James_D_Fawkes

Project Nietzsche

Queen of the Abyss

The world has long since gone to hell. 

The farms that make our food and the cities we live in are the only safe places left. The only places with any guarantee that you'll wake up to see the sun rise. Everywhere else is cruel and unforgiving, beset upon by bandits and outlaws, and unprotected from the plague that strikes erratically and consumes everything in its path.

Even the cities aren't free from danger. Heroes and villains fi...

Hero of the Dawn (Stage 4 Ascend) (WIP)

So, I had this idea a while ago, did the sketch about a week back, and marathoned most of the finalized linework last night. All that's missing is the face.

All things considered, one of the two longest parts of the process is now nearly finished. Once the lines are done, the basic colors are next, and then the shading - in other words, the longest part. Fuller commentary on this piece will be done once the final product is done.

Between this and "In the Quiet Moments," I hope to reenerg...

CiP: In the Quiet Moments I

Not a chapter, yet. 6.7 is kicking my behind, and thoroughly. Every time I get through one section, I hit another stumbling block later on.

So, here's this thing, a quick, short sidestory for the night immediately after the 6.0 bonus interlude. It's not finished yet, but it is, as the title says, a quiet moment between characters, which is where I excel as a writer.

2018-11-11 07:22:47 +0000 UTC View Post

Essential Material: Arákhnē Metamórphōsis

Arákhnē Metamórphōsis [Noble Phantasm]
Thus a Spider I Become

One of Arachne’s two signature Noble Phantasms. Rather than embodying the sublime skill she possessed as a seamstress, this Noble Phantasm is the embodiment of the latter part of her legend, where Athena transformed her into a spider.

Reflecting that myth, Arachne is transformed from a beautiful but ordinary human woman into a halfway form, a monster possessing the form of a woman fro...

CiP Tyranny 6.7 (Full) (Open)

Right. Since this is kicking my ass so bad, like a lot of this arc has been (to my, and I imagine, your, frustration), I'm gonna open this up to all of you, here.

Here.

At this point, it's just shy of 8k. I'm not sure I can finish it before hitting 10k. The fight itself, I have a pretty good idea of how and where I want it to go, but it feels like it ju...

CiP Alpha 1.1

Will it ever happen? Who knows. I've been talking with my editor about it, and he seems certain that reconciling these two realities is a herculean effort that won't pay off, in the end. To some extent, I can understand his point, because when we discussed it, there were some seriously difficult hurdles to overcome to make it work that haven't been overcome, yet.

But I'm game to try, eventually. Maybe after Essence has finished, if I don't immediately start on something original, like Serenity...

Tyranny 6.7 Part 1

As it says on the tin, the first half Tyranny 6.7. I figured I'd give it to you guys to chew on while work to finish the second half.

This half turned out to be lots of talking, most of it by Alexandria. The second half...will be lots of fighting. Hopefully, with some new and novel ideas thrown in.

Please do note, this has not been stringently edited. When the second half is finished, I'll post the chapter in its entirety for you guys, complete with any edits that need to be made.

...

Here Come the Clones

So, I figured I'd list these guys for everyone, just to keep track and clarify exactly what they can and can't do. Obviously, not everyone is listed in their entirety, because there are some clones that haven't been used, yet, but I'll make another post when we get there.

First:

Amelia (Amy clone variant 1) [T-1000]

Lens: Envy and Jealousy, amplifications of Amy's self-image issues and feelings for her friends and family; very 'Yandere,' with much, much mo...

2018-10-18 12:22:45 +0000 UTC View Post

[Concept] Age of Reclamation

He awakens in a warehouse, surrounded by old machines. He doesn't remember how he got there, where he is, or even his own name. Retrograde amnesia, he knows, although he doesn't know how. 

And in his head is knowledge, impossible knowledge. Images of towering spires of cool gray metal, starships that rip holes through the fabric of space-time, suits of sleek plates and gleaming lights, weapons that burn and disintegrate. And a word. Reclamation. A name. D...

