Hello everybody! Funny story, I had planned to set up some milestone goals for patronage, but the plan (among others) was delayed by my RSI injury. Nevertheless, the goal still existed in my head, and today we've met it! As long as we stay at, above, or close to this milestone, I'll be doing mont...
2021-09-14 01:04:54 +0000 UTC View PostAs eager as Jia was to get her grudge match with Bai Lin, her match was scheduled to be the second on the day of the semi-finals. So, for the time being she was snuggled up next to Eui to watch one of the most anticipated matches of the entire tournament—Dae versus Hayakawa. The odds, ...
2021-09-13 18:43:33 +0000 UTC View PostEui looked into the eyes of her opponent and saw nothing but sadistic glee. Yue had been right about the bound spirit—almost as soon as the fight started, Eui sensed the presence of another domain. The spirit’s domain was weak—subdued somehow by whatever contract was keeping it bound to Bai...
2021-09-10 18:24:42 +0000 UTC View PostJia literally jumped out of her seat when Dae teleported. Teleported! He’d told her that teleportation was impossible, the filthy liar! Okay, so maybe he hadn’t used the word impossible. When she’d inquired about it, he’d given her a super long lecture that contained the words 'i...
2021-09-08 20:51:14 +0000 UTC View PostJia and the girls sat in her home reviewing the day’s bouts. Rika wasn’t with them—apparently busy with her grandfather—but Haeun had come over to play, and was gleefully running around the yard with Heian. As expected, though she put up a decent fight, Kasai Hanako hadn’t been able to ...
2021-09-06 18:39:16 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s probably a bound spirit.”
Jia glanced at Yue, who was still talking about Bai Lin and the unusual strength he had displayed for such an unknown figure.
“I’ll bet the reason he’s gone unnoticed before now is that he was trying to keep a low profile—a bound spirit is...
2021-09-03 20:25:53 +0000 UTC View PostWith the new cover finished, and after receiving a very generous donation on Ko-Fi, the artist has given me a great deal on a new commission. We'll be doing three character designs over the next few months—one of which I've already decided, but the other two I'm leaving to a vote. In the future...
2021-09-03 02:43:28 +0000 UTC View PostThe rest of the day passed without any real surprises. Eunae, Yue, and Kim all won their bouts while Jia was still busy with her own match. Later in the day, Eui completely demolished her opponent, while Rika and Yuuko both managed to advance to lock in their fated duel in the third round. The la...
2021-09-01 17:33:52 +0000 UTC View PostUnsurprisingly, the very first match of the second round was Hayakawa’s. She was the first seed, and the overall favorite to win the singles division. It wasn’t hard to see why when she launched across the ring in an instant and knocked out her opponent with a single strike. It wasn’t even ...
2021-08-30 18:51:18 +0000 UTC View PostSeong Misun narrowed her eyes at Eunae, seemingly disappointed that her mockery had failed to get a rise out of her sister. Jia opened her mouth to speak, but Yoshika snapped it shut again. This was not the time for her to speak out of turn. She had gotten used to Eunae, but this was a princess w...
2021-08-27 20:17:56 +0000 UTC View Post“STOP! The erm, following students have been eliminated—”
Eui didn’t bother listening to the rest of the announcement as she dashed out of the house. Fuck the house arrest, Jia was hurt. Sure, Eui had gotten hurt in her own qualifier, but that was different—she ha...
2021-08-25 18:54:37 +0000 UTC View PostLee Jia sat in a treetop, meditating. She was well out of range of the attack formations, for now. It was possible that they would work on developing them into more complex artillery formations, but that would probably take a long time to finish. Time—just how long did they have for the qualifi...
2021-08-23 18:00:34 +0000 UTC View PostJia fled through the forest, confident in her ability to outpace her pursuers. There were ten minutes before the fighting was to start, but nothing said she couldn’t use her abilities for other things. The problem was that she doubted she’d be able to lose them in that time if all sh...
2021-08-20 17:47:50 +0000 UTC View PostFlying! Soaring through the air, as free as a bird. It was a lifelong dream of Jia’s—maybe a little bit childlike, but after discovering that it could actually be done with cultivation, who could blame her? Eui didn’t really share Jia’s obsession with learning to fly—which was ironic, s...
2021-08-18 17:02:00 +0000 UTC View PostLee Jia sat in her house by herself, as grumpy as she’d ever been. This tournament was already turning out to be a disaster for her. Yue had suggested that things had been rigged against her for the entertainment of nobles, and whether it was that or just bad luck, Jia had no allies to rely on ...
