Keep in mind this will have to be posted in increments so bare with me...
Folc4evernadayShow time!
2018 marks 25 years since Lois and Clark the New Adventures of Superman aired on television. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the Kerths. This show brought to life the romance between our favorite duo and made us root for the man behind the suit, Clark Kent. This was the first portrayal that showed Clark Kent as the person and Superman as the disguise. Obviously this was a successful gamble given how there are still fans around over twenty years after the show is off the air.
There were 73 eligible stories this year and after our first round of voting, we narrowed those down to 68. 68 stories were voted on, read and finalized into our list of winners. We also decided to change things up a little. This year saw not only the return of several categories but we also brought about the arrival of many new categories. We’ve gone from 10 categories to 22. A huge thank you goes to the voters who painstakingly raked through the 68 stories to help give us our final list of winners. We’d also like to say thank you to everyone that’s volunteered and helped us piece this ceremony together. The authors, the presenters, and the presentation writers. Thank you. Without everyone’s willingness we would not be able to put together a Kerth Ceremony for you each year. Speaking of ceremonies, let’s get started with our first presenter…Cuidadora who has graciously stepped in to present this year’s Best New Author award.
CuidadoraIt’s my honor to again present the Best New Author award. I’m sorry that last year’s winner, Nivafrer, couldn’t present this year due to a family emergency.
Twenty years after the first Kerth Awards in 1998, this year we welcomed three new authors. That’s one more than 2017! It’s amazing that this fandom is continuing to grow, over two decades after the show went off the air. And we also welcomed back several authors who had taken a leave of absence. Welcome to you all!
This years new authors are all talented. Each one gave us an astounding debut! Two gave us not one story, but a series of two stories, while the third author’s debut is a mid-length story. Impressive submissions—let alone first submissions—from all three!
CarrieRene wrote the “Caught in the Act Series,” with “500 Miles” and “Caught in the Act.” She gave us humorous glimpses into married life and songs with our favorite couple.
Millefeuilles wrote the “Blooming Time Series,” her Season 1 Finale remake. She showed us in both “Blooming Time” and “Revealing Time” not only “the” revelation, but also a revelation of Lois’s true feelings.
And Opportunemoment debuted with “The Body For It.” Another unique revelation when Spiderman appears unexpectedly in Metropolis, and Clark discovers who his friends are when he needs help because an informant may be unscrupulous.
Congratulations to each of you. Not only did you write amazing stories, but for your first time out they were each nominated for more than one category! We’re hoping that you all continue to write and post more LnC stories!
It is an honor and pleasure to present the 2018 Kerth New Author: Millefeuilles. Congratulations!
Millefeuilles*** Hugs husband, and stumbles to the stage, then takes the microphone. ***
Millefeuilles Oh, la la… Are you quite sure we’re not having an Oscar moment?
I don’t know what to say, except “Merci”. Thank you! I’m very proud and honored to receive this award for my two first stories in this fandom. I’ve been a faithful reader of the archives for years, and it means quite a lot to me to join such a talented bunch of writers. So, merci!
Folc4evernaday We promise you are this year's Best New Author
Millefeuilles Thank you.... I could never have submitted my fics without my fantastic Betas Cuidadora and Folc4evernday: they were always patient and encouraging, corrected without grumbling at my exotic phrasing, and were the best Beta I could dream of. So, this award is also yours, guys! “Blooming Time” evolved from a sentence I imagined Lois saying to Superman, asking him to listen to her “as if he had no powers, as if he were just an ordinary man leading an ordinary life”. Then, the fic took a life of its own, and I had to write it down.
I wouldn’t have written “Revealing Time” without Queen of the Capes and Morgana’s prompts to write a sequel. So, thank you, both of you, for your kind comments that spawned this sequel.
Last, and not least, thank you to all the FoLCs, old hands and new ones, for keeping this fandom alive, with your myriad talents.
Folc4evernaday Congratulations again Mille! It is well deserved. We have a great show planned for everyone tonight and we hope a few surprise guests. Our next presenter….
Ralph: That’s right everyone this year they pulled in the big guns. Me!
Folc4evernaday Ralph. Would you just get to the point already?
Ralph: See I’m the best there is. That’s why I’m presenting the best…(frowns looking at envelope) Uh, Super-Short category? No, that can’t be right. I was told I was doing the best overall. You know, the big one.
Folc4evernaday We selected categories that went best with the, uh, presenters.
Ralph: And you think I’m SUPER-SHORT?
Folc4evernaday Well, you do come across as ….
Ralph: As what?
Folc4evernaday As well, um, how do I put this?
Morgana Hey, What's going on here? I thought we were presenting the super-short category?
