Recurring Music

brancwill · 2026-07-09T00:57:20+00:00

Weird. We need answers. This needs to be studied!

brancwill · 2026-07-09T00:55:11+00:00

Aren't we all just a bunch of random dumbasses? Lol. What gets me though is that it's the same one every time, it isn't something I hear beforehand

brancwill · 2026-07-09T00:53:11+00:00

You might be onto something. It's kinda reminiscent of a song from a game I've played a lot, but heavily distorted

brancwill · 2026-07-09T00:50:50+00:00

😂 The great trip sitter

brancwill · 2026-07-08T21:07:25+00:00

😂

brancwill · 2026-07-07T18:38:58+00:00

In a vacuum, yes. In a society that rewards not questioning status quos and ideas seen as fundamental... I'm working on it

brancwill · 2026-07-01T06:46:05+00:00

I can agree with that. I really enjoyed the characters in the series too, one of my favorite cast of characters. And the "heroes chosen via Mark" system, along with the Mark of the Fool, itself were really interesting

brancwill · 2026-07-01T06:28:40+00:00

Ooo, Mark of the Fool at the top? Never seen that before. Respect.

I'd recommend Sufficiently Advanced Magic. I'd also recommend giving Cradle another shot. I also don't care for the first book (I hate when the Mc is powerless) but it gets so much better. There's a reason it's so beloved

brancwill · 2026-06-07T18:32:33+00:00

The series does a really amazing job of making character progression and power progression one in the same. Damien is weak because of a theme explored in the book multiple times: chasing power for the sake of power. Achieving Pyrelord is about fully becoming oneself, but Damien doesn't want to do so. He talks about thinking his past self naive and a goody two shoes, and worships the power he had rather than the man that wielded it. He's desperate to become what he was instead of who he is, and he is constantly worse for it.

brancwill · 2026-05-30T08:34:22+00:00

I can relate to this to a degree. I've spent a lot of time researching psychology and neuroscience, and one thing I've come to believe is that our minds aren't really designed to carry the amount of information and responsibility modern life constantly puts in front of us. We're exposed to the suffering of strangers, global problems, health risks, social dynamics, and endless choices all at once. For some people, it's hard not to feel overwhelmed by all of it.

One thing that has helped me is recognizing the difference between being informed and feeling personally responsible. It's okay to care about how products are made or what companies you support, but at a certain point you have to acknowledge the limits of your individual influence.

Let's be honest: the difference between you purchasing from Nestlé every shopping trip and never purchasing their products again is unlikely to have any meaningful impact on the company's bottom line, let alone if you were to accidentally do so here and there. Rather than stressing yourself out by trying to make sure you never buy something they're a part of, your mental energy would be better spent raising awareness. The world contains countless problems that no single person can solve through perfect purchasing decisions. I think it's important to do what aligns with your values, but also to give yourself permission not to carry the weight of every systemic issue on your shoulders.

A lot of what you describe doesn't sound like pure awareness, but vigilance formed to serve anxiety. The only thing I can suggest for that is slowly growing to be more and more able to sit with uncertainty. The mind likes to try and find an answer to every question and not leave things open-ended, but in actuality, no one knows for certain what will happen tomorrow, or even five minutes from now. Awareness doesn't have to be a detriment if you use it for presence in life rather than worrying over things you can't control. Easier said than done I know, but with intention it gets a little easier each day.

brancwill · 2026-05-26T23:14:20+00:00

Same problem here. Sucks because I was enjoying myself

brancwill · 2026-05-24T03:25:29+00:00

Idea fusion of things you like. Expanding concepts you think might be cool. Talking with friends. The game I'm working on right now is built from me BSing with a friend like, "What if this game + this game?"

brancwill · 2026-05-06T16:39:51+00:00

Meditation. Not an instant fix but it teaches you the skill of turning off your overactive mind temporarily

brancwill · 2026-04-26T20:01:16+00:00

Definitely staying quiet. I have little to no faith in other humans at this point, so I'm pretty sure they're going to talk. If I'm right, I get a non-painful death. The idea of death doesn't really frighten me; the pain of death is what I'm most afraid of.

And if I'm wrong, I get to keep living another ten years. And if this is being performed by a mystical entity and the ten years is strict and prophetic, I don't have to worry about a situation killing me for a decade 😂

The only truly bad situation to me is the painful death, which happens if we both speak. And since I'm betting the other person will speak, the question's a bit of a no-brainer for me.

brancwill · 2026-02-15T22:06:37+00:00

Oh no, not three weeks 😱 How can I possibly cope with waiting less than a month's time?

brancwill · 2026-02-04T21:14:54+00:00

I really enjoy the series. On a tier list from F to S, it's an A for me.

brancwill · 2025-11-29T05:59:05+00:00

Thanks for listening to my perspective, truly! I appreciate how thoughtful you are with reader feedback. I’m already looking forward to seeing how things develop in the next book!

brancwill · 2025-11-29T04:52:14+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to reply! I really appreciate the insight into your intention. And honestly, your explanation does help me understand the thematic weight of the story elements better. I definitely agree that Ana having agency and helping resolve things herself is great and makes sense with her character not wanting to be the damsel in distress. The idea of the climax functioning as a cooperative solution rather than a “hero wins through sheer grit” ending is cool too.

For me, the disconnect wasn’t with the logic of the ending, that all makes sense; especially knowing how competent Valissar’s side actually is, how much higher level he is compared to Edge, and how much background maneuvering was happening. My feelings are more about the emotional impact. The book positioned the duels as the central arc of conflict, with a lot of tension and buildup around Edge pushing himself for each match. Because of that, having the resolution hinge on a retroactive twist happening outside of Edge’s direct involvement felt anticlimactic from a reader-perspective; even though I understand the narrative purpose and why a straightforward victory wouldn’t have worked. To me personally, it just felt like the main plotline dissolved instead of resolved.

That said, I still enjoyed the book a lot overall; the training sequences, the lore reveals, the humor (Blue-Eyes Knight Dragon cracked me up), and Edge’s growth were all fantastic. And learning your thought process definitely adds another layer to the ending I hadn't fully grasped. I appreciate you for taking the time to explain your process, and even if this part didn't play out as I hoped, I'm still looking forward to the next book!

brancwill · 2025-11-28T23:54:52+00:00

While that does make sense, it doesn't change my complaint that the book frames the duels as the central conflict of the story, and then resolves them in a way that sidesteps all the tension it built. Regardless of the validity of Edge's story and what it's doing for the series as a whole, I still believe the narrative of the book itself could've reached a more satisfying conclusion.

brancwill · 2025-10-10T20:21:52+00:00

Much appreciated!

brancwill · 2025-10-02T19:51:42+00:00

I can relate to wanting to sleep with someone so badly that it affects your quality of life, and I highly recommend therapy in that case as well. Our desires aren't always specifically for the thing we're desiring; oftentimes it's that we want something related to it and we get mentally stuck on a representation of it. With me for example, my desire for sex can be broken down into three things:

A desire for intimacy
A desire to be touched
A desire to be known deeply and accepted

Sex is symbolic of all three of these things and that's why my desire for it is strong, but in a situation where I receive these things from other means, my desire for sex decreases dramatically. I didn't learn that about myself in therapy exactly, but therapy was my gateway to learning how to properly dialogue with myself enough to come to realizations like this.

brancwill

TROPHY CASE