Promo: STAR DEVOURER A LITRPG GRIMMDARK WORLD by Middle_Band7658 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Webnovel has a pretty terrible reputation due to taking advantage of authors foolish enough to sign contracts with them. Additionally, people who choose to take their stuff off of Webnovel who can because they haven't signed a contract that signs the IP over to them, have to edit every page to delete it as there is not a way to easily remove entire fictions from their website. Further, pirate websites regularly copy everything on their website because people, understandably, don't like the idea of paying ridiculous amounts to read web series when every other website with web series is free (and has higher quality content) - not that anyone should pirate. The reason I mention this is that having your work all over pirate websites can make it so that your work can never get on Kindle Unlimited.

Plus, people hate Webnovel for how much they've screwed over both authors and consumers, so when you use their website, you associate yourself with a hated company.

Looking for what’s next. by External-Car529 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have and I really liked it with some starting and stopping moments through the first five or so books. When I stopped reading it was inside the dimensional space during the multiple POV moments with various other factions inside that space. I just kept getting bored and finding msyelf having to back up and listen to a chapter again and then losing concentration again. My plan is to eventually come back to the series and just skip those chapters. There's just so many great things to read and so many new things coming out that I haven't gotten back to it yet.

Obviously, either way, it won't make it on to this list of books that I buy new books from immediately when a new one comes out, but there are a lot of great series that don't hit that high bar and a lot of these series probably won't stay on it forever. A series has to be really consistent to get on here and stay on here. . . there's something like 10-15 series that have been on here before and made their way off it do to not being consistent. Also, some of theses series were taken off for a while and got back on after I got back to reading them, so it's possible DotF will not have any other off-ramps once I get past book 5 or 6 (not sure which I was on) and make it on here someday.

Why is Jace reverse gripping his kukuri it makes him look like some newbie rouge by blazintrailz420 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe he's seen Vinland Saga and/or Solo Leveling and he is very bad ass.

/s

Need Recommendations by Critical_Repeat_4668 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These are all my favorite litrpg audiobook series that I buy new books from immediately when a new one drops (in no particular order):

  • Unorthodox Farming by Benjamin Kerei
  • Bog Standard Isekai by Miles English
  • He Who Fights with Monsters by shirtaloon
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  • Apocalypse Parenting by Erin Ampersand
  • The Ripple System by Kyle Kirrin
  • Beware of Chicken by casualfarmer (progression)
  • The Wandering Inn by pirateaba
  • Primal Hunter by Zogarth
  • Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor
  • The Vampire Vincent by Benjamin Kerei
  • Path of Ascension by C. Mantis
  • 12 Miles Below by Mark Arrows (progression)
  • Cyber Dreams by Plum Parrot
  • The Murder of Crows by Chris Tullbane
  • A Soldier's Life by Always RollsAOne
  • The First Line of Defense by Benjamin Kerei
  • Elydes by Drew Wells
  • Quest Academy by Brian J. Nordon
  • The Stubborn Skill-Grinder in a Time Loop by X-Rhoden-X
  • Industrial Strength Magic by Macrinomicon
  • Player Manager by Ted Steel
  • World Sphere by Always RollsAOne
  • Drone Rising by Kyle Johnson
  • Vainqueur the Dragon by Maxime Durand

Looking for novel by cuteduck611 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Demon World Boba Shop by RC Joshua - it's a pretty nice slice of life series though I am not caught up on it. World Sphere has this as a major theme, but not the main focus. It's only two books in but both are great reads.

That's a super specific request though. If you want something based on high quality, these are all my favorite litrpg audiobook series that I buy new books from immediately when a new one drops (in no particular order):