2021-08-17 00:55:17 +0000 UTC View PostDespite her best efforts, Jia was not able to get Heian to repeat her first word—or any others. At least she had conclusive proof that Kim Yongsun was right—it was definitely possible to teach her to speak. Getting her to converse normally with humans would be a crucial part of developing Hei...
2021-08-13 18:48:31 +0000 UTC View PostJia and Eui spent a few days getting accustomed to their new level of cultivation. Without the barrier to restrict their domain—which had been long gone by the time they got back home—it now had a range that encompassed nearly the entire district of the girls’ dorms. That was a radius of ne...
2021-08-11 18:54:23 +0000 UTC View PostYoshika sat up with a groan, swearing under her breath as she prepared to cultivate. She was a lot more self-conscious of her nudity now that she knew Elder Qin was observing her, but she didn’t have time to waste on modesty.
“Fuck my ancestors, can nothing ever be easy? I swear if I di...
2021-08-09 16:00:41 +0000 UTC View PostYoshika didn’t know how long she’d been meditating. It felt like it had been an eternity, constantly remaking and discarding tiny parts of herself while she slowly, painstakingly compressed the qi in her dantian. All the while, she meditated on her soulscape. She knew that it wasn’t rea...
2021-08-06 20:21:15 +0000 UTC View PostJia’s courtyard garden had been transformed. Well, it was really Yue’s garden, and the changes were her idea anyway. The flowers had been replanted so that they were all directly adjacent to the walls, while the patio in the center had been extended to encompass most of the inner yard, leavin...
2021-08-04 16:15:47 +0000 UTC View PostJia held her breath and squeezed Eui’s hand tightly. She’d done it—she’d delivered her ultimatum to Hayakawa. It was terrifying. Not only was Hayakawa far and away her strongest peer, but Jia and Eui’s future might just hinge on her help. Upsetting her here could have dire consequences,...
2021-08-02 15:41:40 +0000 UTC View PostMurayoshi’s words weighed heavily on Jia, but there was no way she could bring it up with Master Ienaga. Instead she decided to ask Yuuko and Rika about it during the next group training session, but the response she got was not what she was hoping for.
“Murayoshi used to be part of the...
2021-07-30 19:25:35 +0000 UTC View PostKeeping Heian manifested was more difficult than Lee Jia expected. The problem wasn’t one of resources—since she was part of Jia’s domain, it actually cost nothing to simply have her appear. Instead, the problem she had run into was that Heian was terribly uncooperative. As soon as she real...
2021-07-28 19:54:54 +0000 UTC View PostUnlike their previous spars, Master Ienaga didn’t fight passively. While she still focused mainly on defense, she was much more mobile—actively staying out of Eui’s reach, and constantly maneuvering so that Yoshika couldn’t surround her. She was fast! Even without empowering her ...
2021-07-26 19:09:32 +0000 UTC View PostElder Qin Zhao tapped his finger impatiently against his upper arm as he glared down at Jia and Eui with his arms crossed—a deeper scowl than usual on his face. The girls stared at their feet, unable to handle the intense pressure of his scrutiny. It felt almost as though the sky had darkened, ...
2021-07-23 18:57:54 +0000 UTC View PostYoshika regarded the demon before her with a frown.
“There’s not very much Jia in you.”
“Tch, have you seen yourself? There’s not very much Eui in you.”
She hadn’t, but now that the demon mentioned it her voice did sound like Jia’s. She hadn’t even not...
2021-07-21 17:44:53 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm excited to announce that I've been working with an artist for a new cover for Fates Parallel! The artist I've commissioned is Tsuu, who's work you might recognize from the cover of Vigor Mortis, illustrations from Beware of Chicken, or the patreon ad at the end of each chapter of Beneath the ...
2021-07-20 14:05:30 +0000 UTC View PostYoshika stepped back from the icy mirror fearfully. She suddenly found herself standing on top of the gate, overlooking the bloody battlefield. There were rats everywhere, glaring up at her with their glowing red eyes. To her horror, the corpses that they had been gnawing on began to rise, shambl...
2021-07-19 19:23:41 +0000 UTC View Post“Jia, what in the names of all the ancestors took you so fucking long!?”
Jia bowed apologetically to Eui.
“Sorry!”
Dae stepped forward, head held high with a look of fierce determination in his eyes.
“My apologies. The delay was entirely my fault. I—”
...
2021-07-16 18:33:11 +0000 UTC View PostJia was ready for a confrontation. She was determined to show off her new resolve not to let herself be pushed around anymore. She was prepared for anything they could possibly throw at her—except for both of them bowing deeply as she approached.
“I am so sorry! It doesn’t justify my ...
2021-07-14 17:17:06 +0000 UTC View Post