#venetiaan holy kingdom culture

[pendwelling]

Venetiaan vs. Riester fashion🌷

(ft. model Yeseo and Cédric's imagination~)

Additional notes! :D

Venetiaan fashion:

Inspired by 16th-century Western aristocratic clothing (as confirmed by Sookym). Supporting that, both Losna and Werner have been shown wearing furs and robes!

Round cheongsam-like collars

Wide and flowy sleeves/arms/silhouette

Buttons are distinct from Riester's

Riester fashion:

19th?-century inspired

Suits, vests, button-ups! Neckties are in style since the collars permits it, unlike Venetiaan's high and round collars

Typically slim silhouettes for men (with the exception of cloaks and tailcoats)

(Honestly I just think of it as the typical RoFan webtoon visual fashion LMFAO)

This is just my interpretation haha, it's sorta what I gathered from the info given by Sookym in both in-novel and their notes! Distinct fashion/culture between Venetiaan and Riester has always been interesting to me, especially since Jesse (and Johann) have been noted to switch clothing styles once they become more concretely affiliated with the Riester Empire. (I tried giving Jesse more colourful/darker attires for his Venetiaan wardrobe like in my references pics, but his palette works best with whites/light colours so I couldn't bring myself to do it wkdhdkdksk)

When we first meet Johann, he is distinctly from Venetiaan, wearning its clothing and even greeting Jesse, the prince from said country, as "Your Highness" (which is what people from Riester call Cédric) rather than "prince-nim" (which is what they call Jesse, and what Jesse calls Cédric), displaying his nationality and the royal family whom he serves. He only begins dressing like a citizen of the Empire once he pledges his life and abilities to serve Empress Frédérique and become one of her people!

And as for Yeseo, he only begins to be dressed by his attendants in the attire of the Empire following his 'resurrection', and we can see more of this sort of shift when he goes from being addressed less as "prince-nim", and more as (마마—) "gungju-nim" (palace lord). There's also him eventually being referred to as the Moon of the Empire, instead of the Moon of the Holy Kingdom 🥹

I'm really fond of the webtoon because if there's one thing it does right, it is absolutely how it captures the lighthearted charm, atmosphere, and vibe of the original novel—though one thing im lowkey sad about is that the visual distinction between Venetiaan and Riester culture via clothing seems to have been lost :') It's a small detail on the surface, but it's actually a pretty significant and symbolic shift when Jesse gradually begins to be dressed less like "Prince Jesse Venetiaan", and more as "Marquis de Sérénité of Riester", the Palace Lord of Juliette :')) But of course, making a webtoon is hard work and I still immensely appreciate the artist's work nonetheless (btw I am eternally grateful for them giving Yeseo an ahoge/hair antenna, it is GENIUS chara design and so so so very cute, i love webtoon jesse so much hahajhsjh)

[pendwelling]

Hello! I really love your art and fics for Lout of the Count's Family, I found your blog by chance but it's actually what got me into LCF to begin with. I actually wanted to ask you about TWSB. I've seen you post about it and I've found a synopsis online, but would you mind talking about what you like about it?

OH GOD ACTUALLY I THINK I CAN GO ON FOREVER ABOUT THIS??? THANK YOU FOR SUCH AN AMAZING QUESTION I literally have so much to say, but also not enough words to even begin describing the full extent of what TWSB does to me.

To make things easier for me to write and for you to read, I think this will primarily be in messy bullet point form xDD

(Oh and omg?? I'm glad I was able to help get you into LCF. Perhaps I can hope to do the same with TWSB? 👀😂)

Haha but okay— So. Maybe we'll start with the premise/overall novel I guess? I just love it so much. After that we'll get to characters.

It's "Transmigration into a novel" trope—BUT!!! Refreshing take! Jung Yeseo actually hasn't read the og!novel. He literally knows nothing about what's going on besides what his younger sister, Jung Eunseo, has told him of both the plot and characters.

Thus, he sorta treats his sister's words like a survival guide. Even if the info becomes inaccurate as time goes by and his meddling with the plot changes things.