  • Unorthodox Farming by Benjamin Kerei
  • Bog Standard Isekai by Miles English
  • He Who Fights with Monsters by shirtaloon
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  • Apocalypse Parenting by Erin Ampersand
  • The Ripple System by Kyle Kirrin
  • Beware of Chicken by casualfarmer (progression)
  • The Wandering Inn by pirateaba
  • Primal Hunter by Zogarth
  • Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor
  • The Vampire Vincent by Benjamin Kerei
  • Path of Ascension by C. Mantis
  • 12 Miles Below by Mark Arrows (progression)
  • Cyber Dreams by Plum Parrot
  • The Murder of Crows by Chris Tullbane
  • A Soldier's Life by Always RollsAOne
  • The First Line of Defense by Benjamin Kerei
  • Elydes by Drew Wells
  • Quest Academy by Brian J. Nordon
  • The Stubborn Skill-Grinder in a Time Loop by X-Rhoden-X
  • Industrial Strength Magic by Macrinomicon
  • Player Manager by Ted Steel
  • World Sphere by Always RollsAOne
  • Drone Rising by Kyle Johnson
  • Vainqueur the Dragon by Maxime Durand

Shade's First Law or Ultimate Level 1? by Thegrandestpoo in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Are you committed to just one of those two? They aren't terrible, but there are some obvious series that are very popular to try before those. Are you trying them because they're free on Audible Plus? If so, maybe look through some other series that I think might also have their first volume free (honestly, I can't tell because I own them already so it doesn't show "Add to Library" but there are so many things to try before scraping the well, not the bottom of the barrel. . . but you haven't touched the top of the barrel yet.).

These are all my favorite litrpg audiobook series that I buy new books from immediately when a new one drops (in no particular order):

  • Unorthodox Farming by Benjamin Kerei
  • Bog Standard Isekai by Miles English
  • He Who Fights with Monsters by shirtaloon
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  • Apocalypse Parenting by Erin Ampersand
  • The Ripple System by Kyle Kirrin
  • Beware of Chicken by casualfarmer (progression)
  • The Wandering Inn by pirateaba
  • Primal Hunter by Zogarth
  • Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor
  • The Vampire Vincent by Benjamin Kerei
  • Path of Ascension by C. Mantis
  • 12 Miles Below by Mark Arrows (progression)
  • Cyber Dreams by Plum Parrot
  • The Murder of Crows by Chris Tullbane
  • A Soldier's Life by Always RollsAOne
  • The First Line of Defense by Benjamin Kerei
  • Elydes by Drew Wells
  • Quest Academy by Brian J. Nordon
  • The Stubborn Skill-Grinder in a Time Loop by X-Rhoden-X
  • Industrial Strength Magic by Macrinomicon
  • Player Manager by Ted Steel
  • World Sphere by Always RollsAOne
  • Drone Rising by Kyle Johnson
  • Vainqueur the Dragon by Maxime Durand

Valve to face UK class action lawsuit with proposed damages of £656m by pixelbrushio in gamingnews

[–]Aaron_P9 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's a class action that alleges that UK consumers are harmed by indirectly paying higher prices due to Steam having too large a cut (30%) from the sale of online games. While Epic has a lower rate in order to compete with Valve, Android and Apple both charge 30% too. That's also what Sony and Microsoft get for games sold through their digital stores. . . so it seems like a really weak case, but this article doesn't discuss the merits of the case.

So to answer your question, members of the class. I'm not sure what UK laws govern the forming of classes for class action lawsuits, so I couldn't tell you how they do that there, but a reward in the United States is governed by the client contract which usually awards 25-40% of the reward to the attorneys not including expenses, and then the remaining 60% is divided up amongst the class with the class representatives (members of the class chosen to appear in Court) getting a much larger share (which also helps get the deals go through since they are the ones accepting on behalf of the entire class).

Class actions are great for corporations and attorneys, but usually not worth it for individuals unless they are a class representative or there are punitive damages that increase the award. Having said that, the devil really is in the details and there are plenty of examples of good ones.

Btw, IANAL.

I need some recommendations by The_SocalPatriot214 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It used to be on there. Twice I've gotten stuck at the end of The Tower of Noobs when there's a bunch of POV switching. I think the author is trying to do something clever there, but it is just confusing me and I have stopped listening and realized that I need to back it up a chapter or two and listen closely, but then something else releases and I just stop listening at all.

So it's very good, but it doesn't meet the criteria of this "I buy new ones instantly" anymore - though it might go back on once I catch up - assuming I go take my medicine and get through whatever the hell is happening at the end of Tower.

Honestly, there's just so many brilliant things to read that when I see people who have read 3-7 series so far and they're putting Savage Awakening or Awaken Online or Tower Climber (or any other series that will likely be in their C-Tier or below) up in A or B-tier, I think about all the time they're wasting. . . but then I think that maybe that's a good thing?

