James_D_Fawkes

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXXIII: (Re)Birthmark

Not 100% on the title, but I don't have any better ideas right now, so it'll have to do.

Link here. 

[Hereafter] Chapter LXXII: Lazarian Return

"Lazarian" as in "of, relating to, or similar to Lazarus," which is technically not a word but I'm out here making enough stuff up that I think I have the leeway to make that up, too.

So some setup stuff going on here, some character development, and hey, I bet you weren't expecting that little nugget near the beginning of the chapter. Yeah, the fact that Aife doesn't feel three-dimensional enough was a criticism on the SV thread, so I went, "You know what? Let's add some more ...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXII: Lazarian Return

I spent too much time yesterday writing something that will probably never see the light of day because it's too self-indulgent, so I'm late starting this again. Blegh.

Link. 

Speaking of self-indulgence, is it too much to pull a Wildbow and reference my own future works by making them a novel in the in-story universe? Inquiring minds want t...

Payment Structure

So, let's talk for a minute. No, no, it's nothing bad, I assure you, it's just that a particular option has been made available recently, and I figure I should clarify it and discuss it with all of you before making any changes.

With that in mind, you may have seen in the last few days that there's now a subscription-based billing system available to creators. What this new system does is, instead of billing on the first of the month, it bills patrons every month on the same day: the da...

[Hereafter] Chapter LXXI: Pastimes

Try your hardest, Ritsuka, Rika! Even if it's hard, you'll make it through this!

So yeah. Some slice of life stuff to fill out the time between the team coming back and our dearly departed Director making her triumphant return, along with some setup for later things and later reveals.

Fou is stone cold, though. 

EDIT: Moving down.

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXXI: Pastimes

Took a little longer to figure out where I wanted to start this, but I think I want at least one more chapter between Septem and Olga coming back.

Link is here.

[Hereafter] Chapter LXX: After Action Reflection

Here we go. Some Romani being Romani, some Taylor being Taylor, and the twins being the twins, and also Arash being a total bro. The twins go, "We're shounen heroes! We don't accept ultimatums!" And Taylor's response is basically, "That's nice, but this is a seinen, so those rules don't apply."

The conversation turned a bit heavy for a while there, but these are some of the lessons the twins still need to learn. I feel like Emiya must have had some very complicated feelings watching thi...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXX: After Action Reflection

I don't want to just go jumping into resurrections, so let's have a little bit of breathing room first.

Link here. 

[Hereafter] Chapter LXIX: Return to Normalcy (Refrain)

The team comes home, and Da Vinci is waiting for them.

I want to call this a "quick cooldown chapter," but it's almost 6K words long, so that wouldn't be right, and they don't do loads of cooling down either. I don't even know how this got to be as long as it is, to be honest. I was at about 2.5k and going to myself, "I'll be lucky to reach 4k," but I blew past that.

In any case, this also sets us up for a few things coming in a couple chapters. Like a certain someone's return. Wh...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXIX: Return to Normalcy (Refrain)

A break after Septem, I said. What's a break? Is it a type of food? A writing technique?

Link.

[FRW] Chapter 16: Attempted Domestication II

7000 words of a "date" that isn't quite a date. Well, this is a Fate story, so there's only one way for it to wind up going.

Those last two scenes are ones I've been wanting to put into a chapter like this for quite a while, and I finally got the chance with this one. There's just...so much going on in them, so much subtext, and I had a blast writing those parts.

Next chapter should be an interlude, and then we start skipping towards the official start of the Grail War.

[Hereafter] Chapter LXVIII: Sagum Vocationis

Whew. 3.6k done in one session. I was determined to get this all out at once, so I knuckled down and pushed until it was over.

It might feel a little anticlimactic, and I can understand that, but there isn't an easy way of describing four people ganging up on one and that one still somehow holding her own. If I'd gone for a play-by-play...well, the pacing would have been weirder and this chapter would have been probably two-thousand words longer.

I felt a little iffy about Taylor'...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXVIII: Sagum Vocationis

This should be the last chapter of Septem, hence why I chose the name I did for it.

Link here.

[Hereafter Material] Athdénta Soluis [Noble Phantasm]

Athdénta Soluis [Noble Phantasm]
Reforged Blade of Shining Death

The sword Cuchulainn used in battle against Aife, and which was thereby broken by her in a single strike. Repaired for Connla’s use after the battle, it was intended as a form of ironic revenge that ironically never served its purpose.

Legends speak of the rainbow sword, Caladbolg, and how it sliced off three hilltops when Fergus mac Róich swung it in anger.

This is not that sword. It ...

[Hereafter Material] Geasa Tríanach [Noble Phantasm]

Geasa Tríanach [Noble Phantasm]
Bond of the Golden Thumb Ring

The Noble Phantasm of Connla. A representation of his only adventure in Irish myth, embodying the mystery of his name and identity.

