James_D_Fawkes

Interlude 6.c

The final interlude of arc 6. I...honestly don't know whose PoV to use, just yet. I'll need to talk to my editing team about it, because it's too early to use Piggot again and Armsmaster feels like it'd be a bit of a slog. Maybe Danny again? I dunno. 

Anyway. Piggot conversation. It comes to a head and Taylor's future as a hero is determined.

He...

Okita Setsuka v2

Changed her face, finished her legs. Vector linework, this time.

I dunno. I generally prefer to give my characters more "realistic" facial proportions, but I'm not sure I like this face better than the previous version.

Color palette for her clothes is based upon the Shinsengumi uniform pictured on wikipedia.

Interlude 6.b - In Love and War

I tried to fit it all together, but it just didn't work out that way. Even though a good portion of the first half or so is more a summary of what Danny's week was like, this still wound up just shy of 6k words.

As a result, there's going to be one more interlude before Pendulum 0.0, and then we move on to arc 7 proper. 

I honestly wanted to get through the Piggot conversation this chapter, but it would've stretched on too long. I've made you guys wait for long enoug...

CiP: Promise 7.1

The majority of this chapter - or at least the second half - will have to wait until the 6.b Interlude is finished, so that I know where the story is going to end up, for the purposes of Wards or no Wards. I can at least do the parts of it that are going to be universal, though.

So, link is here.

Also, if anyone is fluent in Irish, I need that se...

Update

Would it help for you guys if I kept you more up to date about what I'm up to? Generally, I only post when I have something concrete to show, which is why I can go long stretches without saying anything, but if you think it'd be more engaging for me to let you know more about what's going on, I can try doing that, too.

Anyway. In the spirit of that, I'm letting everyone know I've finally gotten back to work on Essence in earnest. One of the things that has kept me away was that I wasn't...

Present and Accounted For

So, entirely without meaning to, it seems I wound up taking February off from Essence and proceeded to do work on other projects. A little bit on Recursive Wisdom, but more (by quite a lot) on Project Nietzsche (QotA, although I'm not sure I've told you guys what that stands for, yet).

I wanted to give you guys a few presents to make up for it, in the form of Chapters-in-Progress links to the opening chapters of QotA, but I talked to my editor, and he said, "Oh, no way, it's way too ear...

Interlude I: Spiraling Repetition

I wanted to wait to give this to you guys, because it's way out of order, right now. But that was before a commission ate up two weeks of my time, so...

Here it is. 

Poor Medea. She's so broken.

[Commission] Unlosing Blade Works

Well, you guys might as well get to see what I spent two weeks working on.

As an apology for being gone that long, I'm giving this to you guys in 4K - all of you. Only the commissioner got it in that resolution, otherwise. Everyone else gets to settle for regular HD.

For all that I eventually decided to cheat with the background, I did actually enjoy painting Shirou himself. I feel like I mentioned that before? Oh well.

Depending on how things go, you guys might be ...

Update

Whew. The last two weeks were busy. Like, came out of nowhere.

More real life family stuff happened. Visited my grandfather, my aunt went back in and then came back out of the hospital. For the latter, I have a kind of resigned, "If you'd kept your promise to me 20 years ago when I was a kid and asked you to stop smoking, then none of these things would've happened to you," sort of feeling.

The main distraction was a commission I did, though. It took about twice as long a...

CiP: Interlude 6.b: Love and War

Definitely going to take my time getting this chapter right. It's going to be absolutely vital that I strike the right points and the right tone with it, because Danny, Taylor, and Piggot absolutely have to be convincing. This doesn't work right if they aren't.

Find it here.

Reminder: the next chapter after this will be Pendulum...

Tyranny 6.11

Now, we start to wind down. After the action of last chapter, here's some reaction and some indication of the seriousness of the situation.

Admittedly, I kept forgetting about Dinah, this arc. She kept slipping both my and Taylor's minds, even though she was ostensibly the reason the girls were going to assault Coil's base in the first place - or one of the reasons, at least.

I struggled a little with her part in this chapter, mostly because Dinah doesn't get much screentime. I ev...

