James_D_Fawkes

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXVII: The Black Rose

The plot thickens. So many mysteries that can't be explained just yet.

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[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXVI: Contact with the Enemy

It is time.

This one is another kinda long one, because there was too much I wanted to fit into it. I dropped a lot of hints, and there's still going to be some familiar elements, because the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Make no mistake, though. This isn't the American Myth War from canon. Don't let the familiar faces fool you, because they're not going to appear the way you think they will.

EDIT: Moving down all the way. 1/25/2025

EDIT 2: Added He...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXVI: Contact with the Enemy

Yes, last chapter was titled the way it was specifically so that I could set it up for this one.

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[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXV: No Plan Survives

Very technically, the last chapter of the London intermission. I thought about filling the space with a little more fluff...but I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't bloat out into several more chapters, and I didn't want to do that. Starting a new subplot right after dropping so much hinting and foreshadowing about America felt too awkward and out of place.

So, next chapter begins the North American Epic Tragedy. Neither you guys nor the team is prepared for what I have coming dow...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXV: No Plan Survives

I thought about having just one more chapter with just a little bit more fluff...but I couldn't think of anything short enough to put in just a single chapter that wasn't filler. So, next chapter, America finally begins.

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[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXIV: No Capes

Still not super in love with the chapter title for this one, but I didn't have too many good ideas for something that covered everything that happens in this chapter.

So! America is on the horizon. The team has been briefed about everything they could reasonably expect to face and given at least the beginnings of a game plan. Now all that's left is for everyone to prepare for the inevitable - and for the inevitable fustercluck.

EDIT: Moving down all the way. 1/11/25

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXIV: No Capes

Not sure what I'm going to call this one. We'll play it by ear.

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[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXIII: Parahumans 101

I was very careful about how much detail went into the latter... Well, I can't call it a "half" when it takes up the majority of the chapter, but still. I didn't want this to feel too much like an infodump, and I was also leery of how many interruptions was too much and how much was not enough.

This...is also a very big chapter. Still not the biggest, because that honor goes to the beach episode, but it's 8.4K and some change. There was just so much to cover and not enough room to do it...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXIII: Parahumans 101

I couldn't resist that as a chapter title.

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[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXII: Ominous Visions

America looms. The inevitable can no longer be delayed. Rejoice, Taylor Hebert, for you will finally have a chance to lay your demons to rest.

The top section was written very deliberately. I went back to canon Worm to make sure I got the important parts right without simply copy-pasting anything.

And the bottom? Hints dropping everywhere. All over the place. So many hints about what's going to be coming in America. I can almost guarantee no one is going to catch all of them.

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXII: Ominous Visions

It is time!

The intermission is coming to a close. It won't be too much longer before America begins.

Link here.

[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXI: Double Feature

So this one... It's not as packed with important goings-on as some chapters are, nor big, plot relevant details. It's a bridge between Valentine's and next chapter, and as such, the events here, even though they aren't the most important, still have character moments and tell you what the team is doing with the time they have to wait.

But that thing with that movie? I've been wanting to do that for a while. It's been in my back pocket for ages. It might fit in here a bit clunkily, but i...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXXI:

Still thinking up names for this one.

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[Hereafter] Chapter CLXX: Chocolate Commotion

I had thoughts about how far out to extend this "event," but at the end of the day, this isn't canon Chaldea. Ritsuka isn't the sole Master trying to ride herd on a couple dozen Servants while Romani tries not to collapse into his coffee and Da Vinci holds the place together with spit and duct tape. In Hereafter, there's a whole team who can delegate and split up to cover more ground at once, and Olga Marie is still around to take the lion's share of the work of being Director.

As a res...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXX: Chocolate Commotion

I don't think this mini event will last past a second chapter, but I guess we'll find out by the end of this, won't we?

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[Hereafter] Chapter CLXIX: Homemade Chocolate

Frankly? A Valentine's event wasn't planned. This was just supposed to be a chapter that skimmed over the existence of Valentine's as a holiday, and then I paused, halfway through the chapter, and realized what a golden opportunity I would have been passing up doing things that way.

