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Lefay · 2016-06-28, 17:00

Original Title : How To Avoid Death On A Daily Basis
Author : mooderino
Publisher : FictionGrill / RoyalRoad
Status : Ch. 102, Arc 4 just started
FictionGrill Link
RoyalRoad Link, 2 chapters behind

Quote:

Synopsis by author:
Colin wakes up in a strange world that seems very much like a game, only there are no power ups, no ding! sound when you gain a level and when you die, you stay dead.

All the people summoned form parties and set off on their adventures, leaving behind the people who nobody wants in their group.

Story of my life, thinks Colin.

Quote:

Shorter version:
It looks like a game. It feels like a game. It isn't a game.

Novel just started this year as an improvised experiment by the author (1 chapter a day). It starts off pretty slow with short chapters, but pretty soon you realize this is not your typical summoned-to-another-world OP MC. Instead he has the awe-inspiring cheat ability of being an a-hole. How he uses this power in a cruel world sends the plot in....unexpected and hilarious directions.

Trigger warnings: real talk (AKA sarcastic commentary) about sexism and other sensitive topics

Current release rate: 1 chap a day Mon-Fri

Categories (from RoyalRoad): Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Romance , Slice of Life

arthand · 2016-06-28, 17:36

This is actually pretty good but i quit after chapter 89 but i may return one day.

Namorax · 2016-06-28, 20:37

Why did you drop the story? IIRC, c89 should be the part where they have their encounter with the trolls...
I have to admit that I didn't think this part of the story was good or something, but at least it was short, and Colin&co moved on shortly afterwards to get to the next "adventure".

-------------------------
For the other who didn't read the story yet, here is my impression of it and why I would suggest reading it (there's a TL;DR at the end).

Colin is rather sarcastic and totally not "hero" material, but that's what makes him interesting as a protagonist.
In a world that "looks like a game, feels like a game, but isn't a game", Colin behaves like you would expect from a normal person.
He tries to avoid fights unless absolutely neccessary because he has no illusions about his mortality.

Spoiler for A short impression/summary of the first chapters (free of important spoilers):

As a character, Colin stays rather consistent which I consider a plus. He isn't totally unchanging, nor does he change his entire behavior on a whim, but you always see his reasoning and why he decides to behave the way he does.

About "bad" things in the story:
From what I have seen in the comments on Fictiongrill, what people disliked the most were certain female characters and the way they (supposedly) tried to change Colin's behavior/character. I kinda disagree on that, but you can't dicuss this right now without spoilers so I'll leave it be...
One of the weaker parts of the story (IMO) is that Colin's group is rather two-dimensional compared to him. We do learn things about them and they grow/change a little as the story progresses, but they never become characters that can stand on their own. The story very often feels like "Colin (and the others)", and later on when another traveller decides to join Colin's group, the other characters move even more to the background so the story feels like "Colin & [Name Redacted] (and the minions)".

Some of the more memorable sidecharacters are (regrettably) not part of the maincast and but there is a chance for them to show up again... maybe... at elast according to some comments by the author.

----------------------------

TL;DR: The 3 Questions!

Is the MC OP?
No, definitely not. He is a normal person, and fares as expected of a modern person who suddenly gets thrown into a fantasyworld and has to kill monsters out of an RPG.
Is there a harem?
Depends on your definition... The male:female ratio is pretty much 50:50, so there are quite a few women around the MC, but none of them are romantically involved with him. And he rather likes it that way. There are two women so far who expressed interest in the MC, but he is more interested in keeping them at arms length.
Is there snusnu?
No. There is a scene in the latter half of book 3 that might be "close" for some (it isn't for me) but it usually never happens anywhere the MC can see it. Or to the MC.

You will like the story if you are looking for:
Serious Plot, Fantasy, Snarky MC, Quickthinking MC, Unexpected Twists, Colorful sidecharacters that aren't part of the main-cast

You will NOT like the story if you are looking for:
Slice of life, Overpowered MC, Weak-to-Strong MC, Romance/Harem

Waxman · 2016-06-28, 22:48

So a MC with bad personality, somewhat weak and that uses his wits to beat hos enemies.
.
This story doesn't sound like a comedy but what set Collin apart from protagonists like Kazuma from KonoSuba (he's the first to come to mind since i just watched the OAD).
.
And what kind of challenges does Colin faces?
.
Does he has to defeat a Demon Kinga and his four generals? Does he need to rescue a princess? or it's just he and his party exploring the new world?

