What began as a promising story quickly deteriorated into mediocrity. The MC becomes so soft and overly kind in this timeline that she no longer stands up for herself. She’s somewhat aware that she’s also a victim, but she refuses to actually acknowledge this fact.
She’s set on unnecessarily punishing herself, like she’s to blame for everything.
“My gOaL iS uR hApPiNesS”—atp it’s so cheesy that it’s downright annoying to hear.
I absolutely don’t enjoy watching a woman sacrifice her own dignity and prowess for any man. Idgaf whether he “deserves” it, because she certainly shouldn’t be treating her own life as insignificant compared to his.
She could still help him out without compromising her own dignity. It’s starting to look like a kink, she wants to be stepped on by ML so bad.
Not to mention, no man deserves such self sacrifice from a woman. Also, isn’t he a mass murderer? That’s literally what “war hero’s” are. His innocent puppy characterisation is so unconvincing, like pls as if a grown man is ever truly pure. The creepy brother is more realistic.
I read fmc stories to enjoy a genuine female pov, not to witness such a poor char portrayal. Like I’m not convinced even she agrees with her own choices.
She has become a far duller version of her past self.
Her approach to helping is unnecessarily ridiculous. Instead of simply demanding the ring back, she chooses to beg a judgmental old hag—from a family with no real worth—to stop despising the boy she’s hated her entire life, despite having no valid reason for it because she’s simply too stupid.
In doing so, she rly ends up making a fool of both herself and the duke. Like her choices are so bad that I’m getting second hand embarrassment from her.
(╹◡╹)ﾉ Here's a little recap and another perspective.
FL's main purpose in returning was to make him happy no matter what. She was here the second time around for her atonement. Before clearing the misconceptions she had in the first timeline, she believed he died because of her, because she forced herself on him and their marriage, that she made his life miserable, and he died just like that.
Their miscommunications from the first timeline had hurt her and she resented him after his death from all the pain until the woman she assumed was his lover delivered the ring he commissioned for her leaving the words "he told me to give to you." Which led her to search for answers and coming to a conclusion all on her own then eventually brought her to the mage that help her rewound time at the expense of hers, to grant her most desired wish, and that's to make him happy.
She herself admitted that she had been selfish during their first timeline, this time, she wanted to make it up to him. She's doing all that because she loves him then, when she was a truly evil woman, and now, that she has become matured and wiser due to her past experiences.
The misunderstandings from their past were cleared after wounding back in time, but the fact that she only had 1 year regardless of the outcome of her wish remains, so she had to do everything in rush to fill his life with people and he won't feel alone and miserable like he was in the first timeline.
His aunt was infuriatingly judgemental-for a justified reason that doesn't make her actions right- but FL can't be a chooser since ML had limited people in his life, and she's his only closest kin.
FL appeared to have begged the Aunt, but she actually played with the her mind, appealing to her using her emotions to lower her guard and trust them. That's the easiest way to deal with deeply manipulated people like her to get the best result that FL wanted after weighing her options. Yeah she could just demand the ring but that will only push the Aunt away and hide the ring to oblivion. ML might be more isolated in the future when FL's gone and that's what not she wanted.
Her drive for doing all of that was because she loves ML, and she already resigned herself that his happiness don't reside with her because she already lived a life that it didn't, and it's hard for her to think otherwise because that traumatic phase of her life was still fresh as yesterday to her. She's not over it. She can't see herself as a victim either because to marry ML in the first timeline she did a lot of bad things and she's owning-up to it.
FL didn't entirely come off strong with her actions but she was graceful with it. She never lowered her dignity and ML wasn't stepping on her, in fact FL was the one stringing him along in both lifetimes. It was obvious ML also had feelings for her in the first timeline, but because of his circumstances, he never knew how to convey himself, which was his shortcomings. Since FL was being straight forward with him in the current timeline, ML was baring himself to her more often. She disturbed him in unspeakable ways.
Also, it's a bit harsh to say that because he had been to war, he shouldn't deserve what FL was doing for him. He was sent to that godforsaken place while he was still a child. He's not innocent, yes, but "innocent puppy characterization" isn't the right term to what's happening with him. That was vulnerability and It wasn't an act.
