been his closest friend, his lover and his obsession: Kronos...

Special Edition 3

cover of Special Edition issue #3

Sleeping Among Us Special Edition 3 has the subtitle: "Teacher's Pet". It is 98 pages long and an anthology of fiction by Rowan.

Summary from the publisher:

Methos is beginning to think that it's time he took a pupil again. He doesn't want a newborn, however, and Richie has started to think of looking for a second teacher to teach him the advanced stuff. It seems a perfect match, to everyone except Duncan.

Special Edition 4

Sleeping Among Us Special Edition 4 is a 68-page novel by Rowan called "Forced End." It is not dated.

This zine premiered at Homeland Albacon in 1998.

cover of Special Edition #4

Summary from the publisher:

The Governments of the world have found out about Immortals and see in them an unstoppable work force. Richie is captured in the first US roundup and imprisoned in one of the first camps. Later, after he has been moved to a more secure prison, Duncan joins him. Duncan has had Joe alter the Watchers' records so that it looks as though they are lovers and, once Richie has recovered from the shock, he pairs off with his teacher, which gives their captors a hold over both of them. Richie's work is brought to him in the camp and Duncan is sent out on espionage and courier assignments. Meanwhile, Methos has been persuaded to do more than add his name to the resistance and is working to free Duncan so that he can hand over the work to the Highlander.