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tsukiyadori · 3 months

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Reading Log 2023.12-2024.01 - December-January

Previous: Reading (+Watching) Log 2023.09-11 - September to November

Reading languages: German, English, Japanese, not listing which was what

Titles are as I’ve read them either first or most and thus remember it for that title mostly

Not going to bother putting in the original titles of translated reads

Cursive titles have been completed

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DECEMBER

Managed zero anime again...

Hovered before Jeweler Richard and bolted out from reading again for health reasons and upholding certain deadlines...

Novels:

The Old Man in the Corner

Light Novel:

86: Eighty-Six v12 Anime Supremacy v1 Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki v7-V8

Manga:

100-nengo ni Tenseishita Watashi ch14.1-2 A Couple of Cockoos V7 A Side Character's Love Story Ch15-25 After God Ch40-39 Ano Ko no Kodomo v1-v2ch8 Ano Natsu ga Houwa suru. ch13-14 BL Game no Shujinkou no Otouto de aru Koto ni Ki ga Tsukimashita ch18 Boku no Diamond Star ch14 Brutal Ch8.2-14 Buta no Liver wa Kanetsushiro ch32.1-2 Daijuukou to Unicornis no Otome ch12-13.2 Dein Verlangen gehört mir v2-4ch33 Dein böser Blick v1-2ch7 Delinquent Daddy & Tender Teacher v2 Der Duft der Apfelblüte v1-v2 Dienerin des verfluchten Kindes Ch39.1-46.1 Fall in the Night with You Ch46-45 Fuck Buddy Girl Crush ch58-59 Harebare Biyori ch22 Hari to Hitsuji no Fune bangaihen Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Meguri ch17.2-18.4 I don't want to work anymore Ch12-19.51 Inked: Unter deiner Haut Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch15 Kakan no Oukoku no Hanagirai Hime ch8.4-9.4 Kakegurui Ch104-105.2 Kemono to Waltz ch19 Killer in Love Ch31-39 Knitter's High bangaihen1-2 Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata ch75-76 Kono Koi wo Hoshi ni wa Negawanai ch10 Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa ch28 Love you till you die v1-5ch24 Mehr als Tausend Worte Meine Wiedergeburt als Schleim in einer anderen Welt V12 Midnight Secret Sex Minikui Yuukaku no Ko ch1-13 Miryou no Otome to Katabutsu Hittou Majutsushi no Hatsukoi Kiroku ch3.1-16.3 Okazari Ouhi ni Nattanode ch22.3-23.2 Oshi no Ko ch133-135 Phantom Seer V4 Requiem of the Rose King V9.half Sakura Saku v1 Scroll of the White Silk Cloud ch24-58 Shangri-La Frontier v1-v3ch25 She is also cute today Ch48-51 Shinde Miro to Iwareta no de Shinimashita. ch6-8 Shuumatsu Touring ch33-34.2 Sonna Kazoku nara Sutechaeba? ch59preview, ch60-63 Sweet & Tart Boyfriend Ch6-9 Taberare Usa ch80-83 Tales of Reincarnation in Maydare: This World's Worst Witch Ch1-2.2 Taste of Desire The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Ch1-11.3 The Mermaid Wears a Dress Ch26-37 The Saint's Magic Power is Omipotent bangaihen5, ch38.1-2 To be Winner Ch49.1-71 To the Abadoned Sacred Beasts v10ch52 Together Forever Ch17-28 Und jeden Tag liebe ich dich mehr Unnamed Memory ch33 Watashi wo Tabetai kaimaku1-2 Yomei Ichinen to Senkokusareta Boku ga ch9.1-2 Yuna aus dem Reich Ryukyu V7-8

Webtoons:

A Royal Princess with Black Hair Ch50-59 AoT no Requiem ch1-3 Beauty as the Beast Ch16-35 Breed my Dear Enemy Ch44-76 Can the Grand Duke and the Marquis be Friends? Ch1-12 Corridor of Mirs Ch20-55 Marry my Enemy Ch1-7 Spirit of Peach Blossom Ch28-47 The Giantess wants Love Ch61-72

Notes:

86: Eighty-Six 12: It feels a bit like a sort of extra quest, but it weaves itself very nicely into the world building.

Anime Supremacy: 2/3 in, I'm already liking it ten times more than I ever did Shirobako. There is less pathos, more just passion and sincerity. .... And a strange view that not even takes the working conditions cynically, but rather as a matter of a fact.

Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki: V7 has been an excellent read. At beginning, I was once more crying hell, that I did not want to see a Tomozaki-Aoi ship sailing as an endgame, because really Aoi is everything anti-cheese there is so far. But everything is littered up for this to happen, but if it manages to either make a twist with that or make it organically happen, I suppose that'll be fine, too. Anyway, as for this book's main plot, it was quite beautiful with all its allegories that transported across all the characters. What I found most mesmerizing was how this certain mid-term ship sailed. I say mid-term, because I can't really see it as anything else. Fuka even says as much, while both the female characters in the play loved the guy, he was the only one the one who wins her love in the play, which was Hinami not herself. Tomozaki breaks that, but he's also bringing up how they started at opposite ends and are now meeting halfway. They are definitely a good match, they vibed from the start, but somehow there is also a sort of time-limited beauty to it, and it's not entirely normatively (and me tooth-crunchingly thinking Aoi so much looks like the set-up endgame). It's like they will live their lives and in the future will diverge again, simply because their lives will move away from each other. But just now it matches, and it doesn't make the time any less precious, and certainly it will be a valuable experience to build on for anything that comes after and a treasure memory to look back into. This somehow reminds me a lot of the charm the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button postulates with the "meeting in the middle of their lives" notion, but didn't really pull off even half as beautifully for me. But the other motifs are very high up there, too. The allegory of firelings and the outlook of 'finding your own', the internet as one chance for that and just this whole pointing to a sense of 'the world is vast, much bigger than this one little place (school)' is quite a nice and healthy one. Actually, the biggest plot contrivance may not that Tomozaki gets to have an Aoi in his life. It's everyone else getting to have an improved Tomozaki in their life. If Aoi is a sort of catalyst trigger, Tomozaki is in many ways a sort of enabler. Characters like these are rather exceedingly rare in both fiction and reality, imo.

A Royal Princess with Black Hair - I caught up ._. But the titular princess is a kinda cool. The hazardous-sort of cool and the two definitely have a nice chemestry of bantering. (Also Tsundere-in-denials features.)

After God - The plot is a bit… ok, I guess, and the characters bar maybe one across the board awful (even the bunny-moonface one), but then after some 40+ pages some strings come together and they make a few of the characters into far more complex creatures. There is also the whole absurdity of things (gummy bears, really?). The art has always been the thing that drew in with its mixture of macabre, morbid contrasted with and just really astonishing amounts of details. The chapters in Vollof's moon castle however, definitely had art that was positive stunning to look at. The sheer amount of surrealism, from classic paintings and contemporary things of civilization or nature, even just mundane little things just mixed in like that, it's pretty great….. It's just kinda missing actually interesting characters for me. But at least the plot finally started to have a real air of mystique about it that made me want to read more. And then that is when it's caught up on the latest chapters on Comikey. The Irony.

Ano Ko no Kodomo - Very educative and treats the emotions pretty sensibly. Although of course also obviously very Japanese, so now I kinda know more about getting a child in Japan than I do elsewhere...

Delinquent Daddy & Tender Teacher v2 - So v2 is actually a spin off bonus, while being a sequel in the timeline and I think you can really see that fanservice-y air about it. It doesn't have too much of a plot, the spice levels have gone up and otherwise it's mostly compf and cute. Looks like from the next volume on it was greenlit to be an ongoing series, so probably may get more cohesive after that. The series quite stands out for having an ongoing relationship as a couple after coming together (and a child at that), which is very rare. Other than that "gentle" is probably what fits its air best.

Dienerin des verfluchten Kindes Ch39.1-46.1 - How to read v1-6 in German print vols, go up to the penultimate chapter on comikey and going "oh I'll just skip to the last volume", you get the latest of those German print volumes and that one (v8) turns out to be the penultimate one, too. The stupidity… Anyway. Kinda nice drawings, but just so, so, so much pathos. Anyway, think i'll just consider it closed now even with half a chapter missing.

Girl Crush ch58-59 - Aftermath of the last climax in a new little climax, and it's just so good.

Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch15 - yes of course. OF COURSE. Oh, but that twist is for the better, because now we're not in a problem of a triangle after all. Also, somebody license this already. :<

Killer in Love - Finished. Uh. Well. Erm. Last time I thought it was kinda like Azure and Claude that author (Sugaru)'s style of they are gonna be doomed, totally gonna be doomed, just in edgy. But Sugaru's style has a penchant is more like 'everything is gloom, but we desperately try to hold onto something to keep going, and maybe in the eyes of the world we failed, but we've found at least a little measure of happiness for ourselves'. So it's like very predictable gloom, but with a silver lining. This one is just them failing, and they had absolutely nothing. The end doesn't really leave much open, but I prefer to guess it was axed or some such. The message it tries to phone otherwise is kinda hard to swallow otherwise.

Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata ch75-76 - We have moved on from the sorta Aishiteru Game-arc to a competition arc? And next it's school theater arc? It sure moved on quick, but it does so quite neatly without any of these bits getting too long and old.

Oshi no Ko ch133-135 Arimaaaaaaaaaaaa

Shangri-La Frontier v1-v3 - I think the gaming aspect actually works against its adventuring aspect for me. Now ok, fine, it's cool, that it's not yet another Isekai'ed-into-game plot, but also, with it just being a game the stakes also are… just a game. There are no real stakes in there beyond a sense of pride in what they themselves call "bizarre taste" and a stubbornness of conquest. If that was an actual fantasy world defeating the monsters would be meaningful for the safety of the residents in it, but with the gaming aspect it's literally just a game. And as somebody who doesn't game at all, it kinda stopped being interesting. Despite an actual bunny MC there…

Shinde Miro to Iwareta no de Shinimashita - Good heavens, it took its sweet time with the explanation arc and finally turning the asshole romance interest into not so assy-just-misguided poor fellow.

Taberare Usa - I do not know what this is anymore, but it still has buns. Some at least, right now.

(break because of tumblr complaining about max character limits per block)

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Ch1-11.3 - Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!!! This is fluff paradise. At least for now. The series clearly is romance, and it's gonna go there, but the way it is right now in the beginning, that doesn't really have exactly something to do with just romance. They are drawn to each other, but it's expressly not because of the romance factor, they are attraction factors all over the place from every other realm and while there are romance sparks there, it's almost never just romantic/sexual attraction at play alone (and much less is it the driving factor). And even those, they are still very far and in between, but everyone else is already going grinny-grinny that they surely are dating. This is such a mood and if we remove a few of the more spefici sparks, it's almost a bit like my teenage dream incarnate, as in this is how I assumed a friendship looked like, if it was one that has any right to call itself an actual friendship. (Yes, my idea of that concept was a bit nuts at the time…) Now I am wanting both more, while I half dread that once it moves on to be just any classic romance and it is gonna move on for sure, but this is already perfect endgame mood for me. T_T

Original ramblings for the record: The two kinda vibe quite nicely, it didn't start with the sparks and feels, but really just how they complement each their needs. She in terms of all the practical things of cooking, cleaning and he at being introvert-style observant and emphatically being able to guess her needs without having to even think about it. All framed into how it expressly defies gender stereotypes (he doesn't expect much less asks for her cooking and she does it because she likes cooking and enjoys trying some out and serving it to someone happily chomping it down who is neither a glutton that is happy about anything or unable to do a culinary evaluation as to how things taste good) and just at its core it's about a safe space of just being free to be. There's already titbits of the bog standard cheese, but all those blushes of surges of happiness also overlap with something else at the same time, just simple embarrassment over unusual situations (she stumbling) or suddenly close distance (the back carrying), which just doesn't entirely scream cheese for the sake of narrative, but just also being unused to it, because they're introverts. His letting his chopsticks fall at her being happy after seeing him so happy about her food may be a breathtaking thing, but it may also be simply being awed by the sheer prettiness of happiness itself. It also goes an extra mile at how to distinguish that not any other girl/guy would do - the other guys just swoon over her, and he's too overwhelmed by the too extrovert girls - while it's also not it has to be her/him because of crush. It's also just funny how the prospect of a girlfriend gives him headaches thinking about how to explain a certain neighbour angel's presence rather then to go for the most "obvious solution" of just making her his girlfriend herself. Which isn't rooted in just denseness, it's rooted in respect for her boundaries. (And she gives the same air for him, altho obviously if badly made this can turn into a misunderstanding trope.) Some which he often questions just to be sure they are on the same page. (And then there's some delish soft tsundere.) And it's just, neither are going in there with any romantic ambition whatsoever, it just organically develops. and slow burn as it it is and with overlaps to it's also some other thing, this also just reminds me extremely of what was originally my idea of just friendship. (Just remove some of those physiological blushes.) Now I do have an urge to bury my head in my hands, because the idea was so wildly extremely off, but just right now, at this slow burn that probably is (obviously has to be) cheese, this is perfectly an amount that is… fluff. But I surmise it won't stay that way, eventually it'll have to move or any other average reader will just get mad at no development. This atm however to me almost feels like near-perfect endgame vibes. It… doesn't need much of anything more.

Und jeden Tag liebe ich dich mehr (a.k.a. Everyday, Love Me More in English) - What I expected: Dumpster Cheese. What I got when I read some preview of chapter 1 or parts of it a long while ago: Cheese train departing at full speed ahead What it was:

still cheese, but the cheese is, while entirely predictable, actually also surprisingly buyable.

MC has a friend who is touchy-intimate, and it's just a friendship like that with absolute no airs about it

has a fairly weird misunderstanding trope, but they were children nicely placed back into the plot to denote a change development manages to have some comedic situation comedy even in serious moments

the climax/penultimate chapter already feels like what would have been the ending of any other bog standard BL volume. (I totally was expecting the cursed spice extra chapter for checking of the genre checklist.)

turns out after that there is an actual last chapter, with a time skip, which is a a whole arc in at out itself, in any other bog standard volume this would have been an entire sequel volume. has some pretty sensible and mature approach to getting the spice woven into the actual relationship. (Just the mentions of of course you'd want to do such things can die already, at least as a justification of having such desires at all.)

there even is even an cursed extra chapter of spice, with yet some more time skip, which is to say, the reader gets to see them at three stages of their ongoing relationship (plus their childhood precursor one) IN ONE VOLUME. huh. How did this manage to be so compact. There's even plenty of side elements. Some homo jokes getting trashed in a badass-hilarious way, morphing from some childhood scar healing nostalgia to something else, some family drama, entrance exams, slight doubts about one's orientation or how to categorize it, but also it never becoming a focal point or identify crisis drama. Also nice, it has a whole self expression-honesty drama subplot but nothing about it has anything to do with the queer aspect of it all. Just why does this have to have such a damnable cover (that really only makes sense after reading and then is still just… not very eye-caching) and cheese ass title.

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JANUARY

Managed zero anime again... Bar some zapping

Jeweler Richard v6 came out in English, I went to some favorite places and the translation of those places is a little bit errrr? And then it got stalled (next to having to put it aside for deadlines and I'm still not reading v13 for health reasons, despite the deadline now over...)

