beta
Man, this story is just not sitting right with me. How did we go from MC literally throwing up and STABBING himself to get away from the emperor to being all cutesy and comfy around him??? In like 2 seconds??? His original self killed his child in front of the MC and then raped him next to the corpse. He didn't let him mourn his father's death. He mutilated his best friend and then let him die. He physically trapped him with him by breaking his bones. He ignored his feelings and boundaries about his body for 10 YEARS.
As a trauma survivor myself, this just does not feel like a natural progression a trauma victim would have, particularly with someone who looks exactly like their abuser, in the place that they were abused for years. It just really takes me out of the story that I was otherwise enjoying. Moreover, it is narratively unsatisfying to be robbed of that steady progression and trust building that I thought we were going to get.
And the people in the comments saying this can be dismissed or made better as a cultural difference....bruh....... like are y'all okay? i am kind of genuinely concerned tbh. Everyone is entitled to like what they like in a story but trying to justify the original emperor's actions in any way is mind boggling to me