I can't wait for the book 5 manga but I'm a little wary of how the new Yuu per book is gonna impact both it and a future book 6 manga: the last we will see of book 5 Yuu is them getting attacked by Grim and then we'll immediately cut to a whole different Yuu that just went through that. Book 5 and 6 are pretty close together for me so I'm a little afraid of how the flow will be affected.
Yeeeah 😬 This was my worry ever since the day I learned we would be getting a completely different Yuu for each arc of the manga. I feel like I can’t get super attached to any of them because I know they’re not sticking around and getting a long-term character arc :/ It sucks, cuz I actually find most of the manga!Yuus charming and would love to see how being in Twisted Wonderland and experiencing the events of the main story change them.
I don’t think swapping Yuus between Pomefiore and Ignihyde will affect the pacing or flow much (it was basically the same in the game)… More like it’ll just be a little narratively jarring to see Pome!Yuu be scratched and then we’re rushed along to be introduced to Igni!Yuu??? It kinda gives the impression that Grim’s little cat scratch kills Pome!Yuu and the mangaka ferries in the Igni!Yuu from off-stage to replace them 😭
I’m also concerned that Igni!Yuu will fall flat because an important part of book 6 is Yuu and Grim’s relationship. Because Igni!Yuu is starting off their book waking up post-Grim attack, they won’t get any time to establish what their dynamic with Grim is like before he gets taken by Styx. They’ll probably have to resort to a bunch of flashbacks crammed into a few panels. How am I supposed to be emotionally invested in seeing Igni!Yuu ignore orders to stay put and venture out to save Grim themselves??? We’d have little context for the two’s dynamic, so the narrative would be relying primarily on the readers assuming a baseline friendship (which isn’t nearly as emotionally reasonant as seeing the duo bond over time ourselves).
My Internet was out, so I read a bit of the twst novel and want to point out some things. Sorry I'm all over the place.
Before chapter 1, it describes the Mirror Chamber as a wasteland from how destroyed it is. How I know that is the battle before the prologue, the stage you're fighting on is a destroyed Mirror Chamber. The novel describes the person is seeing a large beast with blue fire in front of them and people in black robes shouting desperately.
When the beast roars, it's not as intense as the voice in the person's mind. The time left to me, to them, to you is short. You must not let go of that hand... That's the line said to them. Meaning, the person is facing against OB Grim and their friends are calling out to them when they hear a voice. You must not let go of that hand. Is it talking about Grim, not letting go of his hand?
Beginning of chapter 1, it says, A hooded figure stretched a hand towards him. He had to take it. He knew this instinctively, without any conscious thought, but for some curious reason, he couldn't move. The monster before him grinned.
When Yuya wakes up and hears Grim's voice for the first time, he says, I feel like the total opposite of how I did a minute ago.
Then the novel says, he could remember being frightened. Sad. But he couldn't really remember why or what had troubled him. When he tries to remember, it slips away more and more before vanishing completely once he blinked.
This could read as Yuya saw the hooded figure before waking up in the gateway, but it said he remembers being scared and sad, the beginning part doesn't seem there's fear or sadness. However, if we say it's implying to what happened before the chapter. Seeing the creature you known and had by your side for a year become a massive overbloted beast, those feelings of fear and sadness make sense.
But that would mean Yuya is resetted, also stuck in the time loop? Maybe, I'm just guessing, Yuya saw the last thing the previous person saw before they failed. With voice speaking in the person's head, maybe the voice was showing what will happen and to not abandon Grim.
Another thing I noticed in chapter 1, Yuya finds the gateway comfort. He says the place is soft, warm and comfortable, like a giant hug. It's so comfortable, he falls asleep and has a sense of security. Curious. Why would the gateway be described like that? Why is it so warm that could you fall asleep easily?
Last thing, in chapter 2, it says Yuya had been in high school for almost six months when the carriage find him. If school starts in September, then Yuya was walking home in February-March. When Yuu is picked up and the day they wake up in NRC can be different. Yuu could be picked up at any time, but will wake up on the beginning of September in Twst.
(I have the urge to read through the book and take notes as I go. I can't wait for book 2)
My Internet was out, so I read a bit of the twst novel and want to point out some things. Sorry I'm all over the place.
Before chapter 1, it describes the Mirror Chamber as a wasteland from how destroyed it is. How I know that is the battle before the prologue, the stage you're fighting on is a destroyed Mirror Chamber. The novel describes the person is seeing a large beast with blue fire in front of them and people in black robes shouting desperately.
When the beast roars, it's not as intense as the voice in the person's mind. The time left to me, to them, to you is short. You must not let go of that hand... That's the line said to them. Meaning, the person is facing against OB Grim and their friends are calling out to them when they hear a voice. You must not let go of that hand. Is it talking about Grim, not letting go of his hand?
