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Wistram is literally the wizard police, and everything that implies. They're the fantasy CIA, and just like real life, they're accountable to no one.
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Nov 20, 2019 07:54
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Picked up Metaworld Chronicles and it wasn't bad, easy popcorn reading. Then out of nowhere the writer goes on this huge objectivist screed and screw reading that nonsense. What a bummer I was enjoying the world building.  I guess I should have known where it was going when the protagonist mentioned being a business consultant on Earth!
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Nov 21, 2019 02:21
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Omi no Kami posted:It might definitely just be me then, but in TOD I find myself constantly in a position where I'm either saying to myself 'This isn't where I want to be as a reader right now,' or it hits an action scene and I just switch to aggressively skimming until it's back to social stuff. Also, I know the nature of the story doesn't allow for it but I was disappointed to see how many characters from FOD didn't make the jump to TOD. Objectively it wasn't that big of a loss, since the people who stuck around were mostly the ones the thread focused their time on, but it felt weird to watch the protagonist get to know a wide and varied cast of dudes, then kind of siphon it down to Bureaucrat Dredd, Closeted Snake Murderess, Poet Guy and like 10 jerks. Don't forget mud dude! He gets screentime whenever yrs can fit him in.
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Nov 21, 2019 03:23
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shirunei posted:Picked up Metaworld Chronicles and it wasn't bad, easy popcorn reading. Then out of nowhere the writer goes on this huge objectivist screed and screw reading that nonsense. What a bummer I was enjoying the world building. I “like” metaworld but it is the worse marysue since Honor Harrington bonded with an adorable, empathic space-cat before she beat numbers of duelists with their favored weapons.
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Nov 21, 2019 06:25
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Just caught up for the first time to the non-patreon Wandering Inn, it took me like two weeks, but I think the most enjoyable way for me to read things was to just read a chapter until I decided if I really wanted to read it. I skipped a lot of Rags and Flos chapters (though the most recent Empress of Beasts chapters were good enough I read them through)
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Nov 21, 2019 15:01
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Rags is the best character in the series and you will suffer for your crimes.
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Nov 21, 2019 15:54
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Larry Parrish posted:Rags is the best character in the series and you will suffer for your crimes.
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Nov 21, 2019 15:57
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And I suspect the Flos chapters may be getting good now that they have fully automated luxury skeleton communism
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Nov 21, 2019 16:36
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Larry Parrish posted:Rags is the best character in the series and you will suffer for your crimes. I prefer Numbtongue but yes. Lone Goat posted:yeah but that goblin death march was a huge downer Absolutely this is the reason.
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Nov 21, 2019 17:44
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Latest patreon twi chapter is really badly written.
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Nov 21, 2019 18:02
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Affi posted:Latest patreon twi chapter is really badly written. highly disagree. the prose is the same quality as usual, and the tension of the scene carries pretty well. What were your complaints about it?
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Nov 21, 2019 20:23
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seemed fine to me except sometimes I lost track of who was speaking during the action scenes (though that might have been intentional to show how chaotic it was?)
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Nov 21, 2019 20:31
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Lone Goat posted:seemed fine to me except sometimes I lost track of who was speaking during the action scenes (though that might have been intentional to show how chaotic it was?) oh, certainly, its by no means pirateaba's best action writing (that goes to Ksmvr vs. The World) but i felt it didn't detract from the chapter that much.
