The Beehive

there wasn't really any good gifs for the chapter I wrote (or ended, I should say, it was a continuation of the last one I mentioned) because most of it was Pan and Celeste talking about what had happened and both of them kind of freaking out and also talking past each other (miscommunication babeyyy).

But Celeste did break a bunch of wine bottles last chapter because, you know, you can't scream for help when someone is choking you (this is a weird line,, uh, don't think about it too hard, it makes sense in context) and glass shattering is loud and alarming.


Today's Yesterday's Tally
Words Written: 1,896 (approx, I added some bits everywhere else)
Total Word Count: 58,986 (hey so I actually counted yesterday's after I had written that day lmao so it looks I went nowhere but actually I should have been around 1,896 words shorter yesterday (also I forgot to count all my Beginning Bits that I added then, because that was the whole reason I had to write the lullaby in the first place)
Snippet of the Day: content warning for language because Celeste

Spoiler

Celeste followed out at a more sedated pace. The sun warmed her the moment she stepped out and she let out a heavy sigh, pausing to soak it in for a moment. Then, conscious of the fact she probably looked like she had nearly been strangled and there was likely still blood on her face—she wiped her mouth as thoroughly as she could and licked off her teeth, having to choke down more of the blood—she hurried on her way, keeping her head low this time.

Kill the warlock. But Celeste wasn’t the only warlock in Esparona, or even War’s followers. And [Redacted] knew her name.

And of course, why the fuck did he want to kill her?

nadia, who just watched celeste mess up a performance for the first time: are you ok
celeste, clearly concussed: never better!

anyway, I've never had a concussion and it shows, but I realised getting your head repeatedly slammed into a wall wouldn't be,,, great for your health.

I'm actually pretty happy with how this chapter came out, because most of the novel, it's obvious that Celeste is a very, very skilled violinist (and Nadia thinks so, to a great degree), but Celeste rarely ever makes any comment or thinks about Nadia's playing, because Nadia hasn't really been putting her all into it and it shows (by way of Celeste not really acknowledging her beyond "oh yeah she is good but she could clearly do way better than she currently is"), but then it was Emotional Round, and it was Celeste's turn to be in absolute awe of Nadia's playing (ofc not that she told Nadia, she can't speak to her about it obviously).

anyway, please applaud my muse for showing up in droves now that it is DECEMBER and it is totally a month where I have to write FIFTY THOUSAND WORDS IN A MONTH


Today's Yesterday's Tally
Words Written: 3,641
Total Word Count: 62,627
Snippet of the Day:

Fingers danced over the strings of the harp, pulling each note out like she was coaxing them to sing and they were obliging like reverent apostles, a choir that echoed through the arena. She bent her head, her eyes closed as she played, swaying gently in time with the rhythm. She drew backwards and let herself bend forward to reach the farther strings, plucking them and holding them, masterfully drawing out chords or soft, mournful measures that sounded like a quiet cry, a last, desperate plea of the grieving.

It pressed deep into her chest, like a knife slicing slowly and carefully across her heartstrings, cutting them cleanly away until all that was left was her bleeding. She gasped, stifling the pain in her head and her chest. Most of it was the concussion, sure but…

She hadn’t seen Nadia like this before. Nadia had always played beautifully, but it felt a little removed each time. The Spiral she had put more of herself into, but even then, she had seemed distant, cutting away herself from her music, her hands too nervous as they skittered over the keys.

But this…this was Nadia, surrendering herself to her music, completely raw and honest. Nadia, not trying to hide the melancholy in her head, that which she bore so heavily and weighed on her like the weight of the world was attempting to crush her, disappearing completely into the notes she played, the melodies she had formed. The swells and the declines of the music, pulling every breath out like it was the last you’d ever breathe.

She was even more beautiful now than she had been at the ball. She was more beautiful than Celeste had ever seen her.

no gif simply becaase I didn't really write anything that could have a gif attached to it. It was just Nadia having a conversation and leaving. because I have a lot of content for Celeste but every time I get to a Nadia chapter I'm like ??? idk what do to, she doesn't have a talking violin that wants her to do stuff.

but also it was Dragon Age Day and I was like "ah, this means I obviously have to play more Dragon Age" (it didn't, but I did). and then I had a d&d session. and I have poor time management (also had other stuff to do!!)


