black lotus's Favorite

I love how realistic this story is, in real life sometimes ppl dont have to necessarilly ask each other out but it can end up being something of mutual tacit agreement, which doesnt discredit the importance each of them give to the relationship but is the natural flow that the relationship ended up having.

Same with the stages the relationship is facing, first everything is perfect is all rainbows they are just happy to be enjoying each others company and been able to freely show the affection they have for each other, but in different ways with time ppl start to desire different things from the relationship and insecurities start to surface.

I absolutely love how they fought in this chapter because thats literally how sometimes it happens in real life, it doesnt have to be a big issue to have a fight and sometimes without noticing you take out your anger on things that are as small as not squeezing the toothpaste properly.

Is it the most mature healthy way to handle things? absolutely not, but first is a new relationship so it will take time to as with their likes and dislikes, find out the best way to communicate and approach issues that surface, and second and most importantly, we like to think that we can be mature, that we can always communicate healthly and that we can always solve things in the best possible way...but thats not how things are, sometimes you say things impulsively, sometimes even YOU yourself dont realize where the anger comes from, or that youre taking out your anger on things that are not the actual issue thats making you upset.

What I cant wait to see is whats going to happen next, I mean in real life it would be ideal that each of them realize whats going on and talk things out, as well as that he realizes that he has a tendency of pouring his anger on the mundaine things his partner does that on the regular basis dont upset him but in momments of annoyance they are the first things that are his tipping point.

The character and relationship development here is truly beautiful and I hope it continue to have this realistic feel, specially since we know how unrealistic bls can be.

If you read this entire long ass comment, lots of love to you and big hug!! (づ￣ ³￣)づ

Y'all should just go read the novel. It's very detailed so it doesn't take anything away from the smut scenes, and you can feel their sexual tension more. Also the FL exudes a more fierce aura and you can feel the ML's intimidating demeanor much more palpably
Here's the link: https://anonanemone.wordpress.com/doppio-senso/
You can start from the beginning if the dialogue confused you, or you can start from chapter 4 part 1, that's where chapter 21 of the webtoon stops

I'm here with the Raws!

https://yaoi-chan.me/manga/121423-bentham.html

Honestly if what the author likes is pain and suffering (I genuinely can't relate but whatever) she could have had that while still moving the plot forward. Instead of having NK raped by SH again, why not stretch out the kidnapping by the assassin? Or why not re-introduce Min into the story? He has evil plans in store after all. Or why not show us SH's past? Surely his trauma was cause by violence, we even theorised that he might have been raped too. It would be way more interesting and useful to the plot.
Furthermore, even if she wanted to make SH rape NK again, there's no need to show us the scene in such details. We're tired of seeing basically the same vile sex scene all over again. She could have implied it and moved on. Instead we had a chapter that was all rape and one page of "plot".
Big yawn.

WOW! The uke really had sex with someone else? I honestly thought he wouldn’t go through with it. This is exactly how trouble starts so I’m outta here. My heart can’t take it.

raws pleaze

It's been a near year since I first read 'The Abandoned Empress'. Instantly I was attracted to its potential. But that was then. Now, thinking of it makes me sigh on the best of days, and wish it were a piñata I could beat to breaking point on worse ones.

My brain can hardly function well enough on a regular day to properly word what reading this was like; I instead use that time to consume more fulfilling media that doesn't make me feel ill will towards their irresponsible creators. (For some manhwa recommendations of aforementioned good quality stuff, search below for a comment I made earlier titled 'skip this') Because this truly is a narrative that came about as the result of derelict creation. Since today is a day I feel reasonably present and focused, allow me to explain what I mean by that statement. Spoiler warnings hereon.

Before we begin, let me clarify that I had no horse in this race. The moment Allen was revealed to be an obsessive maniac, I could see where the narrative would lead, and to whom exactly. Once you've read enough, tropes, even the ones that bear red flags, become increasingly apparent. It's a shame I could never come to truly care for Carsein, he would've been a healthier fit, but I knew that his affections were doomed already. Perhaps that colored my affection for him.

We're all familiar with the general complaints most people have with this manhwa (bad pacing, poorly written cookie-cutter side characters, unresolved plotlines, etc) so I will skip over them. My review is centered around the three 'primary' characters of this story, Aristia (tia), Ruvellis (Ruve), and Jieun. This is because although it initially sets itself up to be a coming of age/into oneself story, TAE eventually plays into its wish to be a character-driven romance.

