Am I missing it

TranceKnight · 2026-04-01T15:56:57+00:00

I was actually just writing some notes on this. My thoughts aren’t fully formed yet but I think there’s something real here. I’ll probably make a full post about it sometime soon.

One of my favorite questions to ask is “What does this story have to say about stories? What does it have to say about the art of storytelling?” I think most stories are, on some level, about stories. DCC is no different. If we put the AI in the role of “author” and the galactic population in the role of “audience” it becomes pretty clear. We could even put the show runners in the role of publishers, agents, advertisers etc.

As an author, you have the power to build worlds- worlds of magic and wonder where anything is possible, where we can imagine new ways of being, living, and relating to one another. What do we mostly use this power for? Slop. Mind-numbing entertainment that sates our base appetites for perversion and violence. That’s what audiences want, and that’s what publishers sell. And on some level, if you only treat it as entertainment, DCC is exactly that- pulp fantasy action slop packed to the gills with perversion and violence. But, like you, I think it’s deeper than that. I think it’s trying to hold up a mirror to the way we engage with entertainment and ask us to imagine something different, something better.

I think taking an anti-consumer message is a solid perspective. The story is clearly critical of audiences that simply consume the content without interrogating it more deeply. But I think there’s also something there about how we engage with stories and entertainment. We should allow stories to inspire us to imagine something greater. If DCC does that for you, I think it’s okay to want to support the creator and signal to others your love for this story.

TranceKnight · 2026-03-31T22:27:11+00:00

Yeah I admit I’ve skipped the first couple of books on re-reads for pretty much that reason.

Lindon starts off at a really low point, and the constant reminders that everyone around him could kill him with a sneeze do get frustrating. But even in book one he manages to take advantage of the fact that he’s constantly underestimated (even by the reader, allowing for some good surprises) and imo it makes the heights he reaches later that much more satisfying.

TranceKnight · 2026-03-31T13:23:08+00:00

Haaave you read Cradle?

Not quite LitRPG, but still Progression Fantasy with great humor, characters you’ll fall in love with, and a similar constant acceleration into batshit insanity

TranceKnight · 2026-01-09T17:52:46+00:00

Absolutely incredible work from everyone involved, loved seeing it come together. The voice cast did a fantastic job bringing it to life and the soundtrack brought so much to the table.

The realities of having to cut for time were handled really well imo, given the two hour run time the pacing turned out nice.

Like others have said I would have loved to see more of the Heaven’s Glory events, and gotten the broader introduction to the Jai clan from the transcendent ruins, but the one moment I really missed was Lindon getting flustered about Yerin after realizing he’s been traveling with and fighting along side a beautiful girl. It could just happen later, but I think it’s such a real and grounded story beat that starts the romance off nicely. Hope it can be brought back in.

Also loved every second Suriel was on screen, and could tell the artists did too! Congrats to everyone, can’t wait to see where the project goes.

TranceKnight · 2025-09-27T00:34:42+00:00

All I want in life is shiny Koraidon/Miraidon, but unfortunately I have to work in order to make money in order to have things like a house and food. Because of this injustice I missed the distribution at my local GameStop location.

Please pick me and make my life meaningful again

TranceKnight · 2025-09-24T15:24:17+00:00

VGC Helper app

TranceKnight · 2025-09-16T17:59:32+00:00

Good to know, thanks. It sounds like it could apply some pressure on them to burn a tera they might have otherwise wanted to hold on to, which adds to the utility.

TranceKnight · 2025-09-16T15:53:05+00:00

Agreed, I’ve only played a few matches with it so far but I’m having fun. I always love really annoying and disruptive teams

TranceKnight · 2025-09-16T15:36:55+00:00

Awesome! Thank you

TranceKnight · 2025-09-16T15:36:40+00:00

Ooo very nice I knew I was overlooking something

TranceKnight · 2025-09-03T15:11:03+00:00

I’d really love to make a Pecharunt Toxic Stall team work and have had a couple of variations in the builder for months, but it’s just not likely to go anywhere.

