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LLSix posted:I don’t have and likely never will have KU. Series that move to KU are series I’ll never read. blastron posted:I’m getting ads on Royal Road for a serial that proudly proclaims, before it even tells you the title of the novel, that it’s “never going to KU”. Is KU such an annoyance to the community that saying a novel will never go there is something to advertise?
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Nov 2, 2022 03:48
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Yeah it seems like a reassurance that their story will (probably) never be pulled out from under the readers.
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Nov 2, 2022 03:51
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Use an epub addon and never worry about this. And at some point or another I've probably given every author it's worth doing this with money so I don't even feel guilty about it.
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Nov 2, 2022 04:02
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Sailor Dave posted:Yeah it seems like a reassurance that their story will (probably) never be pulled out from under the readers. Except this is pretty wrong. It just pulls it out from new readers, and taps into an entirely different set of new readers. If you're current on a story that goes to KU... the new chapters are still appearing.
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Nov 2, 2022 04:47
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People seem very annoyed about a change that doesn't impact them if they're already reading the series. I seriously doubt that many are rereading.
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Nov 2, 2022 06:25
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TWI Patreon 9.23 GGGGGGGGG: Pirateaba does not gently caress around with horror lmao
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Nov 2, 2022 06:25
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asur posted:People seem very annoyed about a change that doesn't impact them if they're already reading the series. I seriously doubt that many are rereading. You'd be surprised. The discord and subreddit are full of people who go quote hunting every other day and wonder where half the day went after their 2 dozenth reread of half of book 5 or 7
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Nov 2, 2022 06:36
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A big flaming stink posted:TWI Patreon 9.23 GGGGGGGGG: Pirateaba does not gently caress around with horror lmao what a loving chapter, jesus christ
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Nov 2, 2022 11:55
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TBH my only problem with KU is amazon demands exclusivity, and that worries me. Like the whole point of those terms is to induce a de facto monopoly, and I'm worried what will happen when amazon decides to start really exploiting that monopoly. Edit: just to be clear I'm not attacking anyone who takes that deal. People gotta eat, and financial stability is really important so it's honestly the correct choice to cash out. I'm just sad that we are in a situation where it is the correct choice in the first place. BadMedic fucked around with this message at 12:33 on Nov 2, 2022 |
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Nov 2, 2022 12:28
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They pretty much already have a monopoly. They have the biggest storefront and it's also the least lovely one, although that's not saying much.
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Nov 2, 2022 12:35
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but they don't have... Graydon Saunders
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Nov 2, 2022 12:56
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Megazver posted:
Rob Filter posted:https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/58065/quill-still Thank you for these, I binged through them. The Dwarves one is quite nice as a light snack. The gods of that world have a plan, no patience left, and they're not subtle about it. The dwarves are a disappointment to them and need to shape up! Quill & Still is, so far, very philosophical with rather complicated alchemy. It has a strong focus on interpersonal relations and working through trauma and emotional baggage. Its good, and I love the System messages being Angelic High Prose. But it's hardly light-hearted progression fantasy. Still very good and had me wanting more. And left me thinking how my upbringing and religion shaped me as a person.
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Nov 2, 2022 14:03
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Quill & Still isn't bad. I don't think I've actually enjoyed any of the chapters though. Being angry at religion and then deciding to worship the Greek gods, who even their own myths generally present as the antagonists, is uh, certainly a decision. The system messages are a good running gag.
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Nov 2, 2022 19:02
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A big flaming stink posted:TWI Patreon 9.23 GGGGGGGGG: Pirateaba does not gently caress around with horror lmao You know it's going to be a good one when it starts with a content warning
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Nov 2, 2022 19:09
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LLSix posted:Being angry at religion and then deciding to worship the Greek gods, who even their own myths generally present as the antagonists, is uh, certainly a decision. and then as long as you're worshipping one, the second one was less of a dick to the protagonist so might as well both etc
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Nov 2, 2022 19:09
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The second one also built her a body that had a fatal allergic reaction to the planet that he sent her to! And didn't mention it! Good luck she didn't take her time getting to town or she would have died horribly! There's bits of Quill and Still I like but it just feels off emotionally.
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Nov 2, 2022 19:15
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A big flaming stink posted:TWI Patreon 9.23 GGGGGGGGG: Pirateaba does not gently caress around with horror lmao drat, pirate went in HARD for Halloween this year. It's been a while since we had a horror chapter.
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Nov 2, 2022 19:20
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For Quill and Still, it's a bit of a big deal that the first goddess switched to being sympathetic and bending the rules when she found out who the protagonist was. The body she was put into being fatally allergic to its new world was a cock-up, but it did have some slight selling points that may have swayed her view.