Namorax · 2016-06-29, 06:56

There is something like a Demon King, but that becomes only relevant in book 4 (or c100). Their primary issue is to "survive", and for that they need various things: money, equipment, skills and most of all: knowledge.

In Book 1, during their stay in "Tutorial village", they get random stuff from the "lost and found bin". Depending on what you get you might be screwed because it would be better to just fight themonsters with your bare hands, so the first problem Colin has to solve is a catch 22:
They need to get equipment so they can "kill monsters for bodyparts, which they can hand in for money", but before that they need "money to buy better equipment so they can start killing monsters".

So far, there is only one princess (one of my two favorite characters), but she only appears in book 2. After Colin and his group manage to get somewhat decent equipment they need to move on to the next town, because the village has limits to what it can offer. Colin encounters the princess as a result of his actions in book 1, but they do not interact like you would expect. The princess is also not very princess-like.

At the end of book 2, it the signs of war start appearing, and Colin wants to leave quickly before someone gets the bright idea of volunteering them for the frontlines in a war against monsters. Book 3 is a bit weak IMO because the story contains some mini-arcs I don't like as much as the rest of thee story, but maybe that's just me.
Anyway, in book 3 Colin tries to avoid being involved in the war against the monsters and jumps from the frying pan... into a bigger frying pan.
They also get into conflict with one of the groups that arrived together with them at the beginning of the story. In the end, they manage to cross the area (evading small hordes of monsters, finding people who (surprise) don't want to kill them at first sight and won a contest to ensure safe passage to the next town).
In that town, we/Colin learns more about the world and the place travellers have in it. It also explains why certain people pay a lot of attention to travellers. There is a small ongoing mystery because it is mentioned multiple times that some monsters focus on one specific traveller, ignoring everything else even though others pose a bigger threat.
Anyway, the ending of book 3 involves a city official that is obviously more than he claims, a maid that is definitley not just a maid, shoulderpads from the 80s and being forcefully recruited for a suicide-commando.

I try to be rather vague about the story to avoid spoiling anything, but you should give the first few chapters a try. If you like the humor in the first book, you will like it the the others. There aren't many fights in this story, so just don't expect anything that makes you feel powerful or epic while reading it.

Lefay · 2016-06-29, 19:41

Actually, the romance is pretty heavily foreshadowed for Colin so there definitely will be romance (I say definitely, but anything can happen in this series...). And there's actually a lot of "romantic" moments, without even counting Colin's entourage. Also, the romance is mature rated.

Spoiler for For people complaining about Colin's relationship(s):

Namorax · 2016-06-30, 06:37

About the foreshadowing:
Really? I don't think so. Yes, people strongly ship Colin and the traveller that joins the group later on, but IMO she doesn't fit as a heroine/romance-partner.

I think she is intended to be his foil or something, a character that is supposed to highlight the protagonist's traits by being different/the opposite. She also challenges Colin, trying to make him question the way he acts and his motives for doing so.
Unlike Colin, who acts rather prudently and always assumes the worst in every situation, that traveller is more like a classic "hero": always wants to do what is "right" (without caring about the consequences), does not assume the worst in every situation, unless there are obvious hints they do not believe the people they're talking to are currently deceiving them, etc...

She brings "conflict" into the group because unlike the others she doesn't mindlessly follow Colin like a chick follows its mother. All of these things do not exclude her as a romance-target, but personally, I think that is not the reason she is currently in the story.

arthand · 2016-06-30, 09:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Namorax

About the foreshadowing:
Really? I don't think so. Yes, people strongly ship Colin and the traveller that joins the group later on, but IMO she doesn't fit as a heroine/romance-partner.

I think she is intended to be his foil or something, a character that is supposed to highlight the protagonist's traits by being different/the opposite. She also challenges Colin, trying to make him question the way he acts and his motives for doing so.
Unlike Colin, who acts rather prudently and always assumes the worst in every situation, that traveller is more like a classic "hero": always wants to do what is "right" (without caring about the consequences), does not assume the worst in every situation, unless there are obvious hints they do not believe the people they're talking to are currently deceiving them, etc...

