#it is a good read for those who like otome isekai

[atomically99]

please don’t mind the formatting i am on mobile and am also bad at this.

weirdly specific au idea but imagine a “who made me a princess” au with green (m) and claude and blue (f) as diana. naturally, lily and felix would be yellow and red, respectively. i think these characters are all rather similar in their personalities and dynamics with each other.

\/\/wmmap spoilers below\/\/

ik that claude is a bit mean and doodoo but he used dark magic to lock his emotions away bc he was so sad when diana died (rest in peace bestie) like if green did that i imagine it would have a similar turnout. don’t ask me about who any of the other characters would be, i have not thought that far

[threepandas]

Bad End: Chosen

I used to love Otome games.

Used to love the genre, predictable as it could sometimes be. It was bright. Fun. A colorful bit of escapism built on love and power fantasies. I read the books. Watched the animes. Engaged with the fandoms freely and with an enthusiasm I can barely remember now.

It was a lifetime ago.

Before I... before, like a monkey's paw wish, I got granted every OI fan's DREAM. I somehow, someway, died and was reborn. A genuine isekai all of my own. I laugh now... I really do... I was so fucking EXCITED.

I was a FOOL.

The world is not a story. PEOPLE are not characters. You can not push the "right" social imput buttons and have a happy ending pop out. Time moves as it always has and always will. Day by day. And? Just because you are HERE? Does not mean you are SPECIAL.

I was old enough to know that, thank the Gods. Or I would have made a likely terrible mistake. Probably a fatal one, by now.

How, you may ask? Surely if you are reborn, you are special! Important to the "plot"! HA. Ah yes, the all forsaken PLOT. That damnable thing, chaining out fates and making us dance, like toys, for the Gods amusement. No, I was merely a replacement part for one worn out and broken down. A soul that gave up.

This dance repeats, you know.

They aren't done with us yet. Not bored of us, all the twists and turns we might take. She could not keep fighting. Keep raging. And so she was replaced. Now I live... a changeling in her place. Knowing my role yet careful to defy it. But... oh...

Oh, how almost IMPOSSIBLE it is to defy it.

I am supposed to HATE her. The Protagonist. The Chosen One. Saintess and beloved. The God's special little thing. Showered in adoration and silks, pampering and protection. While we all DIE. In this, their STUPID fucking Holy War, that we CAN NOT WIN, against "The Dark".

How HELPFUL, my liege. How incredibly SPECIFIC. Is "The Dark" the demons that tore apart my squadron a fortnight ago or the undead that rose and devored an entire village of terrified innocents? How do we STOP them? END this infinite string of atrocities?

Oh? "Only the SAINTESS can push back The Dark"? Well then! It's a good thing she safely tucked away in the CAPITAL THEN, isn't it!? Far from the front lines where we NEED her! Thank the GODS she's getting her chance to play "fuck, fuck, marry!" with the nation's finest while we all DIE!

I remind myself again, desperately, I am not allowed to hate her.

If I hate her, I become an antagonist in this little play. Doomed to die a gruesome and needless death. My men need me. The people need me. The live and breathe and fear for their lives. At the mercy of cruel God's who do not care.

I almost... It is enough that I almost wish my Master was here. But no, HE stayed back at the Magic Tower. Lost interest in me the second the merest HINT that his beloved pet prophecy might be about to be fulfilled. I was his student for most of my life. Chased up and down that mind-bending hellhole for years, giving my everything to meet his every standard.

Does he even remember my name?

Ha ha... gods, as I stare down at the battle map, one of so SO many... I feel brittle. How long will we fight? How many of my men must DIE, before that God coddled BITCH gets off her ass and comes to do her JOB?! We've lost Redwell. Lakehill is covered in ghouls. And no one we sent near the forests of Mirth ever reports back.

But at least the crown prince is getting his fucking birthday party while his people starve. While they run for their lives. Cower from demons and the damned. Because his Twue Woooove~ can't be allowed to put her dainty little self in DANGER now CAN she?!

I'm seething. Furious. Nails digging into the wood on the table before me. I know I should be planning... but I just... gods, I just so ANGRY. So tired. How long can this continue? Am I going to die here, just so those fuckers can DRAMATICALLY "save the day" at the last second? As though they had not let thousands die? Only for it all to begin again? What am I supposed to d-?

Like a roll of thunder and an earthquake combined, the non-physical world SHAKES.

Weight. POWER. Like a mountain appearing from no where, to drop down upon us all. It is CRUSHING. And every bit as dark as being buried beneath tons on soil and stone. My legs nearly give out. My grip on the table before me the only thing keeping me up and alarm bells start clanging outside my tent.

This is it.

I don't know what's about to happen, but I can FEEL it. I... I can not possibly hope to win. It's over. I know, in my heart, I will go out there and fight. Die. Because I refuse to die cowering. Because maybe it'll make a difference for my friends, for the others, for those that yet live. Every monster I slay is one less they fight.

But... this is it.

It's over.

I wish I felt braver. Glorious and filled with light. A beacon of hope, perhaps. But all I can offer is fear and anger and SPITE. Locking my knees so I can stand. Blinking away the tears so I can grit my teeth and bare them. Grabbing my staff so can go a die with the others. Today I shall burn the world. I promised myself.

Take them with you.

Take every last one of those fuckers WITH YOU.

The battle is ugly. It always is and always will be. I heal where I can but kill faster the most can blink. Waves of fire. Blood turned to ice turn to shrapnel bombs turned to flying storms of blood ice shards. Wind attacks and void pockets. Puppets made of mud and rock and bits of armor. The blood of the fallen only making it all that much stronger, that much more terrible.

Magic in war hold no beauty.

I wish I never had to see it again.

"Grandlearner, you've been practicing." A rich voice observed from behind me, sounding pleased. "Good~"

Between one instance and the next, the crushing ocean of power moves between the far side of the battle field to right behind me. I move, spin. Fire my strongest short-range piercing in the desperate hope to gut the man now far too close. I... am effortlessly countered.

He didn't even have to move his hands.

There, standing in the heart of an open battle field, is a man in impeccable fomal clothes. Spotless, dispite the ash and dust, the blood and gore. Almost inhuman in his otherness, compared to the death and suffering surrounding him. He looks like a proper well-to-do gentleman ready for a stroll. The sort of ambiguously ageless bachelor that had haunted the royal university's halls every time I was sent there, to collect something for the Tower.

Too old to be some boyish flirt, too young to be a rougish mistake. It feels false. Mocking. Like a mask held up by some grinning beast. Something older then it seems, effortlessly blending in with the Power of the current age, all the better to play them like fools.

Then the words register and my blood runs cold.

"Learner". It's what a Master calls their personal magical students at the Tower. There are lineage, of a sort. Like bloodlines, almost. Since most never leave. A way to pass on your teachings. Your name and traditions. It's not like we often have the chance to have biological kids. Too busy with our studies. So it's considered effectively the same.

My Master's Master. Who was said to be one of, if not THE, greatest Mages of the last thousand years, possibly longer. Said to have simply vanished one day. Rumored to have "lost his mind" and left the Tower for places unknown after some great argument. Foremost expert on The Dark.

Now standing h...here. Right... Right here. With the enemy army. Of dark and terrible things. The very abominations he once studied "academically". Oh gods. It doesn't take much to put two and two together.

"I've come to collect you, my dear." He says, the very picture of charm as my men scream and suffer around him. As they fight for their lives against his monstrosities. As... as they LOSE. "It has come to my attention, that my unfortunate disappointment of a student has been neglecting his duties to you."

He sweeps his hat gallantly from his head, holding it against his heart at just the right angle, as though offering to merely take me for a stroll. Picture perfect etiquette. As though this were high society and not a warzone. The disconnect stuns me for long moments. "Collect" me?

He strolls forward. Expensive shoe leather somehow unstained by the terrible muck of the battlefield. The blood and mud, the spell water and ash. Amusement rolling off every line of his form, as I try to keep the distance between us. As I struggle against the sucking filth to keep my feet under me.

"I would like to say I am surprised... but honestly? I am not. He always WAS easily distracted by shiny trinkets of little worth. The shinier the better. Like an empty headed little magpie. Disgusting really, how little he values loyalty. I DID try to instill some values. Hard work. Good, honest, study. Some modicum of rationality..."

"It did not work." He sighs, stepping over the fallen body of my Cordelia, my reserve healer. Gods, please no, I told her to RUN... "Unlike myself of course. I, my dear, know EXACTLY what your worth. How you have been WASTED on that little ingrate. It truely has been a theme with him, hasn't it?"

"Tossing aside anything who doesn't fit his perfect little vision. His Master, his Learner, nothing is sacred to him. All he shall ever care for is his little divine tart, won't he?"

The grin that spills across his mouth is like poison through veins, it terrifies me. His face is arranged in a mask of pleasantry. But the look in his eye... that look was coldly covetous. The sort of hunger that would sooner kill than release its hold. It wasn't lustful, I was a child too him. An infant. But I was, perhaps, all that remained. The last piece of his lineage he could possibly still steal away. Corrupt.

I refused.

It... it did not matter much, in the end.

