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It's the Emmerdale Christmas Special! Edit: Reposted for new page, 6.66h of TWI unlocked.
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Dec 25, 2019 18:57
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| # ? May 20, 2024 06:08 |
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6.65 and 6.66 are some of the most tense fiction I've ever read, that was incredible writing. Especially given how fast she writes the stuff, goddamn.
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Dec 25, 2019 19:03
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THE HORNS HOLD THE LINE
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Dec 25, 2019 20:02
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Larry Parrish posted:THE HORNS HOLD THE LINE Holy loving poo poo. That chapter just blew my mind
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Dec 25, 2019 21:29
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Great chapter, now I'm worried though that pirate will only slowly dribble out info about all the levels and classes and skill upgrades that happened. Yvlon said she got dozens of notifications! TWI has like the opposite problem of most LitRPG's, instead of there being too many instances of charts/the game interface intruding on the story, there are too few.
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Dec 25, 2019 23:50
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Hungry posted:I am going to take this as a sign that I'm doing this right. Katalepsis has catapulted to top three ongoing serials for me. It's lovely, it's hard for me to rank them against each other, let's call it a draw
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Dec 26, 2019 00:34
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Cicero posted:Great chapter, now I'm worried though that pirate will only slowly dribble out info about all the levels and classes and skill upgrades that happened. Yvlon said she got dozens of notifications! TWI has like the opposite problem of most LitRPG's, instead of there being too many instances of charts/the game interface intruding on the story, there are too few. Who cares lol. I just want pisces and ceria to get back together
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Dec 26, 2019 00:52
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Larry Parrish posted:Who cares lol. Yeah not getting too deep into that stuff is one of the things I actually like about TWI. Game skills in these stories are always dumb as hell because they involve adding these stats and rules to a system that is almost never actually thought out very well. More often than not, it's just a way to explicitly quantify a power fantasy.
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Dec 26, 2019 08:55
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If anything, TWI is one of the few (possibly the only one?) that does it right. When levels are built into the world, of course they'd be deeply seated in the culture! It changes military strategy, job hunting, party planning, and even in everyday conversation, someone's levels and skills should come up just as frequently as, say, their wealth. Other LitRPG works don't ever have people talk about levels beyond a tutorial and keeping the party in the loop about their increasingly amazing capabilities (if other people are even privy to a status menu at all).
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Dec 26, 2019 09:53
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I like how Ryoka tries to find out secrets about the system early on in vol 1 but the only one she finds is that multiple classes slows your XP gain, and that some are better than others. Another excellent way to ignore the problems with these kinds of stories
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Dec 26, 2019 15:37
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Larry Parrish posted:I like how Ryoka tries to find out secrets about the system early on in vol 1 but the only one she finds is that multiple classes slows your XP gain, and that some are better than others. Another excellent way to ignore the problems with these kinds of stories I'm finally getting around to reading TWI, and this actually happens pretty late in volume 2. I didn't like how it was handled though since it seems kind of absurd that no one noticed that leveling slows down exponentially before. I thought it was being setup that the nobles already knew that, but I guess not much happens with it? I think Delve does the best job of showing a world where leveling/the stat system is explicitly intertwined in society, but it's super heavy into the mechanics/stat system side of LitRPG so I can only recommend it if you think reading a narration of someone playing an idle game sounds fun. I really like it though, and it does eventually move away from the grinding.
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Dec 26, 2019 16:07
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I stand corrected. But anyway it was forever ago in the story. And yeah, the nobles already knew. It comes up in a Flos chapter. But it's also stuff regular people seem to follow even if they dont explicitly say it. Everyone seems to know that Warrior is a lovely class compared to like Knight and most people only have 1 or 2 classes
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Dec 26, 2019 16:21
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M. Night Skymall posted:I'm finally getting around to reading TWI, and this actually happens pretty late in volume 2. I didn't like how it was handled though since it seems kind of absurd that no one noticed that leveling slows down exponentially before. I thought it was being setup that the nobles already knew that, but I guess not much happens with it? There are many signs that people entirely in the 'system' are being subtly nudged to think one way or another. Culture is deliberately being kept in a pre-tech state. Only outsiders or people that have it pointed out to them by an outsider realize certain aspects of how things work. This is part of why the summoned earthers are so important and in a way breaks the world's 'system'. Ryoka is the biggest example of this as she keeps rejecting the system. Note that even though Erin has an analytical mind, since she's embraced leveling doesn't seem to be thinking of background mechanics as much as she should be doing. Some things are 'figured out', like advance class mechanics, by the nobles however that's probably something that is 'permitted' to this class as it's their job to manage people.