Today's Yesterday's Tally
Words Written: 447 (but some of them were in-document notes)
Total Word Count: 63,074 ish

so, this gif has nothing to do with the story, but I was trying to find a good gif for Anthousa's proper introduction and I searched "fancy", and I saw this, and I immediately knew I had to use it, regardless of context or what I actually wrote yesterday.

Round five has been announced and I'm pretty sure it might be garbage and I'm dreading it but this is the grave I dug for myself and, for now, I have to lie in it. I can always fix it.

Anyway, Nadia is playing diplomat, I'm dropping probably really obvious hints, but ones that Nadia won't be able to make sense of right now, and things are Happening. I'm v excited for everything that's coming (my poor girls though).

also Nadia is Super Gay, oh my god.

Today's Yesterday's Tally
Words Written: 2,145
Total Word Count: 65,125
Snippet of the Day:

"It’s lovely to meet you, Lady Nadia," Anthousa said, her voice deep and smooth. "Please, Asterion. My skills are hardly more than parlour tricks." Her bright amber eyes were fashioned intensely on Nadia. "I’ve heard that you yourself are an alchemist. I’ve never met one before now, and I’m very fortunate to have had the chance."

"Please, call me Nadia," she said, forcing herself to pull her hand away from Anthousa. "The pleasure is all mine. Yes, an alchemist." He cheeks warmed. She would rather not take about her magic, the questions were usually far too invasive or demanding for her taste. "It’s been in my family for generations, though it only crops up on occasion. I’ve only one other cousin who has the talent."

Anthousa’s eyes glittered. A scholar, or at least someone who pushed their talent beyond the gentle capabilities of most spellcasters, most likely. "Fascinating. A rare trait, indeed."

this gif has, once again, nothing to do with the chapter or this novel at all. went to go look for "fancy" again because I was like "ok this time I'm going to really do what I meant to do last time" and I was really close to picking a fancy lady but then I saw this one and I'm w e a k

I didn't get that much done because, as established, my time management sucks! but I finished the chapter, so, nice : )

also nadia's "yeah the gods said they'd protect our city so we could outlaw violence and warfare isn't that neat " to two people who come from the MOST PROMINENT CITY of warfare and military skill.

Today's Yesterday's Tally
Words Written: 451
Total Word Count: 65,579
Snippet of the Day:

Anthousa traced her fingers through the cut intersections splattered with faint red paint, that divided each of the strips that denoted the eight leaders and their craft. "It looks like it got a bit messy here," she pointed out.

Nadia’s stomach turned and she pursed her lips. At least the static had gone away. "That represents the sacrifices made to the gods," she said. "To appease the pantheon, The Crafter gave us that facet of the competition as well. The gods were merciful; they allowed us to keep our best in order to lead Esparona with great renown and aptitude, while the talent that came next was what we were to offer them as thanks for watching over our city and keeping it prosperous. They decreed there would be no need for warfare, and that we could thrive happily and peacefully, dedicating our lives to our crafts and allowing them to spread across the world."

as it turns out, it's pretty traumatising when your friend tries to kill you! Celeste finally acknowledges that yeah, that sort of, you know, sucked a lot.

although now Celeste and Aristaeus can bond over almost dying I guess? also Celeste casually goes "everyone's trying to kill me I guess lmao" and Aristaeus is like "maybe like?? don't get killed though??"

heck! it's hard to keep characters from getting too much information too quickly! ugh

Today's Yesterday's Tally
Words Written: 2,226
Total Word Count: 67,804
Snippet of the Day:

There was a pause that lasted to the point where Celeste didn’t think he would answer her. She opened her mouth to say forget it, but Aristaeus said, "I don’t know how to answer that. It’s not a concrete frame, you know? When you think about your memories, they’re not all neatly laid out in your mind. So, there are moments, and I can approximate when they happened, and there are other times when I have memories, but I’m missing pieces from them. It’s mostly people, I think. And obviously events to come, or that have already happened. I…I don’t know. It’s hard to gauge how much of what is missing is actually missing from my memories and what I never actually witnessed."

as I said on my wall, I don't know what I'm doing with this chapter, but I'm having a good time anyway! Nadia's going to solve a problem of Thievery because Nikias wants to know what kind of decisions she's going to make.

also not Nadia trying to decide whether to follow through with the tournament, make herself fail, or let Celeste win in the last round again. She is simply Very Anxious and Hates the pressure and doesn't want to be in this position or have to share her own thoughts and feelings.

aka this bit:

She shuddered and let her fingers fall away from the curtain, letting it flutter back down and block the view out the window. There was no good outcome. Weren’t stories meant to have happy endings? Where was the one that Esparona, that she or Celeste, was supposed to have?

