I liked it in a sense that I know I shouldn't: the characters are awful, but they're not so one-dimensionally awful that they can only be disliked. I think, in stories like this where the characters have gone through so much trauma on their own, it stops being about whether they deserve being with each other, but more about "Man, I'm just glad he has someone by his side"
I tried reading this like three times, and both two times I tried I was so weirded out by the the relationship dynamics. Wdym you like you're dead brother's ex? I'm glad I got past that initial disgust and finally read it in one go. It's such an interesting story despite the many things I had to stomach. I still feel queasy while writing this, so I would have to push the reread a long time into the future when I've forgotten about it so it can shock me again. Haha.
Wait can someone explain what tf happened?? Like did he rip his ass from the inside or what
Dis gonna fire back on mokyeon soo bad I cannot imagine nanjo keeping the agreement after this unless he fr liked it… I have a feeling we will see him with the twink soon
Also what's with the constant slut shaming??? I get why the duke would say that because he's practically scraping the bottom of the barrel because he's an ass but why would the people around the mc always perceives him as a slut???
Ok the only people vocal about it is mettel and the duke, but I get the feeling that Sabrina, the sister (Joan), and a bunch of other extras sees mc as a slut.
I'm so pissed off about the ml slut shaming tho like aren't you Inlove with this person? Why are you constantly calling him that? Tf? It's like you think he only saw him for his body. Am I overthinking this?? It's so weird.
Imagine your love one's always think/say these types of things about you.
If there is a narrative that I think is dumb is the whole Jooin doesn't look as happy in the the timeskip as as he was in the series especially when he was with Cain. I'm sorry to say this but when he was with Cain he was constantly pretending to be happy. Those smiles are some of the most disingenuous shit in this whole series. He is constantly lying to himself and to Cain. He is constantly betraying himself to prove a point staying with Cain. I don't know why people dismiss that reality of their situation.
Grown up love often feels boring and dull to so many people and that's why so many people self sabotage. Because it's not whimsical as promised by someone's own fantasies of what love is. You don't get overwhelmed by your feelings anymore but that doesn't mean that what you feel isn't love. People are so over reliant on butterflies to signal that it's love that they feel. This leads to falling in love with the butterflies rather than the person. Jooin is exactly this with Cain, he loves how it feels to be wanted by Cain but at the same time not wanting to love Cain.
With the timeskip Jooin learns how to love Yahwi without loosing his bearings and his love becomes more muted, a love that burns passionately but more quietly. The absence of broad smiles doesn't mean the love isn't there. Jooin smiles "brightly" with Cain while simultaneously doing absolutely nothing for him but just lie while with Yahwi his smile is not as it used to be but he actually puts in effort to show Yahwi he is wanted and desired and evens moves his life to go be with him. He reassures Yahwi when he's feeling insecure about their past. Is that less love because he simply doesn't smile like he used to??
I might be glazing but I'm also speaking as an adult. People grow up and life happens.You can't expect people to move the same when they have multiple factors influencing their life. Life be lifing and people just lose the puppy way they used to love people. It doesn't mean they aren't happy with the love they have though.
Y'all be hating on jooin but not Yahwi? Y'all are disgusting fr, bro jooin has any right to be mad at Yahwi bro, putang ina nyo
Yes end up with the man who slapped you because that’s “true love” ʅ（◞‿◟）ʃ making cains character was so useless if it ended like this
Why is the first couple so cute and wholesome then BAM the second couple’s situation does a 180… saw spoilers the uke is doing sex work bc he feels invisible in his home. I don’t know the full extent of his home situation, but from what I’ve read so far, him feeling unacknowledged by his parents makes him think “let’s fuck old guys, they’ll give me attention” is literally so dumb. Author should’ve just made a spin off, now the previous cute storyline has been tainted by prostitution
Thanks Lilith scans for the mass update, but wow what an illegal cliffhanger (Well, not really a cliffhanger, but cmon ml figured his feelings out towards mc—what a bummer this is the latest chapter)
anyways, time to unpack! TLDR of this manhua: mc is a dual guide-esper who's hiding his true S rank, meanwhile ml is a lab grown S rank esper and yes, they knew each other as kids (how cliché, but we eat it up every time regardless loll)
my minds a bit of a mess rn (thanks migraine) so ima just jot down my thoughts in any ol' order:
1. ima get this out the way first: I NEED NEED NEEEED DION Ahhh hes so cute and hot and saur fcking sexy AGH WHY IS HE CURSED WITH SECOND LEAD SYNDROME I NEED MOAR OF HIMMMM
(can you tell i have a thing for hot redheads lolol)(tbh i like hot men in general
More authors need to give stronger upper body to bottoms like wtff it's 2025 for fuck's sakes
Can't wait for more, we goon to Changdeok in this house and I am SEAATED for that sensual blood-sucking scene btw
I knew it was coming and I thought Ok LET'S JUST NOT GETT ATTACHED IT'LL BE OK, THE PLOT IS VVVV DELICIOUS. Here I am at 4am, my pillow is wet. My heart hurts, I loved it. raw emotion and pain is beautiful . Am I a masochist???? I'll be honest, I skimmed after ch36 to ch43... I'm still crying.
and vice versa... or it's just about your powerful bloodline shit that's why black ring people stay stuck inside the exile city forever??
