#deathdancer

I know I never update anything, but it's the new year so I figured I may as well Say Some Words! I'm still not particularly active on here, life is crazy and I've been prioritizing other things. But I still lurk, if nothing else!

A few months ago, I finally returned to Deathdancer after a quite long hiatus, and started working through the second draft again. I'm just past the halfway point, and the draft is currently sitting at about 85k and 28 chapters. (For reference, my outline draft was 94k and 36 chapters...this draft will be longer, lol). I'm currently rereading and making the changes I know I want to the first part, and am planning to dive into the rest of the writing in about a week. I'm guessing it'll need another pass of edits, but not a full rewrite, before I can start on next steps. The story is in a much, much better place than it was with the outline draft. Turns out, writing something to make it exist, and then writing it again but better, actually works. Wild.

Anyway! Have a few of my favorite snippets so far, presented with zero context!

“My job is to kill you,” Ailin hissed, taking a step towards him. Dymas retreated immediately, back clattering against his nightstand. “My responsibility is to keep you alive.”

“I’m not here to screw up your plan, or whatever,” the stranger added. “You saved my life, remember? I’m not one for unpaid debts.” “Do I look like a debt collector?” “You look like a killer who was born too kind.”

Thanks @memento-morri-writes for the tag! I've seen this one floating around, but I've never actually done it somehow. My word was RAISE.

All excerpts are from Deathdancer draft 2!

R (Ailin POV)

(I apparently have basically nothing that starts with R in Deathdancer so far, lol)

One breath cycle was all it took. Ailin blinked a few times, hard, clearing the beginnings of tears. She’d let herself get distracted, she could usually control the tears from a short time burst like that. Reality steadied, her body solidifying inside itself again, pulling back to a single, unified present.

A (Ailin POV)

(fun fact this is currently the opening line of the book!)

Ailin stood in the dust. Knives heavy in her hands, she flexed her toes as the crowd cheered.

I (Zaul POV)

“I’d rather talk to your face,” said Zaul, turning back to Dymas. Dymas huffed dramatically, folding his arms, and very deliberately didn’t turn around. “I honestly thought you knew about my criminal hobbies,” Zaul admitted, to the back of Dymas’s head. “You literally handle the flow of information, I assumed you’d figured it out and were just keeping quiet.” “Are you implying I’m bad at my job?” demanded Dymas, rounding on Zaul again, the familiar glare setting onto his face. "Nah," Zaul shrugged. "Just that maybe you’re more noble than some. That's probably a compliment, honestly."

S (Ailin POV)

She locked the thought away. She’d already proved she could survive killing. Tonight was just another step down the road she’d never be able to leave.

E (Ailin POV)

(lots of paragraph breaks for rhythm/The Vibes, but it makes for a longer excerpt...sorry not sorry lol)

Every time, every escalation, she promised herself the same thing. Just this once. Soon you’ll get to stop. But it ever stopped. It just escalated. Again. And again. And again. Ailin built walls in her mind, sealing away the guilt, crushing the shame into dust. She became a different person with a weapon in her hands, smothering the nausea, burying the rage. It had to end. She had to end it. Ailin stood up, staring down at the Oasis, at the silver stars glittering in black water tinged with flame. She was not here to kill anyone. No one was going to die tonight. It was time for her promises to start meaning something.

Tags are people who have tagged me recently, people I remember tagging from the before times, or people who interacted with my "do you want to be tagged?" post. If you want/don't want to be tagged, let me know and I will act accordingly!

Tagging (no pressure!) @akindofmagictoo, @queerlilchinchin, @winterandwords, @ink-fireplace-coffee, and open tag for anyone who wants it!

"Hey," Faisel grunted, tossing his cleaning cloth over a broad shoulder. His hairline naturally accentuated a proud forehead with the faintest sheen of sweat, his wide nose wrinkling with just the hint of a smile. "You promised you'd stop being hot," Zaul complained, leaning his elbows on the bar, hoping to look natural. "So did you." "We can't help ourselves, I suppose." "We also agreed no more flirting," Faisel reminded him, the faintest flush visible over his collar. "That includes flirting-adjacent observations. Why are you here?"

Thanks for the tag, @oh-no-another-idea!

Everything from draft 2 of Deathdancer

Clock: (Ailin POV)

I don't have "clock" so we're making due lol

A large, marble-tiled fountain bubbled at the center. In the water stood a massive bronze statue of a humanoid figure with a working sundial head, their hands outstretched. Hazarys, the eternal god. Guardian of the past, guide of the future. Time made divine. Time-touched were said to be descendants of Hazarys. That was why Aramzind had never been without an Oracle, in this thousand-year-old city where Time had lived and died.

Company Business + Complain: (Zaul POV)

I also don't have "company" what is happening lol

"Hey," Faisel grunted, tossing his cleaning cloth over a broad shoulder. His hairline naturally accentuated a proud forehead, his wide nose wrinkling with just the hint of a smile. "You promised you'd stop being hot," Zaul complained, leaning his elbows on the bar, hoping to look natural. "So did you." "Time makes liars of us all, I suppose." "We also agreed no more flirting," Faisel reminded him, the faintest flush visible over his collar. "That includes flirting-adjacent observations. Why are you here?" It wasn't accusatory, just Faisel's usual business-like way.

Crack: (Ailin POV)

“Go on then,” said Efram, waving her forward. “Before the others come to an agreement.” Ailin vaulted into the pit. Sand puffed around her feet, and she blinked through it, head down just slightly to keep her eyes hidden. A hush washed over the stands as she straightened slowly. The young man stared at her, face frozen. His breathing was shallow, and far too fast. Firelight danced over the sand, shadows rippling between them. Torches cracked loudly in the sudden silence. “Honored audience!” cried Lalit, breaking the moment. “Your challenger! The Deathdancer of the Ikadels!”

I'll tag @avrablake, @akindofmagictoo, @winterandwords, @memento-morri-writes and open tag for anyone who wants it!

For anyone who likes writing stats, here are mine and how I track things right now! I deliberately didn't show most of the "notes" column, because spoilers, lol.

Word count is a little wonky, because "revising" refers to re-reading and adjusting and whatnot, and I wasn't sure how to track that, lol. I sort of tracked new words added, but sometimes had net negative words added or other weird things, so...this is an imperfect system, but it is a system, and it's serving its current purpose. I got a lot of non-word count work done this month, including revising the first half or so of the book. I just finished chapter 30 today, of a planned 46 total chapters, although I'd bet the exact chapter number will change again before the end.

Tagged by the fantastic @memento-morri-writes, thanks!

Line from Deathdancer draft 2, chapter 15 (Ailin POV)

Ailin stared at him (Zaul). She hadn't expected an outpouring like that. His voice had gone higher, almost cracking as he spoke. He blinked, and tapped the corner of his eye, staring at the tear clinging to his fingertip. “I wasn’t trying to hit a nerve,” muttered Ailin, uneasy. “What?” Zaul flashed her a decidedly soggy grin. “Never seen a man cry?” “Not without a knife in him.”