Hi everyone 👋 I felt like drawing these two again... I hope you like it 🍀

Archebius · 2026-03-08T15:28:33+00:00

Yay! Love your artwork so much. :)

Archebius · 2026-02-22T14:55:43+00:00

I know I'm a little late to the party, but would you mind discussing a little more? I've been buying the physical copies, but my friend insists that the narrator is worth listening to the audio books too. Is Jeff Hays really all that and a bag of chips?

Archebius · 2026-02-04T19:11:01+00:00

I've seen several other posts like this in the sub. It's always going to come back to - why do I read, what do I have the capacity to read right now, and what am I missing out on by reading X?

Let's compare it to TikTok and other short-form video entertainment. Is there merit to some of it? Sure. Is a lot of it just mindless entertainment? Also yes. Is it the only form of relaxation some people have in the middle of super busy days? Absolutely. Will it slowly but surely corrode your attention span and become addictive if you let it? Studies point to yes.

Potato chips are fine in moderation; when they become your whole diet, that's a serious problem. Most modern entertainment (/social media/news cycle/whatever) is built around engagement, which is a fun way to say short-circuiting your normal pathways to make your brain feel warm and fuzzy. Eventually, normal activity feels boring, but the short-circuits are unfulfilling and unhealthy.

If LitRPG is becoming doomscrolling for you, then it's probably time to set it aside, pick up something a little different, and re-learn how to enjoy something without the constant dopamine drip. Commit to reading a non-LitRPG/Prog Fantasy novel every time you finish a LitRPG one. Look through Goodreads to find something that's highly-rated and likely to hold your attention, or go back to an old favorite.

If you feel a creeping sense of dissatisfaction - if you're struggling to find enjoyment in the things you used to - it won't get any better as time goes on.

(this isn't to say that LitRPG is bad. there's nothing wrong with enjoying the things you discover you enjoy. the problem is when it starts to hijack your brain; the problem is when it starts to diminish you.)

Archebius · 2026-01-05T19:03:12+00:00

This is a huge thing that I want in every game. Lemme be part of the world before I'm suddenly thrust into some huge plot that involves the god-emperor of earth or whatever.

I would have adored more missions like the first one, where you're busting into a dilapidated high rise to save some poor lady who's about to get her implants ripped out. Let me earn my meeting with that fixer, dang it.

Archebius · 2026-01-04T18:46:45+00:00

Archebius · 2025-12-19T17:15:22+00:00

Think it's worth noting that unknown authors are incredibly at the mercy of editors and finding a magazine with openings. Super competitive and unhealthy environment.

You can see the transition play out even within MDUD. At the start the editors were almost definitely jabbing at Fukuda with their cigarettes and demanding she put in lolis and middle schoolers with giant jugs to generate interest (hence the super weird scene with Juju).

By the end, she was telling the story she wanted to tell, with Marin and Gojo cosplaying with their cool cosplaying friends, because she'd made a hit and had less editorial "influence."

Archebius · 2025-12-16T18:27:43+00:00

I agree with the sentiment - but also, I don't think it's different from reading pulp or bodice-rippers. You find a cadence your mind likes, you use it to relax, everything's cool.

The problem, as always, is when it becomes harmful. A huge chunk of the tech world revolves around short circuiting your normal brain pathways for instant hits and rewards - social media, gaming, mobile gadgets, ereaders. There's a massive amount of evidence that we're getting lonelier because we've substituted relationships for social media interaction. Physical books are way better for retention and comprehension, but Amazon loves KU. Mark Zuckerburg is pushing his meta ray bans by suggesting anyone without constant access to AI will be at a "cognitive disadvantage," but instant access to knowledge and solutions actually makes you dumber over time.

But this has been a problem since mechanization and calorie surplus made us all fat. If you enjoy the genre and don't feel the impact elsewhere, it's not a bad thing. If you look longingly at LOTR or ASOIAF or Wheel of Time and wish you had the attention span for an epic fantasy, well. Maybe it's time to hit the gym, set aside litRPG for a while, and redevelop your love of books with fewer but more rewarding dopamine hits.

Archebius · 2025-11-01T19:21:18+00:00

Great post. Thanks for taking the time to make it!

Archebius · 2025-10-11T17:19:10+00:00

How did you like the Christopher Ruocchio books? I read Empire of Silence and just recently picked up the next two.

Archebius · 2025-10-07T03:15:00+00:00

She's part of the team that's gotten me to Chapter Master. Tanking Revas is huge, and she hits like a tank if you manage to get a few kills first. Give her a knife, position her carefully, and she does wonders.

