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SupSup 78 This was kinda frustrating to me for the same reason Alden is freaking out --- the interview was supposed to be a big deal... and then they just phones it in.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 20:03 |
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# ? Jun 3, 2024 23:50 |
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SupSup 78 Can't say I really enjoyed this chapter, it was mostly Alden figuring out (or not figuring out) things from last chapter. That said, I will fully admit probably the reason I didn't enjoy it that much is because it means I have to wait for Wednesday to actually see the results of 77 I was hoping for. If I weren't reading it one chapter at a time it's probably a perfectly fine chapter.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 20:23 |
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Bremen posted:SupSup 78 Can't say I really enjoyed this chapter, it was mostly Alden figuring out (or not figuring out) things from last chapter. That said, I will fully admit probably the reason I didn't enjoy it that much is because it means I have to wait for Wednesday to actually see the results of 77 I was hoping for. If I weren't reading it one chapter at a time it's probably a perfectly fine chapter. We did get the results of 76 instead. Alden and Kon come out looking even better in comparison to the other kids. I kind of wonder if Lexi might have disqualified himself with his reaction. It isn't a bad one, but it's not good either.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 20:43 |
Bremen posted:SupSup 78 Can't say I really enjoyed this chapter, it was mostly Alden figuring out (or not figuring out) things from last chapter. That said, I will fully admit probably the reason I didn't enjoy it that much is because it means I have to wait for Wednesday to actually see the results of 77 I was hoping for. If I weren't reading it one chapter at a time it's probably a perfectly fine chapter. Apparently Sleyca realized she oopsied and gave the impression that the question was at the end of the interview and not at the end of the morning in the text for last chapter. So we should get that bombshell, whatever it is, on Wednesday.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 20:54 |
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Bremen posted:SupSup 78 Can't say I really enjoyed this chapter, it was mostly Alden figuring out (or not figuring out) things from last chapter. That said, I will fully admit probably the reason I didn't enjoy it that much is because it means I have to wait for Wednesday to actually see the results of 77 I was hoping for. If I weren't reading it one chapter at a time it's probably a perfectly fine chapter. supsup 78 yeah, i was ready for testing to be done and looking forward to hard-hitting interview questions. and I understand why we didnt get the second and it makes sense, but I guess in my head i had just got slightly hype for them discussing what happened on the moon. not my favourite, but like you say, will be fine on a reread.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 20:56 |
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LLSix posted:We did get the results of 76 instead. Alden and Kon come out looking even better in comparison to the other kids. I kind of wonder if Lexi might have disqualified himself with his reaction. It isn't a bad one, but it's not good either. No worries, (SupSup 77-78) I'm sure their psychologist would catch if he wasn't qualified for hero work. It's not like they'd deliberately have an underqualified one screening candidates for nefarious reasons or anything. Seriously though, I do like Kon, and hope Alden goes to the party. I wonder if they could slice one of Natalie's magic burritos in half and have him "repair" the halves, so they could both have magic superfood. Bremen fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Aug 20, 2023 |
# ? Aug 20, 2023 21:00 |
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LLSix posted:We did get the results of 76 instead. Alden and Kon come out looking even better in comparison to the other kids. I kind of wonder if Lexi might have disqualified himself with his reaction. It isn't a bad one, but it's not good either.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 21:07 |
Supsup 78 This update is more about setting up Aldens future relationship with Kon, which will be neat in the future but for now I just want to see Alden get accepted now that we know it's a certainty. He doesn't need to join anyone for lunch thanks to his packed foods, so he won't have a chat with anyone about how wierd his interview is till his gets his results later this afternoon
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 21:44 |
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Bremen posted:No worries, (SupSup 77-78) Oh wow. That would be so amazing. You should suggest it in patreon so Sleyca can steal it. It'd be extra funny if he gives himself skill fatigue because Natalie's cooking is just that amazing. Item duping would explain what the Artonans built his sub-class for.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 21:55 |
