#with both novels finally translated I'm So Very Normal

[memorydragon]

I am on my gay coproganda bs again and am so Normal about it.

Devotion as a love language, Yan Xie you're killing me.

[indecisive-v]

alright, people put translations for yonah and deep cover on youtube so i finally caved, here's thoughts i wrote as i listened

YONAH

now, in t1, it looked to me like kotoko felt it was a necessity to do what she did? like there was no other way to save the victims of those she hunted down, and that makes sense to me

but it's looking now like she's just gotten so used to it that she likes it, and i think she tries to reason for it by saying she's doing the dirty work so others don't have to

she's the one out here beating up the bad guys, partly because kind young es shouldn't have to and partly because comatose weakling es can't

jackalope in novel secret content: es is great at this. peak warden material, A+ 11/10

kotoko in yonah: you're kinda bad at this lol

oh no i just had a Thought. forgive me for what i'm about to say and never let me cook again

so kotoko mentions "karmic retribution" right

my stupid idiot brain that had an undertale phase back in the day thought about sans 💀💀💀

karma and lack of i-frames are what allow sans to hurt you extra bad despite him only having 1 atk

kotoko is the same color as karma's poison effect and the prisoners' "i-frames" are disabled when es is asleep. she thinks she's sans underta- (i am sent to the prison)

kotoko in yonah: what's next, are you gonna start forgiving prisoners just because they're hot?

jackalope at the VERY BEGINNING: vote em inno because they're hot, vote em inno because you just like their Vibes, idc do what you want lol

Deep Cover

HOLD UP WAIT THIS IS A BANGER HOLY GOD I'M ONLY LIKE 4 SECONDS IN

yall weren't kidding about her stealing es' "under" lmfao

OH NO THE DISS TRACK

ok. done listening. i'm normal now.

just kidding gonna listen again

either kotoko figured something out in regards to the 11th prisoner es theory or she is a believer in the theory herself, or both

yep still a banger

funny thing, harrow to me felt like an anime op, now deep cover feels like an ed

you were all saying this was instant guilty material but i don't think it's... THAT bad...? maybe i'm just a lil head empty

at the same time though, good luck kotoko inno truthers fr 💀

i have a little more hope now after listening that the mv will soften the inevitable guilty storm? they better be cooking good lol

kotoko's diss track felt like it was her lashing out in anger after what es told her in the vd, mixed with her thinking "hey, everyone's in here for murder, right? and it's about whether you forgive them as opposed to whether they're actually 'innocent'? well, i can't forgive a murderer, no matter what."

kotoko has already stated in her t1 interrogation that she at the very least hasn't been bullied in the past, and while that doesn't eliminate the possibility of her having another sort of tragic/traumatic backstory (or her having been bullied but not thinking it counted for some reason), it could also just be that she's really misguided due to being a lone wolf and having no one to work with, bounce off of, and validate her but herself. being alone like that does shit to a person

[ereborne]

Hey hey, sliding this in under the door in the morning:

For the book as meme, 4 (fav sci-fi), 13 (fav thriller), and 37 (least fav trope used in a way that works for you)?

Did not actually read-read the other responses yet, so questions may have duplicated.

4) Favorite sci-fi: The answer I gave carrionfourth was: "The Ship Who Sang and Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. Exit Strategy and Network Effect by Martha Wells. The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. Rescues and the Rhyssa by TS Porter". I stand by all that, it's absolutely correct, but now I'm also thinking about Anne McCaffrey's works in general, and the incredible impact it had on me when I was a kid, to see her work her worldbuilding around so that she had fantasy staples like dragons (the Dragonriders of Pern) and unicorn girls (literally she named that series 'Acorna the Unicorn Girl'. I am in awe) and selkies (the Petaybee serieses) but with so much space travel and science around them that the books themselves still felt clearly sci-fi. She's not the only one, not by a long shot, but she was the first I read, and she changed the way I thought about genre conventions on a fundamental basis. There's a good chance that without her, I wouldn't have ever bothered reading any sci-fi, actually. There was a little chunk of time there where it seemed very much to me that fantasy books were for people (mostly girls) who liked animals and cared about having friends and sci-fi was for people (mostly men) who liked being very smart and having other people be afraid of them, and if I'd kept going with that mentality I think I'd be a much unhappier person today.

13) Favorite thriller: Well, having just said all that about being so glad I was taught to think outside the genre binary as a child, now I must confess I don't read a lot of thrillers. There's a level/type of suspense that just translates as stress to me, in a way I don't particularly enjoy (I watched a couple episodes of the Fargo show with Duncan and the intensity kept ramping up and when we turned the tv off my neck and shoulders ached. I'm just not good at it). I do really like mysteries--favorite mystery novel is probably The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie; I mostly preferred the Marple shows but I love the Poirot books--and romantic suspense is great--Elizabeth Lowell (fave Lowell book is Always Time to Die) and Jayne Ann Krentz (Lie to Me) are both fantastic romantic suspense writers--and the crossover of both that is the JD Robb In Death series is an unending delight to me. But mostly I'd say I go for mysteries or adventures over thrillers.

37) Least fav trope used in a way that works for you: I really love The Last-Herald Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, even though it has a tremendous amount of angst and suffering compared to my normal tastes, kills off the main character's love interest in the first book, and then has him show up again reincarnated to pair off with the main character once more. Only Mercedes Lackey could keep me genuinely invested through that storyline. Azure Bonds by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb, also: amnesia, followed by false memories, with a final flourish of 'am I even a real person if these are my origins', but actually the book's a heckin romp. It's the first in the Finder's Stone trilogy, which is overall deeply entertaining but a real nightmare to try to explain or describe to people who haven't read it.

[yanderefan-kimi]

Kurobe Makoto and the path of cruelty

Heeey yall this isn't something I normally do but I thought I'd finally live up to my username and start talking about some yandere characters! I was recently rereading this series in anticipation for it resuming soon when this panel (the second image) caught my eyes again, so I decided to rant a bit about this, so here goes *cracks knuckles*

Just a small disclaimer: I'm not an art history major or anything like that, I literally just googled this painting and read the wikipedia article because it fascinated me

Okay so let's start with a VERY brief description of this series, since I don't believe it has been officially translated yet so I don't know how many people have heard of it:

This is デスゲーム漫画の黒幕殺人鬼の妹に転生して失敗した (which basically translates to "I Reincarnated As The Mastermind's Little Sister from a Death Game Manga and Failed") which was originally a web novel by Inaida Sou and was adapted to manga form by Pepu.

I won't go too deeply into the details because I think it's the sort of story that's more fun to read yourself, but the basic premise is that Kurobe Mai, the protagonist, has reincarnated into one of her favorite manga series... which was unfortunate, since it happens to be a Death Game series and she happens to be the first victim. Her older step-brother, Makoto, is a psychopath and the mastermind behind said Death Game in the manga. With a year until the start of the manga, Mai's determined to stop her brother, but her actions cause him to develop an abnormal obsession with her...

In chapter 13, the two stop by an art museum that was showing a medical science exhibit (split into three sections: Exploring the Body, Disease and Death, & Love and Life.) They're both looking around until Makoto comes to a stop at this painting in the 2nd section of the exhibit and stares at it silently for a while. That is, William Hogarth's: The Reward of Cruelty - which is his final work in his Four Stages of Cruelty series (warning if you want to look this up, the paintings are a bit gruesome and unpleasant, on purpose.)

The Four Stages depicts the story of the fictional character Nero as he walks down the path of cruelty. In the First Stage, he's torturing a dog as a child. In the Second Stage, he goes on to beat his horse as an adult. In Cruelty in Perfection, he moves on to theft and murder. Finally, in The Reward of Cruelty, Nero has been hung for his crimes and his corpse publicly mutilated by surgeons.

These paintings were much different from Hogarth's other works because he wanted to shock and deter his audience. He was dismayed over the casual acts of cruelty he witnessed and wanted to warn others that the inevitable end of the path of cruelty was death as retribution.

I thought it was interesting how Makoto chose this specific painting to stare at. Sure, he was fascinated by the macabre, but I think it was likely because he realized that he was walking that path of cruelty himself.

Ever since he was young, he found everyone and everything to be dull and uninteresting. He never struggled at anything, could easily read others, and couldn't empathize with anyone. The only thing that excited him was death. So he started torturing and killing insects, but like all addictions, it was never enough. Soon enough he started desiring for bigger, harder targets. Like a cat, or a dog... or a human.

Makoto realizes that his desire for death and pain was far from normal, but he also felt no desire to change himself. I wonder if he was staring at that painting like he was looking at his inevitable end. Throughout the series, he's been devising various schemes to get Mai's attention (as well as juggling between wanting to kiss her and kill her), but she always strives to surprise him, so what if he fails? What if he succeeds? Was there nothing awaiting the end of his journey other than his early death?

