#I Want to Become the Emperor so I Need a Divorce

[spookybad]

Manhwa/webcomics I've read that I totally love (not all complete!)

Princess wars! (MY BELOVED! Not complete yet!)

Who made me a princess (just finished reading! Loved it!)

The mind reading princess (both the ml and fl were so strong and cool!! Also, ml is disabled, which was pretty cool, it's so rare to find manhwa with a seriously disabled mc)

Frozen flower knight (JULIA MY LOVE!! I can't wait for more of this story!)

I will become the matriarch (can't wait to see it completed, just to see florentia shine as the matriarch! (and maybe more gallahan moments))

I want to become the emperor, so I need a divorce (ml and fl are both so gorgeous, aaaaaaa!)

Kill the villainess (the story writing?! The art?!?!?! I love this! Can't wait to see the ending!)

I'm being raised by villains (ngl, I'm just a simp for erno etam, who isn't tho? But also, the art is beautiful and eiren is adorable)

[waaanderingluna]

🥀 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕻𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝕯𝖊𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖘 𝖆 𝕯𝖎𝖛𝖔𝖗𝖈𝖊

[silentheiss]

AU, where Luo Binghe meets Shen Yuan under different circumstances. Precisely, when one of his wives comes to him to ask for divorce.

Because she’s kind of in love with Shen Yuan, as it happens.

It goes like this:

Shen Yuan is having a great time being a transmigrator. He had quite a safe landing with being an NPC who’s never been mentioned in the book, so he’s not about to be killed by Luo Binghe anytime soon, and he’s doing great avoiding him.

Until he meets Ban Li. She’s so pretty and feisty she bound to become Luo Binghe’s wife one day, and Shen Yuan doesn’t want to be seen next to her when it happens. He’s not a suicidal idiot, despite what Ban Li says the first time they meet.

“-an utter degenerate! To face a Venomous Flying Spider in your own! What the hell were you thinking?” She yells, after cutting two back legs of the spider in one sharp swing of her sword, rendering beast to a withering, scaly pile. “At least you had a presence of mind to cut the wings first! Idiot!”

Who gives compliments like that? Shen Yuan sighs and positions himself more comfortably on the ground.

“As this one already said, everything was under control.”

“Ha!” Ban Li barks out, her eyes glowing green. Ah, must be a demoness, then. “Under what control? Be thankful for this one’s grace or your legs will be cut off!”

Shen Yuan laughs and offers Ban Li some sweets he always carries in his pouch. Things go smoothly after that — Ban Li accompanies him for next week, claiming she has a task of exterminating beasts in the area.

“Husband will want a report soon, but this one has time to spare.” Ban Li mentions one day.

“Ban Li is married?” Shen Yuan freezes. “Isn’t it inappropriate to- I mean for us, to. Uh.”

“This one was unaware Shen Yuan was courting.” Ban Li giggles, twirling a lock of her hair around her thin finger.

“I’m not!”

Ban Li laughs and leans closer to Shen Yuan, eyes glimmering.

“If you were,” She says, low and intimate. “I would agree. I would leave my absent husband and runaway with you.”

Ah. Now Shen Yuan sees how it is. Ban Li is not infatuated with him. She’s just-

“Ban Li, are you unhappy in your marriage?” He asks, heart breaking for this feisty, sweet demoness.

“Will Shen Yuan make it better?” Ban Li asks pitifully. Shen Yuan nods.

He will talk to that good-for-nothing husband of her and make him let Ban Li go. She’s promised to Luo Binghe, anyway, for plot purposes. He’ll just help smooth the process.

Several days later Ban Li takes Shen Yuan to a camp. It’s big, obviously expensive, and Ban Li looks almost shaky as they near the biggest, most impressive tent.

“Ban Li’s husband is… powerful.” Shen Yuan notes.

“He is.” Ban Li nods. “But this one doesn’t need his power.”

“Of course you don’t.” Shen Yuan nods. “We’ll make him see sense.”

Ban Li smiles at him, teeth sharp and eyes sharper.

“Shen Yuan is confident even in the face of the Emperor.”

Shen Yuan freezes.

“Ban Li.” He says, very quietly and very slowly. “Are you married to Luo Binghe?”

“Not for long!” Ban Li answers brightly.

Oh shit. Oh fuck.

“Ban Li.” Shen Yuan groans. “What the hell? Why on earth would you want to divorce Luo Binghe?”

“To stay at Shen Yuan’s side.” Ban Li says.

“Have you gone mad?” Shen Yuan demands. “Are you completely, utterly crazy? Who in their right mind would want to leave Luo Binghe to stay with me?!”

“Shen Yuan!” Ban Li whines. “You promised!”

“I didn’t know you were going to divorce the best person in the whole universe!”

Ban Li gasps at him.

“Do you want to marry Lord Luo?”

“No!” Shen Yuan says. “I’m a man, Ban Li.”

“So what?”

Shen Yuan feels like he’s going grey from the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

“Ban Li, we’re losing a thread of the conversations here.” He says. “You cannot divorce Luo Binghe.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s stupid! Have you seen him? He’s the smartest, strongest, bravest man ever. He’s extremely good looking. He’s lived through hell and persisted. He’s amazing, Ban Li! You can’t leave him to stay with me, are you kidding? I thought you were smart!”

Ban Li pouts at him, folding her arms like a petulant child.

“If Shen Yuan is in love with Lord Husband-”

“I’m not!”

“No? Then why are you praising him so?”

“Because I have common sense?”

“I don’t want to get back to harem while Shen Yuan is risking his life fighting dangerous beasts!”

“Ban Li, I’m begging you.” Shen Yuan says. “You will regret your decision.”

“I will regret not seeing Shen Yuan anymore.”

“Nonsense!”

“I will run away.”

“Ban Li.”

“Try me. I will.”

Shen Yuan sighs, hiding his face in his hands. He’s so going to die today.

“Do you suppose your Lord Husband might need a librarian?”

Ban Li squeals and drags Shen Yuan into the tent.

Luo Binghe, who’s been silently listening to the whole conversation, hires him immediately. He doesn’t claim to know Ban Li well, but they definitely agree on one thing: Shen Yuan mustn’t ever leave.

[arttrashking]

I kind want wukong to move on in your au. It is clear that macaque wasn't that good for him,sometimes...making himself improve himself over and over again,just to get macaque approval....when he gets nothing in return,he deserves to be happy,it best he shouldn't be dependent on macaque to be happy,he needs let go in his own way.

I really want Wukong to be happy (I am wukong bias)

“To fill those months he spent…without me caring what he felt…”

The king feels the painful ache in his heart and head just recalling how he never asked Macaque about those months even now…to afraid to hear to misery and to recall the news adding into their already crumbling lives after that fire…

If he could, he’d redo everything but if he had to choose one thing to fix…it would be the first time he felt his Ma ache didn’t hiccup and weep through his apology that Wukong should e spoken to him. To stay in that room and hold him tight, promise him they’d make their family a different way and assuring the beautiful demon that his love wasn’t dependent on his string he was or what he offered and serviced the king with.

That his love was never going to fade for him if he didn’t put Wukong above everyone.

“…if anyone should move on…it should be him…he should’ve moved on centuries ago… it he didn’t…how do I repay a loyalty so….so cruel to one’s self?”

Yeeeeaaaah I fancy myself of having their selfishness towards each other appearing at different times- Wukong when he was young loved Macaque he truly did- he just also assumed that it didn’t change that he does what he wants without compromise on his own end…and Macaque was like how Wukong is now- dependent on him and his love and attention. Wukong was freedom for him, Wukong was his first everything and the man he left behind his home and family for. If he didn’t have Wukong’s love, what was the point of leaving his home? To be outed as the naive fool who gave a selfish demon his all only to be tossed once he wasn’t valuable.

Wukong switched places now- now he’s desperate to covet Macaque- to keep him at his side and never let go as it was once he became emperor that the distance between them started to become obvious and he even slept in different rooms until he cried to Macaque who gave in on being in the same room- trying to be normal again. And they hit some normalcy despite Macaque wishing to go home still, MK came in eventually, and it was stable- and Wukong managed to even give Macaque something they thought they’d never have- a child in the form of MK.

With the divorce arc tho- it’s because things fell apart again because a child didn’t fix it all and the fact nobody apologized yet, and Macaque wants to do something he wants with or without Wukong now- so he’d rather separate and go home than just nodding to whatever Wukong wants

(Can you tell I like the angsty drama despite my crying eyes rn? 🥲)

But yeah I love Wukong very much as a character which is why [holding trauma gun] he needs all this for the JUICE of my meal that is this plot/j

[solspina]

Hello! I saw that your request box is open if this doesn’t suit your taste you can ignore this.

Could you write a hurt to comfort fic that involves a workaholic Guilliman and his politically married wife?

They knew they had being married to a primark would be rough but they didn’t think it would be so emotionally draining/lonely. Guilliman finally decides to do something and acknowledges his wife when one day she’s considering divorce and there are TOO many suitors waiting to have her hand.

Could you add how Robute pines for her but doesn’t know how to show how he loves her because he’s trying to manage a dying imperium and he doesn’t think he’s worth loving?

Never Again Will I be Gone

roboute guilliman ⋆˙⟡

i deeply apologize if this is rushed, i couldn’t figure out how to end it and it may be a little all over the place, but i hope it is enjoyed nonetheless!

why spill blood if things can be handled peacefully? guilliman is far too afraid of becoming attached or falling in love with his wife, and eventually she places the most dreaded option on the table for him. when tragedy befalls her, guilliman can hold his act of withdrawal no longer

warnings: blood, distant ass guilliman

how she had gone from being an incredibly privileged noblewoman to the wife of the last remaining primarch, she did not know.

there was a point in time she had believed she was a beacon of hope for her people. once her father’s reign was over, she would finally be able to restore peace to her planet, heal the sick and the dying, uplift the thousands that resided there from poverty. It was only when she stood on the altar and was encapsulated within the piercing blue gaze of roboute guilliman that she realized her people could not be saved.

the planet she resided on, the one she was supposed to rule, had an astonishing militia. the imperium did not wish extinction upon an innocent colony, nor did they want to challenge a planet that would undeniably put up a fight. teaching her father the ways of the emperor was far easier than trying to convince him that a woman could lead or be of any importance.

that ideal had been drilled in her head her entire life. she was to be married off from the day she was born. not a single suitor met her father’s standards, for none of them held enough power, until guilliman.

but it was fulgrim who convinced guilliman to take a wife in the first place. her planet was dangerous. if a peaceful negotiation was on the table, why sacrifice any lives?

fulgrim relaxed in his chair, pulling his wine glass away from his lips with a sly but genuine smile on his face. “you don’t have to love her guilliman. ive wed dozens of women. we do this out of necessity for peace, not out of love.” he said, his tone aloof and dismissive. guilliman hated to admit that his brother was right, thousands of his sons and innocent humans did not need to lose their lives when peace was on the table. “besides,” fulgrim added, his eyes gleaming with mischief and something akin to lust. “she is quite beautiful. i’d watch your back, i’ve heard others deeply desire an opportunity with her” guilliman’s expression remained stale and unmoving from the papers on his desk, though an unfamiliar feeling flickered through his eyes at the thought of someone else coveting his soon to be wife. was this possession?

“sure thing, brother.” guilliman replied, cold, unfeeling, and professional as usual.

he did not get to meet her until their wedding day, and quite beautiful she was. gorgeous fragile, and timid. her cowardice in his presence was something he was not anticipating of a noble, let alone the daughter of an incredibly cruel king. yet her eyes, glassy with tears, looked upon her people with great sympathy and sadness. they looked back at her the same way. she was not cruel, she was kind. these people were being ripped away of the only kindness they had been shown from their rulers.

when her father approached the two of them, she seemed to shrink into guilliman, clinging to his arm as if her father would rip her away the moment he got close enough. the king’s gaze shifted back and forth between guilliman and the girl, before her wrist was grabbed with such force guilliman swore he heard a crack. “i’d like to say goodbye to my dearest daughter” the man said, cooing as she whimpered at the pressure on her wrist, her hand turning blue.

guilliman’s eyes narrowed as he wrapped an arm around her. “release her, and say your goodbyes here, then.” he stood sternly, eyeing the girl’s hand. her father let go, not expecting such a protective tone from the primarch. “i will not depart from my wife.”

he protected her from her father, sure. but his words were a lie. for he did not have to love her.

throughout 6 months of marriage, he had only allowed himself to see her a dozen or so times, each meeting brief and rushed. his sons took great care of her in his absence, always sure to carefully to reply to every “where’s lord guilliman?” with a flat and prompt “he’s busy”.

the only time she remembered physical contact with him was the kiss they shared their wedding day, and the occasional brushing of hands when she handed him his paperwork. being allowed to sit in his office and watch him do his work was a rare and very awkward occurrence. she had her own room. her own space. she should spend time there instead. neither her or her belongings were allowed in guilliman’s personal quarters, anything to stop her sweet and intoxicating scent from getting on his sheets. anything to stop him from falling in love. he does this out of necessity, he has no time for love. he did not have to love her.

he’d admire her from a distance instead, or he’d submerge himself in papers and documents to avoid catching a glimpse of her. she’d sit in her room, contemplating the blank tear stained divorce papers that sat upon her dresser as she traced her fingers over the contours in her wedding ring. all the paper needed was guilliman’s signature.

her quarters were still close to his despite being separated. he heard her cries at night, incredibly often. comfort, she needs comfort. she needs warmth. he’s been in that room before, it’s so… so cold. he knew, and yet never once did he act on it. instead, he sat alone in his room doing paperwork by the warmth of his fireplace, the cracking flames helping drown out her sobs. he did his best to ignore them. he did not have to love her.

sometimes he couldn’t help but stop and listen, pressing his ear against the cold wall, knowing just how freezing and lonely it must be past the walls of his massive and elaborate quarters. his bed was more than big enough for the both of them, and he mulled over the thought many times. it didn’t matter, a little cold wouldn’t kill her, he did not have to love her.

one particular night, though, guilliman did not hear her crying as usual. her sobs and the sounds of the fire were replaced by heavy footsteps approaching his door. the heavy metal boots of cato sicarius were unmistakable as he made his way toward the primarch, a stern but panicked look across his features. Something about the look on cato’s face caused guilliman’s heart to quicken.

