James_D_Fawkes

[Hereafter] Chapter LXII: With a Vengeance

And the joke is complete.

It's starting to look like 5.7k is going to be the average for chapter sizes going forward, because damn, this thing got bigger than expected again. I was afraid we wouldn't even break 4k at some points, and then we were getting close to 6k and I was worried for nothing.

There were a few parts I was worried about in terms of impact as I was writing this, so I hope they hit you guys exactly how I meant for them to. They did for one of my editors, at least....

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXII: With a Vengeance

Is the joke going on too long? Maybe so, but I'm going to keep going with it anyway.

Link. 

[Hereafter] Chapter LXI: Die Hard

The name for this chapter came to me near the very end, and I thought it very fitting, considering the enemy this chapter is so hard to kill.

Geez, the final part of Septem is basically a boss rush, isn't it?

I really hit the swing of things right near the very end. I was actually going to keep going, but I accidentally put in a line that was really, really good to end on, and we were already at 6.3k words, so I relented and surrendered to the fact that there was going to be one e...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LXI:

Not quite sure what to call this one yet. I'll come up with the title later.

Link here.

[Hereafter Material] Marcus Junius Brutus [Heroic Spirit]

Marcus Junius Brutus [Heroic Spirit]
The Last Voice of the Republic

The man who killed Gaius Julius Caesar.

A Roman senator, a politician who stood for the Republic’s democracy in the days shortly before its final evolution into an empire.

Originally a friend of Julius Caesar, Brutus came to oppose him during several critical moments, and even sided with Pompey during the civil war that inevitably decided the fate of the nation. However, afterwards, Cae...

[Hereafter Material] Sic Semper Tyrannis [Noble Phantasm]

Sic Semper Tyrannis [Noble Phantasm]
For the Sake of Democracy, I Slay Thee

“Thus Always to Tyrants.” Anti-King, Anti-Caesar, Anti-Roman Noble Phantasm.

An assassin’s blade, wielded out of desperation.

In truth, there is very little way to say one way or the other who struck the blow that killed Gaius Julius Caesar, let alone definitively prove that it was Marcus Junius Brutus. There were many senators involved in the conspiracy to kill Caesar, and ...

[Hereafter Material] Et Tu, Brute? [Noble Phantasm]

Et Tu, Brute? [Noble Phantasm]
My Brother, Do You Betray Me As Well?

According to Shakespeare, the last words Gaius Julius Caesar said as the assassin’s blade took his life.

Embodying that bond of trust, this Noble Phantasm is a sort of stealth Noble Phantasm similar in nature to the Presence Concealment of the Assassin class. However, different from simply disguising one’s presence as a Servant, it instead utilizes a form of mental interference to convince...

[Hereafter] Interlude MJB: Knife's Edge

Surprise character! Two of them! Three or four, technically, even though most of them are just name-dropped!

I actually considered doing this chapter from a few different perspectives, but none of them let me play with prejudices and preconceptions as well as this one did, so these are the eyes you get to see these events from.

There was one character I wanted to fit into here so badly, but there was no room, so I just had to offscreen her suicide. Why did she commit suicide, espe...

[Hereafter Material] Beast Taming [Skill]

Beast Taming [Skill]

A skill related to but distinct from Riding. The ability to take control of and command beasts that do not possess a human language.

Although there is no dialogue, somehow, understanding is reached, and one’s will can be imposed upon even willful creatures that would not accept orders from a human.

Through various methods and means, the user of this skill can bring to heel beasts of all sorts, subordinating them to his commands. They w...

[Hereafter Material] Connla [Heroic Spirit]

Connla [Heroic Spirit]
Son of Tragedy

The only son of the Irish hero Cúchulainn and the woman warrior Aífe, born of a promise made as tribute for a life spared. Before his conception, Cúchulainn bound his son with three geasa: that he cannot turn back after beginning his journey, that he cannot turn down any challenge, and that he cannot reveal his name to anyone.

As a result of these three restrictions, when father and son next met, the father slew the son ...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Interlude MJB: Knife's Edge

I said a while back that there were going to be more Roman Servants in this Singularity than in canon, didn't I? Say hello to one of them.

Link is here.

[Hereafter] Chapter LX: Sacking the Temple

Really long chapter to celebrate July 4th for my fellow Americans and FGO NA's 5th anniversary.

Yeah, this chapter is just long. It came really close to 7K, so it's another chapter in the running for "longest in the story so far." Even with the fight scenes being relatively short, it still stretched on long.

Man, do I wish I was a better environment artist, though. I wish I could bring the scene of the Gorgon's temple onto a canvas, but I'm just not a good enough artist to do it j...

[FRW] Chapter 15: Attempted Domestication I

So I've been trying to keep to a "one day per chapter" format whenever I don't skip days or weeks at a time, but I got to 4500 words here, went to look at what I still needed to get to, and decided, "Yeah, if I tried to rush through that before I hit 6K or even 7K, it would feel really oddly paced." 

