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How's My Driving

Please comment here with questions, comments, and concerns regarding the way I portray Faith.

Critique is more than welcome, but it is best if offered with examples of what I'm doing wrong and suggestions on how to improve. I may not always agree and/or take the advice, but it will all be noted.

IP logging off, anon allowed. I will screen threads if requested.

This post is for tracking activity with Faith. Posts and tagged-in threads will be detailed here, including sub-threads, as in the case of mass logs.

( Cut for length and links )

January 21st,

It has taken me some time to remark upon this, more because I can barely believe it myself, but it seems that I have been here, now, for over a year.

It doesn't feel like it sometimes. There are days when it feels like I was in my home only yesterday, surrounded by my family. [Mourning my losses.] Then there are other days where I feel as if I have been here for a lifetime, and not one I regret.

This can be a terrible, frightening place, but I cannot say I regret my time here or resent the force that brought me here. I also cannot say now if, given the choice, I would immediately or happily go back where I came from.

That would require giving up so much that I have come to treasure.

I confess I look forward to the rest of my time here, no matter how short or long that may be.

- Faith Long

November 27th,

I apologise for my recent absence. I remember very little of it, but I know with certainty I have been a "guest" of the Malnosso. Thankfully, I can detect no physical or mental imperatives. No harm done, it seems.

As Christmas is coming, I had had hoped to ask: What is typically done here for it? Is it celebrated? Do you have services for Advent, the Eve, the Day, and Epiphany? Are there feasts? Dances? Or is it a very quiet affair?

I confess, I will be disappointed if the latter most is true, but I suppose one cannot expect the culture one has grown up with in a place like this.

Faith Long

September 19th,

I do not know what to think of myself, but I think I understand my father and brother a little better now. I used to wonder how they could leave for months and, after a time, forget to write. I wondered how they could stand it, being away from their homes and their families for so long.

I have been here for eight months now, and my brother has been absent for the last month. I find I miss him -- indeed, I miss all of the friends I know and the family I hold dear -- less with every day that passes. Staying here is not ideal, no. It is even dangerous, and yet I do not have a strong desire to return. I wonder if this is how my father and brother feel out to sea.

I am not wholly sure I even like this feeling. It seems dangerous to me, to think less and less of home and of returning, yet, I find I cannot force a change of mind nor am I entirely certain I wish to do that. I admit, I do not know my own mind, not even enough to say my opinion on these changes. Perhaps that is why I put pen to paper, to try and understand myself better.

It has yet to help.

Faith Long

[At first, Faith barely notices the change. The little set of rooms has always been inarguably hers. David has been a guest, and a very contientious one. He brought little in and disturbed little that was already there.

Maybe all sailors were like that, Faith considered. Not keen on making a place on land too much theirs.

And when he's not in come morning? She assumes he's at the ship. It would be something to do, something familiar in the wake of... whatever it was that really happened. But, eventually, when she goes into his room to fetch what clothes there might be to wash or mend, she finds... nothing. It's completely empty.

She's heard about this happening, but that doesn't make it any easier.

A few hours later, when she's composed herself enough to write without her hand shaking, she takes up the Journal. It isn't a formal letter, so there is no dating.]

Is it true that when someone disappears here, they've gone back where they came from?

[It's very hard to organize something on a large scale quickly, but Faith Burr is not one to sit idle when people need help. Very obviously need help. So, during the day of the tax hike announcement, fliers started appearing around town. Very cheaply made and obviously a little hasty, but it's what she could do in a little time.]

COMMUNITY PICNIC

HISTORIC LUCETI
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7TH
4 PM - 8 PM

FREE ADMISSION

FOOD AND FUN

[Okay, so it's not a very... expansive... picnic when all is said and done. There are lots of sandwiches with small signs in front of their containers:

Free! Take one, please!

And there are large pitchers of water, iced tea, and lemonade.

It's completely obvious this is a last-minute set-up. Borrowed tables, mismatched, cheap utensils and plates and cups... But it's her way of helping. Anyone who could use a night off cooking. Anyone in need of food or drink after either standing the picket lines or working the factory. Anyone is welcome.

As for the advertised "fun"? Well, she has some balls 'borrowed' from the school's gym and such.

Faith will be trying to run the thing herself -- keeping food and drink stocked and preventing any fights from breaking out.