Every spell, he counters. Every attack, he matchs with effortless neutralization. The well of his magic is like the sea. Deep, dark, and crushing. I rage against it, even knowing I stand no chance. I... I have to TRY. I can do no less. Even as I slowly collapse.

Water and ice, electricity and transformation, wind and fire. I try to EXPLODE HIS ORGANS for the Gods sake. In the end, with nothing left, the well of my magic nearly bone dry... I swing at him. Put my back in to it. A staff is a staff after all. It even has a pretty hefty rock in it. It'd probably take out a few teeth.

He, of course, catches it.

Bastard.

He looks CHARMED. Utterly delighted. As though my defiance and struggle are some cute little game. The tantrum of an adorable child that does not wish to submit to their nap. The world swayed as my body begs me to just pass out. To escape within myself. Recover. My legs can no longer hold me. I glare. At last, long last, I let myself HATE.

If that BITCH had just DONE HER JOB. I would not be here, at the mercy of a mad man. While she frolics about, in her happy little tale of love and misunderstandings? I have suffered. People have died! The world has fallen to slow and crumbling RUIN.

Gloved hands cupped my cheeks.

"That's it, little one~ My precious child. Get angry. RAGE for me. Let Master see your fire~" thumbs stroked my cheeks. Looming and entirely too close. There is a glee in that eye, a madness. "We are going to set this world FREE. You? Oh dearest you are utterly PERFECT. Master will take care of everything, understand? All you have to do?"

"Is give in."

Next -->

[hellsite-hall-of-ex-girlfriend]

yuri recs 1,2,3 GO!

AH FINALLY MY TIME HAS COME

first and foremost, i have to recommend the best yuri ever written (in my opinion):

I’m in Love with the Villainess! this is an absolutely incredible story about an office worker, Rei Ohashi, who gets reborn into the world of her favorite otome game Revolution! now, as the protagonist Rae Taylor, she courts the villainess of the game Claire François! while this seems like a typical isekai story, it is anything but. there’s plenty of twists and turns along the way, and it’s filled with honest conversations about being gay, trans, and so much more! i highly recommend you start with the light novels because they are beautiful!! additionally, the author, Inori-sensei, is a trans lesbian. so you know these conversations are coming from a genuine place!!

next i’d recommend Whisper Me a Love Song!! this is a cute adorable slice-of-life yuri about a school girl, Himari Kino, falling in love with her senpai (and lead singer of the local band SSGirls), Yori Asanagi! Yori and Himari are absolutely adorable together and they are truly wonderful!!

i would also recommend Citrus/Citrus+! those of you who know enough yuri manga probably know this one, for one specific detail. however, for those not in the know, i’ll give a rundown! Yuzu Aihara is a high school gyaru who is excited to get a boyfriend this semester (even tho she’s goes to an all girls school), but she quickly falls in love with the student council president, Mei! on top of figuring out her feelings for another girl, there’s one more complication… Mei is Yuzu’s new step sister! this story follows Yuzu and Mei as they overcome their communication issues and find love in each other (and get married)! it’s a very sweet story and i really highly recommend it!

also, if you’re looking for something a bit more… adult, i’d highly recommend Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels! Asumi is a college girl who wants to find her long lost childhood crush, Mai. her friend told her that she’s seen her around! trouble is, Mai works at a lesbian brothel. so now Asumi must make repeated visits to the brothel in order to track her down (and have a bit of fun on the side~)! while this may seem like it’ll just be “porn without plot” so to speak, this story is genuinely very endearing and funny, plus the art is super cute and good! so not only are you getting expertly drawn adult scenes, but also adorable scenes on top of that!

there’s plenty more i could recommend, but those are some of my personal favorites! i’d also recommend checking out The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady if you want a fun fantasy isekai and Otherside Picnic if you want spooky yuri with terrifying monsters! enjoy reading!!

[catesartworks]

hi! i just wanted to say, i'm a huge fan of this isekai maid is forming a union, especially the way you handle real-world issues like classism and racism through the fantasy worldbuilding in the comic

i know it's been a while since it was the focus of the story, but i really loved the dynamic between anette/iseul and bridgette irt their different experiences as isekai-ers. especially because i feel like i can see a lot of my own experiences as a (specifically east) asian american with relative privilege and discrimination in that dynamic

i don't know my reading of that dynamic is something that was intentional or not, but it makes it especially satisfying to read parts of the story like iseul wanting to reconnect with/return to her home world (something which i feel like is often underrepresented in isekai stories like these, especially through the lens of culture/cultural differences!), and to see characters like lady soo and post-character-development anette acknowledging their privilege in this world and using it to be better allies to the people around them

whew that was a long message. anyway i hope you are having a good day and thank you for putting such a well-thought-out story into the world

Thank you so much! It's great that you like Isekai Maid, it makes happy to know that you related to it. As someone who is black, I am also light skinned, and there are privileges that I have too in regards to how I am treated compared to black people who have darker skin than me.

This experience played a big part in how I approached Isekai Maid's racial dynamics in universe and how reincarnators who come as themselves are treated, vs. those who are reincarnated or possess people in this world.

I've read a lot of Otome Isekai, and the differences between characters isekai'd as themselves and those who reincarnate into the bodies of the people who already live in that world is so interesting to me. In a way, Isekai is metaphor for displacement and the immigrant experience, and how people from different backgrounds are treated based on how well they pass or don't pass within that world.

I noticed that characters Isekai'd as themselves, such as protagonists' like Jieun from Abandoned Empress (who is meant to be a deconstruction of protagonists like Empress of Another World) tend to have a much more difficult experience than say characters like Melissa Foddbrat/Prodbrat from Beware the Villainess, who are instead reincarnated into and possessing an already existing person. They have different challenges.

Personally, I think people should be allowed to be connected with their homelands without being forced to sever ties and forget their homes like what happens in Otome Isekai. They should be able to miss their friends, want to see their loved ones, grieve for what they lost, and go freely back and forth between their homes. It doesn't have to be the end, or just one or the other.

Thank you again for reading This Isekai Maid! :D

[danmeiconfession]

He didn't dare imagine just what kind of expression Yue Qingyuan wore in the original work after Luo Binghe cut off "Shen Qingqiu's" legs and sent them to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect in a gilded box. Even though he clearly knew that it was a futile effort, he still stepped into Luo Binghe's trap honorably without looking back, up until ten thousand arrows pierced his body.

The loyalty of a lifetime unexpectedly had to be repaid by so many things.

Yue Qingyuan didn't even have time to tell "Shen Qingqiu"-who was filled with resentment and had helped Luo Binghe lure him into the trap just to scrape for one more moment to live-the reason why he hadn't been able to go back and rescue him that year.

Reading this scene, it was quite funny. At the time SJ was already LBH prisoners and was torturing him at this point.

But Instead of excepting that it was LBH who planned to kill YQY.

He pretty much put the blame on sj.

That what, he willing cut off his own leg, and wrote a letter with his own blood. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

To do what, to help LBH who he hated with his life

We know that PIDW Is not a reliable source of information so this even if SY memorise everything. The source itself is not reliable.

But it really makes me wonder also just how much of PIDW is also twisted by SY own bais. That he himself change in inorder to match his white lotus persona he views with LBH. That LBH could do no wrong

Like from what I have noticed , it many time travel fix it otome isekai or novel, especially with characters who actually did bad thing and harmed people in their last life. Many reader will try to push the blame onto every one, try to justify, or twist facts. In order to make sure that the character usually that they are morally superior/ good people.

I remember readings a story about 2 step sister that did bad thing and harmed people. They were literally 2 sides of the same coin. Even their reasoning for doing those bad thing was similar. But because the older sister was the MC. She was supposedly more redeemable/morally . Whereas the younger one was just born evil 🙄🙄🙄.

Like whatever reason you use to bash the younger one can also be used to bash the older sister but somehow they are different

.

[osarina]

Helloooo

Hope you’ve been doing well!!

So I’ve been on a manhwa binge recently, reading a lot of villainess isekai into otome/novel, I’m such a sucker for those, I mean pretty dresses and harem of hot guys sign me up hahhaha ,and idk whether if you’ve read them, but do you have any favourites??