Beginning of chapter 1, it says, A hooded figure stretched a hand towards him. He had to take it. He knew this instinctively, without any conscious thought, but for some curious reason, he couldn't move. The monster before him grinned.
When Yuya wakes up and hears Grim's voice for the first time, he says, I feel like the total opposite of how I did a minute ago.
Then the novel says, he could remember being frightened. Sad. But he couldn't really remember why or what had troubled him. When he tries to remember, it slips away more and more before vanishing completely once he blinked.
This could read as Yuya saw the hooded figure before waking up in the gateway, but it said he remembers being scared and sad, the beginning part doesn't seem there's fear or sadness. However, if we say it's implying to what happened before the chapter. Seeing the creature you known and had by your side for a year become a massive overbloted beast, those feelings of fear and sadness make sense.
But that would mean Yuya is resetted, also stuck in the time loop? Maybe, I'm just guessing, Yuya saw the last thing the previous person saw before they failed. With voice speaking in the person's head, maybe the voice was showing what will happen and to not abandon Grim.
Another thing I noticed in chapter 1, Yuya finds the gateway comfort. He says the place is soft, warm and comfortable, like a giant hug. It's so comfortable, he falls asleep and has a sense of security. Curious. Why would the gateway be described like that? Why is it so warm that could you fall asleep easily?
Last thing, in chapter 2, it says Yuya had been in high school for almost six months when the carriage find him. If school starts in September, then Yuya was walking home in February-March. When Yuu is picked up and the day they wake up in NRC can be different. Yuu could be picked up at any time, but will wake up on the beginning of September in Twst.
(I have the urge to read through the book and take notes as I go. I can't wait for book 2)
I don't know if this is bad, but Miss Raven, have you seen the first chapter of 7.5? Idia says something very important... Because there's a chance he would go bald if there's water poured on him. Is the theory true?
Are you talking about this part? 👆
Context: this scene takes place after Malleus comes out of OB but before book 7’s big dance party. Lilia and Malleus were just discussing how much Maleficia scolded them. Idia and his S.T.Y.X. staff, who were present during this scolding (to monitor the subjects) were really freaked out by Maleficia’s anger.
One staff member told Idia that they must have sweated at least 3 liters and that they wanted to leave that room as soon as possible. Idia agrees with their sentiment and says that he also sweated so much that he thought the flames on his head might be extinguished. However, Idia says this line sort of sarcastically, so I think it’s more of a joke than him implying he’d actually go bald.
Idia’s hair actually does not behave like real fire. He can put his head on fabrics without setting it on fire, and the flames are said to not be hot unless he feels intense emotions like rage. The fire probably doesn’t go out when exposed to water either otherwise that means Idia goes bald whenever he showers.
This covers 7.5-1 to 7.5-23, which is the entirety of the book. Treat it like an epilogue!
Please note: this is NOT meant to be a summary or a translation; these are only my initial thoughts on the events that roughly unfold. There may be details overlooked or misunderstood in this post, so PLEASE do not use this as a translation.
We begin with Lilia and Malleus in S.T.Y.X. HQ. They seem to be making a good recovery, but Malleus does note that he seems to be perpetually tired. He’s not sure if it’s because of keeping his absolute control field up for so long, because he lost a horn, or because he hasn’t gained complete control of his magic back yet.
Malleus and Lilia say that Maleficia scolded them for what they did. I find it really interesting that she specifically said Malleus had disgraced himself; it’s a very harsh word choice (which I do think is warranted in this situation) and contrasts well with Diasomnia’s dorm value or spirit being nobility. Malleus is a noble who has disgraced himself in the eyes of the public.
Maleficia also got mad at Lilia for allowing Malleus to OB under his supervision. Not sure if I fully agree that the same level of anger is warranted at Lilia (I get that Lilia was Malleus’s guardian at school, but he cannot be held totally liable since he’s not a mind reader), but the Draconias have been known to get upset and blame things that can’t be helped on others.
Idia and some of his staff were present during the scolding of a lifetime (just to monitor Lilia and Malleus) and they got SO scared 😭 One staff member told Idia they sweated like 3 liters and Idia was sweating so hard he thought his hair would go out.
Oooh, okay 🤔 so this scene is taking place between the end of Malleus’s OB and before the book 7 dance party (in book 7, there was a time skip). Idia delivers the news that Malleus and Idia will be allowed back to NRC. He says that the island residents are forgiving because they’ve had that history of strong mages being troublemakers, RSA is kind-hearted, and NRC students want to show they aren’t afraid of Malleus. Idia also mentions the parents were okay with this.
