#a stepmother's märchen

[trash-for-manhwa-and-manga]

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO MY BELOVED MANHWA MOMS 🫶

[startwi-light]

A drawing of Ruby and Shuri made by the artist of How to get my husband on my side. It's beautiful to see my two beautiful girls together 😭💖

[murasaki-cha]

Me: I love Jeremy

“Which one?”

Me: It varies from day to day

[shuuenka]

🎄⛄MERRY CHRISTMAS ⛄🎄

via ORKA Instagram 💗

[avrupasya]

my contributions to the valentine's day celebrations in the otomeisekai discord server

[bivirtualtrash]

the fashion in a stepmother's märchen, secret lady, i'll be the matriarch in this life, the broken ring : this marriage will fail anyway and marriage of convenience > other manhwas fashion

[shamera]

top manhwa reccs this month

So this month I seem to have thrown myself into manhwa, and oh boy I sure read a lot to calm myself down through the holidays. I find that my favourite stories are always the ones that really immerse you, and make you love the characters a lot. So here's the top 3 stories I could not put down until I got to the latest update!

A Stepmother's Märchen

The story of a 16 year old girl who finds herself a widowed stepmother of four with a story spanning across two timelines. In one timeline Shuri von Neuschwanstein grows and struggles to connect with her stepchildren for a decade and ultimately thinks herself a failure when she's told her eldest son doesn't want her at his wedding, only for her to be murdered on the celebratory day. She wakes to find herself eight years in the past newly widowed, determined to this time connect with the children so they won't exclude her from their lives.

Top of the list because I genuinely could not put this down while reading. It's beautiful and emotional and really delves into how family is what you make of it. The characters are all so good and genuinely feel like kids who are struggling on their path to growing up. They are imperfect, immature, make all the wrong decisions, but so very wise at random moments and the misunderstandings (that break my heart) all feel realistic and not at all forced. Gave me Fruits Basket vibes!

2. The Player Who Can't Level Up

Kim Gigyu thought he finally had the chance to give his mother and sister a better life when he became a player with a unique ability... only to spend the next five years struggling to take down the simplest of dungeon monsters, unable to get above lvl1. He chose instead to guide other players so they can get strong, until one day he steps to take the first test of the tower and encounters an Ego for the first time: a sentient sword who will be his partner and level in his stead. With his unique ability 'partner of Egos', he sets out to find other pieces of Ego and unravel the mystery of the tower and just why it appeared in the world.

Normally for this genre I have to read over 100 chapters before they start hinting at the mystery of the world. This one started in chapter 12. It's also refreshing as it has a good balance between fighting and building character relationships as there are plenty of chapters where Gigyu spends time with his family and friends. Also there are great positive male friendships! There are lots of badass girls! The main character talks to other people about his traumas and his worries!! The growth feels plausible and I-- I have a weak spot for the Egos. They are now part of his family, I don't make the rules.

3. Dungeon Reset

Jung Daeun was thought dead after he fell into a death trap, and when others cleared the dungeon floor and moved on to the next, he was still stuck when the floor reset to respawn all the defeated monsters. He had no fighting skills, and instead decided to survive by building a shelter and figuring out a food source. He soon figures out that because players are all moved out of the dungeon when it reset, he's now a glitch in the system with partial immunity to the worst things, but also without the benefits that other players get. After accidentally affiliating with the Dragon of Life, Daeun starts running the dungeon his own way-- by building and farming and learning how to not just survive in a dungeon, but live in it.

aka the one where a Minecraft player is hacking a dungeon Death Game? So fun. It's a pinch of Dr. Stone mixed into a good food anime and dropped onto the dangerous dungeon trope. It's got characters who all end up so human and a main character who is absolutely a little shit doing what he wants aka sure he wants to pass the Dungeon Game and go home, but he's not going to live like an animal while he's doing so. He's going to make good food and have a good bed and take baths and develop hobbies while he's at it. He's going to make friends and learn new things and show that winning isn't all about fighting, but about perseverance and adaptability. Sometimes you don't have to win the fight-- you just have to survive it.

Honorary Mentions (aka I read through it! It was pretty good!):

Trash of the Count's Family

SSS-Class Suicide Hunter

Solo Farming in the Tower

The Lone Necromancer

Return of the Frozen Player

Solo Max-Level Newbie

And then there are series I've read but didn't finish as it didn't appeal to me personally:

My Daughter Is the Final Boss

Leviathan

SSS-Class Gacha Hunter

Tomb Raider King

The World After the Fall

The Beginning After the End

[multongsisig]

I lost the motivation to polish this, but I think it still looks good  🤔

[sweetpeauserboxes]

[id: a light green userbox with a green border and green text that reads “this user loves the fantasie of a stepmother.” on the left is an image of Shuri von Neuschwanstein from  the fantasie of a stepmother. /end id]  

[licilou22]

1st Timeline Shuli in a nutshell

[navytrev]

I love it when they laugh like that

[trash-for-manhwa-and-manga]

Help, they are so in love... 😭

[startwi-light]

A stepmother's marchen San Valentin

[murasaki-cha]

Jeremy: Nora you damn mother f*cker

Everyone else watching him make the best man toast at Nora’s and Shuli’s wedding: ………………

Jeremy: I said you’re not my dad one time—

[shuuenka]

Mmm I will not elaborate

[pro--crastinator2107]

Idk idk maybe it’s my brain rotting but if Jeremy (my fav manhwa character) was reincarnated in an modern au he would be Mark Lee-ish (my nct bias)

I can totally hear him say yoooo…and wearing ralph lauren

Both gives off sporty, old money young master vibe 😂 and are Leo ♌️