For someone to have a happy ending, someone else has to have a ruinous one.

aka not me not having nearly as much planned for Nadia as I did with Celeste.

Today's Yesterday's Tally
Words Written: 1,055
Total Word Count: 68,859
REAL Snippet of the Day:

She rubbed her thumb into her palm, sweat beading there. In alchemy, it was all about balance and order. Absolute control. For one thing to change, another had to give way. A constant shift and play with the fabric of the universe. In a way that was recognised, understood, that kept the scales in check, in a way the world recognised and allowed. Nothing like the occultists who sought to bend, stretch, distort, and tear the weave that belonged there. Alchemy was a give-and-take, and occultism was a destructive, unyielding chaos that gave nothing in return for what it took.

It was what it felt like. The giving everything, either her or Celeste, and getting nothing back. There was no balance, despite the gods' word.

Were the gods even watching? Was The Crafter still listening, keeping the city he’d helped found in check, or had he abandoned them in these decades that had slipped out of his fingers? How long did gods pay attention before they grew bored with their quarry?

Nadia is actually exposed to the corruption in the Peacekeepers that I really didn't intend to be a thing. It only took Celeste saying, multiple times, that if Nadia was seen with her in the outer rings in passing, she could be stopped for accosting Nadia and Nadia going "that wouldn't happen!" because she does have her moments of forceful optimism.

anyway, now I have to write a trial. hahaha why did I do this to myself.

also, savage Nadia 👀

Today's Yesterday's Tally
Words Written: 1,044
Total Word Count: 69,903
Snippet of the Day:

"That’s quite all right. But if you’ll excuse me, I was speaking to this young man here." Nadia gestured to the boy, who had shrunk away from the Peacekeeper, and watched between them with eyes like that of a rabbit who was deciding whether to hide or run from a fox.

"He’s been a nuisance all day, My Lady," the Peacekeeper said, eyeing him. "He’s been haranguing anyone who comes near, and he won’t go away, despite our insistence."
Nadia raised an eyebrow. "He said his father is inside, but you’re forcing him on his own out here? Where is he meant to go?"

The Peacekeeper looked increasingly distressed by her cold tone. "I—I don’t mean to cause you such disturbances, Lady, I apologise for his—"

"His what?" Nadia tilted her head, and held out her hand to the boy. Instinctively, he dove forward to take it, and like a gateway opening for his trust, he hurried to her legs and hid behind her. "You have not told me of any wrongdoings he has done. If acting as a true nuisance were a crime, my cousins would have been locked up as children, Peacekeeper, and myself with them. He’s doing no one any harm. Return to your post, while I figure out what the matter is."

this gif displays a certain calmness that was not really in this chapter/scene.

this chapter is WAY longer than it was supposed to be, ugh. I just want to get back to Celeste's pov.

Nadia: *makes the conversation relevant to Celeste*
Nadia, not wanting to talk about Celeste: heck

also nobles being like "???" around Nadia when she doesn't buckle immediately and take bribes.

Today's Yesterday's AND the Day Before's Tally
Words Written: 2,746
Total Word Count: 72,658
Snippet of the Day:

He breathed a sigh of relief, slumping back into his chair, and nodded. "I… Thank you." He eyed her again, this time with more confusion. "Why would you…do that? I’m from the outer ring, and everyone else says I’m a thief. Especially the merchant."

"I’m not here to condemn children to orphanages, especially if there are attempts to usher the proceedings along in favour of someone who may have misunderstood the situation unfairly," she said. "I know people from the outer ring, surprise you as that might, and I’ve found it holds stocks of good people who go unnoticed until they start making waves."