A creator is as a creator does. Four years after Ruve's birth Vita first created Jieun, her blessed child, and through an Oracle made her out to be Ruve's perfect partner. The prophecy was the accepted truth, for everything divine is correct, and the will of the creator is above all. And Then. Vita let their blessed child fall through the dimensions into another world. Humans, unknowing of their God's folly, thus sought for a girl of suitable position and age and decided that she was the prophecized child, and so began the miserable tale of Tia's first life.

What happened next can be relearned through the first six chapters of this manhwa, and is painful to read and garners the utmost sympathy for Tia. We learn she's been brought up with a strict education to become an empress, been married to and hated by the person she loved, relegated to a secondary position after the child foretold by the oracle fell into their world, neglected, abused, assaulted (more on this later), become pregnant, lost her child, heard of the demise of her father and then executed. We learn of all her grief and wish better for her.

My favorite moment from this manhwa comes soon after when Tia visits the temple in chapter 9 and confront Vita. Tia learns that the only reason she loved Ruve despite all his neglect and cruelty was because of her string of fate, and the way it accidentally got entangled with his (more on this later). In both despair and righteous anger, Tia calls their God cruel and professes to renounce her faith, promises to reject and discard Vita the same way she was discarded by them. Vita accepts it all, because it's one of two times they've acted responsibly towards the lives of our three primary characters, and declares Tia to be a child who forges their path, bequeaths the name 'pioneer'. It is an emotional and creative high point, one that the rest of the story completely goes on to shit upon.

Since the manhwa centers itself around Tia, we concentrate on her circumstances and her experiences. We understand her trauma, willingness to move on and grow as a person, and wanting to inherit her family title. We root for her. But we're not nearly done with the first timeline.

Jieun is a 16 y/o girl thrown into an unknown world, burdened with the destiny of a 'chosen one'. Duke Jenna, the primary antagonist of the series, manipulates her into believing that having Ruve love her is the only way she can survive. She expects monogamy (as most people in modern times do) and does not get it. She is thrust into a position of power and saddled with responsibilities she has no experience handling (let's be real, a 16 y/o with mere 4 years of education added thereafter cannot handle statecraft the way a girl who has been brought up her whole life learning how to can). With the death of Tia, her husband grows increasingly angry and neglectful and she is constantly compared to and found lacking against the erstwhile queen and reprimanded for her incompetence. Everybody speaks of the special girl with the happy ending, but no one thinks of what comes thereafter. In the end, she dies with her newborn daughter, and carries the pain of a world that believes her to be God's chosen child, but fails to give her any support system to live by.

Ruve grows up in the shadow of a Palace where no one pays attention to him. One of the two people he feels paternal affection for dies in front of him protecting her daughter in her arms, and he comes to hate the girl for it. Being the child of a lowborn, he develops an inferiority complex to that girl (who, as most would've guessed, is Tia) who is of pureblood, extremely competent, And loved by the emperor (unlike him). He is further manipulated by Duke Jenna, who tells of how Tia only views him as a way to gain greater power and rule the nation. He is fed both psychotropic drugs (which induces anger, bipolar conduct, and schizophrenia (inducing schizophrenia by drugs is impossible but it's fantasy so alright I guess?)... wonder if it's the fantasy world equivalent of datura?) and lies by everyone around him and finds his confirmation in Tia's icy conduct. This is Before he marries Tia. There's a ton of things that happen thereafter which will be talked about below.

You can see the creator, i.e. the author took a lot of time to create an absolute tragedy of errors. All of this could be better if any of the characters could communicate, but their personalities and positions prevent that from happening. Tia cannot bear Jieun's casual behavior and believes Ruve hates her. Jieun cannot approach Tia without being rebuffed and believes clinging to Ruve is her only way of survival and doesn't allow herself to be vulnerable in front of him. Ruve thinks Tia only wants him for his power and finds Jieun's affection to be far too shallow. As I said, it's a character drama, and its 1st timeline pulls that off well.

Issues arise with how the story goes about executing its plot thereafter. Initially, it gives the impression of being a narrative about a person coming into themselves, assuming power, becoming self-assured, and overcoming their trauma. Instead, it turns into a shoddy 'love overcomes all' romance with cheap villains who can hardly hold together their schemes.

