Bro this a toxic dumpster fire on so many levels. Dark hair MC is genuinely unlikable in every way, manipulative little creep. Every time I see him it feels like he’s supposed to be the villain or secondary romantic rival that turns out to be a psychopath, forcing the plot developments to get the main couple together.
That’s before we even get to the most glaring red flag sirens moment of all, in which MC has been raising black hair SINCE HE WAS 9. (╯°Д °)╯╧╧
In no realm is any form of romantic or sexual relationship between those two not going to be a problematic dealbreaker. Also don’t like the barely legal aspect of the age gap here, plus the way grey hair references him as a kid (though he is an adult). Age gaps can be tolerable if both parties are on the same level and the dynamics are healthy, but not in this case. Barf.
Even if there were no problematic age gaps or dynamics, black hair’s nasty personality alone is enough to ruin any possible enjoyment of this series.
I don’t get why everyone is trashing her so hard. What happened to her is like the equivalent of someone winning the Olympics or some shit winning military honors, getting a favor from the president as a result, and them pointing at you randomly walking on the street happy with your fiancée and being forced to marry him since he did such a great thing for the country. She was essentially used as a war trophy and people just expect her to not be angry, upset, or traumatized about it.
Sure he treats her well as a husband (I guess) and puts up with her outbursts, but that doesn’t change the fact that he forced her into it. She screams, ignores, makes a scene, and hits him… but they are not in a relationship and she can’t ever leave, just like she couldn’t say no to the marriage. It’s not surprising that she’s less than well adjusted about it. It’s the only thing in her life that she has any control over, so of course that aggression is going to be directed towards the culprit.
He forced an unwilling person to marry him, then put zero effort into creating a functional relationship because he “knew she hates him”, then got so jealous of rumors of an affair that he assaulted her. All it took to create an actual relationship was the bare minimum affirmation that she wasn’t just a toy or trophy to him. That’s how easy it was
He is possessive and obsessed with her. Sure, he’s not beating her up, verbally abusing her, or SAing her, but I really don’t think that constitutes giving this guy a medal. It’s like calling a kidnap victim ungrateful for not appreciating all the luxurious things their kidnapper buys for them. It still doesn’t change the root of all other issues, that her autonomy was disregarded.
Everyone in the comments saying that she doesn’t deserve him are crazy, but right in a way. She didn’t deserve to have her life torn apart in that way. Sure, the og fiancée turned out yo be a psycho, but it’s not like ML knew that when he snatched her up. Everything he did was for his benefit at her detriment. He wasn’t swooping in to rescue her from a violent or perverted fiancée, he wanted her and had the means to take her by force, so he did.
This was such a tragic and beautiful ride! The depth and realism of each character’s trauma, growth, and recovery, as well as how the relationship developed and deepened over time really set this story above most of its peers! ヾ(☆▽☆)
Wow she’s so desperate to one up someone who lives an objectively miserable life that she’s going to one up herself into an early grave
Not Eungyo trying to sue his parents’ gene editor over his horniness
(〜￣△￣)〜
So I already knew Mincheol was a POS, but this is really on another level. He can’t get in contact with his partner at all and has left her alone for an extended time. When he comes back home he finds questionable men inside with no trace of Haesoo. He’s assuming that they are debt collectors which may have assaulted, kidnapped, or sold off his lover (over the debt he took out in her name without her permission no less). He even suspects that she may have been SAed, but decides to start fucking his mistress while he still has no idea where Haesoo is or if she’s safe. Also he’s lowkey dumb for even trying to find her like that. Woman works like 20 hours a day, so why would she randomly be at home during peak hours of a regular workday?
Olivia is basically used as a scapegoat/punching bag by everyone in her life since she’s powerless.
Her father brought her home solely to sacrifice her in Estella’s place and somehow managed to place all of the blame from the chaos brought on by his infidelity onto her shoulders. The duchess had no idea she existed, or that there was any infidelity at all until she literally laid eyes on Olivia. The entire situation was terrible, but that was quite possibly the worst possible way to broach the subject. She was going to divorce him because of the infidelity. Olivia’s existence may be tangible proof of that betrayal, but she wasn’t the reason for it. If his wife had been told earlier, she may have visited her parents sooner, creating a much different timeline and possibly preventing the accident. It was a sudden and unplanned trip because of the random news of her husband’s illegitimate child.
