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For some reason, whenever I see Heather interacting with Raine or Zheng I imagine that Danger Zone is playing on blast in her head.
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May 23, 2020 11:49
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Omi no Kami posted:For some reason, whenever I see Heather interacting with Raine or Zheng I imagine that Danger Zone is playing on blast in her head. Heather is a simple girl with simple needs. She likes girls with abs, who are taller than her, give her hugs, terrify her, make her feel valid and understood and will commit horrific violence in her name. I find this personally very relatable.
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May 23, 2020 11:53
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Tzarnal posted:Heather is a simple girl with simple needs. She likes girls with abs, who are taller than her, give her hugs, terrify her, make her feel valid and understood and will commit horrific violence in her name. I find this personally very relatable. My personal headcanon is that whenever we see a slice of life scene between disasters, unless otherwise specified Heather is reading one of those doofy self-help/X For Dummies books entitled So You're Dating A Sociopath.
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May 23, 2020 12:37
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If anyone was wondering, He Who Fights With Monsters has just ended what the author calls Book 1 on his Patreon. He will be taking a break, that will include weekly posts (side chapters and an epilogue I think), set to resume August 3. The last chapter of book 1 is #258 As many have said, the story lost a lot of its comedy momentum once Jason became a full fledged adventurer, but I still enjoy the world and power system. Interested to see where the story goes from here, it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.
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May 28, 2020 19:58
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I'm not on the patreon, but it's interesting to hear the first book is ending soon. I don't know what is going on, but I hope they move to a smaller team. I don't mind if it's a little more serious and a little less wacky, but a lot of chapters feel like reading an after report of an mmo raid. The team combat is just too sprawling and impersonal.
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May 28, 2020 20:38
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Wittgen posted:I'm not on the patreon, but it's interesting to hear the first book is ending soon. I don't know what is going on, but I hope they move to a smaller team. I don't mind if it's a little more serious and a little less wacky, but a lot of chapters feel like reading an after report of an mmo raid. The team combat is just too sprawling and impersonal. I thought the fight scenes were solid throughout. Admittedly, I checked out when the author added an author's note endorsing Sophie's coping mechanism of... punching people who are trying to help her.
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May 28, 2020 20:47
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Yea, Sophie stays a oval office for way too long after it should be clear that she isn’t being played by Jason.
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May 28, 2020 20:50
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Check yesterday or the day before's chapter if you want an example of what people are complaining about- the fight scenes pretty much read like MMO patch notes now. I thought the first maybe 30-40 chapters were really good for a litRPG- decent concept and consistent enough execution for something the guy was obviously writing by the seat of his pants. I caught up later when a friend mentioned some stuff, though, and it really feels like it's gone downhill relative to the early chapters. There's also some really weird storytelling choices that I struggle to explain, like how the guy spent forever setting up that thing where Jason got captured, horribly tortured, and traumatized, and then basically rushed through the aftermath in 1-2 chapters of "And then several months passed and he got better." With the weird Sophie stuff honestly I think it's an anime thing in the author's head, but they don't actually know how to execute belligerent romantic tension on the page. (IMO it also doesn't help that Cassandra was way more interesting, and showing him in a mutually affectionate, mature relationship right before you saddle him with Fisto McGee is a bad look.)
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May 28, 2020 20:53
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I'm honestly hoping that the Sophie situation ends with Jason rejecting her. There's been plenty decent setup that Sophie would be romantically interested in Jason, but I don't really see any reason to think he would reciprocate. Even if you ignore the awkward power dynamic from how they met and Sophie's history of physically abusing Jason, Sophie is extraordinarily inflexible in her thinking. That's just a terrible match. Jason is into naughty geniuses like Cassandra Mercer, and Sophie is not a genius. She's a stubborn, determined survivor. Admiration, sure. But romantic interest? I just don't see it. Unfortunately, I do think the author is going to force it anyway. He doesn't seem to be doing any kind of self aware thing where he shows how lovely the violent tsundere poo poo is. I did think there was some good follow up to the kidnapping. The scene where he gets triggered at the opera and Cassandra comforts him was solid, and I liked the group adventure counselling session. They just could have done a lot more, and they especially could have dramatized his recovery by making it the main point during a short arc following some random mission or other. It does end up feeling a little perfunctory overall.