He knows how important the og!novel was to his younger sister. She cherished it, so in a way, he does too and wishes for it to go the same route.

But this is muddled by the fact that the character he transmigrated into, Jung Yeseo, dies during the war between the Riester Empire and the Venetiaan Holy Kingdom, after taking a blow meant for the Riester Empire's Prince, and Original Male Lead :|||||

Yeseo, now Jesse, as all main characters destined to die do, announces that he will ✨avoid the main characters, stay out of the plot, and survive peacefully as the diplomatic hostage, priest of a prince that he is.✨

Plot twist: this fool cannot escape the main characters xDD

Sounds like the typical transmigration plot, BUT!! with it's own refreshing takes!

We have 2 transmigrators. Yeseo (Jesse) and the og!MC Christelle, (originally a fellow Korean worker in her 30s named Ham Ga-in).

Original novel was a RoFan (Romance-Fantasy).

Current novel (TWSB) is anything BUT that xDD

Pace might seem slow at first, but it is pretty slice-of-life! Later on however, we get to see more adventure/action, as the characters slowly find goals and travel around the continent.

Speaking of continent, THIS NOVEL HAS AMAZING WORLDBUILDING.

Pretty much all of the locations are even based off current countries.

For example, Riester Empire's culture/character names are inspired by France. Venetiaan Holy Kingdom is inspired by Dutch.

Power system (mana, ether, priests, holy knights, mages, swordsmen, etc) is so interesting and well thought out. There are rules that are concretely established and it's just the best.

Interesting dynamics between Priests and Holy Knights! Symbiotic relationship!!! Which the main characters have! :D

Cédric and Christelle are both Holy Knights, so they require a priest to help replenish them with ether. Jung Yeseo/Jesse just so happens to have overwhelming amounts of ether due to special circumstances that eventually get mentioned :D

They are practically married due to this (/hj). They call each other partners and everything (Cédeic especially gets giddy when Jesse calls him this. The stoic simp, tsk.)

Romance is non-existent but MAN DO THESE INTERACTIONS FUEL THE SHIPPER HEART.

One this I ADORE about Sookym-nim's universe is that people just seem so open?? when it comes to sexuality?? No one finds anything wrong with suggesting if two people, or even multiple people, can enter a romantic relationship.

You actually don't realize this until you really think about it. It's a subtle thing but it made me so happy when I realized that.

The Priest/Holy Knight partnership/holy covenant is actually kinda like that. A deep and special relationship. Holy Knights are known to be very protective of their Priests.

Also, both women AND men have been explicitly stated to take interest in Jesse. At some point, the empress, Frédérique Riester, mentions (while comparing Yeseo to the rumours surrounding og!Jesse—who you can sort of think of as a less alcoholic and violent og!Cale Henituse) that Jesse didn't seem like he had any experience bedding either women or men. The universe really says Bi rights and I love it HAHA

Also—Sookym writes women so well. So many great women in power, so many kind, compassionate women. Women who are smart, scheming, funny, sly, powerful—so many types of women for us sapphics to simp over.

In both the Riester Empire and Venetiaan Holy Kingdom, line of succession/inheritance isn't based on gender, but on first born. Riester Empress Frédérique is so COOL, I simp.

(in some cases, such as Blanquer Duchy, competence also plays a bigger part instead of who is born first!)

Ofc the guys are also amazing as well!

We also have cute animals. So many cute, cute animals. I cry.

ANYWAYS!! CHARACTERS!!

The protagonist: Jung Yeseo, 28, who transmigrated into Prince Jesse Venetiaan of the Holy Kingdom, priest and diplomatic hostage in the Riester Empire. In the original novel, he was the 2nd Male Lead who died taking a blow for the Male Lead (Riester Empire's Crown Prince Cédric Riester) during the war between their kingdoms.

He's super kind. Refreshing when you consider all the angsty, sad, emo, stoic and tragic MCs LMFAO.

Of course his past isn't perfect, but he has amazing, wonderful supportive siblings and he grew up as a well-adjusted modern-day Korean citizen. Really just a kind, good "boy-next-door" type of character!

