#violanation

[thegradus2]

“Surely not…. It’s been 15 years… and anyone would have stopped before getting disowned, noone would lack *that* amount of care for themself”

And then basen doesn’t stop thinking about it for a week

[nonexistent-alfa]

The crown hosts a ball. Of course all noble households in the Roan kingdom are present. Same goes for the Duke's House of Henituse as well.

Cale, who had separated himself from the rest of his family members to go to a corner and enjoy the desserts with the invisible Raon and had kept his Dominating Aura activated to keep the annoyances away, is approached by his youngest sibling.

Lily, being the brave knight she is, asks her eldest brother for a dance. Cale, who already feels guilty for being as absent from her life as he is and not being a proper older brother for her, accepts it for her sake. He needs to do at least this much for her as an older brother.

There is, however, one tiny problem.

Cale, no, Kim Roksoo doesn't know how to dance. The original Cale Henituse was so invested in his act of being a trash that he never bothered to learn it, so currently Cale had no muscle memory to rely on either.

Lily, who kind of predicted this when she approached him, ends up leading the dance. It's truly an unexpected sight to see Cale Henituse dancing a waltz in the middle of the ballroom. The Commander, who was often seen bleeding out on the battlefield as he fought in the forefront, elegantly moving his body to the flow of the music was truly captivating.

Basen Henituse has never been so jealous of his little sister seven years his junior. Neither has he ever felt so remorseful of being born a man. He wishes he could share a waltz with his elder brother too.

Cale, the magnanimous brother as he is, readily agrees to dance with him. When they're off the floor, Basen makes a victory fist as soon as nobody is watching.

Duchess Violan hesitates at first. But then she decides she should join in on the fun too. Thus, for the first time ever, she shares a waltz with her step son. Something she only used to do with her husband and son, Basen, in the past. She never expected there would come a day when it would be possible for her to dance with Cale. However, as it seemed, today was the day.

Deruth is much too overwhelmed at being reminded of Jour to ask Cale for a dance. He's just happy watching the others enjoy themselves.

The thing that Lily started, what was continued by Basen and Violan, naturally everyone wanted to be a part of it. Not everyone was lucky enough though. Cale accepted their requests for a dance because they were his family. As for the rest of the people present in this ballroom? He could care less.

He does end up sharing a dance with Amiru Ubarr and Rosalyn though, people who were good at leading the dance for the inexperienced him.

Once he returns from the ball, the children demand he dance with them. Raon, who watched his dance at the ball, tries to imitate his partners leading Cale through the dance. On and Hong are quick to learn as they watch before each following suit one after another.

It was the night the Black Castle shone the brightest and illuminated the Forest of Darkness to the point the name had never felt less fitting as it did that day.

Bonus:

Taking a leaf out of Basen's book, Alberu asks his precious dongsaeng for a dance. Cale is disgusted and flabbergasted but also plays along.

"dongsaeng, are you purposefully trying to step on my feet?"

"hyung-nim must know I never learned to dance, so it's expected."

"you didn't step on anyone else's feet though?"

"maybe they were just better at leading the dance than you are."

Alberu, baffled, "cheeky brat."

"the brat is older than yourself, hyung-nim."

"ha!" Alberu is in disbelief. "Well, i guess I should assign a dance instructor to my beloved dongsaeng then."

The dance ends and Cale whispers to him before walking away "sure. Send him to the Black Castle." Knowing it's near impossible for anyone to withstand the presence of the individuals residing there.

The next day, Tasha is at the Black Castle.

"My nephew asked me to teach the young master how to waltz. I was the one to teach that boy, so you can rest assured!"

Cale feels like he lost for the first time in a while.

[thelikesoffinn]

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Duchess Violan and Duke Deruth took petty revenge on Cales enemies out of pure spite.

Cale: The Bishop of the Church of the Sun God looked down on me.

