Hey everyone!
So, to keep you guys up to date on the progress of the revisions, I'm about a little under halfway through. 45% at the very least. Unfortunately, this doesn't include the Patron Exclusive segments that I have to space around as interludes, and some chapters where I have to rewrite some whole new stuff to fix some Early installment Weirdness. And that's not counting the ebook-exclusive segments i want to write that aren't just rewrites but actual new segments.
All in ...
2023-05-09 13:38:41 +0000 UTC
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Well, this is embarrassing. Apparently the first time I had Lori doing laundry she had no trouble drying her clothes using Whispering. I honestly forgot that. This reread/edit is really making me cringe at my own forgetfulness. This is what i get for thinking i'd remember every detail of my own story...
Looks like I have to fix the more recent chapters. The other such scenes in the middle of the series, I’ll fix when I edit them for publication....
2023-05-06 13:35:46 +0000 UTC
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So, I've rewritten the scene where Lori builds the shelters again to emphasize that the speed came about at the expense of quality. This will hopefully make future building scenes where she takes her time but gets neater results less confusing. Hopefully this works better now.
As to the shelter, I'm trying to give it a 'dug a whole in the snow for shelter during a snowstorm' feeling of quality, excepting somethings that had to be done so people wo...
2023-05-02 09:12:32 +0000 UTC
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Well everyone, billing is currently paused as I work on getting this book actually published, and getting illustrations, and editing, and making new scenes to explain things better, and new scenes that are Amazon exclusive...
We resume in June, hopefully, though there might be some trouble getting back up to speed. Hopefully not, though. See you all then for Volume 3: (Still Unnamed)!
2023-04-29 16:05:29 +0000 UTC
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Making The Third Prototype
The following day, Lori found herself sitting alone at her table, staring at an empty bench opposite her. A part of her had expected this happening, and that part was nodding in satisfaction at being right. The rest wondered if she'd have to get her own food, which… uh, actually, where would she get her food? Except for holidays, she'd never really gotten her own food, so she wasn't sure how it was done…
Her bench s...
2023-04-29 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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"We'll need to work closer with the smiths," Rian said as they ate lunch. "Unless we learn more that says otherwise, after its alloyed working it will probably be more normal metalwork than anything else."
Lori frowned, but nodded as she had a spoonful of stew. She chewed and swallowed thoughtfully. "How long before my tray is finished? If we're going to be utilizing it like this, we'll need to produce more."
"A few more days? The carpenters are doing their best, but it's involvin...
2023-04-27 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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So, a reminder that the last update of Volume 2 will drop this Friday, and that I will be pausing billing on Sunday as I get to work editing Volume 1 for publication to Amazon... and get new cover art... and get internal illustrations.
I know I'll have character half-bodies of Lori, Rian, Karina and the girls, and I'd like an illustration of Lori seeing the first dragon of the story (if the artist can manage it), but do you have any suggestions for scenes in Volume One (Everything...
2023-04-27 05:30:27 +0000 UTC
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Lori wanted to stare at the results of their experiment, to sit down and start seriously considering the implications of what had just happened. However, they had molten metal in a container, and more molten metal that was cooling in a mold. Both were significant safety hazards and needed to be dealt with appropriately first.
The mold with the thin layer of no-longer-molten but still very hot and glowing copper—filled with earthwisps and firewisps in her awareness—was set a...
2023-04-25 16:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone! Here's the first draft of the first chapter of the Amazon edition. I'm not going to put up EVERY chapter, but I figure I'd put up a few of the early ones. Some typos and errors that have been untouched for YEARS have finally been found, terminology has been updated to match the rest of the story (no more of these strange 'feet' measurements), and some additions and changes that make me feel better. What do you guys think?
Our Protagonist, Unf...
2023-04-25 13:22:43 +0000 UTC
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"We need to talk," Rian said as soon as they were all back in the house.
"About what, Rian?" Mikon said as she started to undo her blouse.
Rian—he wasn't her man, their man, yet, not realy—made a gesture that encompassed everyone in the room. "About us. This. The four of us—um, Mikon, could you please keep your clothes on for a moment? It's very distracting." And he was staring up at the tops of the walls again.
Rian exchanged mildly exasperated looks with Umu...
