As promised, the next chapter of Mind Games is here!
Not much to say other than that. I'm hoping to get one more chapter out before/with the end of the month Monday night. Likely, it'll go up with the new poll for April, so look forward to that.
As for what it's going to be? I'm thinking either more Mind Games or The New Ron.
Not sure right now, but I'll start later tonight. The one that doesn't get chosen will start off the new month while the poll runs.
Thank you...
2025-03-30 03:42:16 +0000 UTC
View Post
So, I've been going back and forth on a few things as I finish up the next chapter of Mind Games, which I should have out later today.
Next chapter of The Hand We're Dealt will feature a timeskip and the Spanish-American War will have developed a lot further. I'll keep the exact circumstances under wraps for now, but here's a question. As Patreon supporters, you have a chance to shape some of the stories and details, and this is one such chance.
Should Andrew Jackson survive the w...
2025-03-29 11:46:24 +0000 UTC
View Post
“What's a hunter?” The Professor asked a tad scornfully, then shook his head. “You'll need to use that Gear of yours to read up on current events more, boy.”
“I'll endeavor to do so, Master,” I replied with a nod.
“But there will be time for that later, when my guests aren't on their way,” he grumbled, then gave me another glance as he inspected my cleaning. “Hunters... they're a relatively new phenomenon, a result of the vast wilderness of the co...
2025-03-26 01:36:22 +0000 UTC
View Post
Alrighty, here's chapter... and I'll be putting up another new thread for this one in a few hours, so look forward to that.
I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter and I'll be trying to get two more chapters out before the month ends. At least one of them will be Mind Games, so don't worry about that.
The last one? Not sure right now.
Thank you for your patience and your support once again.
2025-03-26 01:33:57 +0000 UTC
View Post
“So, how do I look?”
My father turned, blinking owlishly at me... and stared.
“Uhh... don't take this the wrong way or anything, Hitoshi, but... I think you're a little overdressed,” he commented, amused and bemused simultaneously.
I rolled my eyes. “Dad, don't worry about it. Just... any smudges or stains or anything? Is my tie straight? No wrinkles?”
“Hmm...” The chronic insomniac rumbled, taking a few steps around me and giving me the once-ov...
2025-03-21 12:01:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
And here it is, the long-awaited dinner chapter!
Watch as Hitoshi faces down Himiko's parents. How bad can they possibly be?
...pretty bad, it turns out.
Also, apologies for the lateness of the chapter. Some, ah... personal stuff happened and delayed things. Non-serious medical issue a friend was having. Don't worry about it, they're fine now.
2025-03-21 11:59:22 +0000 UTC
View Post
The next two weeks were mostly peaceful.
I'd cleared my calendar for the 'birth' of my first child, so the lack of anything to do but spend time with her wasn't unexpected. A few small things happened that needed my attention, but the lion's share of the time was devoted to helping Kokoro adapt to the material world and learn how to interact with people that weren't dream-manifestations working on nonsense logic.
It was... hit or miss.
“What you have to keep in min...
2025-03-17 03:51:41 +0000 UTC
View Post
Not much to say about this one, other than it fought me. I'm a little rusty writing the Naruto timeline, but maybe I'll be able to direct a little focus towards it, now.
In other news, expect more Mind Games and The Hand We're Dealt this week.
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
2025-03-17 03:50:08 +0000 UTC
View Post
This was fun.
It was hardly the first time in her life that Toga Himiko had had the thought. She found many things fun, after all. For all that her friends were more shields to keep prying eyes at bay rather than 'true companions' as described in so many light novels or movies, there was a certain amusement to be found in watching their byplay and interactions. Learning how to cook, too, even if it had been at Mother's insistence, had been 'fun' in a way.
Of her s...
2025-03-13 11:46:10 +0000 UTC
View Post
Okay, a couple of house-keeping things to get done before I talk about stuff.
First, IOS (Apple) is now servicing the Patreon App through the App Store. For the uninitiated, this means that ANY MEMBERSHIP you purchase/subscribe to through the IOS Patreon App will come with an Apple surcharge. I strongly recommend you use the website to subscribe to creators.