Not sure if I’m totally happy with the continued trend of Twst not really bringing up nuances and (balanced) consequences in the aftermath of OBs, but at least this isn’t as absolutist as the end of book 7. I don’t know, I still find it wildly unrealistic that there wasn’t a coalition of stubborn parents (including Mrs. Rosehearts) protesting, but I guess Twst didn’t want that to get in the way of the epilogue. I’m also conflicted about the idea of NRC students wanting to show they aren’t afraid of Malleus. I get that they’re prideful and all, but we have literally seen several mobs be pathetically frightened of Malleus and doing nothing to hide their fright. Now all of a sudden they care about acting like tough guys to him??? Maybe because of the broken horn??? But that doesn’t make the mobs look any less cowardly since they only have the guts to claim courage after Malleus was beaten up and stripped of power🧍♂️ Whatever, I guess???
Idia says they will begin a rehabilitation program starting today in hopes of preparing them to reenter society. Lilia is very thankful for the opportunity, but it seems Malleus is hesitant.
shajwbwiwk WHOA THERE, Idia had a rare flash of empathy??? He reassures Malleus that he doesn’t have to decide right away because Idia, too, understands the situation he’s in and says it was probably similar for the other OBers. It must feel awkward and pathetic and guilty to be back among the students and school you terrorized.
Idia wasn’t satisfied with Malleus’s crying face post-OB, but he’s satisfied after seeing him get scolded. LILIA ROASTS IDiA… “You look timid, but you have quite the character.”
???? Unmm so Idia says Lilia and Malleus have nearly identical magical wavelengths, which is weird because even those related by blood would have variance. It’s like fingerprints.
Idia compared their wavelengths to when the two enrolled at NRC. Malleus is unchanged, but Lilia’s magic somehow became very similar to Malleus’s. Lilia doesn’t feel any different.
Malleus suggests that maybe Lilia was changed due to exposure to Malleus’s magic, but Idia says it’s not possible. You cannot force magic into a person or object (which… makes me wonder how tf magical items are made?).
An example is when Malleus restored Vil’s youth. The energy passes through the target’s own “magic circuit” and then the output is still considered “Vil’s magic”, not Malleus’s.
Idia confusingly says magic doesn’t have classifications too, which… makes me think wtf are all the classes at NRC then because those seem like classifications to me. Is it that magic all works off the same energy or unit???
S.T.Y.X.’s current theory is that when Lilia was brought back from death, it altered his own “magic circuit”. Silver’s ring apparently shattered and lost all its magical properties after that.
Uhhh anyway, whatever happened to Lilia is unprecedented.
They go run simulations. Malleus and Lilia are Subjects H and I. Given that A—F are the first 5 boys and Grim, is G supposed to be Idia??? Cuz they skipped G.
xbsnnsksnaLilia makes a comment about playing FPS games and Idia is surprised. They don’t reveal their online personas to each other though. So close, yet so far…
Malleus is instructed to cast ice magic until he is told to stop. He very quickly gets overwhelmed and seems to fall, but wincing in pain and struggling to control the magic.
Idia instructs him to link with Lilia (they hold hands) and then try returning just the snow to the sky. Malleus does this complex spell easily and without feeling pain, so Idia concludes that Lilia has become sort of like a “magic controller” for Malleus. Without Lilia, Malleus can’t reliably cast large scale spells.
The two return to their room in HQ, and Lilia makes some comment about how they’ll be stuck together for a while, at least until Malleus’s horn grows back. (If you’ll remember, that was estimated to be 200 years.)
Malleus suddenly… apologizes??? (I literally leaned forward in my seat when this happened, cuz this was what I part of what I was looking for in book 7’s ending. I had said Malleus needed to apologize to all of Sage’s Island and not to only NRC. I also thought he owed Lilia a personal apology for his overreaction instead of Lilia apologizing to Malleus for not paying attention to Malleus’s feelings.) But um, he says sorry for a different thing than what I was anticipating. Malleus wants to relieve Lilia of serving the Draconia family, but instead Lilia is stuck there for a while longer.
Lilia corrects him and says even though Maleficia asked him to continue watching Malleus, it’s a decision Lilia made of his own will. He wants to see Malleus, Silver, and Sebek grow… and he wants to see Malleus be crowned as king someday.
Malleus demands to know why Lilia was so quick to retire to the Land of Crimson Long then. Why did Lilia make Silver cry?
Lilia explains: 1) his magic loss was sudden and 2) in the army, it was considered graceful to leave if you were no longer able to fight so as to not be a burden on your able-bodied comrades. Guess this destroys what I believed before, which was that Lilia rushed his departure as to not prolong it and thus bring show his deteriorating state + more emotional distress to the boys.
Malleus protests that this was YEARS ago and not now. Lilia agrees but then brings up a third reason: that Silver, knowing Lilia’s situation, would happily spend the rest of his human life taking care of him. Lilia wanted Silver to be able to enjoy his short life.