The comment the Duke made at the funeral about how Hazel “would never have known anything” if they hadn’t ran into each other in the hallway shows that he knew about, approved of, and probably encouraged the abuse Olivia experienced. She already knew about Olivia’s existence and why she was brought into their home during their first meeting, so the abuse is the only new information she got after actually interacting with Olivia. That may have been an even greater trigger for the divorce. Cheating is one thing, but learning that your spouse is deliberately abusing a child they only brought home to exploit for the benefit of their “real” daughter is an entirely different beast.
Olivia did not choose to be born a bastard. She did not choose to come to the duchy. He could have sent her away, adopted her out to other people, or raised her at a different estate. The entire situation was solely caused by the Duke, but how convenient for him that everyone including his kids were more than happy to blame the child instead of him. I feel like he just rolled with it so he wouldn’t have to own up to the reality that everything was/is his fault.
Since they had no decent adult guidance it’s not surprising that her brothers were poisoned by the tidal waves of malice directed at Olivia from every direction at any given time. However, they are old enough to have matured and recognized reality. The fact that they haven’t, and go out of their way to show cruelty to someone who is essentially suffering in Estella’s place is beyond the pale. It’s honestly sadistic at this point. Who sends back vital aid supplies in wartime because they don’t like the sender?! It just shows the level of immaturity, self centeredness, and unwarranted hatred.
Estella is also at fault, though everyone else contributed to the mess by keeping her in the dark about something so publicly “known” that there was no way she wouldn’t hear about it eventually. She heard something terrible about a person who has always been kind and loving towards her from someone she knows to be duplicitious and malicious. She immediately believed her words without any investigation and spit poison at Olivia. I think Estella is going to be devastated and horrified when she learns the actual details of her mother’s death because she is going to recognize who was actually at fault while Olivia is constantly and unjustly punished for it.
The prince and Ethel are angry and frustrated that they can’t marry, but Olivia makes a much easier target that the Emperor, Empress, and Duke who are the actual reason the engagement can’t be called off. Both of them clearly consider Olivia to be inferior. Ethel was outraged when she was called a mistress, but that is genuinely all she will ever be. It’s clear that the emperor and Empress are insistent on forcing a marital alliance with the duchy (which they apparently can’t refuse). Even if Olivia runs away, the fiancée slot will be passed to Estella, still rendering Ethel nothing more than a mistress. That would be much more difficult for the prince and Ethel because the Duke would actually start pressuring them to treat her appropriately as a fiancée. Ethel’s family would probably get smacked by the duchy’s power. I honestly don’t understand why if the empress constantly makes threats about taking Estella if Olivia doesn’t measure up, the Duke hasn’t found her a good fiancée to get engaged or married off to so she’s safe from palace machinations. If Estella was unable to marry the prince it’s likely that they would find yet another fiancée from a powerful family (basically not Ethel’s).
The prince takes Olivia’s feelings for granted while openly mistreating her. He knows that he can do whatever he wants to her without complaint or condemnation from the ducal family or the public at large. Olivia is powerless to call off the engagement, but she’s easier to condemn and blame than the actual architects, his parents
I’m usually on board with my badass MC, but girl is acting surprised that the object of a political marriage is… less than happy about it. Her country is dirt poor and her marriage was the only way to help it, so it’s not like she really had a choice.
There’s no way a princess would be hidden away like that if there weren’t some issues going on. I feel like she could have at least met with her first instead of leaving her to stew in uncertainty about what her situation would be like.