Anime:

Sailor Moon Cosmos (quick tapping and watching 1/3-half)

Light Novels:

Anime Supremacy v1 Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki V8, v8.5, v9

Manga:

100-nengo ni Tenseishita Watashi, Zense no Juukishi ni Kyuukonsaremashita: Heika wa Watashi ga Moto Oujo da to Okizukidenai you desu ch14.3-4 A Side Character's Love Story Ch26-35.1 After God Ch51-52 Blank Canvas v3-5 Boruto: Two Blue Vortex ch4-5 Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki Manga Ch1-7 Dance Dance Danseur v1-2 Girl Crush Ch61, ch79 Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch16-17.1 Kakegurui Ch105.5 Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata ch78 Liebe in Zeiten der Taisho-Ära v2 Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru ch29 Love you till you die ch34 Mine est Asexuel v1 Miryou no Otome to Katabutsu Hittou Majutsushi no Hatsukoi Kiroku ch16.4-17.4 Mr. Mallow Blue ch28 My Summer of You v3 My Ultramarine Sky v1 Noragami ch109 Okazari Ouhi ni Nattanode, Kossori Hataraki ni deru koto ni Shimashita ~Usagi ga Iru node Hitorine mo Sabishiku Arimasen!~ ch23.2-24.1 Oshi no Ko ch136-138 Parasyte v7-8 Queen's Quality v18ch81 Reincarnated as the Daughter of the Legendary Hero and the Queen of Spirits Ch1-19.3 Sakura Saku v2 Sweet & Tart Boyfriend Ch10-30 Taberare Usa ch84-88 The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Ch11-13.2 The Giantess wants Love Ch73-97 The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl Ch1-11 The Moon On a Rainy Night ch1 The Witch and the Beast v2-3 Together Forever Ch29-36.1 Und jeden Tag liebe ich dich mehr v1

Webtoons:

Breed my Dear Enemy Ch76-91 Fall in the Night with You Ch65-68 Ice Lamp: The Chronicles of Kira Ch1-7 To be Winner Ch72-76 Westwood Vibrato v4

Notes:

Sailor Moon Cosmos - Galaxia is bdass cool to look at, and Cosmos is also cool and just like most of everyone is darn cool, but as a fairly faithful adaption (that actually looks good) it just has the same issues as the manga as in, it's very, very Usagi-centric and everyone else is downgraded to almost just being cameos (although that moment with Rei and Minako still rocks). There's minimally more Galaxia flesh outs in her flashback, and it's a welcome addition to imply, she originally probably had died, that's how ultimately she wasn't so different to all her underlings who were at the mercy of needing the bracelets to survice. And so she gets killed the moment she's purified. Misguided, probably manupulated and cruel as she is, I still think she is a really great villain. She comes from a place of despair seeking nothing more than a home, but nowhere in the whole universe can she find it, so she sets out to just create it. But also knows how powerless she actually is, despite the vast amounts of it she does have in comparison in face of a true enemy. So then you have somebody who really just wants a glimmer of actual hope struggling hard (and in a few wrong ways), but also while at it, uses not just vast overwhelming powers but also psychological tactics. The old anime always had her sit on her throne, while the underlings did their monster of the week, but this incarnation, she's on the frontline right from the beginning. And she doesn't reply on those underlings, they are just an optional nice to have extra she doesn't care about and remains true to them. They fail and they don't deserve anything but disgust. Also she she is just so darn badass, like whoever other villain literally walks up in her (technically) negligle dress to the battlefield and then she just rocks the place so hard. ..... Sailor Moon the manga is flawed in so many ways, but like, how come we've never seen any other so badass female characters that transcend frills of justice, since? And I'm not even asking for an assembly like this franchise has but like just one would be could that comes even close the the epitome of elegant badassness. (The closest is probably dark Homura in Madoka Magica Rebellion and upcoming Walpurgis Night.)

Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki V8 - If v7 was beautiful, this was more of a low point for me. But also has probably the nicest Tomozaki-Hinami moment in there. It's back to focusing on games, which I accept is part of this serie's DNA and not neglecting it is fine, but it's just also the least interesting bit of it. Rena otherwise can go screw herself. As for Fuka and Tomozaki I'm kind of surprised just how quick it moves on to start having things fall apart again. But yeah, it's distastefully teenage-romance-waffling, that just doesn't do anything for me....

Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki Manga - i was a bit turned off about the artwork, turns out the insides look better than the key illustrations in color. I think it is worth mentioning how much effort it tries to make it visually entertaining for a series that is just really lots and lots more of talking. It just sometimes feels like it's overdoing it a bit...

Dance Dance Danseur - This is a very good series. But also like every single ingredient in there is one that impulsively makes me want to run. Ouf.

Girl Crush - I found out there's some other place than geolocked line where the JP chapters show up, so can read those now. It's gooood. But chapters are always so short. ;_;

Mine est Asexuel - I bought this in Japanese a good while ago and then dragged my feet around reading it forever. Which is funny, because I have read reviews etc about it, so I perfectly knew what it was about and how it ended and it's basically the manifestation of one of my worst nightwares. (That IRL I never allowed to happen at least.) Now the JP doujin book kinda just went MIA in my piles and Irodori's French translation was on sale, so, duh, let's just get over it. And like. It's just really really exactly that: A personal nightmare.

Original Ramblings for the record: He starts with suggesting, that she may be better off with somebody else, but at the same time she is kinda deperate, so if yourefuse you are causing heartbreak. If you don't you know fully well that she'd surely have certain expectations that you aren't going to be able to fullfill like that. He then proceed to explain what he is like, what consequences that is to inform her of what she'd be getting into. She says she gets it, but she actually doesn't (like hell that scene where she worries about her underwear....) although she respects it. Which is already very grand, but ultimately just inevitably raises false hopes. But as she says to her friend which he accidentially eavesdrop (which he probably didn't even need to, you'd pick that up anyway), it is to her just so very lonely. And there's nothing he can do to alleviate that. Like even if he engaged in all those acts, it would come from a different place of motivation, which isn't what she wants, as long as she knows it and if she didn't he'd be lying which is also nothing he'd like. And they got along with everything else, it mostly failed on this one bit, but it was crucial. It's a try as you may do, it was bound to go wrong and there was no way to prevent that beyond not letting himself into a relationship to begin with, but that still would mean causing heartbreak and on top it's not like he's not liking her either - the JP title says nonsexual, so for a change this meaning asexual actually a correct translation and he's ace not aro - so no matter what he would have done, it would have always being a pain.

"I don't think I can give you a day as you wish for". That whole admission of hoping for something that just was impossible and also why?. Nobody's fault but tragic all the same. Those are the worst cases, because there is nothing you can do to fix it. And yeah that whole thing about her condition to breaking up. While she thinks hell refuse and she'd still get stay at his side. And the whole air about that. How that that even sound to him? It's just looks like from all the things to connect one another to her this was the most paramount important thing, something he can't and everything else she shared (which was a good amount), has the weight of less than smoke. And to her it's just like how serious he really was all along with what he said and probably that is the first time it actually sunk into her what this even means. That he'd be so desperate to get out of her expectations that he'd do what he hates so much just once. And also the final line, this experience lingers, and while it isn't exactly a trauma given how they moved on and apparently found what they needed and not all of it was bad, but at least to her it's established that it has left a mark on her heart forever. Over something like that. This is not a way I want to be remembered at all. (Especially not, as I probably am anyway over some other traits of mine already.) And well, some other to-be-expected comments, like what that friend of her says or the author depicts in the afterword. All a can of worms.

Which is to say

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten GIVE ME MORE FLUFF. This manga runs at a snail's pace. I wanna more like it, in this exactly bracket why this is fluff perfection, but I just can't find any. ;_; Just one chapter a month is cruel, but I am suckering up like nothing. I mean. Just look at this FLUUUUUUUFFFFF!!!!

My Summer of You - I had to chuckle how there was a scene, that's basically the same as in I hear the Sunspot Limit v1, except here they go for it whereas Sunspot went "it's not wrestling", lol. I still marvel at how the character templates look so incredibly similar in both series. Overall I think Sunpot has more to offer, but that includes a lot of thorns that make it into a heavy read at places. This one's more softer in that regard.

