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How is it 2024. How.
Jan. 1st, 2024 03:28 pmI find social media exhausting these days. How do people stay active on Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitter (never fucking calling it X), etc. etc.? And I'm still pissed as fuck at what Musk has done to what used to be a pretty great platform (not perfect, but what is?). I doubt that I'll ever go back and that makes me sad, because I met a lot of great folks there and now it feels like we're all scattered to the four winds. I'm not on any of the Fediverse social media platforms, nor am I on BlueSky, Threads, or any of the platforms that want to be the next Twitter. (Let me amend that: I'm not there under this persona, but as the real me.)
Anyway. Being too overwhelmed to keep up with it all leaves me feeling very disconnected. I've had a lot of really nice comments come in on old fics, and I feel guilty about not remembering to respond in gratitude. Same guilt when friends post new things and I forget to go back and read, then just forget altogether. (I don't think I can blame that on old age, but I'm going to anyway.)
Health-wise, I'm pretty well; slimmed back down almost to pre-surgery weight (just about 10 lbs to go). Wife is good. The other two cats are all right, though one needs a dental extraction and that will cost a small fortune to have done. But overall I do realize we're still very lucky to have our health, a place to live, some savings still, and food in the kitchen.
I have a few story ideas as well as works in progress that I don't even remember what I wrote. Keep your fingers crossed that I get my mojo back, at least a little bit. I'm gonna double check my settings to ensure I get notified by any comments here, because if we knew each other from Twitter, I want to know if you found this post.
Happy New Year! I wish all of you all the best.
Year End Summary, 2021
Dec. 31st, 2021 11:59 pmTotal word count (1st Quarter, to date): 16,327
Last year's total to beat: 24,401.
Fic: A Period of Adjustment
Jan. 31st, 2021 02:56 pmA Period of Adjustment
By S. Faith, © 2019, 2020, 2021
Words: 7,075
Rating: T / PG-13
Summary: Living on your own for years can make for a difficult adjustment after marriage.
Notes: Kind of a lot of them. See the linked story :)
Chapter 1: Adjusting to Her
Mark Darcy knew that his new life would take some getting used to.
Since leaving the dormitories in university, he had not lived with another human being for any appreciable amount of time. His first wife, Tamiko, had not moved in until they'd married, and was gone within a fortnight. His second wife, Camilla, had stayed in his home when she was in London, and he had stayed in hers when he was in The Hague, but the longest they'd cohabitated at a stretch was about three weeks, and even then, they were more like roommates than soulmates.
His third wife, Bridget… well, he knew things were going to be different from the start.
Fic: As Luck Would Have It
Jan. 24th, 2021 01:49 pmAs Luck Would Have It
By S. Faith, © 2019, 2020, 2021
Words: 9,252
Rating: T / PG-13
Summary: Getting stranded in a foreign country is the sort of thing that could happen to anyone.
Disclaimer: Only the words in this order are mine.
Notes: The beginning of this literally came to me in a dream. Can't believe it's taken me this long to finish it.
It was a nice sunset, at least.
That was Bridget's only consolation as she stood at the seashore. The sun dipped down closer and closer to the horizon, painting the sky with pinks, indigo blues, and purples that reflected on the ripples below. Stranded in this pretty little German town hundreds of miles from home with a paltry amount of cash, no purse, no means of transportation, no mobile phone, and no apparent functioning cashpoints for using the bank card that she had, she supposed it was in her nature to make the best of a terrible situation, and to take solace in the beauty of nature. She knew she would have to consider where she'd sleep that night; any hotel could probably take her bank card, but her cash reserves were not so great as to actually cover a charge.
She sighed, drawing a long sip from the coffee she'd purchased to keep warm, but almost choked on it, gasping as the sun had apparently started to rise again. "What on earth—how can that be?" she whispered.
A voice spoke, startling her: "Optical illusion."