Poor families: I’m working hard to support my child’s needs and hopefully give them at least a slightly better life than I had… I try to be supportive of their dreams, but put pressure on them to pick a more realistic career that will be financially stable
Rich families: I’m filthy rich enough to support my child in whatever dreams, career, or life goals they have that will make them happy… so I’m going to crush any hopes and dreams they have, force them to be an executive/administrator in a soulless corporation, try to control every single aspect of their life, and then degrade them when they become maladjusted and upset about it
I kind of dislike how MC and Sinclair’s relationship is being depicted as so intense and all consuming that their children are neglected and mistreated. Just rubs me the wrong way. Apparently Sinclair treats the kids as competition, and MC is really insensitive in how he compares them. They mentioned that they were essentially chucked out of the house by Sinclair as soon as they became adults and Martin was just ok with that. It seems like all of the kids really adore Martin and try to make loving gestures towards him, to which he just compares whatever it is to a better version that Sinclair did/made/bought.
They’re not depicted as having trauma, but it would be absolutely brutal to have every gift, favor, and surprise made towards someone you love constantly degraded by that person. Even if your spouse got you a better and more expensive watch, you don’t have to say that to your kid right as they’re giving you something they picked out for you. The entire dynamic is way off.
Top is a pathetic, narcissistic man child. Without the pheromones pushing it along, the relationship wouldn’t exist since MC would kick his obnoxious ass to the curb. I hate when authors nerf an otherwise independent and assertive character (always the woman or bottom) to force along a stale relationship with a subpar at best man that doesn’t deserve them
I like this series and it’s fluffiness a lot, but I really dislike the webcomic trope of a child being used to force their parent(s) to reconcile with a former abuser. This is really common in straight comics. The FL leaves/flees the relationship with the toxic, abusive, and/or negligent ML, turns out they’re pregnant. Years later there’s more bs when they reunite for whatever reason, and the kid just cannot bear the thought of living without him. The father puts in the bare minimum effort to interact with the kid, sometimes without even revealing that he’s their father, yet the kid is so attached they practically beg their mom to stay.
Just because there’s a cute grandkid doesn’t mean they can erase the horrific abuse they inflicted on their child. Having the audacity to show up in your grandchild’s life after abusing your kid to the point they had to cut you off without even trying to apologize is insane
I’m actually really interested in how a lot of subconscious patriarchal expectations are brought to the surface in this dumpster fire smut comic. The priest and emperor expect free and easy sex from her because it is her “duty” as saintess in varying capacities. In particular, the priest expects her to comply with whatever is requested of her, but is also aware that she’s not in a situation where she can walk away if she didn’t want to comply with any specific act or instance of sex (the only reason this isn’t SA is because MC is an exceptionally horny super freak).
When she actually enjoys the sex she is required to have, he degrades her for being “vulgar” and “corrupted” despite the fact that this is a job requirement she is unable to opt out of even if she desperately wanted to. He somehow wants her to possess the unchanging persona of an embarrassed, hesitant virgin despite having tons of marathon and/or kinky sex all of the time. He wants a perpetual virgin that f#cks like a pornstar, essentially traits that cannot functionally coexist in a single person.
However, she is damned either way. If she possessed the persona he supposedly desired, sex would be physically unpleasant and mentally traumatic for her, not that those factors would be an issue for him. But there’s no doubt that if she was a dead fish, she would be criticized for not doing her job properly.
When she does react “too positively” to sex, ie actually enjoying it and experiencing the physiological responses that go along with that, it’s merely an excuse to act out a different, more violent and degrading type of sex. That’s his distorted desire projected as a product of her flaws so he doesn’t have to question the nature of those impulses. She has absolutely no control of her environment, who she has sex with, when she has sex, and what that sex will entail, but he still manages to come up with faults to blame her for anything and everything that goes “wrong”. The reality is that he finds reasons to punish her because he wants to punish her. She will never be successful or flawless or well behaved enough to avoid it because he will always find a reason, and if there is none, he’ll make one of his own so that he gets to do what he wants with her.
I’ve never encountered another character that so flawlessly personifies the patriarchal view of women and sex.
Still can’t get over the guy who thought he could impress military talent scouts while physically dragging around a weaker teammate to blatantly use as a meat shield
Wow this is definitely a standout in time reversal revenge stories. It really feels like Jaina earns her achievements through growth and cleverness, rather than just having everything easily go right since she knows the future. She is still the same person as in her first life, just changed, and struggling through her trauma for justice and survival. Her development makes sense.