Folc4evernaday Slight difficulty here. (looks at Ralph)
Morgana (Shrugs) I'll take it from here
Folc4evernaday (excited) You will?
Ralph: Hey!
Morgana Welcome, gentle FoLCs. The authors of this year’s Super Short stories showed that a talented writer does not need a plethora of words to evoke reactions from a simple smile to strong emotions in readers. I will try to follow their lead by making this presentation brief.
CarrieRene illustrated in 500 Miles that even horribly off-key singing can sound sweet if one loves the singer.
What would have happened in Sex, Lies, and Videotape if Lois and Clark were Being More Discreet? Our favourite couple were perhaps more in character in Mrs. Mxyzptlk’s story than in canon itself.
According to Framework4’s Brainstorming, it takes a village to keep Superman’s secret safe, but it only takes one to spill it.
In CarrieRene’s Caught in the Act, we see through Clark’s eyes a moment in which Lois lets her guard down and simply has some fun.
Only someone who is chumpy would believe that Lois would hesitate about Changing the Game when things don’t go her way. NostalgiaKick’s rewrite of her story shows us that Lois applies this philosophy not just to Scrabble, but also to love.
In NostalgiaKick’s Family, Lois helps Clark gain some much-needed perspective; in her story Fresh Eyes, it is Lois herself whose perspective has changed.
Heat Vision can have more versatile uses than one might at first suspect. Framework4’s Superman has perfected some of them.
In Cuidadora’s In His Arms, both Lois and Clark believe that Superman needs another to exist, but they differ in who that second person is.
The title of Deadly Chakram’s It Can’t Be Unseen leaves one wondering until the very end what, precisely, “it” is. If you don’t know, then go read her story (after the ceremony, of course) ; I’m not about to give “it” away.
We all saw the struggle Clark had to show restraint after Lois’s Dance of the Seven Veils, but in NostalgiaKick’s Mercy, we get to “hear” Clark’s struggle between his desires and his morals.
NostalgiaKick shares with us that even a Superman needs a friend to turn to when he is feeling Overwhelmed.
Perry White meets some familiar faces from the past in Dandello’s Passing Time/Crossing Time.
When Lois discovers Clark’s secret, she decides it’s time for some Payback. Guess who wrote this one? Yup, another story by NostalgiaKick. (This is becoming the NostalgiaKick show. ;-))
And in Protecting Lois (also by you-know-who), Clark secretly celebrates the fact that although Lois calls for Superman for physical protection, she turns to Clark for everything else.
Oh, look at this… A different author. Our favourite show would have unfolded quite differently had Superman changed the Rules of Engagement as he did in Framework4’s story.
The Winner for Best Super-Short is .. It Can't Be Unseen by Deadly Chakram!
Deadly Chakram Wow, thank you, everyone, for voting for this fic. This one was one of those weird “shower thought” kind of inspirations. It came out of nowhere, but it amused me so much that I had to work on it that night. Still, everyone has a different sense of humor. Just because the idea of Clark making a rescue where he did (I won’t spoil it for those who might not have read it yet) made me laugh until I cried, didn’t mean that anyone else would appreciate the humor. Then there was the fact that my muse…well, she tends to stray far away from super short stories. She likes her tales on the longer side (which doesn’t help me get much produced lately). So it really means a lot to me that you all used your precious votes to vote for my story. Perhaps it will help my muse be a little less shy when it comes to comedy. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Folc4evernaday Congratulations to our Super-Short Winner, Vicki. Our next category is the Short Category and…
Lana Lang: First, I’d like to thank all the little people out there in Smallville that helped make this possible and most of all I’d like to…
Folc4evernaday Lana, what are you doing?
Lana Lang: Practicing my acceptance speech silly. You didn’t think I’d just wing it did you?’
Folc4evernaday Acceptance speech? No, you’re supposed to help PRESENT the award.
Lana Lang: Oh. (huff) I see. Well, then WHO is the winner? I hope you’re not giving it to some amateur...I’ve been doing this for…
Jerry White:Are you ALWAYS like this?
Lana Lang: Who are you?
Jerry White: Your co-presenter. (holds up envelope)
Lana Lang: No, no, no, I work alone.
Jerry White: Not today you don’t. (turns to audience) Sorry about the delay folks.
Lana Lang: (Harsh whisper) What are you doing?? I’m not ready.
Jerry White: (whispers) Get ready. (turns to audience) This year we’ve come across many stories that packed the punch with just a few words.
Lana Lang: ..Uh, yes, proving once again that sometimes less IS more.