She brings "conflict" into the group because unlike the others she doesn't mindlessly follow Colin like a chick follows its mother. All of these things do not exclude her as a romance-target, but personally, I think that is not the reason she is currently in the story.

Yeah she is gonna get everyone killed.

Lefay · 2016-06-30, 13:58

No, you are clearly projecting your personal bias onto the character. Literally every interaction between the two foreshadows a romantic relationship. Whether that gets twisted into some surprise development is up to the author, but there is no debate about it.

However, I do agree that she is partly a foil for Colin that challenges his apathetic, douche behaviors. But any interesting romantic relationship is based on this (each contributing something), not on some submissive female who always thinks the male is right (unless you're into that kind of thing).

She has brought very little physical "conflict" into the group. Her first group was already at odds with Colin's group. Other than that, she only started a chain reaction at the inn which likely would have happened under Gullen anyway. I think there are many reader opinions on her that are very shallow, only picking out details that conform to their opinion and ignoring everything else.

Namorax · 2016-06-30, 17:16

Maybe.
I am not aware of any bias, so if you can specify what you mean I would be grateful (Seriously, I thought I was going at this rather objectively...). But I do have to admit that I hope Colin doesn't romance her (or the other way round). IMO, she found her role in the group as the one person who questions the leader's orders and motives, his right hand if you want.
Besides, the entire group has already hooked up with each other, so it kinda feels like there is no other choice for them but to hook up with each other, because these two only have each other as a possible romance partner (if they don't look outside the group).

As for the conflict part: The other four original members of the group are more or less on auto-follow. They rarely come up with anything to solve the current issue and just follow Colin's lead most of the time.
The event at the tavern for example: even if Colin's group has the same thoughts as the person we are alking about, they wouldn't bother arguing or mention this to him. Someone (probably Maurice, because he always asks something when Colins doesn't want anyone to say anything) would ask "why?" and then they would do as he said.
"She" would argue and try to convince him to do something else, something she considers "right".
I do not know what other people refer to, but when I talk about adding "conflict" to the group, it is things like this.

Also, I do not think Colin is that apathetic, and neither is he a douche. A douchebag is arrogant and obnoxious, both traits I do not see in Colin. He is sarcastic and sometimes heis words cut deep, but he isn't a douchebag. And even if he talks about abandoning the groupmembers to various fates, he still tries to keep them alive as best as he can.

Lefay · 2016-06-30, 19:29

I mean there are a lot of details in how they interact that follow the usual romantic formula.

Spoiler for Like: (spoilers!):

Oh, sorry I misinterpreted what you meant by conflict.

Spoiler for spoilers:

mooderino · 2016-07-04, 07:45

Hello. I'm the author of HTADDB and followed a link from the FictionGrill website back here out of curiosity. Very happy that you guys are having discussion about my story. It's always a big boost for me to know people are aware of my writing.

As Lefay mentioned, it started out as an improv experiment and I still write each chapter on the day of posting (often right up to the last minute). Which means I'm often as much in the dark about what's going to happen as anyone else.

I do like subverting tropes and using memes and other forms of what I consider to be humour (not everyone agrees). I want it to be at the very least an unpredictable adventure.

Jenny is very much the classic romantic interest, but whether she'll ever get past Colin's defences I can't say. I do like Colin, despite his foibles, so I hope he eventually gets some. Most people tend to ship him and Laney though (she's the crazy princess).

Update posts appear on reddit/r/noveltranslations and there have been some quite lengthy discussions about Colin on reddit.com/r/rational (don't ask me, it just happened).

Thanks again for showing interest.