Spoilers as of chapter 138
At first I kind of felt bad for the second prince being given the love potion. He might not have been a great person, but other than being a playboy, he wasn’t such a degenerate that he deserved to be destroyed like that. In the first life he genuinely believed their house were traitors and merely acted accordingly. However, it all came down to his mother the queen’s malicious greed. She plotted to annihilate house Belcheter even though they had no inclination of being her (or the second prince’s) rival or enemy. They were neutral in a succession that had no other qualified competitors. That decision sealed her son’s fate as soon as it became life or death to deal with her. If not for that, she and her son may have been left unscathed. Angela was always the primary target, but her actions were nothing short of attempted murder.
I do feel really bad for Cassel. He was enchanted and helpless in his first life. There’s nothing he could have done to protect himself or maintain his sense of morality. The potion destroyed him, but Jaina’s trauma is far too great to overcome the memories of it even though she knows it wasn’t his fault. It’s just such a sad situation because he is such a kind person who genuinely loves Jaina and doesn’t understand why she suddenly looks at him like that.
I think the easiest way to dispose of Angela will be to give the king the recording between her and Rona. He has the resources to find or train a Laurelian translator. It proves what she planned to do to the prince from the beginning, the fact that she had the means to wield such magic, and would give a lot of context to the prince’s sudden shift in behavior. It also exonerates Jaina of potential wrongdoing because they admit to drugging her with a different mind altering potion. She can make an excuse for why she made the recording and just say it slipped her mind and she didn’t realize the recording’s significance until she learned Laurelian much later. That would seal Angela’s fate in the most dramatic way possible. Even if they were eventually able to find a cure, it would be difficult for the second prince to repair his broken faction or recoup his reputation.
Talk about a self fulfilling prophecy. So there is a vague prophecy that Estio could “bring ruin” to the kingdom of Haedong. Estio the baby dragon beloved by the notoriously homicidal powerhouse, the gold dragon Shuhanan….
The same Shuhanan who has been obliterating anyone involved in his wife’s (Estio’s mother) death or trafficking of her organs.
And their solution to avoid being destroyed by Estio, a well established pacifist (at least compared to his father) is to try to kill him.
Bro just dug his own damn grave that Shuhanan is going to be thrilled to fill once he finds out what Haedong tried to do to his kid
The father is a genuine shitpile. As the top ranked hunter, he values people by their Hunter abilities (at least that’s how he comes off to everyone). MC is somewhat weak, so he didn’t want him to be a Hunter, so he sabotaged him at every step. By not letting him get certified, he knew MC wouldn’t be able to formally learn about his class/skills or prepare for Hunter combat. He basically watched his son constantly going the least efficient route with a lot of important skills/knowledge missing for ten years, then always made him feel like his ineffectiveness was his fault for being weak.
On top of all that he then sent his son off to the academy knowing he didn’t have the most basic information and would be way behind, but still set near impossible conditions. He would rather watch his son destroy himself physically and emotionally than just support him in his dream to see how well he could do
This is an obvious case of absent parenting, societal bias, and personality issues.
The prince has been abusing and torturing people for shits and gigs since he was a young child, apparently with no consequence. He’s so blatant that the parents either knew and excused it, or were so uninvolved in their children’s lives and palace affairs that they were never aware of it. Either way, they’re at fault for the gross negligence that could permit such behavior or allow it to go unnoticed. It’s clear that the prince has been violent and coercive for a long time, putting a lot of effort into harming and diminishing his sister, so it’s not surprising that she would develop an aggressive and hostile personality as a survival mechanism. If he’s that bad when they’re both powerless children, it’s pretty obvious what he would do to his only rival if he took the throne. Sitting aside while one child torments the other isn’t creating an equal playing field, it just creates a toxic dynamic
MC may have had an arrogant and abrasive personality and mannerism, but it’s nothing compared to the actual abuses committed by the prince. It seems that she is judged more harshly for superficial flaws than the prince is for sadistic and violent behaviors. There’s no way his behaviors are completely concealed seeing as how openly he says and does vile things. He is a bit better politically and the male heir, but definitely hasn’t demonstrated a better ability to lead, though her reputation doesn’t inspire much faith. Then again, it’s not like she’s had much parental guidance, and had to fight a psychopath tooth and nail for every little thing she wants to keep since she was a child.