Jerry White: And sometimes emotion can be summed up in a few words or phrases. It’s a talented group that have been nominated in this group. The nominees for Best Short are…
A Plot Thwarted by Annie B
A Super Meeting by Deadly Chakram
A Town Called Smallville by Dandello
Agoraphobia by MouseRocks
Blooming Time by Millefeuilles
Dying to Fit In by Deadly Chakram
Hitting Close to Home by Lynn S.M.
Just Save Someone by BJ
Mea Culpa by Kathryn84
Missing by NostalgiaKick
Mission of Friendship by Cuidadora
Remembering to Fly by Nostalgiakick
Revealing Time by Millefeuilles
Rules of Family by Folc4evernaday
Slow News Day by MouseRocks
Star Child by Maggie
The Importance of Fathers by Virginia R
Through My Eyes (Superman) by Deadly Chakram
Lana Lang: Thank you, Jerry. Now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The winner for Best Short is…Um wait...there’s two? Is that right? (Looks to Val, Val nods and makes a ‘get on with it’ motion. Okay then. Our winners are Rules of Family by Folc4evernaday and Star Child by Maggie!
Folc4evernaday**clears throat and wipes tears from eyes** Who would have thought *I'd* be accepting a Kerth for a *short* story, right? Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my work and vote for it. The Rules of Family story was something out of my comfort zone on so many levels and I'm still in awe that it won a Kerth. (Yes, I've never won a Kerth before) I don't do WAFFY. I don't do Short. I don't do holiday fics and this was all three of those things. Thank you everyone!
Congratulations to our winners. Our next category is for …. Where is the envelope?
Ralph: Oh, sorry, here! (waves envelope in the air)
Folc4evernaday Ralph!? What are you doing with the envelope?
Ralph: This is my category!
Jimmy: No, it’s mine.
Ralph: Yours?!
Folc4evernaday(motions to KCOM) A little help here?
Jimmy: Ralph, you always do this!
Ralph: Do what? Back off, Olsen!
Jimmy: Let go!
**Vicki walks up and takes the envelope from Ralph** Deadly Chakram: I’ll take that!
Ralph: (to Jimmy) See what you did?
Folc4evernaday Just take over before they start again.
Deadly Chakram Once upon a time, a little girl named Goldilocks broke into the home of the three bears. She proceeded to sit in their chairs, eat all their porridge, and sleep in their beds. In each case, she found two of the three to be not what she desired...too hard or too soft, too hot or too cold. But the one that fell right in the middle was just right. She chose the chair and the bed that was neither too hard nor too soft. She ate the porridge that was firmly in the center of being too hot or too cold.
Stories can sometimes be too short or too long, for each of us as an individual reader. Sometimes, when life gets too hectic and we are short on time, we find ourselves seeking out short or even super short fics to fit neatly into those few brief moments we have to ourselves to read. And sometimes, life creates long stretches of time when we can read at our leisure and delve into epic length tales featuring our favorite heroes and villains.
But sometimes, life gives us neither of those options, and we find ourselves looking for that “just right” length of a story to read. That’s where our mid-length stories swoop in to save the day. They allow us to spend a considerable amount of time with our beloved characters in all sorts of situations - WAFFY B-plot tales, alternate dimensions, A-plot driven dramas, side splitting comedies...I could go on. But as much as our mid-length fics give us the time to go in-depth into the worlds they are presenting, they carefully toe the line of our epic category, creating neat and tight stories we can often blitz through at a faster pace.
I hope I can speak for us all when I say that having that option is wonderful. And I am grateful that we have such talented writers who are more than capable of handling such a delicate balance of “just right” - not too short, not too long stories.
This year, our nominees for Best Mid-Length are:
Guy Rule Number One by Folc4evernaday
Last Name (Extended) by Thomas MC
Rules of Battle by Folc4evernaday
Sleeping With the Boss by Folc4evernaday (geez, Val, competing with yourself much?)
The Body For It by Opportunemoment
And Waiting for a Lady by Morgana
It is my honor to announce that the winner for Best Mid-Length is…
(Opens the envelope and frowns.) Uh...this is a new one. It’s blank.
Lois: Blank? What does that mean?
Deadly Chakram I’m not sure. (Looks offstage, Kcom shrugs helplessly.)
Uh, sorry folks. I promise, we WILL get this sorted out. Just a moment of patience, please.
Bobby Bigmouth (From offstage a person emerges) I can help!
Deadly Chakram Bobby Bigmouth?! Are they just letting ANYONE in here these days?
Bobby Bigmouth : Hey! I resent that! Fine, now I won’t help you.
No, wait! I guess I COULD use a good lead right now.
Lois: I hate to admit it it, but Bobby IS the best.
Bobby Bigmouth : (grins) So, we can maybe make a deal?
Deadly Chakram(Sighs) How much is this going to cost us?