Update

This last week has been..."hectic," isn't the right word, because it's actually been fairly calm, but "heavy" works a bit better.

My FGO woes are fairly well-known, and I'm still kind of reeling from them. A lot of characters I was really looking forward to are beyond my reach because I hit a reverse jackpot, and Enkidu, Musashi, and King Hassan are among them. But like I said on the discord channel, that was the easy part.

The harder parts are a bit more personal. My grandfather ...

Commission Prices

Since I've finally opened myself up to commissions in earnest, I'll give you guys the page, too. Not sure how many of you will be interested, but if you are, you can find prices there.

As a reminder, Patron discounts start in full in February. For now, all Patrons, regardless of tier, will have a flat 10% discount.

CiP: Recursive Wisdom Ch2

No snappy name for it, just yet. I'm sure I'll come up with something later, but for now, it's just chapter 2. 

Here you go. 

Compared to chapter 1, in this chapter, it's from the perspective of the main character, this time. His name is Tohsaka Yukio, and he's pleased to make your acquaintance. 

Nothing too exciting will hap...

Upcoming Revamp

Alright. I've had this bouncing around for a while, and I'll spend the next month or so finalizing the plan, but for now, I'm here to let you guys know that the Patron tiers will be getting an overhaul sometime in February. Not a big one, mind you, but there will be changes.

Here's the plan:

• Patron Tier "Senior Squire" ($9+) will be merged down with "Squire" ($7+).
• Patron Tier "Knight of the Round" ($50+) will be merged down with "Knight Commander" ($25+).<...
  2019-01-01 22:48:32 +0000 UTC View Post

Essential Material: Khepri

Khepri [Heroic Spirit]
Hero of the Dawn

A Heroic Spirit born in a grim, alternate future. A version of Taylor Hebert from a different timeline who went down a different path.

Previously known by different names, she committed great and terrible deeds in the name of what she believed was good. At the end of a long and harrowing tale, with her mind fraying and falling apart, she had her powers removed by two bullets, aimed precisely, through her ...

Essential Material: Tyranny of the Queen

Tyranny of the Queen [Noble Phantasm]
Loyalty of the Enthralled

Khepri’s ultimate trump card. A reflection not of her nature nor of her tendencies in battle, but of the singular feat for which she is undoubtedly most famous: bringing together many others to fight for a common cause, by force.

This is the Noble Phantasm reflecting not her ultimate victory over the Entity Zion, but the method she contrived of to do so. It is the Noble Phantasm ...

Essential Material: Queen of Escalation

Queen of Escalation [Noble Phantasm]
None Shall Strike Me With Impunity

The Noble Phantasm of Heroic Spirit Khepri. An innate ability, a constantly active Noble Phantasm that is more like a burden of the body than a tool she treasured in life. 

Whenever the enemy she faces is superior to her, in terms of physical capabilities especially but also if they are using a Noble Phantasm to support their own abilities, all of Khepri’s abilities ...

Essential Material: Khepri

Khepri [Noble Phantasm]
Queen of Administration

The signature Noble Phantasm of Khepri (Taylor Hebert). The ultimate expression of her absolute control, representing the part of her legend wherein she bent thousands of great warriors to her will and enthralled them to herself.

Embodying that legend, it is an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm that allows her to take control of the bodies of anyone and everything within her range, including those of other...

Essential Material: Hotswap

Hotswap [Term]

Serial Summon (Hotswap). The practice of Apocrypha switching from one Install to the next without stopping in between. A quick and effective method of bypassing the ordinary delay between the usage of Installs by cutting it out entirely.

Naturally, in terms of speed, it is the fastest method. However, in terms of stress, it puts her real body under a great deal more than an Install would otherwise.<...

Tyranny 6.10

Present the third. The finale. The climax of this entire arc.

Oh, man, I've been waiting so long! I can finally reveal the Essential Material segments for her NP and everything!

Ahem.

So, many of you have already likely guessed who the mystery Heroic Spirit was. Hell, I made it easier with the pictures I've painted for her, so I'd be surprised if anyone didn't already know.

But here it is, the reveal, at last. And a quick fight showing off how awesome she is. And also ...