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Nov 2, 2022 21:13
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also I'm not in the TWI patreon but I saw the title via rss and lol
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Nov 2, 2022 21:13
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Also Quill & Still has like a billion 'hidden' trans references that cis people don't notice at all and I get a lot of enjoyment from that Also IIRC there's lore reasons for why her body was allergic to the world, it's not a mistake on the god's part, or something that he could resolve
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Nov 2, 2022 21:40
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90s Cringe Rock posted:also I'm not in the TWI patreon but I saw the title via rss and lol It probably doesn’t mean what you think.
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Nov 2, 2022 22:03
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Silynt posted:It probably doesn’t mean what you think.
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Nov 2, 2022 22:22
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So I started reading Ar'Kendrithyst because people here keep recommending it and I'm up to date with everything else I'm reading, (except The Wandering Inn, still in book 7). And suddenly it's 05:30 in the morning. My tea is cold.
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Nov 3, 2022 05:31
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I feel bad because I am several chapters behind on TWI(and the other 10 stories I am following) because I have been rereading Ar'Kendrithyst and it is just generally better.
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Nov 3, 2022 07:02
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i tried to like Ar'Kendrithyst but i feel like the whole thread of it is "this week's made-up solutions to made-up problems" that's describes just about any story that takes place in a constructed fantasy world but the veil just seemed particularly thin for me here. i probably just don't get it. somehow Erick feels like the only real character i would totally like to hear what people like about it though!! some aspects of it do seem like a step above certain other works Ramie fucked around with this message at 07:26 on Nov 3, 2022 |
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Nov 3, 2022 07:24
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catgirlgenius posted:i tried to like Ar'Kendrithyst but i feel like the whole thread of it is "this week's made-up solutions to made-up problems" It's probably the only series I've read where the author is able to convincingly write "protagonist (and other characters) trying to figure things out in a fictional/fantasy setting." This is mainly because the setting itself is far more well thought-out than in the vast majority of fantasy-themed web serials. I don't get tired of the endless "Erick ponders how to do ______" chapters largely because of how consistent the setting is. The author somehow manages to convincingly write a character speculating about a fictional world. Every other "powerful protagonist solves problems in fantasy/isekai world" story just has the world and plot fully catering to the core power fantasy of the story. Ar'kendrithyst, on the other hand, does a good job of creating a situation where Erick having remarkable power actually makes sense; all questions/doubts I've had all ended up being answered at some point. I fully expected to dislike it after seeing peoples comments in this thread (which made it sound like a typical "god-like protagonist solves fantasy world's problems with the help of Earth knowledge" story), so it was a very pleasant surprise when this didn't end up being the case.
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Nov 3, 2022 08:15
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Yeah, it is very much made up powers solving made up problems. It's just that the problems and powers are all interconnected, and all the solutions create a bunch more problems that need to be addressed. Also it gets that some problems come from how the world is and some come from how people are. Having more power will solve the first but generally exacerbate the second. The paradox of security is a bitch like that. Basically, it is just complicated and practical enough to serve as a compelling meditation on power.
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Nov 3, 2022 12:40
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It’s been a while so I don’t remember all of the story specifics, but I remember getting frustrated by the power of Erick’s first spell, the lightning Storm. IIRC, it was super-duper extra powerful for its level because Erick understands the science behind electricity, which is all well and good, but it also could generate a rainstorm in the desert out of nowhere, and that doesn’t seem like something his deep (?) understanding of lightning should have been capable of. And then other people couldn’t make Particle Magic spells anywhere close to that power level? I’m sure the author gives an explanation for it at some point but I got bored and walked away as everyone stared in awe at Erick’s new power. The writing seemed fine.
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Nov 3, 2022 15:56
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Honestly I think my biggest issue is all the loving math and people optimizing their build like they're in an MMO. Its exhausting and I just cannot possibly give a poo poo. This aspect does thankfully start falling by the wayside after a while, but holy poo poo are the opening chapters a slog. I also think everything around Familiars in the story is ill-considered and incredibly stupid. It meshes horribly with the inbuilt anti-slavery aspect of the setting and seems to argue that infants/children aren't real people and abusing and enslaving them isn't an issue until they grow older and develop further which feels very strange considering everything else in the story.
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Nov 3, 2022 16:33
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Zore posted:Honestly I think my biggest issue is all the loving math and people optimizing their build like they're in an MMO. Its exhausting and I just cannot possibly give a poo poo. This aspect does thankfully start falling by the wayside after a while, but holy poo poo are the opening chapters a slog. Early on, most familiars aren't people, they are more equivalent to pets. And many people have told Erick that when his familiar becomes a person, it was be incredibly difficult for him.