After he's been staring at the painting for a while, Mai comes up behind Makoto and asks if he's finding the exhibit interesting and if he's feeling better. He hugs her, saying that he's fine, and the two go home without ever stepping into the third section (Love and Life.) Now, he's been getting more and more touchy-feely towards Mai with each chapter, but I felt like this hug was a bit... softer. Like he wanted some reassurance that he wasn't at that final stage of cruelty, that he hasn't gotten his "reward" yet.

Anyways, I'm just really fascinated by this scene since it was pretty much glossed over in the web novel, so it was something that Pepu-sensei decided to add in for a reason. Now we're at the gushing part of the post cuz I really think Pepu-sensei is incredibly skilled at panel/scene composition in manga and it's fun to analyze specific scenes and guess the reasoning behind them. (I am vaguely referencing the center spread from the first chapter, which I might talk about later but it's really great, trust me)

Basically, I really love this series (PLUS Inaida-sensei is one of my fav authors and I love Pepu-sensei's art sm) and I really can't wait to see where it goes. It has a good following so we're actually gonna get a whole extra volume and I'm so excited to see what new arc they're gonna throw at us!! And and I'm super excited to see how some scenes in the finale are gonna play out and I should probably stop gushing or I will never finish this post lol.

(if you like yandere, I highly suggest this series!! Plus this is the only series with Kurobe Mai so... 👀)

[semper-legens]

163. Your Wish Is My Command, by Deena Mohamed

Owned: No, library Page count: 518 My summary: Wishes can be bought and sold. First class wishes - wishes near-guaranteed to work, to give you something big - are a hot commodity. And one unassuming market kiosk is selling three, for a discounted price, completely legally. Enter Aziza, Nour, and Shokry; a poor widow, a nonbinary kid, and the kiosk owner, all in need of something, all wishing for their futures. But will the wishes come true? My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

This was another random grab - it seems that whenever we get an interesting-looking graphic novel at work, I'm going to give it a shot, particularly if it's standalone. This one was originally written in Arabic by an Egyptian writer. I don't think I've ever read anything translated from Arabic before, so that's a new one. It was a really interesting book, perfectly balancing the human angle and character-driven stories with the premise of wishes as a material, tradeable good that is a fact of life within the world. It was a lot deeper and more thought-provoking than I had (for some reason) assumed that it would be, and I have to both commend and recommend it for that. It's a really good book!

The story is split into three tales, focusing on three first-class wishes sold by a man named Shokry from a kiosk he runs. The first is bought by Aziza, a recently bereaved working class woman who could never have been able to afford a wish like that under normal circumstances. In the process of attempting to legally register the wish, she has it confiscated from her and ends up spending years in prison for 'stealing' the wish that she legally bought. The commentary is plain. A working class hijabi widow is automatically seen as being a criminal, as being suspect, when she has access to something deemed too expensive for her, even though she scrimped and saved for a very long time to be able to afford it even at a discount. And just because she doesn't want to give in to the authorities and 'confess' to the wish being stolen, she is discriminated against and thrown into a cell, mistrusted and not believed until the very end. It's a harrowing story of pain and resilience, but in the end she gets her wish, and gets to use it as she originally intended, all those years ago.

Our middle story is about Nour, a student from a well-off background who can definitely afford their wish, but has no idea how to use it effectively. They're nonbinary and are struggling with a lot of the issues around that, such as dysphoria and fear of social rejection, but they know that making wishes can be tricky. If you don't ask for exactly the right thing, your wish is likely to backfire or cause unexpected results, which Nour really wants to avoid. On top of that, they're struggling with some serious depression and mental health issues, something they're not managing to keep under control and are in danger of failing all their classes and flunking out of school. Nour's problems are an interesting contrast to Aziza - while Aziza initially struggles with more external problems, like money, Nour is from a rich background but has a lot of internal problems, like the mental illness. Neither is really treated as being 'more important' by the narrative, however. They're both debilitating and both the most important thing in that character's life, which I thought was a nice touch.

Finally, we have Shokry himself. Shokry is a devout Muslim who believes that wishes in general are haram, that they go against Allah's will for the world and that using one would automatically condemn him. His story is really about the struggle with that, as he befriends an elderly woman who is dying of cancer. The wish could be used to save her life, and he keeps petitioning her to use it to that end (she's a Coptic Christian, so she wouldn't believe that wishes are sinful) but she refuses. The reason is revealed later. Turns out she went through some horrible, horrible trauma around a wish, and doesn't want to use one as she's lived a full life and doesn't want to lose what she has. This one is more of an exploration of religion and tradition - it's key to Shokry's understanding of his faith that wishes are haram, but that's not necessarily the case with newer Muslim thinking on wishes. What is he to do when he sees the options as being between his friend dying but him keeping his soul, and his friend living but him being damned for it? The little inlets and nuances of moral lines being drawn are complex, and Mohamed treats them with the gravity that they deserve, but there is still a lot of lightness and love there.

So that's the three stories - time for some miscellaneous things! I love how Egyptian these stories are. I mean, I'm a white Brit, but I was really immersed in the culture and characters presented by the graphic novel, and it never felt like Baby's First Guide To Being Egyptian or anything, which is a nice bonus. It also explored different strata of Egyptian life and society, and I like that the translation took the approach of not translating certain words or ideas in the text, instead using the original word and telling us in a footnote what that is equivalent to in English. I liked the worldbuilding, with the little interstitials between chapters to explain how wishes work on a wider scale and how they've been integrated into law - it takes the heavier exposition load, allowing the story to then be more focused on the characters. And the art was stylish, a black and white semi-realistic style that had the ability to carry the more serious moments, but could be light and playful when needed. I really liked, too, how the art carried the tone of the different point-of-view characters - in Nour's story, for example, it got notably cartoonier and more ironic in order to convey Nour's more youthful outlook on the world. Overall, this is a fantastic book, and I couldn't recommend it enough. If you're lucky enough to get a copy, check it out!

Next, a young woman is abducted from her home…but why?

[hierarchyproblem]

1, 2, 19 for book asks

1. book you’ve reread the most times?

I don't really tend to reread books tbh. There's so many other books I wanna read that I'd get more out of than a second go at something I already remember, y'know? That said, I have read the bible cover-to-cover four times. Normal behaviour.

2. top 5 books of all time?

Aw fuck. I dunno. I'll assume "books" here means "novels" and I'll list five of my top books of all time:

The Dispossessed, by Ursula K Le Guin. I need not labour the piont here 'cause I know you've read it, so I'll simply say that Le Guin is possibly my favourite writer of all time, and this is her at her best.

Ubik, by Philip K Dick. This book gets weirder by the page. PKD loves poking at the nature of reality, and this is the exemplar. A lot of his output reads as surprisingly adventurous work to come from a 60s sci-fi guy, and this is among his most interesting. Several carefully-crafted "wait - oh, shit" moments in a deliberately-contradictory narrative. Head-spinning stuff.

The Fifth Season, by N K Jemisin. A lot of SFF is, like, fun, and that's cool; I like to read that stuff too. This is art, no two ways about it, and of a kind I'm not sure you could easily translate into a different genre or medium. Bold and nuanced exploration both of the apocalypse and of parenthood. Also rocks are magic, and magic is rocks. When people ask me to recommend a book, this is my go-to.

Version Control, by Dexter Palmer. This is pretty lit-ficcy compared with my usual intake (ie. genre fiction that wears it's genre-ness like a tiara). If an act 1 full of normies having brunch doesn't put you off - and it shouldn't, because the characters are extremely well-drawn - then it'll be very satisfying when all the little bits of wrong-ness come together. Also far more prescient as near-future spec-fic than any cyberpunk.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson. Unlike most in the tumblr-popular "SFF imperialism but with lesbians" genre, this one sketches out an imperialism that's mostly plausible and worth exploring. The worldbuilding is really very good. This is mostly a pretty light read, for all it deals in heavy themes. I basically don't believe that spoilers diminish one's enjoyment of a story, though that might just be me, so I still think it's worth reading despite your having looked up the ending on wikipedia. The rapid series of increasingly-punishing gut punches in the final few chapters is worth experiencing first-hand.

19. most disliked popular books?

I'm sure I've bitched about this to you before, but I thought Harrow the Ninth mostly sucked. I respect the ambition of the book's structure, but I felt that it fucked the pacing unbearably. Gideon is way more interesting to read about than anyone else in these books, and I might have felt better about being dragged through 400 pages of Harrow moping by having "you're gonna find out what happened with Gideon soon, I swear!" dangled in front of me like a carrot for a donkey, if the payoff was worth it. Unfortunately the denouement largely consisted of everybody standing there and stating out loud what their master plans were, I guess because the stupid B-plot where I'm somehow expected to care about Ortis at all(??) took up too much space so there was none left for a proper ending. There were some fantastic scenes, but in my opinion they couldn't save the book. I thought Gideon was truly excellent, so this was a bit of a let-down.

