So new Esau Gambit dropped, this one being that media must either be childish and naive or coomer bait and no other options are possible. I don’t particularly care about the specific examples since LotR was spoiled completely before I ever looked at it and has been copy pasted so much it sounds like generic fantasy, while GoT sounds like your typical soyslop that isn’t even worth looking at the first time.
Of course, I’m a living example of how false that dichotomy is.
Pic related, and especially the following books not only contain a man fucking his wife, but numerous mature themes that do not involve sex, such that they trigger every NPC variant by design. It explicitly laughs in the fat fucking faces of those who have childish and naive outlooks by showing various men and women who willingly do the needful and redeem the NPC menace. Likewise, it mocks a different false dichotomy, namely you must be an emasculated soycattle who lets all around them freely abuse them, and the only other possibility is that you are a psychopath. Human options, for instance that you won’t take abuse, but also won’t abuse those who don’t deserve it are entirely unconsidered. And the mockery is an important aspect, as never has the collapse of Clown World been so Gods damned funny!
Shinichi Haku continues to deliver on all departments, and then some! The world and its history continue to be explored deeper and deeper. Gerulf continues to grow, keeping his ol' trusty basedness, it only grows too! The infinitely lovable Masumi only becomes more interesting and lovable. All characters continue to be engaging and fun while the forces of evil continue to try to subvert and destroy Hillfar.
SH continues to masterfully deliver a glimpse into a world worth giving a damn.
Though, beyond that humor is a very serious plot, serious enough in fact that discussing it would be spoilers. Antipode - that is, an admixture of opposites really fits perfectly, and that’s what the quoted review is for. And that’s only the third book out of nine. Suffice it to say each chapter is more based than the one before it, and those who have read everything currently released have a good idea of just how based it will becoming soon.
The main thing the series does however is challenges. Not corrupts or subverts, as the various soycattle works do, but challenges.
“No, I am not,” I pronounced calmly, surveying the battlefield which had no weapons drawn, “And yet the answer remains ‘all of the above.’ What is ‘your people’? I posit it is a set of shared goals, ideals, culture. Lacking this, you at best share your streets with strangers,” He started to open his mouth again but was silenced by a raised hand, “You are willing to fight with and for those whom you share common cause with. As am I. Yes, I was not born here. And yet, here I am.”
For dramatic effect, I dismissed every Greater Celerity effect at once, watching them stagger about as their worlds suddenly slowed down considerably. “Until recently, I did not even share a street with strangers. Those around me were not my people; they were my enemies. Naturally, I had no desire to be around them and certainly none to protect them. Yet, if I accept your implication, ‘my people’ would just be those in the immediate area. The same ones who would claim orcs are the same as civilized races.”
And in case there was any doubt remaining that I was in the right world and fighting for the right cause – even the government proved fast, efficient, and nonobtrusive. Coming from a background where the only desirable action a government can take is no action because if they are doing anything, they are fucking you over in the process? No regrets at all!
She relaxed then and turned back to face me, <It is one-sided, but not in the manner you believe it to be.>
I took the sliced sausages and placed them in the boiling water while answering, <Then one-sided in which way?>
She leaned her head against my shoulder, positioning it against the crook of my neck, and watched what I was doing with the pot with interest before answering, <While we aren’t less than useless like Earth females are, you are correct that marriage and civilization primarily exist for the benefit of women. We all know this, even if we haven’t thought of it in such terms. And that is why we try so very hard to even the scales – to keep our husbands healthy and happy any way we can, for even those who can fight rarely seek out conflict if they understand what is involved with it. They fight to protect and out of necessity first.>
While I could keep going - at least a third of the entire series challenges NPC programming in at least some capacity, that should get the point across. That and a later quote I can’t find that plays off the last article - how Gerulf’s initial reluctance stems from ensuring PRO isn’t run by soycattle, as they’d either impose the death penalty for a Power Word: Trigger, or at the very least dock you 1,000 XP for wrongthink. It was only after being convinced through unknown methods that no, he wasn’t giving his enemies power and control over him, but was instead escaping their control that he eagerly charged forward.
Likewise, when he was first recruited to engage with the overall plot, his main question was “Why me?” but for a very sensible reason - even the other trainees were more competent and trustworthy. Answer: He wasn’t being approached out of any powers, super special bloodline, etc. He was being approached because he had much knowledge of the enemy, and Clown World was entirely incomprehensible to sapients. And once he understood he was the most qualified for the job, he did it, even if it became all so tiresome.
Later, he starts meeting with other isekais, all of whom have their own different and relatable reasons for leaving Clown World behind without looking back. And that alone is perhaps the most mature theme and the reason why the mocking trigger warning exists. “Muh Doritos LMFAO!”
The meme exists and becomes more funny every time it’s deployed because intelligent and self respecting men don’t have those connections. They might have fallen for the marriage meme, but seethe and curse every day while getting less than nothing out of it. Or they develop such a copium addiction that not only are they convinced they enjoy their slavery, but insist that you join them in it. And after disregarding those, you are only left with low quality snack foods.
And there’s only one response to that.
Fuck you, eating tendies!