Violan and Deruth: *probably planning to run off to donate a fuck ton of money to the church of the God of death simply because they can*

[zorlovinghue]

Okayy rereading for reference purpose but AAAAAAAAAAAHHH I FINALLY FOUND IT!!! THIS DAMN LOVELY SCENE! MY HEART IS SKDGDJDJSGSGD FINALLYYYYYY, google you disappointed me I need to scroll through numerous chapter 😭😭😭

[infinizero]

I am of the opinion that if Cale were to ever realize how much his kids think of him as their parent, he would absolutely speedrun therapy and you cannot change my mind

[youngyoo-apologist]

“Kids what’s wrong-WHAT.”

Quick comic for a future scene of [In the Borderline], everyone is having a bad time, at least Cale isn’t dead !

[we-stan-cale]

What if, now hear me out, Deruth and Violan know Cale is a transmigrator.

This probably has spoilers for part 1,so I'll put the rest below a cut.

Cale's mother knew that Cale would either be a regressor or a transmigrator, and she starts her diary by asking the reader who it is in her son's body.

Now, it's entirely possible that she kept that secret from her husband, but it's also possible that she told him something...

And in the very beginning we see Deruth note that Cale had changed. And immediately decided to increase the strength of his territory.

Much, much later Duke Fredo came to the Henituse territory and joked about Cale being his son.

Except Violan heard this and reacted... Strangely.

Here:

Choi Han, who had been walking past Violan, subconsciously stopped walking after seeing her hand. Violan’s hand was slightly shaking. Choi Han raised his head to look at her face. Her eyes were so focused on Cale and Duke Fredo as if she didn’t even notice Choi Han looking at her. ‘…Why does she have such an expression-’ It looked as if tens of years were instantly passing through Violan’s face. It was an impossible to explain type of expression. Choi Han found this to be weird because Violan was always flawless with her expressions.

And here:

Choi Han could see Violan’s mouth starting to open. “…Ah. Of course. What delusion-” She let out a short but deep sigh. She seemed to have been shocked by what she just said and flinched before turning her head to look around.

Now, there doesn't seem to be any doubt about Cale's paternity. His mother's ancient power even noted that he looked a bit like Deruth. So why would Violan react so strangely to this?

It's possible that Deruth also said something to Violan, and she was worried this really was Cale's - or rather the transmigrator in Cale's body's - real father.

What do you guys think?

[ohmycale]

On Deruth moving on thing

Oh well, another revelation of the Henituse family

I don’t care if Deruth married Violan quickly or not.

What I care is that he didn’t give any shit to og!Cale with regards to his marriage. (Basen is probably too young to even understand). I would argue that if Deruth doesn't give a shit then people should not give a shit about him in return, especially his kid.

He married someone else without any care to everyone who will be affected by that marriage, especially his existing kid. And for you dissenters, give me a canon example of what they they actually did to counter this argument.

I understand he must be lonely. I doubt he's still grieving because he did marry Violan. But what does a second marriage serve if its foundations or the families blending are not ready? Or is it only the adults who got a say because it’s only their feelings that matter? If their feeling are the ones who matter – then it is just serving the couple, and not the whole family – as some people say that this family is about family in all things?

And to think, realistically, it takes almost five to seven years to properly blend a family. If Deruth and Violan got a shotgun wedding, then I guess they don’t really give a shit about their children. If they didn't, I wonder how much prep they did and still having core issues like communication. I have to commend how they resembled many single parents doing blending families in real life. Real children of blended families cut their own families for the same damn reason.

Sure they want to get married (and they have every right being adults) but eff the kids. Having the capacity to do something doesn’t mean they are right short and/or long term. Most of the time, it’s the kids who get the short end of the stick. Adults get their fill of having another spouse. Og!Cale is still clinging to Jour's memory and Basen is probably was too young for the marriage and most likely, doesn’t even know his birth father.

Because they are nice and kind or whatever good qualities they have - does that give them license to be less mindful or considerate to their own children that have no control over the state of their families? That they cannot be accountable, even to their child/ren about their actions? That is just something to be swept away under the rug?

And I read some people who are still advocating for og!cale to still stack with these people.

Fandom, make it make sense.

[stanhailet]

Lords of other territories: I will be watching each of the princes closely. I will think about the maximum benefit that I can get from each of them and then I will make a choice who to support.

