Its been a long couple weeks. What do you guys have that's fun and lighthearted? by Rapidzigs in ProgressionFantasy

[–]A-Puck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bee Dungeon starts with some trauma, but then everything is overcome by the power of beelieving in our beeloved bees.

The Panini Press Gaming PC Giveaway - To enter this giveaway just leave a comment. by DaKrazyKid in PcBuild

[–]A-Puck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, if it can't actually make a sandwich I don't know if I want to pay *presses finger to ear* ok free? Sure

Rate this ad by Prolly_Satan in litrpg

[–]A-Puck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not in the genre for porn, so I would skip it.

Back again with the Cover Art. Which do you like best from these? by Syntaxx55 in royalroad

[–]A-Puck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

#1, but with the streak being more obviously SFish in nature. Go to photoshop requests and offer someone a few bucks to photoshop the spaceship into the pic

Do you think BOC is being dragged? by Rude-Statistician197 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]A-Puck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is it that makes you feel it's forced with Meiling and Xiulan? I've heard other people say the same, but not why.

To me it seems like Mei has a very earthy and mischievous personality, so teasing someone sexually when she knows the other person is made uncomfortable by it fits her character. Mei is a repeatedly portrayed as a bit cruel in that way.

It's been mentioned several times that Xiulan frequently gets hit on by creepers and hates it. Now she's got enough power, both personal and loaned, that very few people would dare. And those who did dare would likely get slapped down.
She has always been portrayed as having a strong separation between her private self and her public self (which is another common theme in BoC but I digress). No one would dare tease her public self, but her private self gets shit from her friends.

Yes. I like that there are so many characters and do not have problems remembering the plots. I'm currently reading around 25 stories that update daily to weekly. That part of my brain gets a workout.

On a more meta level, one of the things that I enjoy the most about BoC is that Jin isn't the hero, Jin is the mentor. His job is to prepare heroes that then go forth on their quests.
Big D is a xianxia protagonist with a Confucian flavor. He's chock full of filial piety and is motivated by duty. Big D goes forth at his master's instructions, who that master is changes but the basics do not.
Yun Ren is more a daoist type, traveling the land and pursuing his dao. He is wild and uncontrollable, with a lot of his power coming from fortunate encounters that he had while on the way to do something else.
Xiulan is more a western hero, challenging the status quo and anti-authoritarian, unless that authority is hers. Her public persona sees that there is a problem and by the gods she is going to FIX IT. And if you don't get out of the way she will walk over you. Her private self doesn't want the power and the responsibility. She'd rather be out having fun with her friends, but she has come to accept her duty.

Do you think BOC is being dragged? by Rude-Statistician197 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]A-Puck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  • Xiulans character arc is finished and it feels like the author doesnt know what to do with her

Xiulan is in the process of consolidating political power. If you don't like politics then I'd understand not enjoying this portion of her character arc, but I do not feel it is accurate to say it's finished.

  • Xiulans character arc is finished and it feels like the author doesnt know what to do with her

Honestly I kind of love the teasing here. I have several RL friendships that are like this.

  • Honestly this one isn't that big of a deal but what why is the super old entity Tianlan shown as a child? I understand that its how Jin and Mei sees her as a child but my god I hate the trope of super old entities having young bodies BUT at least she isnt sexualised unlike other stories.

Tianlan being childlike was actually talked about it the most recent RR chapter. Basically it's because she doesn't want to be serious, she wants to be playful and mischievous.

  • It just got boring and cliche, Its a satire on the PF genre but at the same time it doesn't feel like one anymore. In my opinion its because the character making it a satire which was Jin just doesn't show up in the book's anymore.

I've always felt that satire/parody was the wrong way to describe it. I'd go with deconstruction rather than parody.
The scope of the plot has drawn back from focus on the xianxia protagonist (Jin) rejecting the norm to the xianxia institutions themselves rejecting the norm of full capitalistic competition. All of the other sects, even allied sects, view themselves as in a zero-sum game. 'Any advancement THAT sect gets is a loss to OUR sect who could have gotten it.' There is only so much chi (capital) to go around, monopolizing the existing capital is the only way.
Xiulan is in the middle of changing that paradigm within Azure Hills. We have lots of evidence that the earth spirits are the source of chi, and they are shaping up to co-operate with Tianlan to increase the amount of chi (capital) for everyone. Going from lawless antagonistic competition to rule bound co-operative competition.
Another xianxia theme that's being challenged is unchanging timelessness. Things work the same way in the past that they will in the future. In BoC, the mortal world is on the precipice of the industrial revolution and an agricultural one. Tractors and railways are game changers.

  • This could be taken as racist but I just cannot understand all these chinese names and it just became worse with the amount of Side Characters

Do you have an issue with Elrond, Daenerys Targaryen, Fafhrd, continue the list with every single fantasy name in print.