“my lord” cato’s voice was close to trembling, sweat pooling on his forehead “it’s lady guilliman… she’s hurt” cato’s voice echoed despite his panting. guilliman rose to his feet with an urgency he had never before felt toward his wife, his heart filled with a mix of panic, confusion, and anger.

“how badly?” he asked with a hint of controlled fury behind the question, every millisecond that passed causing him to dread every possible answer more and more until his heart felt as if it would beat out of his chest.

“she is in critical condition, my lord” the worst possible outcome rang through cato’s lips, but fell on deaf ears as the primarch plowed past him, walking directly to the medical unit and ignoring anything attempting to grab his attention along the way.

guilliman cursed to himself. to hear her cry was one thing, to long for her was one thing, but to be absent and allow her to become fatally injured?

when he arrived in the medical bay, multiple medicae surrounded the bloody and trembling body of lady guilliman. tears poured from her eyes despite her state of near-unconsciousness, the clear wound left by none other than the claws of the night haunter was swollen and crimson, it’s bright redness mixed with black screamed at guilliman. he should’ve been there. there was not an excuse in the universe that would satisfy the fact he was blind enough to let konrad curze get his filthy hands on his wife.

“where’s… guilliman…” she choked out, past her exhaustion and teary eyes.

one of the nurses seemed to tense up at her sad and confused expression. despite his constant absence, despite the papers for divorce he had found on his desk, she still cried out for him. “i apologize my lady, he’s busy” the nurse responded, watching her face twist into a look of defeat. he’d already signed the papers, had them prepared for her, and placed them on her nightstand in her quarters.

his heart could hold its true feelings no longer as he felt it begin to crumble. “i’m here.” his voice announced his presence as he approached her bedside, the nurse who cared for her widened her eyes in shock, swiftly stepping to the side to allow guilliman to see his wife. she reached up weakly with a single one of her tiny hands. her eyes were half lidded, confused and full of sorrow.

he stepped forward, reaching out his own hand to grab onto hers. “you’re really here…” she whispered, a small smile upon her features. “you found my papers, guilliman?”

his smile, once mirroring hers, faded into the slightest frown. “yes.” he responded. his voice cold and yet sorrowful. “they are signed but,” he paused, wanting a moment to consider the weight of the words on his tongue. “I cannot let you return home until you have recovered.”

she frowned. “i don’t want to go back home, roboute.” he tensed at her use of his first name, the only piece of his identity that was truly his own. “but there i had my people, and here i have nothing at all…” her voice broke as she cried, the pain of her wound overwhelming her as the machines stitching her wound together brought healing alongside pain. Exhausted and in something akin to agony, tears began to stream down her face.

“then i will give you everything” he replied with a solemn vow, turning to face the nurse as she nodded toward the primarch, the machine finishing its work and signaling to him that she was free to go as long as she did not walk or strain her body for a few days. he, for the first time, lifted his wife into his arms with more gentleness than that of which a primarch was capable.

he carried her into his room, past her own freezing cold quarters. he’d have her personal belongings moved within the next few days. Gently, he lay her on the soft rug next to his fireplace, not wanting to stain his bedsheets with her blood or hurt her as his period of scheduled rest passed. he removed his own armor, placing it to the side with ease before moving over to his bed. He did not lie down, instead grabbing a soft blanket and draping it over her body, ensuring she stayed warm. He sat next to her, placing her head on his thigh as she nestled into him for both comfort and warmth.

perhaps his scheduled rest meant nothing at all. damn the schedule. he had more important things to attend to now, and those marines of his were more than competent enough to handle it. his focus now was on nothing more than his wife, the girl who lay with her head in his lap as he stroked her head, memorizing every hair on her scalp like he should’ve long ago.

she shifted in her sleep, her body instinctively cuddling closer to her husband, thankful for the warmth she had always longed for. she did not cry on this night. he placed his hand over her shoulder and leaned back against the wall, his heart finally willing to admit the truth. he did not have to love her, but he did. by the emperor, he did.

[kingdomaddiction]

I can’t stop thinking about my Fragmented SQH AU so here I go:

—

Obviously Shang Qinghua is not fine. He tries to be, really. The story is over, his son is finally happy with the love of his life and the world didn’t end. Even his ex-husband (they never got a divorce, Qinghua technically died, does it count as one?) is now free! And his cute and socially awkward King is trying his best to treat him like a friend instead of a servant.

Still, Qinghua yearns.

Sometimes, when no one is looking, he touches his flat stomach and remembers his pregnancy when he lived as Su Xiyan. A strange, lovely feeling to carry someone inside you. Unforgettable. He misses those days, but not so much. Too stressful, always running and hiding in order to protect her little one.

Other days he gets lost in the memories of his life as a washerwoman. Sad, grey days were those. Binghe was her little sunshine, the only reason she kept waking up everyday until her frail body could no more.

He remembers Binghe’s first words, his first steps. He even remembers the things he used to whisper to calm him down after a bad nightmare, kissing his tears away. Back then she used to dream for a better live, hoping to live long enough to see her baby boy grow up and marry someone kind.

He got to see Binghe grow up, yes, but only from afar. Qinghua had to restrain himself many times from killing Shen Qingqiu pre transmigration. Seeing his son cry with no way to comfort him was torture. Or so he thought. Because living right now so close to him and only being victim of his hatred is way worse.

“The traitor.”

“That rat.”

“Pathetic—“

It was too much.

He did deserve it. Qinghua did nothing to stop the stop fate (why was Shen Yuan allowed to change the rules when he was forced to hurt his son?) but it still hurt so much.

So it was no surprise when a few tears rolled down his face after a specially mean comment. A few demons from the court snickered, but Binghe just looks at him with a mixed of confusion and surprise, recognizing the tears as real and not the fake kind Qinghua usually shed around Mobei. He doesn’t feel guilt, because if it isn’t Shizun he does not care, but is still odd to witness.

Shang Qinghua just bows and leaves. He cries the whole way to his rooms. It’s depressing, he knows, but he must endure this. This is his penance, right? Now he must face it.

He tries not to stare at Binghe too much after that or even speak in his presence, but it only draws his attention. Binghe seems to attack him more often as if trying to test something, curious to see his reaction. Why? Qinghua doesn’t know, but it can’t be good. His love for his son does not blind him of his cruelty.

‘Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry—‘

Why did his little sunshine had to become such a fearful and cruel emperor? Why couldn’t he remain small, and cute and kind? Why in the world did he write that cursed story?

He sighs giving Binghe a quick glance. The young demon looks tense. Qinghua is sure his bad mood is mostly for Shen Qingqiu’s absence, who left a few days ago for serious sect business (yeah, right— you just wanted a break from your clingy husband bro) and hasn’t returned yet. On top of that the last few meetings at court has been terribly stressful. So many demons playing mind games can be exhausting.

Qinghua even after feeling hurt by Binghe feels the need to comfort him. To tell him his doing great and will find a solution. What can he say? The love of a mother (should he say father? He is currently in man’s body, but he took care of Binghe as a woman—) never fades.

It’s a silly idea, but Qinghua sneaks into the kitchen to prepare a little snack. Steamed millet buns. Very cheap and easy to make. He only needed millet flour (which was even cheaper than rice and widely cultivated in poor areas) and water. If they happen to be lucky enough to have more ingredients available then Qinghua added salt or a bit of onions. It used to be Binghe’s favorite— well, he said “everything mama makes is Bing-Bing favorite!”

Ah, he used to be so cute.

He finishes making the buns and brings him back to the court room. The other demon lords are gone and Binghe looks like he has a migraine. Qinghua approaches carefully trying to be brave.

“Junshang…” he calls softly. Before he can say something more Binghe opens his like he’s searching for something and sniffs the air. Then he finally looks at him, well, the tray in his hands.

“What is that?”

“Ah… steamed millet buns, my lord. I— I made them… for you?” Binghe just keeps staring at him as if he had grown another head. Qinghua clears his throat. “This servant thought Junshang should eat something after a long day.”

Binghe looks at the tray, then at him, then the tray again and he seems like his about to reject the offer. Qinghua holds his breath, already preparing for the burning sensation of rejection. Instead Binghe surprises him by saying:

“Bring it here.”

The peak lord nods and feels so excited he almost trips in his way to the throne. He offers the buns and Binghe stares at them with mild disgust (maybe because his treacherous shishu made them) and after long consideration he finally takes one.

He gives it a sniff before taking a big bite.

Binghe’s eyes open wide and for a brief moment they seem to shine. He keeps eating one after the other and Qinghua feels his heart fill with warmth at the sight remembering when Binghe was 3 years old and tried the buns for the first time.

“I’m glad Junshang enjoyed the buns.” Said the cultivator with a small but honest smile.

Binghe seems to finally realize what he had done and cleans the crumbs with his sleeve.

“Shang… shishu,” Wow, really having a hard time respecting your elders, huh, mister? “… made this on his own?”

“This one did!” He says proudly. “If Junshang desires this servant can always prepare more“ Qinghua offers because he knows his son enough to know he won’t ask for them again even if he loved them.

“… Do as you wish.” Oh, someone has been spending some time with his King. Doesn’t matter.

This is a good sign, right? First positive interaction with his son since forever— oh! Maybe he can prepare him some congee and mantuo next time? Yes! He can’t wait!

…

// Binghe’s angrily eating buns the next day in his room, crying: I miss my mom (˃̣̣̥ヘ˂̣̣̥) stupid rat—

[pruneunfair]

Rating all of Rashtas sins *very long*

I saw the Matty bites livestream of this with a tier list and I wanted to do my own spin on it. I'll be rating like this

(Really?) 1-10 (whats wrong with you!?) Also fair warning, I might be missing a few sins too.

Smirking at Naviers divorce trial: 0.5/10 okay? I guess that's something but she's not doing anything but revealing to the audience she's not an angel.

Becoming Sovieshus mistress in the first place: 0/10, when you are a slave with no other hope for a good life, you take that golden ticket dammit, and don't even try to say you wouldn't do the same thing. ITS THE EMPEROR!

Calling out to Navier: 0/10, again how is that a bad thing other then being a tad weird? 😭 "she needs to learn her place! How dare she call our queen by her name!" Hope yall know Navier would likely just smile at you and move on with her life, you aren't gonna get picked by the imperial family just for cussing out someone the empress dislikes

tearing Naviers dress: 1/10, it was an accident on Rashtas part and to say that she tore it on purpose cause she knew it would get Laura in trouble later is just reaching, who do yall think she is? Hannibal? Cause that's not someone who fought in the punic wars, that's an uneducated girl with age regression. Either Rashta is stronger then we think or Navier really needs to get a better tailor if that dress tore with a single tug.

Smirking when Laura got imprisoned: 1/10 still weird sure but Laura was being a bitch, and Rashta was just happy for once someone couldn't treat her like dirt. If you still can't see how that's not so bad, try to imagine watching your sibling get in trouble for hitting you or your bully getting sent to the principals office, yes they're not comparable to a woman being imprisoned but it was around that same feeling.

Saying that Navier takes expensive gifts for granted: 0/10, Rashta was just speaking facts and I'll stand by that. You could say she's just saying that to put Navier down but either way, she's right! Of course a former slave who had nothing is gonna think that way about the nobility.

Calling Navier her sister: 3/10, yeah that's pretty damn weird, I have no clue where Rashta heard that from so I'm gonna guess that Sovieshu mislead her or something, It's very understandable as to why Navier would be uncomfortable but again, Rashta didn't do that on purpose, she's just misunderstood since it was common for nobles to have mistresses.

Sitting in Naviers chair and later crying to Sovieshu about it: 0/10, first of all, Rashta was mislead into thinking it was fine because a maid or noblelady told her "nah it's cool, the empress doesn't come here at this time of the day." Only for Navier to show up and deliver a sick ass burn to Rashta. 2nd of all we don't see much of what Rashta told Sovieshu (it was probably exaggerated ngl) but that doesn't make it her fault when he yells at Navier and brings Rashta her own chair. Like.. I doubt she demanded he go scream at Navier.

Wanting to join Navier and Heinrey: 1/10, a little intrusive sure but I'm sure she just wanted the chance to get to know more people, not terrible just Rashtas desire to be the biggest extrovert known to man.

Taking Sovieshus attention at the new years ball: 0/10 once again, how is that her fault when its Sovieshu who made the decision to abandon Navier!? ��‍♀️ he's the Emperor and a grown ass man. If he wants to ruin his marriage that's on him, not Rashta. Yes, she does cry to him when Heinrey rejected her but at the same time, who else would want to talk to the concubine who's the bane of existence for almost everyone?

wearing blue silks that were rejected and "stealing" viscountless Verdi: 0/10, I'm pretty sure Sovieshu just gave Rashta those silks and ngl, she looks amazing.

and abour the whole Viscountess Verdi thing, apparently she was Naviers lady in waiting who quit and flocked to Rashta, again, it's not Rashtas fault Verdi decided to switch teams! She even tells Verdi she can go back to Navier if she wants.