Count Deruth: Oh, how sweet☺️! My son has a new friend! Our family will support him as a contender for the throne.🥰

Other Henituse: *nods in agreement

Yes, yes, I know it wasn't quite like that! But it's so funny, isn't it? 🤣🤣

[nefarious-looking-banana-duck]

How I headcannon Deruth and Violan's relationship

same energy but I can't explain why

[calethescammer]

Tcf brain rot time :)

Ok so Cale as Krs never had any parental figures, and neither did Og Cale. So what if, some random day, Cale and his family go for an outing, just a small walk around the shops.

And somewhere in between, Cale stops in his tracks. His gaze lingers on the mother-son duo walking alongside a sweet shop, smiling and giggling all the while. His family watches Cale's blank gaze, with a hint of longing and sadness in it.

Cale continues walking like nothing happened. Ron thinks of the young child who had faced grief at an age of laughter and happiness, and Choi Han thought of Rok Soo's past, with just his abusive uncle as his guardian.

Raon, On and Hong shifted closer to the redhead, trying to comfort him even if they didn't know what was wrong.

And now just imagine the angst. Like maybe Alberu or Eruhaben notice it too, how he sometimes smiles sadly seeing kids run around with their parents, or how his gaze turns empty as he tries to numb down his emotions.

And so, to comfort the redhead as far as they can, they decide to shower him with love. While Deruth increased the number of head pats, Violan frequently had tea with Cale, asking about his interests, hobbies and giving him small unnoticeable compliments in between, which Cale very well noticed.

Ron served him sweet tea more often, Eruhaben and Rosalyn helped him talk out his concerns, majorly of ongoing wars and safety reasons, and Choi Han was the best suited to talk about his previous life, which Cale was very reluctant to share.

Alberu, being the Alberu he was, did what he felt would be best for Cale:

Cale and Alberu stared at each other, the latter smiling more brightly than ever.

"Your Highness."

"Hyung."

"Yes, hyung-nim. Can you tell me what this is?"

Cale pointed towards the table.

Alberu smiled more brightly and Cale almost heard him giggle softly, before covering it up with a cough.

"This, my dear dongsaeng, is a golden plaque."

Cale stared at him with the most deadpan expression.

"What do you want me to do now?"

Alberu just sat speechless, his face crumbling and smiling all together.

Eventually, he managed to convince Cale, telling him that a King needed to be benevolent, and that Cale had done more than enough to be rewarded a golden plaque. Not that Cale believed any of that bullshit, but well, free money should not be refused.

Aside from that, the kids brought him various flowers and Rosalyn helped in decorating Cale's hair with them.

'Why is everyone acting so weird?'

Cale thought, trying to ignore the warm feeling in his chest and his slight smile at the flower crown the kids had made.

[thegradus2]

Eric: am i hallucinating dongsaeng cuddles..???

Cale: if i get out in 1 hour and 48 minutes my trash persona will still be in tact and he will never know that i crave stupid human things like affection 😼

Aka that one story abt the guy who took in a street cat who would only cuddle with him at night when the cat thought the guy was asleep made me think of og cale dnjsjsnsn

[sadlynotthevoid]

I'm not sure if I told you guys about the time I dreamed that 20ish Jason Todd died yet again and Death was pissed off because "really? Again? Wtf Batman. The universe doesn't keep reviving your son just so you can see how much he lasts!" And "He has a work to do you know?!". Besides, she's fond of the bright young soul.

So, she calls her uncle to help him. And what you know? Her uncle is the God of Death (because yes, my brain is like that sometimes). They sit to talk and come up with a solution.

First, taking advantage of the effects still present of the last time-space crisis and the spirits protecting the soul, they regress the time of this universe to when Jay had just left All Caste, way before he had came back to Gotham.

Then, Death places Red Hood!Jason's memories on the soul of his younger self. Not too harsh to force his soul to crack, but not too light to let them fall. Just deep enough so he finds them when he meditates.

And by last, God of Death tells the spirits where they should guide the boy to. The perfect place for him.

Where is the best place for a soul who craves for home and safety? Of course, that's with someone who has the heart to care and accept a new loved one and the determination to protect them.