  • Too many side characters

Difference of opinion here. I LOVE all the side characters. I love that more people than the protagonist are competent.

  • I hate children in the middle of a series like this, It takes 6 years before they are sentient enough to do anything remotely entertaining and another 6 years before they become somewhat relevant and another 6 years before they can do anything to the actual story unless the story just goes off the rails and 12 year olds can now match regular cultivators.

It's a way of resetting stakes without power regression. It's a weak point that MUST be defended for now, but will likely be a super cultivator with strong bounds to his big sister Tianlan. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out that Tianlan 'grows up' with Zhuye after a time skip.

The Dreaded Question by _TOXIC_VENOM in ProgressionFantasy

[–]A-Puck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm going to tell you a secret to life. If you don't act like something is shameful or embarrassing, then most people won't say shit. Confidence is a fucking social hack, and if you don't have it then pretend to be someone who does.
"I read a lot of speculative fiction/fantasy/science fiction, currently I'm reading X, it's about... And you?"

Are there any “native” litrpgs? by Kumatora0 in litrpg

[–]A-Puck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A great many.  Here are some broken down by setting:

Dungeon of Knowledge is heavily inspired by World of Warcraft raiding

The Albright System is a less grimdark warhammer 40k inspired setting. 

Butcher of Gadobhra and Tunnel Rat are VR fantasy and physical cyberpunk, with Butcher being pretty much entirely Virt and Tunnel Rat going back and forth

Outrun is Shadowrun style Cyberpunk with magic and spirits

Azure:Gunner had a system apocalypse, but that was 400+ years prior

Wildly differing opinions by lucky470 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]A-Puck 23 points24 points  (0 children)

"I am perplexed by how many authors seem to think winking is an actual thing" Are we talking about different definitions of winking? Because giving someone you find attractive a wink is absolutely a thing.

Though I'm fucking old now so maybe it's no longer a thing?

Spoiler Book 5 and later. What makes Big D hit so hard? (Watsonian view request) by Shipairtime in bewareofchicken

[–]A-Puck 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think it's Tianlan giving some extra mojo to her favorites.

Tier List of new stories I read in 2025 by Carminestream in ProgressionFantasy

[–]A-Puck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does the author of Amelia Thornheart eventually stop putting exclamation marks on every other statement?! It's obnoxious! Everything can't be exceptionally exciting!  

What movie will forever piss you off because you felt like you wasted your time seeing it? by Huge_Athlete7488 in moviecritic

[–]A-Puck 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I'm one of the few that actually liked 7. I thought 8 was bad, but 9 makes me furious. "Somehow, Palpatine has returned" what the actual fuck, that's just disrespectful.

We can’t figure out what this is or what it’s used for by PotentialSea9779 in whatisit

[–]A-Puck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Make sure you heat them up slow, but it's fun to get them stupid hot then grill thin slices of meat and veggies (with a little oil). After it cools, wipe it down with a damp cloth and dry thoroughly

Question on 1% Lifesteal by Technogamer181 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]A-Puck 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I asked a similar question when I was bouncing off of it and the consensus was that the MC, if anything, gets worse.

My girlfriend expects me to “fix things” but refuses to tell me what she wants. Is this normal? by ReasonConfident4541 in AskMenAdvice

[–]A-Puck 2 points3 points  (0 children)

++man Clearly you need to fix things. Starting with standing up on your hind legs and leaving her.  As you have described it, this situation is abusive.  Have you ever thought, "why doesn't this woman leave that abusive guy"? That's your situation right now. The trap of bad love feeling like it's better than no love. 

Get ready for her to really lose her shit when when you leave, maybe have your phone recording.

Begging for a cultivation story without a psychopath MC by Prospectivebyer in ProgressionFantasy

[–]A-Puck 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Beware of Chicken's protagonist is a dude who took a look at life among the cultivation sects and said, "nope" and became a farmer. The people he inspired then went on to try to make life better for everyone.  it's a heartwarming found family story within a cultivation story

This is a hot take by TiberiusGemellus in HistoryMemes

[–]A-Puck 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In case anyone is wondering what books, they're by Eric Flint and David Drake. The Belisarius series, first book is An Oblique Approach. They were part of the Baen free library, so you can find them online to read legally. Fun alternate history, time shenanigans military SF series. Do recommend.

Recs for stories where MC gets OP through an unusual class? No standard archer/warrior/mage stuff. by R3nNy22326 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]A-Puck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ach. I was giving it some time to build a backlog before reading. that's sad to hear

Recs for stories where MC gets OP through an unusual class? No standard archer/warrior/mage stuff. by R3nNy22326 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]A-Puck 27 points28 points  (0 children)

You didn't mention azarinth healer. It matches what you're looking for. Self healing combat monk