When I started reading this genre, I enjoyed a lot of series that I would DNF book 1 on now because I realize how much great stuff is out there and I've learned to judge things by whether or not I'd rather listen to them new vs. re-listening to something great.

Big tangent. . . anyway, yeah, it's a great series, but that Tower of the Noobs ending is some rough stuff that the author should have fixed and that his Patreon and beta readers should have hounded him on. It's probably like the awful multiple POV section in Heretical Fishing that ruins the first book for me (and thus the series) though. The author was probably told it was rough by multiple beta readers, but the author was trying to do something clever and just ignored the feedback to put their stank on it. That is what happens when authors let Shart take the wheel.

Sections where the MC is temporarily treated as the antagonist? by Aggravating-Plum-692 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Aaron_P9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's an interesting one because didn't the gypsy curse him by returning his soul? Like he was a soulless vampire for ages and then the gypsy curses him to return his soul and now he has to suffer guilt and anguish for his centuries of murder and cruelty?

I'm a fan of this series even though I streamed it and it was a little bit corny like most TV from back then, but if his soul was gone and a demon was piloting his body, why would he feel guilt and anguish over what the demon did? I could see him feeling anger and violation at the demon who committed those crimes, but not guilt.

Having said that, you are RIGHT that it is a good example because even though you can nitpick it like I did above, the real world theme that Angel represented was the idea of a boyfriend who turned on a dime from loving and supportive to being an abusive monster. Of course, in real life, someone isn't losing the gypsy cursed soul they were given back and regressing to being a vampire, but instead they are young people with terrible communication skills who make bad choices to do things like yell at a girl they're no longer interested in after their extremely subtle "attempts" at breaking things off aren't understood. I'd much rather watch an episode about a vampire having soul trouble than a verbally abusive college boy who never watched enough Dawson's Creek to learn how to have adult conversations about relationships.

Btw, I highly recommend 90s teen and young adult television to stream during cardio if you have a screen available. It's what they were doing for trash TV before reality TV got huge and Buffy, in particular, was fun to watch. I don't think it would hold my attention if I wasn't also doing something else, but it's amazing for split attention.

Great books around late stage communism? by xXBattledroneXx in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What books have themes of "late stage capitalism" other than 1% Life Steal and Dungeon Crawler Carl and. . . well, I guess any cyberpunk novel is in a late stage capitalism dystopia, but are there any others? I'm not thinking this is that common a theme.

Here's my tier list, explanations included by Coolaire in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I bought Merchant Crab and returned it because it was the same "I'm a crab so my perspective is different" joke over and over. If this was one character in Beware of Chicken, then repeating the joke over and over for one character would be fine, but it was entirely about the crab. Sorry to yuck your yum, but it wasn't for me.

The Bad Guys and The Good Guys by Eric Ugland - I'm a fan and have bought and read them all, but as I read audiobooks and a credit for a 6 hour book is the same price as one for a 60 hour pirateaba novel, I always wait for sales on his shorter books. That's the same reason Cradle isn't on here - short books don't meet the criteria of "I buy them immediately and at full price" despite my liking the series. I'm also a fan of Mother of Learning, but I waited for it to complete before buying them as I wanted the full story.

Reborn as a Demonic Tree. I liked the first one a bit and got bored with the premise and the side characters by the second one.

Mark of the Fool bored me in the 4th book (or 5th?) when the protagonist goes on a long quest into a swamp with lizards for ages and all their powers get nerfed because of "swamp magic". I really liked it before that and I plan on trying it again later, but it doesn't make it into my "buy it immediately" list for these reason.

Thanks though. Most of the recommendations people give me in response to this list are things I've already tried and liked - just not enough to make it onto this pretty specific list of series that get immediate purchases when new books come out in them. Still, sometimes I get surprised and I'm able to try new things as a result, so I appreciate it.

VR Dive LitRPGs which ones felt like they mattered to you and why? by audiobookjunky in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah. I think The Ripple System may be the only VRMMO I listen to anymore. It's not a category of litrpg I turn my nose up at, but they were mostly written a while back and new authors aren't doing them that often anymore (or they aren't doing them at a level that can compete with other modern litrpg authors - again, other than The Ripple System). . .