Was thinking of a villainess isekai plot with bsd haha, like dazai can be the crown prince, either the cold tyrant or playboy flirt, like he can fit either bill hahha. Chuuya can be the dragon duke/knight commander/bodyguard ??? Idk he can fit a lot of roles. And reader is the poor lucky soul that gets isekai as a villainess

Those isekai have such good romances, thinking bout the sweet moments you can have with dazai or chuuya hahah sometimes it gets cliches but I can’t help but love it

Can be a classic plot of reader who finds out she isekai into the villainess who’s arranged engaged with the crown prince that kills her in the future and tries desperately to break of the engagement and dazai who is at first apathetic towards the reader but after seeing her changed unexpectedly and becomes a mystery to him, he gains a interest in her that turns into love and now he’s the one desperately trying to keep the engagement hahah

Just thinking bout a otome game with dazai as a love interest urghhhh, he’s got so many red flags but he’s so prettttyy hwjdhjd hahhah, maybe he’ll be one of the harder love interest to capture, so many chances for a bad ending

Its been on my brain for a while so here’s a doodle of prince dazai

I HAVEN'T READ ANY BUT I'VE BEEN MEANING TO, DO YOU HAVE ANY RECS ???

omg ... crown prince dazai & knight commander chuuya ... reader isekai'd as the villainess GUYS, ARE WE ADDING ANOTHER VERSE TO THE DAZAIVERSE ????? okay wait because also kaifhiuashfsadiuf don't these manhwa's usually have like a character that would have been the female lead because LODFKJASIOFHSAOIDFH that WOULD turn me into the villianess if dazai is going to be itnerested in another girl SORRY LOLLL

okay but no lets talk about this

crown prince dazai -> i don't think he'd be the stereotypical crown prince, he's probably apathetic toward his duties - if he doesn't outright disregard them - and he probably resents villainess because it's his duty as prince to marry her. eventually something happens between the two of them that leads to her execution and BOOM reader is isekai'd as the villainess at the beginning of the plot again. reader as villainess is NOT interested in her engagement to dazai and tries to convince her 'father' to call it off. THIS catches dazai's attention because it's the typical 'wdym she doesn't want me?' and that makes him want HER. so now he's desperately trying to charm her because she wants nothing to do with him and is actively trying to break off the engagement

knight commander chuuya -> he's all duty, duty, duty. maybe the villainess/reader is from a foreign kingdom that they'd been at war with so he's on edge the entire time her and her family are at the castle.... BUT ... but what if, in the original game, knight commander!chuuya was the only one to really get to know the villainess and was one of the few against the execution and cared about her. maybe he stumbled upon her one day while she was in the gardens upset over how her engagement w dazai is falling apart because the man actively despises her, and he's like oh wow... she isn't just some cruel bitch she's just a girl that wants to be loved. now when reader is isekai'd she obviously doesn't tell anyone BUT i imagine chuuya might be one of the ones she knows she might be able to rely on because she knows from the og game that he's genuinely a decent person

omg .... TUMBLR USER CHERERRRY SEND ME UR RECS AND I MIGHT READ THEM AND BE TEMPTED TO WRITE AN AU

ALSO UR PRINCEZAI HAS ME SOOOOO CHARMED I ADORE HIM SO MUCH <3333

[sometimesthatsbetter]

Recommendation: Yona of the dawn

I've decided on a new tradition, the first story i read this year will be given a review and ooh boy did Yona of the dawn gave me something to write about.

The a story premise is quite simple at a glance. Yona was a sheltered and spoiled young princess who's ignorant towards the world outside the palace. She grew up adored by her father, the king and being protected by her bodyguard Hak, she spends most of her time fawning over her cousin and childhood friend Su-won. Yet on the eve of her 16th birthday her small world was crushed in pieces by a coup d'etat, driving her into hiding.

So let's talk about our main character, Yona. She started out as a ditzy, beautiful young princess who's main concern is clothing and taming her curly red hair. Yona's not exactly a bad character per say, but she just had a very narrow world view, oh and she has a crush on her cousin Su-won... Yeah, i mean it's a historical setting what did you expect. Her, Hak and Su-won were childhood friends, they did everything together, ate together, slept together, fought together which makes it devastating for Yona and Hak when they realized that Su-won betrayed them.

One of the aspects that i really enjoyed was the realistic depiction of grief that Yona went through, like my girl was in a catatonic state when they first went on the run. Like girl was going through the five stages of grief for the first three volumes. And then came the hard truth that her dad was just, not a good ruler, he was a spineless coward who couldn't protect their nation. So on top of now having a bounty on her head, her father being dead she now has to grapple with the legacy her father left behind. And from those hard truths we see Yona growing up.

As she continues her journey of growth she encounters the four 'dragon warriors' from the prophecy, which will be where the reverse harem tag comes in. Oh don't get me wrong i truly adore the cast from the bottom of my heart but I didn't enjoy the romance part very much. It's painstakingly obvious who the male lead is so having all these guys pining away at a hopeless cause makes me feel really bad for em. But besides that they are great characters, i especially like the yellow dragons backstory.

Okay now let's talk about another character that totally captured my attention, Su-won. Su-won is like a guy you could out from game of thrones, like my guy is definitely a 'the outcome justifies the cost' kind of person you know what i'm saying? He knew that if Yona were to take throne as queen she would be an even worse ruler than her father, at least the version of her at the beginning of the story. Everything he did was in the name of the greater good, having no foreign allies he had to choice but to the choose the asassinantion route to the throne. Like yah he could've married Yona but that plan kinds went out the door when she saw him kill her dad. But like, he cares about Yona deeply, maybe not in the way that she would like but he does. But he will always put his country first. That's why he's such a striking character for me, he stands out from a sea of mediocre villains who's backstories are basically 'my family abused me and i'm obsessed with the heroine' that i see in alot otome isekais. Everyone are just pawns on a chessboard to him, even his loved ones and he's willing to sacrifice them all to gaurente the safety and stabilty of the kingdom.

So yeah, go read Yona of the dawn.

Signing off

Josephine

[violetlunette]

Maybe this is just me, but something I miss in portal fantasies—the original isekais—is how the audience was allowed to explore new worlds.

Nowadays, isekais focus mainly on characters which is great as that’s what interest me the most, but they’re always in the same places which is a high shame.

What I love about portal fantasies is the exploration of characters and the worlds. I like seeing new lands, new creatures, etc. That’s why stories like Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, Land of Oz, the Phantom Tollbooth, Harry Potter, and etc. appealed to me. All these had interesting and unique characters with creative worlds to explore, and they were optimistic about showing the readers the world. There was always a feeling of welcome that still makes readers want to go back, even to this day. (And two of those series are over 100 years old! Now that’s impressive.)

Nowadays, the majority of the worlds can all be squished into five places; A world inspired by Tudor / medieval Europe or ancient China or Korea, a “magic” otome school or a JRPG inspired world.

With the latter two we don’t really get to see the world, especially with the first one.

In 90% the stories I’m read which take place in a world inspired by Tudor / medieval Europe have the same main locations:

*The Protagonist’s room

*The room to greet guests

*A small part of the garden for tea parties

*Castle where a ball is being held

**Same places as above, though the castle garden will look more magical

*Castle hallway

*Throne room

*Ballroom

*Village that either looks like a meadeval town or London in the early 1800

*Dress / jewelry / magic shop

*warehouse

*hidden information guild

*Bakery or kitchen if the protagonist cooks

There’s a few more location, but I’m willing to bet that the next story you read with an early Europe inspired world will have five or more of these as main locations.

I’m less familiar with the eastern ones, but I’m sure they basically have the same, just eastern style.

And there’s a reason for that as these stories are ones with a focus on noble politics whether its in an early European inspired setting or eastern inspired court.

These environments are minimal as having a controlled environment allows the readers to focus on the characters and the mental war being waged. Still, what a waste, especially with a fantasy setting with dragons, elves, and dwarves, who’s villages we never get to see and who’s race we barely learn about.

Otherwise, we usually just get the slice-of-life fluff that takes place in a fantasy world. Which I understand, as these were popularized in the 2020s where—things happened. And during that time everyone was burned out, tired, and overworked despite the massive layoffs, so the idea of going to another world and just being able to chill was appealing to the masses. (Especially in countries where most “isekais” were made.) Anyway, the world building here is mainly just fluff or jokes.

There are the “trapped in a game worlds” but those worlds are all the same and dull.

I’m not saying all those are bad but I miss stories where we get to travel and see the world! I miss Magic Knight Rayearth, Fushigi Yugi, Escaflowne, and more. I miss the adventure aspect of seeing a whole new world.

Please don’t misunderstand, I love the “isekai” genre and how it’s being used to dissect certain tropes like main character syndrome, but can we switch out the politics for a good old adventure once in awhile?