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Nov 21, 2019 20:34
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Omi no Kami posted:I've been reading through Forge of Destiny on a friend's recommendation, and that's a surprisingly fun story for a nakedly numbers-go-up choose your own XianXia thingie! I really wish the guy'd just written it as a standalone story to begin with, though- there are some major twists I'm thinking specifically of how the protagonist accepted Cai Renxiang's offer of vassalage when she was apathetic about politics and didn't really have a dog in Cai's justice-for-all fight or any interest in cleaning up her province that are perfectly understandable from a tabletop RPG/numbers get bigger faster standpoint, but didn't feel particularly well set-up or utilized in the story itself. Ling Qi's specific characterization can be a bit all over the place due to the reader choices, but I think the author does a good job of having the setting and other characters respond to it. Later, after Ling Qi becomes stronger, she becomes sorta aloof/stand-off-ish as a way to avoid undesired social activity because she can afford to do so due to her strength and status. I didn't really like this and thought it was just the new normal, but then later a character directly approaches her like "it's really obvious you don't want to be here and it's frankly insulting." I've also warmed on the decision you mention - my favorite option was actually to go with the Gu guy to Golden Fields, though it was obvious that wouldn't end up winning, but I prefer the Cai option to apprenticing with Elder Jiao (which would be a very reasonable option from a "gameplay" perspective, but not give Ling Qi as many opportunities to get involve in the setting's politics. I think the thing that makes FoD so enjoyable for me, and that no other stories with a similar premise ("following a person just living and developing in a fantasy setting," including stuff like xianxia or isekai) that I've read have been able to do, is that it always has characters act in ways that make sense according to their personalities and motivations. Having a very clear image of setting and characters is kind of necessary to this sort of story, and something that most other "litRPG"-type stories (Wandering Inn being a good example) fail at. With most of these other stories, even if they aren't outright power fantasies, I can constantly "feel" the hand of the author trying to make people behave in ways that will appeal to the reader. The format also allows the story to do things that wouldn't make sense in traditional books but more accurately reflect what would be "realistic" (like having characters "organically" fade in and out of the protagonist's life, and completely new characters enter the protagonist's life and gain prominence - another fictional media that is good about this is actually the manga Hunter x Hunter). In my opinion it actually becomes significantly better in the "numbers go up" department as the story progress (and especially in the "sequel" Threads of Destiny). During a lot of FoD there's probably too much time spend on the specifics of cultivation, with various minor social interactions interspersed, but later on he keeps things focused on actual events and characters in a way that makes the mechanics easier to ignore if you're not very interested in that (which I'm mostly not). Threads of Destiny has basically been back to back the sort of events that used to be highlights in FoD. FoD also avoids the problem nearly all other "numbers go up" litRPG-type things have, which is devolving into a power fantasy. It does a great job of keeping things grounded. Ling Qi is lucky, but her luck only allows her to participate on the same level as the various cultivator nobles.
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Nov 22, 2019 00:04
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It's a shame that Gu Xiulan is gonna be going back home. At least she's gotten out of her betrothal.
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Nov 22, 2019 00:41
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SerSpook posted:It's a shame that Gu Xiulan is gonna be going back home. At least she's gotten out of her betrothal. It's not 100% yet, though I agree that I don't see how she'll get out of it. Xiulan is great and it's pretty hardcore how she's managed to more or less keep up with our talented and lucky protagonist through sheer grit. She's also a good example of how many of the characters obviously have their own circumstances, but those circumstances are usually only revealed when it makes sense for Ling Qi to be involved with them. Like there's obviously a lot going on with the whole Golden Fields group, but Ling Qi's choices didn't lead to learning much about any of them aside from Xiulan.
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Nov 22, 2019 05:17
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Ytlaya posted:Ling Qi's specific characterization can be a bit all over the place due to the reader choices, but I think the author does a good job of having the setting and other characters respond to it. Later, after Ling Qi becomes stronger, she becomes sorta aloof/stand-off-ish as a way to avoid undesired social activity because she can afford to do so due to her strength and status. I didn't really like this and thought it was just the new normal, but then later a character directly approaches her like "it's really obvious you don't want to be here and it's frankly insulting." I've also warmed on the decision you mention - my favorite option was actually to go with the Gu guy to Golden Fields, though it was obvious that wouldn't end up winning, but I prefer the Cai option to apprenticing with Elder Jiao (which would be a very reasonable option from a "gameplay" perspective, but not give Ling Qi as many opportunities to get involve in the setting's politics. i havent read forge of destiny but this is pretty much why he who fights monsters owns. worth the candle seems to be pretty hit or miss but I appreciate its characterization quite a bit
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Nov 22, 2019 06:50
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FOD wise, the Cai vote was complicated, but it was also born in a lot of ways from a 'Welp, there is a clear here is the story path'. Like, sure, the Sect makes sense IC, but it also means ignoring the bigass hints in worldbuilding about future civil war so Ling Qi won't actually be in the centre of the important things. Likewise, the Gu option was basically purposefully going away to ignore plot. So that's actually kind of one occassion where I think we could see the 'hand' of the writer, but even then there were enough voting options that it wasn't a complete railroad. LLSix posted:Don't forget mud dude! He gets screentime whenever yrs can fit him in. I guess Flamboyant Fire Mistress or Necromancer Queen or Yandere Ice Sister are parts off the 10 jerks 
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Nov 22, 2019 07:46
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navyjack posted:Does anybody ITT read Savage Divinity? I need someone to keep reading it and let me know when The current storyline ends and Rain gets his Mojo back cause I really like the story but I am heartily sick of this arc. Yeah, I know what you mean. It seems like it's heading towards some sort of climax, what with the super vision and the dropped hints from the quantam leaping super torturer but at least it's more engaging than the whole Baledagh interlude.