My Ultramarine Sky - Good heavens, this is I became an Omega today levels of there would be absolutely no plot, if they actually talked. Except it coems around to have a very grounded, buyable and sensible depiction of why now that is anchored in teenage confusion x internalised homophobia. As in the internalised taboo sort, rather than actual external pressures happening. Those friends of them they actually see like pretty good, supportive guys, and the whole BL joke makes for a nice contrast that not everything is active oppression. It's also jokes like these that may hurt that have no malicious intent behind it at all. They just don't know and nobody's told them. Original ramblings for the record: It's like The Two Lions, but each with way less personality and character, absolutely no side plots and the characters aged down. In terms of cheese it's kinda structured almost the same way, except that since it has really nothing else going on there's a lot of sentimental cheese waffling filling in. While a case could be made that it's just teenage confusion and anguish and just lotsa cheese angst, to me that just felt super like Today I became an Omega since you already know the obligatory ending anyway so is rather patience wrecking. In terms of actual cheese dosing it's not all that heavy tho so no cheese deaths happened It attempts some allegories with the ultramarine sky, but I think that one failed pretty much. It shows up fairly at the end, suddenly out of nowhere (or if it was there previously, it was so irrelevant it dried up from memory immediately.) There's some more attempts at allegories with shogi, but I think that didn't work out all that great either, as the shogi never is never really firmly part of the setting (more like a btw. happenstance) and much less does it establish what shogi lingo there is, so that last page so feels kinda errrrrr. …. sounds probably more negative than it should be… Think that bit about "It's not funny at all" was well hit, and the whole air of internalised or passive homophobia despite no active external pressure feels well grounded and kinda also comtemporary with the BL tropes jokes. And the cheese waffling is probably decent, if you have anything to resonate with it, but as we previously already established, puberty probably just flew over my head at the time together with the cheese instincts. Feel like it does hide a lot behind that confusing age era thingy. Conversely it just reminded me of the Lions even more by contrast, because that one didn't have any of that ready as an excuse and didn't even allow it and like it entirely doesn't help that this pair and that pair look rather very similar, both in visual setup and character (minus Leo's angry face, outspokenness and fighting skills). But well, I guess, it is an earlier work, so probably a sorta prototype Think also at this point the following Nagisa Furuya Bingo can be made: Blond hair vs. dark haired, bad with booze, drunk mumblings, one has a few self-control dilemmas, one of them has a need to run away, the other one comes chasing, talking is important!!!! but they have to learn that the hard way-patience wreck, low cheese calories, innocent Zzzs, sleeve/hem tugs, wrist grabs My summer of you also still feels a whole lotsa lot like a I hear the Sunpot, but without the disability plot and Taichi having a need to be obnoxiously loud (which he has in that plot, because that's why Kouhei always hears him) and extra denseness (where one may or may argue ace-vibes) to combat Kouhei's everlasting gloom-tendency. A deal more toothless, but also a deal more even in exchange.

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ariamanga · 5 months

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A Royal Princess With Black Hair

It felt like the kind of story that my high school anime otaku friends would be laughing out loud because of the protagonist's witty comebacks and her ability to simply not give a fuck. This is not a compliment. The whole story was simply the protagonist getting into situations and simply insulting her way out of it. It was a painful read.

The story is about Euricienne and Caruel who do NOT want to get married and are set on either canceling this engagement or going for a divorce.

The art style is extremely cute, however, the hair constantly bothered me as it's somehow a bit too detailed (and without even making sense) for the art style.

The romance was my only draw in. I found Caruel to be extremely adorable at times with his very slow-burning crush on Euricienne but other than that it wasn't enough to make me fully enjoy the story.

#a royal princess with black hair #manhwa

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usagisnaps · 6 months

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Episode 37

#a royal princess with black hair #webtoon

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lemonsparadise · 11 months

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#azaleasdolls #azaleasdoll #king #queen #prince #princess #medieval #royal #brunette #black hair #dark brown hair

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cherchersketch · 2 years

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A Royal Princess with Black Hair / The Black-Haired Princess

Read it on a whim since it’s on Manta and I have the monthly subscription. Not usually into the romance when they’re both still kids (well like 16 so not that young) but this is still a really cute “enemies”/rivals to lovers story. I love the dumb tsundere x dumb tsundere dynamic.

Summary So our girl is sent to the neighbouring kingdom to be the Crown Prince’s fiance. But since neither of them like each other, of course it’s time to... work together... to get a divorce. Yes! This is an amazing foolproof plan that will definitely not backfire at all! Also somewhere in the background there’s something about demons coming back into power or whatever.

Tropes - tsundere x tsundere - this is just an arranged marriage he/she would never love me - of course we’re definitely playing along so we can have a divorce later

FL - Euricienne de Carna

- got all the guys falling for her (except the male lead ~of course~) - stronger than she looks

ML - Caruel de Murien

- got all the girls falling for him (except the female lead ~of course~) - actually a really capable crown prince

Rating: I enjoyed my time reading this Status (as of 24 May 2022) Midway through Season 2 right now, looks like still quite a long way to go.

Same Same but Different - For Better or For Worse / Is it a Fortune or is it a Woe

full rec list

#A Royal Princess with Black Hair #Euricienne de Carna #Caruel de Murien #manhwa #manhwa recommendation #CherCher reviews manhwa

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olives-life · 2 years

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A Royal Princess with Black Hair

(in Villainess)

-my reading status: unfinished (chapter 43)

-update status: unfinished

#royal princess with black hair #oilves.royal.princess.with.black.hair

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katsukikitten · 4 months

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Queen Reader being raided by Dragon/Viking King Bakugou only for him to be met with the fight of his life when he encounters you.

Scars on your face he thought to be rumored were true, worse than he thought. Littering your throat and they do not take away from your beauty. The way the fissures snake along your cheek and lip, one right over your eye and a curve around it makes his cock twitch. He can tell instantly that one is slightly cloudy yet still the intensity of your gaze is no less sharp than your blade.

Nor your tongue.

Having taken the time to learn his language when he swore you didn't even know his people existed.

"Finally come for your lost dog." You spit painted lips pulled into a cruel smile, "Oh how he cried for you."

"My men don't fuckin cry princess."

"Look again incompetent fool, this is no tiara of blood stones, it is a crown. Gems darkened by the souls of those who dare oppose me." A growl and Bakugou is just happen to have started to splinter under your skin and yet you deal the same blow, "Bring out the whining dog."

Somehow in all the fighting someone hears your command and they drag through the blood and carnage an emaciated man. Skin and bones when he was once a mountainous thing. Dark red hair only at the tips now as his natural black hue met his shoulders, lips cracked and cheeks hollowed.

"My wrath." Still even this delirious he bows his head. Bakugou's right hand man, Kirishima reduced to nothing but whimpers and burning tears.

Suddenly Katsuki can't hear anything at all, not past your laugh when you see the shock in his face. See the color drain before he attacks you in a blinding rush.

But you are no princess like he claims. Not a queen or a lady of royal blood.

This crow that sits upon your pretty little head was taken with blood stained hands.

When you parry your blade kisses his face with a shallow slash, over is his eye and down to his handsome jaw giving him a matching scar to your own. Red droplets splashing against your cheeks as his step falters. Gritting his teeth as he realizes tha the rumors were no fairy tale at all.

You truly were the Bloodied Queen.

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watchmegetobsessed · 4 months

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NOW AND FOREVER (part 2)

A/N: these two got stuck in my head and seemingly in yours as well, so lets see some more of them! part 1 is linked under the summary if you haven't read it!

WORD COUNT: 3.4k

PAIRING: princess!reader x guard!harry

WARNING: sexual content

SUMMARY: To be eligible for the throne, you need to get married. The past few years have been dedicated to finding a king for you, but now that you're secretly dating your guard, these attempts are a bit more complicated than before.

PART 1 | MASTERLIST | SUPPORT ME!

There’s that scene in The Princess Diaries when they are choosing a possible husband out of a slide show for Mia. You used to find it funny when you were younger and made jokes to your parents that you want to do it too. They laughed, but exchanged a look you didn’t understand back then.

Now you do.

There are two requirements you need to meet to take the throne. The first one is to be at least 25 years old. That box has been ticked for three years now, the real problem is the second one. Because as outdated that law in the movies was, it is your reality. You have to be married, you can’t take the throne without a man.

As a teenager you didn’t think much of it, because you pictured yourself to meet a handsome prince, marry him and then become queen, easy as it is. But as you grew older and dating was proven to be impossible as a princess, anxiety and panic started to set in that you’d end up in an arranged marriage just to become eligible for ruling Eroda.

Then came Harry, you fell for him and he fell for you, but it just complicated things even more, because he is not from royal blood, not even close to being an aristocrat, therefore you can never marry him.

For the past few years most of the social events you’ve attended had a not so hidden second purpose: finding a husband.

Never ending rounds of introductions to single men, awkward chatting that ended up in asking you out on a date that you declined politely most of the time, followed by a sermon from your father about needing to settle soon, because he is not getting younger and you need to be eligible for the throne as soon as possible. You always tried your best to just ignore him, but ever since you and Harry have become an item secretly it’s been extremely hard to hold your tongue and not tell him that you have found the man you want to spend the rest of your life with, but he can’t be king, because he is your guard.

It’s such an impossible situation and you have no idea where it’s going to lead.

Now it’s another one of those occasions, the opening of the Spring Festival is just another opportunity to fill up the palace’s ballroom with all kinds of single men from around the country and even outside as well.

You know people are filling up the room already while you’re still in your suite. Your hair is done, makeup perfect, wearing a gown that costs probably way more than you feel comfortable with, but you’re never informed about how expensive your outfits are.