Also - if you'll allow me a brief tangential rant - I can only assume the publisher (correctly) decided that the meme references were highly marketable, because otherwise an editor that let that shit through should surely have been let go. It's baffling, because these books are frequently hilarious, but never when referencing Bone Hurting Juice or whatever the fuck. "Oh it's a worldbuilding thing, it shows that John-" no. It's stupid. Piss off.

Thanks for the questions!

[tokikaze064]

コラボ小説（Collaboration novel）

こちらは他の方の「スターフォックスシリーズ二次創作」の世界に、私の二次創作主人公の「アルル」が迷い込む物語です。

This is a story in which my secondary creation protagonist "Aruru" gets lost in the world of other people's "Star Fox series secondary creation".

@wilddogfangさんが現在企画なさっている「アンドリュー・オイッコニー」を中心としたスターフォックス二次創作のエピソード、夏祭りに関するお話がとても素敵てしたのでお許しを頂き、こちらの「アンドリュー」と「アルル」をお邪魔させて頂きました！

The story about the summer festival, the episode of Star Fox secondary creation centered on "Andrew OikOikonny" that @wilddogfang is currently planning, was very nice, so I was forgiven, and I visited this "Andrew" and "Arle"!

今回はアルル視点のお話ですが、後編では同じく迷い込んだこちらのアンドリュー側の目線でお送りしたいと思います。

This time it is a story from Arles's point of view, but in the second part, I would like to send it from the perspective of this Andrew side who was also lost.

（The following is a translation of the novel in the image into English.）

Before I knew it, Alfolina seemed to have wandered into an event venue somewhere.

In addition, I got separated from my husband and guards, and even if I open the terminal to get in touch, it will be "out of range" for some reason.

At least this kind of thing has never happened since she was born.

In this era, it is natural to be "connected" from corner to corner of the planet through the network anytime and anywhere, from the end to the end of the lylat system.

(I wonder if there is a large-scale communication failure?)

I frowned and was first worried about whether it would affect the lives of the people.

However, if you look around, you can only see people walking happily, and there seemed to be no trouble at all.

Moreover, there are even people who normally use the terminal to make calls.

It seems to be different from the kind of communication failure.

(Anyway, I have to join Andy and the others as soon as possible!)

I'm sure they're looking for themselves too.

I imagine that there is a big fuss, and I'm prepared to be scolded by my husband as soon as we meet again.

Even so, Alfolina looks around again.

A spectacular view of a small shop called "Yatai" that I have only seen in "Literature" lined up on both sides of the road.

The voice of a dashing call echoing from all over the place.

A delicious smell that tickles your nose.

My appetite is stimulated, and I feel like I'm going to be sucked in.

(Certainly, I remember seeing this in the record of the cultural sphere of other star systems. ……Yes, is this kind of thing called "Omatsuri"?)

The Empress, who knew that it was not the time to do such a thing, could not overcome the sweet temptation.

If you can see the scene of buying and eating, that's what my husband says, "I can't do it!" It's essential to be scolded.

But where there are delicious things, there is Alfolina.

I don't know, but I'm just trying to go to a food stall … but.

A regrettable fact is discovered here.

My favorite communication terminal is still causing a network error, and I can't open the payment application.

Yes, you should notice it when you can't get in touch.

I completely forgot, and the depressed Empress.

However, it would be even more difficult if this was after eating and drinking at a restaurant.

When we got to the accounting stage, we should have had to feel awkward with each other.

After all, I changed my mind that I shouldn't take a detour and aim to join Andrew and the others.

After walking for a while, I finally recognized the person I was looking for.

Stunning pure white fur.

A crisp, serious face.

Tall. (High)

There is no doubt.

No matter how you look at it, it's Andrew himself.

At the same time that I feel relieved, there is also a sign that the feeling of mind that I had felt until then will be relieved.

"Where have you already been!? I've been looking for you…"

When I approached while talking to him, "he" and the people around him looked back.

Alfolina tilted her head involuntarily in the outfit of "Andrew" looking at us.

…I wonder when I changed my clothes.

The official suit I was wearing until a while ago was also quite good, but the current rough outfit also suits me very well.

No, I'm not in a situation where I'm thinking like that right now.

What you should care about is the gaze of "him" looking at us.

It's like it's about the person you meet for the first time.

The young, cute woman of the monkey tribe next to me also said, "What's wrong?" And he was tilting his head curiously again.

"……Excuse me, but have we met somewhere before?"

The "Andrew" in front of me calls out to me as if he can't hide his confusion.

Wrong person?

No, that can't be true.

No matter how you look at it, he is Andrew.

"What, what are you talking about? It's not like Andy to tell a joke. Geez, are you going to make me say it in front of so many people? I'm your wife's … Alfolina."

"Huh!? She's my wife!?"

"Andrew" showed a dismay and backsed with a careless voice.

People around me, including women of the monkey tribe, also rolled their eyes and were surprised.

"Leader… Did you get married without our knowledge? You have a partner called Aria-chan, but what's going on…"

Saying that, it is a young monkey man who hides one eye that reveals the feeling of disbelief.

Judging from the way he talks, he seems to be an acquaintance of "Andrew".

He is a person who doesn't recognize Alfolina, but from the sidelines, he seems to be very close to him.

"Chichichi, that's not it! It's unfounded! I'm still single! I don't know who you're mistaking that girl for, but the funny accusation is…"

"……I'd like to ask you something, what's your name?"

At this time, Alpholina thought the other person was someone else's emptiness.

I think it's a different person who is very similar to my husband.

But the name he mentioned in front of me was…

"Is it me? I'm Andrew Oikonny, but… what is it?"

Immediately after that, Alpholina involuntarily fell into the place.

When I saw her sitting on the ground anxiously, "Andrew" and the people around her called out anxiously.

"Hey, are you okay!?"

It's a terrible ugliness, but I couldn't afford to worry about my surroundings.

……It's been a long time since "Andrew" that Alpholina knows has changed from "Oikonny surname" to "Gramaton surname".

I thought something was wrong.

A strange place that I suddenly got lost.

Communication terminal that does not connect.

"Andrew" reacts when they meet for the first time.

It's a ridiculous story, but it seems that I came to a parallel world.

After all, I'm lost in space-time.

"……I'm sorry for being rude. You looked like someone I know, so I just got the wrong person."

Stand up quickly and bow your head with an elegant gesture.

"I'm very sorry for the disturbance."

I guess he decided to leave if he couldn't cause any more trouble.

But when she said that and tried to leave, "Andrew" stopped her.

"Maybe I got separated from someone? As you can see, I'm on the executive committee of this summer festival. If you don't mind, I want you to help me."

Oh, even in this world, I'm impressed that "Andrew" is a virtuous and straightforward person.

I really want to rely on you, but I wanted you to concentrate on the person who enlivens this "summer festival" rather than caring about yourself.

"Thank you very much for your concern. Don't worry about it. I just remembered that I had decided on a meeting place in case something happened. Once again, I made a fuss."

This time, I was going to leave the place dashingly.

"Andrew" and the remaining members, Aiden and Aria look at each other.

The people who enjoyed the festivals around them also followed the cat woman who was walking away curiously with their eyes.

"……What, what was it?"

"Even so, she's a very elegant woman. Leader, do you really have any idea?"

"Oh, of course!"

The leader's voice echoed in the lively festival venue.

[tada-no-honzuki]

Ascendance of a Bookworm (24) Part 5 Volume 3 Chapter 2

This translation is not supposed to replace the official releases of the light novel series.Please purchase the official light novel releases when they become available!

Preparing for the Interduchy Tournament

As I agonized about the possibility that Georgine was working with the Sovereignty, Leonore smiled at me.

"Lady Rozemyne, I understand your concern, but you should leave the rest to Aub Ehrenfest. Right now, you should focus on the preparations for the Interduchy Tournament. It's fast approaching."

Brunhilde nodded in support of Leonore's words.

"Indeed.” She said. “The Zent personally participated in the dedication ritual you led. To top it off, we also conducted joint research with three greater duchies. We are certain to be hosting more visitors this year than last. The preparations will be no joke.”

"Rozemyne, they are right.” Wilfried said. “Leave the rest to Father. We must focus on the Interduchy Tournament. What is the status of our joint research with Ahrensbach?”

At Wilfried's question, I nodded and decided to leave the matter be for now. They were right, I should focus on the more immediate tasks ahead.

“I will iron out the final details concerning our joint research with Ahrensbach now that I have Rihyarda's permission to leave my bed. Overall, the results will be published by Ahrensbach, so there is very little I need to concern myself with.”

A letter from Ferdinand had been enclosed with the letter I had received from Letizia. In normal ink, he had written about our joint research among other things. I had wanted to read the message written with glowing ink too, but Rihyarda had forced me to wait until I fully recovered.

“Speaking of which, what’s the status of our joint research with Drewanchel?” I asked.