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LLSix posted:Oh wow. That would be so amazing. You should suggest it in patreon so Sleyca can steal it. Heh, (SupSup 78) I'd brought it up a few times on the discord, but I posted it on Patreon in case Sleyca likes the idea.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 22:15 |
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(SupSup 78) I'm legitimately surprised that the S-rank he fought wasn't the Ground Shaper he knows. It's really a shame that the interlude was before this chapter instead of afterward, because I'd have liked to see their reaction to Alden phoning in most of his answers and then trying not to laugh at them when Klein says his one skill won't be enough for hero work. I feel like at least one person would have correctly interpreted each of those. Would have been interesting, and it would have meant our impression of the interview was more aligned with Alden's ("huh, this is weird"), and basically the rest of the chapter could have been the same.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 23:00 |
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Bremen posted:No worries, (SupSup 77-78) This depends heavily on the specific mechanics of his skill - it probably needs the matter from the object in question to be present to repair it (or pulls it from wherever it is). I imagine it's not possible to just create massive amounts of "free" matter with it (and if it is, probably not without a significant cost that makes it much harder to use that way). This seems to me like the sort of "change in perspective" trick that wouldn't work. The one Alden suggests (doing the same thing, just to more stuff at once) would work because it's fundamentally still doing the same thing, but "creating a whole from a part of something" is something that is probably fundamentally different. If that was possible, you could do something absurd like "this patch of dirt is part of the planet Earth" and then create the whole planet from it. As far as we can tell, his skill probably takes a certain set of matter and returns all of it to its previous position/state. So if you split a sandwich in two and used it on one part, it'd probably just pull both the sides together. LLSix posted:SupSup77: SupSup 78 If Alden were an S-Rank (similarly to how all the Griveck Ryeh'bts are their top-level Avowed, which are probably actually *stronger* than human S-Ranks - they aren't comparable with a human B-Rank!) they'd probably be a lot more willing to entertain the idea, but Alden is dealing with two separate facts that act as a hard limit on his growth (and the instructors have no way of knowing otherwise, since they have no precedent to draw from of a B-Rank Rabbit gaining the sort of ability that makes becoming a hero viable). And it's not even just a human bias - IIRC Joe also thought the idea of a B-Rank Ryeh'bt wanting to be a hero was funny/cute. Literally the only thing that makes it viable for Alden is his specific choice of Skill + authority sense (both things they have no way of knowing about). Remove those from the equation, and every single argument made by Klein and the principal would be 100% correct. Even Alden himself admits it in chapter 78 - if his Skill had a cap, it'd be a waste of time for him to pursue heroics (and he laughs because he realizes that his Skill doesn't have a cap, but there's no way to communicate that). How are the instructors supposed to be aware that Alden's Skill has no cap? And (probably most importantly) this is a situation where there are actual negative consequences to someone pursuing the career if they're not suited to it. It isn't like applying to university - it's like pursuing training for a dangerous physical job (and training that is very painful and probably also pretty dangerous on its own). Sports are a better (though still not great) analogy, but gender is a very bad analogy for Rank/Class (or more specifically the actual underlying thing, authority). If you had to come up with a sports analogy, it would be like someone who weighs 130lb (and can't significantly increase that, for the purposes of the Rank/Class analogy) trying to become a heavyweight boxer. It's dangerous and probably a bad idea even if you *are* suited for it, and something you'd be downright irresponsible not to discourage someone from doing if they aren't. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Aug 20, 2023 |
# ? Aug 20, 2023 23:01 |
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SupSup 78ish is Alden under a contract with Joe to not tell anyone that he knows his skill is uncapped? It seems with the System telling him as well that he should be out of the contract assuming there was one covering it
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 23:28 |
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asur posted:SupSup 78ish is Alden under a contract with Joe to not tell anyone that he knows his skill is uncapped? It seems with the System telling him as well that he should be out of the contract assuming there was one covering it No, everything said in the convo with Joe is kept secret no matter if Alden learns it later or not.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 23:31 |
