the deep moans round with many voices

The edited version of Weregild: Chapter 3 is now up on AO3! Jean-Claude's dinner parties are often more about politics than dinner; this one is no exception. Arthur and Dom successfully deliver their information, but Anita's suspicion of their motives throws yet another potential wrench in the works. Meanwhile, Ariadne and Arthur continue to flirt something awful despite theoretically knowing better. (9,800 words)

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Now I just need to knock off chapter 8 of "Trollstuck" and I can buckle down to finishing "Lemonade" once and for all. *evil laughter*

I hereby present "Weregild" part nineteen, in which Ariadne is displeased, Anita is suspicious, Arthur is conciliatory, and Dom is quietly eating dinner in the background, I guess. (1,600 words)

( Weregild, part 19 )

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That was not quite where I thought I was going with this, but I realized partway through that Ariadne's regular job would be an obstacle to the plot -- I did not want to start going through ridiculous logical contortions to make Arthur and Dom visit Guilty Pleasures -- and this was the most obvious way around that.

And now to bed. :-)

I am, in fact, still writing this story. (Just as I am, in fact, still writing all my interminably delayed WIPs... but let that go. *sigh*) And look! I finally got Anita and Richard on-screen! (1,475 words)

( Weregild, part 17 )

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...I have a suspicion that my frequent annoyance at Anita (and often Richard) is bleeding through a bit more than I would prefer. Then again, I think if we weren't seeing the series through Anita's eyes, she would come off rather unpleasantly there, too. So this is mostly Anita without the mitigating effect of seeing her emotions and motivations from the inside... but yeah, some of it is just that I want someone to call her on her shit sometimes.

Richard too. Hamilton punishes him a lot, but mostly for things that aren't really his fault, while the issues he ought to deal with are either ignored or kicked down the road. Maybe this gets fixed after... I think I stopped reading around Cerulean Sins, maybe? The last book I clearly remember is Narcissus in Chains, but I must have read one or two beyond that to get fed up enough to quit the series. So Cerulean Sins or Incubus Dreams. (I KNOW I didn't read Danse Macabre, because I am sure I'd remember Jean-Claude opening a dance club. *wry*) Anyway, maybe Hamilton gets over her problem with Richard later in the series, but she was still treating him very awkwardly last I knew.

But enough of my blather.

Dreamwidth poll for quick responses!

Here we are at the start of chapter 3, which will mostly deal with the meeting where Arthur and Dom explain some of the plot to Jean-Claude, Ariadne studies them to find an advantage, and Ariadne and Arthur flirt something awful. (1,725 words)

( Weregild, part 15 )

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I think the weirdest thing about "Weregild," for me as a writer, is having to describe what people are wearing. I don't usually do this. People get a brief description upon introduction and occasionally articles of particular plot or character relevance are mentioned, but I generally work on the assumption that if people are walking around in public, they are wearing reasonably appropriate clothes. Beyond that, I don't care.

But Inception, while not making a huge point of it, uses personal clothing styles as an integral aspect of characterization, and Laurell K. Hamilton often stops her narrative to describe people's outfits and Anita's assessment of them. (Anita may talk about being uninterested in fashion, but trust me, speaking as someone who really is uninterested in fashion: she is interested in fashion. This makes her disinterest in sewing and alteration even more baffling.) In the interests of mimicking canon, I am making an effort to talk about clothes, which means I have to think about clothes, which is like mental contortionism for me. Very strange.

Anyway, sorry for the delay on this part! There were three reasons. First, it has been too hot to think. Second, I have been doing background and outline work for my Narnia Fic Exchange story. Third, I did write about 2,000 words over the past few days, but they were for other, unfinished fics and/or original stories. I am still me, after all, and thus frequently scattered in my focus. :-(

This is still basically a giant infodump -- in other words, this is the "let me explain about Fisher, Lebrun, and Robert; some of Mal's backstory with Lebrun; what exactly Dom and Arthur are planning to do and why; and how and why Eames is involved in their mess" section, which is rather a lot to throw at you all at once, sorry! -- but now there is at least a bit more back-and-forth in the dialogue and some actual character stuff going on around the exposition. (2,200 words)

( Weregild, part 14 )

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And I think that wraps up chapter two, unless anyone has a burning need to see Eames talking with Sally and Robert? I think it would muck up the pacing and focus, but I could maybe be persuaded otherwise if someone makes a good case. (Or maybe not, but you can always try. *wry*) Anyway, chapter three will start with Ariadne fetching Arthur and Dom to meet with Jean-Claude. Yay Ariadne!

This chapter needs more editing than chapter one (though I do want to also go back and make sure chapter one hints more pointedly at the nature of Dom and Arthur's plan, now that I know more or less what it is), but I should have the final version up on AO3 by, say, Tuesday night. :-)

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And now, an experiment:



I don't think this will show up on LJ, since I don't have a paid account there, but I am testing out a kind of response poll I've seen a few other people do. Even if you don't have anything to say, please consider ticking a box or two to show you're reading!