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May 28, 2020 21:08
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Wittgen posted:I did think there was some good follow up to the kidnapping. The scene where he gets triggered at the opera and Cassandra comforts him was solid, and I liked the group adventure counselling session. They just could have done a lot more, and they especially could have dramatized his recovery by making it the main point during a short arc following some random mission or other. It does end up feeling a little perfunctory overall. Yeah, to be fair the opera scene was great. I can also definitely see the argument for not dwelling on it, since a dude constantly being troubled and unhappy isn't particularly fun to read (I'm looking straight at WtC as I say that, sheesh). But the story really went out of its way to establish how awful the whole experience was, then the instant he escaped it turned on a dime and started driving away from any long-term ramifications or links to Jason's overall character arc as fast as it could. And, like, if you're not going to actually do something with that whole beat, why even have it? (I'm assuming the answer, as it often is, is 'serials are super-duper hard to write on the fly, and you can't always or sometimes ever keep a tight narrative,' but it's still frustrating to see a good start take increasingly weird turns.)
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May 28, 2020 21:14
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Omi no Kami posted:Check yesterday or the day before's chapter if you want an example of what people are complaining about- the fight scenes pretty much read like MMO patch notes now. Yea, I am likely going to drop it soon, the fights have been getting worse and worse. Some of the more combat heavy chapters have been upwards of 30% of the entire chapter being those dumb blue text boxes. I've read plenty of garbage litrpg stories and they still manage to have less MMO combat log than this does at times. With the whole adventuring team and the seeming direction the story is taking, it doesn't bode well for it going back to what drew me into it in the first place.
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May 28, 2020 21:15
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Forge of Destiny: lol at Ling Qi literally taking Sun Liling's rank from her, admittedly Sun was probably busy with preparing for her trip
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May 29, 2020 02:43
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SerSpook posted:Forge of Destiny: lol at Ling Qi literally taking Sun Liling's rank from her, admittedly Sun was probably busy with preparing for her trip I like the speculation that it's a deliberate gently caress you for Sun leaving in the middle of the war
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May 29, 2020 02:47
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Have SV's RSS feeds been weird for anyone else recently? They seem to be delayed. By days.
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May 29, 2020 14:53
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The He Who Fights With Monsters guy is pulling in 12.000 USD a month... The only serials I follow these days is Vainqueur and Worth the Candle. If socialism's taught me anything it's that those guys should be getting 50 percent of that paycheck.
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May 29, 2020 15:33
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Mulozon Empuri posted:The He Who Fights With Monsters guy is pulling in 12.000 USD a month... His game plan is great. 10 but to read 20 chapters ahead! But then you’re stuck at just reading one chapter per day anyway and you’re out 10 bux.
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May 29, 2020 15:38
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Affi posted:His game plan is great. 10 but to read 20 chapters ahead! But then you’re stuck at just reading one chapter per day anyway and you’re out 10 bux. I think the game plan is what really confuses me with HWFWM. The first big chunk of chapters were great- he knew what he was writing (trashy litRPG in an overcrowded space with weirdo esoteric conventions), struck a nice compromise of original stuff and expected tropes, and had a really fun hook in the form of "Australia Man portal fantasy with jokes." Admittedly humor is super-duper tough to keep up over time and the aggressively satirical, over-the-top personality Jason projected in the early chapters couldn't be maintained forever without flattening his character arc and making him seem like too much of a weird, shallow trope. But I really don't see how the author got from "Funny guy in a fantasy world does satire" to "Sad tortured soul hurts people and breaks things as he and his buddies make the numbers go up."
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May 29, 2020 22:38
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I feel like satire is hard to make work over the long term. Arrogant Young Master struggled with this too. Initially it was really funny, parodying Xianxia and LitRPG's simultaneously, but the later chapters felt less and less like a parody, and more like it was just Xianxia. Possibly that's why the chapters cut out.