That's how Jason Todd, teenage assassin in an existential crisis, ends up waking up in the softest bed he has ever been in some foreign country. At his side there's a redhead teen sitting in a sofa, a book in his hands and other boy— this one with black hair and pajamas— lying on his lap.

The redhead— Cale, as he presents himself— is mysterious but kind hearted guy. He also knows things. So much so that if he weren't as he is, Jason would suspect. As things are, he knows he's just used to collect information. A bit like a bat, but not quite. A bat would plan how to use it against the possible enemy. Cale? Well, he doesn't even bother to hide what he realized about him. He's also ridiculously casual about it.

Who offers an assassin if they want their hidden weapons back? This guy, apparently.

Jason only knows he's not totally unconscious because at one point an old guy entered with tea and pastries for the three and Cale, the little shit, choose that moment to reassure Jason.

"Don't worry. My butler is an assassin too and we don't treat him different for it."

The old geezer almost let got the porcelain teapot to the floor. Though, points for him for recovering so fast.

"Young master? May this Ron know who you would be talking about?"

"Hm? Who do you think? Hans? The only thing he can kill is Rok Soo's humor. It's you, obviously."

"..."

Rok Soo, the sleeping beauty complex guy pretending to be asleep on Cale's lap, was sweating badly. If everyone in the room weren't already aware he was clearly pretending, someone may had thought he was ill.

Later on, he realizes there was a reason Cale had said that at that moment.

He's looking at the butler subtly terrorize the boys to behave, treating the siblings like two particularly mischievous puppies. Then he turns around and uses the same tune to advise him to be careful with his wounds. And that's when he thinks 'Oh. He doesn't see me as a menace'.

Of course he doesn't. His employer just confirmed he's aware of his identity— at least partially— and his own nature. The biggest advantage of an assassin is their secrecy. After their identity is exposed, the only reason they won't attack is if the assassin believes the risk is worthy. Telling the assassin he knows he's an assassin was his way to show Jason's own intentions: none.

Jason didn't intend to end up in that field where these teens find him. He didn't intend to be brought in their vacation house. He definitely didn't plan that the people to found him passed out would be whoever these rich guys were.

But he didn't have anything against all of this either.

Well, maybe the wound. He could make it without the blood loose and the soon-to-be scar to add to his collection.

Either way, at least he had a safe place to stay and think. Just think. Because, the memories he saw— what is he supposed to do now that he has his answer?

His da— Bruce. Bruce didn't care for him as much as Jason does for Bruce. Bruce obviously didn't love him as he thought. And certainly, Bruce was way more willingly to harm him than he believed.

And Jason— well, Jason couldn't waste a second life on a man who didn't put hin even at the same level than the Joker of all people. But maybe his expectatives were too high? He hadn't planned what to do if his life was meaningless to him.

So, Jason needed time. Time to ponder and heal. Those things are better done in a safe place.

That's what Jason has in mind when Cale offers him to stay with them.

[inked-night]

"San Lang is my husband" Cale just smiled kindly, deliberately ignoring the shocked expressions and scandalized screams of the group in front of him. He felt slightly amused at his reactions, however, he refrained from snorting or laughing, maintaining a composed posture. "I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner, Father"

The count found himself opening and closing his mouth, unable to fully process the new information. He had to use all of his self-control to keep his legs from giving way or his hands from desperately clinging to his son's shoulders, babblingly demanding confirmation that it was a joke. However, just looking at Cale's soft and loving expression was enough for his hopes to be brutally crushed. Cale, her beloved son was really married.

It wasn't the simple fact that he got married in secret, but that he had done it with a guy about whom he had no information!

"Cale" The Countess called hesitantly, quickly hiding any trace of surprise on her face. "How long have you been married?" She asks, feeling a little out of place, because she wasn't entirely sure if she was allowed to question her stepson's life after so long without interacting with each other.

"We have been married for 2 years" He hums, tilting his head slightly as a contemplative look crossed his face. Internally patted herself on the back at the naturalness with which her response came out, since she wasn't lying at all… Well, actually he had been married to Hua Cheng for 2 centuries, but they were small details that wouldn't hurt to hide. At least for the mental health of his father, who seemed on the verge of having a breakdown.