You’ll be announced in about fifteen minutes, walk down the stairs for the millionth time and start your rounds. You’d rather jump out the window than to meet all those people, but you have no choice.

There’s a knock on the door.

“Come in!” you call out and you see Harry step inside from the mirror. He is wearing his usual black suit, looking polished and threatening at the same time, but not to you. You see the man he is behind his thick walls, because there’s a door on that wall, just for you, wide open.

The door clicks behind him and he watches you turn around, his gaze runs down the length of your body and then up to your face again.

“Should I change?” you ask, arching an eyebrow at him teasingly.

“Do you want the honest or the brutally honest answer?”

Your lips stretch into a smile as you start to cross the room slowly, walking towards him while he remains standing in his spot.

“Both. The honest first.”

“You look stunning,” he replies, his eyes soft and loving. You stop just a few inches away from him.

“And the brutally honest one?”

There’s a short pause, you catch his eyes slip down to your chest and waist again before returning.

“I want to lock you in here and not let you close any men out there. I wish I could mark you mine.”

He knows how to turn you on within seconds with just a few words. He knows so well how much you like it when he gets possessive, ready to show it to the world that you belong to him and only him.

A shaky breath leaves your lips and just when you reach up to grab him by his neck there’s another knock on the door. forcing you to take a step back instead.

“Come in!” you answer when there’s enough distance between you and Harry, though your heart is still pounding in your chest as if it’s about to jump out and right into Harry’s hands.

Head of security, Clarke steps into the suite.

“Her Royal Highness, you’re expected to appear in ten minutes,” he informs you with a polite nod.

“Styles just arrived to walk me over. Thank you.”

The two men exchange a look before Clarke walks out. Taking a deep breath you turn to face Harry.

“Ready?”

“Sure,” you huff, earning a tiny smirk from him before he opens the door, but as you walk past him he stops you just for a split second to whisper into your ear.

“Mine,” is all he says and you keep walking as if that one word didn’t just make your knees wobble.

You use the walk to the ballroom to get your thoughts straight and not imagine how Harry would peel you out of this dress if you had some privacy…

They announce you and every pair of eyes are glued to you as you walk down the stairs and join the crowd. Endless rounds of introduction, the smile is frozen on your face and your feet are already sore from the heels, but you ignore the pain.

It always amazes you how uninteresting the men you meet are. How they can’t hold a conversation that doesn’t make you claw your eyes out. Thirty seconds into the chit-chat and you’re already planning your escape usually.

Tonight however there is one exception.

His name is Magnus, some kind of relative of the Swedish royal family, you don’t really care to be honest. At first he seemed just another one of the boring puppets, but he soon proved to actually have a personality and your status didn’t stop him from showing it.

His almost inappropriate, a bit risky jokes are what keep you sane tonight. He just knows what makes you laugh and he has a great timing dropping his silent comments that are only meant for you.

“I think I’ll have a little break,” you tell him after a rather long conversation with some old baron you know you’ve seen a couple of times already, but can’t remember his name, only that he is always oddly curious about the neckline of your dress.

“I’ll be around here, dodging questions about my father’s political choices.”

You smile with a nod and then look around to find Harry. He is not far away, by a window, his eyes already glued to you when you make your way towards him.

“Bathroom break,” you announce to him with a smile, expecting to see that hidden glimmer in his eyes as usual, because this is always the time when you steal a few intimate moments, but he is different now. Something is off.

He nods without a word and escorts you out of the room. In those few minutes you go back to your suite you try to figure out what could have happened since you parted ways that could upset him this much. As always, he opens the door for you, one guard stays outside and he comes in with you.

He plants himself by the door, his hands clasped together in front of him as he keeps a straight face.

“What’s wrong?” you ask.

He looks at you just for a second before turning his gaze towards the window, his jaw flexes and your worry just grows, you haven’t seen him this upset in a long time.

“Nothing is wrong,” he answers, but you both know it’s not true.

“I’m gonna ask you one more time, Harry. Just once more. What is wrong?”

Slowly, his eyes move back to you and for a moment, you forget to breathe, they’re so intense and darker than ever, as if all that gorgeous greenness is gone from them.

“Your little date must be waiting for you, better hurry.”

Amusement settles on your face and you can’t stop yourself from letting a laugh slip out.

“That’s your problem? Magnus?” His lips twitch at his name, but he doesn’t reply. “Harry, you know this is what’s expected from me. I have to pretend like I want to get to know the men out there.”

“I bet you didn’t have to pretend much when he came into the picture.”

“What are you talking about?!” you let out another frustrated laugh. You know he tends to get jealous, but you’ve never seen this side of him before.

“You seemed to enjoy his company a lot out there.”

“Because he is not a boring asshole like most of the men I’m usually introduced to.”

“Great. You two will look good as king and queen.”

You know he doesn’t mean it, that he is just pissed and feels helpless in our situation, but in this moment you simply can’t see over the nasty fog of anger.

“Oh you think so too? I agree,” is all you say before you march into your bathroom and shut the door closed.

There’s no more talking as you walk back to the ballroom, but even the blind could see the tension between the two of you. You catch the other guard that came with you giving Harry a puzzled look, but he didn’t dare to ask.

“Magnus!” you call out to him, making your way straight to him upon arriving when you spot him by a table. You can feel Harry’s burning gaze on your back, but tonight you’re in the mood to be petty.

“Your Royal Highness, you’re back!” he smiles brightly.

He is handsome, that’s for sure. Has great manners and an even greater sense of humor. The more you talk to him the more you think that you might be able to develop feelings for him in some years, or at least enough to live beside him in peace.

But those feelings would never live up to the love and passion you have for Harry.

You’re still angry at him, for how childish he was and thought that anyone could stand a chance when he’s in your life.

As the evening carries on your anger eases, though you’re still upset with him, you just want to be alone with him finally, touch him, kiss him, hear him call your name.

Magnus asks you out at the end of the night and you politely decline, he doesn’t seem offended, maybe a bit disappointed, but he masks it well. You say your rounds of goodbye and then finally make your way back to your suite, Harry walking right beside you.

The tension has somewhat lessened, but the vibes are still not the usual. You can’t tell what he’s thinking, if he is still as upset as before or he has cooled down, his face is so blank it irks you. Arriving at the suite you look at him, searching for any sign or feeling in his eyes, but they look back at you completely empty. So you walk in and lock yourself in your bathroom with trembling lips.

Normally Harry would sneak in later at night, but this time you don’t expect him to show up. Hoping to burn the feelings tonight left behind, you take a hot bath and try to carry on as if nothing happened, even though Harry is all you can think about.

Is it possible this is how things will end between the two of you? That this stupid little jealousy game is enough to pull you apart? You start to spiral heavily when you step out of the steamed up bathroom, but all your thoughts disappear the moment you notice you’re not alone.

Harry is sitting on the edge of your bed, still wearing his suit from tonight, but his black tie is gone and the top few buttons are undone on his perfectly white shirt. Unsure about where you’re standing and if he is still angry at you for the whole Magnus thing, you just stop halfway over to the bed, wrapped only in a silky robe.

For a while he just sits there, staring at you, silent and unreadable and right when you’re about to speak, he stands up and starts walking towards you, slowly, his eyes locked with yours. You’re waiting for him to say something, maybe lash out on you, or apologize, practically anything, because his silence is pure torture.

He stops right in front of you, if you took a deep breath your chest would be touching his, but he is still just staring down at you without a single word.

And you break.

“Harry, I–”

He doesn’t let you finish, instead, his lips smash against yours, one hand on the back of your neck, the other one grabbing your jaw as he moves forward, pushing you to move with him until your back hits the wall, his whole body pressed against you as he kisses you like never before.

He’s been rough with you before, but not like this. He is devouring your lips with the raw passion he had to hold back all evening, watching you parade around with another man while he wished he could show everyone in the room who you belong to.

You both are in a rush, he is practically tearing your robe off your body while you’re ridding him of his clothes in a frenzy. You don’t even get to pull his shirt off entirely and his pants are just pooling around his ankles when brings your legs around his waist and thrusts his throbbing cock into you, only to freeze once he’s buried deep inside you.

You both gasp, lips smearing against each other as you stare back at each other, savoring the feeling of being as physically close as possible finally. The events of tonight have turned, they are now a force between the two of you, pulling you closer and closer until you’re melted together as one.