Year End Summary, 2020
Dec. 31st, 2020 11:59 pmThat's not to say I haven't been writing. There are three files in my WIP folder. One is in the subfolder "Post." I last touched it in Oct of 2020, and I can't remember now why I didn't post it. I think I was just not thrilled with the end. (Don't worry, I'm not going to pitch it. I'll work on it.)
( What I posted in 2020: ST: Picard: 1 )
Total word count: 24,401.
Last year's total to beat: 32,426.
Welp. I didn't beat last year's total, but I think we can all agree that 2020 was a dumpster fire, so I'm not self-flagellating too much.
Well, it's been a minute
Oct. 22nd, 2020 10:25 amIt's been a hell of a year-and-change, for more than the obvious reasons. I got laid off (I'm employed again now, thank heavens) and my younger brother died from lung cancer. My friend's husband of little over a year died unexpectedly too. Two funerals during COVID that weren't COVID-related. I suppose I'm grateful for that much.
I have three Bridget Jones fics in progress, but being so stressed out, my enthusiasm for writing was, perhaps understandably, at a low.
Back in May of 2019, I was digging through my hard drive, found then posted an older Star Trek: TNG story—and by "old" I mean "from 24 years ago"—that I'd written but apparently never shared publicly back in the day. You can find it on AO3 (and on FF.net, but formatting is better on AO3, so read it there).
[Being a TNG fan is probably helpful, but probably not totally necessary to read and enjoy. I focus on character stories, relationships, and motivations, not space battles and science fiction technobabble. (Not that there's anything wrong with those things!) And I have a tendency to explain some of the more esoteric things for those with a passing familiarity.]
One of the highlights of my year was Star Trek: Picard, and while I enjoyed it very much (seeing Data, Will, and Deanna again was like spending time with old friends), there was one very notable absence to me.
…so what do we do, kids, when canon doesn't serve what you want? You make it yourself. Hence the icon.
Title: Per Ardua Ad Astra (Latin for "through adversity to the stars")
Rating: M
Words: ~24K
Summary: Beverly Crusher emerges from a nine-month isolation to discover a lot has happened. (So many spoilers for ST:P season 1.)
As of this post, two chapters are up, two chapters and the epilogue remain.
When I'm done wrangling this, I'll revisit my Bridget fics. *brightly* Hopefully they're not utter crap!
Have no idea if anyone's even reading here anymore, but if your eyes are skimming over this, I hope you're well wherever you are in the world.
Year End Summary, 2019
Dec. 31st, 2019 11:59 pmTotal word count (1st Quarter): 32,426
Last year's total to beat: 13,143. Already better this year.
Fic: Undercurrents
Feb. 23rd, 2019 07:35 pmUndercurrents
By S. Faith, © 2019
Words: 14,828
Rating: M / R
Summary: No one knew of the secret history behind the public story.
Disclaimer: Isn't mine, oh hell no.
Notes: Alternate canon, BJD movie universe (i.e. with a November birthday).
This one is a little bit different in format. Some of the chapters and longer, some are shorter. Hopefully it works.
Read it here:
Mark Darcy and the Overactive Imagination
By S. Faith, © 2018, 2019
Words: 10,781
Rating: M / R
Summary: Mark turns his attention to family, and to a neighbourhood mystery.
Disclaimer: So very much not mine, except for the words in this order.
Notes: This assumes a timeline in which Mabel gets to her know her dad as more than stories and old photos.
Link to chapter 1 (of 3) here:
- AO3
- Fanfiction dot net
Chapter 2 is also up!
Year End Summary, 2018
Jan. 1st, 2019 01:43 pmWell…. there's not much to report here. I posted one (1) story in the 3rd quarter:
- Missed Connections: A change in daily routine can have a much greater ripple effect than one might imagine. A/U. (Also on Fanfiction.net.) 13,143 words, M / R, posted 8 Sept 2018.
So the word count for what was posted was a grand total of 13,143.
Of course, I have written more, but haven't had the motivation to get it in shape to post. This year has been a decade, I swear.
A great big THANK YOU to all who have read and reviewed on AO3 and FF. I haven't always been able to reply to each comment but they sure as hell mean the world to me.
