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I have a feeling that Pact is going to be a lot of rear end in a top hat Wizards doing stuff via handwave. My problems with it are that Ra already does that and I like a story about engineering your way to success better than one about magic-ing your way to success, even if it's story fueled mad science. For me, Boil has a base of relatability that Pact lacks, however shaky it may be.
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Dec 18, 2013 05:37
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Plus Boil showed signs of becoming a private detective story.
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Dec 18, 2013 05:45
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wiegieman posted:I have a feeling that Pact is going to be a lot of rear end in a top hat Wizards doing stuff via handwave. My problems with it are that Ra already does that and I like a story about engineering your way to success better than one about magic-ing your way to success, even if it's story fueled mad science. For me, Boil has a base of relatability that Pact lacks, however shaky it may be. Worm managed to handle non-science-based abilities without resorting to handwaves, though. The only people whose powers really felt handwavey were Bonesaw and maybe Panacea, and their powers were biology based. The potential problems with Pact are more the lack of anything that particularly stands out about the characters or setting so far. Also, is it just me or does Wildbow really like the idea of conspiracies with seemingly limitless resources? It's enough to make me wonder if he's a conspiracy theorist in real life. (Of course, because he's an actually good writer, he eventually showed us where Cauldron gets their stuff from and the things they can't do.) Silver2195 fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Dec 18, 2013 |
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Dec 18, 2013 05:51
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Neurosis posted:It's a long serial so it will be a long time before I am enlightened as the rest. Feel free to laugh at my posts until then. I didn't mean it in an insulting way, more it's awesome when someone starts reading because I almost get to experience it all over again through the thread. I definitely prefer Pact over all of the other samples out so far except for maybe Face which is never going to outpace Boil, so Pact gets my vote.
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Dec 18, 2013 21:19
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Pact 2 is up. My thoughts:
I still prefer Face. Silver2195 fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Dec 21, 2013 |
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Dec 21, 2013 07:36
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Pact really isn't clicking with me. I think possibly it's just poor editing, I'm getting really confused with who's which character; I can't even work out what gender the main character's supposed to be. Boil was probably my favourite so far, and I like detective stories in fantasy settings, so if it does turn out to be that it'll be fun. Needs a proper noir intro though. thespaceinvader fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Dec 21, 2013 |
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Dec 21, 2013 10:01
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Main character is a male, I'm guessing around 18/19. This chapter had some good tension. I dislike urban fantasy wherein the 'fantasy' is a known and open part of the world, so pushing for something like this where everything is hidden would be my initial choice, but Boil's setting is the more vivid and interesting of the four.
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Dec 21, 2013 14:36
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See, I thought that, but then there's lines where mirror-girl says she IS the main character and is female and named Rose. I guess she's an alternate version or something, but the whole thing comes across a bit confused to me.
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Dec 21, 2013 15:51
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Rose specifically says she's him with 'one fundamental difference', that she's a girl (and not completely real, I guess). There was also this whole deal in the first chapter where Blake couldn't inherit because he's a guy. That's the trick his grandmother pulled with Rose: she got around the no guys rule by somehow creating a female version of him to inherit the house. I really like Pact, even though the genre isn't something I'm all that interested in. Boil was fun too, and Peer wasn't bad, at least with the twist at the end. Face also was more interesting than I expected, but I'm not sure it would work out. Face seems like it needs a lot of planning and has a kind of time limit.
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Dec 21, 2013 16:21
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Ah, that makes sense - and the girls-only thing also makes sense given the conceit of witchcraft of some kind, but nonetheless - if feel like there's a lot less to make Pact stand out, thus far, even than Peer.