Malleus wants to know why Lilia didn’t consult HIM. If he cannot listen to a friend’s worries, then a king is useless. LMAO Lilia is shocked Malleus called him a friend and Malleus is like “Why are you surprised.” 🤡 Well. It IS rare for a NRC student to use “friend” unironically… (albeit Malleus did use a neutral version, not a super intimate word choice for “friend”)
Malleus says Lilia lied to him about his own birth and even Silver’s. He suspects Lilia thought he would harm Silver if he knew the truth. Lilia says he just wanted them to live in blissful ignorance and not to worry about the past.
MALLEUS CALLED BABY!SILVER AN UGLY CREATURE (<- made me laugh) 😭 But he did learn to become fond of Silver and Sebek… He liked watching them grow up, learn things, change, etc. Malleus doesn’t hate it anymore.
He makes the decision to return to NRC!! Malleus wants to understand the power of humans banding together to take him down. He wants to learn about their strength without being arrogant about it, then use that to try and become a wiser and stronger king than previous Draconias. The wording here is very specific, the “without my arrogance” part is even included, which makes me feel very validated because I’ve always considered Malleus to be arrogant. Compare this current behavior to how he’s acting in his Dorm Uniform vignettes, and he’s a lot more humble in 7.5.
Lilia agrees, it would be good to go to NRC until Maleficia has calmed down. Malleus says it will be hard to go back to school, but it’s better than his grandma’s lightning 🧍♂️ Okay, I guess you’re doing the same thing Idia did and keeping on the down-low.
Lilia tells Malleus they should apologize and also thank everyone for stopping a disaster. Malleus agrees, he especially wants to see Sebek and Silver… and starts brainstorming a way of thanking them. That’s when he comes up with the birthday party idea.
We return to NRC!! Cater is having a checkup conducted by S.T.Y.X. and is released. He meets up with Trey and Riddle in the hallway and they chat about some changes since the incident. There’s been a lot of support to ensure a transition back to normal life, including health inspections for everyone that fell asleep. This is a good detail that helps to cover for the gaps in 7’a ending.
Diasomnia is cloaked with a hazardous amount of magic (so it is off limits), so it is taped off. A Briar Valley mage is still working on clearing the miasma up.
Riddle mentions that they are preparing for the big interscholastic spelldrive/magift tournament in June. Idia has been out of school handling Malleus and Lilia. Riddle wanted to ask him about the coding books he read in Idia’s dream (though Trey suggests they may just exist in the confines of the dream.)
They end up going into the courtyard because they hear a commotion. It’s the first years testing the limits of Ace’s new UM by having him swap magic with each first year. Ace claims the immaturity of the magic owner affects his ability to use the spell, but the others claim it’s just Ace projecting his own immature control of the UM.
The Heartslabyul upperclassmen bring Ace and co. to the rose maze because it’ll be safer to do it there, especially if Riddle tells the maze to make space.
They talk about UMs and Ace learned some limits of his. If he doesn’t know what magic the other person is using, he cannot perform the trade. If the magic is also not “fully constructed”, then he also cannot trade. Depending on the magic, Ace may not be able to perfectly replicate it, For example, Jack can become a full wolf because of his ancestry, but Ace just got… hairy. Sebek’s UM requires intense training snd physical prowess with withstand the aftereffects, which Ace lacks. Nice to know that Ace’s UM isn’t without its limits.
Ortho says Ace was probably able to use Riddle’s UM in the dream because of Ace’s overfamiliarity with being collared… Everyone laughs at him 😭 Riddle tells Ace to train hard, Cater takes a selfie with everyone, and then the upperclassmen leave.
The first years stand around chit chatting a little more and we learn some interesting new lore??? Jack’s maternal grandma had a UM similar to his, so he would watch her shift a lot and eventually was able to do it himself.
Jack’s magic manifested at 9-10 years old, which he states is “not that early”. Ace got his around the same time as Jack. Deuce got his around grade 7 in middle school, around 12-13. (bcjsbsjwk He needed to get a bat for a fight but Ortho mistakes it as Deuce being in baseball!?!) Sebek’s came to him at 14, which we know is considered “late”. Epel’s came at 10.
Lol, apparently you need a broom license to fly in the city???? Epel only got away with flying cuz he was in a rural area.
They ask Grim when his magic came to him but Grim says he actually doesn’t know his age?? (Omg, imagine if he turns out to be a bajillion years old…) He just wants his UM already.
UHHHHHH Yuu has a very weird dialogue option where they can choose to say “I want to use magic too” or “I think I'm fine just watching (others using magic)”… Are they… uh, taking this where I’m concerned they’re taking it… cuz I’d personally rather Yuu NOT develop magic 💀 I think it's the antithesis of what they were set up to be at the start (a normal magicless person who can still go on to change the world + other people without being powerful).
The first years try to reassure Grim, Yuu, and Ortho by saying them being at NRC is unique itself. In a way, Ortho guiding them in a dreams of as unique too.
Anywayyyy, the first years joke and speculate about what Grim’s potential UM. Look at the cute blushy Grimmu!!!