Copying Naviers mannerisms- 3.5/10, alright finally something that's more than a 3, this is pretty weird but not what I would call evil, just uncomfortable and even annoying. But in Rashtas defense, everyone tells her that Navier is the epitome of perfection that all women strive to be more like. She goes about it wrong but it is for the intention of improving herself for the royal court.

Sending her friend to pretend to be Heinreys pen pal and later doing it herself: 7/10, yeah that's pretty bad and straight up mean girl behavior but like.. why? What does Rashta get from this? She has Sovieshu so money and protection is not a worry, it was literally here to move the plot along and make the idea of a slave as the villain less uncomfortable.

begging and crying to be allowed to join the special banquet and then lying that she never wanted to go at all: 4/10, that's overstepping a little bit, it'd also be a big danger for Rashta since she'd be surrounded by nobles who would mostly likely despise her for her lack of etiquette and the fact that she's a mere concubine, although it is kind of trashy to change the story, that's a move any of us would pull to save us the embarrassment.

Fainting at the banquet after seeing Lotteshu, causing Sovieshu to take it out on Navier: 0/10, another case of "blame Rashta for Sovieshu being a shitty husband!"

Working with Lotteshu: 2/10 as dumb of a decision as it becomes. Rashta is being blackmailed by her former slave owner and he's keeping her son who she thought was dead, I'm pretty sure her mind was not in the right place at that time since she was just out of a panic attack and dealing with nasty rumors.

Wanting to go to the villa with Sovieshu for Naviers birthday: 4.5/10, that's a weird thing to want to do for the woman who by now dislikes you a lot but she doesn't even go so whatever, although calling Sovieshu "her man" was out of pocket.

"All his majesty will be thinking about while he's ill is me..": 2/10, damn Rashta, that's a pretty underhanded remark but again, it's just an underhanded remark with no one but Duke Ergi around anyway. And from what she's seen, Sovieshu doesn't care about Navier at all so it makes a little sense she'd think that.

Asking Navier for her allowance early: 0.5/10, that money is going to be used for Lotteshu so she can keep him mouth shut so the desperate need for that cash now is reasonable, (how tf is this even considered a sin in the commenter's eyes?)

Implying that Nian has multiple lovers: 4/10, I mean... does she not? But in all seriousness, this was likely an accidental micro aggression since Rashta was just told that it's normal for nobles to have multiple partners.

Following Navier around: 5/10, that's just encroaching on stalker territory now so I can't really blame Navier for telling her to cut it out along with the very truthful "he doesn't like me, so why would he like you if you acted like me?" I can kind of get why Rashta decided to follow her since she knows Navier wouldn't want to teach her, which is considerate I guess in her weird little way.

Copying Naviers dress and claiming it was the former who copied: 8/10. Straight up classic mean girl right there. This scene still confuses me to some level but whatever, it's still a nasty move on Rashtas part.

Resurfacing rumors about Nians infidelity: 7.5/10, while she does have her reason by wanting to divert the rumors from herself that's still fucked up to intentionally fan the flames of an already messy marriage like that, HOWEVER! It is still the Dukes fault he divorced Nian without rechecking the facts. Rashta was at fault for resurfacing rumors yes but the Duke is old enough to be able to conduct actual research instead of listening to a stranger he met at a party. Plus, Nian is basically this worlds Leonardo DiCaprio (she gets with a man young enough to be her son and she's in her 40s+ she welcomes another man into her haram afterwords) not using this as justification for Rashta but the possibility of Nian cheating is not low.

Getting Landre put on deathrow: 0/10, (another "sin" that was the fault of someone else) so after she spread the rumors, one of Nians little lap dogs stabs her with a knife, putting her and her unborn child at risk, and while Landre didn't know yet that Rashta was pregnant, he still stabbed a woman for another woman!! Sorry Landre but you don't get be shocked when the Emperor is pissed that you would try to murder his concubine to avenge your celebrity crushes honor.

not making an effort to see Ian: 3/10, dear God this one is really complicated.. alright, Rashta had Ian with Alan when she was a slave. She was then told the baby died after childbirth and handed her a dead baby so the child wouldn't have to be raised by a slave.. so when she's told that he's alive, she rejects the idea of visiting him. There are a lot of factors to this and why I think it was probably the best decision to make. First of all, she had no chance to bond with her son already making it uncomfortable for her, second of all, if she were too visit him it would the both of them in danger (which could easily be solved if Sovieshu just communicated and told Rashta he knew about Ian) third of all, she does feel really guilty for making such a decision because she starts crying while apologizing and later takes some of his hair from Alan when the coast is clear. To say she never loved her son is wrong and it's clear she still has love for Ian.

Asking Navier to bless her unborn child: 3.5/10, really weird but Navier did get Rashta a sword for the babyshower (a sword that was a backhanded compliment by the way but Rashta didn't know) so I guess Rashta assumed Navier was on good terms now. When Navier refuses, it's Sovieshu who makes her bless the child so once again.. not Rashtas doing, it was Sovieshu.

Crying when she realizes her baby will be illegitimate: 6/10, Rashta honey I love you but come on now. I'm sure by now you have to know how monarchies like this typically work.

Confronting Navier about the sword gift: 1/10, can't blame Rashta for being upset that Navier humiliated her at her own babyshower, she had a right to confront her, what she does next though...

Insulting Navier and then pretending that Kosair pushes her after he yelled at her for it, 9/10, that whole jab at Naviers infertility was a low blow and by pretending to fall over, it put the baby at risk. Not cool Rashta, not cool.

Kosair gets banished as a result: 5/10 yeah I'll admit, Rashta played a hand in that and it's a time I won't entirely blame Sovieshu for that since he believed Kosair tried to injure his pregnant lover but he still got the final say regardless.

Telling Alan to fuck off: 0/10 that was girlboss of Rashta to tell Alan how it is. They can try to portray Alan as a soft boy who made a mistake all they want, Rashta had every right to snub her abuser and walk out like the bad bitch she is.

Slapping Lebetti: 0/10 more girlboss moments of Rashta there. Lebetti was basically talking shit and spewing crap like "You never got anywhere as my brothers plaything, I'm better than you cause Navier is willing to speak to me." Nah Rashta you don't let her talk like that you pop her in the mouth! Commenter's got real mad when their self insert got a taste of her own medicine.

Getting fake parents: 4.5/10 eh, it's not as if there's no reason, she does need evidence of a noble background so she doesn't get put out as the center of rumors and the parents in question weren't tricked, they were fully aware Rashta wasn't their bio daughter.

Giving Lebetti the same dress as her so she could make it seem like Lebetti copied her: 3/10. What? You expect me to feel bad for Lebetti just because she's a sweet baby when she's around Navier? Fuck that, that was just a dose of revenge.

Getting drugged with Abortion drugs...:0/10, how the FUCK was that Rashtas fault!? "She lied about Kosair the first time though!" And Kosair is also a grown ass man! He only made the situation for himself worse when he tried to make Rashta miscarry, and it's the one time I wouldn't blame Rashta for suspecting Navier had something to do with it since you know, he's her brother and Navier has disliked her since the beginning.

Ripping the feathers out of a bird and framing Navier for it: 10/10, yep, that's fucked up on all levels. Yeah she felt remorse for it but animal abuse is still animal abuse, all to pin the blame on Navier.

Wearing a flashy dress to the divorce ceremony: 2/10, she was going wear something more toned down and even questioned if wearing a pink dress with diamonds was a good call, and Ergi, a Duke who from Rashtas perspective would know the ins and out of regal life, told her "nah it's fine to wear this, show them what a boss bitch you are now."

Being excited to the empress: 0/10, apparently this is considered bad since Navier was the original empress, girl stfu and don't act like you wouldn't jump for joy if you were told you'd get to me the empress consort.

Getting peeved that her fake mom would cry about her lost daughters: 8.5/10 this isn't even just a messed up thought thats straight up inconsistent behavior. Rashta lost her own child, she of all people should know the pain of losing a baby! She didn't say it out loud but dear God the inconsistencies are killing me slowly.

Wanting a glamorous wedding dress: 1.5/10, simpler designs do suit Rashta best but at the same time it's her damn wedding and she barely has any autonomy as it is. Can't blame her for being upset when she's told she has to wear a simpler gown.

Lying to a journalist: 5/10, to be fair, Rashta had no plan for this and relied on Ergi, who told her to say she wanted the best for commoners so it would lower her reputation with the nobles.

Being irresponsible with the money Navier left for her: 8/10. On one hand it's not unreasonable that Rashta would assume that Navier was doing this to mock her (after all the money wasn't even to help Rashta, it was for the empire) but still, Rashta fucked up by donating it all in her name, that's on her, not Navier.

Being worried about Sovieshus love for her and getting upset when Delice defends him: 6/10. I wouldn't call this true evil, just Rashta taking it out on the wrong person, she was right on some level that Delice doesn't know it all since she does have a crush on him but the way she handled it could've been better.

Wearing an extravagant gown on her wedding day: 0/10, this ones just hilarious 😂, your telling me, that a royal bride from an era that's most likely in the late 1700s to 1800s, would be made fun of BY NOBLES mind you, for wearing an expensive dress. Yeah, uh, that's not a sin, that's just what most royal brides would do including ones like Queen Victoria and Catherine the great. In the words of Matty Bites she may be a broke bitch but she wants to be the prettiest bitch at the party.

faking another illness/fainting spell on her reception to claim Navier is out for her: 7/10, just more stupid shit that doesn't have long lasting consequences. It's bad for sure but Sovieshu doesn't even buy it anyway now that he's obsessed with Navier.

Being upset that Sovieshu is pining after his ex: 1/10. It's gotta sting for sure if the man who upended everything including his marriage to his first wife to be with you ends up ignoring you while crying and bitching about the ex he left for you.

Trying to appeal to nobles by throwing a party and dressing and acting like Navier: 5/10, again, that's weird as hell but not straight up evil, it does go against her whole thing about being for the commoners but she kind of hates both sides anyway.

The Delice incident: 10/10, framing a loyal maid for placing feathers in your pillow to deface you and later having her tongue torn out? Yeah sorry Rashta that wasn't very bad bitch of you this time.

smirking at Naviers wedding when she thinks something went wrong: 1/10 just saying she could've done so much worse, like wearing full white.

Once again calling Navier her sister now that they are both empresses: 6/10, it's not like the first time since now Rashta is just doing it to one-up Navier but I can't see it is as anything threatening since Navier just roasts her like usual, causing Rashta is retreat.

Being interested in Kaufman: 4/10, she didn't really do anything to him since he was already under the love potions effects and Rashta happened to be the person he first saw, she misunderstood the whole situation, and it's not like Sovieshu is really known for being loyal so if she did want to cheat, I wouldn't blame her.

being suspicious and upset when she thinks Evalie is here to be Sovieshus new mistress: 6.5/10, it's pretty hypocritical but still reasonable to be worried since she's gotta assert her position as empress so she won't get divorced and separated from her child. And Evalie rubbing salt in the wound wasn't helping (and frankly stupid considering she only did that because she was displeased that Navier was gone)

once again lying to the journalist about where Delice went, 9/10 "Oh your sister who was my maid went missing? That's horrible! she's totally not in my dungeon with one her senses permentally removed!".. what the hell.

Hiring maids and pitting them against eachother to see which are most loyal to her: 8.5/10, now she's just playing God at this point, the maids who are loyal to her get special treatment and their parents are prisoners and their lives are basically put at stake and those who mess up even a little... yeah uh, going on to out next sin.

Executing a maids dad after said maid accidently spread a minor rumor: 10/10, that poor man probably had no clue why he was sent to the gallows after being such a model prisoner. The maid (I think her name was Barta) snaps and hits Rashta with a chair, giving her a permanent scar, after Barta is likely imprisoned for attacking the empress she frees the mother of the maid who snitched. Can't defend Rashta on this one.

Having Phix killed to leave behind no evidence she hired an assasin: 10/10 okay yeah that is definitely awful and it's straight up murder but now it's just pulling characters out of the stories ass to fulfill a role to assert the message that Rashta is evil.

Giving a port to Duke Ergi: 7/10, this is when Rashta is really starting to lose it. She's desperate for her only friend to stay by her side and accept her feelings, Ergi then asks for a port to which Rashta accepts with a smile that can only read "dear God, someone just end my misery",

Relishing in Evalies parents slapping Evalie: 5/10, yeah, considering those people are slapping their daughter without knowing it, it's pretty harsh but Rashta didn't order them to do that, the parents did so that's on them. Rashtas only crime was her lack of remorse

Entrusting Nikki to steal Evalies necklace: 7/10, pretty damn mean but compared to the metal shit she did already it's baby stuff. Very creepy though.

Putting out a hit on Naviers parents: 10/10, this is just getting ridiculous now since what the hell was the purpose other then more obligatory "Rashta bad" moments, but it's still awful and messed up to try and kill someone's parents so a 10/10 it shall receive

Selling Lebetti into slavery: 9/10, okay while I don't really care about Lebetti being a slave now since she's been nothing but a brown nosing bitch everytime she's on screen, but selling someone into a marginalized group you were in is still messed up.

Keeping Evalies origins hidden from her parents: 8/10, now this makes all the times the parents looked down on Evalie even worse.

Being disappointed when her babies a girl: 1/10, this was extremely common in eras like that because daughters weren't seen as important and if a woman couldn't give birth to a son and the husband was getting impatient, he could divorce her and keep the daughters as property. So I can't blame Rashta too much when she realizes this, plus she does come to realize she could never blame Glorym for being a girl.

throwing her baby: 5/10. This one is also really complicated. Rashta already loved Glorym with all her heart and wanted the second chance to be a mom. But the traumas of her past combined with the guilt in the back her head for her past transgressions causes a PTSD attack causing her to toss what she believes is a dead baby in her arms. Rashta does later feel extremely guilty for this in the novel, since it wasn't her intention but it also put Gloryms life in danger, I gave it a half rating

Trying to kill her dad: 1/10, fuck that guy honestly he sold his own child into slavery, if anyone deserves to be the target of Rashtas Wrath it's that fucker. Unfortunately Sovieshu shut down what could've been great revenge

Wanting to use someone else's baby to practice so she can hold Glorym: 6/10, I fully understand that Rashta is desperate to be a mother and just wants to be trusted but I think she should stick to stuffed animals for the time being.