To clarify, this charge is not coming out of what you're giving me. It's EXTRA on top of that, just for App...
2025-03-13 11:44:21 +0000 UTC
View Post
“So, wait...” Hermione paused, sipping at her drink. “I was under the impression that, outside of the initial violence of conquest, Muslim governments were largely tolerant given their realm's relatively cosmopolitan population. Was the oppression and threat of violence really that severe as to form the impetus for a societal schism?”
“I assume you're referring to the oft-repeated application of the Jizya, the tax on non-Muslims, as a comparative mark of tolerance of...
2025-03-09 06:09:52 +0000 UTC
View Post
Here's the second part of the Lore Dump for Nexus Event and concludes the things that I won't be able to work into the story organically very easily.
Hope everyone enjoys it.
Next update will be more Mind Games and the Naruto side of Industrious.
Thank you for your support and patience.
2025-03-09 06:06:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
“-okay, so level with me,” I spoke aloud, pulling out various bits and pieces I'd need in a fit of last-minute preparation. “What kind of mess am I dealing with?”
“Asking a question like that after giving me the sample size you have is effectively like producing a picture of a feral dog or cat – not even the organism itself – and asking me to tell you about all life on Earth,” Velma replied tiredly. “As incomprehensible and unknowable as the rules by whic...
2025-03-06 09:18:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
Okay, this one required a rewrite or two before it got to a place that I liked, but...
I'm really happy I took the extra time to give it the polish I did and I think it turned out really well.
There will be more Himiko coming up in the next chapter, obviously. I don't know if I'll be able to close out the second part of the date by the end of that one. If not, I don't think anyone will be bothered by extending it to a third.
Next update will be Nexus Event over the weekend...
2025-03-06 09:16:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Second Verse, Same as the First.
2025-03-01 10:30:42 +0000 UTC
View Post
I think everyone knows the way things go by now, but for those of you who are new, you pick the project you want to see written the most and I'll try to focus on that. I'm usually pretty good about it, a little wiggle room aside. I'm hoping to sneak in a chapter of some of the less-chosen stories this time around, but we'll see if time permits.
Thank you again for all your support and I hope to see you stick around for another month!
2025-03-01 10:28:32 +0000 UTC
View Post
I stretched as we trooped through the forest, among the first players to enter the <<Great Elven Wood>> after the event had been declared. In the end, we'd agreed to run the <<Elf War Questline>> as a single group instead of splitting up. All things considered, it was otherwise a nice day. That was one good thing about being trapped in a death game, I supposed.
“What's up, big brother? You've got that look on your face like you're thinking about something,” L...
2025-03-01 10:15:17 +0000 UTC
View Post
...and just like I thought, a few hours past midnight.
But it's still February somewhere, so I'm counting this as the last chapter of the month!
Anyway, hope everyone enjoys the return to Kirito's adventures. I hope I get more opportunities to focus on Black Swordsman Jesus-kun. Join him as he confronts a sudden and unexpected moral dilemma... and then does so again! Oops!
Next update? I'll make that a mystery box.
However, the March polls will be up shortly...
2025-03-01 10:13:25 +0000 UTC
View Post
I worried that I was adapting to my new life a little too well at this point.
Step to dodge.
Most people had a stress response that included avoidance, particularly of more stressors.
Strike solar...
2025-02-27 09:02:54 +0000 UTC
View Post
Still playing catch-up a little bit, but I've already got the Where Your God Is chapter started. Same deal as always and it'll probably be ready either right before or right after the new month starts. Likely posted with the new polls.
In the meantime, some exciting new stuff for Hitoshi to deal with. That poor guy has so much shit on his plate right now. I envy his only needing two hours of sleep, let me tell you.
Next chapter will feature some nitty-gritty contract stuff and...
2025-02-27 08:59:50 +0000 UTC
View Post
“I mentioned that blighter, Baron Blood, to my father when I happened to stop in on the family, you know?”
I looked over from where I was stretching, the full accounting of my gear laid out before me on a tarp as I prepared for the battle to come. “Oh really?”
