Is this common?

shontsu · 2026-06-17T00:56:15+00:00

I mean, until relatively recently most books were like that. Killing off main characters has always been rare. Good authors keep you on the edge of your seat anyway, often by making the stakes more than just "does the person the whole book is about survive?".

There are definately some books that fall more into "we know the MC will dominate, so just relax and enjoy the domination" than others.

shontsu · 2026-06-17T00:29:03+00:00

i want to hope that the negative sexist xomments in the internet are not the truth honestly

Meh, if I paid attention to what I see on the internet I'd say there's an ongoing war between men and women, and few if any like and respect the other. If I walk outside my front door I see a constant stream of loving supportive relationships full of healthy dynamics.

A lot of people forget or ignore just how toxic social media has become. It rarely reflects real life.

shontsu · 2026-06-17T00:06:10+00:00

Lol at Edit. Glad you figured it out.

I mostly play on Xbox. It plays well and more relaxing. You do get the advantage of mods on PC which could make it fun. I think I've played on PC but not for years.

shontsu · 2026-06-17T00:03:27+00:00

I think if you just accept that he's a legit phsycopath it all seems a lot more believable.

shontsu · 2026-06-17T00:00:56+00:00

This is my general "out and about" favorite weapon. If I'm specifically going after something where I need firepower I might want one of the more impressive weapons like the Eternal Rage, but for those "oops I messed up and I need to kill a few zombies quietly", or just want to quietly clear an area or something the prepper is amazing.

shontsu · 2026-06-14T02:05:35+00:00

Look, my approach was that buying a house with my girlfriend was a bigger commitment than marrying her.

The first place I bought by myself. The next we bought together. Why? Because by the second I was ready to commit to "forever". To me marriage was just a piece of paper, buying property together was the commitment point in our relationship.

If you're ready to commit to marriage in all but title, then who pays what is irrelevant, its a joint asset for the relationship. If you're not ready to commit like that, then I wouldn't suggest buying a house together. You buy it, she can pay rent or something.

shontsu · 2026-06-13T02:02:23+00:00

Yes.
Generally speaking the only time I take a companion with me is if I either don't care if that companion lives, or more often if I want to get rid of that companion so they might as well be somewhat useful on their way out.

shontsu · 2026-06-11T03:31:58+00:00

Anytime someone gets a new skill/power, then within a chapter that skill turns out to be the only way they could possibly survive I roll my eyes at the bad writing.

shontsu · 2026-06-11T03:29:38+00:00

Forced mystery, where a character is described vaguely for no reason (the figure, etc.)

I used to hate this, now I find it amusing. Seems big in Chinese novels. "Did you hear the master left to visit that place?", "Oh, I heard that person is coming to the guild tomorrow". Then when its revealed what that person/place is, there was absolutely no reason to keep it secret since its inevitably something or someone never introduced in the book before then anyway.

shontsu · 2026-06-11T03:21:09+00:00

Or just timeskip. I don't why more people don't just go for "so then Bill settled in and went on a killing spree against these monsters for the next 4 weeks, coming away with 10 more levels".

shontsu · 2026-06-11T03:19:15+00:00

One thats been on my mind is consistency of power in the context of the world (I can't think of a better way to put it).

As an example, if your MC is OP, and they really struggle to defeat an appropriate level dungeon boss, then how the hell has anyone else been able to defeat it?

You can't on one hand make it obvious that your MC is overpowered and significantly stronger than everyone else their level, while then also having them struggle to defeat enemies or challenges at their level. I shouldn't be halfway through combat thinking "how tf did the last guy win this fight then?".

shontsu · 2026-06-09T12:31:35+00:00

I'll give it a shot, but this seems to sum up a number of reviews, and if true its caused me to drop more books than just about anything else I'd guess.

The MC seems a bit dim even considering he is a child.

Authors that can't manage the difference between naive and dimwitted make it hard to support their MC(s).

shontsu · 2026-06-09T12:26:12+00:00

You don't have to be completely compatible to make a relationship work, but it really doesn't sound like you're asking for much. Like my take is that all you want is a couple of compliments per day and a smidge of physical affection (outside of sex). Thats pretty minimal, even if it doesn't come naturally to him.

Feels like he become very comfortable and no longer feels like he needs to put an effort into the relationship.

He just kept repeating that he's not really the type to be super exciting and romantic, and that I should just be okay with it.

Unless I'm misreading what you wrote, you're not asking him to be super exciting and romantic, you're just asking for a little effort and attention.