As a result, the "date" is getting pushed back to next chapter, and this chapter got to be more focused on building the character relationships more subtly. That's probably the correct...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LX: Sacking the Temple

Thought about taking this week off for Independence Day, but eh. That's why the later than usual start.

Link.

[Hereafter] Chapter LIX: Sweet Nothings

I think, at this point, everyone already knew or at least had a suspicion about who the god on this island was going to be. I thought about changing it up and using the youngest "big" sister, but there just wasn't enough room in the story for that subplot, so I left it be.

This is a big chapter. Probably not Hereafter's biggest, but at 6.3k, it's at least a runner up. That meant I had to cut it off before things could really get going at the end there, so I need to add in one more chapt...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LIX: Sweet Nothings

If that title doesn't seem ominous to you, I think perhaps you might not have been paying close enough attention the last few chapters.

Bit of a late start, but I should still be on time for this weekend.

Link.

[Hereafter] Chapter LVIII: Shaped Isle

So this one is...really something of a "fill in the space" chapter. Another "explain why and how the characters went from point A to point B" sort of thing, and it's a bit shorter than the last several chapters because of that. 

Next chapter, however, is action time. The fight next chapter might surprise a lot of people, because it's probably not what you're going to be expecting. Provided I get through everything I want to in that chapter, the chapter after that is actually planne...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LVIII: Shaped Isle

This title gives away the game a bit here, but oh well.

Link. 

[Hereafter] Chapter LVII: Deus Ex Ignotis

Lots of talking this chapter. Lots and lots and lots of talking. There are actually a few things I didn't want to give away just yet, but I couldn't see any way of leaving them out of the chapter, so they got in.

Some of the mysteries set out in this chapter may or may not be obvious. Your mileage on that may vary. Having said that, there are a few things I'm keeping close to the vest and they'll be big surprises when I pull the sheet off. At least one or two of them may, in fact, be sh...

(CiP)[FRW] Chapter 15: Attempted Domestication

Can you call it a date? Well, even something so mundane can be extraordinary to someone who hasn't  done it before.

Link. 

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LVII: Deus Ex Ignotis

Once more, I know almost nothing about Latin.

Link. 

[Hereafter] Chapter LVI: Heart of the Mountain

Normally, I like to give the editors more of a chance to rip into a chapter before it goes out, but this weekend stole too much of my time and energy, so this is already later than I would have liked it to be. As a result, it may be lacking a little bit of polish that it will probably get in the next few days.

In the meantime, everything important is already in the chapter, so enjoy.

Yes, by the way. I actually did look up where on the slopes of Mount Etna this lava tube could hav...

[FRW] Chapter 14: Falling Dominoes

This weekend has been very busy and left me with not much sleep, because I got roped into helping to build a deck for my parents' house. It's played merry hell on my sleep schedule, let me tell you.

Anyway. This chapter is a lot of stuff starting to fall into place. The world moves without Yukio doing anything and even when he prefers it wouldn't, and he can't necessarily do anything about it. Some of that on display here. 

Also that reveal... It just made sense to me. Hiding...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LVI: Heart of the Mountain

"Oh, misty eye of the mountains below..."

Rika, look what you've started.

Link here. 

(CiP)[FRW] Chapter 14: Falling Dominoes

In other words, what I spent my time doing at my aunt's house while the rest of my family was enjoying the Memorial Day festivities.

Link. 

[Hereafter] Chapter LV: Aetna

"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them..."

A couple of things delayed this, not the least of them being how exhausted I was for three straight days last week. Another was a last second rewrite to cut out some of the fluff and exchange it for a little more progression. Doing it this way also gives Rika the ability to make that reference at the end. 

Not too much happens this chapter, though. It's a transition chapter, meant to get the characters from where they were...

[FRW] Chapter 13: A Woman’s Standards

Things got a little weird this week, so this chapter that was supposed to be done by Tuesday took much, much longer to write than intended. Have it be a little longer than usual to compensate.

I do like how it turned out, though. It hit several good notes and laid the groundwork for a lot of things that are in the pipeline for this story. 

Things will really accelerate towards the Grail War soon. This chapter and the next two are the last bits of proper setup needed for the e...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter LV: Aetna

Now we can go to Mount Etna.

Link.

[Hereafter] Chapter LIV: Court Mage

So, the confrontation with a certain somebody ballooned out way past my original estimations, and things got a lot longer than I originally thought they would be. As a result, the trip to Mount Etna got pushed back a chapter so that we could have this for this chapter instead.

Can I just say, though? There were way too many instances of "wouldn't it be cool?" in canon Septem without any real thought apparently put into, "Well, how did so-and-so get there, and why there and then...

[Hereafter] Too Many Gods (omake)

Too Many Gods

The summoning circle glowed, surging. The familiar light grew blinding and the grinding wind whipped about as a figure formed in the center like a shadow cast in three dimensions.

The tempest collapsed inwards, flowing rapidly back towards the vague figure in the middle like a supernova in reverse, and it compressed down into the form of a young man, a study in strangeness and contradiction.

He looked vaguely East Asian, in a way that said o...