Monty nodded, a distracted look in his eye. “Turns out the bastard is evidently a great uncle of mine. A dark blotch on the family record, as it were.”
“That wouldn't happen to come with a magic compass o...
2025-02-24 02:21:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
Another chapter that's a day later than my usual posting date. Not sure what's up with that. Just kind of tired and meh this week.
Well, I did finish it before the week was out, that's the important part. And this way maybe people who've had a sucky weekend can end on a high note. I hope there aren't too many of those.
Have fun with Ray getting back into the thick of things. Next chapter will be a LOT of combat, so be ready for that.
Regardless, I'll get to work ...
2025-02-24 02:20:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Why don't we do quirk tutorials, anyway?” Kirishima asked, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.
I sighed as I considered the question, my eyes scanning the small cafe that we'd decided to meet up near. It was really just a single ten-by-ten foot building that served to house the two or three people working, the stove and oven, and whatever ingredients they had. However, it was placed on a hill overlooking a river and had a generally excellent view. Honestly, I had no id...
2025-02-20 03:09:11 +0000 UTC
View Post
This should have been out yesterday, but I've been feeling really tired for some reason and needed a little more time on this chapter. I really hope I'm not coming down with anything. Don't need that noise.
Anyway, I'm feeling better now and got this wrapped up.
Not too much to say about this chapter. More Kirishima, more Himiko, so it's automatically a winner. Other than that, just setting up some dominoes for later.
Hope your weeks are all going well and thank you for ...
2025-02-20 03:05:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
Stereotypes are judgmental shorthand for social situations the mind uses to come to conclusions quickly, saving effort for more important things.
“Lookit the widdle kid who likes to talk out his arse.”
But, the thing about stereotypes? They almost always had some basis in reality in order to exist in the first place.
“Aww, what's the matter, mixed-breed? You gonna' cry?”
For an example as to the validity of stereotypes, take my current situation. I'd be...
2025-02-15 14:17:59 +0000 UTC
View Post
This one was a little more difficult than usual, but I got it out by my self-appointed deadline at least. This will be one of the last buffer chapters for this story before it gets its own thread. But, this being a buffer chapter, that means there's not going to be a public rollover this time around. So enjoy your early access with an air of well-earned smugness.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. As for me? I'm heading to bed.
Next chapter will probably be more Mind Games ...
2025-02-15 14:16:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
“They call them 'Office Heroes,' apparently,” I explained, flipping through the document once more. “Not formally or anything, but I think it's one of those workplace-humor jokes. They're more or less the IT geeks that everyone needs, but no one wants to admit to needing.”
That got a mild chuckle out of my father as he sat across from me at the table, stacks of paper and a laptop each strewn about randomly as we ate dinner, talked, and looked over information relating to...
2025-02-11 10:07:14 +0000 UTC
View Post
In what probably shouldn't come as a surprise to many people, here's a second chapter of Mind Games in a row. Join Hitoshi was he has a heart-to-heart conversation with his father, schedules another date with Himiko, and achieves a breakthrough in his research.
Next update will either be The Hand We're Dealt or a chapter of the Marvel Industrious timeline. Not sure which.
Thanks again for your support. Hope everyone's week started out strong.
2025-02-11 10:05:12 +0000 UTC
View Post
The insectoid-heteromorph threw a harsh punch.
The boy in the masked outfit, silver boot-print logo on his back, ducked and stepped back.
Two heroes standing nearby whipped their head in the direction of the sudden movement, their eyes widening and their jaws dropping as the heteromorph stepped forward, his hand leaving the arm of the child who had been standing next to him as he stepped up to throw another punch.
That punch, the teenag...
2025-02-07 13:53:33 +0000 UTC
View Post
So... this was supposed to be a relatively short chapter that dealt with a lot of detailed nuts and bolts stuff I needed to cover to move into the next chapter or two.
Safe to say, the chapter got away from me a little bit.
Also, look forward to a new chapter of The Hand We're Dealt sometime this month. It will be similarly long as the last one given it won the Awesome tier poll. So there's that, too.
Enjoy the chapter and thanks for all the support you give! It really me...
2025-02-07 13:51:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