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Dec 26, 2019 16:25
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my favorite thing about the TWI leveling system is that there's an actual explanation for why it exists (if you put all the hints together) and the oldest beings in the setting are aware that it's weird and artificial
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Dec 26, 2019 17:24
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Reading TWI over christmas has made me miss the days when I was like 13 and could enjoy fanfic uncritically. It's very much the same wish fulfilment "people you like being cool" type stuff.
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Dec 27, 2019 02:47
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I too am now above fun.
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Dec 27, 2019 03:11
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M. Night Skymall posted:I'm finally getting around to reading TWI, and this actually happens pretty late in volume 2. I didn't like how it was handled though since it seems kind of absurd that no one noticed that leveling slows down exponentially before. I thought it was being setup that the nobles already knew that, but I guess not much happens with it? Well, leveling doesn't slow down as much immediately if you multiclass - a level 50 something or other can still very easily get a single level in a new class with the right mindset, and that new class will be easier to level than the level 50 class - so it seems to increase growth and people reaching extremely high levels tends to be very uncommon in people who live relatively unchallenged lives anyway, so for the average person multiclassing will give them a greater number of levels over their lifetime in exchange for being lower at any one class. Theoretically, presuming there isn't some kind of cap on the number of classes you can get (there probably is, or if not you'd eventually get a 'worldly princess' style consolidation into something like 'jack of all trades' or 'dilettante') someone getting one level in 100 classes is probably massively faster (ignoring the essentially unsurmountable psychological gymnastics it would require to genuinely consider 100 different classes as part of your fundamental identity) than someone getting 100 in one class.
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Dec 27, 2019 03:42
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Nettle Soup posted:Reading TWI over christmas has made me miss the days when I was like 13 and could enjoy fanfic uncritically. It's very much the same wish fulfilment "people you like being cool" type stuff. that's kind of a weird criticism, i have to admit. for like the last two volumes twi has been an endless cascade of horrible things happening to the cast, occasionally punctuated by triumphs. imo, of course
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Dec 27, 2019 05:05
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Nettle Soup posted:Reading TWI over christmas has made me miss the days when I was like 13 and could enjoy fanfic uncritically. It's very much the same wish fulfilment "people you like being cool" type stuff. It's nice to see that I'm not crazy and the only person who gets the feeling, though I wouldn't say it's the same sort of wish-fulfillment/power fantasy stuff as you normally see in Japanese isekai WNs or many Western fantasy novels (there isn't really any specific reader self-insert character). It's more that I'm constantly getting the same vibe I get from someone writing a fan-fiction of their favorite characters. Out of curiosity, are you able to enjoy any other major web serials, like PracGuide? There something specifically about the way TWI is written that makes it impossible for me to suppress the part of my mind that is saying "you're reading something that is written by a person who is making things up as they go" (something that is obviously true for all fiction, but you can often "forget" that when reading good fiction). But I can enjoy a lot of other fiction that isn't exactly "high art," like PracGuide or certain published fantasy/sci-fi fiction like the Cradle series, though a lot of published fantasy stuff is actually way worse than TWI IMO, like Patrick Rothfuss. And TWI is still far better than the vast majority of JP isekai stuff, to the extent that I don't have a hard time understanding why people enjoy it. I'm hard pressed to think of a WN with the whole "game stats" angle that is better (though that's kinda damning with faint praise).
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Dec 27, 2019 05:15
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Ytlaya posted:I'm hard pressed to think of a WN with the whole "game stats" angle that is better (though that's kinda damning with faint praise). well that's not a surprise, litrpg is a trash genre, and works that fall in the genre are only good to the extent they overcome the pitfalls associated with it. and twi is explicitly based on the premise "what if these stupid videogame poo poo was actually real, and people interacted with them like they interact with everything else in real life?"