He can be a little prickly in his internal narrations, but who isn't? xD

I've seen reviews call him a Mary Sue and I want to WRANGLE NECKS.

Apparently being kind is just too much of a trait for some people??

Personally, I think it's one of his biggest strength. I love a compassionate MC, and even of his morals might seem foolish a bit, they are reasonable and admirable.

His kindness sort of make you want to tear up a bit: "how can someone as nice as this exist?"

But of course, it isn't unconditional. He knows when people are wrong, and when they deserve to be punished, and will get angry and vicious accordingly. But even despite that, he will frequently have that small thread of compassion for even people who harm (ex: The situation with Peter, Synkie, especially because they were kids—and Jesse has a soft spot for kids, but even so, he naturally acknowledges they deserve some kind of retribution for nearly assassinating him).

(Of course, when people are irredeemable, he doesn't play saint. He's a good guy, but not all-forgiving—and like it was mentioned by a Eunseo cameo in a certain chapter in the 500s, Jung Yeseo is a frightening person when angry.)

(Tldlr, Never piss off the kind and gentle person in a group. They are secretly the scariest when angry, and Jesse is no exception to that—if he gets angry then you KNOW shits going down oml haha)

But overall, he really just gives off the impression of someone who would be a very good and genuine friend :')

He radiates so much Big Brother Energy™ both literally and figuratively.

Even if annoyed, he will still be weak to young kids (again, see above: Older Brother Energy™). Even if the said "child" is actually a 24yo man, Yeseo will eventually succumb to his hyung instincts LMFAO. Which brings us to Cédric Riester (see section after Jesse bullet points) 😂

(He does swear however, though never at a person, but always at a situation. Apparently the Jung Family had a swear jar growing up, though it was his younger sister who mostly ended up giving it money xD)

HES ALSO SO UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNY???? At some point, his friends are getting scolded heavily at the table by the Empress, and it's very much the sort of scene where you, the outsider of a family, has been invited to their family dinner, only for the head of the family/stern asian mother to start scolding your friends right in front of the table.

Except, instead of feeling very awkward, Jesse just continues eating LMFAO and the only time he ever really stops is because his chewing sounds too loud during the scolding, and he still has some shame left HAHA

(This guy is always eating, and it's admirable lolol but tbf in that situation, Ced, Chris and Eli deserved the scokding sKSKKSK)

Anyway— I like how they explore Jesse's status as a transmigrator, as well. He initially thinks of these people around him as characters, whom he only really knows through whatever it was his sister has told him, but he eventually grows to care for them genuinely.

Despite this, he is still very much a young man who cares deeply for his siblings that he believes he left at home, and doesn't know for how long, and naturally experiences home sickness. That's his goal, after all—to finish his role and eventually, somehow, go back home to his siblings.

(SPOILER-ISH 170+):

At some point, we see a vision of his apartment's veranda, and Jesse tries reaching for it. It won't go into much detail, but it's a rather bittersweet moment, especially when other characters, such as Cédric, misinterprets it as Jesse wanting to leave them—the friends he made who genuinely care for him (even if Cédric doesn't exactly show it in the most outward of ways.) Novel characters grow anxious about him feeling as if he could disappear at any moment, and Jesse has to deal with the dilemma of "do I want to return home? Can I really leave behind these people I've come to care about? Are they even real? What will happen to my body if I choose to stay in one world of the other?"

((END OF SPOILER))

His relationship with Cardinal Aurélie Boutier is also one of my most favourite things ever. She becomes a sort of mother figure after they become teacher and apprentice, and the amount of care Aurélie has for him brings me to tears sometimes. She doesn't have any children, but the way she eventually grows to consider Jesse as her own is just TTvTT<3

ANYWAY I LOVE HOW THEY EVENTUALLY GO ABOUT THE WHOLE NOVEL/REALITY THEME IN THIS BOOK. It's so so so good.

With that said, lets move on to the next character :D

Cédric Riester: 24 yo at the beginning of the novel. He was the first male lead and love interest in the original novel. He's the only Prince of the Riester Empire.