The concept of love in this manhwa is shot to shit, swear to god. Love is built upon multiple things. It can be built upon admiration, yes, but unless one makes an effort to know someone love, in its truer (real, if you will) form, cannot exist. Love is built upon the small things, interactions, personal banter, shared memories, etc. In the first timeline Tia 'loves' Ruve because of fatum (fate) alone. Her 'love' persists in the face of cruelty, neglect, anger, abuse, and assault. After returning, she swears to Vita she will not follow fate again and not fall in love with Ruve again. Let's reiterate. She has No Reason to love him apart from her twisted fate.

In the first timeline, Ruve outright hates, despises, and has an inferiority complex towards Tia, and all of that is exacerbated by the weird plot convenient drug. They Never have an honest to god conversation, but even in all of their toxic situation he recognizes tia to be more competent than him and feels attracted to her. This becomes a constant source of self-hatred and disgust. His hate/love towards her dictates his actions towards Tia (whom he believes to be a powermonger), and he only gains instances of sobriety (from the drug) around Tia during really intense moments (when she says she's pregnant, when she loses her child, when she is executed, etc). (On that note, the licking of boot thing is non-canon acc the novel, and honestly... WHAT THE FUCK was the manhwa artist thinking when they added that if they already knew Ruve was ML).

I once read someone here say 'Imagine having to send off the person you love most to their death' re: tia being executed while ruve and jieun watched and honestly... that's fucking laughable. What the author in the novel in those moments calls love can be at best called guilt, regret, and self-loathing on Ruve's part. His emotions for her thereon are marked with his shortcomings alongside regret and guilt. In thinking back to her grace and competence he almost deifies her erstwhile life. You can delude yourself into thinking you love what you've built someone up in your mind to be, but that isn't love either. Ruve sanctifies Tia's existence in his mind, falls in love with that, and that is what we are to believe his love comprises. (Also I was promised that novel!Ruve wasn't as bad as manhwa!Ruve and I had to wade through a fuckton of abuse apologies and 'Tia wasn't assaulted she stripped herself when Ruve told her to' (when she was in clear mental distress over it thinking it was the only way he could ever feel affection for her and coerced into consent) so fuck you to every single person who made me go through that muck, your ML is deplorable.)

My problem with how the author goes about developing romance between Ruve and Tia is how it completely disrespects the experiences of traumatized people and the intelligence of the readers. Even If someone wanted to go about writing something which redeems a past abuser (eg. 2ha, which sufficiently redeems the MC but I still dislike for entirely different reasons do not ask me) the only way a sensible person (be it a character or reader) would be able to accept it would be if the abuser addressed their past actions, made reparations for them, and then made an effort to build something positive with the person they hurt. The writer does that here with Jieun.

Jieun also hurts Tia, but through her POV she is the one worst-hit here. Remember when I said accepting Tia's scorn was one of two times Vita acted responsibly towards the lives of these characters? The only other time is when they offer to either send Jieun back to her world or go back in time. I honestly understood her choice. The memory of her life before she comes to this world is long faded, perhaps reeking of comfort she cannot see herself have again now that she's experienced so much hurt.

Called God's child, yet isolated, neglected, constantly looked down upon, and scolded by her husband who only ever compares her to his other dead wife (who may have tried to kill her) and then even losing her child. She too burned with a desire for vengeance. But on seeing how Tia and Ruve have changed in this timeline, she makes belated attempts to aid them. She retains memories of her life and nearly kills Tia only to save her and then helps her uncover Jenna's actions. Her presence alone in the last life caused Tia a world of hurt, but in this life, she trades her abilities to save Tia. She redeems herself because she makes reparations for her past actions.

But Ruve? He's an entirely different person with the only knowledge of his actions from the first timeline coming from a letter that he wasn't even supposed to read. I completely understand that he's not the person who abused Tia in the first timeline, but as a reader, it's difficult to accept that the girl who was rendered catatonic for 2 days straight because he merely raised his voice went on to marry him. The writer seems to think that writing misery porn about ML's backstory in the first timeline will give him character depth and serve both as an excuse for his actions in the past and as a good foil against the 2nd timeline's new and improved version of himself.

Maybe these cheap tricks work on others, but it doesn't change the fact that whether under the duress of drugs and mental illness or not, his actions are veritably registered as abuse in Tia's mind. This begets the question 'is a mentally unsound person liable for the hurt they cause others?' and the answer to that is yes, yes they are. Tia has PTSD from her last life, and all of that is brushed under the rug in the face of affection from Ruve in this life. This is such a slap in the face of what overcoming PTSD is like.. here in Tia's mind it's 'just get over it lol' that's not how shit works dearest author. Giving reasons for committing abuse does not negate its existence, nor its consequence.

