James_D_Fawkes

[Hereafter] Chapter CC: Proper Planning

Despite being happy with how this chapter turned out, this is another title I'm not super excited about, I just couldn't think of a better o

Despite being happy with how this chapter turned out, this is another title I'm not super excited about, I just couldn't think of a better one that wouldn't be more suited to somewhere else in the story.

Washington continues to be a delight to have in the story, and I'm glad I brought him in. But we're not done with surprise guests, so be on ...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Interlude AL I: Ghost Stories

Been waiting for the opportunity to do this one. We have a lot of interludes this Singularity, don't we?

Link.

[Hereafter] Chapter CXCIX: An Officer and a Gentleman

The clues were a little too subtle, I see. A lot of people didn't manage to guess at a certain someone's true name, not even Taylor herself.

The clues were a little too subtle, I see. A lot of people didn't manage to guess at a certain someone's true name, not even Taylor herself. Gotta admit, I thought dating Ruler would give it away to some people, but I guess I shouldn't have worried. The hints weren't blatant enough, so I managed to keep things vague enough to pull the wool over eve...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CC: [PLACEHOLDER]

Not sure what I'm going to title this one yet. I have a few ideas, but I don't want to try them out until I'm sure I'll get to the part that will make them relevant.

Link.

[Hereafter] Abe and Harri's Marvelous Adventure

A sidestory of something that's going on in the background of the American Singularity.

Consider this another gift celebrating the 4th anniversary of Hereafter. It's not super long and it took longer than I thought it would on account of some of the other stuff taking more time than I would have liked, but it's a little sidestory for you to enjoy.

[Hereafter] Fourth Anniversary teaser

I could say something...but it kind of defeats the point of this being a "teaser" if I give you guys all of the answers about what it's teasing.

[Hereafter] Fourth Anniversary banner

Four years and still going strong! Can you believe we've made it this far?

[Hereafter] Chapter CXCVIII: Dragon's Lair

"Dragon really is too good to me," is something Taylor might have thought at one point or another.

"Dragon really is too good to me," is something Taylor might have thought at one point or another.

So, fun fact, this chapter actually came about because I was looking for an excuse for Dragon to take Taylor to visit her super secret Tinker base, and after the last few chapters, it became obvious to me that Dragon wouldn't let Taylor run around a battlefield in what amounts to civil...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CXCIX: An Officer and a Gentleman

Someone finally gets to make their debut.

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[Hereafter] Chapter CXCVII: Farewell to Absolution

Taylor's still carrying that weight.

There's a bit in here that acknowledges, I left a few things on the cutting room floor that I had originally intended to take advantage of and left alone because I couldn't find a space to fit them. This arc of the story is already shaping up to be a really long one and I didn't want to bloat it any further with those bits.

I did, however, make sure to hit the emotional beats I wanted, including the stuff with Theo, Ava, and Aster. Especially s...

[Hereafter] Chapter CXCVIII: Dragon's Lair

There's a present to be had, maybe...?

EDIT: Oh, right, forgot to put it in the shared folder. Sorry about that, folks.

Link.

[Hereafter] Chapter CXCVI: Colliding Eras

And now one of the big secrets is out. I was a little nervous about revealing it here, that even for Da Vinci, it was a bit too much of a leap, and then the editor pointed at that and said, "Pick one." Yeah, Da Vinci is a bit hax, isn't she? It can either be Da Vinci or too much of a leap, not both at the same time. Ha.

There were some theories going around about how this all was working, and although there were some fairly close guesses, no one hit the nail right on the head.

Oh,...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CXCVII: Farewell to Absolution

Not quite sure what to call this one yet. I think it'll depend on whether I get as far as I want to, and that's going to depend on whether the characters can keep their conversations tight and contained enough to avoid blowing up the word count.

Link.

[Hereafter] Interlude MK I: From the Heart

She's kinda been long overdue, hasn't she? Ritsuka and Rika have both gotten at least one interlude (depending on how you count the Prison Tower sidestories) and even Jackie has had one of her own, but poor Mash out here finally getting hers after more than 200 chapters. Girl's been waiting long enough, don't you think?

This one is a long one, and I really like how it turned out. Fun fact, a certain red-haired revolutionary was actually a fairly late addition, in that I didn't decide to...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CXCVI: Colliding Eras

Some confronting of uncomfortable truths, and some more secrets will be coming out here.

Link.

Dinah Alcott

Since she was talked about in the latest chapter and I had her design finished, I figured I could release it now. I'm not 100% happy with he

Since she was talked about in the latest chapter and I had her design finished, I figured I could release it now. I'm not 100% happy with her hair or how bland those marble steps look, but everything else turned out amazing.