Hopefully 2019 will be better for creativity.
Well, hello!
Sep. 8th, 2018 01:19 pmI have still been writing off and on--in fact, I just posted a new story (below)! I have a few others in various states of done-ness. One I thought was done was... not :P Now I have to figure out how to conclude things.
Anyway. I would say to go to Twitter or Tumblr or whatever to get more updated info, but I haven't really been very active there, either. Twitter definitely gets the story links as soon as they are posted. :) Always amazes me that so many folks still read and review, so thank you.
Title: Missed Connections
Rating: M / R
Words (for 3 chapters): 13,143
Summary: A change in daily routine can have a much greater ripple effect than one might imagine. A/U.
Read it on Archive of Our Own or Fanfiction.net.
If you need something else to read, I can't recommend these two authors enough: eggsbenni221 and reindeerjumper. I'm v. behind on reading, but they never disappoint.
So… I was thinking of porting older BJD stories into AO3. However, there are… a LOT from 2006 to now. How should I proceed? [Poll]
— sandra faith (@_sfaith) January 21, 2018
Also considering adding older Picard/Crusher Star Trek: TNG stories from ~ 1992-96. I don't think they're available anywhere else anymore. Would that be of interest? [Poll]
— sandra faith (@_sfaith) January 21, 2018
Feel free to RT if this is relevant to your interests.
Happy new year! And a fic rec.
Jan. 13th, 2018 06:38 pmLet me leave this rec here… I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I feel perfectly confident in reccing anything by my friend here.
Picture-Perfect Christmas by eggsbenni221
(((*****BRIDGET JONES'S BABY SPOILERS!*****))): the story behind the picture at the end of the closing credits for "Bridget Jones's Baby," because why not, and when was the last time you saw Mark smile like that? Primarily film universe, though the squiffy Christmas tree fiasco reference is book universe. (As always, typos are mine).
Another case of GMTA, I think, since my Christmas-related story was also about the photo. ☺️
Year End Summary, 2017
Dec. 31st, 2017 11:59 pmTotal word count (1st Quarter): 0
Total word count (2nd Quarter): 0
Total word count (3rd Quarter): 4,215
Total word count (4th Quarter): 25,145
…for a total of 29,360.
Last year's total to beat: 149,285. Noooot gonna make it.
Fic: A New Tradition
Dec. 24th, 2017 08:59 pmA New Tradition
By S. Faith, © 2017
Words: 1792
Rating: T / PG-13
Summary: It's funny what becomes a holiday tradition, isn't it?
Disclaimer: Isn't mine.
Notes: Takes place the Christmas after the end of Bridget Jones's Baby.
"Bloody hell."
The mild curse and a sharp rustle of newspaper pulled her attention away from her mobile's screen. She glanced up at her husband—who continued to insist upon reading the printed page every day—to see annoyance and frustration playing upon his face. Curiously, he had been reading the arts and entertainment section.
More on Archive of Our Own and Fanfiction.net.
Happy holidays, y'all!
Fic: The Long Way Home (M / R)
Nov. 4th, 2017 09:28 pmThe Long Way Home
By S. Faith, © 2017
Words: 23,353 (four chapters in all; first two now posted)
Rating: M / R
Summary: Mark's idea of coping with a difficult situation is… not to cope with it.
Disclaimer: Not my characters.
Notes: This story assumes the timeline of the novels/books, particularly Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries, from which this takes some dialogue.
It had been like a dream. And apparently no more real as one.
He sighed, then let the drape he had pulled aside fall down. The sparkling pinpoints of light that comprised the San Francisco evening skyline was beautiful, but he needed sleep after the long day of travel he'd just had.
But first, some wine, something to eat.
Guess what, darlings!
Oct. 13th, 2017 10:16 pmWriting this year has been such a slog. Spending so much time stressed and worried (re: the current administration trying to kill us all). But I'm pleased to have finished it.
And dammit, I missed wishing Mr Grant and Mr Firth their happy birthdays.