ML was known as cold in the public but often finds himself acting out of character around her cuz FL just always got her right where he's vulnerable. He's not used to people having him by his weakness. FL pointed out in the recent update that ML tends to put up a wall and take care of his problems alone. FL relates to him because they're the same. This stirred him so much because she knew him all too well while he's already attached to her yet knows so little about her and felt like she could disappear at any moment. Then every time he asks, she never gives him a clear answer. That's frustrating and anyone would act out of character in a fit of emotion.
Yeah, the way they're dealing with their situation is clumsy, but that's realistically how beginners react to something novel to them, like what ML and Fl's current relationship is. They are just learning to navigate whatever the two of them have at the moment.
The reason she's not acting like the other OP femme fatale FMC like in other stories was because the point of her story wasn't the same as the others, her character plus backstory and goal didn't call for a highly dominant character narrative.
It's true that there are FMC's that lost their original characterization, but our FL here is not it, at least not yet. ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
The only acceptable outcome, is the Fox spirit turning out to be endgame, there’s no redeeming trash emperor. Executing her over the pettiest reason is diabolical, he is full of audacity.
A literal mama’s boy that comes running back wah wah & expects all to be forgiven like nothing had happened.
I sure hope she won’t let us down, so far she doesn’t strike me as someone who would go crawling back to him, afterall she stood her ground but was threatened with her family’s lives.
And if they do get back tgr (which they most likely will), I’ll be dropping this real quick.
It’s torture porn though so yea there’s that disgusting aspect as well.
The MC is hella annoying—he put his own life on hold just to shamelessly chase after the ML like a dog devoid of any pride. Then, he had the nerve to expect the same level of devotion in return, even demanding that the ML sacrifice a major career milestone after he was fired due to the fallout from the MC’s actions (justified or not).
He’s simply not likable. A spoiled golden spoon brat whose entire existence revolves around obsessing over a man who shows no emotion—because looks are all that matters to him.
His mother repeatedly tries talking sense into him, urging him to get his life back on track, but he continues acting like a man child. Despite having grown up with every privilege in the world, he somehow convinces himself that he’s had it rough and therefore deserves to do whatever he pleases.
Instead of handling his responsibilities as a CEO—a position he only has thanks to nepotism—he neglects his work, lives off his family’s wealth, and spends his time following his boyfriend around the world like a lost puppy. He comes across as shallow and foolish. Pmo
ML has no personality, because he’s written to be emotionless. He has his flaws but even then he’s far more likeable than the MC. He may not openly express his feelings, but he consistently makes the right choices. He’s highly competent, has clear goals, and actually works towards achieving them.
He also takes good care of his partner but doesn’t let that consume his entire life. He knows how to prioritize logically instead of mindlessly throwing everything away for no reason—something the MC just couldn’t comprehend.
When the MC expected him to drop everything and put him above all else, the ML thankfully refused. His head isn’t filled with air, I would’ve been beyond pissed if my partner acted out like MC.
He worked his way up from the very bottom, that’s just sum a spoiled brat will never understand. Now MC is relying on the very succes that he demanded ML to throw away.
Your comment is just on point!mc is annoying and pathetic,just from the second chapter i already desliked him,like,following the ml around even thought he ignores him and clearly don't want nothing to do w him and mc almost forcing his way into his house(i was really hoping the ml would just close the door on his face lol)acting all friendly even in their first meeting ugh i bet those two people who desliked your comment wouldn't want to deal w someone like mc in real life lol someone who can't take a no and is one step from being a stalker
In reality, the merfolk are just as intelligent as humans but also far more wicked. Yet, the author has severely nerfed them, all to justify the FL behaving like a…child.
The merfolk have been reduced to a group of pregnancy obsessed women, with no aspirations beyond finding a random man to father their child.
Meanwhile, the FL has zero survival skills or common sense, despite being from the vast cruel sea’s—which is far from a fairyland. She’s perfectly fine being treated like an object by the man she naively fell for.
And the man? He’s a vile tyrant who has left a trail of innocent corpses in his wake. If I were in his position, I’d have taken out the royal family and myself before committing such atrocities. There’s no justification for his evil deeds. He should have rotted in repentance instead of getting a woman with the mentality of a child that he can manhandle, Stockholm romance isn’t going to magically absolve him of all the blood on his hands. If anything, it only adds onto the distasteful writing.
This whole story reeks of being written by a man or someone on propaganda payroll. Remember, birth rates are going down and men are scum, this is just a ploy of the patriarchy.
