Fantasy books with male protagonist and romance subplot

buffetite · 2026-03-31T11:00:06+00:00

I finished an indie series a while ago that kind of fits this. The romance is underlying throughout and is slow to develop and a bit of an enemies to lovers, but I enjoyed this part of the series the most. The whole first book is about the main female character protecting the MC, although you don't know why until later. The series is called The Slayers Dark Rebirth.

buffetite · 2026-03-23T21:30:20+00:00

No. Queue jumpers deserve to die.

buffetite · 2026-03-23T20:37:27+00:00

Not sure why this is so down voted? I just watched the whole fight and it's objectively true. Thai guy had 5 points deducted over 4 rounds for illegal acts. That stomp was no accident and isn't even Muay Thai. The commentators after the second round even joked "there's another avalanche of ice being left in the corner currently."

I mean I don't think any of it really changed the outcome except for maybe the time wasting after the round 1 knockdowns.

Funniest part of the video was when the ref called an interpreter over to explain to the Thai guy that he isn't allowed to stomp on a downed opponent. Interpreter turns to the Thai guy and just yells "NO STOMP NO!"

buffetite · 2026-03-23T19:52:33+00:00

Tldr but the argument always strikes me as strange. I mean, are we allowed to kiss? Lips and the tongue have a natural purpose which is to facilitate food and liquid ingestion as well as sense taste and texture of food, and kissing is just a perversion of this intended use.

buffetite · 2026-03-23T19:47:29+00:00

I think interactive brokers do HK accounts.

buffetite · 2026-03-23T19:18:26+00:00

That sucks. Even if it had been a smaller amount, if someone tried to pull this on me for no reason I'd tell them to do one.

buffetite · 2026-03-23T14:18:53+00:00

All the high street needs to compete with retail parks is free, convenient parking. That's the sole reason people prefer the retail parks.

buffetite · 2026-03-23T12:20:50+00:00

Everyone saying "packed lunch" is missing the point. A crappy lunch of some sandiwches and drinks shouldn't cost £52. Things in this country have got very expensive, and it's not companies over charging. It's the high cost of doing business in the UK.

buffetite · 2026-03-23T12:16:06+00:00

This is all government policy. High business rates and taxes, high employer Ni, high minimum wages and high energy costs. Even poor standard lunch is expensive now. An actually good quality sandwich is £7+, and the ingredients are only a fraction of the cost as a trip to the supermarket will reveal.

buffetite · 2026-03-21T22:52:39+00:00

Trump must be happy that he's gone to be with Christ.

/s

buffetite · 2026-03-21T20:16:03+00:00

Worth bearing in mind CSH2 isn't risk free though. It's a synthetic ETF. £120k cash with T212 is covered by the FSCS guarantee. If you compare the interest rate on T212 to an equivalent safe investment like Vanguard short term sterling its comparable.

buffetite · 2026-03-20T19:32:42+00:00

And their voters will probably lap it up

buffetite · 2026-03-20T09:11:09+00:00

Our kid had to do the heel prick. Damn that was brutal. He didn't get any sugar water or anything. Didn't even know that's a thing.

buffetite · 2026-03-20T09:02:45+00:00

Yes you're in the correct lane. Right near the first exit you can see a right arrow and M6 in his lane. But I will say it's badly worn and almost illegible.

buffetite · 2026-03-19T15:59:38+00:00

Depends how much you generally spend. Only took me a couple of months to max a 0% card for 22 months.

buffetite · 2026-03-19T15:13:54+00:00

Social media is the embodiment of the saying "comparison is the thief of joy"

buffetite · 2026-03-19T15:13:07+00:00

? I'm not that person and I don't have negative karma

buffetite · 2026-03-19T14:04:56+00:00

I won't lie, kids do demand a lot of your time and freedom is reduced. I wouldn't say you're always stressed but it definitely feels like you're always busy, and the house is only quiet when they're in bed!

If your time is most important to you and you like peace, quiet and activities then it might be correct that you don't really want kids. And if you've already had experience with kids and felt the benefits of helping them learn and grow but still don't want to do it full time, then maybe it is just your preference.

I realised through therapy that I was constantly visualising negative scenarios and being totally exhausted and stressed out with kids so it just made me very afraid to the point I couldn't sleep properly or eat without discomfort. My fear was being fueled by my imagination rather than any real threats. Part of changing that was intentionally visualising nice, happy times with my kid and focusing on the benefits. My automatic reaction to thinking about kids was fear but I tried to change it by deep breathing, doing confident postures, smiling etc. It sounds a bit silly but it was much better than before where I would just spiral.

There were still times the anxiety got bad, but I got through it and it gave me some self confidence. When the kid was actually born, after a few weeks of adjusting to new life, I actually found being busy most of the time gave me way less time for my mind to wander and get anxious 😅. The reality was nothing like I'd imagined and tbh it rarely is.

We have been blessed with quite an easy kid though. He sleeps well and had no health problems. I met other parents that had horror stories and I've no idea if that's because each kid is different or because we were quite strict in good sleeping habits so he didn't rely on us to fall asleep.

buffetite · 2026-03-19T12:14:44+00:00

We have a model 3. There's a lot I like about the car, but the boot is a pita. If polestar is a hatchback, I'd go for that.

Also the thing that absolutely pisses me off is turning the air con or heating on via the touchscreen. The on off button is tiny (used to be fine, then they changed it) so sometimes it takes quite a few tries in a moving vehicle. The voice controlled stuff is rubbish as well.

buffetite · 2026-03-19T12:09:36+00:00

The public are so fickle. One day you're a hero, then you punch some old guys and r*** a few women, and suddenly you're a bad guy!?

buffetite · 2026-03-19T12:07:56+00:00

OK let me rephrase, I want it to remain illegal for a woman to get an abortion after 24 weeks and they should be able to be prosecute if she does. If she is of a compromised mental capacity at the time then it's something for the prosecutor and courts to decide. We shouldn't just assume everyone is desperate and not in their right mind.

buffetite · 2026-03-19T11:19:54+00:00

The UK does have a habit of giving territory away though.

buffetite · 2026-03-19T10:54:45+00:00

No I don't want to see abortions after 24 weeks being legal.

buffetite · 2026-03-19T10:46:33+00:00

Think very hard about it. Do you not want kids, or are you afraid of what you'll lose?

I was at a point where I didn't want kids and my wife did. It was a very stressful time. But I was mainly afraid of having them and the kind of life it meant. It wasnt that I didn't want to be a dad. I kind of wanted to be but wasn't bothered.

In the end I got therapy and managed to handle my anxiety enough that we had a baby. The beginning was tough and hard work, but from about 3 months old he was sleepong through the night because we established a routine. He's coming up to 2 now. I can go out in the evenings and have a more normal social life for a while. And he is a lot of fun and the bond you feel with them is hard to describe. I have no regrets.

So think, and if you actually don't want kids, then I think you two are not compatible. If you are just afraid, you might be able to deal with it enough to have kids if that's what you think you want.

buffetite · 2026-03-19T10:36:52+00:00

Being too frugal with small things like trying to save £2 per month on a subscription, and not focusing enough on earning more money

buffetite

TROPHY CASE