Tyranny 6.9

Present number 2. After entirely far too long, here is the next chapter of Essence, Tyranny 6.9.

Ugh, was this frustrating. It resisted my writing it for such a long time, there were even days when I just wanted to give up on it. Fortunately, it's done, now, and the big hurdle has been passed. Hopefully, the rest will be much easier, from here on out.

For the chapter itself... I won't hold out hopes that it's higher quality enough to make up for the missteps that brought us to thi...

Essential Material: Pseudo Magic Circuits

Pseudo Magic Circuits [Term]

The apparatus utilized by Taylor Hebert as a means of enacting her powers are what might be called Pseudo Magic Circuits. They are the artificial organ through which magical energy is channeled in her body, and thereby also the means by which she fuels her Installs.

Unlike the true Magic Circuits of a magus, the nature of Taylor’s Pseudo Magic Circuits is closer to a muscle, which can increase its functionality throu...

Essential Material: Crown of Administration

Crown of Administration [Term]

The passenger of Taylor Hebert, Apocrypha. The shard cannibalized by Alaya and repurposed to allow for the channeling of the power of Heroic Spirits. The means by which Taylor Hebert’s powers function. 

Also, were a “Heroic Spirit Apocrypha” to form, the name of her primary Noble Phantasm.

This is the Administration shard, originally destined to specialize in the original timeline’s “bug control.” Here, it has ...

Essential Material: Codex Abramelin

Codex Abramelin [Noble Phantasm]
Grimoire of the Ancient Magic

Codex Abramelin: Grimoire of the Ancient Magic. The Noble Phantasm of Nicolas Flamel, the book he is said to have possessed that held the secrets of all magecraft. It is also said to have been the origin of Flamel’s knowledge of magic.

Whether it was real or the invention of later rumors, it appears in this form as the Noble Phantasm of the alchemist, Nicolas Flamel.

Contain...

Hero of the Dawn (Stage 4 Ascension)

The first of what I hope will be three presents, delivered over the course of the next few days. We'll see how things work out, between the family get-togethers and whether or not my editors will be available.

Anyway. Shouldn't need to explain who this is, by this point. If the beetle carrying the sun on her chest wasn't a big enough clue...

As a present to everyone, everyone is getting the max size resolution of this image, rather than the shrunken version. At 300dpi, th...

Artifice: Alpha 1.1

Like with Recursive Wisdom Ch 1, I finished this and decided to let you guys all see it. Remember that Nier: Automata x Worm crossover idea I floated about? This is it.

Again, not replacing Essence, but one of the possible successors to it once it's finished. Essence will continue to its inevitable end.

Anyway, this is quite a bit shorter than I usually write, even shorter than the shortest of Essence's chapters. As a litmus test, I might actually need to write another two chapters befor...

Fate/Recursive Wisdom Ch 1: Unexpected Everyday

So, I finished this, and decided to just give it to you guys now.

No, this isn't replacing Essence. No, I don't plan on giving up on Essence. Even if it stalls now and again, I intend to see it through, and this was just a detour to work out some creative juices and try to get things flowing, again.

This is really more of a litmus test than anything. A chance to see what you guys think of the story and the characters and whether or not it's worth continuing as my next project once Essenc...

Tyranny 6.8

Lost track of what number we're supposed to be on.

Ahem. Anyway. Not sure how much each of you has been keeping up with this as I worked on it, so I'm not sure what's spoilers for it and what's not. Honestly, it's just a fight, so there's nothing super spoilery to begin with.

There were some parts, here, where I had to keep the characters on a particular track, and you might find them, if you look hard enough, and part of that is that I have trouble with large scale battles, par...

Tyranny 6.7

Right. Since the original doc is going to get split into three chapters, this is what will be 6.7.

I know you guys got this earlier, and not much has changed, honestly. A few edits were made, a few things were changed, but it's overall the same as the previous version. I just figured you guys would want the new version, too.

Part two will be released as 6.8, part 3 as 6.9. SV will get them over the course of the next week - one today, one Wednesday, and one next Saturday. You'll be getti...