Telling Alan to get lost when he shows up with Ian, demanding she raise him like a prince: 2/10, even Rashta isn't that stupid, Ian is not the Emperors son, so he can't become a prince and it's just being greedy since that kid will still live a good life as a future Viscount. Alan, you already fucked up one time too many, you made your bed when you let Rashta think her child was dead (and it's implied he still assaulted her after that) now lay in it.

Bringing the sword to Naviers babyshower: 4/10, eh, can't blame her for the petty revenge there. Navier did humiliate her first.

Implying that the only reason Navier has Heinrey is because she rejected him: 6/10, basic mean girl comment that backfires, why am I even shocked anymore (honestly though the "are you interested in my husband's or are you interested in me?" Line goes hard.)

Killing a maid after she helped her escape and dooming herself just before her trial: 10/10 *sigh* why do we even bother anymore.

I think that's everything, let me know if I missed something.

Anyway, what did we conclude from this? Well Rashta was a compelling antagonist and when people weren't shitting on her enough. She became the ultimate evil with plots and schemes that made no damn sense and she became known as the most evil empress in history, everyone hated her from beginning to end, she was used and made into a tool as revenge for being mean to Navier, and she dies in a cell feeling guilty for everything she's ever done. You know what? At least she has that, she still had remorse and paid the price which is more than I could say for almost everyone else in this series who got nothing but consequences free rewards. Slavery is still a thing, Lebetti gets to raise Ian, Sovieshu stays in power, Ergi runs away with his mom and apparently marries Evalie (ew) and Heinrey gets away with murdering innocent people just because they worked for a guy who's son attempted a hit on her...

You know what? I'm starting to think Rashta wasn't punished for being evil and she was just punished for being evil without her supporting Navier license.

[headspacedad]

My (current) Top 5 Manhwa Guys

Today we're going to do something new. I'm going to pick my favorite 5 manhwa guys. As I was figuring out my list I realized I haven't actually reviewed ANY of these manhwa. I will need to fix that. But right now - on with the show. And just as a warning - I really like my dark haired Northern Dukes (look I have a type and no, I'm not going to apologize for it. Y'all should know me by now).

Emperor Cardan Zeon from I Became the Tyrant's Dishonest Adviser.

Tyrant, war hero, dangerous and allergic to the top three or so buttons on any shirt, Cardan is completely enjoyable to read. He is also, most of all, insanely clever and capable - which, if I have buttons to hit, are the biggest reddest buttons out there for me. This man is on the ball with his ability to observe and put the puzzle pieces together quickly and he acts just as quickly the second he does. He is a stunningly competent ruler and an expert at navigating his surroundings, whether that's court intrigue or out in the wilds. Competent men are my weakness. But he's also playing the roll of 'pretending to be one thing while he's another' which is delicious character reading and he's a very snappy dresser as well. Not to mention when he makes up his mind, he goes all in and he loves unwaveringly. Double bonus, this man is confident to the edge of arrogance but he's earned it and never fails to prove he's got a right to be that way. Flaws? 'Hurt you to spare you pain in the future' and a tendency to snap when pushed past his patience (which, too be fair, has been spread about as thin as a complaints department call-center worker on double shift the day after Christmas). Art? The artist understood this assignment. There isn't a single panel where this man looks bad. Double bonus? Hand scars!

2. Grand Duke Sylvester Regen, Lord of the North from Honey, Why Can't We Get A Divorce?

Sylvester was in my top spot up until Cardan showed up. He's got so many of the traits I adore. Clever, competent, confident plus he's the villain of the story and he really enjoys being that. He's the equivalent of an elegant mob boss and the fact that he's terrifying at that is delicious. So is the fact he absolutely adores his wife. You see, his wife is the character the story is centered around - the usual 'got dropped into the body of the villainess and I'm trying desperately to reform my image'. And Sylvester? Sylvester backs his wife up 110%. Does he have his own reasons? Absolutely. Does that change the fact that he tells her to stop worrying about other people and do what makes her happy? Not at all. He revels in her being a villainess and supports her no matter how horrible she is. And when she suddenly starts wanting to be 'good'? Well, he's suspicious of her motivation but he supports her there too. If his wife wants to rule the world, he'll back her up and if she wants to adopt an orphan he'll - be very suspicious but end up picking up one for himself as well. His wife's change of attitude absolutely fascinated him and he's cheerfully along for that ride. He's also one of those 'never loved by anyone before' characters and its so enjoyable watching him becoming more and more intrigued by his wife's new lifestyle. The opposite of 'God forbid women do anything' Sylvester is getting more and more happy to go along for her ride. Flaws? The reason Cardan passed Sylvester for top spot is that Cardan recognizes how he feels, deals with it, loudly announces his state of mind to the world and then acts on it. Sylvester is a lot slower on the draw in that area (as most guys in manhwa generally are). He's falling in love with his wife but good luck getting him to realize or admit it. Art? Sylvester has a pirate vibe under the gleaming refined exterior and the artist catches it well. Double bonus for the entire chapter that was just him pulling on his clothes that fascinated me even more than the plot that was going on while he was doing it. He also fully embraces the fur lined Northern Duke cloaks and the DTF half gloves. Double bonus? Pointy ears!

3. Belzeon (Velzeon) Basilian from The Baby Fairy is a Villain

Okay, this one may be a bit confusing and its why I specifically had to use 'guys' in the title instead of men. But I utterly adore Belzeon and he deserves his spot on this list. He's talking to his father in the above picture btw. So Belzeon is thirteen - and his father's obsessed with bringing back his dead wife, Belzeon's mother. Which means Belzeon is shouldering a lot of responsibility as heir. In other words - he's an oldest child with an unreliable parent who has to take care of the house plus his two, now three, younger siblings. Sound familiar? Because a lot of us had to step in and step up as kids because our parents couldn't be counted on either. Belzeon just also has to deal with an entire dark forest full of monsters only his bloodline can kill as well as the trying to keep an entire kingdom up and running. Which - I would already feel for the kid that's trying so hard to be an adult and fill the giant shoes he feels his father kicked off and ran away from. He's an incredibly intelligent kid, dangerously competent and he's trying so hard to protect his siblings from what he views as his father's madness as well as the way the rest of society fears and loathes them. So my heart was with him already but then - wow, recent chapters. That kid is viscous! I mean, in the way that only someone with a completely cold and calculating mind could be and it was to fuck with his dad and I was HERE for it!! Like, kid has a heart of gold that's constantly bleeding thanks to his father and when he decides 'fuck it, we ball' he is NOT joking around. He rocketed into one of my all time favorites and I now want a story entirely about him (which, honestly, may be coming, the manhwa is really hard to decide who's the ML). Anyway, Team Belzeon all the way. Art? I'm not a big fan of the bowl cut but kid can pull it off. Also for someone with such an intentionally straight face, the artist manages to pack a LOT of emotion into those eyes. The manhwa really knows how to play around with color and they use his red eyes magnificently. Double bonus? I just want him to be happy okay? Is that too much to ask? (probably)

4. Duke Raffaello Kidrey from The Villainess is a Marionette

This is, by far, the prettiest manhwa I've ever seen and I'm going to admit that its one of the reasons I enjoy Raffaello so much. He is darned pretty to look at. His costuming is by far and away the best too - we had one outfit with high boots plus DTF half gloves plus a harness plus a corset. Like - guy does NOT fool around when it comes to clothing options. He's another of those intelligent characters. This whole manhwa is all about the political intrigue - so much so that when they introduced magic I was annoyed because it seemed to pointless to the really important part of the plot. Raffaello is a Grand Duke trying to keep his land safe from scheming royals, having to chose which of the many sides he's going to align himself with and he's not stupid about it. As such, he starts off as a very standoffish and closed off character and yet he's never truly cruel about it. When he gives his loyalty though, he's all in and there's no holding back. He's not only the FL's partner but he also watches out for her emotionally in a way no one else does or even thinks to. He trusts her even when she doesn't tell him why and he doesn't try to take the lead from her. He's the perfect knight to her princess. He also doesn't hesitate once he realizes he's in love. I would have liked to see him given more chances to be bad ass in battle because its very obvious he knows what he's doing to. What puts him on this list though is his constant monitoring and caretaking when it comes to the FL's emotional needs. She may ignore them but he won't. He becomes her safety in the storm and its a job he's earned. Art? So pretty, gang. Just so, so pretty. I am going to buy this manhwa when it releases just because its so pretty. Raffaello absolutely shares this and he's ornamented and solid and the perfect counterpoint to the FL's more airy and ethereal vibe. Double bonus? did I mention the corset/harness/half-gloves? Dude knows how to dress to attract a partner.

5. Duke Rubellian Florence from Anyone Beats the Original

The last spot was a hard one. I had a lot of guys I liked but it was hard to find one that just stood out from the rest. I had to go with Rubellian in the end though. He's another of those competent, clever, dangerous characters so he matched a lot of the others but - Look, revenge is a really common theme in these types of stories. Usually its the FL that has the revenge plot but sometimes its the ML doing his stuff in the background and that's the case with this story. Rubellian has a serious and completely understandable and legit reason he's plotting his revenge. I full support his revenge. He deserves a little revenge - as a treat. But what puts him in the number five slot - is he's going to give up that revenge because it could endanger the wife he's just married. Something that's driven him since childhood and he's willing to set it aside and exchange it for his new driving goal. To make his new wife so happy she never regrets marrying him. She didn't have to persuade him either, he decided this entirely on his own. Twenty plus years of surviving just for revenge for a horrible crime and he is smart enough to realize that what he has in the present is too precious, and relying on him too much, to endanger it for the sake of the past. That kind of priority making puts him easily in the fifth slot. Wifely love FTW. Art? This man's got the hair that lives to be tousled and the artist knows it. Plus his expressive face, especially the way the eyes are drawn, speaks volumes with very little exaggeration. He's a 'still waters run deep' kind of guy and his deadpan faces are worth it. Double bonus? Man drinks his 'respect women juice' and his married couple team dynamics with his wife are pure joy.

bonus: hugs

feel free to reblog and make your own list or just comment on my own. Or request a top five list. I mean, go nuts. We're all just doing this for fun.

[guardian-of-time-if]

might be an innapropriate question, but what would happen to MC who married lukyan if she turned out to be infertile? like while being crown princess and empress

I don't think this is an inappropriate question Anon! I actually think it's quite valid considering the politics of Nytheris, and the expectations placed on the MC. I will answer under the cut if this topic makes anyone uncomfortable.

I think MC being infertile would put both her and Luk in a difficult position. MC is very much expected to give birth if married to Lukyan, and preferably more than once.

In most circumstances, the emperor would have multiple wives, so it's highly unlikely that all four of them would be infertile, so he would have an heir, unless he's the infertile one. (Although they are very much a culture that assumes it's the woman unless proven otherwise.)

Luk, however, really wants MC to be his only wife. He blames his father's polygamy for their toxic family dynamics, and really wants to avoid that for his own family. If MC was infertile then it would weaken his position of 'I only need one wife' and he would under considerable pressure to take a second one. So his preference would be to leave Tzesar as his heir or adopt a child, but he likely struggle to maintain this position.

MC would be constantly reminded by courtiers that she's 'failing' her duties as queen. Legally, MC could be bast out of the imperial family, for infertility. (So less of her and Lukyan getting divorced, and more of an annulment.) There would be lots of talking about her behind her back, and some, very ambitious courtiers, may try to find a way of deposing her as a way of forcing Lukyan to take another wife.

Ultimately, he and MC would have to have some hard conversations. Adoption is an accepted part of Nytherian culture where adopted children have no issues becoming legal heirs, though because of the importance of Feylorn bloodline of god killers, there has never been a case of adoption in the imperial bloodline. Mc could persuade him into taking a second wife to have a child of his own blood (although this would be easier if they were in a relationship where they didn't have sex at all.) On the other hand, if MC was uncomfortable with the idea, Luk wouldn't ever take a second wife, and the court would have to deal with an adopted heir.

[eternalit]

■ ۫ ༒ Intro. The Members of Opalite [ See : Five of Wands ]

𓈃 💎 ˒ MYRA ✤

[ . . . ] 🎵 The Character Playlist. ︐ Tear You Apart, She Wants Revenge. Ponyboy, SOPHIE. Genie, SNSD. Sugarcoat, Kiss of Life. Long Way 2 Go, Cassie. Doll Parts, Hole. Thursday Girl, Mitski.

⃘ ۫ ♱ As the only child of her wealthy family of plastic surgeons, from birth Kang Jiyeon had everything handed to her on a silver platter with gold incrusted cutlery to match. If the term “socialite” had a face, she would be plastered front & center. Her family had always been the center of Myra's gravity, despite their deeply flawed nature. When her parents got divorced while she was as a trainee, Bluebelle was ruled with an iron fist. It wasn't long before word got out that she was kind of a snobby bitch, but the talent (and nepotism) always outweighs personality. In Myra's eyes, she's all that matters.

