Things I really liked about this story:
- Her no-nonsense "I hope you live and die with your regret and burn in hell" attitude to everyone who turned their back on her
- Her crash out when he dad immediately collapsed into a coma instead of living a long life full of regretting what he did to her
- it didn't drag too long and everything felt too the point
- she actually genuinely suffered (interrogation chamber torture sequence??? JEEEzus) and it never felt like she was being overly dramatic + her actually having trauma responses due to all that shit
- the ambiguous nature of the crown princes' role in everything and despite him having his reasons for the choices he made, how she still said "fuck you, you don't deserve my forgiveness and I hope you regret for the rest of your life too"
- the way father and brother switched up on her, despite being pretty extreme followed a logical progression that made it pretty believable so+ the intense regret and horror as they start to realize they were fooled and really did some fucked up shit to someone they loved
Everything else:
- God, despite being relatively short, sometimes this was an actual slog to read, because it felt like her family just kept showing up to kick her while she's down. She's just trying to move on with her life and they kept coming in, trying to ruin everything and hurt her more. I kind of appreciate it because so often these stories will just be compilations of everything going perfectly and ridiculously easily for the FL (and there were moments of that in this one too lol, kind of comes with the genre I think), but goddamn, it was really fucking brutal sometimes
- a lot of the plot points could have been better fleshed out throughout the story. There was a lot of info kind of dumped at the end to try and explain everything. Though it's not hard to kind of piece it all together (I think the people complaining about plot holes actually lack reading comprehension and need everything spelled out for them and that's sad)
- the one thing I found super odd and confusing was the whole birthmark/mole switch-a-roo situation. Like Seinna's mom just did that as some weird 5D chess move without an actual plan to take advantage of it, just "you'll thank me for this one day" ??? Was she already planning to kill Lucas at some point? Bc she'd need to if she wanted to switch Selena with her kid, because Lucas would obviously recognize his own bastard daughter. And why would she kill him?? She was using him for child support.
- on the whole, they could have put a lot more work/thought into ways Seinna was able to wriggle her way into the "I'm the real daughter" role, but I understand having the concrete things (like the mole and shrimp allergy or whatever that was supposed to be) made it very quick and easy to uproot Selena from her position
Love this story but Jeeeesus this is so fucking stupid
Just from her thinking things like "he only loves the original Ophelia..." Like ??? Tf he does, he hated that bitch
He literally couldn't stand you when you first entered that body because he fucking hated Ophelia
And he's literally trying to go see his mom in the demon realm and he's like part demon or something
I don't think he'd give 2 shits if you were an actual demon possessing his wife's body
At least you're nicer than she used to be
And the "should I tell him what kind of magic circle I have? What if it makes him more suspicious D:"
Fuuuuuck offffff
He LitChuRALy already knows you found the damn thing
Why would you telling him what kind it is be more suspicious than you finding it in the first place??
And WHY tf isn't he at all curious what kind of magic circle it is???
This one just had so much shit in it that I really detested and the ending for Jiwon was just the shit cherry on the shit cake
I wouldn't care of it wasn't a good or enjoyable story other wise but I really like the art style and writing and all that
But I'm sorry, the SHIT WITH THE SAFEWORDS??? WTF
First, we have him pushing Subin so hard that he realizes he needs a safe words (already bad, but a mistake that is valid and forgivable)
And then, literally the first time the non-verbal "safeword" is used, HE FUCKING IGNORES IT (so yk, fucking rapes him)
Using a safeword = withdrawing consent
And then he sets up a new verbal safeword, and I was already upset that he was unilaterally deciding the safeword in the fucking first place, because yes, either party should be able to sw, but the sw needs to be agreed on by both parties as something that is easy and safe to say in a high stress situation and HE CHOSE A SAFEWORD THAT SUBIN DIDN'T FEEL SAFE/COMFORTABLE SAYING AND SO HE ENDED UP VIOLATING HIM AGAIN
Also really hated the whole thing with the scar, where the top decided he wanted the scar gone, so even after Subin said no, he kept bringing it up, pestering him and pressuring him into getting it removed
Like... hey, icon. That's not fucking cool. I don't care how "jealous" it makes you that someone else "left a mark" on "your" bae. It's not cute, it's controlling.
And then there was Jiwon's side story and how that whole setup was played out to the audience as some sore of comeuppance. Like him getting raped and tortured was what he deserved and we were supposed to be satisfied or smth.
Hear me out (and I know this is a crazy thought but)- No one deserves to be raped. That is not a valid punishment for anything you might do.
Even if the victim is a rapist. It just perpetuates the problem.
