shadowscast

I just saw the new Star Trek movie, and enjoyed it muchly.

So now I'm wondering where to go for a quick fix of meta and squee related to the movie. (I'm assuming there can't be much fic yet, but I'm sure there's some in the pipeline!) Thing is, what with Star Trek being pretty much the mother of all fandoms, I have no idea where to start looking! So, how 'bout it, my poor neglected flist; can you help me?

Okay, I have a Dreamwidth journal. Yay! Same name as always: Shadowscast.

I really like what I've seen of Dreamwidth so far. I like their diversity statement, and how seriously they seem to take it. I like their plan to grow carefully, to stay ad-free, to be truly open-source. I like the careful, thoughtful way they seem to be going about making changes.

Perhaps I'm just a starry-eyed optimist! We shall see.

( More details about my intentions, for those who care... )

Hey there, world! I'm still not posting very much. Sorry! I am writing, I am, (on rare occasions) and eventually I will post something, even!

I'm also not reading very much. But, happily, tonight I have insomnia! (No, really, there's a happy ending here!) So I came online, and saw shapinglight's rec for Angel's (Not So Much) Inner Monologue by girlpire. And truly, it made my night.

Warning: if you happen to be reading it in the middle of the night, and there happen to be sleeping entities in your immediate vicinity such as spouses, toddlers, and/or random house-guests, you may have to go to great lengths to stifle your delighted laughter.

The last time I posted a chapter of That Good Night, I said that I hoped to update again in less than a year. I am happy to say that I have met that goal! Yippee! (Keeping the bar just high enough that I can comfortably walk under it.)

Thanks as always to yourlibrarian—beta-reader extraordinaire—and also to any readers out there who haven't given up on me yet!

( Previously in the Fragments-verse.... )


And now, the new chapter!

Title: That Good Night (part 13 of ?)
Rating: NC-17 (barely)
Pairing: Spike/Xander, ensemble
Summary: A couple of years post-NFA, Spike is human, and it isn’t working out so well. He and Xander are currently in Sao Paulo, where Willow has just had a baby and a new vampire problem is looming.
Warnings: This story will get dark at times. Definitely angsty, h/c with lots of hurt. Character death will most definitely be threatened, and I'd rather not say what comes of it (though if you're terribly worried, ask me privately).
Disclaimer: They're not mine, and I'm not making any money.


( Chapter 13 )

Not that I expect LJ to go kablooey any time soon, but just so you know: I have an InsaneJournal account, also under the name Shadowscast. I've been sporadically using it as a mirror ever since Strikethrough, and I guess I'll continue to do so.

Not that anybody's asked, but I thought a few of the letters in the Buffyverse Alphabet could use a bit of explanation.

( Author's notes, ahoy! )

You know how sometimes you get a silly idea in your head, and you can't let go of it until it's done?

So I bring you: A Buffyverse Alphabet (in the style of Edward Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies):

A is for Anya, who died being brave.
B is for Buffy, crawled out of her grave.
( Read more... )

ETA: If you're bewildered by any of these, I made an explanatory post here!

ETA2: tarotgal has made one for Highlander!

In 2008 I wrote:

Sunshine, for fall_for_sx.

Chapter 12 of That Good Night.

And that's all, folks!

Hey, for having a new baby (now 14 months old) and working full time since August, I think it's not so bad.

Dear Joanna: oh my goodness, thank you!!! That was a wonderfully sweet surprise to find in my inbox.

We have something in common—my little guy loves the Sandra Boyton books too! (His favourite of the ones we have is Moo, Baa, La La La.)

I hope you have a very happy New Year!

Oh, look, it's nearly 2009. How did that happen?

I have a plan for the new year, and that plan is: I'm going to participate in fandom, a little! Read my flist once in a while, browse some communities, read a bit of fic, post every once in a while, and, hey, write! I'm working on the next chapter of "That Good Night" now, and I think I'm well on my way to meeting my stated goal of posting chapter thirteen less than a year after chapter twelve. Yay!

See you around!

A friend just reminded me that now that I've posted both parts of my new fic in fall_for_sx, I should link to it from here. So here you go, foi_nefaste!

Sunshine
Part 1
Part 2

I've posted part 1 of my new fic at fall_for_sx. Yay! When I get home from work today, I'll post part 2.