2023-04-25 05:11:54 +0000 UTC
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The following day, Lori found herself sitting alone at her table, staring at an empty bench opposite her. A part of her had expected this happening, and that part was nodding in satisfaction at being right. The rest wondered if she'd have to get her own food, which… uh, actually, where would she get her food? Except for holidays, she'd never really gotten her own food, so she wasn't sure how it was done…
Her bench shifted, and she glanced sideways to find Shanalorre helping...
2023-04-23 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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The Production Mold And The Second Prototype
Of course, despite the previous failures, Lori tried all the molds again, just to be sure. She even made a little level table using ice to give the curved molds the best chance of working. Some of them actually did work then, but unfortunately they still didn't make it all the way to the end. The failures weren't even consistent about what size they failed at, so she couldn't even use them to make smaller de...
2023-04-22 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Over lunch, Lori and Rian discussed matters. River's Fork was progressing and remaining relatively stable, and people were all regularly eating in the dining hall now, even if they did so far earlier because of the lack of resources for lights. As she had ordered, he brought back a large amount of the fruit. Fresh pink ladies and hairy blueballs, and some of the older micans and golden buds they had in storage.
"Excellent," Lori said. "Put half of that in with the general food supply fo...
2023-04-20 16:00:06 +0000 UTC
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After breakfast the next day, the trip to the edge of the demesne was quick, and this time they didn't bring any people to gather ropeweed with them. When they arrived at the edge, Lori was glad to see the shed still standing, its surface unmarred. She'd been worried a beast would grow curious about the structure and try to break in or otherwise damage it, something that might still happen. The ground around it was already glittering with growing Iridescence.
She was tempted to flood th...
2023-04-18 16:00:07 +0000 UTC
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So... on consideration, even though I'll turn off the billing, I think I'll post some of the status updates and samples of edited chapters for the publishing edition here. For example, for the published version, i figure I'll combine the first four chapters, the opening story chapters where Lori makes her demesne, and combine those into one chapter, Those will be Patron only. Those will be posted as 'Publishing Edits' in the tags.
Well, back to work! I'm waiting for the poll to finish b...
2023-04-17 02:34:21 +0000 UTC
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Of course, despite the previous failures, Lori tried all the molds again, just to be sure. She even made a little level table using ice to give the curved molds the best chance of working. Some of them actually did work then, but unfortunately they still didn't make it all the way to the end. The failures weren't even consistent about what size they failed at, so she couldn't even use them to make smaller denomination beads.
By the time it was time to return for lunch, she had ...
2023-04-16 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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It's Not The Same, Again
Lori finished with the mold prototypes that afternoon. There was one made from pressing a bead down on softened bone, one made by a ring of bone, and various other arrangements of shapes, each with the copper ingot as a contact point on the bottom. The bindings would be imbued as long as they were in contact with the metal while they amalgamated into beads, and when the beads reached the right size, their own growth would lift them up o...
2023-04-15 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Now... usually I give you guys more time to answer when I put up these kinds of polls, but this time I kinda know what I want to write. Right now, it's more of a question of whether you want to read it.
Just to be clear, I strongly want to write another segment about Mikon's harem (featuring Rian!), but given that's already what I wrote last time, I figure people might not want another one so soon. So I'm giving you guys the choice to veto it and have something else as th...
2023-04-15 14:16:22 +0000 UTC
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Yo! So, I've considered the progress of the story and have decided that I've reached a good stopping point for Volume 2, which will be the last story update of the month.
At that point, I intend to take a break from writing for a while as I finally get around to getting a proper cover for volume 1, try to get illustrations made, and edit volume one to deal with all the typos and things that I didn't see and no one told me about, as well as write some new material for it.
...
2023-04-15 06:16:05 +0000 UTC
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The rain began to fall about halfway to the edge. Lori had to adjust her grip on her hat and tried to divert the falling rain with a binding of airwisps. It was inconsistent cover, since while the direction the rain fell from was mostly consistent, occasional crosswinds blew water around her binding, which had to be quite high to sufficiently divert the raindrops. A binding of waterwisps to turn any oncoming raindrops into vapor would have worked better, but such a binding wouldn't have been ...