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Dec 27, 2019 05:19
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Ytlaya posted:It's nice to see that I'm not crazy and the only person who gets the feeling, though I wouldn't say it's the same sort of wish-fulfillment/power fantasy stuff as you normally see in Japanese isekai WNs or many Western fantasy novels (there isn't really any specific reader self-insert character). It's more that I'm constantly getting the same vibe I get from someone writing a fan-fiction of their favorite characters. I bounced off TWI several times for the same sort of feeling at first - but when I powered through the awkward start the world started gaining enough texture that it stopped feeling so.. fake like it did with the early Erin stuff so I managed to suspend disbelief eventually, though i do occasionally bounce out of it. But yeah, that's a good way to describe the appeal - other litrpgs look even worse in comparison after reading it because none of the ones I've seen have put the same extent of effort into actually trying to make the game mechanics part of the world building and society in a believable way. Sometimes it fees aimless but i'm just as interested or more interested in just pirateaba's weird slice of life stuff than the typical adventurer stuff because of how much thought she's put into trying to imagine the implications of levels and classes in ways that don't involve adventurers.
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Dec 27, 2019 08:35
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Worth the Candle is a better written LitRPG than TWI, doesn't feel as fan fiction-y to me. Its style is definitely not for everyone, though. As far as building the mechanics into the world goes, I'd say the Wraith's Haunt series does a decent job of it (and is also decently written, certainly better than the other LitRPG's I've read on KU).
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Dec 27, 2019 10:53
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If I read one more litrpg thing where the main character invents the previously unknown practice of grinding (also known in real life as. you know. practice) im going to scream. nobody in the fantasy world ever considered just casting their magic over and over to level it up somehow
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Dec 27, 2019 10:59
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Worth the candle is pretty bad imo. The prose is better and the characters are a bit more 3D, but man is it some creepy angsty self indulgent navel gazing. I stopped a while ago and have had zero interest in returning to it.
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Dec 27, 2019 11:11
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Yeah the tone isn't for everyone, but the prose is stronger, characters and especially their relationships are deeper, plotting is better, world building is more interesting and fleshed out (though I think TWI generally does a solid job there too).
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Dec 27, 2019 11:24
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A big flaming stink posted:that's kind of a weird criticism, i have to admit. for like the last two volumes twi has been an endless cascade of horrible things happening to the cast, occasionally punctuated by triumphs. It wasn't a criticism, it was just an observation. One of the things with fanfic is that bad things happen and everything is gritty and grimdark, but then PEOPLE ARE COOL and everyone gets through it and shows off their awesome abilities in the coolest way! I gave up on worth the candle, it was ok but just got weirder and less interesting as it went on, once I caught up, I didn't feel interested in continuing. Never got into prac guide because the awkward writing and maybe spelling mistakes at the start turned me off. I should try it again.
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Dec 27, 2019 19:45
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Somebody should really tell web serial authors the difference between discreet and discrete because most seem to gently caress that up consistently.
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Dec 27, 2019 19:51
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Nettle Soup posted:It wasn't a criticism, it was just an observation. One of the things with fanfic is that bad things happen and everything is gritty and grimdark, but then PEOPLE ARE COOL and everyone gets through it and shows off their awesome abilities in the coolest way! i feel like it's just a very common tendency in fantasy & YA fiction. it's especially natural in a setting that could survive a direct transplantation into a d&d campaign, because d&d also caters to that tendency to push the player characters to the razor's edge before they triumph by using their shiniest spells and skills. speculative spoilers below: and, of course, a never-ending d&d campaign is exactly what the "sleeping" god under rhir wants from the people of innworld, because it gains strength and influence from their faith in levels and skills. that's my theory based on the hints so far anyway
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Dec 27, 2019 20:02
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Hi, never posted in this thread before or in the book barn subforum, but would this thread also be appropriate for talking about fanfiction? Since it's posted in a chapter(serial?) format, it seems to match, but I'm not sure. I'm asking because I've been on a Harry Potter fanfic binge lately and I came across a particularly devilish way of dealing with the Dursleys a few minutes ago and I'd just like to share the passage with someone. If this isn't an appropriate thread, what would be?