"We've already decided how to go about publishing the results.” Wilfried said. “We will both publish the properties of Ehrenfest's magic paper, how to improve its quality, and its uses until now."

“In addition, each duchy will publish their own discoveries on how to incorporate the magic paper in magic tools." Charlotte promptly added.

Wilfried, who had attended the preliminary meeting with Dunkelfelger where we had discussed how we would publish our joint research, had taken the lead and attended the meeting with Drewanchel too. Which explained why they had elected to use the same kind of presentation method. Anyway, it was good to know we would both have something to publish as our own, instead of everything being stolen by a greater duchy.

"I'm glad Drewanchel didn't claim everything for themselves.” I said.  “What new discoveries will Ehrenfest be publishing? I have not received any reports so far, so I'm mostly out of the loop.”

Some time ago I had suggested we’d make a magic tool that could play music, so I turned to Marianne for an answer. As our eyes met, she awkwardly lowered her gaze.

"…the possibility of using the paper to make a magic music tool is currently being studied by Drewanchel. We've done some research too, but theirs is far superior to ours.” Marianne said.

Apparently, my idea had been stolen. With sagged shoulders Marianne and Ignaz explained that was Ehrenfest to publish their research, it would likely be nothing but an inferior version of Drewanchel's.

"Even though you gave us the opportunity to collaborate with a greater duchy, we did not produce particularly good results. Please accept our apologies." Ignaz said apologetically.

"Sister, please don't scold them too much.” Charlotte interjected. “It was our first time collaborating with a greater duchy, and they gave it their all.”

As Charlotte stepped forward to defend them, I shook my head and explained I had no intention of scolding them. I had started this to increase the value and improve the quality of the magic paper made in Ehrenfest. As far as I was concerned, the current situation would accomplish just that.

"Still, it's too bad we have no discovery of our own that will garner attention.” I mused. “Let’s make a book that automatically returns to its bookcase! We already have the necessary magic circle, so we just need to raise the quality of our nanseb paper high enough that it can move books!"

Though we likely wouldn't be able to move any of the heavy books from other duchies, if we combined the nanseb paper with the magic circle Raimund had taught me, we should have enough power to move one of Ehrenfest's thin, lighter books. If we held a demonstration, showing how a book placed a short distance away would automatically return to its bookcase, we were certain to catch some eyes.

"And then... if Drewanchel is making a magic tool that can play music by raising the paper's quality, why don't we try to create one that uses so little mana it can be used by commoners as well?”

There was a feystone shop in the lower city, so it should be easy enough for commoners to get their hands on some scrap feystones. If we could make a music box that worked on scrap stones, it would even be possible to play music in high-end places like the Italian Restaurant without the need for a minstrel. It would be even better if customers could buy feystones on the spot to listen to their favorite songs, like a jukebox, they could enjoy music without it hurting the Italian restaurant's wallet.()

…well, the music box does not necessarily need to be a magic tool, but if I tried to order one now Johan would most certainly die.

Once printing-related matters settled down, I might be able to place the order. But considering Johan spent more than half of the year teaching other smiths how to make metal letter types and printing presses, it would be impossible for him to complete it right now. In the end, I wanted to prioritize the spread of printing over the spread of music.

"We should start by adding scores and feystones so that the tool can be used by commoners as well. If possible, I'd like people to be able to listen to one or two songs using a single scrap stone."

As I mentioned everything that came to mind one after another, as if I was talking to Raimund or Zach, Wilfried slowly raised his hand. 

"Rozemyne, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you're asking too much." He said.

Upon closer inspection, Marianne and Ignaz looked a little pale. However, even as a third-year scholar apprentice, I could think of multiple ways to accomplish my ideas. I didn't think I was asking anything too difficult from these two. Still, my eyes flitted back at my own scholar apprentices.

"It's not that difficult, is it?" I asked. "We already know that you can play music by writing a score and slipping a feystone across it and if we use as simple a magic circle as possible, we can save on mana.”()

Roderick and Philine, who had been taking notes on their diptychs, met my gaze and considered my idea in silence.

"Lady Rozemyne, you wish to apply the magic circle Raimund taught you, am I right? And then combine it with the Effon paper?” Roderick asked. “Your desire that it can be used by commoners makes it sound rather difficult, but I think it should be fairly simple to accomplish.”

"If we raise the quality of the ink used to write the score, we may be able to save on the mana necessary to operate the tool as well." Philine suggested.

Marianne and Ignaz's faces turned white as a sheet as Roderick and Philine, who had the opportunity to observe my research with Raimund in Hirschur's lab, produced one idea after another.

"...we'll give it a try." They mumbled.

If they completed both tools, we should have enough original discoveries to publish. I was looking forward to seeing what they'd come up with.

"Sister, what about our joint research with Dunkelfelger?” Charlotte asked. “It appears your scholars continued preparations while you were resting, but..."

At Charlotte's question, Philine and Muriel stepped forward.

"We have finished organizing the common parts of our research with Dunkelfelger.” Philine announced. “We're currently focusing on the details concerning Ehrenfest's ritual. We intend to include the participants' impressions of the ritual which you gathered at the tea parties you attended, Lady Charlotte. Yesterday we also received a report that one of the participants successfully received the divine protection of a subordinate god, so we will be adding that information to our results as well."

"There is someone who has received the divine protection of the gods between the dedication ritual and now!?" Charlotte exclaimed in surprise.

Muriel smiled in response.

"Yes, Lady Lulladie from Yosefbrenner." She said. “Apparently, she hadn't yet finished the Invocation ritual to obtain the divine protection of the gods at the time of the dedication ritual. At the recommendation of her friends, she has been praying until the final exam.”

Archnobles usually finished their courses relatively quickly. Therefore, any other archscholar apprentices had already finished the Invocation ritual by the time of the dedication ritual. As Lady Lulladie had not, she had decided to pray to the gods up until the very last minute.

"Like the students from Drewanchel, Lady Lulladie made an amulet and used it to pray and offer mana... to Bluanfah, the goddess of sprouts." Muriel explained.

" ...that's quite an unusual choice.” I said. “Considering she's a scholar, I would have expected her to pray to Mestionora, the goddess of wisdom, like the students from Drewanchel.”

Bluanfah played a highly active role in Elvira's love stories, but as far as I knew few people prayed to her to receive her divine protection. Muriel smiled wryly at my observation and continued her explanation.

“She told to me she's been praying to Bluanfah so that she may come across the beautiful love stories.”

…she hasn’t prayed for love to sprout?

I suddenly felt a strange sense of comradeship with Lulladie, who clearly valued love stories more than her own love life. There was no doubt in my mind that Lulladie was a sweet girl who treasured books more than love relationships, just like me.

"Is it because she stayed true to her desires? Or... maybe because of her unwavering commitment to her prayers? Perhaps it is simply because archnobles have more disposable mana to devote to prayers compared to med- and laynobles? Or maybe she succeeded relatively easily because she has an aptitude for water?” I contemplated. “…either way, Lady Lulladie has acquired the divine protection of Bluanfah, the goddess of spouts, in such a brief period of time. I think that is nothing but a wonderful result.” I concluded with a smile.

We had successfully proven that even archnobles could receive the divine protection of more gods through offering mana and sincere prayers. It was a major breakthrough for our research. I was itching to ask Lulladie for more details and include them in our research results.

"Her friends wished she had acquired the protection of another goddess instead, but she herself seemed very satisfied with the result. She asked me to extend her gratitude to you, Lady Rozemyne.”

I got the feeling she was a rather peculiar person, but I had yet to meet a bad bookworm. She most certainly was a sweet girl.

Though I had exchanged some words with her at a tea party, I did not quite remember her face. I did however remember the book she had lent me. It was a love story written in old vernacular. The gods were featured more heavily in the book than in any of Elvira's stories and thus included a lot of metaphors. I still remembered how difficult it had been to decipher when the goddesses were used to describe actual events or simply used as a figure of speech.

…Lady Lulladie must be a hardcore lover of love stories. She seems like a perfect fit for Muriel.

That is when the thought hit me. They were most certainly close friends already. That is why Muriel knew Lulladie had acquired Bluanfah's divine protection.

"Lady Rozemyne, may I lend her the new volume of Royal Academy Love Stories to thank her for her contribution to our research?" Muriel timidly asked.

If I remembered correctly, she had not had a chance to borrow the new volume of Royal Academy Love Stories yet. When lending out new books, greater duchies and archduke candidates were prioritized. Archnobles of middle duchies, like Lulladie, had a tough time getting their hands on one of the new books. I am sure she was looking forward to reading the new volume.

I knew exactly how it felt to yearn for a new book. I also knew the pleasure of reading a book and sharing my thoughts with my friends. It had been a normal occurrence in my life as Urano.

The image of Muriel and Lulladie peeking into the book and giggling at each other suddenly popped into my head. As a book lover myself, that kind of sight made me genuinely happy. A fluffy warmth spread through my chest.