He's also lowkey bisexual but that's my opinion LMFAOOO (more like he's MainCharacterSexual)

Speaking from experience: you might hate this guy at first 😂 A lot of my friends and other readers did and I laugh about it all the time.

Eventually tho, he will probably become one of your favourite characters, if not THE favourite. Regardless, you will grow fond of him, as you will pretty much all of the main characters!

For comparison, he's similar to Yoo Jooghyuk from ORV. You really gotta get to know him and his motivation before he starts growing on you like the fastest mold.

His backstory explains a lot, and MY GOD DO YOU GROW FOND OF HIM.

He's so easy to bully. It's a fandom joke at this point to call him derogatory nicknames like; Ether pig. Black pig. Pig. Mosquito. 24/25-month-old kid. Brat. Crapdric. Cedick. Simpdric. Sapdric.

But don't get us wrong it's all done affectionately auhsdhskks

You might become a Cédric defender/apologist the more you read about him.

But how can you be an apologist if he's done nothing wrong—//slapped.

Thinks locking people up is the best way to protect them, and then when he notices it makes them (Jesse) sad, his 0 emotional intelligence naturally goes: 'Ah. I should hire an entire performing circus troop to his palace so that he will feel better.'

The poor guy is TRYING alright 😭

We can kinda blame it on his parents' love story. Those two were p wild LMFAO (but also pretty sweet auahbdldlskdld Frédérique, Alexandre and Aurélie's relationship is very reminiscent of Cédric, Jesse and Christelle's). Actually the whole Riester imperial family was wild with the people they cared about HAHA

But yeah, Cédric's origins as Male Lead in a Romance-Fantasy novel really shines through sometimes, but at the end of the day, you also just gotta remember he was once a kid who spent most of his childhood sick, suffering and sleeping, and now that he can finally move around as he wishes, his full brattiness can unleash now that he found people he can be a 'kid' with and run around the continent alongside him on adventures xD

Jokes aside tho, he's a genuinely good guy.

His character development makes me cry. He's a stoic bastard, but at the end of the day, he's OUR socially inept stoic bastard.

He cares a lot for his friends. So so much. Even if he doesn't outwardly show it.

He's also lowkey very very gay for Jesse. (You might even say Bi because he did fall for Christelle in the original novel too (again, see above for my comment about him being MCsexual) 😂 (actually the main trio pretty much radiate Bi energy I'm ngl LMFAO twsb universe is just very casual with sexuality and I am fr not kidding abt this it's canon and it makes me happy))

The first time Jesse saw his smile was when Jesse called himself Cédric's partner. You also gotta keep in mind this scene happened after Ced (at the imperial palace) and Jesse (at his marquisate iirc) we're separated due to reasons, and the whole palace was placing bets as to when Cédric was finally gonna cave in and chase after Jesse and co. to join them.

Cédric ended up having in pretty quickly xD The complete simp.

Heck, once Christelle and Ced had to pretend they were a couple in front of the Empress and Cardinal in order to help Jesse out, and the Empress asked them what they liked about each other, fully knowing that those two would rather d1e than ever get together.

Cédric then immediately proceeded to describe Jesse, and got jealous when Christelle caught on and also started describing Jesse 😂😂😂

This man gets JEALOUS so much when it comes to anyone expressing nearly any amounts of attention towards Jesse aUDGHDJSKKSKS

At some point (330+) the man even proposes to Jesse. He gets down on one knee and all and starts reciting his vows to unite their sound together and stuff and I'm in TEARS whenever I reread that part, because Ced did it in the MIDDLE OF BATTLE LMFAO

BUT ALSO TBF, it wasn't exactly a marriage proposal, it was a Covenant (which is basically soul marriage between Holy Knights and Priests, in simple terms HAHA) and readers everywhere went crazy sKSKSKKS poor Cedric tho because Jesse ignored him (he was too panicked by the fact that they were literally in battle—)

Anyways yes. Cédric is a character you will easily warm up to gradually, because deep down he's a genuinely great guy.