asur posted:SupSup 78ish is Alden under a contract with Joe to not tell anyone that he knows his skill is uncapped? It seems with the System telling him as well that he should be out of the contract assuming there was one covering it A reader wrote this in the comments from chapter 77: Went back to chapter with ultra privacy stuff. Quote and stuff below "that you will not, through any means or by any permutation of interpretation, intentionally reveal the information I’m about to disclose to you with anyone else of any species without my permission. Ever. Also you will not use this knowledge to advise or instruct another person in a fashion that would allow them to take advantage of it" That covers -How system reacts to people not picking affixations -The 300 skills and early system history -The mess that is artonian politics around system design -Skill levels generally top out 4-10 range and are basicaly big complicated spells -Some stuff about rabbit class desgin -That Artonians have iced drinks It might cover -Stuff about bound and unbound athority as Joe let him work that out himself during the conversation. It does not cover -The special skill modifications he has such as his enchantment carrying, he just cant talk about the why he gets them. -How the conflict between bound and unbound authority speeds up growth Edit, also Alden is forbidden from revealing that stuff even if he later obtains the info through entirely independent means. It was part of the contract too. Unless Joe gives the okay to reveal it that is Nitrousoxide fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Aug 20, 2023 |
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 23:37 |
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Nitrousoxide posted:A reader wrote this in the comments from chapter 77: Thanks for sharing this, this is a good recap. asur posted:SupSup 78ish is Alden under a contract with Joe to not tell anyone that he knows his skill is uncapped? It seems with the System telling him as well that he should be out of the contract assuming there was one covering it (SupSup 78) In addition to what the others have said about the contract, if Alden COULD tell them without contract issues, would he even want to? He'd have to tell them to take it on his word, which they wouldn't. Or else he could tell them about talking to the Artona I kernel, which they probably also wouldn't believe, because everyone in that room is a hero and their perspective on what Systems are and how they act is going to be almost entirely shaped by experience with the Earth System, which is explicitly very different. And even if they DO believe him, then if they start asking for more about uncapped skills, he's very conspicuously going to clam up, because he won't want to explain what he knows about Knights. There's a non-zero risk of it getting out to an Artonian if he does and he has zero desire to have that happen.
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# ? Aug 20, 2023 23:54 |
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Sup sup Patreon: it’s also funny because if everyone was honest there would be no real issue!
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# ? Aug 21, 2023 00:10 |
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Nitrousoxide posted:A reader wrote this in the comments from chapter 77: Notably important, it covers (SupSup 78) that if you unbalance your bound and unbound authority in the unbound's favor, something really bad happens. Which is a big thing, since one thing not covered by the oath is that authority grows faster when bound and unbound authority are closely matched. Technically Alden could tell people that if they wait and take levelups in big chunks they'll level up faster overall, but this seems like a great way to lead to accidentally blowing affixations, which he can't warn people would be an issue. So he probably shouldn't say anything.
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# ? Aug 21, 2023 16:18 |
Bremen posted:Notably important, it covers (SupSup 78) that if you unbalance your bound and unbound authority in the unbound's favor, something really bad happens. General SupSup power stuff Joe told Alden that it takes multiple levels and you repeatedly ignoring System prizes for you to even be at risk of it, and if you are the System will force-affix something beforehand (but really doesn't want to do so because it's seen as hugely immoral). Alden only almost died because he was stuck without a System for 6 months as he levelled.
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# ? Aug 21, 2023 16:52 |
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Nothingtoseehere posted:General SupSup power stuff Joe told Alden that it takes multiple levels and you repeatedly ignoring System prizes for you to even be at risk of it, and if you are the System will force-affix something beforehand (but really doesn't want to do so because it's seen as hugely immoral). Alden only almost died because he was stuck without a System for 6 months as he levelled. Yeah, but if (SupSup general power stuff) an avowed took the advice that holding onto a bunch of levels at once was better for leveling up quicker, and then got summoned to a chaos fight/ended up without a system like Alden, they'd be much closer to tipping the scale without knowing that was even an issue. Basically encouraging someone to hold on to levels without being able to tell them the dangers of taking it too far would be extremely reckless, even if normally they'd just eventually reach the point where the system forces the issue.