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Nov 22, 2019 08:02
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Arkeus posted:FOD wise, the Cai vote was complicated, but it was also born in a lot of ways from a 'Welp, there is a clear here is the story path'. Like, sure, the Sect makes sense IC, but it also means ignoring the bigass hints in worldbuilding about future civil war so Ling Qi won't actually be in the centre of the important things. Likewise, the Gu option was basically purposefully going away to ignore plot. I think the main reason the Cai vote felt so weird to me was because of how mismatched what we knew of her objectives were with what we knew about Ling Qi as a person. Granted the latter had inconsistencies and eccentricities linked to being a PC, but the two just didn't feel like a good match. Cai has her whole thing with bringing justice to her territory and fixing the broken loom, but Ling Qi just kind of liked sneaking around and stealing poo poo. She was a nice person, for sure, but at the point in the story when she made the choice I honestly couldn't see what her reasoning was- her goals are so fundamentally mismatched with Cai's that the only real driving force seems to be mercenary concerns, but Ling Qi's nobility and the rapidly-climbing rank she was earning once she left the sect would've easily ensured her comfort, and she hasn't actually done very well since joining- her responsibilities dramatically expanded, but she only got a couple trinkets and a lot of headaches for her trouble. You could argue she found a liege for protection, but as a reader I never felt that she was genuinely imperiled by politics until she became a vassal. So yeah, it's weird- I have no protest with the direction the story took from a general narrative point of view, but as a reader I was genuinely puzzled when it came to figuring out why she made the decision she did.
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Nov 22, 2019 08:41
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I get why the like, forums CYOA stuff is popular but I cant help but feel it will come off as inconsistent if you dont read it as a forums thing because you wont have the context. Like one of those web novels where the author obviously didnt plan it out and the story just kind of wanders from one thread to the next. Like Azarinth Healer or whatever that one with the autistic british kid is called.
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Nov 22, 2019 10:42
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Dikkfor posted:Yeah, I know what you mean. Oh poo poo I forgot about Baledagh. And I agree that the most recent chapter has some signs of progress. I guess it’s the nature of web serials where if this was a section in an epic fantasy book, you’d race through it, certain the payoff is coming, but in a web novel it’s a constant drip drip drip and god knows when we’ll get the boom. I actually did like this recent chapter getting to see some badasses be bad rear end
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Nov 22, 2019 11:53
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Larry Parrish posted:I get why the like, forums CYOA stuff is popular but I cant help but feel it will come off as inconsistent if you dont read it as a forums thing because you wont have the context. Like one of those web novels where the author obviously didnt plan it out and the story just kind of wanders from one thread to the next. Like Azarinth Healer or whatever that one with the autistic british kid is called. It relies heavily on the author being good (and usually fails because of this). FoD only works as well as it does because the author obviously has a very clear idea of the setting (or at least the elements of it introduced) and characters, so the choices made by Ling Qi always feel like they result in reasonable outcomes. FoD/ToD has also gotten better over time at being readable for people ignoring the mechanics and decisions. I don't really participate or pay attention to the decisions, and earlier in the story you can occasionally see the obvious result of that sort of thing, but he's taken things in a more narratively heavy direction later. Omi no Kami posted:I think the main reason the Cai vote felt so weird to me was because of how mismatched what we knew of her objectives were with what we knew about Ling Qi as a person. Granted the latter had inconsistencies and eccentricities linked to being a PC, but the two just didn't feel like a good match. Cai has her whole thing with bringing justice to her territory and fixing the broken loom, but Ling Qi just kind of liked sneaking around and stealing poo poo. She was a nice person, for sure, but at the point in the story when she made the choice I honestly couldn't see what her reasoning was- her goals are so fundamentally mismatched with Cai's that the only real driving force seems to be mercenary concerns, but Ling Qi's nobility and the rapidly-climbing rank she was earning once she left the sect would've easily ensured her comfort, and she hasn't actually done very well since joining- her responsibilities dramatically expanded, but she only got a couple trinkets and a lot of headaches for her trouble. You could argue she found a liege for protection, but as a reader I never felt that she was genuinely imperiled by politics until she became a vassal. The decision makes sense from the perspective of it being the one to offer the most guaranteed benefits, and Ling Qi is both a practical and ambitious person without any strong political beliefs in the setting so it makes sense for her to choose that. I believe that early on Ling Qi also specifically mentions that she doesn't really fully understand or support Cai's ideas, but is willing to try and learn more about where she's coming from. It also makes some sense for her to like the vague idea of "fixing things" given her own upbringing. There's also the fact that her best friend likes and trusts Cai.