[terezis]

thank you so much for translating solving queen ophelia's mysterious death (plus your other projects ofc, you have impeccable taste)! it was a lovely read—so rare to find a complete short story with a satisfying ending nowadays.

already missing our literal ✨ queen ✨ and i surprisingly (unfortunately?? i think i have issues HAHA) grew to be rather fond of her dynamic with david adsfgh

if you happen to have any recommendations for other manga or novels or whatever (doesn't have to be similar to this, as long as it's good lmao), i'm all ears o7

anyway, thanks for your hard work! hope you're taking care of yourself and staying warm and all of that jazz. cheers!

thank you!!! i'm glad you enjoyed :o)

and LOL no you're so real for that… i also love david. like he's the worst but he and ophelia do kinda have mad chemistry with both their masks off. u kno. i liked when ophelia was like "lol wouldn't it be funny if he woke up next to my dead body tomorrow morning. lol"

as for recommendations… you're in luck because i keep a google spreadsheet of all the otome isekai i've ever read, ranked s tier through f tier and then ordered alphabetically within those rankings <3 this is normal <3

SO OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD

holy grail of eris; what if you were possessed by the ghost of an infamous villainess and then you and that ghost teamed up to solve her murder. i think this would be most similar in tone to ophelia if that's what you're interested in! much longer story though.

the one within the villainess; a girl named emi wakes up in the body of the villainess remilia from a video game, but remilia is still trapped within and comes to love emi for her earnestness and desire to make people happy. when emi's efforts fail, remilia regains control of her body and vows revenge on everyone who hurt emi.

concubine walkthrough; a high school girl from korea gets trapped in the "body" of an npc villain, the empress, in a vr game called concubine walkthrough. SO GOOD, one of my faves in the genre

death is the only ending for the villainess (also known as villains are destined to die); another girl from korea finds herself trapped in the body of the villainess of an otome game she was playing, and now in order to avoid the bad end (death) she must make one of the love interests fall for her before the "real" protagonist arrives.

i stan the prince; a girl's fanfiction about the country's prince accidentally gets published and becomes a best-selling hit, improving the prince's reputation… so the prince and princess hire her to write a sequel in the hopes that it'll help them save his/ their family's reputation. sounds cringey but is actually so funny and charming.

surviving romance; a girl from korea wakes up in a romance novel :) but uh oh :) what's that :) the genre is not actually romance :)

fiance's observation log of a self-proclaimed villainess; much sillier but so good… otome isekai from the pov of the non-isekai'd crown prince LOL

[clockworkspider]

please do tell us about your villainess isekai OCs 👀 👀

WELL I’M GLAD YOU ASKED! (No, really, thank you for giving me an opportunity to ramble. You don’t have to read all of this.) 

So the Villainess transmigrator is a person who lives by the philosophy of “do no harm but take no shit”. In her previous life, her father was a murderer in a publicized case, and served a lifetime in prison. Despite the negative press haunting her family, she was raised with love by her single mother, who drilled this philosophy into her skull before she passed away, “the world is not fair, but as long as you live an honest and upright life, you can live with your head held high regardless of other people’s judgements.” 

That’s the path she plan to take in this life. She will live an honest and good life, and if she’s still cast as a Villainess, well, she’s already died once. At least she’d be able to die without shame. 

(She died pushing a jaywalking child away from oncoming vehicle, as they do in this genre.) 

She devoted her time to philanthropy, and didn’t work particularly hard to ingratiated herself with the cast, but she was good to them and was generally as good a person as one can be while being a parasitic noble in an oligarchy. By the time the plot started she had a good reputation and decent rapport with the cast. 

When the Heroine showed up, she was different from what the Villainess had remembered… The heroine of the game was a quiet, nondescript girl. This girl was quiet, but seemed oddly intense, the Villainess kept feeling like the Heroine was watching her. 

One day, while humming the tune of a pop-song from her previous life, the Heroine overheard. The girl’s eyes widened and, with desperate hope, came up and clutched the Villainess’s hands, “I knew it! You’re from the real world too, aren’t you?” 

The Heroine was the child of immigrants in her past life. She was drilled all her life with how much sacrifices her parents had made so she could live a good life. She became a lawyer as her parents had wished, but just when she reached her desired salary, she became disillusioned by both her job and the expectations of her parents. She decided to quit her job at the prestigious law firm to work with a non-profit, much to the dismay of her parents. 

She was heading to her new job when she swerved her car to avoid a jaywalking child. A woman came out of nowhere to push the child away, and she wasn’t able to avoid hitting her. She lost control of her car and crashed. 

The Heroine felt horrible about dying, and about still being alive. She felt like she had abandoned her parents, who had sacrificed their lives in their homeland to give her the chance for a better one. Even tho she’s still alive, everything she knew was gone. Despite her role as the protagonist of an otome game, she had a hard time actually connecting with any of the characters because that’s what they were, characters. They follow a script which she had read multiple times through multiple play-throughs. None of them seemed real. 

None of them except the Villainess and her Servant. Those are the only two people who are off-script. 

(The Villainess’s Servant was originally one of the Heroine’s love interests from the game. In the game, he was an abused, quiet young man that the Protagonist had to "rescue" from his cruel mistress. In this life, he was the first to notice that there was something different about his mistress. In a moment of desperate loneliness, our Villainess confessed that she was in fact a different person, and that she was not from this world. He had a hard time believing her, but couldn't really do much about it. She made a deal with him, he would keep her secret and give her pointers about living in this world, in exchange, she'd take care of his sick sister and allow him to join in on her lessons.

Throughout time the Servant becomes an important confidante to the Villainess, and he also gains a more open and snarky personality. Hence being off-script. 

From this, the Heroine came to the conclusion that the Villainess has the power to make characters “self-actualize” by diverging from the script.)

The Heroine was ecstatic to find someone real. Someone who understood meme references, who had seen anime, who had experienced the internet, who knew pop music, ate Chinese food, took the subway. She latched onto the Villainess immediately and promised she’d never let the Villainess meet her original fate. They immediately bonded. (Even tho the Villainess is a bit put-off by the Heroine’s intensity.) 

The Heroine was there to shield the Villainess from every misunderstanding, and made sure everyone was able to see her friend for the good person she is.

The Heroine wants to change the world. She is not satisfied with getting the Happy Ending of the game. She is not satisfied with running an orphanage with the Villainess and occasional charity work. What about after they pass away? Will the next nobles be just as benevolent? No, there has to be systematic changes. They need to provide the masses with education. They need to reduce class difference and bring about the age of enlightenment.

(Because if she died, if she couldn’t prove her life’s worth to her parents, then at least she could make some real difference in this world. If she changed the world, maybe then her death would have meaning.)

And to do that, she needs to marry the Prince.

So, basically, you have a Heroine who is fixated on doing good, and a Villainess who is fixated on being good.

The Heroine asks the Villainess to not interfere with the Prince’s route. She’s going to follow that route and make him marry her. The Villainess just have to cancel their engagement amicably and she’d be able to avoid her canon fate. 

The Villainess was not fully on-board with the Heroine’s ambitions. She think the Heroine’s being reckless. Why can’t they just do the good that’s in front of them? But she’s a rather detached person, and doesn’t try to sway others from their opinions. So she agreed to cancel her engagement, and the Prince does fall for the Heroine, and marries her.

The thing the Heroine doesn’t realize is, the characters has always been sentient… She’s just too blinded by her grief for her previous life to see it. The Prince had genuinely fallen in love with this woman, who was kind and intelligent and a little mysterious. And this fascinating woman seem to only ever have eyes for him and the Villainess. Which makes him feel special, but also a little jealous. He used a magical charm to spy on them. That’s how he found out that his wife has some very dangerous political ambitions.

The Prince’s whole characterization is that he grew up surrounded by people who were trying to use him. In the game, the Heroine ends up winning his heart by genuinely caring about him as a person. To hear that the Heroine doesn’t even see him as being sentient, and only wants to use him for power, and had essentially manipulated him… It really broke him. Plus, her political ambitions will literally destroy the power of the monarchy, everything he stands for and must preserve. Further investigation yields that she’s meddling with magic.

He has no choice but to lock her up. 

The Prince could not imprison the Villainess without proof of treason, since the Villainess’s family has a lot of political sways. She had also been a good friend since childhood, and she wasn’t the one to break his heart. So he didn’t go after her.

The Villainess had lived her life somewhat detached, and kept people at arm’s length. But now she had come to realize that, in the Heroine’s pursuit of her ambition, she was heading towards the fate of the OG!Villaness of the game. She realized that this was the first time she’s ever had a friend who was willing to fight for her, to protect her against slander, when she never had a friend like that in her past life. And she couldn’t let the Heroine die, or remain locked up forever. She has to rescue her friend.

Anyway… The Heroine’s journey is to learn to let go of her past and truly live this life, to value and enjoy it beyond achieving accomplishments, to see the NPCs as people. The Villainess’s journey is also to truly live this life, but in the sense of actually valuing it and the people in it, and to fight for what’s important for her. 

The Prince’s journey will be to unlearn the divine right of king (lol) but also to gain confidence and self-respect and know that he doesn’t need a hot girl to be in love with him (no, well, sorta).

And they still get to change the world together!! Somehow! There should be at least 2 more OG love interests that I never thought about. Also... will there be actual romance here? Will the poor Prince ever find true love? All very good questions I don't haven answers to yet.

[ladyloveandjustice]

Winter 2023 Anime Overview: Two More Anime!

I already did a massive review of The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, check it out here! Highly rec'd show.

So here are the reviews of the other two shows I watched last season! (I also watched BOFURI season 2 but it's experiencing delays because of COVID and isn't finished yet. Also, I'm not caught up. Basically it's a fun relaxing show, though). Now onto the reviews!

Ippon Again!

Ippon Again! follows Michi, who plans to quit judo after middle school, but then the very girl she lost against in her last tournament gets her back in the game! From there, a scrappy high school girls judo team goes for the gold!

 It always feels like a miracle when we actually get a sports anime focused on girls that takes them seriously as athletes and doesn’t sexualize them to hell and back, and Ippon Again is one of those miracles. It’s an all around really solid sports anime with lovable characters. It does an especially good job fleshing out the rival team members just as much as our protagonists and making you really root for both of them- and the amount of attention paid to the opponents can make the matches feel genuinely unpredictable.

