James_D_Fawkes

[Hereafter] Chapter XVI: Crest of Blood

Title drop near the end, there.

I had trouble figuring out exactly how Arash's Clairvoyance works. There doesn't seem to be any indication of general precognition, so I've always considered that it was likely just sort of him always knowing exactly where he needed to aim to hit his targets.

EDIT: Open to everyone. Enjoy, guys.

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter XVI: Crest of Blood

We get started in earnest. Wow, this is already the 4th chapter of Orleans, huh? I knew the others were going to be longer than Fuyuki, but I think I underestimated how long this is looking to turn out to be.

Link is here.

[Hereafter] Chapter XV: Long Odds

Wound up changing the title on this one. "Crest of Blood" was originally a reference, but the event the reference was supposed to connect to got pushed back to next chapter.

This chapter isn't particularly eventful. Lots of talking, lots of logistics, lots of everyone making plans for what's coming next.

Also, like I haven't been saying this all morning, the distances involved in the Orleans Singularity might not be as ridiculous as the American Myth War, but they are pretty signi...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter XV: Long Odds

Finally, Taylor gets to summon her own Servant. I confess, I wasn't totally sure who it would wind up being, but the one we eventually chose was a good one, I think. Now I just have to write that part out.

Link is here.

[Hereafter] Chapter XIV: Sinner and Saint

Half of this was written in a 2 hour spree on Sunday morning, which is just incredible to me. 

So Taylor gets to be a badass for a few minutes, and then Mash takes the wind out of her sails. Also, French soldiers are a lot less accommodating than they were in FGO canon, because, you know, they just saw a Biblical plague swoop in from out of nowhere.

This one wound up a little bit shorter than recent chapters have tended to be, but that was a really good place to end it, so I ...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter XIV: Sinner and Saint

The action starts.

I love the first scene, but I'm still going back and forth with the editors about it, so some parts might wind up gutted, more's the pity.

Link is here.

[Hereafter] Chapter XIII: Tyranny of the Light

I had to remind myself that there's a new way of doing things and I wasn't just dumping this on everyone as soon as it was done.

In any case - yes. Yes, you're reading this right. Yes, that actually happened. How? We'll find out later on, although some of the guesses on the SV thread have been startlingly close.

My editor really loved that part. He called it "so fucking Disney" and said that Taylor is "officially a Disney princess." Your mileage on that may vary.

EDIT: I thi...

Which summary works best for Fate/Recursive Wisdom?

I'm having trouble deciding between them, so I'd like to get everyone's opinion.

Version 1:

He inherited neither of his sisters’ unique attributes, and so became neither the Tohsaka heir nor the Matou’s puppet. That does not mean, however, that his life has been easy and free of suffering, nor that he escaped the destiny of the Holy Grail War.

Version 2:

I wish I could say it was altruistic. That it was all about saving the world and doin...

2021-06-05 10:49:55 +0000 UTC View Post

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter XIII: Tyranny of the Light

This will probably not be everyone's cup of tea. After all, everyone just got used to Taylor being powerless for a whole arc, and now... Well, this. 

Of course, there's also undoubtedly going to be people who are frustrated it took this long.

Link is here.

EDIT: This is why I shouldn't do this stuff when I'm half asleep.

[Hereafter] Chapter XII: Wrought Iron Chef

How appropriate that this chapter is posted at lunchtime, so you have something to chew on as you eat.

Watch out for all those bricks laying about, I'm using them to build a foundation for later things.

(CiP)[FRW] Chapter 5: Ulterior Motives

This story, on the other hand, isn't going anywhere near as quickly as I'd like it to. In either sense. But there's just so much that needs to be set up before the Grail War proper...

Link is here.

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter XII: Wrought Iron Chef

So it turns out there's one more Lucky Numbers post before Hereafter goes live, and it's this one.

I didn't have a better title in mind, so I went with a pun.

Link is here.

[Hereafter] Chapter XI: Red Hound

The meaning of the title should become obvious at the end of the chapter.

Here's another long one, everyone. Somehow, I keep writing these 5-6k things, so I hope you're enjoying having longer chapters to sink your teeth into.

Next chapter, I think we'll officially start Orleans. It might not be until near the end of the chapter, but next chapter, I think.

Looks like I was wrong. There'll be one more Lucky Numbers chapter before the official release of Hereafter to t...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter XI: Red Hound

I'm still not totally sold on the title, but it is a character reference, so there's that, at least. 

Link is here.

[Hereafter] Chapter X: Monolith

We get some more hints about Taylor and Olga's relationship.

But this is some cooldown from the last main chapter and a resolution to Singularity F.

This also means I just wrote a novel's worth in about a month and a half. 50k+ words. Holy shit.

There's going to be some fluff and character stuff and setup, but by chapter 12, Orleans will start, and we'll be on our way to another novel's worth of words.

[Hereafter] Interlude OMA: Personal Investment

And so we begin to see why Olga Marie treated Taylor so much better than she did the twins. 