2023-04-13 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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So, I’m literally in the middle of watching Kaguya-Sama: First Kiss and can’t help but think ‘Wow, I kinda made Rian into Movie Miyuki, didn’t I?’.
Umu would be Iino or Maki, and Riz would be Kashiwagi. Mikon would, of course, be Horny Kaguya.
Yoshka would be Super Rare Kaguya-Chan, while Shanalorre is Ai. Lori would probably be… Osaragi.
2023-04-13 15:06:54 +0000 UTC
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The next morning, Lori realized she was down to her last set of clean clothes. That… probably explained the smell in her room. She'd have to do laundry soon, and also air things out. Hmm, the latter she could probably do while she was out today, she just had to seal off the corridor to her room before she set the airwisps…
Perhaps she should put a window in her room? It would require having to make a hole through the stone face of her Dungeon, but it would make it much easier to air...
2023-04-11 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Lori finished with the mold prototypes that afternoon. There was one made from pressing a bead down on softened bone, one made by a ring of bone, and various other arrangements of shapes, each with the copper ingot as a contact point on the bottom. The bindings would be imbued as long as they were in contact with the metal while they amalgamated into beads, and when the beads reached the right size, their own growth would lift them up off the metal contact point, ceasing their growth.
O...
2023-04-09 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Whenever Ryan visited RF nowadays, he had to ignore the memory of a confident, feminine voice cheerfully suggesting he just kill the people causing him problems, and get on with his day. Some days, when they were very frustrating, the voice of memory would gleefully suggest killing and eating them to solve two problems at once.
When he'd been younger, he'd thought it had all be part of a very morbid and darkly utilitarian sense of humor, a way of coping with a nightmarish scena...
2023-03-31 21:25:23 +0000 UTC
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Unpaid Gainful Employment
After they got Rian a new bone tablet, they spent the afternoon conducting several permutations of the initial successful binding. Lori experimented with replacing the firewisps anchored to the sample of white Iridescence with airwisps, with darkwisps, and with airwisps and darkwisps. While the other internal arrangements worked, if inefficient, the firewisps in the copper shell around the sample was absolutely necessary as it...
2023-03-25 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Half the morning was spend packing the Coldhold with meat from the cold rooms, frozen solid and hard as rock. People had to handle the food carefully so the cold meat wouldn't stick to anyone's skin. Lori filled one of the cargo boxes in the Coldhold with blocks of solidified water, carefully giving the blocks just enough imbuement to last until lunch, at which point they'd start being extremely cold. She had filled the small cold storage in River's Fork with ice before she'd left, b...
2023-03-23 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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It was a perfectly ordinary morning in Lolilyuri's demesne. The sun was shining, the bugs were singing, breakfast was cooking, people were getting ready to clean the Um for the week after breakfast, the storm and red moons hung in the sky to give it some variety, and Lori was already thinking of what sort of tool she'd need to help in the mass production of beads. She still had her emergency wispbead—a denominated one of the largest size, but she could probably replace that with one she'd m...
2023-03-21 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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After the blunt and very Binder Lori-like discussion during dinner the night before , Mikon had expected to become the subject of mockery. Well, more than she was already. What had originally been scorn at what people had thought of her attentions and sly comments that she should carry a bell had turned at some point into pity, and then a sort of almost good-natured commiseration of her perceived failures.
…not that they weren't objectively failures, but she liked to think she'd garne...
2023-03-20 16:01:54 +0000 UTC
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After they got Rian a new bone tablet, they spent the afternoon conducting several permutations of the initial successful binding. Lori experimented with replacing the firewisps anchored to the sample of white Iridescence with airwisps, with darkwisps, and with airwisps and darkwisps. While the other internal arrangements worked, if inefficient, the firewisps in the copper shell around the sample was absolutely necessary as it was one of only two kinds of wisps could be in t...
2023-03-19 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Prototyping
The smithy was… probably warm, but Lori couldn't tell. It had lightwisps in the ceiling to brightly illuminate the workshop, with sliding covers should the smith need relative darkness to be able to properly judge the color of the metal they were working on. Bindings of airwisps circulate air, both to cool down anyone working there and to prevent deadly gasses from the furnace from gathering or worse, being pulled into her Dungeon. Like t...
2023-03-18 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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