the situation is pretty fucked up, consent-wise, in a very historical ladies-rights way, but I think… if I’m not being premature, this dude might be a green flag. He knows that she’s had a shitty life, and that her pain tolerance is high (as he mentions in the carriage ride to his kingdom) so when he heard that the other ladies were having stomach pain after the tea party, he kept pushing to see if she was suffering the same effects because he knows she’s used to ignoring pain and he doesn’t want it to go untreated just because she can handle it. It takes a certain kind of mindset (empathy) to account for someone else’s unique circumstances in your care for them—this goes beyond ‘I don’t want to see you suffering’ and leans into ‘I don’t want you to suffer even if I can’t see it’ territory. Bravo, dude.
Not really a green flag, since he IS destroying kingdoms and killing civilians. Not to mention force her to have sex
Okay. Yikes. Not only is she told to sacrifice herself by the person she loves (who claims to be her friend) so that person can be happy with her adopted sister, they also let her story get twisted so she was the bad guy… when she literally sacrificed herself to keep EVERYONE safe. Then, that fucktard’s son comes to take the only friend she has—the only ANYONE she has left. Could these people get any worse???? God. It has been so long since a story upset me this much.
this author… I understand being horny, I’m a pansexual writer who writes a Lovecraftian erotica story as a side hobby—but I just gotta say something about characterization and consent that I think is pretty important.
(Warning: This rant Contain’s a Spoiler)
The scene where she interacts with the prince for the first time was funny and interesting up until he stuck his dick in her against her consent….and then it gets brushed over with a slap. Her level of calm afterwards would only make sense if she had been a sex worker in her previous life and was used to strangers treating her body like a toy while she takes advantage of that to get what she wants from them. That would be believable, and could make a pretty compelling, badass character. If you want to write scenes like that, at least give them a backstory that fits it. I’m as horny as the next female writer with interesting kinks… but bad characterization and non-consensual penetration without gratifyingly violent consequences is not one of mine. God. This was clearly written by a man. Don’t write something for women (one of the genre tags is Josei), with a woman as a main character, without at least TRYING not to offend them. Rant over, thank you for your time.
i agree! that was so annoying how she just casually ignored being sexually assaulted like?? i know there are some women who freeze up in situations like these and don't know what to do, but it's obvious that isn't her character type as she is confident in herself and her skills. If i were her, i would've broke his balls and made him regret he was ever alive (╬￣皿￣)凸
Exactly! Not only was it out of character, but it was also just a stupid move on the author’s part, period—don’t write in a genre aimed largely at women and then try to tell us a strong woman lets a stranger do that without any permanent consequences. It is common sense not to insult your audience. If that’s your fantasy, go write for men and stop pushing casual rape in our faces like we’re supposed to enjoy it.
Where can I find your works to read
Thank you for asking! I haven’t actually posted anywhere yet—I like to finish my works so all my subplots and foreshadowing align and stuff before putting it out there. I have two versions of the Lovecraftian story, because as I was writing the first chapter, it just progressively got smarter and plotty and more political… I love that, but it was supposed to be the thing I was writing to avoid real work. So now it’s my main writing project, and a lot of aspects are under revision… including how Lovecraftian it is going to be. The found-family and world-building aspects are what I like most about it. I still intend there to be horny aspects, but when people are involved, I much prefer slow-burn buildups. If you are still interested in that, with the potential for access to the kinky-Lovecraftian drama, let me know and I’ll make a place to keep my updates
Sure I'm all for it..
(✿^‿^)(✿^‿^)
I mean she did work in the acting industry which has a terrible reputation for assault.
All that build-up over the scar---did I miss when he finally actually learned where it came from??? I've been waiting for that!!!!! I was all excited about him learning that he got shot!!
Probably for his boss
Thank you so much for this improved translation!! I love this story, and its so nice when the translation is clean and clear to do it justice.
Did anyone else think it was kinda cute that even as a human, she'd escape the party to play in the giant birdbath in the garden...? no...?
