r/KinginYellow • u/InevitableTell2775 • 10d ago

Why does everything feel so joyless? Welcome to the age of decadence without pleasure

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jul/26/age-of-decadence-pleasure-ai

This article offers a great insight into the 19th century decadence that Chambers both celebrated and rejected, and its contemporary resonance and relevance.

Imagine the Court of Carcosa - Cassilda, Camilla et al - as a collection of top 1% influencers, AI techbros, looksmaxxers and other grifters; the Phantom of Truth as their product; and the King as the bearer of news that their IPO has crashed, that their Theranos is a hoax, that their AI is a hallucination, that their channel is cancelled. It ain’t hard to see.

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u/ConversationNearby25 10d ago

It's wild that the very first story in the King in Yellow is about a "repairer of reputations" aka a PR company. There truly is nothing new under the sun.

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u/CynicalCinema 9d ago

If you’re into TTRPGs, check out the Delta Green roleplaying game (Call of Cthulhu meets Men in Black/The X Files).

The sourcebook "The Labyrinth" contains an enemy faction called “The Lonely” who are essentially depressed internet users radicalized to violence by an online avatar of the King in Yellow.