You grab his face, tightening your legs around his waist as you breathe his name into his mouth before he starts moving.

He starts off slow, but he is quick to fasten his pace, your gasps fill the room and you’re thankful your whole suite is soundproof, just like almost all rooms in the palace. It’s the only reason why you could have been in a similar situation in the library, the guest room in the west wing and your study.

You’re tugging his hair and clawing at his back while he pounds into you relentlessly. At one point, most likely to muffle his moans, he bites into your shoulder and you faintly feel him sucking on the skin, but you’re just too gone to even realize what he is doing.

He is kissing you so hard your teeth are clashing as he comes, his movements fall out of his fast paced rhythm for a bit, but then he keeps going for you.

“Come on, baby. Give it to me, come on my cock,” he urges you, knowing you’re close too. “I know you’re there, I can feel you so tight around my cock, just give it to me.”

A few more rough thrust and you’re whining out his name, your orgasm spreading through your whole body in waves. He fucks you through it and only stops when he’s sure you’ve given him everything.

You stay like that, his cock buried inside you, his body pressing you up against the wall, foreheads resting against each other as you both try to catch your breath. When he pulls back you follow his eyes to your shoulder and see the reddish-purple mark he left on you.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” he breathes out as he lets your legs down, your feet returning to the floor but he keeps an arm around your waist, knowing you probably don’t have much energy to stand on your own, his other hand comes up to your shoulder and he runs his fingers over the mark.

“It’s fine, I have makeup that covers anything,” you smirk at him. Secretly, you wish he’d let himself loose like this more often, you love seeing his mark on yourself.

You catch his face falling before he speaks again.

“And I’m sorry for tonight.”

You couldn’t be angry at him anymore, not even if you tried. The tenderness is back in his eyes and he is the Harry you love so much again.

“I’m sorry too.”

“No, you have nothing to apologize for,” he shakes his head. “You did nothing wrong, just… talked to a guy whose company was nice, after all those events full of assholes you always have to put up with. I was… jealous, because he got to be with you the way I want to.”

It stings in your chest, his confession hits hard now that it was said out loud, even though deep down you knew he felt like that, because you did too. You wished it could have been him.

With a gentle touch, you take his face between your hands and pull him in for a soft kiss.

“I know you know it, just probably forget it sometimes, but I’ll say it. No matter who they try to set me up with or how many princes and barons they throw into my way, I will only love and belong to you. Now and forever.”

You intentionally use his words and it seems to strengthen the message, you notice the tears in his eyes and you feel your throat closing up as well when you pull him in for another kiss, this time it’s longer and more passionate. You can taste his words on his tongue: I love you too.

When he pulls back you see the glimmer in his eyes, but then they disappear in a second.

“What’s wrong?” He shakes his head. “Harry, talk to me, please,” you beg him, pushing his hair back.

“It’s just… You’ll have to marry one day. You can’t be queen without marrying someone and I… I can’t be…”

He doesn’t want to say it out loud, as if it would make it more real, even though it’s as real as it could get.

“We’ll figure it out. I promise,” you tell him, running the pad of your thumb over his eyebrow, as if you wanted to memorize every feature of his face. When he looks into your eyes you know he doesn’t believe you, but he just nods. You don’t want to let him go like this, to end tonight on such a bitter note. “So… you’d want to marry me? You’re saying you would willingly have me as your wife?”

You see the switch in his eyes and the way the corners of his mouth curl up makes you lightheaded in a second.

“Did I say that?”

“You very much implied, yes,” you grin at him. “I’m surprised you’d want to put up with my big mouth and attitude, you get the most of them, because I can’t act up in public. Wouldn’t you get fed up with me after a while?” you ask teasingly.

“Mm, don’t let it get to your head, but I love your big mouth and attitude.” Leaning down his lips are now brushing against yours, but he is not kissing you just yet. “Especially… your mouth and everything it can do,” he adds in a whisper before finally sucking on your bottom lip.

He pulls you away from the wall and starts walking you towards the bed and you just smile widely against his mouth as you willingly move with him until you both fall into your bed and make the best out of the little time he gets to spend with you before he needs to sneak out.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

#harry #styles #harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles oneshot #harry styles one shot #harry styles fluff #harry styles x you #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader #harry styles blurb #harry styles smut

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manhwa-reaction-faces · 7 months

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Urgh! What is seriously wrong with you?

#a royal princess with black hair #manhwa #disgust #wtf #smell

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e-nonsense · 1 month

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─── 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩

pairing. prince!jason todd x witch!reader

summary. royal au. bruce doesn’t approve of his son’s relationship with constantine’s pupil/ward , not that jason cares

warnings. pet names: little pet, darling. Tooth rotting fluff i guess?

a/n. fuck writers block. three fits in less than 12 hours? crazy. might make this an au, so feel free to send requests based on this au to find out more

wc. 1.1k not proofread

Jason rolled his eyes as another young woman walked away from him, throughly offended. This had been one of Bruce’s many attempts to find his so a suitable woman— one that wasn’t you.

After Dick had married Princess Koriand'r and left to live with her in her kingdom, Jason had become the sole heir to Bruce’s kingdom. Being the second oldest of his siblings. But before any of that Jason had fallen in love with you.

“Lost young prince?” your voice comes from trees, and Jason glances around frantically. His hunting expedition had gone horribly wrong, a group of trickster illusionists had scared his men and the horses away. Leaving Jason behind.

“Who’s there?” He ask, raising his sword while turning in a circle, his eyes land on you as you step out from the shadows. The sun makes your eyes glow and Jason thinks you’re the most beautiful things he’ll ever see. His guard is lowered, as his eyes scan you up and down, taking in your beauty before moving back to your eyes.

You chuckle and he swears someone had to have casted a love spell on him, he can’t take his eyes of you. “Are you allowed to be this deep in the forest?” You ask and he gulps nervously as you step closer to him, your simple grey dress trailing behind you. “I’m surprised you made it through all the wards I put up around here.”

“Plus the Chimera,” you hum thoughtfully.

“Can you not speak?” You ask, inching closer till you’re in his personal space. “Apologies,” you smile.

“No.. no I can speak.” He whispers, staring down at you before sheathing his sword.

“Oh,” your smile widens. “Well, would you like to join me for tea?” You offer, and Jason knows he should’ve hesitated before nodding but he couldn’t help it. The excitement in your eyes when he agreed would be worth it if you were truly planning on killing him. Either way he let you lead him through the trees to a cottage that past the border of the land of witches and warlocks.

“At least try to entertain the thought, Todd.” Damian scoffed watching as another possible — approved — suitor walked away. “Father has gained many grey hair because of your devotion to the witch.” Truthfully Damian had no problem with you, he thought you were a perfect fit for his brother. Kind, loyal, able to put up with Jason’s moods.

It was just Bruce’s paranoia getting in the way of everyone’s peace. When the king had found out about you, he called in a favour from a warlock to get rid of whatever love spell you placed on his son. Safe to say John Constantine was amused by the request but assured Bruce that there was no spell on Jason and the boy’s infatuation with you was purely Jason.

Jason rolled his eyes at the thought, “or Bruce just needs to get over it.” He retorted, crossing his arms scowling as another pride princess tried to near him. “I’m leaving,” Jason says, looking over at Bruce as he makes his escape.

It didn’t take long for Jason to escape the palace grounds, through he was sure he had ripped his suit jacket, not that he’d see the stupid peace of fabric as he’d already dumped his clothes for a simple white poet shirt and some black riding pants. He rode his stallion to the forest’s entrance, stopping in front of it and trying it’s lead to a flimsy fence.

The prince entered the forest with no care, the protective wards shimmered as he entered, and the path illuminated in the darkness. Something you had done so he wouldn’t lose himself in the woods when he’d run from the palace and seek comfort in your cottage.

He quickly followed the path, passing the border and swiftly making his way to your home. When he arrived Jason knocked on the door softly, waiting for you to answer.

The door is answered a few seconds later, revealing a tall blond. The man groans, rolling his eye, “not you again.” He grumble, a cigarette dangling from his finger as he opens the door properly. “Kid! Your boyfriends here!” John calls out as he swings his coat over his shoulder, a cigarette hanging from his lips as he pats his pockets down looking for a lighter before snorting and lighting it with his fingers.