The way the poisoning accusation went down actually makes the prince look more suspicious and it’s frankly ridiculous that everyone was fine with how it “resolved”. Sacred beasts are so sacred that they are revered as gods, so any threat or harm against them is treated with great severity. Martina was punished with stripping of her title, life imprisonment, and 100 lashes for failing to properly incubate her divine beast. That was the punishment for accidental/unintentional harm. She was never accused of deliberately hurting her divine beast, and there really wouldn’t be any motive for her to.
In this life, there was a deliberate attempt to poison a divine beast by the prince’s subordinate. A divine beast whose safe hatching is a test to determine the heir, and who happened to belong to his employers only political rival. The mage confessed, but how convenient that he immediately immolated himself. Now he can’t be questioned to investigate who else may have been involved. It makes the prince even more suspicious to anyone observing the situation objectively. The fact that not a single person raised an issue or requested a more thorough investigation shows that Martina’s original punishment had less to do with the severity of her perceived failure than it did her lack of popularity, the bias of the nobles and her parents, and the prince’s schemes to dispose of her.
Diona just blows me away with her shortsightedness. I’m not sure if she is just that blinded by jealousy or sheltered from the harsh realities of Tarkan’s position since birth.
1. Aristine is intertwined with Tarkan’s political power: He and Aristide are a political unit. Any harm to Ari’s reputation/power will also harm Tarkan’s. Any hit to their reputation is going to affect the other in kind.
2. Divorce is not an option: Tarkan entered an extremely important political marriage with the princess of an enemy state as part of a historic peace treaty. Any controversy related to Ari and her marriage could have serious political consequences between the countries. Divorce is just not possible. Like it or not, til death do they part.
3. Diona cannot replace the political power Ari provides: Diona may be from a respected and well established noble family, but she is nowhere near enough of a powerhouse to replace a foreign princess who happens to be a lynchpin of international peace. Even if she slanders and isolates Ari, it will only harm Tarkan’s likelihood of being king. Ironically, the only way she could feasibly be with him other than as a mistress is if he took the throne since only kings are allowed multiple wives. Even then, she wouldn’t be the queen, just a concubine.
4. Tarkan’s life depends on becoming king: Failure to become king will likely mean death for Tarkan once his father is no longer keeping the queen in check. it’s clear that Hamir is either unable or unwilling to prevent or hinder his mother’s schemes, so though he doesn’t show much independent hostility, it’s likely that the queen would continue to plot against him. She almost had Ari executed for a crime that never occurred. The reason the king chose Tarkan instead of Hamir to marry Aristine was to shore up his political position and create a more level playing field for the throne.
She’s just exceptionally shortsighted. She throws mud on Ari’s palace without considering the fact that it also belongs to Tarkan. Diona does/attempts to do a tremendous amount of damage just to get back at Ari for being with Tarkan which actively harms his political position and reputation. She puts an enormous degree of thought and effort into finding convoluted ways to attack Ari, but puts a fraction of that energy into wooing the man she supposedly loves to such excess. Tarkan has never loved her or been receptive to her overtures, but she is only aware of it subconsciously because her ego can’t handle it, so she makes sure nobody else can possess what she wants but can’t obtain.
While Hamir seems to have developed some feelings for her, they’re rooted in novel curiosity and desire to possess her. She was the first to befriend him in such an open and uncalculating way. Her behavior and actions are uniquely intelligent and resilient, attractive qualities. He’s only focused on his own benefit though. He let her build a friendship knowing full well she would be in an awkward position if anyone found out, and humiliated/betrayed once she found out. And once that scenario played out, his regret was not using the crisis to his benefit, not preventing the crisis in the first place.