He's a filial son, and he's a great future ruler—he constantly proves that he is perfectly capable of succeeding his mother, and he cares for both her and his godmother the cardinal )and other members of his family that u get to know better later on.) He even initiates a duel to defend both Jesse, and Jesse's deceased father's honour after his cousin besmirched their names (the cousin insulated Jesse's father, who was a commoner, and Cédric had a very close and dear relationship with his own father, who was also deceased.)

Anyways yes. Cédric is a little prickly, but he's such a good guy deep down, honourable and who stands for what's right and those he cares about.

He's also the reason for why the readers are having a hard time trying to defend the genre of the novel LMFAO (but tbf, Jesse also contributes to that too. How much poetics are these guys able to wax about each other's looks? I'm on tears, I love them hdhdjkskks)

But anyway. Homoerotic subtext is something for a whole other day xDD

There's so much to say about him, but I think I've written more than enough, so let's move on to our beloved Christelle!!!!

Christelle De Sarnez—the original protagonist of the the novel, formerly called Ham Ga-In, a South Korean woman in her 30s who one day woke up in the body of a Duke's 19 y.o daughter. In the original story, she eventually fell for the 1st ML, Cédric, after overcoming their differences. The classic RoFan novel plot!!

Christelle is so interesting as a character, I find, because in the original novel, her not having any powers (due to not having absorbed a Divine Artifact) really shaped the story into the RoFan genre (amongst other things).

BUT in TWSB, she is able to become a Holy Knight and is able to overcome that role/destiny as a damsel in distress type of Romance MC, who gets kidnapped and has to rely on the ML to save her.

Which gave us our wonderful TWSB!Christelle :DD

Instead of getting kidnapped by pirated like the original Christelle had been, our Christelle ended up becoming a "Pirate Queen" and captured a whole ship just because Jesse off-handedly remarked she should get him a souvenir when she went to visit the north xDD

She is so strong and ALSO SO FUCKING FUNNY LMFAOOO

AT SOME POINT HAHA (CH 330+) SHES IN CHARGE OF A FEW HUNDRED SOLDIERS, AND UPON ARRIVING AT A VILLAGE FOR (REASONS) MADE THEM CHANT A KPOP GREETING:

"HELLO! WE ARE THE R.I.E.S.T.E.R IMPERIAL ARMY! NICE TO MEET YOU!"

LIKE LMFAOOOO WHO PUT HER IN CHARGE OF ALL THESE SOLDIERS 😭😭😂

*deep breaths* anyways—

Reminder again that Christelle is also a transmigrator. (But unlike Jesse, the world she went into wasn't a novel, it was just a whole different world where she didn't have to be an office worked anymore and could find romance while being rich, etc.)

This means she is a modern-day South Korean who is ABSOLUTELY aware of pop culture, and says the funniest shit ever istg (see kpop riester army example above) 😂

You can tell through Christelle and all the other references made throughout the novel that the author, Sookym, is also a rather pop culture-savvy person. A lot of other movie franchises get mentioned, and references to other pieces of media/literature are often seen.

One of my favourite Christelle moments that I can think of at the top of my head is when, like I said at the end of my Cédric rant, Christelle, at the end of her and Cédric's fake couples interview with the Empress, eventually cried our "Dobby is free!!" when the questions stopped coming. It made me laugh so hard when I saw it 😂

(Comments on Ridibooks were even laughing at some point when the author included a parody version of an Aladdin song in one arc of the novel, and joked about Disney copyright striking the novel xDD)

Just like Jesse, Christelle also gives off the impression of someone who would be a very good friend. That's how she is with Jesse after all!

While Cédric is a bit more "selfish" when it comes to Jesse and their status as partners, Christelle tries to be more understanding. She is very kind, considerate and I love her. (See a lil further below for more comments about her refreshing emotional intelligence!)

One of my other favourite moments is when Christelle told Jesse that if one day, if he had the feeling that she was different, he should call her "Ham Ga-In", and if she didn't recognize it, she wouldn't be the Christelle he knew. (At that point in the story, Christelle wasn't aware that Jesse knew she was also a transmigrator—even less so that for him, she was a novel character. Which makes the scene even more touching/heartwrenching, since Christelle truly trusted him, and just proved how much she cared about all her new friends and worried about the possibility of the original Christelle coming back to take her place).