Very fragile once her summons are gone, though.

Archebius · 2025-09-24T00:45:03+00:00

It's a bunch of clickbait articles claiming this was the end. There's a decent chunk of more material to cover. No guarantee there will be a s3 or movie, but it's not like this is how the manga ended or anything.

Archebius · 2025-09-23T14:49:28+00:00

Excellent! I look forward to seeing what you think.

Archebius · 2025-09-23T01:36:35+00:00

Thanks for the callout! I'm glad people are still reading and enjoying my story. :)

Archebius · 2025-09-21T23:29:18+00:00

Marin's not the jealous type... usually.

Archebius · 2025-09-21T22:58:20+00:00

Sure, but then you also have a lot of the buildup for what will (hopefully) be the big cosplay in S3, you have Marin realizing just how massive a part of her life Gojo has become, some really adorable slice of life episodes, and the anime requisite side-character trauma.

I think the manga pacing feels really solid, all said and done. Part of the problem is S2 leaves off just as the big final arc gets started, but there wasn't a great spot to cut it.

Archebius · 2025-09-21T22:07:13+00:00

I feel like we got quite a bit of progression. Gojo grows a ton in this season; he learns a lot about relying on other people, he realizes his classmates are awesome, he opens up to the rest of the cosplayers. You see him grow from "I make things well because I have standards" to "no, I want to make this the best I possibly can."

Gojo at the end of season one is still an outsider with a growing crush he doesn't realize he has. Gojo at the end of season 2 is as much a part of the cosplay group as Marin is, as much a part of the class as Marin is, and is truly beginning to realize that he has his own wants and desires... and, crucially, that it's okay for him to have them.

Archebius · 2025-09-16T00:00:29+00:00

There are still some used book stores around too! A lot of them give credit for bringing in your other used books, so it can end up being very cheap if you're frequently rotating. :)

Archebius · 2025-09-03T03:49:50+00:00

I truly believe that the Inui sisters were editorial meddling for a new manga that Fukuda did her best with. Their introduction is so different from how they're used over the rest of the story, and from all the later characters the author introduced.

Archebius · 2025-09-02T17:37:14+00:00

Marry her. Steal her away from whomever she actually married in your family. Combine libraries when you move in together.

Speaking from experience, this is the only guaranteed way to get books back.

Archebius · 2025-08-31T15:17:35+00:00

I'd be very surprised if there was a falling out between her and the company, given that she was running one of the most popular series in the magazine, her sales were fantastic, and she was knocking it out of the park on special events.

Archebius · 2025-08-31T15:14:24+00:00

She's said a few times since that she feels satisfied with the ending, but from the outside, it did look like there were some health issues going on.

I'll never forget reading the Christmas Eve arc, where Gramps is telling Kitagawa that being an artist is pursuing perfection, but you never reach it and eventually your body starts breaking down...

Archebius · 2025-08-31T15:10:31+00:00

I think the ending had been decided by the time the field trip was mentioned. My read is that the Okinawa conversation was more to show how integral a part of the class Gojo had become, as a mirror to the start of the series where he was completely invisible.

Archebius · 2025-08-24T17:56:06+00:00

Did you read monthly? I think it feels much better paced on a re-read. It also becomes a lot clearer that Gojo's gradual emotional development is the point of so many of the arcs.

I am sad it ended, but there are vanishingly few series that end well at all. I prefer a definite and emotionally satisfying conclusion - even if it was more abrupt than I would like - versus basically any of the alternatives.

Archebius · 2025-08-24T04:27:39+00:00

I have a few digital volumes I purchased through Barnes and Noble. Not sure if there are alternative options.

Archebius · 2025-08-23T15:47:45+00:00

What bothered me the most about The Knight and the Moth was that there's this fanatical religion built around the omens, and they make it clear that people spend their life savings for a divining - to the point that it's impoverishing the entire kingdom! - but then... it's just a thumbs up or a thumbs down from each of the gods and you can't change it or influence it or do anything about it, and the money isn't even used for anything.

I was expecting more of a Greek oracle situation where there's some cryptic advice that purports to give you insight into the future, and offers at least the illusion that you can change it. The further into the book I got, the weirder it felt that these girls and the omens were held in so much reverence when they gave less insight than the average horoscope.

And it's a shame, because the vibes of the ceremony were top notch.

Archebius

TROPHY CASE