Hello, i recently started reading "Three Square Meals" from Tefler. But i noticed in the beginning that everything was going way to smooth and now after 12 chapters it feels like a power fantasy with Mary Sue characters in a soft sci-fi, wish-fulfillment setting. Is this gonna change deeper into the story or does it stay like that?
YES!!!, always a new girl after the other that got the same treatment. I liked the premise of the story a lot in the beginning, but its just so bland.
There are some significant challenges along the way, but yeah it leans heavily into Mary Sue wish-fulfillment. It is definitely a power fantasy. That being said, enough people have like this particular power fantasy to keep it going. It's still being written, albeit at a slow pace.
It's still being written, albeit at a slow pace.
It's way behind the author's Patreon, and the last time he updated SOL was after Lazeez hid the story on SOL for a while because Tefler was in violation of 17B.
The last update on SOL was 2 years ago.
The link to Tefler's Patreon has been removed from his SOL author profile. I don't know if this was done by Tefler or by Lazeez (for rule 17B violations).
This is a very harsh thread.
It feels almost passive aggressive - if at 12 chapters, you feel it's not for you, it's time to find something else to read.
You don't need anyone else to tell you otherwise.
7-12 chapters is usually enough to form an opinion and I commend you for doing that much.
I try to be tolerant of authors/stories that I do not find as my jam. A friend of mine writes some of the most boring stories I've ever read, often confusingly melodramatic.
He sometimes writes summary actions, instead of providing contextual dialogue and it drives me crazy. I try to help with things like that, but ultimately if he likes a slower paced story with a lot of "We spent the day together and everything was great" type of high level summary - and his readers do as well, then so be it.
Not everything can float my boat (or yours).
It's not for me and when he is open to listening to constructive feedback I offer it - but ultimately, he is writing for a different audience than me and I have to learn to respect that.
Part of what's gotten to me about the story, over time, is the power creep (not that 'creep' is perhaps the right word). I understand that it fits what Tefler is trying to do, but it's (relatively) quickly gone from 'we can fight off a few ships' to 'we can fight off a few fleets.'
That's maybe fun for wish fulfillment, but there are things I would have loved to have seen happen when the stakes were a bit lower. By now, there's little room for low-stakes things happening.