"Despite the fact Yosefbrenner must be busy preparing for the Interduchy Tournament as well, she offered her assistance." I said. “Of course, you may lend her the book. If you do, I am sure she will be able to feel the protection of Bluanfah.”

After we finished discussing our joint research, we decided Wilfried would write a letter to ask Sylvester how to proceed with the truuk matter. With that finished, I returned to my room.

"Philine, please get me the letter from Lord Ferdinand."

…he knows I am busy preparing for the Interduchy Tournament! Why on earth would he set me the task to write a letter using noble euphemisms...!?

Though I felt a little queasy, I was still happy to have received another letter. It had been too long. Since I hadn't been allowed to enter my hidden room while I was resting, I only knew about the contents that were written in ordinary ink and could be read by Philine. ()

That is why I already knew about its surface-level content. He had informed me of his plans for the Interduchy Tournament and graduation ceremony, the instructions he had given to Raimund, and his permission to use graphs to present our research results.

Ferdinand was planning to stay the night between the Interduchy Tournament and graduation ceremony in Ehrenfest's tea party room.

"Rihyarda, we have received permission from Sylvester to use the tea party room, didn't we?" I asked as Philine left to collect the letter. A total of four people would be staying in the tea party room: Ferdinand, Justus, Eckhart, and an Ahrensbach retainer.

“Since your letter was checked in Ehrenfest, we received Aub Ehrenfest’s permission as it arrived.” She replied. “Apparently Lord Sylvester had wished to set up a room in the dormitory for him but considering he will be accompanied by an Ahrensbach retainer, that simply wasn’t an option. It seems that preparing the sofa will be quite the ordeal."

Ferdinand was currently living in Ahrensbach, but since he was not married yet, he technically still belonged to Ehrenfest. For that reason, Detlinde had instructed him to stay in Ehrenfest's dormitory.

…after hearing her mother's Royal Academy love story, Detlinde had been very eager to create a situation where her escort would have to pick her up on the morning of the graduation ceremony it seems. ()

Some of Ahrensbach's nobles had instantly objected, fearing Ferdinand might leak sensitive information. But apparently, Detlinde had retaliated saying: "Lord Ferdinand has promised to grant my every wish, remember?" and flashed the engagement stone he had given her.

"…I'm delighted to have him,” I said. “but I wonder if Lord Ferdinand will be able to get enough rest sleeping on a sofa in the tea party room."

“He has no choice.” Rihyarda replied. “He cannot afford to be suspected of leaking information and damaging his position in Ahrensbach.”

It was unfortunate, but his Ahrensbach retainer could only enter the tea party room. That said, if he did not get permission from Ehrenfest to stay there, he fully intended to stay the night in Hirschur's lab. However, in that case, he would most certainly end up talking all night with Hirschur. It was something he would like to avoid if possible.

…I agree. He would get so caught up in the conversation, he would completely forget he was supposed to escort Detlinde.

"What else would he need besides the sofa? I would like to make his stay as comfortable and relaxed as possible."

As I contemplated the question, Rihyarda gave a wry smile.

“We need to prepare crates for their luggage and a partitioning screen,” she said. “but please leave those preparations to your attendants. More importantly, when you write your reply, please remind him to bring a time-stopping tool so he can carry the dishes you prepared to Ahrensbach with him. I'll instruct the castle's cooks to send them to the dormitory."

Rihyarda seemed to be in high spirits. She was likely looking forward to this rare opportunity to meet her son, Justus. Since all students were busy preparing for the Interduchy Tournament, the preparations to welcome Ferdinand fell to Rihyarda and the other adult attendants at the dormitory.

"Lady Rozemyne, here is the letter we received from Ahrensbach." Philine said as she handed me the letter.

"Philine, please continue with the preparations for our research presentation.” I said. “I'll be in my hidden room for a bit."

"Yes. I will work hard to fully understand the graph.” She replied cheerfully.

According to Ferdinand, using graphs to announce our results would be groundbreaking in itself. Therefore, we should expect many questions to be asked about them. Unfortunately, as an archduke candidate, I must prioritize socializing and thus leave the publication of our research to the scholar apprentices. For that reason, Ferdinand had included a stern warning: "I don't mind if you use graphs. But make sure the scholar apprentices fully understand them."

We also ran the risk that our graphs would attract more attention than the actual research.

…though I doubt they will attract more attention than a ceremony attended by actual royalty.

With that in mind, I stepped into my hidden room, holding the letter.

Philine had already read the letter written with normal ink to me once, but I decided to reread it anyway. He had included some information concerning our joint research with Ahrensbach. It had taken some time, but Ferdinand had finally received the report we sent through Fraularm.

…still, he is asking more questions about the research concerning Schwarz and Weiss than about our joint research.

It sounded like he was pretty research deprived. Unfortunately for him, I did not have any details to share, because I had handed all documents over to Hirschur. I should probably reply I will check on the progress of the research once Rihyarda gives me permission.

Then, in the glowing ink, he asked: "Did you show the royals to the archive? You did not enter it yourself, did you? And what is the status of your joint research with Dunkelfelger and Drewanchel? You suddenly stopped writing. Please tell me you did not do something you do not want me to know?"

I could see Ferdinand rubbing his temples already.

…this is bad.

Now that I thought about it, I had not written him a letter ever since the first time I showed the royal family to the archive. After that, even the simplest things kept blowing up in my face, so I had not really known what to write him.

…part of me really just wants to withhold the information, because I know he’ll get angry.

"Hmm, shall I answer honestly now to be scolded at the Interduchy Tournament, or shall I explain everything at the Interduchy Tournament to be scolded...?” I mused. “Hmm, he is gonna scold me either way. For now, let's start with something that will earn me some praise."

The next time we met, I wanted him to praise me first. I would explain the aggravating bits later. If I did not withhold some information, he'd be lecturing me the whole time we'd be together.

I wrote down the things that were most likely to earn me praise using normal ink. That I held a dedication ritual at the Royal Academy and donated the gathered mana to the royal family, that I was able to use two schtappes at the same time, that I had held my own against Dunkelfelger in a ditter match, keeping everything as vague as possible. As Rihyarda had requested, I included a list of items she wanted him to bring on the day of the Interduchy Tournament.

"That should do it. I included nothing that could earn me a scolding, right?” I said as I looked over my letter. “Yes."

My reply to Letitiza's letter would have to be sent via the official route through Ehrenfest, but since my letter to Ferdinand included things he'd need to prepare before the Interduchy Tournament, I intended to ask Raimund to deliver it posthaste.

…perfect timing.

I was already planning to visit Hirschur's lab tomorrow to settle the last details with Raimund concerning our research publication and have them return my copy of the research documents on Schwartz and Weiss.

"There aren't too many days left. I can't slack off now."

[fr1d4y-wr1t1ng]

Ouchie-Ouchie~!

See what I did with the title there?? I took Doki-Doki and made it Ouchie- ok I’ll shut up now. Now I'm not gonna lie, I haven't had that much visual novel experience outside of Doki-Doki Literature Club ;v;. So I did have to do some research on this one, but I love this concept!! It's so cute and I definitely think Tord is the visual novel type.

Request: YESSIR YESSIR

Genre: Platonic Imagine!!

CW: None I can think of other than Foul Language. Lol.

Characters in Post: Tord, Tom, Matt, & Edd.

Description: While you never really were the type to cry at video games, it seems as if this stupid visual novel finally got you to feel something.

(Bonus) Word Count: 1.1k

You stepped foot into an odd-looking thrift store. You normally loved going thrifting but this store was… different. It seemed very run-down and it seemed like you five were the only ones there. You silently walked past the register as Matt dragged Edd toward the mirrors and Tom started looking at some of the clothing items. You made your way into a section of the shop you wouldn't expect of most second-hand shops. A CD aisle.

As you examined the aisle, you heard something- or someone come up behind you. “N/n!” Tord shouted at you, as you slightly jumped toward the noise. You huffed as the Norwegian chuckled, your silent glare expressing every level of disappointment. Your friend lightly slapped your back as he said, “relax, n/n. I'm sure that you'll find something here you'll enjoy.” you smiled at Tord, reporting back with a, “yeah, if that something is fucking haunted.” you both laughed as you started to explore the aisle more and more, you eyes gazing upon the dozens of CD’s of movies, videos, and hell even some games could be found.

But nothing caught your eye more than a bright blue box with Japanese on it, obviously placed in between other dull looking movies. You picked the case out of its place and read the title. “愛に満ちた熱の夢” You tried to see what the translation could be, using your phone. It seemingly and roughly translated to “Love-Filled Fever Dreams” an interesting title for a dating sim, but you couldn't help but ponder what this game was about. As you attempted to make sense of the description, you read that it was a visual novel game made in the ’90s. It was made specifically in Japan and only ever released in Japan. There were eight different love interests and “eighteen” different endings. You chuckled as you walked back over to Tord, this game would be his cup of tea.