I won't get into details, but the way this story treats its transmigrators :')))) makes me cry :')) I find this novel does it very well, especially in the later chapters when secrets start unfolding 👀

(Speaking of transmigrators—this story doesn't brush that fact of lightly. Christelle, just like Jesse, also feels some sort of 'imposter syndrome' and acknowledges that she "has taken the place of someone else's previous daughter". The way the author's treated this plot line between Chris and Christelle's mother was wonderfully done, and made me cry. I love it when stories address transmigrator issues and so on.)

TWSB!Chris feels more like the best friend of a romance story's slightly oblivious protagonist xD If Jesse is blind to Cédric's ML antics and actions towards him, Christelle is completely aware and trashes him for it 😂

She has so much more emotional intelligence than Cédric (who's only friend for literal years until he reached 24 was Élisabeth, the vice-captain of the imperial guard) and she balances him so well like that.

She's often the one who goes out of her way to make sure Jesse's feelings are considered and that people (ie our socially awkward and inept Cédric) will treat him right, because that's what friends do—treat their friends right and wish for it to be that way.

Btw Ced and Chris absolutely hate each other and it's the funniest thing ever, but they also do become good friends despite their opposing attribute repulsion HAHA

(At some point, Chris considers not giving Ced advice on how to get along better with Jesse, so that Jesse would end up liking her more LMFAO but she does end up giving him her 31y.o wisdom xD)

Anyways, Chris is so so great. So lovely, so funny, I holler in nearly all her comedy bits.

She also can't sing, and it's hilarious.

Yeseo's sister once told him that the original Cedric smiled when Chris sang, and Yeseo naturally presumed it was because the original FL was just so amazing it even made the stoic ML smile.

He was dead wrong.

Christelle is tone deaf 😂

Anyways, I think this is long enough. I'm not exactly sure if this sort of response was what you were looking for, but you did ask if I could talk about what I like about this novel, and the answer is simply just this:

So, so very much.

From the amazing worldbuilding and interesting power systems,

To the lovable characters that you only grow more fond of the more you read. Of course, there will also be characters (one in particular) that you will despise to their very bone, and that in itself is just proof of how well Sookym is able to write characters.

The main 3 characters are adults in their mid 20s—30s, and yet they are all very youthful and energetic in their own ways. I find it so refreshing to other stories, where sometimes adults are portrayed with all the hardships of their ages. But here, these characters who have gone through so much are able to often act like children as they run around the continent together causing havoc and try to accomplish their goal of collecting all the divine artifacts. It's so great seeing them have fun, and go on all these quests.

And truly, this story evokes such strong feelings within me.

One moment you're laughing your ass off at whatever ridiculous thing is happening, and the very next moment you might be thrown into the unveiling of a whole mystery. The shift of genres and tones that occur throughout the novel is so well balanced, and it gradually builds up so that at the pivotal moment the author requires it, you as the reader get hit with the accumulation that had been building over several chapters, and you can only sit there in tears and wonder 'why and how the hell is this been described as a "feel-good novel"?'

Sookym is truly amazing, to be able to write buildups that manage to land so impactfully, and bring to life characters who are so endearing you can't help but earnestly root for their success as they try and achieve their goals and get through obstacles throughout the way.

The day the webtoon adaptation gets officially announced, I don't think I exaggerate when I say I will be crying whilst reading the 1st chapter, knowing just all the adventures and trials these characters will have to face in the future TvT It is such a wonder rollercoaster of a read, and I adore it so much haha.

In the meantime, I will continue to draw fanart and write fics in hopes of dragging more people into reading this novel that I hold so dear :')

With all that said, thanks for the ask! I hope this was able to convey to you even a fraction's bit of my love for this novel! Forgive me if theres any typos audhjdksks I had a lot to say so this took me a while haha 😂 and I hope youre enjoying the novel, if ever you decide to give it a go!