The show doesn’t really explain a lot of the judo terms, but they’re easy enough to pick up from context. It’s clear the show doesn’t have all the resources in the world from its reliance on freeze frames, but it has smart directing that knows how to cut corners to keep it looking good, and they do whip out some nice looking fluid animation for big moments like the fight in episode four and the fights in the final episodes. I did find the characters a bit hard to distinguish in the early going due to the show’s muted palette and character designs, but I recognized them all eventually.

Like most sports anime, it’s really gay but all the gayness is relegated to subtext (Michi likes to constantly mention she wants to get a boyfriend to the point where it feels almost like a parody, but it’s pointed out she’s never going to look for one because she cares about judo more). I do like the handsome lady that acts as team coach. Another thing I really appreciate is that there are heavier characters on the opposing teams at times, but no disparaging comments are made about their weight- in fact, it’s noted as an advantage.

Overall, it’s a good series that I’d recommend to any sports anime fan, especially ones hungry for sports anime that respects its female characters and pays attention to all the competitors!

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte

Kobayashi is a huge fan of the villainess character in an otome game, Liesalotte. The villainess is in love with the prince, but she’s such a tsundere that her feelings never get across to him! (When it comes to love, she lies a lot. Do you get it.). Tragically, Lieselotte’s inability to communicate her feelings leads her to die in almost every ending of the game. Kobayashi decides to sit down with her friend, Endo, and they do some live commentary on the game as they play it. Then they discover that the prince inside the game can actually hear their commentary! These game fans are determined to use this new found power to give their fave villainess the happy ending she deserves, and so they slowly start to change the plot of the game…

This is a clever twist on the villainess isekai genre and it’s pretty fun at times! (The prince's confusion over "tsun de rais" is great).

However, the production is noticeably struggling. I read a chunk of the manga alongside this out of curiosity, and the contrast between the two made this especially apparent. The animation is barely hanging in there and is much less expressive than the manga’s art, and the story suffers from skipping over a lot of moments that flesh out the characters in the manga in order to fit into the twelve episode runtime. Unlike with Magirevo, almost everything the anime omits is pretty necessary to help the characters feel fully rounded- for instance, one character realistically get angry that a parent lied to her in the manga, but the anime has to cut that for time, so she just seems to roll with it and feels less like a person with reasonable emotions as a result. The manga's story is just much better paced than the anime, and it looks really good and gets both the comedy and badass moments across a lot better.

There’s also a few sexist, heteronormative or just plain offputting moments/lines and moments in the anime aren’t in the manga (and it’s not just a matter of translation, because the art reflects it in one case).

All that said, the anime does complete the story while the manga is still ongoing. So if you want to know the end (and don't read light novels, since if you can't tell from the title, it is a light novel adaptation!), the anime's still a decent option.

As for the story itself, it’s pretty tropey but cute. I wish the commentary angle was implemented more, and I feel the show could have benefited from being willing to delve into the experience of fandom and the contrast between the two worlds a little more too. It’s worth noting that in-story games’ original love interests for the teenaged "heroine character" include a teacher and a pre-teen kid, though in the storyline of the actual show they both get with age-appropriate love interests.

 I was also pretty annoyed that a very combat-capable female character who is  initially put off by her love interests constant declarations he’ll protect her suddenly (and conveniently!) reveals that she hated physical fighting all along and wants him to be stronger and bleh. She’s given an in-story reason for this, but it feels very contrived to place her in an  “appropriate” feminine role. But then she still physically fights in the finale anyway?? (and so does Liesalotte) (and there’s a minor girl character that explicitly wants to be a knight who physically protects her fragile mage boyfriend even if the anime skips over most of that plotline) so…I guess that mollifies things a bit?? But why did it need to be there?

(It’s even weirder in the manga btw, because there’s a moment the anime skips over where she actually tells him to stop saying he’ll protect her and that they should protect each other and he agrees, which was a very sweet and good resolution! But then they go and undo it!)

All my caveats aside, the ending of the anime was just so completely ridiculous  and full of fannish wish fulfillment I couldn’t help but be endeared. You have an absolutely bizarre reinterpretation of Adam and Eve, a flip on the premise that brings everyone together in a fun way, a scenery chewing villain who’s dealt with in an unintentionally funny way, and it’s just a feast of pure cheese.

If you want to watch something goofy and earnest and fun and don’t mind a clunky production and slightly rushed story , you could do a lot worse than this show. And hey, if the anime’s too threadbare for you, the manga’s getting published in English and it has great art! So you can always give that a look.

[humorisstoredinthetits]

Heathers x I'm In Love With the Villainess

I'm a fan of both properties, and I've noticed that Claire and Heather Chandler are basically the same person, so I've thought of an AU where instead of becoming obsessed with Revolution, Rae/Rei becomes obsessed with Heathers the Musical and Heather Chandler and gets isekai-ed into it

So instead of her friend giving her a copy of Revolution, she gives Rei a link to a slime tutorial of Heathers the Musical, and she similarly becomes obsessed with it, watching it over and over again until she could recite it from memory

And similarly to canon, she ignores the male love interest in JD and obsesses over Heather Chandler

In either universe, Rei still has a type, spoiled bossy rich blonde girls who wear red

She reads Y/N fanfiction about Chandler, and when she runs out of that she starts to write her own

She would watch the musical every night when she got home from work, over and over again

That is until one night when she falls asleep after an exhausting day at work, and wakes up and sees Heather Chandler speaking to her, saying 'This is an excellent forgery, who are you?'

She is super confused until she looks at the mirror next to her and sees that she is not herself, she is Veronica

Chandler gets impatient and asks again

Rei/Veronica panics before quickly deciding on her response

"I'm Veronica Sawyer and I love you!"

All 3 Heathers are completely stunned at her declaration and it takes a minute before they get their wits together

Chandler says she was going to invite her to their clique, but they don't want lesbians and to go back to playing dolls with Martha Dumptruck

Rei thinks about just leaving the bathroom, but a plan was starting to from in her mind and to fulfill the plan she needed to be in the Heathers, so she throws out Veronica's line about permission slips and absence notes and that grabs the Heather's attention

Chandler does agree to let her into the group, but she lets Rei know that if she pulls the lesbian shit again, she'd become a social pariah

Rei says "I'm perfectly okay with that, as long as I get to be around my Chan-Chan"

So over the next two weeks before JD arrives, Rei attempts to get settled into her new life as Veronica

Of course, there are a few problems with that

For one, Heathers the Musical has a very limited canon, especially compared to say, an otome game and as such the amount of information she has access to is also very limited

Like, for example, she doesn't know where Veronica lives or what the name of her parents are

And since Heathers was in 1989, she doesn't have a cell phone to find her house or call her 'parents' to come pick her up and she doesn't know their phone numbers

She has to go find a phone book, find her 'parent's' numbers, and find a phone to call them on to come pick her up

Another issue, Veronica is very intelligent and takes upper level classes like Physics and shit, and Rei is not very good in those subjects, so her grades start to dip and she had to explain it to her 'parents'

But back to her plan, she plans to follow canon up until the point where JD hands her the drain cleaner and right before she gives it to Chandler and 'notice' it before yelling at JD while also saving Chandler's life and making her grateful and hopefully she begins to develop feelings for her

As you may expect, things do not exactly go as planned

Rei flirts with Chandler at every given opportunity, turning her harsh words against her into compliments which only enrage her more

Chandler can't get rid of her though, as (who she believes to be) Veronica's talent for forgery is too convenient to let go, as well as the possibility this could be used against her

Rei learned how to forge handwriting in her old life because she obsessed over any thing that was apart of Heathers, forgery included

Thank god she learned how to do it, because if she didn't then she would have no leverage to stay in the Heathers, which is vital to her plan

If she's not in the Heathers, she can't be kicked out later, and if she isn't kicked out then she has no reason to show up to Chandler's house to apologize then save her

Another problem, Martha knows something is up

She tries to question 'Veronica' about it but she always deflects

Martha keeps quiet, for now, but eventually she says to herself that she'll confront Veronica about it, because the Veronica that came out of the bathroom with the Heathers is not the same Veronica that went into it

Two weeks pass and Rei gets settled into her role as Veronica

She goes to lunch that day and the Heathers goad her into writing the fake note from Ram, which Rae remembers from the show the Heathers don't actually look at

Much to her dismay, they don't get up and start singing Candy Store, which is a shame

So instead of writing what Chandler wants her to, she writes "Martha, the Heathers are trying to trick you, after you finish reading pretend like you've heard the greatest news in the world and you're just so excited that you had to tell me, I promise that I'll explain everything later"

Thankfully like she predicted, the Heathers don't read the note and they hand it to Martha, who reads it and while she is confused, she does as Rei explained and the Heathers are none the wiser

Rei decided to change this because she planned to get kicked out of the Heathers when they discover that Martha didn't show to the party, when she would reveal that she faked the note

While this didn't boost her chances of getting with Chandler in any way, this saves Martha from going through much of the emotional turmoil

JD approaches her and with her knowledge from seeing the show over and over she is able to copy the conversation they had during the musical