The line I am walking is a fine one, one that I may change in the future. Nadia has some dangerous fears and I think it may be taken the wrong way and I'm a little concerned, but it's a first draft that I don't think anyone is going to read, so we'll see how I handle it later. It is complicated to write about a romance when they both know one of them is going to die and, at some point, one of them has to kind of start wondering whether to try to skew those results or not.

Also I have been neglecting to update this, so I'm not going to bother trying to separate days this time. The tallies look way more impressive than they really are.

But Nadia and Celeste are working together now, and the end is drawing near 👀

Tallies of Multiple Days
Words Written: 4,646
Total Word Count: 76,478
Snippet of the Day:

"I see the way you could remake Esparona," Nadia said, her voice quiet and distant now. "The things that I’ve noticed since I met you, things that always made me uncomfortable without an answer for me as to why… I think you’re right. I just want you to know that." She lifted her gaze to meet Celeste’s for a moment. "I don’t want to die. But there’s only one champion of each division." Then her dark brown eyes were averted again, and she only nodded before turning away. "I’ll leave you alone, Alyssum. I think it may be better for both of us, and if not, then for me."

She shut the door quietly and without anger, and left Celeste standing in the room, mouth parted. She felt dizzy, and not a concussion vertigo but one that kept her staring at the door, at the place she’d just seen Nadia. Her breath came shallow, and all she could do was just…stare.

me, almost done with this novel: ok fine I will pull out real musical terminology instead of being vague.

anyway, I always try to get the details perfect and show how Smart and Studious I am when I am writing something that I have no experience with, but whenever it's something I have skill and experience with (horses, violins, etc) I am always like ",,,nah". why. why am I like this.

THE GOOD GOOD BITS ARE ABOUT THE COMMENCE AND EVERYTHING'S GOING TO SLIDE DOWN HILL 👀

Tallies of Multiple Days
Words Written: 3,209 (technically I wrote 4,545, ironically, but I scrapped the whole beginning of the chapter because the pacing didn't work)
Total Word Count: 78,848
Snippet of the Day:

"War of mortals’ whims is a child’s game. A terrible, terrible quarrel of those who cannot form words of peace and so turn to sharpened blades to communicate their bloody ideals."

God that voice

I know I'll have no time after Christmas but I can't WAIT to read this

😭 thank!! there is,, a lot of first draft roughness lol

it will be here waiting for you when you're ready!! 👀

this gif is because it's Celeste mood when she finally talks to Nadia and they start to connect puzzle pieces but also because it's adorable and I loved it.

Celeste and Nadia! are finally sharing information! They've been both learning two sides of the same coin the whole novel and now that it's finally had a chance to be brought up, they're (especially Celeste) starting to realise oh man! there's some Stuff happening! anyway they're really working together now for a bigger purpose and...well...👀

Today's Tally
Words Written: 2,419
Total Word Count: 81,239
Snippet of the Day:

"You didn’t tell me you had collaborated with Lady Nadia," Ctimene said, hurrying to catch up with Celeste as she walked intently towards her changing room, sweaty and shaky. Ctimene put an emphasis on lady and it twisted in Celeste’s stomach.

"No," she said, sending a glance over her shoulder. "I didn’t."

Ctimene met her gaze with a dead stare. "It wasn’t subtle."

Nadia really thinks she's being sneaky when it comes to Celeste but every single person in her family knows that she is super gay and an idiot.

I think I have about 3-6 chapters left? WILL SHE FINISH A DRAFT UNDER 100k AGAIN??

also tHE GIRLS FINALLY WORKING TOGETHER I know I said that last time BUT IT'S STILL SO NICE

next chapter is going to be so much fun 👀

Tally of the Last Four Days
Words Written: 4,611
Total Word Count: 85,850
Snippet of the Day:

Blood rushed to her head and a wash of dizziness rolled over her. Oh gods, I’ve just talked back to my father. What influence has she wrought on me?

Her father put a hand on her shoulder. "But you can’t allow her to simply take it on a silver platter. She has no experience, no prospects. She’s an incredible violinist, and she is certainly pretty, but you must think of the future of the city."

The heat rose once more and Nadia let her face go stony. "So, instead, you would accuse me of childish preference, of not knowing how to understand my own judgement?"

His face grew solemn and he sighed again. "Nadia—"