2018-10-16 23:28:16 +0000 UTC View Post

[Concept] Artifice

The end is the same. A locker filled with refuse and waste. A girl shoved inside and left to rot. But in the weeks of peace beforehand, without her tormentors to control her focus, Taylor is left wondering why. Why has her best friend betrayed her so utterly? Why has Emma spent the past year making her life miserable? Why, why, why?

And so, in the locker, the wondering culminates, and the power Taylor receives is not to suborn all the bugs ar...

2018-10-16 23:11:46 +0000 UTC View Post

CiP: Tyranny 6.7

Of the almost half-dozen chapters opened in my tabs and in the process of being written, this...will probably be the most frustrating one. It's definitely going to necessitate rereading the Noelle fight in canon, because there needs to be more substance than, "the Triumvirate whales on Noelle, the end." 

I'll figure something out, I hope.

In any case, link's 2018-10-03 15:45:54 +0000 UTC View Post

Tyranny 6.6

So, my editor and I have been playing the Discord equivalent of phone tag for the past week or so, which is why it took a little longer to finish this. I couldn't pin him down until about twelve hours ago, and the minute I did, I sat down to finish this chapter.

As for the chapter itself, we're getting back into the action. An actual fight.  Not as big or as bombastic a one as the Lung fight, but closer than Oni Lee or Bakuda were.

I don't know if it was just me, but Noelle's plan f...

CiP: Tyranny 6.8

Yup, we're skipping past 6.7 and going straight to 6.8. 

You shouldn't, though. I mean, you can, that's the whole point of the Chapters-in-Progress access. Being able to read ahead while I write the chapters.

But you shouldn't. There's massive spoilers for the big reveal within the first page, near the very beginning. Might want to wait for 6.7, first.

If you're still willing to brave it, you can find it 2018-09-19 14:10:18 +0000 UTC View Post

CiP: Tyranny 6.6

The second half of that previous chapter. About 2/3-ish done, I think. Maybe as little as one half. Lots more fighting in this one.

You can find it here.

Tyranny 6.5

The bad news - this had to be split in half, it got so big.

The good news - splitting it in half means 6.6 is about 2/3 done, so it should be ready for you guys by next weekend, which means you'll be getting it a week early, again. Am I finally getting back on track? I hope so.

Now, as for the chapter itself, as with the usual split chapters, it's a little shorter than my standard fare at 3.3k words. There's also not much fighting happening in it, but that's okay, because 6.6 and 6.7 are...

Release Schedule Changes

Since the last arc has been giving me so much trouble, I've decided, at this point, it's best to just call a spade a spade and officially announce the change of release schedule to a biweekly release, once every other week, rather than trying to pretend it's been anything else.

What this means for you guys... Well, it's not going to be quite the same as it will be for the forumites on Sufficient Velocity or the guys on Fanfiction.net. Since I can't guarantee weekly releases anymore, i...

Chapters-in-Progress: Tyranny 6.5

I wasn't quite sure how to start this, at first. It seemed a little strange to just jump straight into the action, and I wanted very badly for Brandish to get in a line or two about Marquis and his relation to Amy.

Anyway, here's the link.

This chapter is being written a little weirdly. I keep jumping ahead to add hanging strings for later sections befo...

Pledge Processing Errors

Patreon is currently having payment issues. If you are a patron that uses a credit card, please check w/ your bank to approve the charge as non-fraud or update your payment method. Many of the creators I know have had 30-50% of their income essentially deleted, myself included  

This is still a thing, guys. Patreon sent me this email not too long ago on the subject.

Pay day is right around the corner, and we wanted to   check in with ...

2018-09-02 09:36:24 +0000 UTC View Post

Tyranny 6.4

It's actually a little shorter than usual, probably the shortest chapter I've written for Essence, but I got to the start of the fight, realized that it was going to balloon up again and I was going to wind up with a minimum of three chapters of fighting, and decided that it was better to cut it off where it is now rather than trying to squeeze another two or three thousand words into this. 

Which means 6.5 and 6.6 are going to basically be all fight scenes, but what are you goin...

CiP Interlude 6.b

I don't even have a title for it, yet. That's how tentative this is.