O; Due to his bad luck, Xie Lian becomes involved in a deal with the God of Death and his soul is transported to the body of his first life. Now reprising the role of Cale Henituse, he slowly becomes aware that defeating the White Star is a bit more challenging than he originally believed. Fortunately, her husband, Hua Cheng is by her side and is more than willing to provide support.

[slackerlifewhere]

The female characters

As usual, this post might have SPOILERS about the first volume of TCF so if you don't want to see this, please don't continue. Thanks!

___

There's this problem I've noticed as a reader of several novels. It's the reason why I skipped or dropped a lot of novels that disappointed me despite their good plot.

The female characters are either barely in the story, they suck, or turned into a harem member.

Most authors don't know how to write women unless they're the same gender. And while I have no problems with male characters, it's sad that if you see a movie, anime, manga, or novel, the results are either of the three mentioned above☝️.

But TCF managed to surprise me yet again.

Like I said in my previous post,

I did not have high expectations for this novel when I first started reading it. I just wanted to read something because I was bored.

So imagine my surprise when a lot of female characters started appearing everywhere in this novel. While some have minor roles like Amiru, Violan, and Lily, most of them are relevant to the plot. Something that is lacking in most novels. They're not one-dimensional characters but are instead given depth by the author.

Violan and Lily

Violan and Lily, who barely show up in the story because we're focused on Cale's point of view, have their own backstories and goals. Their roles are simple but it's enough that you'll be able to remember their names unlike those characters that are easily forgettable.

You'll be able to remember that Violan loves art and wants to help her husband and family as a wife, mother, and countess. She's very intelligent and even appears to be in equal footing with her husband. She's just as important as Deruth in their territory. If you remember how she appeared when Clopeh attacked them, you can see that despite her worry and anger for Cale's poor state, she appeared calm and was willing to stand by his side despite the danger she faces.

Lily on the other hand wants to be a swordsman to help her brothers protect their territory. I find her small interactions with Cale so adorable because of how much Cale respects her and her dream. She is brave and hard-working, unwilling to stay behind while her brothers do everything. She even grew stronger later in the novel. The fact that she was raised to be confident about her skills and herself is a good sign that Deruth and Violan did not care about gender roles and I just find this awesome.

Witira

Another example is the manhwa.

Let me first mention that I don't read the manhwa. I like it but I prefer the novel. I feel like their thoughts and opinions aren't always shown properly compared to when you read the novel.

But when I first saw Witira illustrated in the manhwa, my first thought was "she looks strong". The fact that I noticed how strong she is just by how she exudes confidence and power amazed me. Her personality is already obvious just by how she talks and moves.

In the novel, Cale likens himself to a shrimp while standing next to them, Raon, and Toonka. He knows that he's the weakest in the group and was quick to hide when Toonka jumped into a fight with Witira. He also thought that Toonka is stupid for trying to fight with Witira.

But what I appreciate about Witira is her care for her brother. She was so ready to interrogate Cale about Paseton and her brother had to calm her to calm down.

Before I wax poetry about how cool Witira is, here is the summary of the women that made an impact in the story.

There's Rosalyn who left her position as a princess to be a powerful mage. There's Mary, an innocent necromancer with a tragic background and Tasha who is a dark elf that wants to support her nephew despite the disgust and fear aimed at their race.

The others, while not often seen, are just as important because of their connection to other characters. Cage wants to be excommunicated and protect Taylor (something she failed to do in the original story) and is connected to the God of Death. Litana is a queen who wants to protect her Jungle from Adin and Arm. And Jopis wants her family and kingdom back from Elisneh.

There's also Cotton but to be honest, she's the one of the few female characters that I barely know about aside from her actions in Endable and connection to the God of War. I'm wondering if she'll show up more in the second volume.

Mary

She's a quiet character but she's my favorite among all the characters. When she first appeared in the novel, she didn't have much presence. It was only when she was brought above the City of Death/Life that she became more than a pitiful necromancer who was hated and feared just because she wanted to survive, like her parents wanted her to do before they died.