2016-06-28, 20:37	Link #3
Namorax Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014	Why did you drop the story? IIRC, c89 should be the part where they have their encounter with the trolls... I have to admit that I didn't think this part of the story was good or something, but at least it was short, and Colin&co moved on shortly afterwards to get to the next "adventure". ------------------------- For the other who didn't read the story yet, here is my impression of it and why I would suggest reading it (there's a TL;DR at the end). Colin is rather sarcastic and totally not "hero" material, but that's what makes him interesting as a protagonist. In a world that "looks like a game, feels like a game, but isn't a game", Colin behaves like you would expect from a normal person. He tries to avoid fights unless absolutely neccessary because he has no illusions about his mortality. Spoiler for A short impression/summary of the first chapters (free of important spoilers): The story literally begins with Colin waking up in a new world, where he and 19 other people suddenly wake up in a forest clearing. They have no idea where they are, how they got there, and to make matters worse, a giant ogre is about to attack them. A classic videogame intro, right? Anyway, they get "saved" and escorted to a nearby village where they (and the readers) learn a bit more about what is happening: Every few years, a group of "travellers" will arrive in that specific clearing. Nobody knows why or how, only that it happens. All travellers come from earth and they are all expected to take care of themselves without outside help. The travellers quickly split into 4 groups which can be labeled like this: The "popular people", the "cool/hipstery people", the "goodlooking females", and.... the "unwanted dorks". Anyone willing to take a wild guess which group our hero belongs to? The story is told form Colin's perspective, and we quickly notice his very negative outlook on live and that he's also a bit anti-social. We learn bits and pieces of why he behaves the way he does, but most of it he chooses to not tell us (the readers) about. I can't think of any similar series right now, but the story follows a certain outline: Colin wants to do something and his group causes shenanigans. Colin gets snarky. Colin&Group encounter problem (Which may or may not have been caused by group). Colin comes up with unexpected way of solving the problem by "thinking different". At first this looks rather predictable, but the story is written well enough to make it work. As a character, Colin stays rather consistent which I consider a plus. He isn't totally unchanging, nor does he change his entire behavior on a whim, but you always see his reasoning and why he decides to behave the way he does. About "bad" things in the story: From what I have seen in the comments on Fictiongrill, what people disliked the most were certain female characters and the way they (supposedly) tried to change Colin's behavior/character. I kinda disagree on that, but you can't dicuss this right now without spoilers so I'll leave it be... One of the weaker parts of the story (IMO) is that Colin's group is rather two-dimensional compared to him. We do learn things about them and they grow/change a little as the story progresses, but they never become characters that can stand on their own. The story very often feels like "Colin (and the others)", and later on when another traveller decides to join Colin's group, the other characters move even more to the background so the story feels like "Colin & [Name Redacted] (and the minions)". Some of the more memorable sidecharacters are (regrettably) not part of the maincast and but there is a chance for them to show up again... maybe... at elast according to some comments by the author. ---------------------------- TL;DR: The 3 Questions! Is the MC OP? No, definitely not. He is a normal person, and fares as expected of a modern person who suddenly gets thrown into a fantasyworld and has to kill monsters out of an RPG. Is there a harem? Depends on your definition... The male:female ratio is pretty much 50:50, so there are quite a few women around the MC, but none of them are romantically involved with him. And he rather likes it that way. There are two women so far who expressed interest in the MC, but he is more interested in keeping them at arms length. Is there snusnu? No. There is a scene in the latter half of book 3 that might be "close" for some (it isn't for me) but it usually never happens anywhere the MC can see it. Or to the MC. You will like the story if you are looking for: Serious Plot, Fantasy, Snarky MC, Quickthinking MC, Unexpected Twists, Colorful sidecharacters that aren't part of the main-cast You will NOT like the story if you are looking for: Slice of life, Overpowered MC, Weak-to-Strong MC, Romance/Harem

2016-06-29, 19:41	Link #6
Lefay Member Join Date: Aug 2014	Actually, the romance is pretty heavily foreshadowed for Colin so there definitely will be romance (I say definitely, but anything can happen in this series...). And there's actually a lot of "romantic" moments, without even counting Colin's entourage. Also, the romance is mature rated. Spoiler for For people complaining about Colin's relationship(s): For people complaining about Colin's relationship(s), they seem like people (or more derogatorily, virgins) who have no experience with talking to women. For someone with Colin's attitude, it's impossible to get into or stay in any healthy relationship. I would say the whole fun is in seeing how the company is subtly changing Colin's survival instincts (i.e. dickishness).