...She might need a little help, though.]

July the first,

It has been suggested to me that I might find myself happier here if I were to engage in further enterprise than I have so far made it my business to do. [Which... She'll grant the wisdom in the suggestion at this point. She has no house to run, and keeping the rooms tidy and her and her brother fed keep her busy but not interested.] I have an arrangement with one individual here [she's trying to be very formal, so she shies away from mentioning Richard by name] regarding sewing and repairing articles of clothing in exchange for what he can part with. [Or the promise of future goods.] Firewood and produce, mostly. I should be happy to extend my offer to others for similar terms.

If this service is unnecessary, I apologise for having troubled the good people of Luceti with this.

I thank you all for your time,
Faith Long

Written:

[David is of the opinion that she won't find a maid, not one as she knows it. Granted, Faith is steadily accepting this as a fact. Not that she has any proper understanding of why. Surely there is some sort of arrangement of compensation that could be worked out even in this strange place.

Besides, how else ought she to phrase her request? She hardly knows what he means by phrasing it in a more friendly fashion. What could be less friendly than asking someone to assist with cooking and cleaning without offering any compensation?

Still, for now, she refrains from her usual advertisment.]

May the eighth,

As some of you may have already learned, my brother is newly arrived in Luceti. [If she knew how to keep this private from David, she would make a sharp remark about treating him with the respect an officer in the King's Navy deserved. But he wouldn't approve, so, as he might see, she does not venture that far.

She might also, if she knew he couldn't see it, attempt to find him lodgings. The idea of David living alone isn't one she relishes. He's too much the sailor, too used to crowded ships and busy inns.]

His coming increases my need for fabric, particularly for wool. Especially worsted wool. I am afraid I do not know how to spin, though I should be happy to learn if the tools are available and the prepared wool is not. I believe, with a little work, I can learn, also, to dye, should only the raw wool be available. Which leads me to the question: I know there is farmland. I've heard it spoken of. Are there sheep? If there are, I should like to inquire after obtaining some wool when they are shaved.

I have had moderate success in finding what I need in the shops, but I am aware their stock may not always hold.

I shall be quite grateful to any assistance in answering my questions. Thank you kindly.

Faith Long.

[After a moment, a quick post-script appears:]

P.S.: Major Sharpe, [Best be formal when addressing him so publicly]
If you would be so kind as to call on me this afternoon, I have a parcel for you.

Action:

[For the most part, Faith keeps her routine. She goes to the Item Shop with her basket, looking for things that belong to her or might belong to her recently arrived brother.

She has tea in the late afternoon at Celsius Tear.

Her meals, she takes in her home (after preparing them in the Community House 4, first floor common kitchen).

During the middle of the afternoon, though, she can be found just outside Community House 4, sitting on a stool brought out, plain, thick cloth spread out around her to protect what she's working on. The light, after all, is better outside than in.

In her hands is fabric, needle, and thread, as she stitches the sleeve of a nearly finished dress, one that she feels will suit her quite nicely as the weather warms. Under her chair, as promised to the soldier earlier, is a package wrapped in brown paper.]

(Original image from here.)

[There are new people here. She isn't so foolish or blind as to not have noticed that. So, once again, Faith makes her attempt, early in the morning, as to have it there for those in the morning:]

Wanted
A lady of decent character desirous of a domestic situation to act as a maid of all work for a young lady. Skills as a cook and housemaid are chief among those desired. The rooms in need of attention are numbered at five, and comfortable lodgings will be provided, along with other compensation. Please address inquiries to Miss Faith Long, Community House 4, Room 2.

[Some time later in the day, Faith takes up her pen to address the community at large.]

March the nineteenth,

I have long neglected this book, I am afraid. I shall try, in the future, to amend that practice. It does me good, I think, to write, even if I do not understand how it is others can read it.

I was hoping to avail myself of others' knowledge. I am aware there are seamstresses here, so perhaps they will be able to answer my question, though I should be happy for an advice.

I am looking to acquire fabric in a moderate quantity as well as threads of varying thickness. I have found enough from what I believe to have been my kits at home, to keep me occupied with my needlework, but I desire to take a more thorough venture soon.

I should be most grateful for any assistance. Thank you.