“Well go on in,” John shrugs, stepping out of the cottage you called home. “Oh, tell her to stop sending her little ravens to check on me, will ya?” John adds before disappearing into the misty pathway.

Jason always wondered how the man never found himself lost, or perhaps John never had somewhere specific he’d ever be going, cant be lost with no destination.

The second Jason stepped into the cottage he was met with the sight of you humming a tune, the same one he heard when the two of you met. Jason smiled, walking closer until he could wrap his arms around you and rest his chin on your shoulder.

“Hi love,” you say as soft spoken as always. His eyes watched as you peeled potatoes before he kissed your cheek gently, “hi sweetheart.” He mumbled in return.

“How was the ball?” You asked, mainly teasing but with some curiosity.

“Missed you,” he huffed like a child, “Bruce is always trying to set me up with princesses. Who wants those snobby little bastards? Not me.” He complained.

“Just because Dick married a princess— who by the way comes from a magical bloodline— he thinks I’m going to do the same. Kori’s nice and all but how is it fair? Just because she’s royalty, its okay that Dick married her.”

You sigh softly, “he’s trying to protect you. People have never trusted those who come from this side of the world, faes, witches, shapeshifters. Sometimes with good reason, not all of us have good intentions.”

“But you do,” Jason retorts. “You’re the sweetest person I’ve ever met, and i don’t say want anyone that isn’t you…. Is there a way that i could stay here with you?” He asks and you shake your head.

“Not without your father starting a war, we don't want a repeat of 1843.”

Jason groans but understands, Bruce would assume the worst if Jason just disappeared again, especially now that he was with you. He’d assume you’ve kidnapped him or some bullshit to feed his ideals.

“Can i stay for the night then?” He murmurs softy, his nose nudhung your cheek. “I just wanna love you before going back.”

You find your resolve melting away when you meet his eyes, blue and green. “One night, then home.” You nod.

“You are home,” he mumbles in response but doesn’t press further, instead the rest of the night is filled with laughter as you teach him a new recipe he’ll be sure to share with Alfred.

#jason todd x reader #red hood x reader #jason todd #jason todd drabble #jason todd oneshot #royal au #witch!reader #jason todd x witch!reader #enzo writes [📝]

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prince-kallisto · 8 months

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Complete Guide to the “Crowley is Levan” Theory

Hello, its the self-proclaimed Crowley/Levan theory expert, back at it again! (*ﾟ∀ﾟ*) I’m really shocked at Book 7’s recent update, and I’m seeing more and more people get into the Crowley/Levan theory.

But for everyone who is new to this theory, people who aren’t yet convinced, or anyone who just wants the major points in one document, I decided to write everything I know about this theory, with the help from posts from my fellow theorists! Of course, at the end of the day it’s just a theory, so make your own conclusions! ^_^

Buckle up everyone for a very long post rife with lore! I worked hard on this one, as it is a culmination of ALL my previous theories, so sharing is appreciated haha. Heavy Book 7 spoilers ahead!

This theory revolves around the idea that Headmage Dire Crowley is actually Duke Levan, the father of Malleus Draconia. Before we get into the nitty-gritty details, let’s go over everything we know SO FAR.

Levan (Revan, Levaan, and Revaan is also a common spelling) is the husband of Meleanor Draconia, who is the Princess of Wild Rose Castle. Levan is a Duke, Diplomat, nobleman, and the left-hand war general. He had control over the Eastern Fort while Lilia had control over the Western Fort. His title is “Ryūgan Duke Levan,” or 竜眼公レヴァーン in Japanese. The characters imply a connection to the Chinese Long, and Ryūgan very roughly translates to “Dragon eyed,” although it is uncertain if Levan is a Dragon Fae, or if this is just his title. Levan is referred to as Meleanor’s “eyes, limbs, and husband,” so perhaps “Dragon Eyed” refers to his connection to Meleanor? Due to his name, people also suspect he may be a bird Fae, specifically a raven.

He seems to be based of Diablo, Maleficent’s raven. From what we know from Lilia, he is slightly meek (according to childhood stories) and gentle, always with a smile on his face. However, he is also extremely dependable and strong. Rumor has it he fought against the Dawn Knight, a figure that the night Fae fear for his power. Despite Levan’s clumsiness, Meleanor is very enamored with him, praising him for the smallest of things while punishing everyone else. Meleanor refers to Levan as “beautiful,” although we have no silhouette or voice for him currently. Levan grew up with Meleanor and Lilia, and was very close with Lilia, who was the right-hand general.

When Lilia ripped up his invitation to NRC, Levan painstakingly took all the pieces out of the trash and pieced them all together, storing the invitation in the Royal Archive for Lilia to come back 500 years later. Lilia wonders if Levan somehow knew that he would go to NRC with Malleus in the future. Levan is also very willing to start relations with humans compared to the rest of Briar Valley, as he taught Lilia the human language, and has said that he hopes one day, the humans and Fae can share a common language to exchange culture and history together in peace. This positive attitude and willingness to teach is likely what made him such a good diplomat.

However, Levan went missing in the Silver Owls vs. Briar Valley war when leading a mission to deliver letters to the Eastern Fort. Meleanor is heavily implied to be dead, but Levan simply disappeared and never returned. In Briar Valley history books, he is assumed to be dead, but little information of him is known.

But what does all this backstory have anything to do with Dire Crowley? He’s unreliable, manipulative, and never does more work than necessary, even with all the student Overblots. He sounds nothing like Levan. Well, let’s go to the birthplace of this theory to see what’s up:

Crowley and Malleus Parallels

Black hair with a green-ish tint, pale skin, pointed ears, dark lips, and a similar tall stature. No other character besides Meleanor resembles Malleus to this degree.

Although no dialogue has confirmed it, it is heavily, HEAVILY implied that Crowley is in fact, one of the Fae. He’s been Headmage at NRC for at least 100 years and several of his features imply a Fae heritage. He even gets offended when the Ghost Camera, that was invented in a great-great grandmothers time, is referred to as “old,” as if he took offense to the implication that HE’S old. He’s likely a bird Fae, as he may transform into a raven/crow in the opening animation, and his voice lines show him with bird-like habits. Crowley also refers to his “wings” several times as a part of his anatomy.

@twisted-tech shows that in the Glorious Masquerade event, Malleus wears an costume that’s startlingly similar to Crowley’s outfit, down to the detailed vest to the feathers on his shoulders. In the animation announcement for GloMas, Malleus stands in front of the light the same exact way Crowley does in the opening prologue animation.

The 2nd anniversary animation also has a strange moment between Crowley and Malleus, with Crowley appearing for a quick moment, before a light shines over him, revealing Malleus.

In Malleus’ birthday-boy interview he mentions how black is the color of nobility in Briar Valley, thus his tendency to wear all-black attire. Isn’t it interesting how Crowley’s main outfit color is black? On a similar note, when an Alchemy Special Lesson is triggered, Malleus says “He’s [Crowley] is far from ordinary.” Malleus, who prides himself for being extremely powerful to the point he thinks less of others, thinks Crowley is unusual? Does he sense a type of power from Crowley, or does something seem uncomfortably familiar about him?

And last but certainly not least, Crowley’s secret concept art. This in-person event was very exclusive, so many obscure concept art pieces of the characters were only shown here. Crowley seemed to be grouped with the Diasomnia cast with the same color palette, and his purple cape is highly reminiscent of Maleficent’s. He even has briars climbing up his leg. He even has the stamp of the three good fairies on his paper, just like the beta designs for Lilia and Malleus. Of course, concept art should not be used too heavily as a source, but this is certainly no coincidence, and don’t you think it’s odd how secretive this image is? Most fans have no idea this concept art exists.