It feels even worse that Tia had to change to be a more socially engaging person for Ruve to fall for her in this life. She has to change to become palatable and understandable to Ruve in this life so he can stop hating her and then love her. Tia's feelings for him in this life also seem to build upon a shoddy foundation. Theirs is one of the flimsiest loves I've read (even if you were to take away the 'abused in former life' angle) and I say that as someone that used to read Mills and Boons novels to waste time.

I'll finally answer what I meant about irresponsible creators. Of course, in mishandling the lives of the aforementioned characters, Vita is one of the creators I speak of. The other is the author. In writing their 'love overcomes all' and 'deep down he was a good guy, actually' and 'forgiveness is so romantic even if the person you love is the one who traumatized you thoroughly before' romance novel, they fail to properly recognize and portray with consideration the many heavy issues that come up with executing such a plot. They were so focused on making excuses for their ML and making the romance work that they failed to recognize just what they were romanticizing and what they have failed to write well, and I pray that neither they nor anyone who likes these sorts of novels has to suffer half of what they glorify.

There's also a ton of things to say about plot holes everywhere, about how no time frame was given as to the administration of the convenient fantasy drug so it can become a consistent (with 1st timeline) plot point in the 2nd timeline, my thoughts on Allen, Carsein, and Jieun's fates at the novel's end, etc, but at this point I'm tired and I'm sure you, the reader of this review, is too. Thank you for making it this far. My contempt for this novel has been building for quite some time, I know I'm insane for making such a long comment but ya know? to purge something vicious from your mind you've just got to give it the shape it desires, and for me, that shape was this comment.

So like, first off, like the comment right below me says, if you are romanticizing this type of thing, don't. It's not healthy and if you want a relationship where it gets physical in bed, get a proper BDSM partner with rules and guidelines you both follow. This isn't the type of story you should fantasize about.

I have always enjoyed a good psychological, I'm the type of person who likes it when things get super super fucking dark, but there's a catch to that. So I will be discussing the end of the story rather than everything that's going on. I'm pretty sure we share Mutual thoughts on what was happening throughout the story. If you feel like if you unique thoughts, please tell me about them.

Now, a good psychological for me, and when I say psychological I don't need a psychological tragedy. I don't like tragic stories, the sad Endings make me cry, because I am a crybaby. I feel like in order to have a good psychological you need to make sure you nail the ending.

And yes I did enjoy it a little twist at the end, and I don't necessarily mean that the ending should have a happy little ending. I love things terrible Cliffhangers. If you ever read Circus Du Freak, I'm going to tell you for a fact, that I bursted out in tears in the middle of my goddamn class because of that stupid book (also I will be insulting that book a lot but I really do love it). And ranted for about 5 minutes saying I hated it so much in class because of its ending. I guess that one has a good ending, but it also had a really bad ending... in the emotion Department. Because It hurt me. But it was a perfect ending. Some can see that's good, some people can see it has a bad ending. But it's not necessarily A happy-go-lucky ending. It's an ending that makes you cry. You don't have to be filled with happiness in order to have a good ending.

And I should say the same for the story, the story doesn't need a happy ending. It was a fucked story completely through it. But it was super fucking unsatisfying. The ending was foreshadowed throughout the entire of the book, so I knew it was coming, I didn't know how exactly they were going to be persecuted, but do you think we would have him in control. And it did. But I feel like the execution wasn't exactly all I wanted, I just wanted a little more emotion in it. Yes he's a very emotionless character, and yes those words we're filled with Obsession at the end. But when you know that's coming, it doesn't give you interesting feeling.

Instead of having a white background I feel like steak should I given him some sort of expression, that was different from the one that he would get every time he wanted to beat someone up. But either an expression that show that Obsession that he was feeling calm about finally having the toy. Or a Blank Stare. If they just added in a visual to make those words actually feel like, who I have the trembles or something. What is it called, tingles or something? Whatever, but it just felt like a very unsatisfying Bland ending just because the visuals failing just right at the end.

All right and I'm going to end this with saying that this is just my opinion, I hope that you personally enjoyed the story, and if you feel the same way that I do, I'm here to comfort you. And if you feel a different way, go ahead and tell me if you want to. Enjoy whatever story you're going to read next.