#And sometimes they make me sideeye the show quite hard!!

[sothischickshe]

13, 18, 23, anddd 31 (try your best but i don't have high expectations)

Really fighting the urge to just post this ask with no answer...

 13. What are you trying to make fanon through sheer force of will via your writing?

RIO STEALING AND WEARING BETH'S CLOTHES, PARTICULARLY HER ROBES. THAT'S IT, THAT'S THE POST.

 18. Say something mean about hemingway

GLADLY. yknow sometimes I think maybe it wasn't this dumbass' fault and actually I'm angry at like the cult around him, and then I read some of his stoopid macho writing advice about how you have to courageously fight your novel battle and I'm just like ??!?? SHUT THE FUCK UP. SHUT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE FUCKS UP!!!

 23. Do you think you refer to characters by name enough? Too much? Both?? Neither???

Ah, well i don't believe that there's a magical correct amount, and I think it's gonna be different for different ppl and different stories. When I read my earlier stuff I'm just like ok... But you know these characters do have names yea?? You could... Idk just spitballing here mention them outside of dialogue?? I think it's hard to figure out how and how much you wanna do that with fairly tight third person pov though, and you just gotta try things out and see what works.

And then, I think you'd have to try pretty hard to be using characters' names too much TBH.

But then again, in the gg context, the use of names (particularly for beth and rio) is v interesting and it's something that's fun to play with. Like, in the show beth basically doesn't use rio's name (pls pls a scene of her being like wait what IS your name again man??) so depending on the type of story it maybe feels a bit disingenuous to have her using it a lot/it's just fun to play with. (for example, in dirty dirty game, which is from Beth's pov, I wrote it as her being totes comfortable with referring to rio as rio in her internal monologue if it's about worcrime stuff, but all R-HIM if it was about sexy stuff.)

And I think in the original draft of climbing up the walls (which is from rio's pov and post s2 and he's in a Mood) I had him barely referring to eliza/beth by name in the narration (it was all like that bitch, this moron, that fucking maniac, the insane kook, MY MORTAL ENEMY THAT I AM PLAGUED BY DESPITE DOING NOTHING ABOUT IT woe is me woe is me woe is me etc etc etc) for the bulk of it, with it softening throughout. but then I was like idk is this dumb?? And changed it. (I think the affectation might still be thinly there but def not how it was originally.) I think if I was writing it now I'd have more confidence in it and stick to it.

 31. Are there any clichés you love to include in your writing? Any you don't like to? Elaborate!

Well to quote one of the most irritating characters of all time, clichés are clichés for a reason.

Plus, a cliché isn't always cliché?? Yknow, San junipero woulda maybe felt more cliché if it wasn't about two ladies etc.

AND I think you can involve something tropey/typical, but if it's not in the usual way, maybe that doesn't come across as cliché?

Idk if there's any in particular that I strive to include (well beyond the tropes of like brio, and my own personal fanon tics: RIO STEALS BETH'S ROBES AND TRASHTALKS HER COFFEE, RUBY WILL MOCK BAD SPELLING/GRAMMAR MERCILESSLY, BETH MAKES WEIRD PUNS ON HER NAME AND IS VERY PROUD OF THEM etc etc).

And idk if there are any im against, beyond... I guess I don't come at stories with a very tropey lens? I'm not like: OK I am going to write an angst now, or a bed sharing with no sexy times. I don't think it's an endeavour to avoid clichés, but I suppose it's also not an attempt to grasp them?

And I do think that clichés can overlap with stereotypes and I have, for example, no desire to write beth as meek or incapable or entirely submissive

[only-martha-knows]

The Path of Daggers Chapter 5 Notes

Warning - SPOILERS both for PoD and for future books will be in these notes! I have some knowledge of major events happening later in the series and I may reference them to have an honest reaction. But I do ask that nobody tells me anything extra in the notes.

Okay also - I am reading SO SLOWLY I need to read faster. PSA: no more giant posts like this, going back to the random observation posts with a review post at the end. I can't handle the slowness anymore I must CONSUME.

Yall I am SO ready for the hot weather to be done. I need my characters to be freezing over now. (More igloos, perhaps?)

Ahahaha “It looked to be quite a storm once she let it break.” concerning Nynaeve’s temper. I see what you’re doing with the chapter title, Jordan. Imagine if they didn’t fix the weather and this chapter and “The Breaking Storm” just refers to Nynaeve’s temper.

Hmm is Aviendha keeping watch for the gholam she saw earlier?

Oh no! Aviendha is having a really hard time here! The question that comes to mind is whether it’s okay for Aviendha to let go of her belief in ji’e’toh here for Elayne. Or if she even should. It feels unfair for Aviendha to be heaping this on herself - she can’t help not being able to question prisoners, or make a gateway properly, and she will make mistakes sometimes! But I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to just give it all up and not care about honor concerning Elayne anymore. What is Elayne going to do here?

Aww. So Elayne builds her up with compliments, telling her that she’s not weak, etc. And tells her that she feels horrible about the questioning thing too. And Aviendha is taking it well - this is going pretty well, okay...

Aww Nynaeve is SO enamoured with Lan, haha. She’s like what is wrong with me??? Elayne tell me when I’m acting boy-crazy please.

Okay so the Windfinders are going to be in charge of the Bowl because they’re the experts on the weather? That... makes sense, but I feel like it would be good to have a few women from the other groups in the circle too? Just for fairness?

So some interesting lore here- in a circle you can’t burn yourself out. sideeyes episode eight of the show

Also now I’m VERY interested in the way they portrayed linking in episode four of the show. definitely not a circle in that one, more like many people linking to one person. Is that also a canonical method of channelling? (Don’t answer that.)

Okay that was a really cool scene with the Bowl. I like that the weaves spread out over the land further than the eye can see, that makes sense to affect the whole world. It’s crazy thinking thirteen women (or was it more? I’m not sure) affected the entire world’s weather. That’s a VERY powerful ter’angreal.

“Mat’s in the city. I have to go back for him. Burn the boy; he came for me, and I have to.” Aww. I love these reminders that Nynaeve is the oldest of them that left, that she cares about her Two Rivers people. And also Nynaeve you probably shouldn’t go back, you’ll get into trouble probably, but if you do can you get Mat out from under that wall? He needs a bit of help.

Poor Elayne is feeling her duty to go to Caemlyn after her task of fixing the weather is done. At least she’s finally going.

Oh NO.... I forgot about the whole damane thing... yeah Nynaeve you really should leave. No way will you EVER get caught as a damane!!!!! I won’t let it happen!

Wow Elayne, you’ve got a talent for speeches!