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# ? Aug 21, 2023 18:54 |
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I read through all the public chapters of Bog Standard Isekai since it was mentioned a few times in the thread. There were a few cool bits of writing that I appreciated, but overall I felt that there weren't enough interesting/likeable characters to retain my interest. If you take away the mystery boxes and the lectures about the magic system, there isn't a lot left. Also read the 4th chapter of Zenith of Sorcery, and I think I am unfortunately even more negative on that. Similar problems, but it didn't have any of the bright points I remember fondly in BSI (Hogg is moderately fun as a character and quite fun to think about as a set of powers and political force, the first visit to the temple did awe of the divine reasonably well, the scene with the wizard lady using a panel of experts magically dissect the true meaning of the letter from protagonist was an excellent shock moment). For me, Zenith was going to be a keep or a toss depending on whether the cool tree ended up being actually cool. It was not, IMO. In both cases, I felt like the main character was boring. I longed for someone who had an agenda and/or a distinct role in a community... or just someone going on a cool adventure, without endless grinding for +1s. Still enjoying SupSup, and I got up to date on that yesterday. I'm toying with the idea of checking out how Webbonomicon is handling the return to The Gods are Bastards, but I think I'd rather wait for it to accumulate a lot of chapters and read them all at once.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 03:09 |
Slumrat has started back up at Royal Road this week and they're doing 2 chapters a day this week to catch up.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 03:11 |
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Edit: Eh, never mind, not picking a fight about it. I just hate the use of terms like "mystery boxes" to mean "unanswered questions."
Einander fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Aug 22, 2023 |
# ? Aug 22, 2023 04:17 |
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Fair enough. Language can be a very slippery thing, these days. Anybody have a recommendation for a solid web serial that has a mage trafficking with fell spirits? I quite enjoyed the first couple books of Furies of Calderon, and when Soulmonger was focused on figuring out the crazy soul-essence economy and how not to get murdered by the demon nanny. And Beware of Chicken was definitely fun, as far as I read it, but I haven't caught up in a while. I'd be interested in something that focused on a character trying to do the D&D warlock thing with some dangerous and difficult to fully understand forces, but without the story dipping too far into edgelordy stuff. My sister is way into Mo Dao Zu Shi, and from what I saw in adaptations of that it does a pretty neat necromancer who has a few ghost buddies with unfinished business instead of a horde of skeleton robots. Let's see... there's definitely a fair amount of cultivation stuff with demon buddies, but most of the stuff I'm aware of either doesn't really focus on them too much or is translated pretty roughly.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 05:58 |
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Pact and its sequel (well, more like a separate story in the same universe), Pale? I didn't finish Pact but Pale seemed much better at the time that I caught up with it and stopped. Either way it seems to fit what you want, although Wildbow does tend to get a bit edgelordy.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 06:11 |
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Yeah, I have heard quite a few warnings about Wildbow content over the years. I've generally stayed away from their stuff. I was also warned off Practical Guide to Sorcery not too long ago, something about the main character having sleep problems, so then they use deeply unethical magic to do some animal abuse about it. Make the test animals sleep for her, siphon out the restfulness, and leave them to die from the traumatic curse dreams?? MC sounded like a jerk. I don't mind a pompous weirdo protagonist, but if I start to actively root against them I'm probably going to drop the story very quickly.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 06:31 |
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avoraciopoctules posted:Yeah, I have heard quite a few warnings about Wildbow content over the years. I've generally stayed away from their stuff. What warnings in particular?