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Nov 22, 2019 17:59
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TWI Patreon: Pisces, the insanely relatable. Well maybe not the responsible for all my old friends being dead part
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Nov 24, 2019 02:03
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I just became a Patreon subscriber for TWI. I love the stories and I can't stand being behind anymore. Also pirateaba deserves the cash.
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Nov 24, 2019 22:28
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I feel like instead of patreon/non-patreon for TWI, it would be helpful if people just put the actual chapter number, ala "6.59". Makes it way easier when you go back or are catching up on the thread to see which spoilers you're okay to read.
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Nov 29, 2019 00:54
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Lol if you arent current with the best web serial out there.
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Nov 29, 2019 02:56
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Lism is very rapidly becoming one of my favorite characters in TWI. He's a bitter, vicious, racist rear end in a top hat, but goddamn when he directs that at people who deserve it it's nothing if not entertaining. 
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Nov 30, 2019 02:55
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TWI's discord had this as one of the first pinned messages from pirateaba: ha ha ha, only 1000-4000 words right
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Nov 30, 2019 09:20
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Nov 30, 2019 09:44
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I gave up on TWI because the goblin chapters were too depressing. Has it gotten better now or are they all dead?
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Nov 30, 2019 14:04
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Well it's one of those two options
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Nov 30, 2019 14:12
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Mulozon Empuri posted:I gave up on TWI because the goblin chapters were too depressing. Has it gotten better now or are they all dead? It's been a bit of a roller coaster since then, but I'd definitely say less depressing. poo poo keeps hitting the fan, but not in the gloom and doom way. (Okay, doom yes, gloom not as much)
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Nov 30, 2019 15:24
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Mulozon Empuri posted:I gave up on TWI because the goblin chapters were too depressing. Has it gotten better now or are they all dead? They're in essentially a Native reserve within the Unseen Empire. the story hasn't really covered anything other than the survivors are there and currently alive
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Nov 30, 2019 15:40
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The story as a whole is less depressing and a goblin you wouldn't expect is getting some cool scenes lately.
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Nov 30, 2019 16:14
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Larry Parrish posted:They're in essentially a Native reserve within the Unseen Empire. the story hasn't really covered anything other than the survivors are there and currently alive Also Rags and a few others fled into the high places
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Nov 30, 2019 17:42
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Mulozon Empuri posted:I gave up on TWI because the goblin chapters were too depressing. Has it gotten better now or are they all dead? They are not all dead, and yeah it is pretty depressing, but it does have a bunch of silver linings and there's positive resolution to some aspects of it. Lots of loose ends get tied up and side plots resolved related to the goblins. I also quit for quite a long time around that part of the story, but I'm extremely glad I came back to it and am now all caught up.
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Nov 30, 2019 20:30
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speaking of length TWI Interlude - Talia is 27,700 words e: patreon: Holy loving poo poo, Rabbiteater  e2: “Is it okay to be happy? Even when friends die? I should not feel happy. But I do. The world hurts. It is cruel. Good dies. But still. Even though I am…am I allowed to want to smile?”  i think this might legit be the best chapter in vol 6 A big flaming stink fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Dec 1, 2019 |
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Dec 1, 2019 00:00
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A big flaming stink posted:speaking of length How does pirateaba know that Rags, Numbtongue, Rabbitears, and Badarrow were my favorite goblins
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Dec 1, 2019 11:26
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Mulozon Empuri posted:I gave up on TWI because the goblin chapters were too depressing. Has it gotten better now or are they all dead? I gave up on it because it was anime as gently caress, has that changed
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Dec 1, 2019 16:30
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