It won't be a long event. It won't even really be Choco Lady's Commotion, not properly. But it's a chocolate event, and not everything is as it might first seem.

And yes. Limitations on A...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXIX: Homemade Chocolate

Title is a placeholder for now. I'm not sure what I want it to actually be called, so this will have to do.

Link here.

[Hereafter] Chapter CLXVIII: Spirit Refinement

This one has been a long time coming. I've been hinting at what's shown at the very bottom since... Oh, I'm pretty sure it was before London. I've been waiting to get to a good spot to have it drop for a while, and this intermission felt like the right time to give the team access to something like that.

And up top, Taylor continues to catastrophize. Yeah. What is it that she really fears facing in an Earth Bet Singularity? Does she even really have to worry? Is it a real concern? Well....

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CXLVIII: Spirit Refinement

Like a lot of my chapter titles, this one is layered. The trouble is, I'm not sure it's fitting enough, so it might change once this is all said and done.

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[Hereafter] Interlude S (CT): From the Sidelines

So Jackie won the poll, but it didn't feel like the right moment for her to get her interlude. I'm going to save it for later, maybe into the American Singularity. I think, all things considered, that it'll fit better there. Lots more juicy stuff to do with it.

In the meantime, however, have a look at things and the goings-on in Chaldea from a different perspective than usual. Can we call them bridge bunnies? I know that term gets tossed around in Eva fics, but the command room staff in...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Interlude S (CT): From the Sidelines

I want to save Jackie's interlude for later, so let's get a bit of an outside perspective on everything.

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[Hereafter] Chapter CLXVII: Roman Holiday

This one...meanders a little. Partly? Because I didn't have a clear plan for the later, like, two-thirds of the chapter when I started it, but I really wanted to have that moment at the top and wanted it to happen before we got to the next chapter.

So...Yeah. In a normal book, this is a chapter that probably would have gotten a lot of revision and excised (or at least moved to another chapter) the bottom half, but the realities of a serial like Hereafter make...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CXLVII:

Next chapter will be another interlude, but here to break up the space is the aftermath of that simulation. For now...I don't have a title in mind yet. We'll see if one occurs to me as I write.

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[Hereafter] Interlude R(F) II: Simulator Scramble

Let's check in on Rika, shall we?

In the end, I didn't wind up focusing anywhere near as much on Rika's mental state as I meant to when I started this, but the events of the past few months of in-story time have left very obvious marks on her that should be quite clear to everyone.

Also, Taylor is still Da Boss, and for good reason. The twins might have improved and they might be coming into their own, but they've still got a ways to go before they can match her experience.

...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Interlude R(F) II: Simulator Scramble

It's been how long since Rika's last interlude, you say? Two-and-a-half years, you say? Three Singularities, you say? Well, I guess she's about due for another one, isn't she?

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Who do you want to see an interlude from next?

We're overdue for more interludes. Whose perspective do you guys want to see from?

[Hereafter] Chapter CLXVI: Lingering Regrets

As Taylor and Marie talked about way back during Jackie's recruitment, the subject was inevitable. There was no way they were going to go all the way to America, let alone the entire rest of the Grand Order, without having to address the elephant in the room.

Taylor does too good a job of compartmentalizing. Things happen, and then she locks them away in a box and pretends they don't affect her. And some of the things she locks away like that are minor enough that they start to seem sil...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXVI: Lingering Regrets

Title pending. I might change it later on, so this is just the tentative choice I went with for now.

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[Hereafter] Chapter CLXV: Auld Lang Syne

Too many holidays all bundled up one right after the other.

Now we start to move forward a little bit more, and next chapter, we keep jumping. There's going to be a lot of those to account for the fact that America isn't going to start until, like, March in-story. The twins and Taylor have a lot of downtime to look forward to, which will...probably mean some more vacation shenanigans and stuff and at least one more training session in the simulator.

For now, though, ...

(CiP)[Hereafter] Chapter CLXV: Auld Lang Syne

Gonna move some stuff forward now and give the team a little bit more of a break...

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