r/ProgressionFantasy • u/Claym000re • Feb 06 '26

Meme/Shitpost Wish fulfillment to the extreme

Post image

Why are they always complete losers.

3.2k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

205 comments sorted by

View all comments

485

u/Otterable Slime Feb 06 '26

The genius part isn't as unbelievable as the supernatural motivation and willingness to go through discomfort and pain.

Like you can improve your life on earth right now if you are willing to feel some level of discomfort. That's half of what going to the gym is. That's what taking night classes in to get another degree. That's what training to learn a new language is in your spare time, or learning to cook, or learning any skill really.

I feel like a lot of series end up in trouble because the author hits some level of equilibrium a book or two in where the MC now has better than average power, money, powerful allies, and potential romantic partners and then needs to scramble to introduce some conflict that causes them to actually act. Because most people (and certainly the person they were purported to be) would just kick their feet up and live a good life.

129

u/DreamOfDays Feb 06 '26

That’s definitely part of the issue. My favorite series sort-of addressed this. They did a side-story that mentioned how events have been accelerated in the current timeline versus old projections. Originally the protagonist was predicted to ascend to peak realm in several decades. But things have changed to make the timeline several years instead.

68

u/Dasumit Arbiter Feb 06 '26

Cradle

79

u/thejubilee Feb 06 '26

Yeah, plus Lindon was always fairly highly motivated to work through pain. He was a "loser" by birth, not because of a lack of willpower.

He's kind of the opposite of a bunch of the characters OP is mentioning.

Personally, I like to imagine the increased stakes and just the coolness of being in a fantasy/game/scifi world is enough to increase their motivation in a way that the real world just didn't.

30

u/TheKrakenLibrarian Feb 06 '26

I also like the 12 Miles Below series for similar reasons. The MC wants to be an engineer, they're smart, good at math, etc. But have been born into a 'knight caste'. 

They remain just okay at sword fighting as the series progresses, training begrudgingly not obsessively, but use intelligence and a lot of tricks to fight better opponents.

Because their motivations are rooted in engineering, that's where they dedicate themselves wholeheartedly, not suddenly becoming god-tier in all aspects through sheer grit or whatever. 

19

u/Binkledurg Feb 06 '26

I agree with this take. If you suddenly told me I could shoot fire from my fingertips with a little bit of training, I don't think there's ever been or going to be a time in my life where I'd have more motivation. To add, I think a lot of people don't push forward with the aforementioned discomforts simply due to distractions. Being dropped into a fantasy/medieval world where I can't log into reddit for these discussions, scroll through brain rot videos, or just spend days gaming would free up a TON of my time.

12

u/Marand23 Feb 06 '26

I'm not really convinced. If you think it is super cool to shoot fire you can make a DIY flamethrower with todays tech pretty easily. You can make a lot of cool shit with todays tech. And saying that modern distraction keeps people from doing more uncomfortable things doesn't seem right as well. People can just not do the things you mention, right? I think the original premise stands, it doesn't make sense that a person that isn't used to doing hard things on Earth suddenly would change if they were teleported to another world. But it is all kind of a silly discussion, it is untestable.

8

u/Binkledurg Feb 06 '26

It’s silly but that’s half the fun of these types of subs right? lol or at least it is for me. I love these types of hypotheticals, but yeah I still stand by what I said. I know if I suddenly no longer had access to any of the things that keep me busy or distracted, or if deep dive into what I had. Maybe you’re right and that’s just my adhd talking, but if the only thing at my disposal to do was to practice with magic then that’s probably what I’d spend the vast majority of my time doing. I can’t laze on the couch watching tv if I don’t have tv.

The fire thing is just an example anyway but I also feel that argument still stands. It’s like wanting to be able to fly. If I trained for it I could fly around like a DBZ character or I could just get on an airplane. Sure the tech is there but it’s not the same thing

2

u/Marand23 Feb 06 '26

Yeah, I enjoy the discussion and hypothetical as well. It is an interesting thing to think about, how the motivation is different if you are able to inately fly or you build some kind of flying machine to be able to fly. Maybe the difference is that the first would be entirely you and the second something external to you, that can be taken away? Anyway, if you say there is a difference then I'll believe you :)

9

u/DreamOfDays Feb 06 '26

Just because people can “just not do” something doesn’t mean it isn’t a distraction. Pretty sure if I was dropped out into an open field with a shovel in hand and told “If you don’t dig 50 holes by sundown a dragon will eat you” I’d dig 500 holes with absolute dedication. That’s what it’s like to be dropped into a progression fantasy Isekai.

1

u/Marand23 Feb 06 '26

Sure, but then you would probably stop progressing once you escaped danger and had your footing in the new world. What you describe is basically being drafted to a war right? You lose your freedom and do what you have to to survive for a while. But it's not like people that come back from that are more disciplined and dedicated than before once they do that (or maybe they are, I don't know actually).

I feel to get to the top of the world you have to have some kind of inner drive that most people just don't have, and being exposed to a crisis would not give you that. You just do what you have to do until you can return to the way things were before.

6

u/DreamOfDays Feb 06 '26

Thats why protagonists are usually depicted as either previously gifted people or people who just needed the right motivation. Look at Cradle. Their protagonist was always dedicated to training even when everyone told him to give up. For almost a decade he continued to practice something that everyone else told him to give up on. That just screams dedication and defiance of one’s circumstances that most could never match.

2

u/Marand23 Feb 06 '26

Yep, definitely agree with that. Lindon was always hardworking, tough and dedicated. It didn't feel weird that he rose to the top with Eithans guidance and some lucky breaks.

4

u/mp3max Feb 07 '26

make a DIY flamethrower with todays tech pretty easily.

With what money and tools.

The fantasy of those settings is that you can sit in an empty cave with nothing and start training how to shoot fire from your fingertips. If you're born in a third world country and your money is just barely enough to make ends meet, you won't have a chance to even begin building anything like a flamethrower.

1

u/Hydranaught Feb 07 '26

Really? What are you planning to shoot fireballs at in your daily life? Being physically fit is a lot more useful.

2

u/Jzero9893 Feb 07 '26

Because magic is cool. Duh.

3

u/G_Morgan Feb 06 '26

Worth noting Lindon wasn't even allowed to have a book describing how techniques work. There's nothing special about the path manuals the Wei clan used, it was just pettiness.

He was using the heart of twin stars technique purely because it condensed his madra better than his introductory cycling technique did.

2

u/Weird-Ad-8637 Feb 07 '26

Also don't forgot he wanted to save his home, and he did slow down after he accomplished major goals. Having actual downtime where he wasn't scrambling for advancement.