Cutest seme I’ve ever seen in my 7 years of fujoshi life
Soo I have ADHD and I have decided against my better judgement that I’ll be wasting my time writing about the novel spoilers instead of working rn pls help
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Spoilers:
So at the ball, Ail dances with Salina and Luce thinks how beautiful and perfect they look together. Jealous and dejected he goes to the balcony to get some air and gets down from the balcony with Elsen. Ail likes Salina as in she’s ambitious and bold, perfect for the role of empress. And after the dance, Ail looks for Luce inly to find him laughing, having a good time and practicing dancing in the garden with Elsen. Ail gets so mad at the sight of them and recalls how Luce only ever acts wary in front of Ail, yet he laughs so easily when he’s with others. He’s overcome with jealousy but doesn’t realize it. Luce’s hand wound reopens so Elsen and him goes to his room to dress the wound and encounters the prince waiting inside Ail’s room. I forgot what conversation they had but prob not something pleasant lol. The prince leaves.
From then on, the prince makes a deal with Salina to deal with 2 birds with 1 stone, a.k.a removing Elsen and Erina(was it? Elsen’s crush) and trap Luce so he can never get away from him. Salina would gain the crown princess position out of this deal.
Later, it is announced that Elsen ran away with Erina causing treason (when in reality it was Salina and Ail’s plottting, Salina is keeping the two inside her mansion.) Ail orders Elsen to be killed on sight and sends a search party all over. Panicked, the other friend of Luce persuades Luce to go see the Prince to change his mind and Luce goes to see him as Ail planned. He begs him but their relationship is not built on trust and is purely exchange-based, so the prince asks what he can give to him in exchange. He then tells Lice to give him his body. Luce, backed to a corner have no choice but to accept. And the prince asks him to give him a head. Luce sucks at it obviously but that turns on Ail so much. Ail even dreamt of ravishing Luce in his dream the night before. Well they proceed to the bed, and Ail, without preparation, penetrates Luce. They have hot steamy sex but poor Luce. They talk about how it was Luce’s first time and how no one has entered his hole blah3 the prince is rough with him and wants him to remember this pain (I forgot the reason). Luce screams and cries in pain at first but feels pleasure afterwards.
The next morning, Luce finds out that he was stripped of his Commander position and is to stay in the Northern Palace to become his lover/concubine. Luce is shocked as he thought it was a one night. The prince tells him he sold his body to him, so he’s in the prince’s possession.
The prince starts to feel displeased and pained at some of his interactions with Luce as he is oblivious to his feelings and just want Luce to love him, look at him, smile gently, warmly at him like he does with others. But stupid fuck dunno how to beg or ask or doesn’t know what he’s feeling is love rn (not just lust).
Luce then asks for permission to go see his mother as she has fallen ill. This is an excuse to go look for Elsen. The prince agrees and sends guards with him to the Kaizel estate. There, Luce changes clothes with the doctor and escapes with his other friend. They change carriage etc. the prince feels uneasy like Luce is getting away from his grasp so he goes to the estate only to find that he’s gone. The mother tells the prince that Luce is stubborn and if Luce will rebel fiercely should he try to take him force, but if he want to have him, he should try gentle persusasion etc. Ail tells her that Luce is his bla3 and he orders Luce to be brought. Here, Luce hears that Elsen and Erina were trapped in Salina’s estate and all of this was the prince and Salina’s plot. He feels betrayed but he has a tiny sliver of hope that the prince is doing all this bcs he wants Luce by his side that he loves him just a tiny tiny bit.
He then willingly goes back to confront the prince about his ploy and his intentions behind it. They have very emotional conversation, Luce can’t tell the prince that he loves him and the prince doesn’t know why’s he’s doing all this. Things escalate badly, they both hurt each other with their words, Luce decides to leave and Ail’s mind literally blanks out and is filled with madness at the thought of Luce leaving him, causing him to strangle Luce almost at the verge of death. Ail wad then petrified at what he had done and he ran away bc he might harm him again. He then orders 3 knight order to stand guard in the northern palace, and nobody to enter, isolating Luce. Ail also realizes that he will go mad (literally) and will die without Luce. Also Ail lashed out at Luce before strangling him that he’s just a dog to him, and he abhors the idea of his loyal dog leaving him willingly without his consent — which he didn’t mean it but he so emotionally constipated lol and this breaks Luce’s heart)
It’s now Ail’s coming of age ceremony that will be held for days. Ail only visits Luce at night in fear of how Luce will look at him and what they’ll say to each other. He is extremely gentle and is longing in his touch when he visits him at night. Luce starves himself. Ail threatens to slash the servant’s hands each time he refused to eat. Luce starts throwing cruel words at him which he deserves and shuts off his heart. The prince is pained inside. And one night, when he was a bit intoxicated, tossing away his pride, he asks for Luce to give his heart to which he scoffs at and throws sarcastic mean words at him to which the prince loses all hope to rectify everything and that Luce’s heart is closed now. Soooo they throw punches at each other, Luce bites Ail’s lip when he forcefully kissed him. And they have another sex.
Okay that’s it so far. I’ll write the continuation when I get home. Srsly need to work rn.