I spent most of last week trying to figure out what to do with this. The problem was that I couldn't decide where to start it or how the thing should flow, because I could just have her run into Lung and that would be both easy and make some sense.
But Lung is too easy. He's the obvious choice and hews close to canon. On the other hand, send...
2018-07-29 22:00:45 +0000 UTC View PostBANG
The sound of the front door slamming open echoed. She scrambled off of her bed, slipping and falling off of her mattress, and landed on the floor, butt first.
Could it be, there was really…?
“RIN-CHAN!” a familiar voice called brightly. “I’M HOME!”
An equally familiar feeling of frustration and indignation rose up in Tohsaka Rin, and she snatched up the nearest thing she could grab — a slipper from under her bed — and raced out of her room and do...
2018-07-23 23:55:30 +0000 UTC View PostI went through most of this in the past couple of hours, surprisingly. I thought I was gonna have to stop and finish later, then deliver tomorrow, but I tore through this with astounding speed once I put myself to it.
Anyway. A continuation of the first, picking up not too long after the previous one left off. Here, we get to see another look at Serenity, and a good, long look at what being a vampire really means.
There are some teasers about Serenity's backstory, here, bu...
2018-07-21 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostSo, those of you still keeping up with the Essence story thread over on Sufficient Velocity will already have seen what an absolute mess last week's response to Tyranny 6.3 was. For those of you who don't, like I said, it was an absolute mess.
Bad enough that the chapter itself gave me trouble and frustrated me, fought me every step of the way and caused delays everywhere, but the response from the readers was equally as troubled and frustrating and there seeme...
2018-07-15 22:59:33 +0000 UTC View PostAnd after way too long, it's finally done.
I'm not sure I captured all of the emotions in here that I wanted to as well as I wanted to, but at this point, I'm just ready for it to be finished. It gave me way too much trouble, but that's this arc in a nutshell, so...
As for the chapter itself, there were a lot of things happening and even more hints of things to come sprinkled throughout. Lisa's manipulations should be fairly obvious, but even if she's not completely lying about ...
2018-07-07 05:28:04 +0000 UTC View PostAnother Pendulum chapter. I honestly thought I'd posted this and 0.0 for you guys already, but apparently not, so here it is now.
Here's that experimentation with her powers. Kinda.
2018-07-05 16:02:51 +0000 UTC View PostYes, it's a Locker scene. It's going to be really hard to do well, but if I can get into the right frame of mind, it should be really impactful.
If you never got the invite for this, here's the link, now.
2018-07-05 16:00:43 +0000 UTC View PostI've got bad news and good news.
The bad news, 6.3 is kicking my ass, because it's an emotionally charged chapter and there's a lot of stuff that needs to be just right. It's about 75% done or so, but there's still lots of stuff that needs done and what's already done might need tweaking to fit it all together.
The good news, my editor's schedule has finally started to calm down and normalize, which means he'll be more available to help me with this and future chapters....
2018-07-05 15:56:36 +0000 UTC View PostSince 6.3 is giving me some trouble, I figured I'd start on 6.4, too. It's not very far in, yet, but it's a battle chapter, which should make it fun.
2018-07-05 15:45:31 +0000 UTC View PostAnd I immediately got started on this. Well, for a certain definition of "immediately," anyway.
A couple of people probably saw what starts off this chapter coming. Ah, well, not much you can do about that.
In either case, there's the link for Tyranny 6.3 Chapters-In-Progress. I'll send the normal Google Doc invites out tomorrow, when I'm more awa...
2018-06-23 02:03:59 +0000 UTC View PostNumerous things conspired to delay this past its intended release date, none of which I was happy with. The first and most egregious was that, even though the second half was written first and quickly, the first half resisted me utterly.
The second most important one is that my editor and I somehow wound up just missing each other three days in a row, and only in the last hour were we both on and up for it enough to add the finishing touches.
Anyway. This chapter goes to some pr...
2018-06-22 17:26:13 +0000 UTC View PostTentative title, there.
Anyway. Here's the Chapters-In-Progress link for this interlude. I'm really excited for this one, actually, because this is a really intense chapter. I'm trying to decide if I like it as much as I liked the Darwin's Law chapter.
The Google Docs invites will go out later today, because I'm tired and my sleep schedule is absolutely...
2018-06-12 13:31:20 +0000 UTC View PostYou know, I actually didn't think this one was gonna clear 3k? I thought for sure that this would be the shortest chapter I've ever written for Essence. Then, I got done with the final section at the end and was pleasantly surprised to find I was at 3300 words.
Anyway. Nothing too exciting happened, here. Some background for what the girls got up to during the weekend, and some more interaction with reasonable!Carol Dallon.
The main thing is the introduction of Arachne. It...
2018-06-06 03:27:28 +0000 UTC View PostWell. Ah...huh. It's a little embarrassing, but it's not like it hasn't happened before. Yesterday, while waiting for my editor to get back online after some business he had to handle, I lied down for a nap and wound up sleeping for nine hours.
What even is my life.
Anyway. Here is where things get...interesting. There's a lot I want to say about this chapter, but all of it is really spoilery, which is why I'm not going to say very much at all.
I will say, however, t...
2018-06-04 19:03:41 +0000 UTC View PostI wanted to have all three out simultaneously, but I figured I've kept you guys waiting long enough and I'll put out the one that's finished in its entirety for you.
I also wanted to put out 6.0, first, but that one's giving me more trouble than I'd like, and it's not like it's absolutely essential that you read it before 6.1, it just clarifies a few things that get mentioned in 6.1.
6.2, however, is mostly done, it just needs the final pass from my editor, and...