These two must have some type of connection with each other- this evidence alone is what convinced me in the first place. However, this is just the beginning:

Ravens & Crows Symbolism, Levan vs Crowley

Levan and Crowley have a shocking amount of similarities too! Ravens in mythology were considered to be messengers of the gods, and were especially connected to Apollo, the god of Prophecy. I think that Levan’s unique magic was the gift of Propechy, as in he could see future events. Bringing back Lilia’s line of if Levan somehow knew he would go to NRC with Malleus 500 years in the future, I say yes! He knew many things about what the future held due to his magic, and it makes sense with Raven symbolism. Crowley also has a strange knowledge of future events, from the STYX invasion to Grim’s magestone collar. @rayroseu has also pointed out the Malleus’ egg heavily resembles a Black Opal, which symbolizes death and destruction, and was used to “gaze” into the past, present, and future. Hmmm

What if as a way to reunite with Lilia and Malleus, Levan became the Headmage of NRC? He would have every skill necessary to do so, and Crowley has many connections to the school board, STYX, the Asim’s, Jupiter Conglomerate, etc. He’s not as much as fool as he’d like you to think- he’s in charge of the prestigious school for a very good reason. He knows the perfect balance of manipulation and sweet-talking, just as expected of the diplomat and envoy, just like ravens were in mythology.

Ravens have symbolized death and destruction for a very long time- and isn’t it interesting how Crowley’s first name is “Dire,” as in ‘disastrous’? Yana Toboso has confirmed that “Dire” is actually pronounced as the English word “Dear,” like ‘beloved.’ @sote-forever has pointed out that the origin of Levan’s name means “gracious/merciful,” which feels oddly familiar to Crowley’s catchphrase of “I am so kind/Watashi yasashii no de.” The EN translation uses “gracious” instead of “kind” a lot as well 👀

Speaking of his catchphrase, in Book 7 when Grim hears more about Levan, he says that Levan sounded like a “kind man.” He even uses the same exact language as Crowley uses, ‘yasashi,’ meaning gentle and kind. Just like the meaning of Levan’s name. For reference:

私優しいので is Watashi Yasahii No de “Because I’m kind.”

優しかった is what Grim said: Yasahikatta (?) meaning “He was kind”

Back to the death symbolism, I mentioned that ravens were Psychopomp. In mythology, ravens were said to guide human souls to the underworld by the will of the gods. And isn’t it interesting how NRC is FULL of death and underworld symbolism? Technically, Crowley IS the Psychopomp, because he is responsible for transporting the students and is the only one with a special key to unlocking the students coffins. He even says in the prologue that the coffins were designed to represent the “departure of your previous world, and rebirth into a new one.”

As a side note, crows and ravens fall under the same exact word in Japanese: karasu. There are some instances in the EN translation where crow and raven are mixed up, as Diablo, Maleficent’s raven, is referred to as a “crow” in one of Malleus’s chats. Hmmm

Crowley’s cane is also interesting. Not only does the bottom key part spell out “Raven,” the top of his cane looks exactly like Diablo when he was turned into stone at the end of Sleeping Beauty. Although I do agree that Crowley has connections to the Evil Queen’s crow, I think he could be inspired by both. Similarly, NRC’s logo is a raven with a crown above his head. Levan WAS royalty, after all…

Levan also has a special acceptance of humans. His wife DESPISES humans, but he learned a common language of the Fae and humans in order to communicate, and even taught other Fae the language himself. And once again, he saved Lilia’s invitation to NRC. Doesn’t he sound like someone who wishes to share knowledge? He wants peaceful communication between humans and Fae to share culture and history, just like what NRC is like today. It feels a lot like a Headmage’s behavior, don’t you think?

From the way Meleanor treated Levan, Levan’s behavior sounds oddly like Crowley’s. Meleanor praised him for the most basic things, and seemed to dote over him a lot. Crowley is incredibly egotistical about doing literally the most basic shit ever lmaoo, but I can’t blame him for getting a big head if he used to be always praised for it. Lilia also says that Levan would probably return with a big smile on his face. In every single animation that Crowley is present in, he always has a smile on his face, watching carefully over the events.

Levan also seemed to be a bit of a crybaby in his childhood, as Lilia said that when they got lost in a forest, he “could never forget Levan’s pitiful expression.” Crowley definitely has an aversion to death or people getting hurt, and has cried several times when he gets overemotional.

In the prologue, Crowley claims to be intimately acquainted with every single students homelands. Yes, his hobby IS vacationing, but I think he knows the lands way more intimately than simple sightseeing. Again, Levan was a diplomat. He would have a vast amount of knowledge about the inner workings, culture, and history of many different foreign lands.

Edit: We also have NO IDEA of Crowley’s homeland. If I remember correctly, he’s the only character where his land of origin is unknown. Why would TWST do this, unless this was a huge spoiler? Like…say if Crowley’s homeland was Briar Valley???

And finally, I think it’s EXTREMELY suspicious that we have not seen at least a silhouette of Levan, despite his name coming up in conversations several times. Why would his silhouette not be revealed, unless his silhouette is a dead giveaway to a character we already know? Same reasoning for why we haven’t had a flashback with his voice- his voice would just reveal the truth. Additionally, NRC seems to lack books over the history of Briar Valley and what happened to Levan and Meleanor. In one of the History Lessons, Malleus mentions a photo of Lilia in a history book. Perhaps there are history books with a painting/photo of Levan? It would explain why the history is so lacking, because Crowley doesn’t want his past self to be seen.

Meleanor, NRC & Other

Whew, we’re almost done! This is the miscellaneous category, but just as important as the above points.

Meleanor, OB Malleus, and Crowley have many many similarities. I go into more detail in the linked post, but Meleanor’s and Crowley’s features definitely “combine” in Malleus’ features. Take for example, Meleanor’s straight dark teal hair and Crowley’s wavy black hair with a slight greenish tint. It merges perfectly into Malleus’s hair. There are many similarities in their outfit designs too, so I recommend looking at this post!

This is very strange, but the coliseum and Diasomnia’s dorm hallway have the SAME EXACT DESIGNS as the passageway in Briar Valley (converted into a Silver Owl hideout) and the hall in MELEANOR’S castle. No one could have this punt of knowledge of these locations, especially Meleanor’s castle that was covered in briars and abandoned. Unless…someone at NRC was intimately acquainted with both of these locations. Perhaps a noblemen like Levan would know? Meaning, Crowley?

Crowley in the prologue talks to his “proud, beautiful flower of evil” in the mirror. I highly recommend rewatching the part, because Crowley’s voice just shows how much love he has for this flower of evil. Lili refers to Meleanor as the “most evil Princess,” and she is also the Princess of Wild Rose Castle. Rose like a flower 🌹 \(//∇//)\ She is also an extremely proud person, and does not hesitate to strike people down for disagreeing with her.

Many people ask why Levan would abandon Meleanor, especially when he loved her. I don’t think he willingly abandoned her at all! If my theory of his prophecy magic is right, he knew that there was nothing he could do to prevent Meleanor’s death and the fall of their castle. And who knows, what if Levan Overblotted when he went missing? He led a GROUP of messengers to the Eastern Fort, so what happened to these messengers? Did they die at his hands when he Overblotted? It’s a common theory that Crowley is under the influence of blot, as his mask and gloves would cover Overblot markings.

@ventique18 has also mentioned that a dark Fae’s love in literature is depicted to be OBSESSIVE, as in the couple can drive themselves mad over their love for each other. I think Crowley was a much kinder and genuine person as Levan, but Meleanor’s death permanently scarred him. Plus, as much as we don’t want to admit it, it’s been 500 years. Look at Lilia: he’s changed SO MUCH over the years since his time as general. Why can’t Levan do the same? Longing to reunite with his loved one for CENTURIES isn’t healthy at all, but he desires it so much that he’s willing to hurt innocent people in order to achieve it.

This is out of the TWST canon lol, but there’s potentially a lot of connection to Edgar Allen Poe’s “Lenore” and “The Raven.” Lenore mourns a “queenliest dead that ever died so young” before her wedding, which could parallel Meleanor dying before Malleus’ birth. The Raven represents the pure desperation, grief, and insanity of him wanting to see his lost love again: Lenore, and how he’s unable to cope with her passing. UM??!!!

FINALLY, as the saying goes: Malleus had to get his loser genes from somewhere. Hope this helps! 🤪

Jokes aside, I’m exhausted but I feel very happy to have made this guide! Many thanks to all the blogs I’ve mentioned above, and to Gasmask on Youtube, Otome Atui on Youtube, and MoonlightEquin1 on Twitter for translations!!! It really helped me out my thoughts together in this theory, and I hope it can serve as a reference guide to everyone else!

I had to link a lot of my separate theories just because there is too much to go over in one post, and I’m very limited with photos on mobile ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ If yall can think of anything else to add, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you to everyone for your support, it’s so fun theorizing with everybody!! 💞💞💞

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