Last night, I finished my fall_for_sx fic. I'll be posting it on December 1st. I am so excited!

This is the first real story I've completed since my baby was born. I did a Fall For S/X contribution last year, too, on the same date, but it was a pathetic little thing—a 217 word scene in which Spike paints Xander's fingernails. I mean, I think it was cute and all, but it wasn't a story. Still, it was the best I could do with a 5-week-old baby.

I haven't even had time to read anything else that's been posted to Fall For S/X yet, which is kind of sad. Maybe now that I've finished writing I'll manage a little reading.

I'm also kind of sad to see that not all the posting dates are filled this year. Is interest dying off? Maybe it's inevitable after so many years. This is just my third year of writing for Fall For S/X, but I know it's been going for five years. And hey, it's not like I'm out there fanning the fandom flame on a regular basis these days.

Still. I'm excited. I signed up for the day before my birthday (like always) so that the feedback will be like a birthday present. Um, assuming there's feedback. *fingers crossed*

So, hey! How about a teaser? I do like to tease....

This is a Spike/Xander story, (obviously). I guess it's rated NC-17, since there's a bit of explicit sex, but it's mostly plot, actually. The total story length is 11,000 words. It was beta'd by the brilliant and wonderful yourlibrarian.

Sunshine
(teaser)

Part One


Two tunnels diverged in a grimy subway.
And I, I don’t know which one the demon went down.
Well, shit.
- Xander Harris, with props to Robert Frost

( Read more... )

It's mostly radio silence out of me these days, isn't it? Sorry about that.

As you might recall, my writing output and fandom participation dropped precipitously when I had a baby in October 2007. And look, now it's October 2008! Wow, how time flies.

I'm back at work now, and I'm taking on overtime hours for extra income to support my family, since my husband's now staying home full-time with the baby. This arrangement is awesome in several ways, including 1) I love my job, 2) husband and baby are having a great time together, and 3) I don't have to do any housework at all, ever!

Time for writing is still very limited, sadly. I'm writing every chance I get, which is amounting to about a couple of hours every other weekend.

I must sheepishly admit that "That Good Night" is once again on hold, since I signed up for "Fall for S/X" again (what was I thinking??). My date is December 1st. I will have a real story to post this year, I swear! And so the next chapter of "That Good Night" should go online sometime in, er, January 2009.

In other news, I'm excited at the idea of Writercon 2009, but also very uncertain because I won't know until the spring what my work schedule will be like in the summer.

Today, I updated my website for the first time in a year. Meaning, I put up links to all the three, yes, three stories I posted in that time. Um, woohoo?

(Actually one of the three wasn't even really a story.)

More on the LJ advisory board election: there's action afoot in fandom_votes, to make sure fandom doesn't split its vote six ways from Sunday. tkp has a slightly more detailed explanation here.

Important note: even if you've already voted (as I did) you can still apparently change your vote here. Which seems weird, but okay!

(Thanks, elisi, for making me aware of all this—I'm not very much in touch these days!)

Just in case you missed the news post: LJ's having advisory board elections. See lj_election_en for details, and to vote.

So, wow, it's been over a year since I last posted a chapter of this story. You could be forgiven for thinking this was an abandoned WIP. But no! It's aliiiiiiive!!!

Thanks, yourlibrarian, for your prompt beta-reading and infinite patience!

Title: That Good Night (part 12 of ?)
Rating: NC-17 (barely)
Pairing: Spike/Xander, ensemble
Continuity info: This is the sixth story in the Fragments 'verse, fitting in immediately after Before the Time of Dawn.
Summary: A couple of years post-NFA, Spike is human, and it isn’t working out so well. He and Xander are currently in Sao Paulo, where Willow has just had a baby and a new vampire problem is looming.
Warnings: This story will get dark at times. Definitely angsty, h/c with lots of hurt. Character death will most definitely be threatened, and I'd rather not say what comes of it (though if you're terribly worried, ask me privately).

Previous chapters [here].

This update is about 2000 words; the total length now stands at about 40,000.

If you’d like email notification of updates, please let me know either in comments or by email at shadowscast at yahoo dot com.

I hope to bring you the next chapter in less than a year! (Woohoo, setting the bar nice and low!)

( Chapter 12 )