But. I do want to bring this in and start towards the plot that this is a part of.

Here's the link.

CiP Tyranny 6.10

So, I don't actually know if Tyranny will go all the way up to a 6.8, which means this might be 6.7. But I do have a general plan for where 6.4, 6.5, and 6.6 will start and finish. If things balloon, then this might be 6.8.

In any case, here's the link.

If you're confused about "hotswapping," that should be covered in the chapter preceding this...

Help Wanted: Looking For Another Editor

So, 6.4 has been delayed (again), and may be for another week, depending on how quickly I can find another person or two to help out with Essence.

Some of you may have already heard, but after the big SNAFU on the SV thread, where basically everyone expressed how iffy the last few chapters have seemed to them, my current editor and I talked and decided it might be a good idea to bring in another person or two to give us a fresh look at everything. 

That's, uh... Currently ongoing.&n...

Chapters-in-Progress Change

It's kinda been something that's been happening for the past few weeks or so, but it's now an official policy thing: Chapters-in-Progress ("CiP") links will now be made available in posts, tagged "Chapters-in-Progress," rather than made accessible via invites from Google Docs.

There are several reasons why this is happening like this. Before, it was a little neater and it felt more personal to send the invites out manually, but it quickly got to be a complicated mess trying to keep track of wh...

Fate/Recursive Wisdom Teaser 2

“You really don’t give yourself enough credit,” she told him, trying to be supportive. “Your jewel magecraft is perfectly acceptable —”

“You mean mediocre.”

“— and your grasp on the basics is solid.”

“In other words, good enough to match a second or third rate magus,” he translated.

Rin grimaced. It wasn’t exactly untrue, but… Damn it, couldn’t he just accept her compliments?

“A-Anyway,” she said, changing the subject, “you went to ...

Tyranny 6.3 Redux

The new and improved version, hopefully. I don't know if everyone will agree, but I do think this one turned out better than the previous version. 

Somewhere in here, 1000 extra words got added. A little extra stuffing for everyone to chew on.

Now, to be fair, most of the second half is entirely unchanged. Most. There were some parts added or expanded upon in order to straighten it out a little, but far and away, most of the new stuff was put into the first half. I'd say......

CiP: Tyranny 6.3 Redux

Quite late, yes, so the amount of time you have exclusive access is short, but here is the Chapters-in-Progress link to the redone version of 6.3. 

Also, there are some major spoilers in the work I did recently in the Pendulum 0.0 chapter, so if you want to avoid having the biggest question of the story answered out of order, you should definite...

Essential Material: Amulet of Arrow Protection

Amulet of Arrow Protection [Term]

A golden amulet. A simple charm made of gold, lacking in any complex designs or ostentatious ornamentation. Small and innocuous, it could be mistaken for an ordinary piece of jewelry.

In spite of its unassuming appearance, however, it is a powerful magical artifact, endowing the wearer with an absolute protection against arrows, projectile weapons. Even if it comes from an unexpected angle, even if it is launched from afar, even if it is...

Last Week's Blues

Real talk? I don't know what happened, last week. It wasn't like there was anything particularly exciting going on or something came up that took up all my time, I just felt so tired for some reason. Lethargic and exhausted, for no apparent reason. Maybe my utterly ass-backwards sleeping schedule just finally caught up to me? I don't know. I just spent the entire week in a malaise, where I didn't want to do much of anything. I didn't want to play video games, alone or with m...

2018-08-14 12:08:59 +0000 UTC View Post

Would Charge Up Front have changed your decision to pledge your support to me?

If the Charge Up Front feature had been enabled (and existed, for that matter) when you pledged to my Patreon, would it have made any difference in your decision to pledge your support, or would you have pledged your support whether it was enabled or not?

Charge Up Front?

So, this is apparently now a thing.

I thought about doing it, because it adds some convenience for me and helps with those guys who show up, pledge for a day or two, then vanish and quit before the monthly charge.

On the other hand, it affects you guys who are already pledged, too, because it'll charge you the difference immediately if you change your amount to a higher tier and there are no r...