Lauvil's manga / #Toxic ML(5)

I don't think this story is romantic at all. The emperor is giving off ALL of the red flags; he kills without remorse, he's possessive and controlling, he has no consideration for others and only thinks about himself. I think chapter 12 was supposed to be romantic in revealing his thoughts, loneliness and deep infatuation with Charlie, but I thought it was out right terrifying. It was even explained in the first few chapters, that the emperor married Charlie by force AFTER having killed her entire family. She hated him and her life so much, that she eventually killed herself. Yet the emperor stubbornly held onto her until the end. If the new Charlie didn't like him back, then that would become her life as well; being tied down by a possessive husband, who has no consideration for her feelings. Who will force his feelings upon her, rape her, and not let her go, even if it kills her. The whole premise is SO toxic, and the author unfortunately missed the chance to redeem the ML-character.

Oh man, it started out so well... I really liked Roman in the beginning. He was so sweet and puppy-like and treated Lucy so gently and kind. But BOY, did it take a toxic turn. First, he totally overreacted when Lucy told him she was moving. Then he avoids her, ignores her messages and stands her up multiple times. Then, suddenly, he transfers to her school, gives no proper explanation for his previous behaviour, and just acts like nothing happened. But not only that, now he's also gaslighting her. Her low self-esteem makes it easy to manipulate her into thinking she's in the wrong, feel guilty and inadequate, and Roman is taking FULL advantage of it. I know his behaviour is probably going to be explained by the Baskerville "love curse", but that doesn't make it less toxic. I hope he's going to be taught a HARD lesson about his current behaviour. I also hope Lucy can develop enough self-confidence to be able to stand up to him and his toxic behaviour. But I guess we'll have to see... -------- Oh boy... We are sinking deeper and deeper into toxicity-land with every chapter. Roman is gaslighting Lucy, full steam ahead. Making her believe what she experiences isn't real, what her friends say is false, that her friends will leave her, etc. He is kind, then cold, then kind again. He tells Lucy she's his only friend and he needs her, but he clearly has plenty of people to hang out with. There's even hints that he's deliberately sabotaging and/or hurting her, to get her to rely on him... ------------------------------------------------------ So, it turns out that it wasn't Roman's idea to gaslight and isolate Lucy, but his brother's. The moment Lucy confesses (sort of) the truth comes to light and the two are able to clear up their misunderstanding. For now, it seems he's back to his puppy-like self. I guess Roman is young and impressionable, so his behaviour is somewhat excused. But he better treat Lucy right from now on! His behaviour from the first confession to the second was TRASH, and I'm honestly worried for his brother's fiancée. But for now, I'll see how things work out...

I already don't like the premise... I've read enough stories about FL's who were neglected and/or abused bc of their thoughtless husbands, to know what's coming. It will probably be revealed that the ML loved the FL all along, but some misunderstanding or trauma caused him to act cold towards her. But I call BULLSHIT on those excuses. Bc the "misunderstanding" is never the root of the problem, that caused the first timeline to end in tragedy. No, the reason is that the ML didn't realise that his position as a man, noble, leader and husband is one of privilege. His actions forms the basis for his wife's life; whether she will be respected or disregarded, be cherished or neglected, be served or spend her life in servitude. He has no regard or compassion for his wife's feelings or circumstance. If, in the first timeline, he had just spent a minute to think about how his words sound or how his actions can be interpreted by her and others, she wouldn't have had to experience the abuse and neglect in the first place. One could argue that he simply didn't know how his actions affected her and that he didn't have the sense to understand or predict it. But even that is an empty excuse, bc he could've found out if he simply asked her, spent time with her or checked up on her. Imo, there are no excuses for his behaviour. His wife was completely at his mercy and HE SHOULD KNOW THAT. Even if he lacked common sense and empathy, that much should be obvious. Yet he still spoke and acted like he did and made his wife MISERABLE. I think it's great that our FL gets a second chance - she deserves it. But he doesn't. The fact that she has to go through hell, be executed and DIE, and then still has to teach him how to not be an inattentive asshole, just means that he wasn't worth it in the first place. Run away from that bastard, please. He doesn't deserve you.

Elisha is a slave of the Cartier family. When she was young her aristocratic father died and left behind massive debt, and even though she had long been abandoned by him, she was forced to take responsibility. She becomes collateral and lives as a slave of the family she's indebted to. She is abused and assaulted and finally dies in an attempt to escape, only to wake up several years in the past. With the knowledge of her miserable future she decides to escape it by allying herself with the Cartier family's black sheep; General Lucerne, whom she knows plan to take over the family or destroy it if he can't. To solidify their deal, she agrees to marry him and thus their relationship deepens. I am thoroughly tired of premises like this. The setting is a sexist/mysogynistic shit show, that only serves as a backdrop for the toxic romance the story centers. The ML is creepy, forceful, cold and generally unlikeable. His assets are good looks, fortune and status - which, by patriarchal standards, are all men are needed to have to make a good husband - but his personality is shit. Any small kindnesses are highlighted as if the sum of them will somehow make him a good person, when really he barely reaches the minimum standard for what that is. Any scene in which the couple are intimate makes me uncomfortable, bc the FL is clearly afraid and the ML is completely unfazed by this and makes no effort to alleviate her anxiety. I know women are conditioned to like assertive men, but his behaviour is just scary and I'm not here for it. The FL has the blandness of a classic female main character, but one could attribute that to her past abuse. She's very cautious, anxious and nonconfrontational. However she does try to fight back against her fate and abusers. I just don't like that her only option is to marry out of the abuse - especially when the husband gives off toxic vibes. So, 20 chapters was enough for me. I'm done with this.