Faith Long

Written:

[Ten days since her last advertisement and still no replies. Still, Faith refuses to be daunted by that fact. So, early in the morning, she takes up her pen again.]

Wanted
A lady of decent character desirous of a domestic situation to act as a maid of all work for a young lady. Skills as a cook and housemaid are chief among those desired. The rooms in need of attention are numbered at five, and comfortable lodgings will be provided, along with other compensation. Please address inquiries to Miss Faith Long, Community House 4, Room 2.

[And that is that.]

Action:

[For the rest of the day, Faith makes her way about the town. Her living quarters have been provided for, but she still takes the small basket she found into the heart of the town, collecting little things here and there from the Item Shop to add. She is especially fond of the candles and stands for them, as the "electric" lights in her rooms make her head hurt.

She takes an afternoon meal at Seventh Heaven.

In the late afternoon, she can be found at a chair in the corner of Celsius Tear, enjoying a cup of tea. Though trying to appear not to stare, she does glance about at her fellow patrons.

She will be back at Seventh Heaven for her evening meal before walking to her rooms.]

Written:

[The candles are lit, and she has settled into one of the spare rooms, which she decided to make into a sort of study. She has been checking on the Journal briefly throughout the day, but now she actually sits down with it.

After a short time, she starts to write in it.]

January the twentieth, [In light of the criticism she received last time, she omits the year, now.]

I am most curious, my fellow residents, as to how one feels this strange book ought to be used. Is it meant as a journal? Where one records ones thoughts and feelings? It seems to me that it would be rather foolish to use it for so personal an endeavour when, so far as I can see, any individual or group in this place may read what is put to paper.

It seems to me that it's greatest use is as a sort of communication system. Much faster than writing to someone and waiting for weeks for a reply, should they be far away. Even more so, at times, than calling on someone personally. Safer, too, should the weather be inclimate.

I confess, though I have read what newcomers here are supposed to, there is a great deal of it, not only with this book but other things as well, I still do not understand. The pictures themselves are fascinating, the way they, I assume, capture the likeness of whatever is near the book when one writes. Yet, for instance, I am quite certain that when I last addressed this community, someone was able to speak to me through this.

Was that merely a figment of my imagination? Or is that a possibility?

Faith Long

January the tenth, 1803

[The words, written in tall, thin loops, do not falter or hesitate. Because, of course, she has at least six discarded drafts of this letter.]

Good people of this strange, new place called Luceti.

I am afraid I do not know the proper manner in which to address this sort of communication. I beg your collective pardons if I offer any offense or make any slight. In this situation, I am wholly ignorant. Therefore, I offer an advanced apology in case I do not display the proper ettiquite. I am most grateful for such considerations.

The first order of business, undoubtedly, is an introduction. My name is Faith Long. I am the daughter of Admiral John Long and the sister of Lieutenant David Long. It is my honour to make your acquaintances, though I do wish it could have been done under more pleasant circumstances.

My second concern is related to the rooms I have been told I may occupy. I hope I am not wrong in assuming I may, the wares of shops permitting, furnish them as I so choose. Before I make plans, however, I should like to be certain of this fact. If this is true, then I shall require assistance in transporting and arranging potential heavier furniture. I am most gratefuly for any aid.

Lastly, I hope to find someone (a woman if at all possible) seeking a domestic situation. I require someone capable of preparing at least two meals a day (morning and evening, though an afternoon meal is preferable), cleaning the rooms no less than three times a week, scrubbing the floors and doing laundry at least once a week. I would prefer a lady with education, as I should care more for a maid and a companion rather than simply a maid. The position would be with at least one but not more than two days a week off. I do not yet know what compensation I may offer for such services, as the funds previously at my disposal for such things did not come to this place with me. I would be delighted to discuss terms of employment with any interested party.

All inquiries about this position may be written in reply to this letter or made in person at Community House Four, Number Two. If one has a letter of reccomendation, I will happily read it and give it due consideration, but I expect such things seldom follow one to this place.

I did not ask to come to Luceti, as I expect no one did. However, so far as I have read and heard discussed, there is nothing to be done for the situation. Therefore, one must do the best one can to get by. Perhaps rescue will come for us soon. In the meantime, I hope to become acquainted with all of you and, God willing, find friends among you. Until such a time, I am your cordial new neighbour,

Faith Long