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Dec 28, 2019 05:51
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Well, I've brought up Harry Potter and the Natural 20 here before, and some people replied mentioning that they liked it too... but you might want to try the HPATMOR thread (don't worry, it's primarily mocking HPATMOR, not appreciating it, and I do see discussions of other HP fanfics there from time to time)
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Dec 28, 2019 06:34
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did "harry potter and the boy who lived" ever update? i was actually kind of interested in that one
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Dec 28, 2019 08:36
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A big flaming stink posted:did "harry potter and the boy who lived" ever update? i was actually kind of interested in that one This one? Looks like the last update was in Jan 2015, with 12 total chapters. So anyway, I've been reading a lot of Harry Potter fanfic lately, and I really like seeing creative punishments for the Dursleys. The one in Evolution (sequel to Equilibrium and seemingly sadly permanently on hiatus) really was appropriate. Bit of backstory: Snape was a bit less of an rear end in a top hat to Harry in the first one, Equilibrium, and actually started helping him with stuff once Snape learned how badly Harry had been treated. In the sequel, Snape and the other heads of house rescue Harry from the Dursleys on the evening of the Masons visit. They 'take him back' on Dumbledore's request, and Snape and Flitwick impose a bit of a creative punishment upon the Dursleys before Snape takes Harry away for the rest of the summer. And the story snippet "Of course," Minerva consented happily, following him down the sandy path that wound its way around the vast lake. When they had traveled a good distance - several kilometers, in fact - Minerva glanced back at the looming castle that gleamed in the distance. "I should think we are far enough away from the school to be safe, but I suppose a privacy shield would not be amiss." She waited while the Charms Professor set the shield and then turned to him with fierce determination. "All right, I've waiting patiently all day – now I must know: what did you and Severus do to the Dursleys? Something nasty, I hope! " Filius' kind visage transformed into a stern mask of malice. "My own choice would have been a bit more direct and physical, I confess. . . but Severus came up with a brilliantly devious, very fitting retribution. Have you ever heard of a curse called Somni Dolor Famulus?" Minerva shook her head, frowning as she struggled with the translation in her head. "It's a very old, somewhat obscure curse. . .it fell out of use after the House Elf Reforms of the 1780's. . . although, it should probably be re-introduced, considering the rumored depravity of some of the darker Pure-blood families," Filius commented thoughtfully. "What have house elves got to do with anything?" she asked in confusion. "The curse was originally created as a punishment for owners who brutally abused a house elf without just provocation." "There is no just provocation for brutal abuse!' Minerva snapped indignantly. "I agree with you, of course," Filius chuckled wryly. "But house elves had no legal rights back then, you remember, and the maltreated had no lawful recourse. But - if a qualified Wizard formally accused another Wizard of excessive abuse, and he or she was proven guilty, they were sentenced to suffer under this curse for a predetermined time. . .normally a few weeks. Roughly translated, Somni Dolor Famulus means 'To Dream the Anguish of the Slave'. It's a vicious little bugger. . . when cast, it forces the owner to suffer, in his dreams, all the abuse and torment he has inflicted on his house elf." A grim smirk began to form on Minerva's pursed lips. "How inventive! So tell exactly me how it will apply here." "Severus and I cast a variation of the curse upon each of the Dursleys. Since they treated Harry worse than a house elf, he is the 'slave' in this adaptation. Every night, when those Muggle monsters go to sleep, they will have vivid, inescapable nightmares about all the abuse, both emotional and physical, that they have subjected poor Harry to over the years. But the crucial component to this punishment, is that in their nightmares, each of them will be Harry. They will take his place, feeling everything he felt, as they are abused by beastly versions of themselves. It will seem to them as if they were trapped in Harry's body. In short, the Dursleys will be the victims of their own cruelty and stupidity." "Each night, the Aunt will suffer the anguish of every unkind word, every injustice, every deprivation she visited upon Harry. She will feel Harry's hunger, his pain, his isolation – his weary, aching body as he labored unceasingly for her. . . . likewise, the cousin, Dudley, will suffer every act of harassment, will feel every punch and kick he delivered – he'll be the victim in every incident where he and his friends bullied Harry. And best of all, the Uncle will experience every beating he ever gave the boy, as if he were receiving it himself." "Hmmm. . .only in dreams, you say?" Minerva scowled. "Doesn't sound very harsh, if you ask me." "Oh, but it is," Flitwick assured her. "Severus tells me these nightmares are so vivid – so unspeakably real – that the mind cannot distinguish between the dream-pain and literal physical pain. . .the only difference is the lack of permanent injury to the physical body. And there is no escaping it. . .the nightmares will begin every time they