It’s all fun and games until we cut away to Diasomnia at night and we hear skittering… Chomping sounds 💀 Methinks Grim snuck off to a quarantined area to find Malleus’s blotstone and chow down on it… THIS DOES NOT BODE WELL.
7.5-9 shifts to Kalim and Jamil chatting in the hallways. Kalim needs help filling out some paperwork so Jamil says sure thing EXCEPT HE SAYS IT WEIRDLY VERY FORMALLY??? Like he uses very polite language and even slaps a -sama at the end of Kalim’s name… This feels so strange, even Kalim is freaked out.
Jamil says he’s been talking too casually to Kalim. Since his stance is “I’m not your friend”, he should speak formally as a servant, right?? Kalim begs him to go back to talking normally if Jamil refuses unless Kalim admits it’s a command?? But Kalim is uncomfortable.
Jamil demands the gold bracelet Kalim is wearing, which Kalim gives up even though it was a protection charm/gift from his mom. Jamil says he’s just joking, and please don’t let others trick you like this.
Kalim worries that Jamil is still after his family’s money like in the dream. Jamil repeays that Kalim should be less gullible and that he should issue the order.
Uhhh so Kalkm does tell him to??? And then Jamil refuses??? 😭 His reasoning being “I’m your friend and vice dorm leader so it’s okay for me to hold you accountable to perform your own duties”. SO JAMIL BAITED HIM??????
Kalim calls it unfair, but Jamil gets him in a bind by saying he can go back to being the overly formal servant if Kalim doesn’t do the paperwork himself.
Kalim finally says he’ll do the paperwork himself. Jamil says he’ll check it before Kalim submits it and correct for mistakes. And Kalim says he’ll make it perfect so there’s nothing for Jamil to correct to begin with.
Kalim leaves; Jamil reveals that he knows Azul has been eavesdropping this entire time 💥 Azul and Jamil make fun of each other’s embarrassing dreams + take turns blaming Malleus for the dreams but eventually say the dream, despite being exaggerated and distorted, is technically based on their own deepest desires. I have mixed thoughts on this, since it feels like Twst is doing the same thing as Endless Halloween Night… where everyone is mad at Malleus at first, but then somehow begins to transition into blaming themselves 🤡 Granted, this is more balanced than Endless, so there’s that.
Kalim goes inside a classroom to ask Riddle a question but Riddle’s preoccupied speaking with Trein. Ruggie’s also there to hand in paperwork, and they + Jade talk about end of the year preparations, like final exams and the Magician Training Academy Competition. Floyd joins and they talk about lending and borrowing books… Kinda boring stuff
Azul joins and comments on the unusual group. He tries to move over but Silver’s snoozing and in the way?? Like limbs sticking out in his path.
Silver says his sleepiness has actually been reduced considerably since waking from the dreams. We get official confirmation that his drowsiness was the residual effects of the sleeping blessing he had cast on him as an infant!
Apparently Silver being a long lost prince or something has become a popular topic on social media and the news. fjsbsksks This is just public information now, huh… 🤔 Does this mean Silver will ever reconnect with his blood relatives, who surely must now know of his existence???
Kalim insists to the others that he’s planning on finishing the paperwork himself, without relying on Jamil!! Azul offers to help instead of allowing Kalim to ask Riddle for help, but Riddle interrupts at that moment.
They go over the documents; Azul’s has no mistakes but Ruggie has some minor errors. Riddle instructs Kalim on a part of the form where you briefly explain the reason for nomination. He has to hurry cuz the documents are due the 17th.
These documents are to suggest players from each dorm for the Magic Training Academy Competition. Apparently the Octatrio and Scarabia duo are being considered. Usually older students would be the candidates. It is mandatory for dorm leaders to throw their hats into the ring.
Oh, it sounds like there are 4 games included?? Not only magift. One event is always magic, but the other three are random and change every year.
Yuu and Grim are in the cafeteria now. We flashback to a lesson with Crewel where we bake sweets with magical effects ✨ Crewel specifically names Leaping Macarons, which are a real item used for gameplay. In-universe, he says they temporarily improve memory and concentration.
We’re supposed to add 1 gram of a certain powder to the pot but Grim adds a TON more, which caused a big mess. Yuu and Grim had to clean it up.
They go to get lunch and a ghost chef smells the aftereffects of the potion catastrophe on us. He encourages us sweetly before handing us food, saying it’s a common mistake for first year students 😭 He even gives us advice to not “overseason” our “food” (ie follow the directions in potions class!!). Wtf this is actually so cute??
Yuu and Grim sit with the first years and they have a convo about various things: how those two are all glittery from the macarons, a similar incident with a Pomefiore student who later got scolded by Vil, a new protein Jack got, and preparations for the upcoming Magic Training Academy Competition. It feels a lot more natural than I thought it would be, which is good. They feel like they’ve become a real group of friends.