As you saw your friend staring at two different CDs, you tapped his shoulder and cheerfully said, “look what I found~!” He took the CD out of your hand and looked at the box, you could tell that he was confused why you chose this game out of the (admittedly small) selection of others. Tord looked back at you, holding back a scoff as he muttered, “just because the box is bright doesn't mean it's a good selection, y/n.” you lightly chuckled as you replied, “yeah? But look at it! It's a dating sim with eight different girls and with eighteen different endings. Aren't you a bit curious?” your friend looked down on you, a small smile forming as he rolled his eyes. “Whatever, it's not my money I'm spending.” you laughed as you started to walk up to the register, maybe this shop wasn't so bad after all.

-

As you five returned home from your “shopping adventure” you started to dig through the multitude of bags for your game. As Tom grabbed his bags and ran to his room, Edd looked at you with a curious look. “Whatcha lookin’ for y/n?” he asked, taking a sip from his can of Cola. You looked back at Edd and smirked, “got a game, and I'm gonna play it. Out here. Wanna join me?” Edd looked at you, knowing that your selection would probably fuck someone up, shook his head and mumbled, “no thanks.” you both waved to each other as you finally found your game.

As Tord walked by, you grabbed him by the shoulder. “You're playing with me.” his face went dropped as he shouted, “but- I-” you put a finger to his lips as you looked at the casing again. “No buts, besides. You do owe me.” his face contorted into a look of angry defeat. You were right but he didn't want you to say it. As he sighed and sat on the couch, you went to your room to grab your laptop, jumping onto the couch and setting the game up. Once it booted, you looked at Tord and smiled. This was going to be fun.

-

Update: it was not fun, at all. Turns out this wasn't a normal dating sim, but a psychological horror game. As tears started to escape your eyes, the antagonist's dialogue started to go on and on about loving you and how she “did it all for you”. You hated her so much, as you turned over to your friend you could see that he'd been… sobbing? “Tord?” you silently asked, putting your hand on his as he mumbled, “they didn't deserve it y/n” you softly started to rub his hand as you replied, “I know. She's a bitch.” a small chuckle came out of the emotionally distraught Norwegian as he mumbled, “if I was there, I would've killed her.” you both laughed until you finished the antagonist finished her dialogue. The screen fading to black as a small “the end” screen popped up.

You looked angrily toward the screen, “WAIT THAT'S IT!?” you shouted, clenching your teeth while you looked at the screen. Tord on the other hand started sobbing even harder, you never really would've expected the both of you to get this upset but here you were. You both started to yell about the game until the living room light flickered on. “Ah- my eyes-” you muttered as you looked back toward the switch. It was Edd and Tom, staring at the both of you. Tom was the first one to speak, “you realize it is four in the fucking morning, right?” he crossed his arms at the both of you, as Edd’s lips twitched in intrigued annoyance. “And uhh… why are you crying?” Tord looked back at the two men, tears streaming down his face as he whined, “they didn't deserve it Edd”

Both of the rudely awakened men looked back at you two, Tom walked toward you both and shut the laptop. “Enough of that. Now go to bed.” he quickly huffed before walking back to his room. Edd slightly chuckled at the short male, smiling as he said, “He is right though, you two really should go to bed.” You and Tord both looked at each other, before shaking your heads at Edd. Your larger friend sighed, “please?” he mumbled, smiling at the both of you as a silent plea to just get to sleep. You sighed as you got up, carrying Tord to his room and going to your own. Fine, I guess sleep would be for the best.

As you laid in your bed, staring at the ceiling, you started to think about that game… still. You chuckled as you turned, guess that game really was a fever dream, huh?

[verytiredblob]

My reviews on Manhwas

Alright so, recently I've began to fall into the great Manhwa hell, as if I didn't have enough fandoms.

But I neither have friends to chat about this with, nor a Discord chat where I can fanby about it, so I just decided to throw it in here.

These are both Manhwas I recommend and my opinions on them. If there are any spoilers, They will be striked through and in blue for anyone that wishes to avoid them (if anyone even reads this lol).

1. The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass (악녀는 모래시계를 되돌린다)

Premise: Aria was a terrible person and was sentenced to dead by being beheaded. In her final moments, she discovers her step sister, Mielle, actually manipulated her during her entire life just so she could get Aria killed. She then is beheaded, and wakes up in the past, in her child body. So now, she must work to both survive and get her revenge on her sister.

Lovely story, and my first Manhwa. The art is simply stunning, and all the characters are very flashed out and developed. Aria (MC) is the pettiest person alive and I'm here for that.

Also, I noticed a trend where, even though the manhwa has "Villainess" in the title, the MC is usually a total angel. Well, not here. Aria is egotistical and a total Diva, she has her goals and one of them is her revenge and by all that is sacred she'll get it.

Mielle is a great villain, she has grown a lot in her own pettiness and tactics since she was a child, and I really like that. Also, watching her suffer for being a terrible person is delightful.

The Male Lead (Asher) is also really cool, I like how he's both witty and friendly, and how much he truly admires Aria and her achievements.

The side characters are also pretty good, and they get a lot of focus because of their interactions with the main cast.

Again, The art is S T U N N I N G. Look at this:

Literally all panels are drawn like this or better, I'm in love.

All in all, an awesome read, 10/10, I love this a lot.

2. The Monster Duchess And Contract Princess (괴물 공작가의 계약 공녀)

Premise: Leslie's life was terrible, and always centered on her big sister, Eli. After a failed attempt of her family to grant Eli her sister's skills and knowledge, Leslie searches for the feared "Monster Duchess" in an attempt to survive.

Another one with incredible art AND incredible characters. Leslie is an absolute angel, and seeing her grow as a person is awesome.

The gender envy I feel with the Duchess is unbearable, she's utterly perfect. And the entire family is so dotting and loving and sweet, my little grinch heart can't take it.

She's perfection, really.

The plot keeps getting more and more mysterious, and I'm here for it!

I love each of the main characters a lot, and even the villains are well done and fuel your hatred.

Also, Eli Sperado and her Dad can choke on those black flames for all eternity.

Another 10/10, although I must warn anyone that wishes to read this that the translations sometimes are very spotty and messy, so it can be a bit annoying.

3. I'll be the Matriarch in this Life (이번 생은 가주가 되겠습니)

Premise: Firentia was a girl that died in Korea in her past life, and was reborn into an influential family as the illegitimate daughter of the third son. Her life was pretty terrible, with in the end, her family ending up in poverty and disgrace because of her uncles and cousins, while she was exiled from the family. After another accident, she wakes up in her past, now with a goal: Become the Lombardi matriarch and stop the other family heirs from bringing it to ruin.

Awesome art and Awesome plot number 3! This is so good, genuinely. Firentia is such an awesome plotter, and her goals and actions are very well developed.

The Male Lead is my baby and I shall protect him, and the side characters? Utterly stunning.

The twins are the cutest fucking shit, seriously. Like, look at these two?? I'm dead. Although, all the children are very, veeery cute.

I like how Firentia subtly manipulates things around her to get what she wants. It's similar to Aria, but she's much more mature and knowledgeable, and has a much less petty goal.

Guess what? 10/10. Yeah, I know, I'm terrible at grading, sue me.

4. The Twins Siblings' New Life (쌍둥이 남매의 뉴라이프)

Premise: Arien and Arjen were a pair of twins that died in Korea, and were reborn again as twins and as the Emperor's illegitimate children. Now, with only each other to trust, they must do their best to survive.

My current obsession. I really like this one. The art is not on the same level of pure Awesome like the ones before, but it's pretty good nonetheless.

The plot is pretty nice, but I must warn you: DO NOT expect them to act like adults. Honestly, just forget they're meant to be reborn in this world. They're just normal children and that's it. They act like children, and they think like children. Honestly, I think the author just wanted to make this story about them as children and their producer went and said to make them reincarnates because that Isekai shit is popular nowadays (And to justify they having memories of their newborn days). Seriously, just ignore it, the experience reading will be much better.

Other than that, the story develops nicely. The characters are all very good and the plot is very mysterious. I am holding myself back to not spoil anything, aaaaa.

There is also only one another thing that disappoints me: Arien is very clearly the MC. The story is told by her eyes and we only know what Arjen thinks or feels when he says it 9 or by subtext). I really wish it was more balanced, because they're both different people and have different perspectives, and also I really like Arjen.

I have absolutely no idea where this plot is gonna go, and honestly? I like it. It's very rare when I don't know how things are gonna develop because of other stories, so it feels very fresh.

The brothers are freaking awesome. I was so scared they were going to hate the twins and be petty, because of other manhwas that are like that, but they're so loving and sweet?? All hail these idiots. Also, Daddy is the biggest dumbass of all, this poor clueless man.

An 8/10, because of the complaints above. Still a good read, and I really like it, even with it's defects.