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Dec 21, 2013 18:16
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Haven't read a single post in this thread because I am only on Arc 8 atm, but I just wanted to make a comment. “The only authority you have is the authority people give you.” Holy poo poo, I don't ever want Grue to go away. He is such an awesome character. Him and Tattletale 
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Dec 23, 2013 08:18
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Scent of Worf posted:Haven't read a single post in this thread because I am only on Arc 8 atm, but I just wanted to make a comment. I am up to arc 16 and he gets more interesting. It is cool. Still prefer Regent and Tattletale, though. Update on my progress (spoilered for Scent of Worf): I found the Slaughterhouse Nine arc oddly unsatisfying compared to the earlier stuff. The superheroics just didn't feel that great. Siberian I found a little creepy and the Cauldron conspiracy Legend is looking into seem pretty interesting, though. My only current thought is that Eidolon, Cauldron etc are playing some long game where the death of half the world's population is necessary, but I am probably completely off base given how little information I have to work with. I'm finding Taylor a bit irritating at this point. I actually don't like how prepossessed she is in all her dealings and how she plans everything out. It also feels like she has no sense of humour whatsoever.
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Dec 24, 2013 05:45
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Taylor honestly doesn't have a sense of humor, but to be fair to her she's a fairly broken person who's under constant crushing pressure thanks to the life she's chosen to lead, so she doesn't really have time for a sense of humor anyway.
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Dec 24, 2013 07:17
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I am really surprised Wildbow posted Pact 3 today, but I guess he doesn't want to ruin his perfect streak. Not complaining. Pact 2 was legit scary though and I can't stop myself from reading the stories when they are posted, so late at night. This new chapter was not so scary and I'm a sucker for world-building so it made me most excited. I think it might be worth reading scary things. 
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Dec 24, 2013 10:38
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Pact 3 I found a lot more interesting that pact 2 - I just couldn't get my head round the action in 2 I think. I'd read Pact, but I think I'd prefer Boil.
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Dec 24, 2013 12:38
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NecroMonster posted:Taylor honestly doesn't have a sense of humor, but to be fair to her she's a fairly broken person who's under constant crushing pressure thanks to the life she's chosen to lead, so she doesn't really have time for a sense of humor anyway. It does make her less likeable to read about, though.
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Dec 24, 2013 16:06
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Pact feels like an RPG or video game novelization.
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Dec 24, 2013 17:09
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Neurosis posted:I'm finding Taylor a bit irritating at this point. I actually don't like how prepossessed she is in all her dealings and how she plans everything out. It also feels like she has no sense of humour whatsoever. Spoilers: Kids tend to grow up kind of hallow and lacking in sunshine when you dump a poo poo-load of trauma on them at a critical point in their development. The spiderman style wiseass might be more fun, but it's also not what tends to actually happen when you take a young teen a force them through a bunch of adult level problems way too quickly. They reason I find Taylor to be sympathetic and relatable isn't so much that she's super endearing, it's that she feels like a genuine attempt to extrapolate what a kid in her situation would be like. She's closer to a child soldier than a superhero.
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Dec 24, 2013 18:08
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withak posted:Pact feels like an RPG or video game novelization. Once I read this, I realized the vibe I was getting from Pact reminded me of Eternal Darkness. That's actually a good thing, though I liked Face's 'Battle Royal with virtual augmentation' more.
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Dec 24, 2013 19:08
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Eh, my take on it is that I have enjoyed all of the offerings so far, so it comes down to which story Wildbow would enjoy doing most. They didn't like Peer, and Boil (though very interesting) is something that covers a lot of scientific stuff they're not familiar with. I can't remember what their thoughts were on Face after posting a couple chapters. Hmm.
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Dec 24, 2013 19:21
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I was afraid to post in here, but I finally finished Worm. What an incredible read. Now I'm working myself to read through it again to see all the foreshadowing and references (always my favorite part of reading somethign new).
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Dec 24, 2013 20:36
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Go check out Wildbow's personal blog, they've been posting up previews of the concepts they're considering next.
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Dec 25, 2013 04:17
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The latest chapter of Pact was actually good. The main character isn't going to be in the dark about everything and there are clear directions for the plot to go in.
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Dec 25, 2013 05:44
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Took a look through the comments. God I hate tropers.
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Dec 25, 2013 06:04
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Tollymain posted:God I hate tropers. I've always thought of them as a slightly greasier incarnation of Pratchett's Auditors.
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Dec 25, 2013 12:46
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Skippy McPants posted:I've always thought of them as a slightly greasier incarnation of Pratchett's Auditors. I think Tollymain is thinking of Mayhem from the Pact 3 comments, who is perhaps the opposite of an Auditor.  There were a bunch of people, at least one of whom was a troper, who were the same about Skitter/Tattletale when Worm was running. Silver2195 fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Dec 26, 2013 |
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Dec 26, 2013 01:26
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What am I missing by not reading the comments sections? Apparently there was Worm fanfiction being posted in the Worm comments; have things degenerated so quickly with these new stories?