JD then starts the fight during lunch

She later meets up with him at 7/11 while he talks about his dead mom and thats when Rei comes to a realization

She's a lesbian, how is she supposed to do the deed with JD

She has to go to JD's house to make sure that he tries to give the drain cleaner to Chandler, but she can't stomach the thought of doing it with a man

That thought stays with her all night because she doesn't have a good answer to it

She goes to the party, avoids drinking or smoking as to not cloud her judgment and loosen her lips so nothing gets revealed prematurely

Eventually Kurt and Ram bring out the pig pinyattah (i'm spelling it like this on purpose) and Chandler tries to get Martha to come hit it, but to her shock Martha is no where to be found

Of course she blames 'Veronica' and Rei confirms that she faked the note and warned Martha about the plan

She then gets kicked out of the Heathers, before vomiting on Chandler's shoes instead of her, the need to vomit coming from stress instead of whatever she drank or smoked

She then leaves the party before freaking out bc holy shit what is she gonna do

She can go to JD's house and just not do it, but that introduces unknown variables, like what if his reaction isn't the same when she comes into his house and they don't immediately do the deed

And again, she doesn't know where his house is, which this lack of knowledge on where people's houses are is becoming a problem, so there's no guarantee that she even finds his house anyway

She decides to screw it and just find JD's house and hope for the best, but while walking around looking for it she passes by Chandler's house (which she knowns where it is bc she's been there before) and sees that her car is in the driveway, meaning that she is home

Rei takes this as a sign and climbs up into Chandler's window

She, of course, freaks out seeing 'Veronica' climb into her room

She tries to apologize and get forgiveness but Chandler just laughs her off, telling her to enjoy her last few hours of freedom before Monday comes around and she's dead meat

At this point Rei is desperate, she doesn't know what else to do besides pull out her secret weapon

**Line break bc tumblr is dumblr**

Her favorite song had always been The Me Inside of Me because she assumed not everything Veronica and JD made up was false so she decided to shout in fake anger "Why are you like is, why do you feel the need to be such a bitch? Do you parents not love you? Is your bitchiness some kind of mask? Just what the hell is your problem?"

She said some more than that, including lines from the song like "looks being just like prison bars"

It hurt Rei to speak to her crush like that but if it worked out like she hoped then it would be amazing

Chandler looks pissed, but quickly drops her scowl and slumps down onto her bed saying "Is it really that obvious?"

From there Chandler begins to vent about her problems, the impossible standards her parents held her to, her need to always be the best so that people have a reason to keep her around and wanting to be in charge so she feels like she has some control over her life

Rei reassures her that she does like her regardless and that if no one else, she wants her around

Chandler says that she's just saying that, but Rei asserts that she does and that she loves her

She questions those feelings, to which Rei confirms they are genuine to which she can only ask why

Rei then goes into this long, fangirly speech about how amazing Chandler is which caused Chandler to blush

Chandler then sighs before telling 'Veronica' that this conversation never happened, but she's back in the Heathers as long as she keeps the secret

Rei agrees gleefully before leaving the house

At this point in her plan, she questions what she's gonna do, before saying 'I don't know, I didn't think I would get this far"

She comes to the conclusion that there are two main goals

She needs to placate JD's homicidal urges, and she needs to keep up her friendship with Chandler, which will hopefully blossom into a relationship

She decides the best way to deal with the former is to introduce JD and Martha so they will have a friend outside of 'Veronica', which works out well, they get along and have someone to spend time with when she's busy with Heather stuff

She also decides to make time to spend with them and talk to them about their problems, during which she hopes to get to the root of why JD wants to kill and put a stop to it

However, she thinks that she's already sort of done that, as during their talks she revealed that she's a lesbian, making dating JD an impossibility

She hopes by doing that, it wont make JD so desperate for her, as he knows that no matter what he does, it wouldn't work out between them, and she knows that their relationship was one of the main factors that led to him wanting to kill

She also makes time for Chandler, pulling her aside sometimes to ask how she's doing

Chandler finds this annoying at first and brushes her off, but eventually she breaks and starts talking to 'Veronica' about her struggles, which Rei always comforts her over

Rei starts to notice a change in Chandler during these times

Chandler has less outbursts where she yells at freshmen over things, she doesn't bully people as much, and she's even nicer to Duke

By giving Chandler another outlet to vent her struggles to, she felt less of a need to let out her struggles in other ways

She still flirts with her whenever the opportunity arises, and sometimes she sees her blush

Eventually one day Chandler asks her to stay behind while the other two head to class, after which she pulls Rei into a bathroom and before she can say anything she pulls her into a long, deep kiss before blushing deeply and running out of the bathroom

Rei pretty much cannot function normally for the rest of the day after that

Of course, something had to ruin it, and surprisingly it wasn't JD

JD had been doing really well, he had two stable friends who were willing to listen to his issues and actually wanted him around and even if he couldn't date 'Veronica', he still appreciated her friendship

Martha was the one who ruined everything

She'd been suspicious ever since Veronica joined the Heathers, her personality seemingly shifted overnight and she went from detesting Chandler to being in love with her, and when she happened to see her and Chandler making out in the bathroom, she felt enraged and betrayed and decided to spread the rumor around school

By lunchtime the whole school knew that Heather Chandler was a lesbian, and Chandler didn't even know until she entered the lunchroom and everyone started laughing at her before Duke explained everything

She fled the room, with Rei in pursuit

When they got to an isolated place Chandler starting bawling, saying that her world was falling apart and that she blamed 'Veronica' for making her fall in love with her

She then told her that she hated her and wanted nothing to do with her

Rei's heart shattered at this point and she sank to her knees while Chandler bolted out the front doors

After crying for a bit her sadness turned to rage

She assumed Duke was the one who saw them, because who else would have been around and had enough social status to be believed

And given what happened after Chandler's death in canon, she was sure it was her

Her hands curled into fists and she marched into the lunchroom and launched herself at Duke, sending the both of them flying across the table

She fucked up Duke pretty badly, broke her nose

She got suspended and her 'parents' had to come pick her up

She got grounded but she ignored them and immediately went to Chandler's

Chandler was sobbing into her pillow when Rei came in through the window again

She cried harder and tried forcing her out but Rei wouldn't leave so eventually she calmed down

Rei told her about what happened between her and Duke to which Chandler said that she got what was coming to her, but she also is gonna make their lives a living hell after that

Rei says something sappy like "I'd go through hell as long as we're together" which makes Chandler giggle a little and then they kiss

Rei tries to tell her that its not gonna be so bad, they'll hang out with Martha and JD and sure it won't be like she's used to but difference isn't always a bad thing

Chandler seems unconvinced but she agrees to at least try

Chandler skips school until Rei's suspension is over because she's too afraid of what's gonna happen

The day comes when Rei returns to school and Chandler is basically hiding behind her

Rei walks into school with her head held high, but its all for naught because people stay away from her and by extension, Chandler, probably because they are too afraid of getting their asses beat like Duke did

At lunchtime they go straight to the loser table with Martha and JD

Everyone has their eyes on them, including Duke, who has a large bandage covering her nose

Martha tries to hold in her disdain for Chandler while JD actually gets along with her

Eventually it gets to be too much and Martha launches into a triade, accusing Chandler of doing something to change Veronica and of bullying her and all sorts of shit

(Martha is sort of in the right here bc Chandler did bully her, but she also outed Chandler and by extension her best friend to the entire school which is also pretty fucked up)

Rei quickly comes to the realization that it wasn't Duke who found them

It was Martha

The only thing that stops her from attacking her like she did with Duke is that she had sympathy for Martha because of everything that happened in canon, while she never really cared for Duke

Rei launches into her own triade, asking Martha just what the hell her problem was

Martha realizes at this point that she fucked up but is still pissed that her best friend, her only friend for literal years took her bully's side over hers

**Line break 2 electric boogaloo I hate word count limits**

Rei argues that yeah, what Chandler did was really fucked up and that she needs to apologize, but that didn't give Martha the right to fuck up Chandler's whole life

She isn't exactly thrilled over Chandler's actions but she's also pissed that Martha outed Chandler, also outing herself, which is when she gets really mad

She starts getting flashbacks to when she got outed in her old life and that only fuels her rage

Martha didn't think it through fully and she begins to apologize but Rei doesn't want to hear it and walks away

Chandler and JD also get up and walk away

JD is in the same boat as 'Veronica', he agrees what Chandler did was shitty but Martha did something that was almost worse

Surprisingly Mac also gets up and follows them, telling them that she's so tired of the popularity bullshit and she just wants her best friend back

Things stay the same for a few weeks

The 4 of them hang out and just try to live and have fun outside of the popularity bullshit

They all kind of feel bad for Martha though, even Rei once she calms down a little and when she comes to their table a few days later to apologize, Chandler surprises everyone by apologizing first

Throughout all of this Rei and Chandler continue dating

They go on dates and don't really have to hide because the news spread around like wildfire, in addition to the news that the tall blue one would beat the crap out of you if said anything

Eventually high school ends and Chandler and Mac take a bunch of their parent's money and they all leave Ohio for good

Rei never ends up telling anyone about her true origins, she decides that coming from the future and an alternate reality would be too much to explain and it provides little to no benefit

I find the idea of Rei being isekai-ed into Heathers interesting bc unlike in canon where all she needed to do was ensure that Claire survived the revolution, something that she could not prevent, in Heathers she would have to prevent JD's murder spree and then figure out how to keep going after that which because of the butterfly effect could have been a number of any different scenarios, while on top of all of that getting together with Chandler

[threepandas]

I'm a bit too anxious to say it out of Anon (because brain scream sometimes) but I want to say that I love all of the yandere wips/ficlets you've shared that I've read so far. ... which is funny because I normally dislike toxic routes in many otome.