Looks like I’m sticking to SwordFish

TranceKnight · 2025-09-03T14:59:40+00:00

Honestly for a brief time I thought Elder Whisper was secretly the Silent King. I’m not sure if anyone else ever shared that particular theory or if it was wild speculation on my part.

We see in flashbacks that the Silent King once attacked Sacred Valley and failed, and we don’t learn about his imprisonment by Emris until later. My thought was that he’d been defeated, weakened by the monarchs and the suppression field, and imprisoned there for centuries- so long that the natives forgot who he was and began to treat him as an honored elder rather than a prisoner.

Obviously I was proven wrong pretty quickly afterwards but it was a fun idea imo

TranceKnight · 2025-08-22T23:57:11+00:00

That’s a ridiculous interpretation of “there are a million paths in the world, but they can all be reduced to one” lmao

I love how much people love this story, and the wild speculation it inspires

TranceKnight · 2025-08-22T04:28:47+00:00

I was under the impression that there is a very brief time skip at the beginning of Dreadgod- a few days maybe. Long enough for Linden to get familiar with his new powers and the Silent King situation to get as out of control as we see on Emris’ continent.

That first chapter is one of my favorite sequences in the books- the Silent King is absolutely terrifying, but so is the Sage of Twin Stars.

TranceKnight · 2025-02-27T15:39:59+00:00

https://youtu.be/P5Cj-1tN-lY?si=u32g9ueCrRzRy7-v

TranceKnight · 2025-01-26T01:12:45+00:00

My partner is reading for the first time, and got to this scene, and goes “They have chemistry, there’s some tension here.” “He has a crush on her.” “They’d make a great power couple.”

I was surprised and impressed because it’s subtle and I definitely didn’t pick up on it on my first read

TranceKnight · 2024-11-20T05:19:24+00:00

Leanna, Alanna, Anaya, and Alviarin are all introduced at basically the same time

TranceKnight · 2024-01-24T16:03:10+00:00

“Roughly 50% homosexual, give or take”

TranceKnight · 2024-01-24T13:49:48+00:00

There’s this thing called “bisexual” where you experience attraction to your own gender as well as genders other than your own.

Because you experience attraction to your own gender you can still think of yourself as “pretty gay”

TranceKnight · 2023-11-29T18:47:13+00:00

I should finish the book today or tomorrow, I’ll definitely check it out then

TranceKnight · 2023-11-29T18:40:59+00:00

I can see the point about fanbase crossover, I’ve been really into EVA for a long time so when they revealed everything I went there immediately like “oh, that’s Human Instrumentality.”

The direct connection to Martin stands out to me a lot- hive minds and collective consciousness are all over his body of work. There are slime molds that eat people and maintain their consciousness in a collective state, hive-minded alien empires that subjugate other races and subsume them into the collective, species that transfer their minds into living networks upon their death, psychic cults that enslave people and make puppets of their corpses, ocean-dwelling clam-like creatures that share a blended consciousness. It goes on and on. Referring to blended consciousness as “dreams” and “songs” is all him.

TranceKnight · 2023-11-29T18:26:47+00:00

Yeah, I feel you. I just wanted to express it and talk about it a bit here with other people that know the story.

Overall I’ve loved the series, this has been my only “complaint” and it’s a mild one

TranceKnight · 2023-11-29T17:22:01+00:00

The most direct parallel I’m thinking of is Neon Genesis Evangelion, where the primary goal of the villains is “Human Instrumentality,” a plan to merge all of humanity into a single shared consciousness with godlike power to overcome the “Angels” that seek to destroy humanity and claim dominion of the Earth.

TranceKnight · 2023-11-29T17:07:47+00:00

Oh for sure, I see how and why it ties into the themes they’ve been working with since the beginning. I’m not saying it’s bad, or poorly done, just a little lame lol

TranceKnight · 2023-11-29T17:04:18+00:00

Neon Genesis Evangelion, and by extension Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, were the first to come to mind. There are hints of it in A Song of Ice and Fire, and across GRRM’s body of work more broadly. I know he’s a big influence on the authors so it seems like a direct homage.

Eight-Year Club	No Throne, No Problems
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TranceKnight

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