2018-06-03 20:04:28 +0000 UTC View PostArachne [Heroic Spirit]
Orb-Weaving Seamstress
A legendary seamstress from Greek mythology. A weaver of exceptional talent and skill, a centennial genius who cannot be surpassed if the competition is the weaving of cloth and fabric.
Born to a famous dyer, she began weaving almost from infancy. Possessing great ability and quickly surpassing those many times her senior, by the time she was an adult, she could rightly claim to be the best weaver in all ...
2018-06-03 19:53:05 +0000 UTC View PostSo, as I said in a comment a day or two ago, things took an unexpected turn, last week, so the chapters I wanted to have out for you guys on Saturday didn't come and weren't finished.
To reiterate what those things were, for those of you who haven't seen the comment in question: firstly, my sister is visiting from out of state for a week and a half. Secondly, the family get-together on Memorial Day took some time out of me, too. Thirdly, Dark Souls Remastered dropped and I spent way m...
2018-05-31 15:20:12 +0000 UTC View PostSo, as I'm sure most of you have probably gathered by now, while I was in the middle of trying to finish 6.1 this weekend, there was a sudden change of plans. Nothing bad, I assure you, but I decided that it would be a good idea to add an extra interlude before 6.1, an unofficial bonus interlude, to show what the three girls got up to during the two days between Friday evening and Sunday night.
On top of that, my editor has had a crippling attack of Real Life Problems, so the time he has...
2018-05-21 17:15:41 +0000 UTC View PostLast second change of plans to include an interlude showing some of what the girls got into during that weekend they spent preparing. If you didn't get the invite for some reason, you can find the link here.
2018-05-20 13:07:55 +0000 UTC View PostArgaleiós Arákhnēs [Noble Phantasm]
Weaving Divine Raiments
The signature Noble Phantasm of the legendary Greek woman, Arachne. The Noble Phantasm embodying her sublime, unmatched skills as a seamstress, combined with the legend of weaving story and myth into her fabrics.
Possessing no offensive attributes, it is a Noble Phantasm that cannot be used to attack others or cause them direct harm. A purely support type.
A passive kind of Nob...
2018-05-19 17:50:19 +0000 UTC View PostTake Me Up [Noble Phantasm]
Grace of the Lake Goddess
The second of Nimue’s two most characteristic Noble Phantasms. It is the embodiment of the legend of King Arthur receiving the sword, Excalibur, and its sheath. Clothed in white samite, the Lady of the Lake’s hand held aloft the sword from the surface of the water and bestowed it upon the King of Knights, a show of her support for his reign, of her grace and blessing for his rule.
As the embodi...
2018-05-19 17:48:03 +0000 UTC View PostCast Me Away [Noble Phantasm]
Tithing to the Lake Goddess
One of Nimue’s two most characteristic Noble Phantasms. An innate ability representing the legend of receiving Excalibur upon King Arthur’s death, bolstered by the practice of the ancient Celts of casting trinkets and armaments into sacred bodies of water as a form of sacrifice to life-sustaining lake and river goddesses.
Embodying just such a practice, sublimated from the story of Si...
2018-05-19 17:46:45 +0000 UTC View PostThe short story for that VN I want to make, Under the Moonlight, called, "Serenity is a State of Mind." It takes place about twenty years before the main story, though, so watch out for that later on.
2018-05-18 16:02:58 +0000 UTC View PostBeen holding onto this for a while, it's not finished, yet. Since I've been dropping these for you guys recently, I figured I might as well make a thing of it, in case I miss the invites for one of you guys.
Anyway, Chapters-in-Progress for Fate/Recursive Wisdom Chapter 1 is here.
2018-05-18 13:52:05 +0000 UTC View PostFor those of you who haven't received the link in your email or are otherwise having trouble accessing it, Tyranny 6.1 is located here.
2018-05-16 12:17:17 +0000 UTC View PostI...think I mentioned this to you guys, but I took last week off to rest and recharge and get my head in the game for arc 6. As for arc 6 itself, I also mentioned taking May off, and I'm...kinda gonna do that? For the SV thread and FF.Net, Essence will be on hiatus for the next three weeks.
For you guys, I'll be going as normal - or so I intend - and try to build back up the 3 chapter lead I used to have for you. At the same time, I'll be trying to work on a couple of other projects simu...
2018-05-14 12:19:14 +0000 UTC View PostA little later than usual, today, but there was no way I was staying up all night and all the way through to 9am, this time. I was already on my last legs when I finished this up, last night.
Anyway. Here's a look at the PRT and how they're handling the aftermath of the fiasco with Vista.
I don't...really have anything else to add to that? There's not much for me to say, this chapter. The end got a little rougher than I wanted it, but it still turned out just fine, in my opinion. 2018-05-05 16:15:21 +0000 UTC View Post
An Alternate Essence: Of Gold and Glory Act 2 and the entire Essential Material doc (minus one entry that is major spoilers), for you $13+ guys. Invites were also sent via Google Docs.
2018-05-03 02:07:34 +0000 UTC View PostCan you guess it?
Like with the previous one, this alternate take on Essence features a crossover with my "Eternityverse" rather than Nasu. The main character isn't named, here, but there are some subtle hints about his identity. Feel free to make guesses.
As the name implies, this is Act 1. Act 2 is...partway done, now, but will require some work and effort. The rest of the acts are all from different PoVs, and that's part of what will take the most time and effort - writing from the po...
2018-04-28 18:06:37 +0000 UTC View PostNot quite the final Sunder chapter. Still a final interlude to do, although even that is halfway finished.
As far as this one goes... Yeah, the dinner was kind of awkward to write. The hardest part of the chapter, in fact. The rest of it came rather smoothly, to be honest, something that surprised me once I sat down and actually did it. Most of it was hammered out in a single session.
Now, the rest of the chapter... Yeah, the planning session was fun to write. I didn't cover