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 08:10 |
Argue posted:Pact and its sequel (well, more like a separate story in the same universe), Pale? I didn't finish Pact but Pale seemed much better at the time that I caught up with it and stopped. Either way it seems to fit what you want, although Wildbow does tend to get a bit edgelordy. Pact isn't very good in my opinion, as well as trending towards overly dark it also does and then it gets worse too many times that you stop believing the the protagonist is actually at risk or isn't going to somehow survive superior forces he should not. Also the pacing is terrible and even more compact than Worm. Twig, the one afterwards which is a biosteampunk story is alot better IMO.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 08:17 |
Pact was interesting, if not good. Twig was cool and I enjoyed it a lot, and it's probably the Wildbow thing I'd recommend these days.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 09:10 |
Ice Phisherman posted:What warnings in particular? Wildbow writes misery porn and your time is better spent hitting yourself with a ball-pean hammer than reading Wildbow, generally. People are allowed to like misery porn. Yet, for most readers there is absolutely something that is a better use of their time out there and they should, in my opinion, try to spend their time on those other things rather than reading Wildbow. Hell, go read Beneath the Dragoneye Moons by our very own goon author selkie before you spend a day on Wildbow.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 14:14 |
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Ice Phisherman posted:What warnings in particular? Mostly extreme violence, with a smattering of serious emotional abuse. I quite like Pact but I would not recommend it if you are trying to avoid edgelordy stuff. Patrick Spens fucked around with this message at 14:20 on Aug 22, 2023 |
# ? Aug 22, 2023 14:17 |
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Anias posted:Wildbow writes misery porn and your time is better spent hitting yourself with a ball-pean hammer than reading Wildbow, generally. Oh thank you! I do occasionally have some sad moments (The mango bowl...), and I find it so much easier to write sad and depressing things than happy things, but I also know I don't want to be misery porn and everything needs to balance out haha
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 14:25 |
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avoraciopoctules posted:I was also warned off Practical Guide to Sorcery not too long ago, something about the main character having sleep problems, so then they use deeply unethical magic to do some animal abuse about it. Make the test animals sleep for her, siphon out the restfulness, and leave them to die from the traumatic curse dreams?? MC sounded like a jerk. I don't mind a pompous weirdo protagonist, but if I start to actively root against them I'm probably going to drop the story very quickly. It sounds like the warning got somewhat warped along the way, for what it's worth. The MC is experimenting with a spell to let others sleep for her, but it's going to be cast on humans and not intended to be harmful (beyond the target having to sleep twice as much). However, they're doing animal testing and her partner decides to push things until they kill the animal subjects to determine the limits of the spell. They eventually moved the animal testing on to pixies, which look human-like but are not intelligent, and the MC had a moral crisis about performing lethal tests on them before eventually deciding to go through with it. I definitely wouldn't call her a jerk. I haven't kept up with the story lately, but at the last point I read they had moved on to human testing and the human test subjects were actually greatly enjoying it (because they received money and magical healing in return for sleeping all day for a week). I was admittedly apprehensive something would go wrong because it frequently does in PGtS and it doesn't seem like the story would devote all this attention to finding a sleep alternative then have it be a miracle cure with no side effects, but the MC isn't someone that would casually torture people or animals for her own gain. Bremen fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Aug 22, 2023 |
# ? Aug 22, 2023 14:57 |
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PGTS handles difficult ethical situations very well compared to nearly every other story popularly discussed in this thread, imo. I've never at any point felt that the protagonist wasn't trying their best to do the right thing despite all the circumstances laid against her.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 15:04 |
APGTS Siobhan and her research partner have shown an extraordinary attention to the ethics of their sleep magic despite the fact that it's blood magic and would be punishable with death if it was discovered by the authorities.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 15:25 |