4. I'm A Stepmother, But My Daughter Is Just Too Cute! (계모인데 딸이 너무 귀여워)

Premise: A seamstress dies of overwork in Korea, and wakes up in the body of Abigail, the vain Queen, and the evil stepmother to the princess Blanche. Yes, It's like she stepped into the world of Snow White, and she must now do her best to live and.. Dote on Blanche with toys and dresses as much as possible?

Again with the awesome art and nice plot. Why are there so many manga with awesome art?? I'm so envious.

May all hail this crispy, delicious art.

Abigail is a whole mood, and I enjoy how she is inserted into the life of someone who had already lived and had a reputation. Her actions baffle a lot of the characters, as do her motivations, and I'm here for it.

The King has also an amazing backstory that's very tragic and yikes. I enjoy it, really. Not something you see in men's backstories that much.

Also, I'm kinda saddened by the fact the MC and the king are bound to become an actual couple. They would be such good platonic friends stuck in a political marriage. I was robbed, y'all.

Abigail greatest ambition is to get to design a dress for Blanche and have her wear it, and you know what? Good for her! Sometimes, it's good to have an MC that is not plotting against world at large.

Also, her mirror? Verite is simply perfect, I love this guy. I non-jokingly ship him with Abigail more than her with the King.

Blanche is a sweetheart, she deserves to be in my "adopted children" wall.

For now it's more of a Slice of Life than anything? But I also don't know what happens in the novels, so I'm just going to wait.

For the current lack of a grater plot, this gets a 7/10. Still pretty good and entertaining, especially for when you just don't feel like trying to understand deep plots with lots of elements.

5. Beware of the Brothers! (그 오빠들을 조심해!)

Premise: Another one of those "I lived my life and then wake up in the past." Hari was adopted by this family after the death of their only daughter, and although her parents love her, her 3 older siblings very much don't. She lives a miserable life in their hands, and when it's the night before she is to get married and finally escape her brothers, she wakes up in the past, and has to deal with them all over again.

Another nice art one, and the background characters are very nice, as is the MC.

But for me, it has a big problem. And that problem is the main ship. It's Hari with her eldest brother, Eugene. Even though they are not related and yadda yadda yadda, they were raised as such, and thus it bothers me. Also, Eugene is as plain as white bread and just as generic when seen as the Male Lead.

I ship Hari with Johan, even though I know it's not gonna happen, Ugh, the pain..

For me, the main point in this is Hari's relationship with her other siblings and the other background characters. I'm here for that wholesome sibling interaction. Her relationship with Erich, specially, is awesome. I love these two so much

It also kinda lacks a plot? Other than the relationship development and their story as a family, but again, I have no idea how they will develop this.

Also, pet peeve? Why do they keep using Oppa instead of translating it properly as brother? I get honorifics and stuff, but it's so annoying.

I give it a 6/10. Good characters and good relationships outside of the bloody incest thing, and it's a good enough way to pass the time.

There are two more that I've read, buut it's like 4am and I'm sleepy as all hell, so I'll just add it in a reblog or attached post later, and I plan on doing this for other future manhwas as well.

Do you have any recommendations or comments or just wanna talk about any of these manhwas? Hit me up!

[chocolate-parfait]

Congratulations on the 300! I see you do matchups?! (I really hope this is the right inbox, I'm still new to this) Could you do one for me (Mixed matchup IkeVamp, IkeSen)? INFP-A, like drawing, cooking, reading, writing, languages (translator to be), sarcasm, traveling, dogs. Don't like unnecessary drama, people disturbing my peace. I'm straigt forward and don't like but can be very confrontational but that rarely happens (no one wants to witness this). Unpaid therapist of all my friends. Thx!

Thank you, sweetie! Hope you enjoy~

I match you up with... Dazai!

Dazai is one of the few people in the mansion who enjoys his peace and tranquility, so aside some teasing and clowning here and there he won't be causing too much of a ruckus (unless Ai-chan is involved~)

Your relationship with Dazai evolves pretty slowly. From two acquaintances who exchanged basic greetings and made small talk every now and then, you slowly became friends who chill together while quietly enjoying the other's company, only to turn into a deeper relationship after various syntomps typical syntomps of the phenomenology of love took root in your hearts. Despite a comfortably unhurried evolution and what some may deem as just fleeting and superficial attraction, your feelings are actually genuine and strong. You and Dazai were able to find the perfect balance that not many couples are able to achieve; neither of you forces the other into something they don't want to do, and you can safely call the each other out without fear of hurting or offending, confident in the mutual respect and understanding you both have of the other

You can spend hours sitting together side by side in complete silence, only the ticking of a clock or a little bird outside comfortably filling the background. You read a book and he writes his newest novel or vice versa. Sometimes it's just one snuggling against the other in search of warmth and affection. It's extremely domestic and Dazai literally LIVES for it

Your romance falls into a steady routine that gives Dazai the impression of leading a completely normal life, just like any other man, finally free from all the doubts and sorrows that used to torment him back in his human days. As if the constancy of such lifestyle wasn't enough, he's also got you to fix up whatever trouble may pass through his golden orbs. You're always there to hear and help him out, and you're also the main reason why he was able to break free from his self destructive mentality, and knowing that you can live a happy, safe life just by being with him brings him ungodly amounts of joy.

One particular night you two had a semi-fight. During that period Dazai was already pretty much always on edge, despite concealing it pretty well behind his usual smile, but when the moon is high in the sky people are more vulnerable, and his remorse and self hatred all came flowing out at once. He absolutely didn't expect your reaction. For the first time ever since you arrived at the mansion, he saw fire burning in your moonlit pupils. Your usual serene tone slightly lowered to a much more aggressive and harsh pitch as countless words came out of your pretty lips. With each sentence you destroyed every one of his qualms just like a knight would cut down his enemies to save his princess. By the end of your discussion he was shocked and amazed to find how you had literally flipped everything upside down and gave him much to think about. A new perspective, things he ignored too much and others he cared too much about. After that night Dazai's usual behavior changed considerably towards you. You could now clearly feel the genuineness behind his smiles and gazes, the softness in his voice and movements when addressed to you. It was the spark that ignited the flames of your love.

Your favorite dates vary from strolls around the city to him teaching you Japanese. He has never taught a language to anyone before, but by having such a receptive student as you makes his heart swell with pride and he wants to try harder for your sake! He's actually on cloud nine ever since you asked him to teach you his native language. The fact that you want to get to know his country and a big part of him better means a lot to him, and it does nothing but strengthen his love for you

Dazai loves animals!! So even without pleading too much he'll agree on adopting a dog if you want one. He's going to take great care of it and you will often see him petting him while quietly babbling on various topics as if the poor creature could understand him

Second choice: Mitsunari

As the resident angel of Azuchi becoming friends with him was no difficult task, as he already trusted you with his life the moment you became a part of the Oda Forces. Additionally, he truly admires your kindness and care for others, so much that he can't help but happily praise you with the biggest smile on his face. Barely even a week passes and you already find yourself watching after him as you remind him to eat, sleep and maybe even breathe. Hideyoshi is extremely grateful as he finally can take it easier and not worry too much about the young man (he still does nonetheless, trust me)

On your part, hating Mitsunari is basically impossible, and even though your sarcastic retorts completely fly over his head (in return you gain Ieyasu's sympathy), spending time with him becomes the most natural thing in the world. Before you know it, you find yourself looking forward to being with him and your heartbeat confirms your suspicions. You may or may not have fallen in love with someone from the Sengoku period and the realization is a scary one. What will happen to your family and friends back home? And what about your dream job? But then that handsome smile, those vivid amethyst eyes full of tenderness, that soft voice that caressed your ears leaving pink warmth on your skin; it all came crashing down on you, leaving no other room for doubts.