There's so much more I wish I could have included in this chapter. Unfortunately, there's no clean way to cover the two years that passed between the moments of this chapter and the beginning of the story, not in the same chapter as this scene.

This is also a little short. But it felt like it ended where it should have ended, so I'll live with that.

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter X: Monolith

Technically, this occurs after Singularity F has been resolved, but because it's addressing the aftermath of that arc, I'm going to keep it classified as part of it.

We learn what became of Olga. I'm hoping this will be handled to your satisfaction.

Link is here.

[Hereafter] Chapter IX: Grand Order

That was quick!

Rapid turnaround on this one. It was actually done yesterday, after I expanded it with 3k in one go, but dose 2 of Moderna kicked my ass - still is - and I didn't get the editing pass done on time.

In any case, here we go. The last chapter of Singularity F's main conflict. There'll be an interlude next (the CiP for that should already be up) and some after action stuff going on, and then...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter IX: Grand Order

Be careful, this thing is in pieces, so the second half is already basically written. If you don't want to spoil it, avoid everything past the Lev's name being brought up. Since I wrote that first, I wanted to put some more content at the top before posting this CiP.

This is technically the last chapter of Singularity F. There's an interlude and some follow up, but for the main event, this is the end. Orleans will be next — and I start dropping some more hints.

Link is 2021-05-13 03:06:41 +0000 UTC View Post

[Hereafter] Chapter VIII: Sangraal

Now, after that heaping helping of news that probably isn't so welcome, let me drop something more to your palate on you.

The fight in this chapter was a bit awkward to write. It's relatively short and not super interesting, but that's the problem with writing Servant battles: since Servants move so quickly and with such force, the only way to spice them up is to make the viewpoint character in awe of what's going on or adding some kind of urgency to the battle.

Taylor has fought ...

Pardon My Dust

I've been thinking about this for a while, and looking at the tiers, there's going to need to be some adjustment. The lower tiers are mostly fine, but the mid and upper tiers offer things that I don't do often enough to be worth offering as bonuses, so I'm going to need to rebalance things a little. 

I'm not quite sure how to do that with the upper tiers. Seeing as the majority of you are $1 tier Patrons, however, that's weighted a little too far onto the bottom end. I get it — f...

[Fate/Recursive Wisdom] Chapter 4: Surrounded by Smiles

Really long title. Maybe I should start abbreviating that to [FRW] just to save some space.

Slow chapter, this time. Some more setup, some slice of life, some teasing of multiple things, including a plot point or two. But as shown by the week-ish long timeskip between last chapter and this one, I'm not going to dwell too much on the day to day stuff, just hit all of the points that need hitting before the Grail War proper kicks off.

It might take me a while to work out th...

[Hereafter] Chapter VII: Brittle Fake

"Where's EMIYA?!?!"

Well, that battle was supposed to happen in this chapter, but things went on too long to fit it, and I liked the character byplay too much to cut it out in favor of getting straight to the action.

But what byplay, huh? Cu and Taylor work surprisingly well together. I was surprised as I wrote this to realize that they would probably make for a really good team with loads of compatibility, but the prevalence of Cu and his more easygoing nature makes it hard to pi...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter VIII: Sangraal

This will probably be the last chapter of Singularity F.

Well, I say that, but it's really more like I'm hoping it's true, because this title is only fitting for the final battle of the Singularity F Grail War.

Link here.

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter VII: Brittle Fake

...I'm leaving the title blank, for now. I do have a title I want to use, but until I'm sure I'll get to the point that makes it relevant, I'm going to hold onto that. I have a sneaking suspicion I'll have to wait until next chapter to use it.

Link is here.

Lucky number 7 means this is open to $7+ Patrons, too. 

[Hereafter] Chapter VI: A Brief Respite

Extra long one, this time.

I set out to make this one about relaxing and taking a break, and then the first three quarters of the chapter wound up being more of the last several chapters, sans the Medusa fight. That is, the characters talking plans for how to deal with the Singularity and where to go next.

Enjoy, everyone. And maybe vote in the poll, if you haven't already?

(CiP)[Fate/Recursive Wisdom] Chapter 4: Surrounded by Smiles

Wow, that's a mouthful to title this post with.

Minor timeskip, some Yukio interacting with the cast, and an awkward confession by a girl who doesn't realize the object of her affection didn't even know she existed.

Link is here.

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter VI: A Brief Respite

Exactly what it says on the tin. Aftermath of last chapter, and some downtime before heading off to fight the final battle of Singularity F.

Link is here.

Lucky numbers!

[Hereafter] Chapter V: Beggars and Choosers

Ugh, I thought I set this up to be posted this morning, but apparently, the post got lost, somehow.

I probably put way more thought into the skills and interactions and the technicalities involved in this chapter than I really needed to, but also probably not anywhere near as much as Ryuugi would have.

This fight felt kinda quick. At the same time, there's only so many ways to extrapolate on "and then they fought." Cu is a total bro, though.

(CiP) [Hereafter] Chapter V: Beggars and Choosers

And the fight continues.

Not much else I can say without spoiling anything.

Link here.