To my mentally developed ladies, it’s not worth wasting any of ur precious time.
I'm sorry but this comment is so fucking funny
Mermaids aren't real and thus there is no "reality" in which they are just as intelligent as humans. The author can choose any kind of mermaid to write about and this is the kind she chose. Just as any story can do whatever they want with mermaids. All countries and cultures have different stories about them and people can pick and choose what parts they want in their stories or fully create their own mythology.
The author is also likely a woman as most female-targeted mangas are. This story is not some super evil ploy by the patriarchy either, it's just that artists are subconsciously influenced by their reality and by other media. People can have fun and not everything has to be out to et you was a woman. In this story we even have a self-sufficient mermaid society that only uses men for sex to make children before abandoning them to live by themselves. The mc falling in love and choosing to go against her culture isn't evil, it's just a choice she makes.
This story is also obviously influenced by the little mermaid so saying this is a super radical take on a mermaid story is fucking wild since it follows the footsteps of the most popular story about mermaids.
Everything about this comment reads that you didn't like the story but had to pathologise why and then make it everyone else's problem. You don't need to like a story, you can even take issues with actions made by characters, but to accuse the author of being a misogonist who is promoting forcing women to give birth and submit and claiming this story is a massive ploy by our governments to indoctrinate us it wild
I think OG cpmmenter speak from the original legends - and yes in those legends merefolk is a wicked one, and the author clearly didn't take over from those legends anything.
And yes its very repulsing that MC having the intelligence and behavior like a child, it having same disgusting pedo vibe, this is why I didn't read after I saw some spoilers.
Here go the pick me crashing out—it’s not even worth entertaining this nonsense.
Go lick ur man’s left shoe however much u want, nobody’s stopping u. Don’t let the door hit u on ur way out cya.
Bro what? You're the one leaving since you dont like the story, which is fine. I just pointed out how weird it was to put all these preconceived notions you have onto the story, it was quite a bit of projection. Also I'm ace so im all good, no interest in men (not to say that you would know that, but its another instance of you projecting this weird idea of all women who has a different view from you being slaves to the patriarchy and perpetuating it).
As I said in my original comment which I doubt you read or understood, it's fine to hate the story and express it. What is weird is to project that hatred back onto the author as some moral failing on their part and assume the worst of them because they chose to make an adaptation of the little mermaid. Melusine is not human, she has no human morals or understanding. To her Kieron acts like a child who knows nothing, not the other way around. It's all about perspective. And she also doesn't act like a child, she just speaks childishly since she doesn't know the language or culture, and naivety is not a crime. A full ass child isn't going to be asking to have sex so she can abandon Kieron and raise her own child.
Hate the story, love the story, read it, dont read it, whatever. You can analyze it and point out things that you think reflect certain aspects of society that you disagree with, but dont come here and claim this is cynical propaganda done to influence women to want to have kids. That is both unproductive to actually fixing issues that literature can unintentionally have due to author bias and antithetical to actually taking down a patriarchal society by attacking a female author reinterpreting a popular story. Solidarity with all women, not just those who you have slight disagreements with when it comes to taste in literature.
I wasn’t replying to u. Also, ur not empress opinion, it’s MY review, deal with it. One thing’s for sure, I ain’t reading all that.
Respectfully, there is no such thing as a "In reality mermaids were..." That is a bias you have, not a fact.
One of the oldest stories that depicts what we can consider to be mermaids is the story of Atargatis, an Assyrian Goddess. Her story is pretty much: Fell in love with a human male, accidentally kills him, and jumps into the water, becoming a mermaid. In another version, it's because she fell in love with a fish and turns into one and there is one where she has a kid with a fish and is ashamed of it. Which negates your whole "Intelligent" argument.
Atargatis could be said to be the first recorded mermaid story (3000 years ago) and an inspiration for the most well known story of The Little Mermaid (although there is this whole other speculation about the author, Anderson, being gay and writing the story as a reflection of his life and love for his friend Colin). Funny enough, this story too ends in the mermaid sacrificing herself for love.
I believe you are actually confusing mermaids for sirens when you say they are far more wicked. Sirens are the actual origin of "wicked" mythological creatures who have enchanting voices that lure sailors at sea and drown them. You can reference this in The Odyssey where they make an appearance. Sirens and Mermaids started being equated to one another around the rise of Catholicism and the Medieval Ages through artwork. I suppose this is where the confusion began and people started conflating the 2 distinct creatures as one. But they are not the same.