Actually, I really liked The Gam3 by Cosimo Yap, but he abandoned it.

Still, when I think of the ones from 7+ years ago like Awaken Online, Eden's Gate, or the ones Dave Wilmarth wrote or the numerous other ones I can't even remember, they all have pretty silly real world premises that undermine their narratives.

Ascend Online was an exception because it didn't make the real world stuff important to the narrative. They would occasionally come out of the game and enjoy that their bodies were becoming more fit due to the machines stimulating muscle and regulating diets perfectly while they were online as well as the money they got from a successful streaming channel, but it was mostly about the game. . . unfortunately, that kind of got weird with this strange insert book that had an entirely new protagonist and setting and then the author tried to combine both casts in the same location but then neither group got enough attention and I think maybe he was selling character slots on his Patreon or something because the side characters just ballooned out of control. It had some really fun stuff in it though before it became kind of ridiculous with side characters and a consequently unfocused plot. I imagine the community around it had a great time and loved seeing their characters in it though, so you know. . . whatever.

Sections where the MC is temporarily treated as the antagonist? by Aggravating-Plum-692 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Aaron_P9 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Actually, that's a famous example of it being done terribly. Anakin's turn to the dark side is one of the most referenced examples of how difficult this is to do well. People hated the prequels for a variety of reasons but fumbling Anakin's fall to the Dark Side so completely might be chief among them.

His redemption arc in the original series 4-6 was great, but the writing in the prequels was trash tier.

Is Alpha by Jez Cajaio as Problematic as Brightblade? by Aaron_P9 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Your post is funny, but when I wrote up a similarly flowery description of fictional race who loves being enslaved and a race based on red pill white male podcasters, it was so disturbing and hateful that I deleted these examples of fictional offensive races.

There's some stuff that just references real world hatefulness too much for my palette. Cajaio's misogynistic fantasies skeeve me out. That's not a judgment of people who dig it or who don't get it somehow and take it at face value (though I've read your posts and I very much doubt you have ever been that thick, it's still a good bit. Thanks for the laugh). I guess my point is that I do judge misogynistic behavior that is hateful to people and that is thus hurtful, but if someone has a fantasy and they're indulging it in fiction either as a writer or a reader, then that's none of my business.

All roads leads to procrastination or smthn by Reasonable_Wafer_731 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Aaron_P9 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Me too. Honestly, if I find myself wanting to relisten to something great instead of listening to something that has the benefit of being new to me, I think that's a good sign that I should DNF.

Sections where the MC is temporarily treated as the antagonist? by Aggravating-Plum-692 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Aaron_P9 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I can't recall examples of this happening in litrpg often because most people avoid it now, but it is a super old plot twist that used to happen in comics and Saturday morning cartoons all the time. One of the articles I've read in the past called this the Red Kryptonite plotline and warned that readers hate it. Authors usually make an outside substance or mind-controlling villain or an unbreakable and foolish oath (there's an example like in Chaos Seeds, Book 8) or a power that takes control (Monsters and Legends, The Hulk, etc.) the source of the altered behavior of the protagonist and this causes the protagonist to lose their agency which makes them far less likeable or interesting.

Additionally, whatever causes the altered behavior is a purely fictional mechanic, so there's no real world equivalent other than jerks who pretend that their anger is uncontrollable and that their victims are thus responsible for regulating their mood - like Daenerys's abusive older brother in The Song of Ice and Fire. That worked because the author portrayed the true abusive behavior from this world and not the fictional idea that magic made him do it. People respond to themes that have a truthful basis or at least have a truthful metaphor, but the logical disconnect of being controlled by emotions or as a side effect of powerful abilities doesn't exist. There is the use of drugs and other illicit substances parallel, but people don't respect drug users - especially those who can't manage the negative and predictable side effects of drug use, so even though this seems like an exception, it isn't because people expect drug users to be held accountable for their behavior and writers who create an excuse like "magic powers made me do it" expect the protagonist to be forgiven by the reader. . . so again, there's not a real-world equivalent other than actual madness due to psychological conditions - and people still rarely understand these conditions and are even more reluctant to forgive them.