I ADORE these short stories. Most of the Readers I've seen you've make so far? Are not frilly silly characters who are the Dumb Naive types that the narration tends to offer for immersion. And the Yanderes? TERRIFYINGLY COMPETENT. Whether they're terrifying on main or instead are very very good at hiding in plain sight.

The readers are smart and/or clever. Strong of will and the ones who fight go down swinging. It's not made easy for any of those yanderes even when they are stronger, although the ones I've seen that "hunt" the Readers are very much playing with their 'food'. Some Readers realize the threat too late but they try to escape too. And then some others don't catch on yet to the danger but its not because they're dumb but because there's no feasible way for them to realize anything's amiss yet, whether they're Isekais MCs or native OCs.

(I especially love the Chosen set. omg the chosen set. And the Aizawa and Yamada ones too, like oh my god yes.)

Probably the most Terrifying yanderes you've written (that I've so far read) are the platonic/paternal ones. Whether they lull the Reader into their web or outright steal them away for Bad Ending Hell. Just... god. The Grandmaster Demon Mage, the Mad Scientist 'Daddy'... and now the Villainess Isekai's King and Queen.

pray for those readers. At least "Grandlearner" is safe in the knowledge that no Route they're stuck in will last. The Golden Ending would require the other Routes after all. If Villainess Isekai realizes the danger... oof. And "Eve"? Hopefully she'll gain enough muscle autonomy to escape "daddy" because imagine being resigned to hoping for a quick death given the Dark SciFi Otome Backstory Hell she's trapped in.

I'm gonna send this before I talk myself down from it but thank you for writing these.

I... I'm totally cool and definitely not crying. I want this printed on my wall?? Oh GOD I AM HAVING EMOTIONS 😭😭😭😭😭 this is amazing and thank you and I TOO have thoughts!

Cause like? Yandere? In my mind? Shouldn't be Real™. Like "more at 11" depressing, restraining order REAL. They should be the horror monster that LOVES you. The "I cracked along the fault lines and something UNHINGED bubbled up" that? Technically we all COULD be... if that part of our brains that stops us from metaphorically biting through our own fingers? Either turned OFF or never developed.

Enough unhinged 20 somethings! That's not a proper yandere! That's probably a mood swing! No... let them COOK. Let the crazy FESTER into a smile that doesn't reach the eyes and movements that are FAR too deliberate.

The fun of a yandere is that they are... INEVITABLE.

It's kinda like godzilla in a way. Or a forest fire. The odds aren't HIGH? But if you DO happen to be unlucky enough? All you can do is try to survive. As this Force Of Destruction rages around you.

But WORSE! Cause THIS one? Looooooves you!

May have POWER. A willingness to plan. To wait. To commit violence. And the power of the fanatic to drive them. Because, after all, they fight for True Love. For your FUTURE together. For the God of their delusions.

Aaaaah! There are so many types? I got really tired of them all going for the same template of a person? There are many ways to set off a bomb, after all! I am probably rambling and contradicting myself. I just have SO MANY THOOOOOUGHTS. Seriously, this is the nicest comment I've ever gotten? Just?

[ultramarine-spirit]

Hello Mari, I'm not here to ask about something about wmmap but rather about another issue that has been bothering me in particular...

It's about female characters in abusive relationships.

So, I guess you already know that there are quite a few manhwas where the female lead ends up in a relationship with a very abusive male character and everyone hates him for that, right? Well that's not exactly my problem, no one likes to read couples that romanticize abuse, I understand why people hate it, I do it too, especially the male lead. My problem comes with the hatred of the female lead.

Okay, hate the relationship, I hate the guy for being a jerk but I don't like that they hate the female leads for staying with them. Many of these protagonists always have stories where they suffered abuse as children because the father hated them or the family ignored them, etc. At least to me it makes sense that a person who grew up this way can't fully distinguish what is healthy love from one that is not. If all you knew in your life was abuse, then why would you view abuse from your partner negatively?

And with this I do not intend to justify the couple, that it is okay for them to be together and that they should be together, of course not. I am completely against that.

My point is to stop hating fl for choosing the abusive ml!! I feel like that is like blaming the victim, if in a relationship the man is the abusive one and she still decides to stay with him it is still not his fault! Instead of hating the fl by calling it "stupid" or "annoying" they should try to understand the protagonist and hate the author for creating something like that.

I know that many of these stories are not for the purpose of showing an abusive relationship but rather they really sell it as if it were the best love story of all, but if we are able to use our criteria to know that the relationship is wrong then we should be able to understand that it is not the fl's fault for continuing to love her abuser.

I have thought about this for a long time but it resurfaced in me when this new webtoon came out called Beg or better yet, Cry. I have seen many criticize and hate the protagonist, Layla, for staying with Matthias but the girl suffered a lot of abuse, it is not her fault for not knowing what a healthy relationship is, and the guy did everything possible to abuse her.

I come to you because you really are the most reasonable in the entire manhwa community that I have found, those on Twitter are a bit weird (and in fact i saw these types of comments from them) I want to know if I am really the only one who thinks like this and I am overthinking it or not?

(Sorry for the late reply, I've been busy!)

I'm probably going to say something that will get some people mad, but manhwa readers aren't particularly progressive/feminist. Yes, even if most readers are young women and even if they claim to be feminists. So you have situations like the one you just described (I haven't read/seen the manhwa you are specifically referencing, but I definitely believe people would hate a FL based on those reasons), people hating on a FL for not choosing the ML they like, etc. I remember some people were even angry at Athy when she said she wasn't thinking about marriage yet (she is 15-6), because she didn't choose Ijekiel, and also because she didn't kiss Lucas. This misogynistic behavior is also pretty easy to spot just by paying attention to how readers treat any female character that's not the FL (I swear, as soon as a female character is introduced you'll have people commenting "She better not be a bitch" or something along those lines). Stanning the FL means nothing if you think she is the only good female character, or if the only female characters you like are the ones that are subservient to her.

But to be fair, otome isekai manhwa itself is not a particularly progressive genre either, so maybe it makes sense that it attracts readers like that. Of course, there are exceptions, but in general, the most a manhwa will do is portray the FL as a swallow caricature of a "girlboss". MLs are allowed to have plenty of flaws, but the moment a FL doesn't follow that (honestly, very boring) archetype, has ugly flaws, or dares to go against the ML's wishes, a lot of fans will hate her.

My theory is that the manhwa fandom has the worst of both the kpop and anime fandoms, so that's why this happens.

[catesartworks]

Answering Asks about Isekai Maid

I received a lot of asks about Isekai Maid in my inbox, so I will post them here under the cut! They are from November to now, so check and see if yours is down there!

Cw: Discussions of abuse, xenophobia, and assault.

This is gonna be long, so buckle up!

I get what you’re saying, I don’t think that every webtoon author has these same opinions on classism and racism in these stories, certainly not. Everyone is different, not everyone is going to make the same story and their views are based on their personal ideals and upbringing.

I can’t comment knowledgeably on East Asian nobility politics in fiction, or their dynamics and the tropes used in that setting, though I can recognize the tropes being used. When a webtoon takes place in an East Asian court, it’s harder for me to get the greater scope and the cultural context because it is not the culture I was born in, so I have to do research and think about how those translate. It’s part of the fun! I get to learn something new.

But the implications come with the setting they choose. And many authors choose European/western settings and thus carry all of the issues that come with it regardless of intention. 

In fact, when it comes to Otome Isekai webtoons and novels that I am criticizing, the majority I’ve read have the settings, character names, costumes, etc. are inspired by European aesthetics and nobility titles, western historical figures, artwork, etc. My “maid slapping” master post is pretty much exclusively western inspired settings.

I’ve read stories that I really love (Beware the Villainess) and ones I really dislike (Abandoned Empress), and they all to an extent use Western Aesthetic with some East Asian Nobility tropes that you mentioned at some points.

For example, the fact that Ian from Beware the Villainess and Ruve from Abandoned Empress become the Emperor when they’re illegitimate children and not born from the Empress wouldn’t happen in Europe, but I accept it nonetheless because it doesn’t really hinder the story and it’s interesting. It’s a different perspective. 

I can make concessions on certain things, but not slapping maids, no matter how justified it is in the story. It just doesn’t work in European/western settings, and it makes me uncomfortable.

I think the idea of being ignorance does a disservice to those who DO take the time and effort to do their research. The internet is there, and so are books, reference material, websites that many artists and writers draw from. And there are authors who do amazing amounts of research, and care into the dynamics of the setting they’re in, even when taking liberties.