There is a game in which you collect words on slabs and papers and try to form a sentence in an ancient language. Sebek apparently fucked up on this before and wrote a nonsensical sentence. Glossing over this because I found it uninteresting
Vil and Rook approach and sit with us. Vil shares he is going to intern as a “newbie” actor in the same spot for all three terms. He just has to decide the spot, because each studio has different vibes. It’s pressing because the deadline to apply for internships is the end of May, and that’s coming up soon! (So we’re still in May right now, a few days after Silver’s birthday.)
Rook is going to be at an archeological research site in the Shaftlands. (I think Vil’s in the Shaftlands too?)
EHHHHH, Ruggie and Leona show up???!?? The cafeteria is crowded and they need seats.
Leona sits down and eats his hamburger steaks; Sebek complains he talks with food in his mouth but Leona says no one cares how anyone eats in a school cafeteria 😭 Okay, he has a point but I hate that he eats like that…
LEONA PUTS HIS VEG ON JACK’S PLAtE AnD SayS HIS UNDERCLASsMEN NEED THE NUTURuRNTS… What is Jack, the pet dog you shove food to under the table????
Ortho theorizes maybe lion beastmen have difficulty digesting vegetables??? They don’t confirm this, but that’s an interesting question to consider. h hdiwjjww L{eONA CALLS RUGGuE hIS MOM… “What are you, my mom?”
Trey appears with Cater!! LnxhaagFauqh LEONA CALLD HIM A DAD AnD TREY SAID ISNT LEOnA OLDER… I actually laughed out loud at this OTL
Leona got accepted to the mining and energy research lab in Sunset Savanna. Epel is surprised because he thought Leona would be in a magift internship. Even Ruggie told Leona he should establish magift teams and stadiums back home.
Leona says it’s troublesome. However, he’s not opposed to having Sunset Savanna host the Magift World Cup, held once every 4 years. Young star players and fans would be attracted to invest in the country. It would be a good excuse to push urban development too.
Leona says that the boom would be temporary and they gotta also account for what the stadium would be used for once the cup is over. Leave it to him to think 2 steps ahead!! “I don’t want to take responsibility, but I want to face the challenge… Is it like that?” Ortho wonders.
Trey is going to an agricultural tech company in the Scalding Sands. He wants to do two terms there breeding fruits and then spend a third time at a seasoning company developing a low calorie seasoning since uh… he learned the importance of “moderation”.
THE FYCKING ORbS PHAnsYOM
Cater is going to an interior design company in the Queendom. He says that he loved the crazy courtroom from his dream and wants to help people make their “castles” come to life.
Hmmmmmm… That’s interesting. It seems that both Trey and Cater were influenced by the events of their dream and this affected the trajectory of their internships. This is most prominently seen in Cater, who was having trouble figuring out what he wanted to do at the start of book 7.
They spot Idia in the cafeteria and Ortho invites him over. Idia ran out of his usual food stuff and Sam refused to sell it to him because it’s not healthy for Idia’s diet. (cbjsbwjwkw Apparently Trey buys a lot of nuts from Sam, so Sam cut him off??)
This part feels a little contrived; I assume that Idia still hid out in his room and got prepackaged food from Sam for the last 3 years or so while he was a student… So why did Sam suddenly decide NOW that he won’t sell to Idia? Would he not notice a lot sooner that Idia has this habit??? Idk, this is probably me being nitpicky about plot holes www
Ortho goes to get food for Idia. Idia meanwhile is forced to sit with the others. When Ortho is back with the lunch, Lilia and Malleus have joined. Ortho and the other first years excuse themselves. (Er, Ace and Deuce left sooner but I didn’t think this was important and forgot to note it down earlier.)
Leona bitches about having to sit with Malleus
Apparently there are fewer students afraid of Malleus now and he had his first fight with someone who brushed his shoulder?? Lilia tells him to behave and to fight back “gently”.
dbsjwbksks Forgot to mention this earlier, but at the beginning of 7.5, Idia states Malleus “used to be a top 5 mage” or something to that effect. Meaning he fell off…??? Who took his place… Where does Malleus rank now… I wanna know these lore tidbits!!
Malleus reveals he will intern at S.T.Y.X. while also being a research subject. He’ll be in the Magic Analysis and Research branch, deciphering old texts and restoring artifacts.
sbjsebksw Vil and Leona clown on him 😭 saying Malleus knows nothing about tech and is in the habit of destroying it more than anything…
Lilia is going to be at an elementary school in the Shaftlands. He wants to earn a teaching license because he realized the differences in teaching + learning between fae and humans. The remaining time he has… he wants to dedicate it to shaping the future of tomorrow! It’s honestly super fitting for him.
The third years get all pumped up to break RSA’s win streak. They’ll break tradition, change fate!!