2016-06-30, 19:29	Link #11
Lefay Member Join Date: Aug 2014	I mean there are a lot of details in how they interact that follow the usual romantic formula. Spoiler for Like: (spoilers!): The "medical" exam with all the hype and the details of the episode were vague but the "coincidence" seems engineered by Jenny Colin is always monologuing about his (self proclaimed non-existent) chances with her and his interest is obvious Jenny's talk with him in the zomber's crypt More recently, how Jenny acts around him i.e. constantly wants to stick with him, even in threatening situations (she introduces herself as his lover and even though she has the Oh, sorry I misinterpreted what you meant by conflict. Spoiler for spoilers: But in that case, Claire has been bringing way more conflict in regards to Colin at least. If you think about it, she's the one always challenging what he says since the beginning (shamed him into helping the frogs rather than run away), and even though she grew to trust his intuition more, she's the most independent-minded of the group. In comparison, I can only think of that one episode in the inn where Jenny challenges Colin to do what's right. The original group were incompetent since the start and they seem aware that they're dunces when it comes to survival. I hope they grow as characters, but I just don't see them with the instinct required to navigate through the hellhole of a world. Though they're pretty effective as the author uses them: a conscience for Colin who's inclined to not give a shit. Douche was the first word I thought of besides a-hole (don't know if there are censors on forum) and I didn't mean it as arrogant or obnoxious. I think the group has had a positive effect on him, but once upon a time before the warm fuzzies got to him, he definitely would have abandoned them to save his own skin. He has a great intuition for self-preservation but that sometimes puts him in situations where his selfishness can come across as "douche-y," like when he wanted to leave the frogs to the lizards.

2016-06-28, 17:36	Link #2
arthand Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014	This is actually pretty good but i quit after chapter 89 but i may return one day.

2016-06-28, 22:48	Link #4
Waxman Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: A cheap library	So a MC with bad personality, somewhat weak and that uses his wits to beat hos enemies. . This story doesn't sound like a comedy but what set Collin apart from protagonists like Kazuma from KonoSuba (he's the first to come to mind since i just watched the OAD). . And what kind of challenges does Colin faces? . Does he has to defeat a Demon Kinga and his four generals? Does he need to rescue a princess? or it's just he and his party exploring the new world?

2016-06-29, 06:56	Link #5
Namorax Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014	There is something like a Demon King, but that becomes only relevant in book 4 (or c100). Their primary issue is to "survive", and for that they need various things: money, equipment, skills and most of all: knowledge. In Book 1, during their stay in "Tutorial village", they get random stuff from the "lost and found bin". Depending on what you get you might be screwed because it would be better to just fight themonsters with your bare hands, so the first problem Colin has to solve is a catch 22: They need to get equipment so they can "kill monsters for bodyparts, which they can hand in for money", but before that they need "money to buy better equipment so they can start killing monsters". So far, there is only one princess (one of my two favorite characters), but she only appears in book 2. After Colin and his group manage to get somewhat decent equipment they need to move on to the next town, because the village has limits to what it can offer. Colin encounters the princess as a result of his actions in book 1, but they do not interact like you would expect. The princess is also not very princess-like. At the end of book 2, it the signs of war start appearing, and Colin wants to leave quickly before someone gets the bright idea of volunteering them for the frontlines in a war against monsters. Book 3 is a bit weak IMO because the story contains some mini-arcs I don't like as much as the rest of thee story, but maybe that's just me. Anyway, in book 3 Colin tries to avoid being involved in the war against the monsters and jumps from the frying pan... into a bigger frying pan. They also get into conflict with one of the groups that arrived together with them at the beginning of the story. In the end, they manage to cross the area (evading small hordes of monsters, finding people who (surprise) don't want to kill them at first sight and won a contest to ensure safe passage to the next town). In that town, we/Colin learns more about the world and the place travellers have in it. It also explains why certain people pay a lot of attention to travellers. There is a small ongoing mystery because it is mentioned multiple times that some monsters focus on one specific traveller, ignoring everything else even though others pose a bigger threat. Anyway, the ending of book 3 involves a city official that is obviously more than he claims, a maid that is definitley not just a maid, shoulderpads from the 80s and being forcefully recruited for a suicide-commando. I try to be rather vague about the story to avoid spoiling anything, but you should give the first few chapters a try. If you like the humor in the first book, you will like it the the others. There aren't many fights in this story, so just don't expect anything that makes you feel powerful or epic while reading it.