If and when you confess him about your past and what had brought you to Honnoji that fateful night, you'll see the fires of an incredible passion taking ahold of his usually placid irises. He cannot fully explain with words the endless facets of what he's feeling, but he'll lock your hands in a tight grip and earnestly try to let out as much as he can. He vows eternal gratitude to you, the one who gave up everything for him, he who does not deserve such loyalty but decides to live up to the sacrifice you made. This new side of Mitsunari renews the love you felt for him, and at the end of his speech, in order to seal such an important promise, he kisses you on the lips, fiery and passionate

Everything escalates from there, and anyone in the castle can see how much close you two got in the blink of an eye. The moment you announce your relationship you get submerged from congratulatory blessings and gifts, even from a very grumpy Ieyasu who doesn't let this opportunity to slip in an ironic comment here and there

You may have given up on everything you had, but Ishida has no intention of making you regret choosing him over the rest of the world. If you're vocal and direct enough about your needs and wishes, he'll try to spoil you rotten at the best of his abilities. Your feet hurts? He's going to carry you bridal style to your bedroom to give you a two hours long massage. Headache? He's already in town with Hideyoshi to buy the best infuses for your head. He's very dedicated and it's very surprising to see him so active and attentive. If he starts getting too overwhelming the only choice you'll have is to explicitly tell him to tone it down a notch or two (please give him cuddles later, baby boy just wants to help)

Knowing about your love for travel, he makes sure to take you with him each time an inspection in a domain comes up, though he'll firmly refuse in case he deemed it to be dangerous. If something were to happen to you right in front of his eyes, he'd blame himself for 500 years and even more for not being able to save you. This is actually one of his biggest worries and from time to time he'll have related nightmares that cause him to wake up with a start, soaked in cold sweat. Take him in your arms, snuggle against his chest or cradle his head against your beating heart and most of the job will be done. If you happen to be concious enough and hear him out, console him with firm words of reassurance, press a kiss to his lips and he's going to be out like a candle in no time at all

Mitsunari is fascinated by the foreign languages you speak! You must have put a lot of time to learn all those exotic-sounding words, and he asks you to teach him a word or two. He's a fast learner and his brain has plenty of space to store whatever you say to him, and although he might cutely stumble every now and then, you're pretty surprised at the enthusiasm he's showing for your passion. He's going to take you to the tenshu to discuss with Nobunaga about a possible occupation involved with languages, and in no time at all you're already on your way to Nagasaki to discuss some deals with European and Asian merchants

[olivieblake]

YES, HELLO. IT'S ME AGAIN. after carving out the little pockets of time i could-- between work commutes and waiting for water to boil and standing in line at costco-- in order to lap up every last bit of One for My Enemy, i have finished reading and honestly want to keysmash because i'm feeling /everything/ and think that capitals and random letters would be the best depiction of my feelings??? BUT i will try with words (not as easily lost in translation, i've heard).

so i’d known that i wanted to read your novels (sans fairytale collections and Alpha) in chronological order of publication; i also remembered you mentioning something about OFME being the crowd favourite. so because Masters of Death held that title of favourite in my heart, i was maybe just a little wary about dethroning it when I finally got to OFME, but! i was knocked off of my feet! with how OFME kept throwing all of the curveballs!!! and the different relationships and the dynamics there!!! and the always-plausible, always-seamless blend of magic in our world (your specialty, your brand, i have officially declared)! i got to page 99 or so and remember thinking “HMM let me message olivie saying how much masha x dima and sasha x lev kill me in very different ways; i adore both!!!” but before i messaged, that thing happened around page 100 and i audibly gasped and knew, with the many twists i’d read already, i couldn’t message you /just/ yet with my opinions and thoughts. not until i’d finished in whole. 

anyway, all of this to say that i am always, always, always appreciative of your ability to make each character multi-dimensional in your story and not just a passerby needed to fill a one-time role. also very appreciative of the way your magical, otherworldly characters—with all of their very human and seemingly normal flaws and problems—have the lasting, relevant impact they do on your readers. the sasha/lev scenes, i adored for their comedy and sense of urgency. the masha/dima scenes, i adored and angsted over for their preserved, long-suffering bittersweetness. characters like ivan and galinka and (whispers) even eric??, i truly enjoyed and felt for. ughhh (the good kind). urban fantasy (would you consider that the main genre for your works?) is my new fave genre, and i honestly cannot wait to read your next novel (Alpha, technically, for me, but even the ones not yet releaaased). AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR SHARING!! ❤❤❤

oh!! also will have to mull over which one i favour more-- Masters of Death or One for My Enemy-- but... i will let you know if i ever come to a concrete decision. as of now, though, for sheer special-place-in-my-heart factor (being the first of your novels i read) and for the different species?? varieties?? of characters, Masters of Death edges out by just a teeeeeny bit. might fluctuate, though, so... who knows for sure, really!!

damn girl, you are on a tear, this is so exciting! I’ll go backwards and say that One For My Enemy has a slightly more universal appeal; rooting it in the familiar tropes of crime families seeking vengeance/star-crossed forbidden love is right up a lot of people’s alleys, including mine. It’s fast, plot-driven, full of motion, in a sense. Masters of Death, on the other hand, is an extremely weird book that trips and turns and isn’t for everyone. In a lot of ways I can see how, looking back, that was a questionable choice for a first book, since it does require a slightly more... thoughtfulness while reading? It isn’t a straightforward story at all, and it takes a certain personality to fall in love with the nooks and crannies of those characters. Which is to say, you don’t need to have a favorite, because I certainly don’t! But I do appreciate it when people have a fondness for Masters of Death, because that’s how I feel about it, too.

re: urban fantasy, I would definitely say OFME counts: it’s gritty, set in NYC, revolving around crime... all the hallmarks of the subgenre are there. Masters of Death and Lovely Tangled Vices I would call either paranormal or contemporary fantasy, just because urban fantasy has a certain specific flavor to it that isn’t necessarily present with those. but I’m with you, I love fantasy that takes place in the real world!! I think there’s a certain revelry for me in normalizing the fantastic, and I really appreciate that you like that about the characters. I’m also so amped you brought up Ivan! Ivan was initially supposed to be a character who never spoke and then obviously you know what happened. anyway I love this, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me!! It is really such an honor to be able to talk to people about my work and I’m just so grateful for your support. thank you, thank you, thank you

( & thank you for reviewing! )

[awed-frog]

Hi I'm in summer break and I wanted to teach myself about mythology, would u pls recommend me books to read, and I don't mean just Greek mythology;);) sorry if I bother u, have a great day!

Hi, that’s great to hear! I may be slightly biased here, but mythology is possibly the most interesting thing in the entire universe, so I’m very happy you’d like to learn something about it! Yay! 

So - what you can read depends on your age and - if you’re an adult - your current or past course of studies, because obviously some books are hard or boring or will assume that you already know a bunch of other stuff, but as a rule of the thumb, I’d say there’s always two ways you can go: primary and secondary sources (ie, texts written by people who belong to a certain culture and studies written about them).

Primary sources often have a bad rap - many teachers don’t even read them because they’re considered hard or weird or full of inappropriate content, but imo that’s exactly where you want to start. For Greek mythology, for instance, you’ll need to make your way through Homer and the theatre at some point; if you’re interested in other cultures, find out what their sacred or traditional texts are (for instance, the Veda for Hinduism and so on) and dive in. You can find most of them online (try Sacred Texts), but consider that a good translation will make a big difference in how much you’ll enjoy reading these books - if you have money, I strongly suggest you shop around for a modern translation and possibly some kind of annotated edition to help you navigate a culture you’re only starting to discover. And since there’s a very fine line between mythology and folklore, I encourage you to pick up other kinds of books as well, especially folk and fairy tales - you want to find things that have been collected by someone, not creative retellings or modern inventions. For instance, W. B. Yeats went around Ireland and wrote down the stories old people remembered from their childhood, and Italo Calvino did the same in Italy, so those are the kind of books that are going to help you get a better understanding of a civilisation’s mythology and religion.

As for your secondary sources, well - that’s a bit trickier, because usually good commentaries are written for an academic audience and have a tendency to be boring, complicated or both. I think you should probably start with Joseph Campbell - its books have their faults, but they’re still an excellent introduction in how this stuff works and played an important role in shaping our modern culture (for instance, they’re the reason we got Star Wars).

That said, it seems obvious but we can’t go far in mythology studies without knowing a culture inside and out. This implies having some knowledge of its customs and traditions, its history and its language - how much knowledge clearly depends on how much time you have on your hands and whether this is going to be a profession for you or not. Finding good history books that are both interesting to read and scientifically valid is not easy, and I don’t know enough about anything that’s not Classical Antiquity to guide you there. Think something like Mary Beard’s SPQR, though, or the Cambridge Companions series (generally speaking, the author must be associated with a well-known university and the book needs to belong to a publishing house that prints normal stuff, not demonology or Wicca or aunt Rosie’s theories on Atlantis). If you think that sounds like a lot, and you just want to have an idea of what’s going on without the commitment, Larry Gonick is the answer to all of your problems - he wrote a cartoon history of the universe that’s both accurate (I know for a fact it’s suggested reading for undergrads at Oxford) and hysterically funny (the man clearly sold his soul or something). Something else that’s easy reading but still packs in a lot of info are the Horrible Histories books, which can be a great way to get you started. Oh, and also consider books about people and why we are the way we are - that helps a lot to understand how mythology works and how it came to be. Two favourites of mine in this sense are Yuval Harari and Desmond Morris.

Finally, I’d say - as with anything, what helps is a lot of information from different sources, you know? So just be bold and hungry and enthusiastic - read novels, go to art exhibitions, watch documentaries and movies, walk around your country’s forests and mountains, dare to be alone and read poetry and fall in love - mythology is at the core of who we are as a species, and most of the things that surround you, including the experiences you can live within your heart, will get you closer to what it actually means and how it functions. 

(Just - don’t trust anyone excessively, because there’s no absolute truth on these matters, and you’ll be alright.)