Stage Name ⦂ Myra

Birth Name ⦂ Kang Jiyeon

Birthdate ⦂ December 2, 1998 (Sagittarius ☼ Scorpio ☾ Capricorn ↑)

Height ⦂ 170 cm (5'7")

MBTI Personality ⦂ ENTJ (Sociable, Intelligent, Domineering)

Group Position ⦂ Leader, Lead Vocalist, Visual

Angel Alias + Abilities ⦂ The Emperor / Angel of Life, Resurrection, Omnipotence, & Divination

Representatives ⦂ Red (Color), Diamond (Gemstone), Fox (Animal)

Face claim ⦂ Lee Chae-yeon from STAYC

𓈃 💎 ˒ JULY ✤

[ . . . ] 🎵 The Character Playlist. ︐ Cherry Bomb, The Runaways. Mirror, FKA Twigs. Hot to Go, Chappell Roan. The Blonde, TV Girl. Girl, so confusing, Charlie xcx ft. Lorde. Loop, Yves. Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe, Kendrick Lamar.

⃘ ۫ ♱ Born in Daegu with her mother, father, and two sisters, Hwang Seobin never could settle down. She was a fiery child━her mother, Jiseol puts it. Always needing to be seen, held, loved more than anyone else in the room. Loved much more than what her mother carried. So, when becoming an idol was the new career choice, July's eyes were set on the stage. She had a gift that burned bright, why let it go to waste? Her mother prays that the icarus doesn't fly too close to the sun.

Stage Name ⦂ July

Birth Name ⦂ Hwang Seobin

Birthdate ⦂ May 26, 1999 (Gemini ☼ Aries ☾ Cancer ↑)

Height ⦂ 167 cm (5'6")

MBTI Personality ⦂ ENFJ (Impulsive, Charming, Outspoken)

Group Position ⦂ Lead Dancer, Vocalist, Center

Angel Alias + Abilities ⦂ Angel of Transformation, Reality shifting & Appearance manipulation

Representatives ⦂ Orange (Color), Labradorite (Gemstone) , Puppy (Animal)

Face claim ⦂ Kim Jungeun of ARTMS

𓈃 💎 ˒ LEILA ✤

[ . . . ] 🎵 The Character Playlist. ︐ Why Do I Cry, Margo Guryan. Ladyfingers, Herb Alpert. Picture You, Chappell Roan. Dove, antihoney. Twilight, bôa. Oh, my mistake, April. Velvet Ring, Big Thief.

⃘ ۫ ♱ Park Sieun has always been protected from the dangers of outside world. She has never truly lived. Leila's mother, Mi-young, walked out of her life for reasons unknown, because of this, connections with female figures have always been rocky. Leila's father dying created a harsh riff between her brothers━them being unable to protect her no more and leaving her, moving to America. Auditioning for Opalite was an attempt to gain a sense of control, along with some newfound stardom & money. Unfortunately, she can never get a break or an answer to anything and the wolf kills the fawn. It kills time and time again.

Stage Name ⦂ Leila

Birth Name ⦂ Sieun Park

Birthdate ⦂ July 14, 1999 (Cancer ☼ Aquarius ☾ Pisces ↑)

Height ⦂ 165 cm (5'5")

MBTI Personality ⦂ INFJ (Sentimental, Curious, Judgmental)

Group Position ⦂ Dancer, Vocalist

Angel Alias + Abilities ⦂ Angel of Prosperity (Energy manipulation & Telekinesis)

Representatives ⦂ Green (Color), Citrine (Gemstone) , White Tailed Deer (Animal)

Face claim ⦂ Choi Ji-won of ICHILLIN’

𓈃 💎 ˒ VALENTINE ✤

[ . . . ] 🎵 The Character Playlist. ︐ Ptolemaea, Ethel Cain. Today, The Smashing Pumpkins. Normal Girl, SZA. I'm Your Man, Mitski. Coffee, BTS. Clementine, Elliot Smith. Fowards Beckon Rebound, Adrianne Lenker.

⃘ ۫ ♱ Choi Yihyun had no choice to be kind. It was never an easy day in the her household. Yelling, thrown expensive vases and crying was anything but unfamiliar. But one night, during another heated argument with her mother about sending her to boarding school, Yihyun killed her. She fled in panic, living with her grandfather. What does Valentine do in spite? She learns to love, despite it all. Trainee years were lonely for Valentine, but you couldn't tell from her ever-flowing, popular personality. She appreciates it though, it's helped her. Maybe she can find some security in the mistakes.

Stage Name ⦂ Valentine

Birth Name ⦂ Choi Yi-hyun

Birthdate ⦂ March 10, 2000 ( Pisces ☼ Cancer ☾ Scorpio ↑)

Height ⦂ 172 cm (5'8")

MBTI Personality ⦂ INFP (Cheerful, Emotional, Obsessive)

Group Position ⦂ Main Vocalist, Dancer, FOTG

Angel Alias + Abilities ⦂ Angel of Love (Dream manipulation, Emotion manipulation)

Representatives ⦂ Pink (Color), Rose Quartz (Gemstone) , Bunny (Animal)

Face claim ⦂ Kim Chae-hyun of Kep1er

𓈃 💎 ˒ SELENE ✤

[ . . . ] 🎵 The Character Playlist. ︐ Quiet, The Winter Harbor, Mazzy Star. (dream), salvia palth. Black Hair, Alex G. Cico Buff, Cocteau Twin. Poison Tree, Grouper. Hidden Place, Björk. I Know, Fiona Apple.

⃘ ۫ ♱ Quiet is Anno Tsukiko. Dark haired & mystic, she's truly the black swan of her small family. Her mother, Anno Mizuki, is a famous Japanese ballet dancer widely known for her performance of “The Sugar Plum Fairy”. Selene and her mother live and breathe as one, she loathes it. The only child she's ever had. She writhes against it. Her mother is a performer in every sense━including her love for Selene. She can't love anyone, so Selene pretends that she prefers to be alone. Selene doesn't know what she is, neither does everyone else.

Stage Name ⦂ Selene

Birth Name ⦂ Anno Tsukiko

Birthdate ⦂ September 21, 2001 ( Virgo ☼ Scorpio ☾ Aquarius ↑)

Height ⦂ 172 cm (5'8")

MBTI Personality ⦂ INTJ (Detail-oriented, Reserved, Self pitying)

Group Position ⦂ Main Dancer, Vocalist

Angel Alias + Abilities ⦂ Angel of Peace (Clairvoyance, Telepathy, & Necromancy)

Representatives ⦂ Purple (Color), Selenite (Gemstone) , Swan (Animal)

Face claim ⦂ Kazuha Nakamura of Lesserafim

[aurora077]

Divorce? Never!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46814080

So I had this idea and wasn't sure which pairings etc would work well with it but ex-chengxian and zhancheng seems to be good maybe so like au where the law is that if you divorce your spouse you cannot remarry them until they've married another... if they become divorced/widowed from this new spouse, *then* if you want to rekindle a relationship with them you can get married to them again because divorce is allowed but a past emperor thought that some people were marrying and divorcing too frivolously and not taking marriage seriously so they put this rule into place so that people would think before making hasty decisions.

Now of course the new marriage has to be real.. a real relationship.. if the court finds out that you're marrying and divorcing just as a way to get the second marriage out of the way to get back with your first spouse you will be arrested. Of course there were still some shady dealings but the law generally made it difficult for people to actually go through with these kinds of plans. Only one half of the couple needed to remarry not both, just to show that they tried to move on.

Of course you could still get back together after a divorce, you simply would not be able to marry and would just have to be without that status, which was very frowned upon by the society. Some people did just live together but it wasn't an easy thing socially speaking as it was a sign that you were a frivolous person who divorced your spouse for petty reasons and it just made u seem like u had bad character so people would look down on you. And for the most part it worked. People who considered marriage did it seriously, and divorce as well.

Of course every society has people who do things in haste and anger so there were definitely those who didn't think things through and later regretted it. So I'm thinking maybe chengxian are together and they're childhood sweethearts but Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng have been arguing lately and couldn't agree on certain decisions... Wei Wuxian in the heat of the moment said something really really stupid-- that maybe they should just divorce and do things their own way.

Jiang Cheng, hurt, agreed.

Wei Wuxian of course regrets it. He regrets it so much.

But Jiang Cheng refused to be married to someone who didn't want him. He promised himself he wouldn't become his mother. So he goes through with the divorce because just the fact that Wei Wuxian brought it up really hurt him and caused him to lose trust and faith in their relationship.

Wei Wuxian was confident that he could win Jiang Cheng back... but he wouldn't get the chance to he knew because Jiang Cheng would *never* put himself in a cohabiting situation after the divorce to have people look down on him and treat him poorly, and Wei Wuxian wouldn't want that for him either.

Enter Lan Wangji Now I can't decide how I want this to go. We could have a few dif scenarios here. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are good friends and Wei Wuxian begs Lan Wangji to help him. He could court Jiang Cheng and marry him and because Wei Wuxian didn't want Jiang Cheng's heart to be too badly hurt, Lan Wangji could divorce him later with the excuse of being Wei Wuxian's friend and feeling so guilty that he 'stole' him from Wei Wuxian when he knew how much Wei Wuxian still loved Jiang Cheng. This was so Jiang Cheng wouldn't feel like he was the problem. Wei Wuxian definitely learned the hard way and he really didn't want to hurt Jiang Cheng, he loved him.

So when they got divorced Wei Wuxian could beg Jiang Cheng for another chance. (And of course Lan Wangji would talk up how much Wei Wuxian regretted what he did and how much he cared for Jiang Cheng) OR Lan Wangji who is in love with Wei Wuxian and wants to marry *him* but he knows Wei Wuxian is still in love with Jiang Cheng. Lan Wangji isn't a bad guy and he just wants Wei Wuxian to be happy, even if it's not with him. He and Wei Wuxian are friends and Wei Wuxian of course cried to him all about his regrets etc So he volunteers to woo & marry Jiang Cheng and divorce him after a bit so that Wei Wuxian could remarry him.

The problem? He falls in love with Jiang Cheng.

In either scenario Lan Wangji falls for Jiang Cheng and... well.. he doesn't *want* to divorce him. This has the potential for drama because both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng feel betrayed by Lan Wangji once this comes out. Wei Wuxian will confront Lan Wangji because when are you going to divorce him?! Lan Wangji keeps stalling somehow Jiang Cheng finds out.. maybe he overhears their conversation or maybe Wei Wuxian in a fit of anger at Lan Wangji for having Jiang Cheng's love now, tells Jiang Cheng everything

Jiang Cheng of course is doubly heartbroken and betrayed because he can't believe that Wei Wuxian would actually have someone else make him fall in love with them and marry them only to divorce him just to let him be with Wei Wuxian (yes Wei Wuxian loves him but it's selfish of him not to consider that Jiang Cheng would be heartbroken at a second divorce no matter how amicable because for Jiang Cheng to get married in the first place to another person meant he would have had to love them dearly and of course he'd have moved on from Wei Wuxian by then to this new person so no guarantee he'd go back to Wei Wuxian at all).

And of course he's more hurt by Lan Wangji who he was now in love with because it meant that Lan Wangji approached him with ulterior motives and if the relationship started on a lie then how could Jiang Cheng believe any of Lan Wangji's feelings were real? From the beginning Lan Wangji had no intention of being with Jiang Cheng He was just stringing Jiang Cheng along and faking everything to get Jiang Cheng to agree to marry him. Jiang Cheng is crushed. But Lan Wangji refuses to divorce him. He would not make the same mistake as Wei Wuxian and let Jiang Cheng go. Jiang Cheng was rightfully upset with him but Lan Wangji was willing to grovel as long as it took.

Even if Wei Wuxian was angry with Lan Wangji, Lan Wangji couldn't help himself. He knew Wei Wuxian loved Jiang Cheng but... well he did now too. If it's the first scenario where they're just friends, maybe Lan Wangji decides Jiang Cheng is more important than Wei Wuxian but Lan Wangji is still his friend so he tries to convince Wei Wuxian that he and Jiang Cheng divorced for a reason and that Wei Wuxian was just accustomed to Jiang Cheng being around his entire life and needed to put himself out there and find someone to love that wasn't just partially because of familiarity. Wei Wuxian of course is pissed at Lan Wangji anyway and still heartbroken

He really and truly lost Jiang Cheng. Not only was Jiang Cheng now married to Lan Wangji who was refusing to divorce him so there was no chance of remarrying him, but Jiang Cheng was also really hurt that Wei Wuxian would go behind his back and scheme. He felt Wei Wuxian had been selfish... if Wei Wuxian had been honest and tried to win Jiang Cheng back, then if Wei Wuxian's efforts had been sincere and Jiang Cheng gave him another chance, the marriage issue could have been resolved by both of them agreeing to Lan Wangji's help. But Wei Wuxian hadn't done that, he and Lan Wangji had played Jiang Cheng for a fool in Jiang Cheng's eyes.

And so Wei Wuxian had lost Jiang Cheng and he'd also lost a friendship with Lan Wangji because Lan Wangji had agreed to help him but instead had stolen Jiang Cheng from him. Even if Jiang Cheng was mad at Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng was more hurt and Wei Wuxian knew it was because Jiang Cheng really loved him, so if Lan Wangji grovelled enough he was sure Jiang Cheng would accept him Maybe Wei Wuxian goes out to drown his sorrows and ends up crying alone in a corner... he wakes up the next morning in a bed that he didn't recognise and high key panicked because he did not remember going home with anyone!

"Calm down, nothing happened," said a very amused voice.

The man had watched him flail around in confusion and panic and thought it adorable and hilarious but put him out of his misery anyway because it wasn't nice to scare him like that. Wei Wuxian looked over to see a huge, muscled dude with a grin on his face. 'Whoa' he thought, 'Hot'.

"Uh.. what am I doing here? And no offense but, who are you?"