Ortho is trying to recruit Sebek and Silver into our Mickey stakeouts. Silver’s UM might be useful, and Sebek represents fae. He wants to test out all parameters + combinations to figure out the correct conditions to send Yuu home.
Silver confirms he saw Mickey in his dreams but thought little of it since strange stuff happens a lot + he usually forgets when he wakes up. His sleepwear makes an appearance!
Sebek refuses to help since he’s “the Knight of Lightning” and has to focus on training and protecting Malleus. He’s been super smug about it, too. Sebek shouts it all the time and even got points deducted an assignment (lmao Trein did it) because he signed with the title and not his name 💀
Errr Crowley appears and says he is looking for “Vanrouge-kun”. Silver mistakes this for his father, but Crowley reveals he was actually looking for Silver. cbjsbsjwkw Looks like someone isn’t fully used to his new surname yet… Something has arrived at his office for Silver, so we go with him for whatever reason.
Malleus and Lilia are at the office already. Turns out that the thing Crowley had for Silver is a new magical pen which is engraved with his name.
Silver signs formal adoption papers with it and Malleus sends it off by burning the paper. Who is he… Spike from MLP: FiM???? And Silver is so happy that he starts scowling to prevent himself from smiling every time he looks at his pen.
This is a sweet moment, but I was under the assumption that this already happened off-screen??? I also think this wasn’t necessary for us to see and that Twst is milking us for an emotional response by dedicating another whole section of the story to this.
Lilia notes that he’s glad Sebek made friends, but he denies it. Sebek tells a lie about how we groveled for his help investigating Mickey. Classic Sebek tsun…
We tell the headmaster, Lilia, and Malleus about Mickey??? Then we drop by Ramshackle to look at the mirror. Malleus inspects it and says it isn’t cursed. They even try Lilia’s UM on the mirror and it yielded nothing useful.
Crowley says it’s dangerous for first years to investigate this since they’re inexperienced and could be exposing themselves to danger!! So Malleus volunteers to supervise because he has an interest in Mickey. Lilia chimes in too, and of course Sebek also does because those two are now involved. Aaand I guess Silver as well???
We decide to make shifts but the others decide to make it a pajama party (does this mean we’ll see more pajamas in the main story??) 😅 Crowley’s counting this investigation as a Magical Analysis class credit, but no one’s really taking it seriously lol
That’s where book 7.5 ends!! Again, it’s treated like an epilogue so it’s considerably shorter than the other books.
I structured this post a little differently than previous “thoughts on the main story update” post. This time, I sprinkled my thoughts around the body instead of cramming it all at the very end.
This is referring to the "Everything we know about Neige" post. I was just going to comment, but since it became quite big I decided to send here.
Seriously, the RSA boys throwing themselves in from of the NRC always gets to me, because they essentially sacrificed themselves to a unknown treat and I love how this shows the difference between the students on each school, and how RSA is always playing as a team instead of the each men for themselves style of NRC. And especially how that strength is the exact why RSA keeps winning against NRC in the intarscholastic spell drive tournament, and has done so for 99 consecutive years!
I love how around the beginning of the manga (also in the game, but I personally fell like the manga explanation was better) Crowley says how because the mirror's choice are always magicians with big potential, that also leads for a group of people who are somewhat arrogant and refuses to work together.
This is such a core part of the story, but I don't see a lot of talk around it, and personally, I think it's one of the biggest charms.
I do really enjoy how even by telling a story though the villans side, the writers were still able to showcase the very core Disney idea that the reason the heros win is because they are working together, opposite to the villains who ,for the most part, work alone and isolated. It also highlights the importance of dialog and conversation while ALSO showing how naive and self sacrifizing most of the heros are, with Neige and Chenya without think twice throwing themselves into the flowers to save the NRC boys.
I appreciate so much the dinamic of this two schools because by that we can see the strengths and weaknesses of BOTH sides.
Sorry if that was to long and sorry for any grammar mistakes or misspellings. Hope you have/had a nice day/night. Take care. ♡
[Referencing this post!]
It was definitely a really commendable moment for the RSA students, especially when Ruggie and Idia (in the same event) wanted to abandon their asses and save themselves 😭
I feel the common sentiment is to claim RSA’s wins against NRC are “undeserving” or impossible to believe when NRC has so many powerhouses, but it makes sense when you consider the philosophies of their students are so different. Neige and the dwarves performed a popular children’s song from the Shaftlands—a song which adults have nostalgia for and kids love, a song which encourages everyone to join in singing and dancing. Vil had a new song made, but the style won’t appeal to everyone and the lyrics are hard and brag about beating down a foe and winning. You won’t win the audience vote if your performance fails to emotionally connect with people.
RSA’s 99-year win streak in magift/spelldrive is no coincidence either. Their cooperation (which is emphasized in their school curriculum as well) allows them to pull victories, whereas NRC often falls apart due to in-fighting. Ace and Grim give an example at the beginning of Stage in Playful Land. Leona also states that their team last year started fighting before the game even started. It's a consistent pattern.