EDIT: Red or blue? Gotta admit, I'm a little partial to the red version...

EDIT2 (Electric Boogaloo): Redid the b...

[Hereafter] Chapter CXCV: Fool's Gold

Surprise! Bet you didn't see that coming, did you? Or maybe you did, if you were following along on the admittedly sparse hints I've been dropping throughout this Singularity so far. I thought I was pretty tight-lipped about it, though, so maybe most of you actually are surprised? Let me know.

I told you that it's time we started getting some answers about what's going on in this Singularity, and so we are. I still have a few more that are going to get revealed soon, and then a few more...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Interlude MK I: From the Heart

Somehow, we haven't had an interlude from this particular character yet, so it looks like it's finally time.

Link.

[Hereafter] Chapter CXCIV: Council of Directors

Wait, who is that? Could it be...? Yes, it is!

We're finally starting to get some payoff for all of the hints I've been dropping for this Singularity. Some more of it is coming next chapter. There's still some things that haven't been revealed, of course, but we're in Act 2 of this Singularity, so this is where I take a lot of the masks off of everything I was hiding earlier. It's gonna be a wild ride.

EDIT: I got West and Wilkins mixed up in my head and I've been meaning to corre...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CXCV: Fool's Gold

Ready to have your mind blown? I've been holding onto this secret for so long...

Link

[Hereafter] Chapter CXCIII: Threads Unwoven

I actually intended to have lots more people show up and highlight how the absence of Taylor's younger self affected so many of these characters...but a certain someone wound up hogging the show, and he conveyed a lot of what I wanted through that conversation, so things ended going the way they did.

At least Taylor got a little bit of closure here. Answers to a few questions, as well as what may be some foreshadowing of events further down the line.

EDIT: Moving down all the way....

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CXCIV: Council of Directors

I feel like I keep saying, "it's time," but there keeps being things that I've been building up to over the course of the previous chapters, so it keeps being time for one thing or another. In this case, let's see how the directors handle everything.

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[Hereafter] Interlude JtR: Collective Will

Jackie...was both a pleasure and a pain to write for, just because she's a kid and it was a bit difficult to try and think like an eight-year-old again, how much simpler the world seems through their eyes, while at the same time trying to account for how jaded and cynical she is.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter regardless. There was a lot of stuff that went on here, and some hints about other things, as well as blatant, neon signs. Try and figure out which is which.

EDIT: Movin...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CXCIII: Threads Unwoven

Not in love with that title, might change it later, but here we go.

I could have gone with, "And nothing happened until she met the directors," but that felt a little lazy. Them and Taylor aren't the only ones in LA, after all.

Link.

[Hereafter] Chapter CXCII: Cautious Connections

Not super happy with the title, but I didn't have a better one, so it gets to stay.

So! Finally, some of the mysteries are starting to unravel, and both you, the audience, and Taylor herself are getting some answers to the hanging questions that have been dangling above your heads since the start of this Singularity.

There's still a lot of answers left ungiven. Next chapter, you'll get to enjoy the interlude you've been waiting for, and some more of those answers will drop. Some o...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Interlude JtR: Collective Will

You guys have been waiting for this for a while, so here it is.

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[Hereafter] Chapter CXCI: Binary Friendship

This chapter...wound up being a lot of Taylor and Dragon bonding, and I'm okay with that. I think the last couple of chapters have been heavy enough that we could do with a little bit of something softer and less plot-driven.

But soon enough, we'll be back to the plot and answering more questions from the first act of the story.

EDIT: Moving down all the way. 5/17/25

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CXCII: [PLACEHOLDER]

Not sure what to call this one yet, so I guess it just stays blank for now.

Link.

[Hereafter] Special Release! "Cosmos in the Lostbelt: Remnant of the Shattered Firmament|Earth Bet"

Screw it. People have been asking for almost four years how I would do Cosmos in the Lostbelt for this story, so I’m giving you all what you asked for!

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“Here and now, officially, I, Olga Marie Animusphere, Director of the Chaldea Security Organization, declare that our Grand Order to restore proper history has been completed!”

No one was untouched by the announcement. Here it ...

[Hereafter] Chapter CXC: A Friendly Face

One of the things I really like about how Wildbow wrote Taylor is that she doesn't often communicate her most intense emotions verbally. I try to carry that forward here in Hereafter, and instead of having her explain when she's feeling lost or unmoored or desperately in need of a hug, describing her physical reactions, how she acts on those emotions. I hope that subtlety and nuance carries through.

But also, surprise! Yeah, guess who. I knew some people would guess just b...