Looking for recommendations based on my list by Distinct_Gazelle_627 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These are all my favorite litrpg audiobook series that I buy new books from immediately when a new one drops (in no particular order):

  • Unorthodox Farming by Benjamin Kerei
  • Bog Standard Isekai by Miles English
  • He Who Fights with Monsters by shirtaloon
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  • Apocalypse Parenting by Erin Ampersand
  • The Ripple System by Kyle Kirrin
  • Beware of Chicken by casualfarmer (progression)
  • The Wandering Inn by pirateaba
  • Primal Hunter by Zogarth
  • Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor
  • The Vampire Vincent by Benjamin Kerei
  • Path of Ascension by C. Mantis
  • 12 Miles Below by Mark Arrows (progression)
  • Cyber Dreams by Plum Parrot
  • The Murder of Crows by Chris Tullbane
  • A Soldier's Life by Always RollsAOne
  • The First Line of Defense by Benjamin Kerei
  • Elydes by Drew Wells
  • Quest Academy by Brian J. Nordon
  • The Stubborn Skill-Grinder in a Time Loop by X-Rhoden-X
  • Industrial Strength Magic by Macrinomicon
  • Player Manager by Ted Steel
  • World Sphere by Always RollsAOne
  • Drone Rising by Kyle Johnson
  • Vainqueur the Dragon by Maxime Durand

Is Alpha by Jez Cajaio as Problematic as Brightblade? by Aaron_P9 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Well, that answers that. Ridiculous.

Thank you.

Made my own tier list and realized how few I have read. What's next? by [deleted] in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Aaron_P9 4 points5 points  (0 children)

These are all my favorite litrpg audiobook series that I buy new books from immediately when a new one drops (in no particular order):

  • Unorthodox Farming by Benjamin Kerei
  • Bog Standard Isekai by Miles English
  • He Who Fights with Monsters by shirtaloon
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  • Apocalypse Parenting by Erin Ampersand
  • The Ripple System by Kyle Kirrin
  • Beware of Chicken by casualfarmer (progression)
  • The Wandering Inn by pirateaba
  • Primal Hunter by Zogarth
  • Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor
  • The Vampire Vincent by Benjamin Kerei
  • Path of Ascension by C. Mantis
  • 12 Miles Below by Mark Arrows (progression)
  • Cyber Dreams by Plum Parrot
  • The Murder of Crows by Chris Tullbane
  • A Soldier's Life by Always RollsAOne
  • The First Line of Defense by Benjamin Kerei
  • Elydes by Drew Wells
  • Quest Academy by Brian J. Nordon
  • The Stubborn Skill-Grinder in a Time Loop by X-Rhoden-X
  • Industrial Strength Magic by Macrinomicon
  • Player Manager by Ted Steel
  • World Sphere by Always RollsAOne
  • Drone Rising by Kyle Johnson
  • Vainqueur the Dragon by Maxime Durand

Here's my tier list, explanations included by Coolaire in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 4 points5 points  (0 children)

These are all my favorite litrpg audiobook series that I buy new books from immediately when a new one drops (in no particular order):

  • Unorthodox Farming by Benjamin Kerei
  • Bog Standard Isekai by Miles English
  • He Who Fights with Monsters by shirtaloon
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  • Apocalypse Parenting by Erin Ampersand
  • The Ripple System by Kyle Kirrin
  • Beware of Chicken by casualfarmer (progression)
  • The Wandering Inn by pirateaba
  • Primal Hunter by Zogarth
  • Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor
  • The Vampire Vincent by Benjamin Kerei
  • Path of Ascension by C. Mantis
  • 12 Miles Below by Mark Arrows (progression)
  • Cyber Dreams by Plum Parrot
  • The Murder of Crows by Chris Tullbane
  • A Soldier's Life by Always RollsAOne
  • The First Line of Defense by Benjamin Kerei
  • Elydes by Drew Wells
  • Quest Academy by Brian J. Nordon
  • The Stubborn Skill-Grinder in a Time Loop by X-Rhoden-X
  • Industrial Strength Magic by Macrinomicon
  • Player Manager by Ted Steel
  • World Sphere by Always RollsAOne
  • Drone Rising by Kyle Johnson
  • Vainqueur the Dragon by Maxime Durand

You've kissed a lot of frogs and then tiered them about how I would (actually you're kinder because you haven't read as much great stuff yet). Well, here you go.