I love how Lucas says "that should be reason enough" instead of "That's the only reason"---cuz we all know things would take a violent turn if he said "I can't say no to your daughter & I secretly want her to call me daddy, too."
The castle might not survive.
Is anyone else kinda worried? I mean, Roxana's a boss, but her father is unlikely to react well to the realization that Cassis is alive, after all... I've been nervous about this.
I'm worried too, but I also don't think cassis will let anything bad happen to roxie.
Spoilerrr
Well it was said in a spoiler that Roxana manage to convince hee family that the Cassis present is fake and that the real Cassis is dead so yeah(≧∀≦)
*her. Sorry. Me bad at English
no worries! thank you!
Um...why wait for the seventh life to suddenly have a personality change so drastic? what were she doing before? Still gonna read it, cuz its fun, I'm just a little confused---three lives seems much more reasonable. Seven times is overkill and makes you wonder if there is an outside force that kept her from changing before. I'd have gotten progressively colder each life until I decided to mess them up on the third try, not meekly put up with it for seven lives and THEN decide to protect myself. Damn. It compromises an otherwise relatable and admirable character's ability to feel 'real'... which is a crime, here, there's so much fun potential...
Sorry, I'm a writer who takes editing my own work very seriously, and I get a bit caught up on details. Hard to immerse myself when my brain is saying "You need to fix that!!" Σ(っ°Д °;)っ and then doesn't let me relax until I've done it. Character development is my favorite part of writing too, so I'm particularly anal about it. ╥﹏╥
I mean she is a child maybe she thought she was the problem and wanted to change them and in her seventh life she seemed to have finally confirmed that they are just beyond helping
This is based on my thoughts not a spoiler.
But, from how she was raised I think she just wanted to be loved by her family so she held out on any small hope and clung to it (Like her brothers "kindness"). Also, it's not like she lived full lives for the 7 times. She goes back in time at a set age and probably dies within the next couple years. But, I do want to think she changed with each life (ex: her control on her powers)
Re: 3/7 times. 3 times is lucky, 7 is unlucky. She’s been unlucky her whole life(s) (mom dies, dad blames, step/replacement sis, bad maid), so she isn’t able to ‘access’ the luck of going through it 3 times. She has to go through it 7 times, and reclaim her bad luck. (Although, if you bother to figure out which country the author is from, which I did not, you could argue 7 is arbitrary, and 4 is more culturally significant) It does seem to have european influences, so 7 is a reasonable unlucky assumption.
Re: Putting up with it. I totally agree, it seems like a lot of time.... I also think (other than the probably essential plot points they will provide) that people who are in/ raised in bad situations have trouble recognizing that fact? Like they reason away horrible behaviour?
Re: Personality change. Trauma?
Re: Fun potential. Where might you have gone? I’m very curious.
/srs
Anyways, I enjoyed responding to this! Character development is also a favourite of mine. Also this is all speculation lol. /g
PS. This was probably waaayyy too formal, but I don’t know how to not write an email lol.
I was a little worried when I started reading because I saw some comments about how she is a pushover and lets the queen treat her terribly without retaliating… but I’m really glad I didn’t listen to that and read this anyway. I’m seeing a lot more badass vibes than pushover ones. My reasoning is as follows:
1.) The queen is a bitch, yes, but a bitch her brother loved. It makes sense to me that she would hesitate to kill the mother of the brother she is grieving so soon after his death. She kept her shit together and fought back without actually killing anyone while she was being tortured… that takes a lot of control when you have a gift like hers.
2.) Christa shows a strong level of responsibility for her people and country—she negotiated a treaty for them to end the war in a way that is fair for her people, even while plotting the death of the man she would be marrying.
3.) I’m starting to think that Christa reacts to pain in a very “it’s only pain” way, pretty badass. Perhaps to her own detriment, but I have a feeling her character arch will be addressing this.
4.) Her attitude is very no-nonsense and she’s willing to do what it takes without gloating or needing anyone else to tell her what to do. I hope the author leans into this and doesn’t focus solely on the romance—I can totally see Christa taking control of the Empire she’s just married into. So much potential…. Please deliver, author!