76,800 words in and Ch. 117 is done. 3 chapters left to go. My current plan is to post the final arc in February, but I’m not committing to a definite start date until the first draft is complete. (Earlier chapters have also been significantly polished.)

I am currently reading Gate! Thus the JSDF Fought There, which appeared in response to my plea for manga with Level 1 Intelligent characters. Gate! Thus the JSDF so far appears to be doing well in terms of characters acting like they have inner sparks of optimization, being self-aware, and thinking the same things readers are thinking. (E.g., just as the Japanese Diet member is about to insult the Apostle of the Death God, the protagonist stands up and says, “Excuse me! There’s something you really ought to know!” just like we in the audience are thinking.) I would much appreciate recommendations for other manga of this sort – not manga with characters pretending to be exceptionally clever, because from my perspective this is never done well, but just manga with characters who think the same sorts of things we’d think in their shoes instead of being railroaded by the plot. The Worm fanfiction Weaver Nine, which I liked, is now complete.

There is now a Rational Stories community on FFNet.

The next Progress Report will appear on Jan 1st, 2015 at 5pm Pacific Time.