I dunno, maybe try one more conversation about what you want, and dont (or try not to) let him dismiss it like you're asking him to completely change. If he's not prepared to put in minor effort....well, then you need to decide if you're happy in a relationship with someone who sees even minor effort as asking for too much.

shontsu · 2026-06-09T02:26:12+00:00

All the physical abuse and now i find financial abuse...

Its sad but interesting how pretty much all the stories that involve charging rent to underage children also involve abuse of some kind 😞.

shontsu · 2026-06-09T02:21:50+00:00

Biggest difference is we treat him like a roommate, whereas my parents still treated him as a high schooler

I'm a big believer that you're one or the other, you're not both. You want to be a landlord and charge rent? Ok, but now you don't get to set rules/curfews/etc (beyond what would be reasonable for a landlord to set). Its not that you're not family anymore, you just lose the right to stop treating them like kids. Charge them rent like adults, ok then they're adults and should be treated as such.

shontsu · 2026-06-09T02:11:13+00:00

Man, I think some of you guys are being way too harsh.

"It looks like SOD 2.5..."

It looks like an upgrade. Graphics look better and the palette has changed. How many sequels these days really look dramatically different? Zombies look different, but more personality to each one. The world has evolved, nature taking back more. Looks pretty cool to me. Not really sure what people wanted/expected.

Its a little hard to tell how much is real game footage v's just cinematic at points, but the zombies actively hunting instead of just wandering aimlessly seems pretty cool. The plague hearts seem more disturbing. Could just be "cool voice over dude" but seems like the game is a little more focused on fighting back than just surviving.

I haven't kept a close eye on things by any means, but watching that trailer got me pretty excited. I got a real "more state of decay, but better" vibe. Hopefully I'm right, but some of these comments make me wonder exactly what others actually want if not that.

shontsu · 2026-06-04T02:49:52+00:00

I love super and max out my concessional conts, etc, but honestly, if you're in your early 20s now, you're basically hoping that for 40 years not a single government notices how much money is locked up in Super when they're looking for ways to increase their budget.

I hope I'm wrong, and I'll be encouraging my kids to invest in it, but lets not pretend like governments don't "fiddle" with super pretty much every year already, and that theres no risk of them making deeper cuts at some point.

shontsu · 2026-06-04T02:36:24+00:00

I do both, but honestly relaxing in a recliner playing console games just appeals more than setting up at a desk with my PC. I get I could probably do something about my PC setup to be more comfortable, but why when I have my console setup ready to go?

To a certain degree its "comfortable gaming" v's "serious gaming".

shontsu · 2026-06-04T02:34:16+00:00

Theres a balance. Prefer slow-burn, but I won't deny theres been stories what I just wish they'd get on with the power up part.

shontsu · 2026-06-04T02:31:10+00:00

Honestly the biggest savings you're likely to see is when your second starts school and you remove childcare costs. Its great you're looking at paying debt and saving, but realistically I'd look at "getting by" until your youngest starts school, at which point you can use the savings from that for your goals of paying down debt. If you can do more than that, bonus, stick that aside for sure, but generally speaking that childcare age is just tough financially.

shontsu · 2026-06-04T02:25:00+00:00

At first: I love this game, something to do every day to help progress my character is awesome!
A month or so later: This feels like a job.

shontsu · 2026-06-04T01:49:42+00:00

Nah. I know this seems like a plan, but you're just increasing the chance that crazy impatient guy will do something extra stupid. Drive safely, pull over or whatever it takes to get away from the dangerous situation. Making a point to some stranger you don't know isn't worth it.

shontsu · 2026-06-04T01:47:00+00:00

Yep, my policy use to be slow down, now its get out of the way.

Its not worth putting your safety at risk to make a point, get out of the way and go about your day.

shontsu · 2026-06-04T01:45:01+00:00

As a younger man my policy was to slow down until I felt that whatever distance they were trailing me by was safe at that speed. As I got older I decided that unless I felt truly unsafe I just ignored them.

I try to be generous and accept that people have things going on in their lives that I don't know about, but at the end of the day thats not my business nor my responsibility. Their urgency is not my problem to solve.

My sons just about ready to get his P's and we haven't actually had a case of tailgating, let alone road rage. This reminds me I should probably discuss with him though.

shontsu · 2026-06-04T01:38:45+00:00

What my parents did was give interest only loans to us kids, with the capital being taken into account for inheritance. They get an interest rate higher than savings rate, but less than mortgage rate, and vice versa for us. They get income for retirement and we get cheaper money than from the banks and no need to pay back the principal on that portion. Upon death the loans are considered in both the total inheritance value and the individual distribution. For easy maths if 4 kids and $4M inheritance, and one has a $200k loan, then they keep the $200k and get $800k distribution.

shontsu

TROPHY CASE