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Dec 26, 2013 03:05
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Grundulum posted:What am I missing by not reading the comments sections? Apparently there was Worm fanfiction being posted in the Worm comments; have things degenerated so quickly with these new stories? To be clear, the creepy posters are a minority. They're just fun to make fun of.
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Dec 26, 2013 04:46
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I hope Wildbow has a story picked soon. I stopped reading the excerpts because I was really liking each of them and didn't want to 'invest' in a story that won't go anywhere.
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Dec 27, 2013 08:04
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About a week ago, I believe, Wildbow said he was pretty sure he would be going ahead with Pact. He said the research/in character dialogue of Boil would make it difficult to write and he wasn't confident enough to continue Peer's story. He said his plan's for Face are to make it into a graphic novel if he can find an artist with enough dedication. That seems like it would be really cool and I hope something comes of it.
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Dec 27, 2013 08:29
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I'm not even sure I'd read Pact if that's the result. Wildbow is a good writer, but Urban fantasy is pretty well trod. I'd be way more interested in the Voltaic revolution.
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Dec 27, 2013 10:33
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To expand on Grouchy's post, his rough expectation for the next couple of stories is approximately one year per. Here, I found the comment: Wildbow posted:Pact 3 on Tues. Where I cut the last two short, it’s more because they were going to be more of the same, without a good ability to jump straight into the next pertinent area needing sampling (ie. the detective story for Boil and the Night Game for Face). Fellwenner fucked around with this message at 11:29 on Dec 27, 2013 |
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Dec 27, 2013 11:23
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wiegieman posted:I'm not even sure I'd read Pact if that's the result. Wildbow is a good writer, but Urban fantasy is pretty well trod. I'd be way more interested in the Voltaic revolution. I don't get this mindset. I read Wildbow's work because he's a good writer. Why would a change in genre make you stop reading good work?
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Dec 27, 2013 14:37
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This is pretty disappointing. Pact has a decent premise after 3, but it's main character is the weakest of all of them. His only defining feature is his hatred of his family. He's boring as gently caress otherwise. In contrast, Peers Caspar is a fat goonlord who sees people's souls and is hated by everyone, Face's Wes is manipulative and mentally hosed up, Boil's protaganist is clever enough to smuggle out a contraband octopus in her stomach and break out of a prison. Blake's just the blandest of all of them.
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Dec 27, 2013 17:51
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That's not really Blake's only feature though. Just off the top of my head: He doesn't like conflict. He chose to live on the streets instead of spending any more time around the family feuding. He has a lot of people he owes, in big or little ways. He can keep his head in bad situations. He didn't freak out and flee when the birdskull stuff first started happening. Some people are saying that's an unnatural reaction, I just think it illustrates a facet of his character. He bottles up his responses to situations. He doesn't show much anger, he doesn't show much fear, but he's still feeling both inside. That's several days after a single read of the story, split into three parts over a week and a day.
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Dec 27, 2013 18:24
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Hey, I really want to read Worm on my Kindle. Any way to do this?
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Dec 27, 2013 19:03
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Not officially and the author prefers people not to, but a goon will be along in a sec to explain how to scrape the database and sideload it anyway. This probably ought to be in the OP if it's not already.
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Dec 27, 2013 19:11
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Thank you and future thank you to oncoming Goon.
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Dec 27, 2013 19:12
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Tollymain posted:I don't get this mindset. I read Wildbow's work because he's a good writer. Why would a change in genre make you stop reading good work? Because a retread of generic urban fantasy plot #12 is uninteresting regardless of who writes it.
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Dec 27, 2013 20:17
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Tollymain posted:I don't get this mindset. I read Wildbow's work because he's a good writer. Why would a change in genre make you stop reading good work? There are lots of good authors working in the genre, a number of the better than Wildbow, and my time is finite. There are far fewer authors making more exciting stuff (to me) like Boil.
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Dec 27, 2013 20:42
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