One such example is Monster Princess and Contract Duchess. It’s one of my favorite webtoons ever, I even own the physical edition. The author took great care in depicting black people and how they are drawn. The politics and power dynamics in that story are also very good and show how corrupt a system can be to children who need help the most. There is an acknowledgement of Leslie being sheltered, and going past her preconceived notions of others, being taken aback by people who do not look like her and embracing the diversity of the world around her.

Which is why is pains me when authors, no matter who, use the aesthetic of European nobility and insert dynamics that romanticize social ills (like classism) that Europe and western countries struggle with historically. If you can do extensive research on historical costume and art, then the cultural information surrounding it was always a click away.

Maids historically in the west have been people who are lower status socioeconomically, and at the mercy of their employers especially in a western setting where they are often immigrants. There are Romance Fantasy comics that acknowledge that the noble is of higher standing than a maid (who are commoners) and has more power than them, would be free to fire them and yet, still indulge in maid slapping (Duchess 50 Tea Recipes, The Lady Needs a Break, Just Leave Me Be).

And when a western inspired story is exported into a western market, it’s going to be looked at from a historical lens by people who grew up in that culture. I’m sorry, but it can’t be avoided. The author’s chose to do this and it is inevitable.

Saint Soo is a woman who was accidentally Isekai’d into Teffrah. She had healing powers and was at odds with the Empress, Christina. Empress Christina, who herself had gone back in time after being killed by the Emperor over his love for Lady Soo, already met Lady Soo and assumed that she would be just like her previous timeline self and try to win the Emperor’s affections.

But Lady Soo, in this timeline, had no memory of the previous timeline and acted differently. She became disillusioned with the emperor and the noble court after witnessing them beating a servant to death for a minor mistake. The Emperor, no longer interested in Lady Soo, went back to the Christina, who was certain that he was a different man in this timeline and deserves a second chance.

She didn’t afford this mindset to Lady Soo, who she saw as ignorant for supporting the abolishment of slavery and supporting the people of Teffrah’s constitution. Lady Soo didn’t do that in the previous timeline, so the Empress thought that she was only doing this to look good for commoners.

She had Lady Soo accused of trying to start a coup because of her involvement with supporting the constitution, and had her executed. This nearly caused a civil war and the emperor later went back to his old ways and began mistreating Christina. She was later imprisoned and executed. Lady Soo was then made a posthumous saint.

Nora Williams is transgender. She was assigned male at birth, so that is why she was wearing boy’s clothes as a child. 

There are spells for transportation, time and space, sound, purification, temperature, and mind altering. Each spell has a time limit, but depending on your skill level, it can be extended from seconds, to minutes, to days to years. 

The general populace tend to use things like stones and wands because they are most accessible, but with sufficient training one can use their hands to use magic. There are also laws strictly forbidding certain types of magic falling under the “time and space” and “mind altering” types of magic (though there are some grey areas because transportation magic also falls under it). 

It’s a combination of a transportation spell and a sound spell. They look for key words like “reincarnator” and words relating to it, such as names of figures in history. What happens if it’s triggered is that Imperial Knights are sent an alert to arrest the person who set the spell off. 

There is also a dust that covers the person in question so they are easily identified.  It’s not a perfect spell though, it kind of relies on the only people who know about reincarnators being educated in that specific academy, so people who do know about reincarnators who don’t attend the academy won’t be prosecuted (like Linus)

Shellie was a bit of a troublemaker growing up, and hates the Imperial Knights with a passion. This is due to the fact that out of most of her family, she passes as a Teffrah citizen due to her light skin color. When she was a child, Imperial Knights arrested her and her mother and threw them both in prison overnight. 

They didn’t believe that her mother, who was darker in skin tone than Shellie, was biologically related to Shellie and assumed she stole her. When it was confirmed that she was Shellie’s biological mother, they gave no apology whatsoever. 

Shellie often got into trouble, and had a fiery personality until her parents got laid off from their work. For a long time, Shellie and her siblings had to be the breadwinners of her family, so she read hand me down books and as a result idealized the noble lifestyle to get away from the chaos. 

In the original timeline, this resulted in Shellie being a people pleaser who isolated herself and had an unbalanced relationship with Anette. But in this timeline, Bridgette became someone Shellie could vent all her frustrations with, and developed a good relationship with her.

Marina has autism, she is sensitive to certain sounds and noises. Her knowing magic contributes to her using her hearing sensitivity to track when people are using spells, but it can also be painful for her.

  Yep. What happened with Nahla (Lord Demeter’s birth mother) was very infamous throughout the Limpette community in Teffrah, and the nobility as well. The maids who were employed by the Demeter household were all let go, and forced to sign agreements not to talk about what happened in that household. 

Servants from other households also warned young Limpette women not to accept jobs there, so there was a massive decrease in maid applications as well. While the Demeter household attempted to spin it into “Nahla fell in love with Lord Demeter and killed him” while omitting that she was assaulted and forced to have his child, they also imposed a ban on female servants before the fact that female servants were too afraid to work there came to light. 

There are timelines where Marinus was rescued by his family, and Nahla survived, but they wouldn’t go to Limpette. Nahla’s family escaped Limpette because of Teffrah’s brutal occupation and military invasion. They couldn’t go back to Limpette because it’s not safe to live there. 

The timeline where Marinus lives with his mother’s family would be because Lady Demeter successfully gave birth to a male heir around the same time that Marinus was born. Marinus couldn’t pass as a Teffrah child, so he and Nahla would be expelled from the household.

Nahla, no matter what timeline, wouldn’t be able to bring herself to raise him (now named Seasalt) because of the trauma surrounding how he was born. He would be raised by his aunt Talia (Marina’s mother), his grandparents, and with his cousins. his relationship with his mother is distant, but she cares about him.

Seasalt would grow up to be haughty, and very charismatic but selfish. Overall a decent person, if a bit overdramatic. He can’t handle money and always has to ask Marina for it since she handles the family's finances. He would also constantly threaten to run away and never return, but always comes back home after a few days because he blows through his savings.

Gregory’s family belongs to a fundamentalist sect of Teffrah nobility. They don’t believe in medical intervention, and are strongly opposed to things that they consider “outside of the laws of the divine will.” 

To them, getting sick is just nature weeding out the weak, and if someone is weak enough to die, then they deserve to. 

However, it should also be noted that this apparently doesn’t apply to the leader of their sect, or his inner circle and their families, who are allowed to have as much access to medicine as they want or need. They are deemed “socially superior” due to their wealth, and must stay alive to keep the population of Teffrah “pure” from “foreign blood.”

When Gregory fell into a coma from the poison, his parents did ask for permission to give him medical attention, but their request was denied and he died as a result.

She finds them on the ground, puts magic in them, and when they’re done they turn back into rocks.

Thank you for reading! I haven’t read Ascendance of a Bookworm yet, but I’ll check it out!

OG!Delilah would probably be very quiet but ashamed. She doesn’t like getting attention and her reincarnator is an extrovert.

OG!Anette would probably be over the moon at first that Marinus finally loves her, then get very shocked when finding out his true nature and try to run away. She would probably be at odds with her reincarnator, they are very different people and would probably argue a lot.

OG! Phoebe wanted to be more assertive, but she didn’t want what her reincarnator wanted. She is horrified by the way she treats people and can’t stand Dimitri (who she thinks is creepy).

Yes, Caravaggio’s mom is from the same town as Eriadne, though a little in the boonies.

Demons are manifestations of the magic within people that is not properly contained. Nobles who aren’t interested in magic and neglect understanding it, and commoners who lack access to education to harness it are the main victims. Magic can manifest through trauma, and if someone is too scared to die, they have a high chance of becoming a demon or spirit.

Spirits can latch onto demons and do their bidding in exchange for more power, which is what led to the problems at Eriadne’s manor. Her demon stepfather had a whole bunch of evil spirits that followed him around and resorted to eating people/possessing them in order to try and become human again.

[memoria-99]

Just my thoughts about self inserts

I was wandering around Tumblr and saw something about self inserting... rather, why MC with designated design and personality isn't so good?

I know nobody cares but well I just felt like rambling here

As a person who never self inserts, I prefer someone who has their own design and solid character as an MC.

I mean, even though there are games that MCs are kinda blank or ambiguous, that person still cannot be me, options I could choose are limited.

And I know if I were in that situation I would never be able to think of the majority of those options or make them romantically interested in me in the first place, so...

Whoever they are, however blank or ambiguous they are, they still can't be me. Then why not enjoy the solid character in 3rd person view.

If the MC does something cool, I'm like "Way to go, nice work", I appreciate them. If the MC does something stupid, I'm like "Hey what're you doing", I rant.

Yes along the way I get to like some of the LIs there, and some managed to hold special place in my heart even till now, but it's not like I really feel like being the MC in their stories.

Maybe it's just me cuz I love reading novels(otome isekai) so I'm kinda used to seeing romance in 3rd person view(I know someone self inserts in novels too, but not me)-- and it's much more fun that way, at least for me.