Gradually, the image of the siren and mermaid are meshed into one and the stories began to describe mermaids as both good and evil omens depending on the author and the time period.
In the east, China has a merfolk in the Di people, Korea has a diety mermaid who guides sailors, and in Japan, the mermaid is a mythical creature that provides immortality eating it's flesh or even is described as a yokai and evil being in more modern stories (Detective conan murder episode).
So really, there is not an "In reality" mermaid that we can definitively use to describe what a mermaid is supposed to be. It is up to the writer and what they want the mermaid to be.
PREACHHH. You said it all so logically lmao. Idk what that person is on and how they even included using the word “pick me” incorrectly lol
Fr lol
I ship her with the princessss they’re so hot tgr, a navy headed sadist and a red head that’s weak to money?? Omg missed opportunity
Aghhhhh so many striking women!! Author should write a yuri asap it’s a crime to not do so uhhh
Even the blonde villainess has chemistry with the other girls
Mc is breathtaking and her personality is just as perfect pls I’m hurting atp
A cast of male love interest has never been as irresistible as these women. That just goes to show how easily women overpower men when given a fair chance at writing and design
I’m starting to think them trying to make us like men is all a propaganda
ur so real for this; honestly the blonde villainess and the princess make a toxic couple and I'm all for it
Oh hold up—it only follows the route of On the Emperor’s Lap up to a certain point! Because in the end, Madam won’t go back to him! Yooohooo!
According to spoilers, things could go either way since there’s a main ending and a parallel side story. In one ending they reunite, in another, she marries the Crown Prince.
I’m not sure which is the canon route and which is the side story, but honestly, as long as their reunion isn’t the official ending, I’ll be fine ignoring it.
And let’s be real, Kian is a much better choice than the Crown Prince. She needs to step away from the world of royalty and nobility, it’s done nothing but torment her.
That twist alone redeems this manhwa for me. I’d actually like her because she’s not as foolish as people make her out to be. Nearly all her decisions were calculated with her best interests in mind.
She only picked the scum because she had no other choice—and she sidelined him later on anyway! She even tried to take control of the mansion like an absolute badass, despite the scum jeopardising her plans.
She kept speaking up and standing her ground, problem was that she had no power.
So is she really to blame for everything that happened to her? Absolutely not. And I’m thrilled she went out with a bang. He deserved to be haunted by her forever.
In the second half of the story, the focus is now more on his suffering & wretched regret, as well as him building a bond with his son, which is exactly what I wanted to see.
This refreshing development makes all the angst so delectable for a sadist like me. I needed her to end up in the best position possible while the scum suffers and that’s pretty much what we’re getting.
Well, sort of. There’s no confirmed ML, so it’s open to interpretation whether they end up together in the long run. He’s constantly tied to her life because of their child, and there’s even a confirmed side story about them…but it’s still digestible!
I don’t believe in forgiving men who did u dirty, unless it’s in a next life. More women need to respect their own peace.
Kian would’ve made a great ML, he was more of a husband to her and a father to Ceasar. I hope the kid isn’t dumb enough to resent his mother, and if he does, he’d better knock it off as soon as he starts.
I wish she could’ve remained in her own body, I hate this red head outcome, but oh well. I still have a sliver of hope that her original body will be revived—even if it’s the one decent thing the scum manages to accomplish.
Yet another webtoon where soul replacement feels completely unnecessary. The original Sanya deserved so much better. What’s the point of redeeming the people who killed her by having them make amends to someone else entirely? This MC has no right to act entitled to Sanya’s experiences—it’s honestly so frustrating.
Not to mention, why is it adult in kids body x kid they grew up with?? Soo disturbing how they’re trying to normalise pedophilia by sneaking it into every single webtoon.
It’s a drag to read, rly not that interesting.
It feels like a typical dragged out historical kdrama, not my thing.
The goddess is such a villain, and it’s flying right over everyone’s heads. She never even considered saving the poor MC. Instead, she kept rewinding time, passively watching as the MC lived and died miserably over and over again. It’s honestly horrifying—if it weren’t for the snake’s own judgement, this endless cycle of suffering would’ve continued.
They could’ve easily given one of them their memories back, but instead, fate itself had to step in, leading to the MC regaining her memories for once. To me, this just highlights the goddess’s incompetence. She had the power to break universal laws by meddling with timelines but never cared enough to actually fix the problem.