She may look naive at first because she spent most of her life in the underground city, but she later proves how powerful and kind she is.

Instead of hating the world that hated her, she moved past that and just wanted to protect the people she sees as her family and friends. Her backstory is sad but it didn't stop her from seeking happiness even if she became a necromancer.

She's one of the strongest characters in my eyes and I'm happy to see her slowly gain confidence in herself.

Hannah and Elisneh

But out of all the women, Hannah and Elisneh are the ones who surprised me the most.

Hannah was originally an antagonist. She fought against Cale and his group before she was betrayed by Arm. And she was about to die if Cale, Litana, Cage, and Mary did not save her. Instead of completely changing her character, she still remains bloodthirsty but has a softer side because of her brother and Cale.

She develops in a way that I did not expect. I actually thought she would be another Redika because of her obsession with blood and would later die as an extra character but she proved me wrong. She instead fights Arm with her brother and the group. I believe she's as strong as Rosalyn but I don't remember (I have to re-read the novel).

She doesn't care about the scars left on her by the dead mana and keeps it as a reminder of the betrayal she and her twin faced, proving she doesn't care how people who fear dead mana look at her.

Elisneh on the other hand, remains an antagonist against Jopis. She was originally supposed to "save" the Jungle but judging on how her kingdom turned out (like a storage for dead mana and stuck in an illusion), I can make a guess that she would've done the same with the Jungle had Cale not helped Litana before.

She's an antagonist that left a deep impression on me because of how static she is as a character. She remains focused on her greed and thirst for power and it's nice to see that not all antagonists in the story are turned into allies or kind people. She's strong enough that it took a whole group to defeat her.

On

And last but not the least is On.

She is not as vocal as Hong and Raon but she is the most mature out of all the kids. She is very sharp and knows what Cale thinks of himself and the people around him. She didn't initially trust Cale and I like that. She notices how stupid Cale can be at times and seems exasperated by him. She can still be childish just like her siblings from time to time but her determination to become stronger against the Fog Cat Tribe and Arm shows how much she and Hong had faced before arriving in the Henituse territory.

I understand some readers don't like the involvement of children in TCF because it's bad for the kids to be in war against a strong organization. BUT readers forget that this is a different world with different ways of thinking. These kids are from the Fog Cat Tribe, beastmen who can fight and are prepared for it. They have abilities that normal humans don't and they need to train those abilities if they want to survive in a world full of strong people and wars.

Her being involved in battles makes her feel proud of how strong she became, something she didn't feel when she was in her tribe. Because she's a mutant, her tribe made her feel bad about herself and was ready to kill her and Hong. She needs encouragement and praises that they're not useless or weak. She doesn't need to be coddled and she knows this.

She's smart enough to know that she and her siblings will only be safe with Cale and his group. Even in the war, their only involvement was spreading a poisonous fog so they could hide their presence from the enemy and Cale could hide his ancient powers from the greedy nobles. Aside from that, they weren't fighting in the war. They entered, used their abilities, and left.

Their tribe is good at being stealthy and it's why Ron wants to train these kids. They're good as potential assassins if they want to become one.

I might make a different post about the kids but this is all I have to say about On for now.

Respect

Another reason why I love this novel is because Cale treats these people with respect, regardless of their race, history, and gender.

He doesn't stop them from becoming stronger and instead encourages them to be what they want to be. He respects their failures and strengths. He doesn't coddle them nor does he find them weaker because they're women.

That's why I respect the author. Instead of writing them as side characters existing to make men stronger, the author made me feel amazed at all these strong women, regardless if they're normal or a fighter.

___

I can write more about these characters like Rosalyn and Tasha but I'll just end it here because I might just summarize the whole novel at this point 😅

[unadulteratedbluebirdnightmare]

I keep asking myself this about tcf

People who finish TCF part 1: the henituse family have already met cale's children?? Like I want to see this SO FUCKIN MUCH, but I don't know if this have is even close to happen

Please someone Tell me, I'll die of curiosity