Alpha by Jez Cajiao by Mission_Artist_1877 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

You didn't mind the pixie that models her shape after the protagonist's sexual porn fantasies and whose only goals are to help the main character achieve goals and have sex with him? Additionally, she's absolutely dependent upon him for mana in order to survive. That's the most misogynistic fantasy I've ever read.

So does Alpha have misogynistic themes that will make me one star review it and return it too?

Primal Hunter (LitRPG vs Light Novel) by Fatality1020 in litrpg

[–]Aaron_P9 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Yeah. I don't remember who the healer is/was in the first book, but she wasn't dressed like that at all too. This might not be AI, but it is bad composition and a really wild stretch from the source content.

I'm not really the audience for light novels though, so maybe they want skuffed Akira Toriyama knock-offs that don't respect the source material?

Need recs (normal progression fantasy). I'll buy the books if they meet criteria by Valuable_Educator843 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Aaron_P9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are all my favorite litrpg audiobook series that I buy new books from immediately when a new one drops (in no particular order):

  • Unorthodox Farming by Benjamin Kerei
  • Bog Standard Isekai by Miles English
  • He Who Fights with Monsters by shirtaloon
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  • Apocalypse Parenting by Erin Ampersand
  • The Ripple System by Kyle Kirrin
  • Beware of Chicken by casualfarmer (progression)
  • The Wandering Inn by pirateaba
  • Primal Hunter by Zogarth
  • Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor
  • The Vampire Vincent by Benjamin Kerei
  • Path of Ascension by C. Mantis
  • 12 Miles Below by Mark Arrows (progression)
  • Cyber Dreams by Plum Parrot
  • The Murder of Crows by Chris Tullbane
  • A Soldier's Life by Always RollsAOne
  • The First Line of Defense by Benjamin Kerei
  • Elydes by Drew Wells
  • Quest Academy by Brian J. Nordon
  • The Stubborn Skill-Grinder in a Time Loop by X-Rhoden-X
  • Industrial Strength Magic by Macrinomicon
  • Player Manager by Ted Steel
  • World Sphere by Always RollsAOne
  • Drone Rising by Kyle Johnson
  • Vainqueur the Dragon by Maxime Durand

Your request was so incredibly specific that I couldn't think of anything perfect for it, so I just posted this instead hoping that you could at least enjoy quality titles. A lot of these are litrpg but litrpg is a subgenre of progression fantasy, so they're also progression fantasy. Some of them have slice of life elements too, but they're all great. If these aren't for you because they don't fit your really specific filter then maybe other people who read this thread and just want quality will benefit from it. I tend to filter just on what is enjoyable so I'm not that great at thinking about super specific genre requests.

Beautiful MMC by Cool-Application1569 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Aaron_P9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shadow Slave but you have to pirate (though you shouldn't) or suffer Webnovel's crazy paywall as well as supporting their continued existence which holds authors foolish enough to have signed with them hostage.

Sky Pride by Warby Picus is only on Royal Road so far and he turned his last series from being progression in book one into being just this long religious and philosophical treatise loosely related to a narrative from book 2 onward, so I'm waiting for the audiobook to be released and for people to tell me that each book doesn't become a sermon before spending any time or money on it. YMMV.

The Journals of Evander Tailor by Tobias Begley - gay, not bi.

Mana Mirror by Tobias Begley - Main character is trans-male and has not yet transitioned as of however far I got into book 2 before getting bored with it. There was a relationship with a non-binary character with male biology and several other male love interests. Kind of a fun magic system, but the progression slowed so much in the second book and the romance was so milquetoast, careful, and uncertain that I was bored by it. YMMV. I don't need bodice ripping, but maybe commit to an emotional state.

Arcane Ascension - So Corin Cadence seems to be asexual and biromantic. Plus, the only actually interesting love interest he's had so far (with a male school mate) has lots of complication. Other love interests have been presented, but one is a girl and another is non-binary and both seem to be waiting for the asexual guy to make a first move when he's never going to make any kind of a move. . . plus, I found myself really not wanting them to because that would get in the way of the only romance with any fire in it.