"Nie Mingjue," came the response alongside another grin, and oh my were those dimples? "And as to why you're here.. you had a little too much and were crying all alone. I wanted to make sure you were okay and you basically spilled your life story. You passed out after a while and well I didn't know what else to do but to take you home and let you rest. Your phone was locked so I couldn't call anyone to come get you. I apologise but I didn't really have a choice at the moment."

"Oh." Wei Wuxian felt embarrassed that this man saw his sorry state. "You must think I'm pathetic." He hid his face in his hands sorrowfully.

"No. Maybe you made some mistakes but we all do, especially when emotions are involved. It's not pathetic."

Wei Wuxian strangely felt a bit better. Nie Mingjue was just really good at big brothering someone-- though he could tell from the looks he was getting as he made breakfast that this one definitely didn't see him as a brother. Well, that was ok. He might have red puffy eyes but when he smiled Wei Wuxian was breathtaking. Nie Mingjue would like very much to make him smile. Though not just yet of course, he was still getting over his ex.

But Nie Mingjue was a patient man. He could wait.

Of course Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji would eventually work things out because never let it be said that Lan Wangji wasn't good at simping. Eventually his efforts got through to Jiang Cheng and they had a proper conversation and Jiang Cheng expressed how hurt he was while Lan Wangji talked about how he fell for Jiang Cheng very quickly and he knew that he'd have a hard time doing what Wei Wuxian had asked, and by the time their wedding came around he knew he wasn't going to go through with it at all. He apologised too for not considering Jiang Cheng's feelings when he and Wei Wuxian planned things and acknowledged it was foolish.

It may have started out as a way to help Wei Wuxian but for Lan Wangji it very soon became real and he didn't fake things with Jiang Cheng, even in the beginning he hadn't exactly lied to Jiang Cheng he had just tried to talk to him about things they had in common and to get to know him.

Once he convinced Jiang Cheng that it wasn't fake and his feelings were real, they were able to 'start over' on more honest ground and Lan Wangji took the opportunity to woo him again. They also managed to have a conversation with Wei Wuxian and to clear the air. Lan Wangji apologised to him as well because well, he really did betray Wei Wuxian in a way. And Wei Wuxian acknowledged it was immature and selfish of him to try and control Jiang Cheng's relationship status so that he'd get back with Wei Wuxian. The biggest surprise was when Wei Wuxian introduced them to his new boyfriend but it was a happy surprise, they were glad for him.

Of course if it's the second scenario where Lan Wangji was in love with Wei Wuxian and volunteered himself to marry Jiang Cheng so Wei Wuxian could have him back because he wanted to see Wei Wuxian happy.. aka he was doing it all for Wei Wuxian without regard for Jiang Cheng up until he went and fell for Jiang Cheng himself... it'd be a little more complicated. ie. Jiang Cheng would be even more hurt i think in this scenario because if Lan Wangji was in love with Wei Wuxian then how could he love Jiang Cheng?

Still Lan Wangji would refuse to divorce him but he would be struggling because he loved Jiang Cheng and he knew he messed up big time but he also loved Wei Wuxian and he messed up on that front too because one he wasn't going to divorce Jiang Cheng but two he still loved Wei Wuxian as well so he didn't want to see Wei Wuxian hurt but Wei Wuxian felt hurt and betrayed by him. Of course this could become zhanchengxian if they all manage to work things out.

[angel-cross666]

Manhwa's I have read this year

Pink means it's my favourite ones.

The remarried empress

Men of harem

Lady and the beast.

Royal Shop of Young Lady.

Forget My Husband I'Il Go Make Money.

I Want To Become The Emperor, So I Need A Divorce.

I tamed my ex husband's madog.

The Villainess Debuts Gorgeously.

I Will Fall With The Emperor.

I Failed To Throw The Villain Away.

your regrets mean nothing to me.

Bastian.

my in-laws are obsessed with me.

A Divorce evil lady bakes cake.

The price of braking up.

The tree are living a married life.

Dangerous Fiancée.

My Husband is a antisocial count.

Baked by the barones.

Who kidnapped the empress.

the villainess tames the beast.

if you desire my despair.

the abandoned princess secret Bedroom.

The Mistress Runs away.

It's not your child.

The monstrous dukes adopted daughter.

The Saintes returns as a vilian.

Regina Rena.

You never meet a villainess like me.

Tru education.

As the Villainess I rejected these happy bad endings.

The archduke gorgeous wedding was a fraud.

I will take the dutchy from today.

Isn't being a wicked woman much better.

Flirting with the villain's dad.

Goddess emila wants to escape.

My goal is to achieve success on my own

I refuse to be executed a second time.

Romance is dead.

I'm devorsed but I'm a chaebol.

I'm in trouble because my husband is so cute.

I'm the queen in this life.

Go away romeo.

Janice.

If you want a fake sister.

I'm being raised by villain's.

I'm the fake saintess but the gods are obsessed with me.

The heat of the reincarnated villainess.

Attic princess.

The older sister of a maniac.

I thought it was a common Isekai story.

The abandoned bachelorette enjoys her simple life.

Love doesn't matter.

I've become the villainous emperor.

The way to protect the female leads older brother.

I have become the heroes rival.

Death is The only ending for the villainess.

Who made me a princess.

Marriage of Convenience:95

Royal marriage.

Aidin.

The Obsessive second male lead has gone wild.

I am the real one.

I don't love you anymore.

I'm ingaged to the Obsessive male lead.

Lies become you.

You go marry my husband.

How to get my husband on my side.

Empress simulation.

I'll be the matriarch in this life.

The dukes dark lady.

In to the light once again.

My body has been possessed by someone.

Depths of malice

Becoming the villain's family.

My destiny to be the hero's saviour.

The real daughter is back.

A noble pirate.

The world without my sister.

I'm devorseing my tyrant husband.

Even if I'm the villainess I'll become the heroine.

Beast's Flower.

Once Wicked always wicked.

Ashtarte.

Crownless queen.

I thought I didn't have long to live.

I tamed a Tyrant and Ran Away.

Beloved in-laws.

The villainess revenge.

Your Majesty please don't kill me again.

And Unseemly lady.

Baby tryant.

The tyrant wants to be good.

I will politely decline the male lead.

I'm the villainess but so famous.

Crazy princess renia.

The gangster baby of the dukes.

Surving as an illegitimate child.

It's useless to hang on.

Empress cesia wears shorts.

Of all things i became a crow.

No more turning a blind eye.

I became the Ugly lady.

A Stepmother's Marche.

While you are in love.

Devine inconvenience.

After I cured his insomnia, Tyrant became Obsessive.

Revenge is sweeter than honey.

My Unexpected Marriage.

From Duty to Devotion.

Hated It Even More.

I'm to lazy to be the villainess.

The tyrant princess wants to get married.

Stella the star princess.

Please support my revenge.

Reasons to Protect the Witch's son.

The Reason Why The Twin Lady Crossdresses.

Why Do You Love Me When Refuse Your Request.

Finding Camilla.

I Don't Want to Be Loved.

The Villainess has Fun.

Surviving as an Obsessed Servant.

A Saintess adopted by the grand Duke.

I Adopted a Villainous dad.

No Place for the Fake Princess.

Villainess need a Tyrant.

Tamed a blackened slave.

Princess hundreds ways of martyrdom.

A Perfect Ending of the Villain.

Beast within.

I will seduce the male lead for my older brother.

I've become the true villainess.

I became the obsessive villain's babysitter.

I'll change my fate to be executed.

The tyrants tranquillizer.

Crow dutchess.

The Male Leaď's Nephew Loves Me So Much.

Falling for a Dying Princess.

I Am the Villain.

Why Do You Love Me When Refuse Your Request.

The betrayed queen is devoted to by the beautiful baron.

Baby Pharmacist Princess.

The Runaway Lead Lives Next Door.

The villains life l'Il live it once.

La Dolce Vita de Adelaide.

Why Would a Villainess Have Virtue.

My Childhood Friend Became an Obsessive Husband.

10 ways to get rejected by the tyrant.

I Became the Villainess in an Anticlimactic Novel.

To Those Who Long for My Destruction.

Becoming the obsessive male lead's ex-wife.

How to survive as a maid in a horror game.

the fake saint waits to leave.

Obsidian Bride.

Rosalyn Vogart.

Let's take a bath Duke.

The Precious Girl Does Not Shed Tears.

Father i don't want to get married.

The Priest Dreaming of a Dragon.

She No Longer Wields Her Sword.

I am the Male Lead’s Ex-Girlfriend.

Red Laurel Flowers to My Emperor.

I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend.

Please Don’t Come To The Villainess’ Stationery Store.

In This Life, I Will Raise You Well, Your Majesty.

Vengeance from a Saint Full of Wounds.

The Duke’s Daughter is Going on Strike.

The daughter of evil.

The Villainous grand Duke sister.

Beware the Villainess.

A wicked tale of Cinderella's step mom.

The devil raised a lady.

Reborn As a Character That Never Existed.

The Precious Sister of the Villainous Grand Duke.

I Didn't Save You To Get Proposed To.

I took away the tyrant's virginity.

The dutchess has a death wish.

Heaven official's blessing.

I'm being chased by my husband.

Why she lives as a villainess.

I'll just live on as a villainess.

I created a harm to avoid the male lead.

I became the sultans precious cat.

I'm a villain but I saved the female lead.

I will divorce the female leads brother.

Let's live together.

I became the greatest heiress of the empire.

I raised my younger sister beautyfully .

I Accidentally Saved the Male Lead’s Brother.

I Didn’t Mean to Seduce the Male Lead.

Here reigns the vengeful villainess.

I Am Selling the Main Character’s Shares.

The villainess reverse hourglass.

The price is your everything.

I became the mother of the bloody male lead.

I think it would be better for me to become king.

The Villainess is a Marionette.

As My Husband Said, I Brought in A Lover.

How a Villainess Survives as a Saint.

The Empress Wants To Avoid the Emperor.

The glamours life of the fake mistress.

The villainess reverse hourglass.

I Will Take Responsibility for the Welfare of the Male Lead.

Cinderella Wasn’t Me.

The Crown Prince’s Fiancée.

Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom.

Marriage Alliance for Revenge.

To My Husband’s Mistress.

The reason why raeliana ended up in the Dukes mansion.

Ennead.

[m-feline]

No way out but his arms- Part 2

Emperor Thrawn x Freader

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (TBA)

Tags: suggestion of divorce, treason, bath, deals, mention of children, suggestion of smut, suggestion of breeding.

(I asked @vibratingskull to write the spicy part of this story. The link will be added when it is done. The picture is from @netmors .)

You were not in the best of moods. This evening had been horrible. And at the end of the night, Thrawn still expected you to join him in his chambers. You needed everything possible to calm you down and to make you forget what happened at the banquet.

–

The banquet has been a success so far. The guests, food, and topics of discussion went smoothly without any issues. You didn't even think about spending a night with Emperor Thrawn until someone had to say something stupid.

“Your majesty, Good evening to you.”

Grand Moff Kothos was one of those disgusting people you had to endure on the political side of the government. He was one of the few remnants of the government from the time of the previous Emperor. But he was also one who indulged in the rumors that Thrawn had warned you about.

“Moff Kothos,” You greeted the man stiffly. The evening was almost over except for a small get-together with a glass of something bubbly. One more hour and you had to go and ask Thrawn to take you away. But then again if you do it in front of this man, you kill the rumors right there.

“I understand, there will be a new meeting next week,” Kothos said. Kicking the bush as always, he wanted something and you knew it. What you wanted was to remove this man from his position and give it to someone more deserving. You could do it, but without a reasonable excuse, you would be no better than other Moffs, Senators, or even the previous Emperor, in abusing your power. You didn't want to become that. If you had to be the Empress you would be someone who follows the laws and improves all lives of the Empire's people. Which was easier said than done.

“Yes, the meeting will be held without any changes,” You said with a neutral tone.

“I was wondering what topics would be discussed during that meeting,” Kothos said. You didn't miss the glint in his eyes. He was clearly wanting something.

“Then I wish to add another topic,” Kothos said. “There has been some talk about the union of someone important, and that their union is not working.” He thought he was subtle but he wasn't. He used to be good with words but now it seems the age reached him sooner than expected.

“Both are important figures, but me and a couple other Moff's have come to the conclusion that we can discard one if necessary,” Kothos said, and you felt how your stomach went hard. “As much as both of them have improved the current government, we believe a separation is recommended and maybe even welcomed.”

“A divorce, you say,” You say a bit coldly. If it were that easy you would have done it already. At the latest after your brother died.

“In time for that too,” Kothos said. “But we can't have the innocent party suffer and be left all alone. So maybe it would be best to introduce a new partner to the said party.”

That thought never occurred to you, if Thrawn has a lover, he could leave you be. If you play your cards right he will divorce you and you and your family can be free. But it wasn't that easy. He never made an appearance in the political field, even less appeared with another potential Empress. He was always on a campaign to protect the galaxy from enemies which were discovered not too soon after your wedding. And he has efficiently ended all rebel activities with minimal casualties. Now his main focus was on the outside threat coming from the Unknown Regions and possible alliances from other species from that same space. The Chiss Ascendancy to be precise, his home world. There were talks about a possible pact but nothing sure. But that was one of the reasons Thrawn needed you to handle the political power of the Empire. He would not let you go that easily.

As you didn't agree or disagree with any of his words, Kothos continued.

“Of course, but not just anyone will do. Naturally someone who already has made something for the Empire,” Kothos said. You mentally roll your eyes, of course he already has someone in mind. Someone he has connections with. You begin to wonder who he plans to introduce to Thrawn.