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Nov 3, 2022 16:55
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Peachfart posted:Early on, most familiars aren't people, they are more equivalent to pets. And many people have told Erick that when his familiar becomes a person, it was be incredibly difficult for him. Right that's sort of my point though, Familiars are more analogous to children than pets as their expected course of development has them recognized as people after fairly short timeframes! Its not an aberration for the Familiar to become a 'person', its what happens with Familiars, which frames the whole segment of their life where they are treated as bonded slaves (to use the work's own internal ideas) sort of horrifying? Erick is repeatedly forcing his child into suicide bombing runs.
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Nov 3, 2022 17:05
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Zore posted:I also think everything around Familiars in the story is ill-considered and incredibly stupid. It meshes horribly with the inbuilt anti-slavery aspect of the setting and seems to argue that infants/children aren't real people and abusing and enslaving them isn't an issue until they grow older and develop further which feels very strange considering everything else in the story. I think it's fine? In the story familiars are literally part of your soul, and only become real when that part of your soul fragments off to be a new person. Yggdrasil is a special case cause god magic is keeping him stapled to Eric's soul, but as far as I can tell the moment they *actually* become sentient is the moment they are not familiars anymore. Also I honestly can't remember a scene in arks where someone abuses a familiar? To abuse a familiar is to literally abuse yourself, and I wouldn't be surprised if the willingness to do that is incompatible with being able to create the spell successfully.
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Nov 3, 2022 17:09
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BadMedic posted:I think it's fine? In the story familiars are literally part of your soul, and only become real when that part of your soul fragments off to be a new person. Yggdrasil is a special case cause god magic is keeping him stapled to Eric's soul, but as far as I can tell the moment they *actually* become sentient is the moment they are not familiars anymore. The abuse I'm talking about is mostly the 'constantly sending them into certain death' thing where they then die. Which is almost all of what Erick uses Ophiel for as he brute forces a bunch of experiments and goes into combat with him. And Ophiel is expressing preferences and the ability to make decisions that aren't Erick's almost from day 1 so it feels even weirder and worse. Ophiel is also depicted as being able to feel pain for some reason just so we really know at 'best' Erick is cloning and torturing his pet over and over until it hits a sufficient level of intelligence for the gods to give a poo poo. Zore fucked around with this message at 17:23 on Nov 3, 2022 |
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Nov 3, 2022 17:18
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Zore posted:
I think this is a super weird read.
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Nov 3, 2022 17:26
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Peachfart posted:I think this is a super weird read. Agreed. The point I'm trying to make is standard familiars are just 'sufficiently advanced magic' versions of a sock puppet. Erick is Ophiel, and Ophiel's expressions are all Erick acting like he thinks an Ophiel would through one. The weirdness is that dedicating a portion of your soul to acting like something else eventually makes that part of your soul become something else. Like method acting taken to it's logical extreme, which oh hey is also how 'true' polymorph works.
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Nov 3, 2022 17:39
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Every time I read some other super hero serial, I'm impressed by how good Super Minion is.
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Nov 3, 2022 18:04
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it was just too good for this earth, RIP. i think i checked for updates twice a week for at least 6 months.
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Nov 3, 2022 18:09
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Zore posted:Honestly I think my biggest issue is all the loving math and people optimizing their build like they're in an MMO. Its exhausting and I just cannot possibly give a poo poo. This aspect does thankfully start falling by the wayside after a while, but holy poo poo are the opening chapters a slog. I get people complaining about that ALL THE TIME in BTDEM. This is someone's life, not a video game. Yeah, they're going to make choices that aren't the best in a fight, and are what THEY want, because life is more than just fighting.
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Nov 3, 2022 19:46
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Yeah, I would keep pretty too
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Nov 3, 2022 20:29
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Zore posted:I also think everything around Familiars in the story is ill-considered and incredibly stupid. It meshes horribly with the inbuilt anti-slavery aspect of the setting and seems to argue that infants/children aren't real people and abusing and enslaving them isn't an issue until they grow older and develop further which feels very strange considering everything else in the story. My best understanding is that, as another poster mentioned, Ophiel is basically a highly advanced sockpuppet without thoughts of its own (I believe there's actually a point where this is directly revealed; Erick tries to get Ophiel to do something that involves actual thinking, and the result is nothing because Ophiel isn't sentient), but the illusion of it being sentient is created because Ophiel is controlled by Erick "concept/idea" of him (like if you wrote a character description and created an AI to act it out, only this happens "automagically" because the mana loves Erick and helps to facilitate his magic, especially when he does his chants). BadMedic posted:Agreed. The point I'm trying to make is standard familiars are just 'sufficiently advanced magic' versions of a sock puppet. Erick is Ophiel, and Ophiel's expressions are all Erick acting like he thinks an Ophiel would through one. The weirdness is that dedicating a portion of your soul to acting like something else eventually makes that part of your soul become something else. Like method acting taken to it's logical extreme, which oh hey is also how 'true' polymorph works. Huh, I didn't think of the polymorph thing.
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Nov 3, 2022 20:33
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