Bobby Bigmouth : Just dinner.
Deadly Chakram(Cringes) What is it you want, Bobby?
Bobby Bigmouth : A cup of clam chowder. New England, mind you. A house salad. Balsamic vinaigrette. No cucumbers, they make my mouth itch. Mozzarella sticks. A prime rib sandwich on French bread, extra au jus. Make sure they don’t skimp on the meat. Mashed potatoes and gravy. A side of macaroni salad. Creamed corn and asparagus. A slice of pecan pie. Zeppolis. Gotta have the zeppolis. And a large Coke, no ice. REAL Coke, not that off-brand stuff. Yuck!
Deadly Chakram (Dripping sarcasm as she practically seethes, but pouring on the faux politeness.) Gee, is that ALL, Bobby?
Bobby Bigmouth : Don’t forget the pickle.
Lois: (Mumbling under breath, but the mic picks it up anyway) All that and he never gains weight. I LOOK at a Double Fudge Crunch bar and gain a pound.
Deadly Chakram(Rolls eyes at Lois then shoots a look to the Kcom offstage. They nod.)
(Sighs again and looks at Bobby.) Done.
(She and Bobby shake on it.)
Bobby Bigmouth :(Bobby leans in close and whispers in her ear. Lois leans in too, trying to listen in without being too obvious.)
Deadly Chakram(Eyes wide) Really?
Bobby Bigmouth :(Bobby nods.)
Deadly ChakramOkay then. The winner of the Best Mid-Length is...a three way tie! (Excited) Oooh! I’ve always wanted to do this!
(In her best Oprah voice)
Val, you get a Kerth! (Guy Rule Number One)
Thomas MC, you get a Kerth! (Last Name - Extended)
And Morgana, YOU get a Kerth! (Waiting For A Lady)
Congrats, you three!
Morgana Huh!? I am speechless Thanks for reading this fic. It took five years from start to finish, still it was great fun all the way through. Thanks to my betas! Its great to share this award with Val and Thomas MC
Folc4evernaday It was an awesome crossover! You actually inspired me to rewatch Forever
Morgana Cool show.
Folc4evernaday Thank you everyone for reading Guy Rule Number One. This was inspired by a challenge that had been on the boards for ages...Everyone thought it was a great idea but no one ever delivered. A long long long conversation and bantering with Feli and Vicki and then Guy Rule Number One was born along with the Rules Series. Thank you to everyone that voted, read, feedbacked, commented, bookmarked it. It really means a lot to me. Thank you!
Nostalgiakick I’m starting to sense a theme here. Plenty of ties for every category. And not one of them as hideous as Clark’s ties. (grins) You just never know where they’ll pop up, right, guys? (looks around) Where’d they go? Oh well I guess I have to present this one by myself….Epic? Boy, isn’t that ironic. (looks for Tempus) Phew! Looks like I’m safe this year. So, everyone enjoys a long fic with plenty of romance and drama and intrigue. The plots intertwined in just the right way. This year’s nominees are no exception. The nominees for best epic are:
Embracing the Darkness by Deadly Chakram
Ghost From the Past by Folc4evernaday
Nothing is Impossible by BJ
State’s Evidence by Terry Leatherwood
Strangers in a Strange Land by L
And the winner is...
Oh geez! Another tie! Ghost From the Past by Folc4evernaday and Embracing the Darkness by Deadly Chakram!
Folc4evernaday**stumbles back on stage**
**wipes tears from eyes**
Deadly Chakram *hands Val a tissue*
Folc4evernaday Sorry this one was an emotional one for me. If you read Ghost From the Past you'll know why it was a very personal story and the struggle of dealing with the ultimate loss of a child amidst the chaos in Lois and Clark's lives. It's not an easy topic to write about and I imagine it's not an easy topic to read about so thank you for everyone that read it, commented, and voted for Ghost from the Past. It means so much to me. Thank you!
Deadly Chakram Thank you, everyone. Val, it’s nice to share this category with you. Your wins have been a long time in coming. Wow, this story…I’ve spent almost a year living in Gotham and Metropolis with this series. It started out simply enough – the idea that it could be fun if Clark was the original Nightwing. One story grew to two (Stepping Into The Light) and that swiftly ballooned to three (A New Dawn). I’ve never deliberately done a continuing series before, so that was new. And fun. SO much fun.
This series was based on a concept that, quite frankly, I wasn’t sure people would enjoy. After all, it takes our dear Clark WAY off canon and doesn’t even feature Lois in a cameo role. So, to see it nominated was a thrill in and of itself. Having you vote it as a winner…it’s pretty awesome. Thank you, everyone. And I do hope you enjoy the other two stories in the series.