“Tell me, your highness. What do you think of my son?” Kothos asked. You looked at him with wide eyes full of confusion. Why would he ask that? Why would you ever care for his obnoxious son? Kothos had to be either stupid or didn’t care about your opinion as he continued. “My son is well known in the social circles, and he has some merits from the navy, but above all else he is way better partner than a non-human.”

As you realize his intentions, you become angry every minute. How dare he? Your family’s life is on the line. And even if it wasn’t, you would never choose a pompous son of an old Moff. And above all else, even if you were at odds with Thrawn, you would never cheat on him.

“Sure, he only got a rank of a Captain before he ended his service, but I assure you he will be very useful,”Kothos continued. “I will help you get divorced, and transfer the power from the Emperor to you. And when you marry my son I will gladly help you with whatever…”

“You filthy pig!” You shout and slap the man as hard as you could. Kothos had managed to keep the conversation in low tone and no one had paid attention to it. But when you had shouted and slapped the man, everyone turned to look and stopped their conversations. For a long moment everything was silent as people tried to figure what was going on, and Kothos was trying to get over the shock over the rejection and the pain on his cheek. The silence was broken quickly by the sound of steps that made way through the crowd to the scene.

“What is the matter?” Thrawn asked with a cool and calm tone. You turned at him but you were too upset to speak right away. Thrawn came to stand next to you and took your hand, that you used to slap Kothos, and inspected it. “What happened?”

“I…”

“She slapped me,” Kothos said, pointing at you. “I was having a civil conversation and…”

“He wanted me to divorce you for his son,” You said with the conviction you had mastered in the senate.

“No, I…”

“He said that if I marry his son, he’ll help with dethroning you,” you kept talking.

“No, I didn’t …”

“You claim that the Empress lies?” Thrawn asked coldly. The other guests began to murmur as they heard and realized what was going on. Kothos was indeed an old Moff from the regime of the previous Emperor, but for him to dare suggest his son for the Empress to marry, or to claim she lied in front of the current Emperor without proof, was a very poor decision.

“Your highness,” Kothos tried to sound diplomatic. “I believe the Empress misunderstood what I was saying.”

“Then what were you trying to say?” Thrawn asked,

“He spoke how he and other Moffs believe we should divorce, how it would be unfair for the innocent party to lead alone, and then he asked what do I think of his son,” You said.

“That does sound very upsetting,” Thrawn said. “I can’t help but feel offended.”

“Your highness that was not what..,” Kothos tried.

“Whether you didn’t mean to upset the Empress,what you said did indeed cause offense and so the Empress can’t be blamed for striking you,” Thrawn said.

“But, sir…”

“Just because you have served the Empire from the days of the first Emperor, doesn’t mean you can disrespect the Empress,” Thrawn said. The murmuring got more intense as people kept whispering about Kothos.

“Since I have served so long I do have some rights,” Kothos tried to save his face.

“You were offering a plan of conspiracy to me, Moff Kothos,” You said out loud coldly. “What you were doing was speak of treason right before my husband, the Emperor.”

That did the trick to make Kothos go pale. And soon people murmured that his position was now everything else except secure. With a small gesture of hand, Thrawn called the guard and gave the order to arrest Kothos. Kothos tried to say something to save himself but no one listened to him anymore. The whole ordeal had soured your mood, but as the scene was cleared you recalled that you still had to spend a night with Thrawn, as he circled his hand to your shoulder. Even now you had to ask him in front all the guests to end the evening sooner, and make it sound as if you wanted to spend the night with him. As if the previous scene wasn’t enough to end the rumors. but right now you didn’t feel like pretending to be a couple in love. But you wished to leave early that was for sure. So you looked at Thrawn at your side.

“I want to go to my chambers,” You said to him.

“You mean our chambers,” Thrawn said.

“You are jesting,” You said sourly.

“I do not jest,” Thrawn said. “But considering what just happened I let you go early to freshen up before I arrive. No need to beg me to come with you.” You were partly relieved you no longer had to beg for him. But you still needed to spend the night with Thrawn, and you knew how it would be spent.

“Fine,” You said and tried not to grumble.

“I will see you soon then,” Thrawn said.

–

So here you were, soaking in a big tub in the huge bathroom of the Emperor’s suite. You needed it after the fiasco that happened moments ago. Every time you would sleep with Thrawn you would try to mentally prepare yourself. It was for your family. You would slip your thoughts to the past when you first met Thrawn. Back then you had no qualms with the Empire, but you didn't support it either. You didn't know your parents were secretly aiding the Rebel Alliance. So, when you met Thrawn you didn't see him as such a bad person. In fact, you were a bit intrigued by him. He was mysterious yet very polite. Though he didn't understand politics very well, he knew art and culture. Then he began to spend time with you. Your parents were wary of him but they didn't forbid you to see him. When he disappeared you were sad for not seeing him. But when he came back your entire family was surprised and worried. When he came for you they were terrified. But from then on Thrawn did his best to be a decent husband to you and a dignified Emperor. Of course, he couldn't spend time with you all the time due to his duties. But when you were in private and you weren't acting up, he would become the sweetest of lovers you ever knew. That is if he was in a good mood and you had behaved like a good wife. As you sat in the water you prayed he would be like that now as well. Sometimes, you wished he would be a selfish bastard who would take you roughly every night, then you would kill every bit of admiration or fondness toward him, and you could demand a separation legally by claiming to feel unsafe. But no, the only time he has ever forced you was when you acted all bratty at him and threatened to run away. But whenever he suggested you spend a night in his chambers, he would make love to you nice, slow, and possibly all night long. In those times you can't help but fill the room with moans and cries of ecstasy as he brings you to your high.

You sighed as you dip yourself more to the warm waters till only your nose was above the water. You weren't in the mood but you knew that with Thrawn's skills he gets you to that mood. And you hated yourself for that. But he did let you off the hook with the begging. But now surely he expected a docile wife waiting for him to bed.

While you were worrying about your morals and the night's finale, you missed how the door to the bathroom opened and closed as someone came in and walked to the big bathtub.

“Everything alright?” Thrawn asked and made you almost jump out of the tub. You were angry for him scaring you like that but you were also anxious that he wanted to start something right here and now.

“W-why are you here? Can’t you see I'm not ready,” You asked, trying to get some authority to your voice.

“I wished to get a few things done before our night together,” Thrawn said, coming closer. You had hopes that he would keep his distance since he still wore his full attire. “How do you wish to deal with Kothos?”

“What I wish for and what I should do are two separate things,” You sighed. “If I could I would remove him from his post, take away his title, and appoint a new governor for his sector.”

“And why not do it then?” Thrawn asked.

“Because I don't want to abuse my power,” You said a bit louder.

“You are the Empress, if you want something done just order it,” Thrawn said.

“I'm not a tyrant. If something is done it will be done by the law with the council,” You protested.

“I'm sure the council will agree,” Thrawn said, and pulled his hand back to pull out a datacard. “Especially once they see this.”

“What is that?” You asked with suspicion.

“All the evidence of corruption of Kothos and a couple of more Moffs. How you wish to use it will be up to you,” Thrawn said, keeping the datacard between the two of you. When you tried to reach it, he pulled his hand back. You turned and tried again but this time not only did Thrawn pull the card away but he also grabbed your hand with his free hand. You were suddenly out of water and you couldn't decide whether to use your free hand to push him away or to cover yourself the little you could with one hand. “It won't be for free.”

“What do you want?” You knew the answer but dared to ask. He already got you to come this far by threatening your sister, what more could he want?

“I have a proposition for you,” Thrawn said and brought the datacard before your eyes. “You get this, if you listen to it, without interrupting me or acting up.”

“Does it have to do with us sharing the bed?” You asked.

“Very much,” Thrawn said. “And more.”

You felt the chill in your spine. Then again you were standing naked and wet from the warm bath you had a moment ago. But just thinking what he might be about to offer made you worried.

“Y-you just want me to listen?” You asked, confirming his words.

“Yes, only listen, whether you accept my proposition or not will be entirely up to you,” Thrawn said and let go of your hand. “I will leave now and wait for you to finish here. I'll keep the datacard so it won't get damaged from the humidity.”

Once he was gone you sunk to the warmth of the waters again. You had a bad feeling of this. But so far he only asked to listen in exchange for the datacard that could make your work easy. Well, easy for your mind. As he suggested, as the Empress you could simply order to replace Kothos and take all his possessions. But you didn't want to become that. It was one thing for your family to know you married the Emperor, but to hear you take down governors by your whim, you were raised better than that. You could never face yourself. Your morals wouldn't allow it.

You soaked for a moment more in the water before you got out and dried yourself with the soft towels. For one part you were grateful to Thrawn that he rarely allowed servants to his chambers or to his bathroom if it wasn't for cleaning. He preferred to do things himself as much as possible. But for certain occasions he allowed servants to come to aid with clothing like earlier. You were not in the mood to hear any words from the servants, whether they tried to cheer you up or simply make you feel better. You had no nightclothes to put on and since you knew what was before you, you didn't need it. You took a light long satin robe that could be tied from the front. Once you got your hair dried you came out of the bathroom to the master bedroom.

Thrawn had already discarded his attire and waited for you wearing his own robe, while sitting on a lounge chair drinking some wine from a chalice. When you came out he drinked the sight of you with his eyes as he set down the chalice.

“You look beautiful,” He said when you finally got close enough.

“What is it that you wish to speak about?” You asked. Thrawn didn't say anything but moved his finger as a sign to call you to come closer. Knowing him, he surely wanted you to sit on his lap. But you were already bracing yourself and you were mentally prepared to only hear his offer, so instead of his lap you sat next to him on the lounge chair. Thrawn didn’t show any disappointment instead he turned to face you fully before he talked.

“I am tired of using your family as a leverage to get you to behave as my wife, and I'm sure you would be less stressed every time I mention your family,” Thrawn began. You went tense when you heard his words. Was he seriously going to let your family go? It was too good to be true. What was the catch? Thrawn could see your inner turmoil as you were going through possible conspiracy theories inside your head. He smiled as he waited for you to say something. But he had said that if you listen without interrupting you would get the datacard. And you needed that datacard to finally remove the corrupted old Moffs who abused their power. So no, as much as you wanted to ask and know what Thrawn was going to suggest how to keep your family from being hostages against you.

“So, I came up with another option. A life for a life,” Thrawn said. You frowned as you didn't understand what he meant, and Thrawn saw it in your face. “I want you to bear my children.”

“What?”

“You heard me, and you interrupted me,” Thrawn said.

“But…”

“We had an agreement,” Thrawn said. You opened your mouth but didn't say anything as you kept repeating a mantra inside your head. Just listen, just listen, just listen. No need to agree, you don't need to accept it.

“I want you to bear my children. Little heirs of the Empire. We have been married for some time and our union isn't bad, but isn't good either. If we have children I'm sure even you will behave for their sake,” Thrawn explained. You lifted your hand like a child in a school, and you didn't miss the smirk Thrawn had on his face when he gave permission to speak.

“You mean ‘a child’, not children,” You say.

“No, I meant children. Plural,” Thrawn said. “You give me a child and I let go, and never touch again, one of your family members. And last time I checked, you have more than one family member, minus one.” You finally get what he meant. He won't chain you by your family but by your children. He wants you to get pregnant and have his children. The night just got worse.

“Have I made my offer clear?” Thrawn asked.

“You did,” You growled. “If you want heirs can't you just get a concubine like other rules do?”

“No,” Thrawn said, his voice growling and his red eyes blazing. “I want you. Only you. And I want you to bear my children.”

“And if I say no?” You asked angrily.

“Then your family may have to suffer another loss in the future,” Thrawn said, his voice cold. You bit your cheek inside your mouth as you went through his words and what he wanted.

For one part he was going to let your family go. But he was going to chain you with your children. Will you agree to that? Will you be able to love them if they resemble Thrawn? Oh Stars, you hated yourself for even thinking that. How could you abandon your child to him? Wait, how many children did he say again? Can you even have too many?

“How many did you say…?” You asked disheartedly.

“One for each of your family members,” Thrawn said, the coldness was gone from his voice as he knew now that you would soon give in. “And I give you my word, I won't touch or hurt the member you choose. Even if they try to defy me, I would simply lock them up for good. But I won't hurt them.”

You let out a sigh when you heard that. This was a new chain you would accept in order to protect your family. Your first chain was the crown of the Empress, now it would be your children. But you would do your best to look after people living in the galaxy. You just had to come to terms that you were bound to Thrawn. As much as you disliked it. But better him than some power hungry Moff trying to push his son at you. Maybe one day. One day long, long time from now, you might get used to Thrawn, and perhaps let him into your life. But you didn't feel like it today.

“Will you let go of my family when I give birth or when I'm expecting?” You asked, staring at your hands on your lap.

“I let one of them go when you're expecting our first child. For the others, after the delivery,” Thrawn said as he got up from the chair and walked to the huge window of the room.

“Can we skip this night then? It is not my day yet?” You asked, hoping you could get a breather tonight.

“Your auspicious day is tomorrow,” Thrawn said without looking at you. “I checked with the droids for your monthly cycles to be sure. And no, that does not mean we will skip tonight.”

“Why?” You asked dreadfully as you got up from the chair.

“Because my dear, I need to prepare you to take me fully,” Thrawn said as he turned to face you. “We will be occupied for the next five days to successfully get you with a child. And I'm making sure you will be thoroughly satisfied.” You got scared of what he just said and tried to get to the door and get away. But the panel didn't let you get out. Did he lock you inside his room?

“I have instructed the servants to only contact us through datapads if necessary. And most of our schedules are completely liberated to focus on our endeavor to get you pregnant,” Thrawn said, walking away from the window towards you. “Don't worry your assistants know that you will be unable to attend a few meetings and they will make sure that everything will be taken care of.”