In “Aided Óenfhir Aífe,” he is bound by three geasa, and because of these, his name is concealed from the Ulstermen, forcing them into confrontation. It is only as he lay dying that the deception is revealed and the truth is laid bare, and Connla is identified a...

[Hereafter] Interlude Co: Mother's Lessons

This chapter is something of a formatting nightmare. Originally, I was just going to leave the implication as an Easter egg and let you guys realize it on your own, but the italics felt a little jarring, according to the editor, so I clarified it a bit better by adding the names of the feats as a phonetic guide.

Unfortunately, the resultant look isn't the greatest, owing in no small part to MS Word's (or at least my edition of it) limited options for that sort of thing. It can't be help...

[Hereafter Material] Hadrian's Wall [Noble Phantasm]

Hadrian’s Wall [Noble Phantasm]
The Empire’s Northern Face

Anti-Country Noble Phantasm. A sturdy construct of stone commissioned by Emperor Hadrian. When materialized, it forms a wall to demarcate the boundary of an area, establishing all of one side as one territory and all of the other as “separate.” Rather than a simple defensive construct, it is a ruler’s tool to draw a line that forms the absolute boundary of his dominion, although it is a robust def...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Interlude Co: Mother's Lessons

And it all comes out.

Link here. 

[Hereafter Material] Rígan Bíastae [Noble Phantasm]

Rígan Bíastae [Noble Phantasm]
Dominion Over Beasts

The remnants of an Authority. A divine right originally belonging to a pair of ancient goddesses.

Even more than the two divine horses that pull her chariot, this is proof of Aífe’s conquest over the gods.

Rather than her chariot itself or a bridle and reins, it is a kind of innate ability Aífe gained that allows her to affect any creature or thing to which her Riding skill applies, up to and inc...

[Hereafter] Chapter LXVII: Engine of Destruction

Goddamn hot! 

This chapter gave me a bit of trouble in the fight scenes and such, but what really delayed this was the simple fact that it's been really hot the last several days, which made it hard to get enough sleep to have the energy for writing this. To make up for it, have the literal longest chapter in the story so far, at just about 7300 words.

Altera was a bit difficult to do justice by, just by virtue of the fact that the team has a pretty solid group to fight her w...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXVII: Engine of Destruction

And so the end begins.

Link. 

[Hereafter] Chapter LXVI: Flauros

This was basically finished about twelve hours ago, but I added a little bit just before posting this to give the ending a little more substance. Apropos of that, I was actually unsure of whether this would manage to cover the entire fight...but Flauros really is the kind of opponent you can't mess around with, so I hope that was conveyed properly.

In this case, Emiya ran into a problem of being just a little too good, so he didn't get to be the one delivering the final blow. O...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXVI: Flauros

Yes, it's time. The Septem Singularity is approaching the end, and certain secrets are being brought to light.

Apropos of that, I might wind up taking a week break after Septem is finished. Just recalibrate and unwind before jumping into the next segment of story.

Link here.

[Hereafter] Chapter LXV: Rome Eternal

Whew. This fight scene was a pain in the ass. Let me tell you, ironically, the fight scene fought me more than they characters fought each other. Part of that was the super enclosed space, which limited who could go where and how quickly, and part of that was Romulus having a really weird gimmick.

Maybe I really should have watched some videos of Hashirama fighting.

Whatever the case, this wound up going on for quite a bit longer than I originally thought it was going to, so have ...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXV: Rome Eternal

So now I just have to figure out how to make interesting a fight with a guy whose Noble Phantasm is basically, "I make giant tree."

Maybe I should go watch some clips of Hashirama fighting.

Link here.

[Hereafter] Chapter LXIV: Divine Ancestor

Might be a little lacking in terms of polish. The editing team hasn't had a chance to go through this one just yet, but I wanted to get it out as soon as I was done with it, so here it is.

Whew. So, next step in the boss rush. Yeah, Romulus isn't given much character in canon Septem, so I figured I could add some flavor to him with this chapter. Must be an interesting difference from how things were in Orleans, at least for the team, because Jalter just wanted to burn it all down and Ro...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXIV: Divine Ancestor

Hopefully, I'll get as far as I intend to with this one.

Link.

[Hereafter] Chapter LXIII: Caput Imperialis

Didn't get quite as far as I wanted to here, but there's enough room for me to still start the next chapter where I want to, so I can leave off here.

This one's some more setup. The next chapter will be the next boss in the boss rush, but there's a few things that happened in here that were important to later stuff as well.

If Taylor is tired of heroes who were historically male turning out to be female now, imagine how she's going to react to Drake. A lot harder to say i...

(CiP)[FRW] Chapter 16: Attempted Domestication II

Well, this is finally getting some attention again. 

Link here. 

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXIII: Caput Imperialis

The Septem Singularity's endgame gets put in motion. There should still be another four or five chapters left in Septem, but it's finally in sight.

Link.