fall asleep, and they won't be able to wake up until every hurtful word – every vicious deed they have ever committed against the boy has replayed, with themselves in his place. It is said to be an excruciating and degrading experience, forcing the guilty to not only confront their own cruelty, but to repeatedly suffer the consequences of it as well." Filius smiled grimly. "The Dursleys are in for a rough time of it. They won't know a single night's restful sleep until the curse has ended." Minerva smiled with smug satisfaction. "And how long will the curse last?" Filius' mild expression hardened with dark ruthlessness. "For the same length of time that the Dursleys had care of the child." Minerva frowned. "But. . .that's over ten years!" "Yes, it is," Filius agreed. "But, Filius, . . .they'll go barmy! With no proper sleep, and unending nightmares, all three of them will be complete mental cases inside of a year!" She gaped at him in shock. "Less than that, I would think," Filius corrected mildly. "Oh, Filius!" Minerva hissed. "That . . . is. . . .bloody. . . MAGNIFICENT!" she crowed. And then the prim Deputy Headmistress astonished Filius by breaking into an impromptu dance of pure joy. . .a brief sort of zany, frenzied, highland fling that made him whoop with laughter. "I swear," Minerva chortled with glee, "The next time I lay eyes on Severus Snape, I'm going to kiss the brilliant little bastard!" "Now that's a spectacle I'd like to see! Promise me I'll get to watch!" Filius laughed. Giggling madly, he canceled the privacy shield around them and escorted Minerva back towards the school. If anyone had been watching, they would have been astonished to hear the quiet summer day repeatedly disrupted by bursts of uncontrolled, quite undignified sniggers from two of the most distinguished professors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
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Dec 28, 2019 08:52
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Speaking of Worth the Candle, it just updated with 7 chapters.
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Dec 28, 2019 11:12
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Jazerus posted:i feel like it's just a very common tendency in fantasy & YA fiction. it's especially natural in a setting that could survive a direct transplantation into a d&d campaign, because d&d also caters to that tendency to push the player characters to the razor's edge before they triumph by using their shiniest spells and skills. I figure it's what the gods wanted / implemented in the first place, presumably for the sole purpose of giggles. The mortal races rebelled and killed them, but decided the siren song of the leveling system (maybe with some tweaks, natch) was too much to resist and 'the world betrayed itself'. This admittedly isn't mutually exclusive with the system still being linked to the Rhir Deity.
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Dec 28, 2019 15:52
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Cicero posted:Somebody should really tell web serial authors the difference between discreet and discrete because most seem to gently caress that up consistently. are you saying the two words are... discreet 
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Dec 28, 2019 15:54
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Ambaire posted:This one? Looks like the last update was in Jan 2015, with 12 total chapters. There's 5 more chapters on DLP. Requires a DLP account to view for whatever reason, and still no updates in a few years.
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Dec 28, 2019 18:19
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Caught up with the TWI chapters I missed between my last plane binge and the Christmas rush and wow this was a great time to do it. That last chapter was hella metal (heh) which yeah, probably feeds into that criticism about it from earlier, but honestly I don't care for the same reason I still have a great time watching MCU films and not caring that the stakes in those are barely real.
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Dec 28, 2019 18:42
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Cicero posted:Somebody should really tell web serial authors the difference between discreet and discrete because most seem to gently caress that up consistently. Agreed, but with Its/It's. What about weird sayings? One of the fics I read recently was really fond of the phrase "carded his hands through his hair".
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Dec 28, 2019 19:03
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That has to be a literal translation of an idiom from the author's native language.
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Dec 28, 2019 20:35
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| # ? May 20, 2024 06:08 |
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WtC 182quote:Solace leaned down to one of the bodies and spoke a few nonsense words before slamming her hand down against his armored chest. When she lifted her hand up, his clothing and armor rent and collapsed, allowing his bones to cleanly rise through the cuts that had been made. She stood and pulled them higher through the air, which brought more of his skeleton with him, until eventually the whole of it had been pulled from his body, a process that had been completely bloodless, aside from how the blood flowed out of his boneless corpse.  part. Not the party member I'd expect to do that!
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Dec 28, 2019 21:05
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