2016-06-30, 06:37	Link #7
Namorax Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014	About the foreshadowing: Really? I don't think so. Yes, people strongly ship Colin and the traveller that joins the group later on, but IMO she doesn't fit as a heroine/romance-partner. I think she is intended to be his foil or something, a character that is supposed to highlight the protagonist's traits by being different/the opposite. She also challenges Colin, trying to make him question the way he acts and his motives for doing so. Unlike Colin, who acts rather prudently and always assumes the worst in every situation, that traveller is more like a classic "hero": always wants to do what is "right" (without caring about the consequences), does not assume the worst in every situation, unless there are obvious hints they do not believe the people they're talking to are currently deceiving them, etc... She brings "conflict" into the group because unlike the others she doesn't mindlessly follow Colin like a chick follows its mother. All of these things do not exclude her as a romance-target, but personally, I think that is not the reason she is currently in the story.

2016-06-30, 13:58	Link #9
Lefay Member Join Date: Aug 2014	No, you are clearly projecting your personal bias onto the character. Literally every interaction between the two foreshadows a romantic relationship. Whether that gets twisted into some surprise development is up to the author, but there is no debate about it. However, I do agree that she is partly a foil for Colin that challenges his apathetic, douche behaviors. But any interesting romantic relationship is based on this (each contributing something), not on some submissive female who always thinks the male is right (unless you're into that kind of thing). She has brought very little physical "conflict" into the group. Her first group was already at odds with Colin's group. Other than that, she only started a chain reaction at the inn which likely would have happened under Gullen anyway. I think there are many reader opinions on her that are very shallow, only picking out details that conform to their opinion and ignoring everything else.

2016-06-30, 17:16	Link #10
Namorax Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014	Maybe. I am not aware of any bias, so if you can specify what you mean I would be grateful (Seriously, I thought I was going at this rather objectively...). But I do have to admit that I hope Colin doesn't romance her (or the other way round). IMO, she found her role in the group as the one person who questions the leader's orders and motives, his right hand if you want. Besides, the entire group has already hooked up with each other, so it kinda feels like there is no other choice for them but to hook up with each other, because these two only have each other as a possible romance partner (if they don't look outside the group). As for the conflict part: The other four original members of the group are more or less on auto-follow. They rarely come up with anything to solve the current issue and just follow Colin's lead most of the time. The event at the tavern for example: even if Colin's group has the same thoughts as the person we are alking about, they wouldn't bother arguing or mention this to him. Someone (probably Maurice, because he always asks something when Colins doesn't want anyone to say anything) would ask "why?" and then they would do as he said. "She" would argue and try to convince him to do something else, something she considers "right". I do not know what other people refer to, but when I talk about adding "conflict" to the group, it is things like this. Also, I do not think Colin is that apathetic, and neither is he a douche. A douchebag is arrogant and obnoxious, both traits I do not see in Colin. He is sarcastic and sometimes heis words cut deep, but he isn't a douchebag. And even if he talks about abandoning the groupmembers to various fates, he still tries to keep them alive as best as he can.

2016-07-04, 07:45	Link #12
mooderino Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2016	Hello. I'm the author of HTADDB and followed a link from the FictionGrill website back here out of curiosity. Very happy that you guys are having discussion about my story. It's always a big boost for me to know people are aware of my writing. As Lefay mentioned, it started out as an improv experiment and I still write each chapter on the day of posting (often right up to the last minute). Which means I'm often as much in the dark about what's going to happen as anyone else. I do like subverting tropes and using memes and other forms of what I consider to be humour (not everyone agrees). I want it to be at the very least an unpredictable adventure. Jenny is very much the classic romantic interest, but whether she'll ever get past Colin's defences I can't say. I do like Colin, despite his foibles, so I hope he eventually gets some. Most people tend to ship him and Laney though (she's the crazy princess). Update posts appear on reddit/r/noveltranslations and there have been some quite lengthy discussions about Colin on reddit.com/r/rational (don't ask me, it just happened). Thanks again for showing interest.