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May 30, 2020 00:00
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I've been enjoying Wildbows new web serial a bunch compared to Ward so hopefully that keeps up
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May 30, 2020 00:05
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Sampatrick posted:I've been enjoying Wildbows new web serial a bunch compared to Ward so hopefully that keeps up it's tentatively Better Than Twig 
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May 30, 2020 07:10
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e: oops wrong thread
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May 30, 2020 07:34
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I'm catching up with Pith, and the third main character was recently fully introduced. They're really cool. I just stopped reading at a huge cliff-hanger (when Hira tells Ana about Wes deceiving her). My one extremely minor "complaint" about the powers in the setting is that Wes's paper projection seems ridiculously strong for something used by a clever teenager that isn't even some special vocation. I think the thing that makes it feel a little "over-powered" is that he can apparently use it remotely in a way similar to Taylor's bugs in Worm or something (where he can simultaneously accurately use it on multiple targets + sense what a person is doing and accurately target specific parts of their body even if they're in a different room). Other characters can defeat it, but doing so often requires prior planning or super high-tier projectors (like the Steel Violet folks). If fine control over many small objects is possible, it's easy to imagine how this could easily be exploited to be ludicrously powerful (like attaching poisoned needles or bombs to things and remotely piloting them into people en-masse. The most obvious counter to this would be "people taking over the things you're projecting," but the setting has already established that it's difficult to do so and that projecting into something makes it an uphill battle for anyone else to project into that same thing. Ana's powers are also very strong, but in a way that is more clearly explained and less powerful on its own (Ana is unusually talented at creating realistic illusions, but talented opponents are fairly well-versed at dealing with Whisper vocations and she's pretty much hosed if someone smart engages with her alone while knowing her abilities). Wes, on the other hand, is using what is apparently an ability that most projectors are technically capable of to almost successfully assassinate one of the most powerful people in their country - twice! One other thing that confused me a bit is why Wes's reaction to finding out about Hira's circumstances was so much more sympathetic than Ana's. I guess part of it is that Wes didn't have much to gain from turning in Hira's bounty after reading the contents of the documents, but Ana didn't seem to have much to gain either aside from money (which she needs, but she hasn't shown a desire to do clearly unethical things for it before). I guess he might sympathize with the whole "awful parents who don't care about you at all" thing. Ytlaya fucked around with this message at 22:40 on May 30, 2020 |
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May 30, 2020 22:37
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TWI Patreon 7.26 Scott Sterling Misc. Thoughts: - Wonder how many of the various plots are going to have closer ties by the end of book 7. Titan is a given, Doctor also seems really likely with Octavia finally isolating penicillin. - With how Niers has been written, I have to wonder if Bearclaw and her gang are already dancing to Nier's tune. - Between the introduction of the Queen of Pop group and the fact Lyonette's family has to be on the move, it feels like Terandria is going to start playing a bigger role in the plot for book 8. Or whatever the hell Rhir is doing happens and that drives book 8. - The Balerosian reactions (and Chaldion's) to Niers showing up at the Inn is going to be hilarious. - I demand the conversation between Teriarch and Erin about the engagement ring next chapter. Wishful thinking: - When Erin hits level 50 at the end of book 7 and she is gaining a spacial skill for the inn that makes it's name more literal. Significantly reducing the distances between the various Earth groups for plot purposes. - When Maviola's last potion wears off and she passes into unconsciousness, she is hits level 50 and gains a one-time rebirth skill [Phoenix something or other] so she can pal around with Olesm more. Awkward conversations about age will follow. .Z. fucked around with this message at 05:52 on May 31, 2020 |
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May 31, 2020 05:08
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.Z. posted:TWI Patreon 7.26 Scott Sterling lmao
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May 31, 2020 22:42
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Is Ward worth a finish? I got about a third of the way through and liked it well enough. Life happened and i dropped it for a bit, when I did try to pick up where I left off I was lost. So i decided to wait till it's done and just do a full read, people here seem to have a pretty low opinion though!
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Jun 1, 2020 00:37
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shirunei posted:Is Ward worth a finish? I got about a third of the way through and liked it well enough. Life happened and i dropped it for a bit, when I did try to pick up where I left off I was lost. So i decided to wait till it's done and just do a full read, people here seem to have a pretty low opinion though! I liked it more than most people here, but I'd still put it below Worm and above Pact.
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Jun 1, 2020 01:31
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.Z. posted:TWI Patreon 7.26 Scott Sterling I don't have Patreon but I'm reading the latest public chapter and marveling at how we got from the beginning of the story to "Teriarch squinted at Shrek’s face."
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Jun 1, 2020 16:09
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I just got around to reading this week's Katalepsis, and I wonder if it says terrible things about me that I find it more upsetting to see Evelyn be a jerk to her almost-girlfriend than it does to watch the evil cult guy revel in his villainous excesses.