And it also didn't properly resolve ANYthing about his character?? It's not like he was a serial rapist, he was shown just that one time being violent with the guy he was sleeping with (not to say that wasn't terrible or anything).
They author really just tortured him and said "and that's how he finally figured out the thing everyone has told him since he was a kid" and ???
I just don't like how into non-con this author is
Oh, AND ANOTHER THING
the side story where Subin got drunk and when he came to his bf was bdsm punishing him for drinking WHILE HE WAS STILL DRUNK AND HE DIDNT KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON
And then they were like "he's actually just really sweet and was worried uwu". Nonono. Don't do bdsm with someone drunk. Vanilla sex is already questionable but bdsm is actually really fucking dangerous when you are not sober
look, I'll fully admit that I'm a freak and I'm really into cnc and somno stuff so I'm not trying to be a hypocrite here.
There's just something about the way this author writes these kinks that comes across like they don't even understand what consent is and that they're just actually into rape and they play it off as romantic
And I don't like that. At least with the really freaky "this is obviously non-con or dub-con porn" type of stuff, there's a subtext understanding that it's *just* porn
But when you attach a story and a relationship to it like this (and make that the focus), it feels like you're saying this abusive shit is just "normal relationship" stuff or even like... couples goals
I just think this kinda icky
This might seem dumb to rant about, but I really wouldn't care this much if I didn't enjoy the story as much as I did
Soo true. Read this like two years ago and I hated it so much. It was incredible at first but then it went downhill soo bad!
Yeah I'm so not on board with this
Rip cardel, being dead would probably be better that living as everyone's pawn like this. Even your BFF is ready to sell you off and play with your life all for the sake of her fucking novel
Duke Bron is actually the scum of the earth
Admittedly, I am a little curious as to WHY THE FUCK Cardel even tolerates, much less loves that guy. I hope they get into it more, but I doubt there's any explanation that would be satisfying atp
And I get the FL identifying the emperor as the better of the two options, but getting involved like this is actually so disrespectful to her friend. Because THE EMPEROR IS STILL SHIT OFF THE BOTTOM OF A SHOE
She shouldn't be the emperor's wingman, she should be by Cardel's side, giving her the counseling, support and resources to escape these abusive men
You sound very young to not understand the historical context of how women were treated, nor do you understand grooming and abuse. Vivian knows she can't control Cardel or how she feels. Putting her out on the street would be worse. So, she's trying to change the environment around a very naive person who knows only court life.
So... First off, rude.
Secondly, this isn't historical fiction or a period piece. It's fantasy with a very vague time period and there are a lot of mannerisms that are presented that are more on the modern side (e.g. most things about our main character, and then there's her editor that presents very masculinely, just to name a couple things off the top of my head w/out combing the text)
I understand abuse and grooming, but what I want to understand his how their relationship even really started. Was she groomed? Was he kind to her once upon a time? Or is she really just so traumatized that she has this twisted attachment to him? And why? How did this start with Bron???
She can support Cardel and do what she thinks is best for her, but she should still talk with her. When she first listened to Cardel's story and issues, I was wondering why she wasn't asking questions or getting involved directly by giving Cardel advice (I thought it was because she was respecting her as a fellow grown adult who has been living a life that she hasn't been there to witness, but this plot point threw that out the window). She should do what she thinks is best for her friend, but Cardel should still be involved in that conversation. And her naivety is no reason to strip her further of autonomy, you psycho.
I was quirkin' my brows at their "friendship" from the start when the FL was acting like a vulture and using her really fucked up and dire situation as basis for her novel. But then Cardel was super into that so ??
Overall, I'm criticizing the writing itself, because I just find it odd how the horrendous abuse Cardel is going through is being downplayed and equated to romance-novel court drama by all characters, including Cardel. They aren't treating it like abuse and they're looking at Duke Bron like some dark romantic lead who just needs his character development rather than the conniving systematic abuser that he is.
Is he killing himself? Or faking his death?
I can even be fucked to care, it'd just be funny at this point because it just feels like ragebait
Faking his death might be a fun plot point tho I guess
Already faked an engagement
Lets keep the ball rolling wtfever atp
Watching the "angels" of the original story fall is crazy
Other than the second prince and the original Ophelia, it's like they're proving that everyone else's evil or righteous status was all just circumstantial and not actually an inherent trait of their character
Tho I do hope Theo doesn't fall too far off the deep end and gets redeemed so he can be with that maid who is crushing on him
But he really feels like a lost cause at the moment, getting so disgustingly jealous over an older married noble woman
Like bro. You cannot have possibly thought you stood a chance.
What will he do to our fl?
I love that almost everyone is on the same page lmao
Amnesia trope? Booooo
But this one? Shiii . . . It be hitting different