On another note, ML’s slime form is so adorable! I’m glad their relationship wasn’t bogged down by unnecessary angst. The story had great pacing, and overall, it was an enjoyable read. That said, I feel terrible for MC. She’ll probably never fully regain her memories, and honestly, I wouldn’t have forgiven anyone in her place.
As for her brother—what an idiot. He could’ve just killed the duke and taken his place, but instead, he let the man kill them. It makes no sense.
ML’s sister is hands down the best looking char. She’s gorgeous, and the holy knight was also stunning. Meanwhile, MC is somehow the least attractive of the bunch—why is that?
I’ll always choose black & silver over blonde, unless it’s Roxana
You're right, the goddess letting FL go through repeating lives of torture never struck me as odd. I'm wondering if the god really just didn't care. Seems like it doesn't pay much attention to the humans involved until they ask for something, or until a demon needs to be vanquished.
I agree bro could have killed the dad, but I think the story is more realistic when he doesn't. He's been traumatized and abused since childhood. Plus, he still thinks his dad has the only cure for the poison killing his sister. So, at that point he would not want to risk killing him and finding out after that the duke hid the antidote or something. That's just my take on it.
I actually like FL, but I am so rooting for ML's sister to get with FL's brother. I think that was what they hinted at when mentioning the sister's type was the kind of man who could fight a bear with his bare hands. Also, she wouldn't have any issues with losing the family name because I don't think the brother wants any association with the dad anymore. Then you'll have a black and silver pairing! So fingers crossed!
I think the brother didn’t do it for the sake of the plot, that would’ve put the main chars out of business lol.
Yess the gorg sis & FL’s brother would’ve looked so good tgr, I was shipping them too, there was chemistry based on personality alone.
Tbh it may have been just a lil weird if both siblings married into the same fam, but also a bit iconic at the same time, since the same two bloodlines would still rule the same two families
I agree with everything you said, except the last part cuz I dislike ML's sister so much. I think it's because she was harsh to mc WITHOUT even knowing the truth (It's been awhile since I read this) and I hate those type of people so much. The type who believes on rumours like a fool
I think she was justified, goody two shoes chars aren’t believable to me. She acted logical like the smart woman that she is. She’s aware of the corruption in mc’s family and they stand on two opposite political sides.
It’s normal to be on guard when your enemy sends their own daughter into your territory. Given her own shaky standing in the clan, she was already on the defence to preserve their lineage.
We’ve been with mc throughout her journey so it’s natural to want to take her side, but she didn’t know her. ML in the og timeline treated her far worse when he didn’t knew her true intentions. Let’s give her some grace…
Oooo, you have some good points ! And I see, so ml was bad to mc in the og timeline? Now I dislike both ml(og timeline) and his sister lol, I just can't stand people who thinks they know it all and ended up hurting someone who didn't do anything wrong. But ofc I don't "hate" her but I just don't like people who thinks like her, I also agree with you that I'm definitely bias here cuz we've been with mc so ofc we know what's the truth. I've read alot of stories where the "villain" is hated JUST because of their shitty family, and I grown to hate people who thinks that if the head of the family or some of the family members are sht then the rest of the family members are sht too ;-;;. And you're right that "It’s normal to be on guard when your enemy sends their own daughter into your territory." Definitely! But be ON GUARD, don't send them to their death, if I remember correctly ml's sister literally sent mc to this forest where she almost died cuz there's monsters there? And she KNOWS it's dangerous but she still sent her there? Which is why I started disliking her. Imagine being like "Hm I don't trust you! But instead of observing you, I'll sent you somewhere dangerous" And if I'm right here, ml's sister regrets it later on cuz she found out MC's true personality and how fck up her family (the dad) is?? Idk if I'm correct here, but I was so happy there and I kind of started to like her more. Tho I still can't forget how she treated mc.. I'm totally bias here hehe
Please excuse my English, if it's not making any sense (づ￣ ³￣)づ it's my 4th language.
Angels take away your breath with their beauty and menacing presence. That’s what he reminds me of, he’s so scary.
MC thinks and behaves like a street thief peasant, that’s basically what gets him tangled up with and abused by the psycho.
The artstyle is def the most attractive attribute of this manhua. Plot is pretty stereotypical, rapist ML naive MC yabadabadoo.