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avoraciopoctules posted:Fair enough. Language can be a very slippery thing, these days. Katalepsis: written by our own Hungry. Very well written. Lovecraftian magic system. Most of the magic everyone does involves summoning and binding otherworldly beings with varying degrees of success, control, and survivability. Not nearly as light-hearted as the other stories you listed, and darker than my usual fare, but still my top recommendation due to sheer quality. Really nails the fell spirits part of your request. RR has a bunch of Summoner, Pokemon, and Dungeon Core stories all of which have the main character using other creatures to do most of the heavy lifting that you might enjoy. Unfortunately, the Summoner category doesn't have a tag so it's hard to search. It's not my favorite genre, but here's a few recommendation you might like. Second Chance Apocalypse: The MC get's sent back in time after Earth loses to a demon invasion. He decides to try his hand at taming and controlling the same monsters/demons this time around since humans lost last time. Has pleasant interactions with monsters contrasted against the MC struggling to deal with other humans as a result of his trauma and differing perspective. Dungeon Life: Dungeon core story where the MC is a dungeon so can only interact with his own monsters. The dungeon monsters are the real main characters. Wholesome and heartwarming. Of the four I've recommended, this is my second favorite but I'm putting it last since it seems furthest from what you asked for. Since you've read Furies of Calderon, I assume you've read the author's other series, already? If not, go read his Dresden files. It has one of the best evil Fairy Godmother character I've ever read. Unfortunately she's only in about a third of the books and not the first one, but there is a talking skull in all of them. LLSix fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Aug 23, 2023 |
# ? Aug 22, 2023 15:26 |
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Thank you for the recommendations! It sounds like I might want to take a look at Practical Guide to Sorcery after all. I usually enjoy stories that take a serious look at the ethics and externalities involved in dark magic. And I'm definitely going to take another look at Katalepsis, it has been on my to-read pile for a while and I appreciate the reminder. The problem was that the writing was high quality enough that I wanted to give it my full attention instead of reading it a paragraph at a time during slow shifts at work Ice Phisherman, for your question about Wildbow writing I usually get told that it's 1. Misery Porn and 2. the writing gets Really Weird about criminals, poor people, and ethnic minorities. I did a quick google, and the discussion I remember seeing in this thread was October of 2020. Funnily enough, someone bringing up Dresden books reminded me that one of them focused on the main character having a demon-spirit stuck in their brain. And that in turn reminds me that I was recommended a whole fantasy series by Lois McMaster Bujold last time I asked someone about books with cool demon/ghost buddies. Have not read far in Penric and Desdemona, but I recall that it did some fun stuff with demon spirits as forces of entropy.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 17:07 |
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Anias posted:Wildbow writes misery porn and your time is better spent hitting yourself with a ball-pean hammer than reading Wildbow, generally. I mean I don't really like Wildbow's works any more though I read through Worm ages ago and enjoyed it at the time. But I don't really get the complaint? Like, I can't imagine what people get out of horror media, but I don't go around calling it 'terror-porn' or whatever and horror movies and games are hugely popular. Negative emotions can be cathartic and there are people who will specifically seek out stories like Worm and Pact for the promise of reading characters make terrible decisions and having things go generally bad to worse. Personally it neither drew me in nor bothered me while I read Worm - all my issues with Wildbow's writing are completely separate from anything to do with it. Like the pacing...
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 17:13 |
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Insurrectionist posted:I mean I don't really like Wildbow's works any more though I read through Worm ages ago and enjoyed it at the time. But I don't really get the complaint? Like, I can't imagine what people get out of horror media, but I don't go around calling it 'terror-porn' or whatever and horror movies and games are hugely popular. Negative emotions can be cathartic and there are people who will specifically seek out stories like Worm and Pact for the promise of reading characters make terrible decisions and having things go generally bad to worse. For that matter Tragedy is a large and well appreciated genre as well. Not so much in the US, admittedly, but take a gander at Russian or Japanese literature sometime and gosh. Nevermind something like Romeo and Juliet. That said, I don't disagree about Wildbow. It's definitely good advice to avoid him if you don't want depressing stuff. Bremen fucked around with this message at 17:21 on Aug 22, 2023 |
# ? Aug 22, 2023 17:17 |
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# ? Jun 3, 2024 23:50 |
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Insurrectionist posted:Like, I can't imagine what people get out of horror media, but I don't go around calling it 'terror-porn' or whatever and horror movies and games are hugely popular. Negative emotions can be cathartic and there are people who will specifically seek out stories like Worm and Pact for the promise of reading characters make terrible decisions and having things go generally bad to worse. 'Misery porn' is totally a thing as a specific genre with its own cluster of characteristics, though. Just google the term, there's a lot of reading available about it. It's not just goons being mean to Wildbow.
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# ? Aug 22, 2023 17:20 |