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Jun 2, 2020 03:22
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Omi no Kami posted:I just got around to reading this week's Katalepsis, and I wonder if it says terrible things about me that I find it more upsetting to see Evelyn be a jerk to her almost-girlfriend than it does to watch the evil cult guy revel in his villainous excesses. Sounds like you've got your priorities straight. Villains are supposed to be evil, but people should be nice to their loved ones.
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Jun 2, 2020 03:44
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Argue posted:I don't have Patreon but I'm reading the latest public chapter and marveling at how we got from the beginning of the story to "Teriarch squinted at Shrek’s face." Fyi, if you want spoilers the text in those blanked out boxes from the Raider scene can be viewed if you look at the page's HTML.
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Jun 2, 2020 05:45
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I figured that out too  So I was wondering how pirateaba could make interesting villains out of what seemed to be bunch of random (but powerful) and it was great when I looked behind the text and saw that they're fantasy The Strangers, a bunch of rich kids getting their jollies by killing poor folk. I'm liking the subtext from the last two volumes that the real villains are the rich.
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Jun 2, 2020 06:04
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shirunei posted:Is Ward worth a finish? [...] Yes. If you were already enjoying it, go for it, it continues to do the same things that make it good, and it brings the series to a satisfying stopping point. It has more cool cape fights and bonkers powers, more terrifying body horror and psychological fear-factor nightmare situations, and more amazing characters who bounce off of each other and experience actual growth and change over the course of the story. The characters are really the selling point, I would get totally stoked for a chapter that's just everyone going shopping or doing other non-violent things. There's also a whole huge fan made podcast for Ward, that goes deep into discussing themes and catches a lot of the cool stuff the story does that could be easily missed when a person blazes through the book. Plus the guys producing it, Matt and Scott, are super positive and enthusiastic. I think it would be hard to have a low opinion of anything when you keep hearing "I love this" and "I think it's so cool that ______" over and over again every week. Listening to the podcast enhanced my enjoyment of an already good story, would recommend.
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Jun 2, 2020 07:42
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Actually recommending that someone listen to We've Got Ward pushed your trolling over the edge there.
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Jun 2, 2020 07:50
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Likewise, if you weren't enjoying the story, you shouldn't feel the need to finish it. Case in point, there are a plenty of people in this thread who didn't like Ward.
jboslund fucked around with this message at 08:13 on Jun 3, 2020 |
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Jun 2, 2020 08:09
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Ward is a depressing slog and I do not recommend bothering.
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Jun 2, 2020 21:18
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i did not enjoy ward, and i did and have enjoyed everything else by wildbow
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Jun 2, 2020 23:49
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The things I liked about Ward I liked a LOT, but there were a lot of parts that were a slog to read and it's overall pretty depressing. I definitely agree that if you do decide to read it, supplementing the story with the WGW podcast if you have the time to add a ~2 hour podcast episode to every couple chapters of the story is worth it; it's a lot of time commitment but it's an extremely good podcast that makes the story a lot more enjoyable.
Fajita Queen fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Jun 3, 2020 |
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Jun 3, 2020 02:08
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Peachfart posted:Ward is a depressing slog and I do not recommend bothering. I've been reading it and yeah I can see your point. On the other hand I've read the bibliographies of Peter Watts and Stephen R. Donaldson. Ward is very unlikely to make me blink or maybe I have brain worms.
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Jun 3, 2020 23:32
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Web Serial Megathread: Wildbow is a depressing slog and I do not recommend bothering.
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Jun 4, 2020 00:43
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To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Wildbow. His worldbuilding is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical bullying most of the torture porn will go over a typical reader's head. There's also Taylor's cardboard outlook, which is deftly woven into her charactization as a Mary Sue - her personal philosophy draws heavily from the trashcan, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they are wild for the Wildbow. They have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of his meandering prose, to realize that he's not just telling me exactly what Taylor is thinking at any given moment, he says something deep about NOTHING. As a consequence people who dislike Wildbow truly ARE idiots - of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in Taylor's existential catchphrase "Take that, you worm!" which itself is a cryptic reference to a publishing deal that will never happen. I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Wildbow's genius wit unfolds itself on their Kindle readers. What fools... how I pity them.
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Jun 4, 2020 00:58
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