“I'm not going to remain locked in the same room with you for five days,” You growled as you still tried to open the door.

“You have no choice, my dear. You are here and you are free to leave after I'm truly finished with you,” Thrawn said, coming right behind you to slip his hands around you. “Now, allow me to make love to you, slowly and tenderly, before I start to breed you in earnest.”

“No,.. why… why?” You asked while you gave up on trying to get the door open, yet you still tried to get out of his grasp.

“Why what, love? Ask properly,” Thrawn said and kissed your neck.

“Why… Why me? Why now?” You cried as you also realized that you couldn't escape him.

“Because I want you. I wanted you from the beginning when we met. I didn't push the issue of children on the wedding night so you could get accustomed to your new life. But now,...” Thrawn said and chuckled. “Well, I'll tell you more tomorrow, now I want to taste you.”

Thrawn untied your robe and left it open from the front while his hands found your chest and began to fondle you. You tried to keep yourself from letting any noise but once one of his hands reached for your sex, it was game over for you.

“I know you enjoy what I give to you,” Thrawn said right next to your ear. “The way you make noises when I use my fingers, my mouth, my cock. Stars, you feel so wet already.”

“It… I… it was…’cause the b-bath,” You tried to keep yourself moaning. But Thrawn knew how to make you scream once he set his mind to it.

“Is that so?” Thrawn asked, and you felt how he was smirking behind you as he brought his fingers to his mouth to have the first taste of your wetness. “And here I thought it arouses you to know that the most powerful man in the galaxy can get to his knees for you.”

He stopped touching you and took a step back. You tried to keep yourself up by leaning against the wall. But soon he made you spin to face him, he lifted you over his shoulder and carried you to bed. After setting you softly to the bed, he removed his robe while looking you up and down.

“Relax and get comfortable on this bed, we'll be spending a lot of time here for a while.”

[lovxrly]

𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘹𝘳𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐬

ׂ╰┈➤ my taste, for reference:

: ̗̀➛ dislikes: love triangles, reverse harems, extreme slow burns, enemies to lovers : ̗̀➛ female lead pining after male lead > the inverse : ̗̀➛ favorite tropes: opposites attract, second chances, ugly duckling/mistreated mc, arranged marriage, revenge

disclaimer: some are 18+ and include questionable dynamics/not all depict healthy relationships (par for the course w romance unfortunately)

-ˏˋ⋆ family/child mc ⋆ˊˎ-

​I SHALL MASTER THIS FAMILY good plot and character development, smart mc and very nice art. THE MALE LEAD'S LITTLE LION DAUGHTER goofy + cute, no need to use your brain while reading. MOTHERS CONTRACT MARRIAGE​ beautiful art, mc is the daughter of a woman who has regressed after being abusive towards mc in their her life, well written from the pov of a naive child. THE ARCHDUKES ADOPTED SAINT​ lots of sibling/family dynamics, interesting plot. MY GENTLY RAISED BEAST sweet read, cute art. I FAILED TO DIVORCE MY HUSBAND frustrating and codependent at times but an overall interesting read. BEING LOVED FOR THE FIRST TIME adorable. lots of family dynamics and super cute art. CAN WE BECOME FAMILY interesting plot. BORN A PRINCESS very cute, the mc's resistance gets a bit frustrating but is understandable and adds to the character and plot progression as opposed to just drawing it out. THE BABY PRISONER IN THE WINTER CASTLE frustrating plot but still a cute read REBORN AS A CHARACTER THAT NEVER EXISTED super interesting plot, mc can be frustrating at times but is mostly understandable. THE VILLAIN'S PRECIOUS DAUGHTER not the deepest read but still interesting, mc is fairly smart ​THE WORLD WITHOUT MY SISTER WHO EVERYONE LOVED stunning art, novel is better but that's to be expected. I ADOPTED A VILLAINOUS DAD another cute read. I'M WORRIED THAT MY BROTHER IS TOO GENTLE didn't expect to like this as much as i did. BABY PRINCESS THROUGH THE STATUS WINDOW simple but good, a comfort read for me. ADOPTED BY A MURDEROUS DUKE FAMILY another interesting read.

-ˏˋ⋆ adult couples ⋆ˊˎ-

「 historical 」 FOR MY DERELICT FAVORITE so funny, lots of cringe but makes me audibly laugh often so i let it slide. fun plot, a bit existential at times. one of my all time favs. WHAT IT MEANS TO BE YOU not the darkest but still dark romance, great character development, very cute ending. PLEASE, MARRY ME AGAIN HUSBAND! love, love, love. some plots holes and corny at times but so fluffy. very likeable characters, another fav. HOW TO GET MY HUSBAND ON MY SIDEI THOUGHT IT'S A COMMON POSSESSION so so so so good. highly recommend. female lead is ignorant at times but we let it slide. i don't usually like stories with games/systems however it's executed well. novel is better but still - highly recommend. MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCEKARINA'S LAST DAYS beautiful. overlooked female lead + regretful family, one of my favs.​ HOW TO HIDE THE EMPEROR'S CHILDFATHER, I DON'T WANT THIS MARRIAGEI PICKED UP THE SECOND MALE LEAD AFTER THE ENDING frustrating at times but has an interesting plot, lots of drama. VALIA, TRIBUTE TO SHUDEN LUCIA​ THE VILLAINESS NEEDS HER TYRANT i am in love with this story. HONEY, I'M GOING ON STRIKE gets a bit convoluted as it goes on but still a fun read. ​THE VILLAINESS CAPTURED THE GRAND DUKE THE MALE LEAD'S NEPHEW LIKES ME SO MUCH MY BELOVED OPPRESSOR dark romance done well. hard find. I'VE BECOME A TRUE VILLAINESS I BECAME THE TYRANTS SECRETARY I HAVE NO HEALTHI HAVE BECOME THE HERO'S RIVAL makes me oddly emotional. I GOT MARRIED TO A VILLAIN ROYAL MARRIAGE I BECAME THE MOTHER OF THE BLOODY MALE LEAD highly, highly recommend. female lead has a good brain. I WILL SURRENDER MY POSITION AS THE EMPRESS MY HUSBAND WHO HATES ME HAS LOST HIS MEMORIES pure angst, enjoy reading when i want my heart stomped on. THE MALE LEAD MONSTER LIVES UNDER MY BED​ VIRTUES OF THE VILLAINESS a classic 2 me THE PROBLEMATIC PRINCE the title does not lie. male lead is an asshole, female lead is naive but refreshingly self aware. beautiful art as well. THE POSSESSIVE TYRANT AND HIS SLEEPY CAT cute read, doesn't require much brain usage A FLOWERY PATH FOR THE DEVASTATED MALE LEAD I WAS THE REAL OWNER OF ELHEIM I SAW THE FUTURE WITH THE KILLER GRAND DUKE WILL MY DOTING HUSBAND LOVE ME AGAIN? not very well placed but still wonderful if you enjoy established relationships. +:ꔫ:+ 「 modern 」 A FRIENDSHIP SO IMPURE​ absolutely lovely. unique art and a very satisfying epilogue. MARRY MY HUSBANDA DEMON'S WISH fun read. THORNS OF WARMTH one of my favs, love the art and characters. wish it was updated more. often. THERE MUST BE HAPPY ENDINGS

-ˏˋ⋆ stories i actively dislike ⋆ˊˎ-

UNDER THE OAK TREE DON'T GRAB ONTO THE BROKEN BRANCH I THOUGHT I DIDN'T HAVE LONG TO LIVE SICKLY HUSBAND'S CONTRACTUAL WIFE TO THOSE WHO LONG FOR MY DESTRUCTION THE VILLAINESS LIVES TWICE

[sebastianswallows]

I want to talk a little bit about Frank Herbert and the Bene Gesserits, because it's something that's been on my mind for a while and I haven't seen anyone looking at these characters from this perspective yet (not that I looked very hard, but I check the tags occasionally and just haven't seen it, and this would be the first place I'd expect to).

It's strange in a good way seeing Dune become popular, and people actually reading the books, and it being cool to do so, not it being a niche and nerdy thing. But what's equally weird is to see all the praise Frank Herbert's getting, especially from women readers 😂

Because at any point between, I think, the 80s and the 2000s, if a guy said he liked Frank Herbert that was considered by women to be a red flag. I remember women chatting about this in online forums back in the day. It was the equivalent of a guy saying he likes Jordan Peterson now.

It's an analysis of Dune that doesn't seem to have come through again. Audiences have caught on to the homophobia inherent in how the Baron was represented, but nobody is talking anymore about the blatant sexism of the books.

And I say this as a long time fan, because I was super inspired by most of the female characters in the novels and in particular the Bene Gesserits, so to hear that Herbert was supposed to be a misogynist took me by surprise. "What do you mean it's sexist? This is great!" The idea of a group of women who fully dedicate themselves to their own intergalactic girl gang, who follow their own plans, who use their femininity to their own ends, who live through discipline and self control and are fully empowered to face down any threat, that was so inspiring to teenage me.

But I guess the sort of women I most admired were the ones who were terrifying to men.

I mean, the only "good" female characters are either not Bene Gesserits, like Chani, or are Bene Gesserits who go against the order, like Jessica. Moreover, the only "good" female characters are those who betray their group for the sake of men. Like Jessica going against the word of the Reverend Mother because Leto wanted a boy.

Irulan's only redeeming features are her complete dedication to Paul and being basically in love with him and being the author of glorifying history books about him in spite of the fact that he deposed her father and is keeping her in a loveless marriage and constantly publicly humiliates her by treating Chani as his wife.

Even Chani, an otherwise bland and marginal character compared to the film, is at her most poignant when dying in child birth for the sake of giving birth to Paul's children. A death which happens because Irulan had been secretly poisoning her out of jealousy. Frank Herbert just has women clawing each other's eyes out for the sake of Paul's affection. I don't care how good that dick is, it's not worth poisoning another woman over. Poison him instead and take the throne, girl.

But oh yeah, in this intergalactic empire tens of thousands of years in the future, they seem to have discovered neither the concept of divorce nor of female inheritance of titles and property. It can only be a man inheriting the throne, not the Emperor's biological daughter. And once Irulan is married, well she's just stuck there. Pretty incredible.

And however great the Bene Gesserits are, they still need a man to "see where they can not see". No matter how empowered a group of women becomes, they still need a man. Only a man can see into the future. Women can only see into the past. Therefore, only a man can save the world.

I get that they tried to conceal some of this in the recent film, and they managed to do so to some extent, but it's mostly been with Chani. You still have the problem of Jessica and Irulan being just servants for the whims of the men in their lives, a fact which gets them into a lot of trouble. And you have the Bene Gesserits portrayed as scheming witches who are evil to have their own plots and designs, and are dependent on a man to see into that place which terrifies them.

I mean, enjoy the books by all means. I always did in spite of all of this, and I still like the story and the world. I still love the characters too. But man if the author didn't have some unflattering ideas about us 😂

[josefavomjaaga]

I realise that you may not be versed in Napoleon as a person much, but I'm still quite eager to know,

What changed in Napoleon's demeanour after crowning himself emperor or marrying Marie-Louise and why do you think it happened?

Thank you for the question, and you are correct, I have very little interest and even less insight in Napoleon as a person. So please take my opinion with a huge grain of salt, as you always should.

As to your question, the obvious answer would probably be: nothing. Neither the coronation nor the wedding had any magical power that somehow did huge changes to who Napoleon was. If anything, they were the result of changes that had happened earlier.

Napoleon was always one dangerous potential outcome in a society marked by civil war/unrest and militarization: at some point, the guys who have the weapons might just take over. Napoleon always had wanted to become the sole ruler of France, and he constantly worked towards that position. You see that since the very first stages of the Consulate turning into the Consulate for life turning into a hereditary French monarchy turning into an international Empire. I don't see much of a change there, it's just, from the very beginning, Napoleon going for the power, and testing how much of it he can grab and hold. (You could possibly start earlier, with him befriending Robespierre's brother as long as the jacobins were in charge and turning to Barras once that promised to be more lucrative - you might even add him marrying Josephine to that list.)

It's more complicated with changes on the outside because of course those were huge in appearance. The court of a monarch has its own set of rules about pretty much everything, from what to wear to where to eat to - awfully important - who first walk through doors. People who saw themselves as more or less Napoleon's equals, or as Napoleon as a "primus inter pares", suddenly had no immediate access to the newly crowned monarch anymore and found themselves waiting in ante-chambers. (Which, btw, included a certain stepson of Napoleon's who did not have any public office and thus was relegated to the first and lowest anteroom. A fact this stepson SO did not care about that he still felt the need to mention it in his memoirs fifteen years later. Considering that Eugène is always described as such a gentle and good-natured guy, I don't want to imagine how more volatile characters may have felt about the same issue.)

But even that change had slowly started during the Consulate already, and it continued throughout the empire - and it was something that Napoleon deliberately chose to do. The "divorce" from Josephine and the marriage to Marie-Louise (a "real" princesse) are merely a symptom of that. Napoleon now had the power to go through with something he had planned since before the coronation at least. Power both at home (where support for Josephine may still have existed, but not at court where it counted) and abroad. Let's not forget that Napoleon marrying Marie-Louise was a mere coincidence; if Alexander had agreed to a marriage of one of his sisters, we would have had a totally different political landscape in 1810 (but not necessarily less tensions).

(The problem of an heir, just to quickly add that, imo could have been resolved in many different ways. But Napoleon did not, like he rarely did anything for the continuation of his alleged new dynasty before his son was born.)

So, for what it's worth: I see both Napoleon declaring himself a monarch and marrying the daughter of an Ancien Régime emperor as mere symptoms of the power grab that Napoleon's whole adult life was.

Thanks for the Ask! ❤️