It's me again, Lemon Grenade. After creating the story Reincarnated into a Shingle Sea Urchin, I realized how fast I did things and how I didn't put much effort into the story. I've spent my time thoughtfully contemplating on how to improve myself this year before I came up with a new story.
I originally promised another story that involved aliens and game elements, but I got extremely lazy during that time and temporarily gave up. But I've been working on others in secret during my silence. This time I came up with one that's unique and something I'm willing to invest more time in compared to my first one which was a prototype.
This time I won't try to speed run things. I'll try to put effort into the storyline and plot. I'll try to personalize characters and put effort into them. Unlike the first time, I have a relatively good path that I plan on following. Yes, I said that for my first novel, but complications rose so I ended it prematurely.
But I won't start releasing chapters for a while. If I do, the pressure will bring up my habit of speed running things. Once I've completed a portion of it that I've deemed satisfactory, I'll start releasing chapters.
PLEASE READ (But please don't be offended with my passionate rant)
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I have reasons as to why I chose the main character to be a female.
The first reason is because I feel more enthusiastic when the character I'm imagining is female.
The second reason is because I'm tired of almost all the female Wuxia/Xianxia novels that I manage to find and read. It's very hard (and rare) to find a legit cultivation novel with a female protagonist that cultivates seriously.
Almost all female cultivation novels have a main male character that goes after them. It results in a lot of romance and little cultivation. The same could be said to multiple male characters going after the single female protagonist. It just results in too much comedy and romance, with little cultivation time taken seriously.
Examples would be Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss and The Demonic King Chases His Wife. Although I've read the first to 300 and the second to 500, which isn't the whole, I stopped because of the romance. Although yes, there was a period of time where they separated, but even then, cultivation wasn't really taken seriously.
(Correct me if this changes past what I've read. I'm kinda judging, but what I've said is mostly true for what I've read so far. So you can't blame me)
The ones that I can really appreciate are Kumo Desu Ga, Nani Ka? and The Good-For-Nothing Seventh Young Lady.
The first one has almost no romance with the female character and is all about evolving to become stronger in order to survive.
The second does have multiple males going after her, but she takes cultivation very seriously and puts in effort to cultivate. If not, she's usually doing important business stuff or figuring out problems. She's not even in love with any of the male throughout the entire story, only friendship. It's extremely slow romance as she slowly falls for a guy that only has a soul, but has a personality that I like very much.
You can find plenty of male cultivation novels, and a lot of them are famous. Almost all of them seriously focus on cultivation; pursuing the Dao with not a lot of romance. Even the ones with female leads still do cultivation seriously even if the male protagonist falls in love.
But NO! When it's a female, the cold and dark world of cultivation suddenly becomes all happy and vibrant! It's all about the male guy! Yes, I have seen darkness and coldness in female cultivation novels like the ones above, but definitely not as much as one with a male MC. It's like the whole world has to be nicer just because the MC is a girl!
For male MC's, most of them struggle to the top. They have to work their way to advance by slaughtering enemies and using them as stepping stones in pursuit of the great Dao. They always severely injure themselves while approaching the brink of death just to survive. There's always gore, evil, and darkness that the MC has to traverse through while maintaining their sanity.
But NO! It's different for a female MC! They do struggle, but definitely not as much. Enemies are slaughtered and used as stepping stones, but I've never seen a female have a Dao they want to pursue. Yes they injure themselves, but definitely not as bloody and gory. Life or death situations are way less compared to the latter. Things are seemingly brighter with a female MC.
The best part of it all is that they're buffed with their seemingly harsh past life. Almost all female MC's in cultivation novels have OP medical skills, assassin skills, and military skills from their past life. I've never seen a female MC cult. novel where she was originally born in a cultivation world and has to work her way up. I've seen several male MC novel's like that, but no female.
Yes, I know male MC's are like that too, but not a lot of them actually have the female tropes. A good portion of them are just male MC's who are in high school or college, or just an average worker. They have to learn harsh things and go through mentally insane things. On the other hand, females are granted buffs and don't start this way out when they arrive. (Correct me if there is a female cultivation novel like that)
In conclusion, the males usually have the tough life while the females can just relate to their past life to get things done. Not to mention getting help from the leading male(s) character(s).
You really can't sympathize with the female MC's suffering in their past life as they usually do a brief overview of what their other worldly harsh life was like (sometimes male as well). The males usually have to go through hardships throughout the novel which immerses the reader (most of the time).
Well, as a person who believes in gender equality, this is a frustrating problem for me. I just wish there'd be more novels where the female has to suffer hardships physically and mentally like the male trope does without the buffer and external help from their lover. I also just wish the female would pursue the Dao and not crazily fall in love.
I know you're all saying, "But Lemon! Those novels are to catch readers that love romance!"
I know! But do you think all males and females like romance cultivation novels?
"But these are all romance cultivation novels!"
Where's the action filled, Dao pursuing cultivation novels with female MC's?!
Where's the female MC's that pursue a lonely road of cultivation like the male MC's?!
I bet there's tons of female and male readers wanting more action-packed, little romance female Xianxia/Wuxia novels!
To make matters worse, they make the males personality traits very annoying to other males! Only the Seventh Young Lady has satisfactory male traits including the leading male.
Yes this all sounds sexist, but hear me out.
I know some like the romance part, but as a person who loves action-filled novels, the romance part isn't all that big for me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy romance ones as well, but only if the MC is a male and the romance is kept in check and not exaggerated like the female ones. Very rarely will I enjoy a male lead in a female cultivation (Seventh Young Lady).
Yes, I am using past life experience for the female MC, but that's because I'm lazy. I can understand why the others use this buff of their female MC's, but apparently it's easy for the male and not for the female.
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Phew! I've let out enough of my pent-up emotions. Let's end this rant about inequality towards male and female MC's.
I will try to do as little romance as possible in this novel and keep cultivation serious. There will be a little, but I don't know if I'll include a handsome male lead or multiple male leads. It all depends on the direction of this novel.
Well, I hope you all enjoy this novel when I start releasing chapters.
Lemon Grenade signing off... [Insert Radio Music]