With the end-of-year tournament being a team composed of one member from each dorm (dorms which have strong rivalries and think they are better than the others), there’s bound to be even more issues that arise in a match. RSA wins not only because they have talented students that can work together well, but also because NRC quite literally tears itself apart from the inside out 💀
It's interesting when we think about how the Mirror of Darkness seems to select students that have great magic potential but are also very arrogant because of that same potential. And this also reflects in their morals as well; it's not uncommon to find NRC students willing to use underhanded methods to get their way (Jamil and Ruggie controlling NBC students to be meat shields, Leona in all of book 2, Jade suggesting they use booby traps to take down their Sledathon rivals, etc.), whereas none of the RSA students we've met so far appear to have morals that deviate from that of a typical nice yet naive "hero". NRC values self preservation, independence, and ambition, whereas RSA is far more self-sacrificing and caring for the entire group. It makes me wonder if RSA has a method of enrollment that minimizes the arrogance and underhandedness in its student population (or at least boasts humility or open-mindedness)? As far as we're aware, the students at RSA also have great magic potential... so what makes the students enrolled at NRC arrogant about it and the students at RSA not arrogant about it...?
I think what separates villains and heroes in Disney films is their dynamics with others. Villains often have henchmen or partners in crime, but the villains are definitely presented as the ones in charge while the others are subservient to them. Villains give commands and/or manipulate to get their way. There is a clear power dynamic, a leader and followers behind that leader’s ambitions. Heroes are willing to compromise, and you’ll seldom see heroes bossing around their friends or allies. If people help the hero, it’s typically of their own volition and not because they are ordered to. Sometimes they help because they are moved or inspired by the hero—but ultimately, their autonomy remains intact. The hero treats others as equals and not as a means to an end. Their kindness is a virtue that attracts others to them. It’s a “me against the world” vs an “us against the world” mentality.
Hi, Miss Raven! I have seen some rumours of Book 8 coming out. Would you be able to confirm this? Thank you for all your work!
Book 7 wrapped up (in the JP server; EN has not entirely caught up yet) around the 5th anniversary in mid-March of 2025. The ending still left many questions, like the mystery of Mickey in the mirror and the Grim-like OB from the start of the game, unanswered. Because of that, many fans are speculating that a book 8 will be coming out to address these questions. Book 8 would, in theory, have Diasomnia returning to help us out and would be centered on Yuu and/or Grim.
As of right now, NOTHING IS CONFIRMED YET. We also do not have news of when the next major story update will be. Twst drops its schedules for the following month on the last non-holiday week day of the current month, and so far we haven’t heard anything regarding the next main story installment.
We’ll get the June 2025 JP schedule in a little over a week’s time, but I wouldn’t expect main story news anytime soon because the wait between books has been increasing:
If STYX doesn’t belong to any government, and the Island of Woe itself is hidden such that it can’t be found on any map…does this mean nobody on that island pays taxes
The real reason why STYX stays hidden
Hmm, well 🤔 Even though S.T.Y.X. has no loyalty to any one particular government, they still work with various governments all over Twisted Wonderland to further blot research. For example, books 6 and 7 confirms that S.T.Y.X. has been in contact with Briar Valley, Sunset Savanna, the Land of Dawning, and more.
I see S.T.Y.X. as being similar to like… the irl World Health Organization. WHO doesn’t belong to any one country, but several countries have membership under it and pay fees and/or voluntary contributions to help fund the important, mutually beneficial work WHO provides. S.T.Y.X. basically does the same stuff, but with a focus on the safety and wellbeing of mages. WHO (the organization) is, to my knowledge, tax exempt and any salaries, grants, and allowances paid by WHO are generally also tax exempt, though I believe this can w depending on country. I would assume the same is true for S.T.Y.X. employees.
Book 6 informs us that most island residents don’t live at the seabed level. Instead, the majority of its population live on the outer wall of the island, called the residential block of Oceanus. This implies to me that the seabed is mostly or entirely S.T.Y.X. employees, whereas non-S.T.Y.X. live in Oceanus. I’m not sure if non-S.T.Y.X. residents would be tax exempt since they don’t do work associated with the organization… I’d imagine maybe the regular residents might still pay taxes to the Kingdom of Heroes (since thats the country S.T.Y.X.’s architecture is modeled after + where the island used to be a part of). The Kingdom doesn’t necessarily know where their HQ is to do this; just having the number of civilians and data on income may be enough for them to calculate an amount to reap 😭 No government would say no to getting more money/j and besides, if S.T.Y.X. is like WHO, data like wealth and population would be submitted to determine how much funding is appropriate to provide the group. Like… S.T.Y.X. has to get money for its operations + paying for employees, feeding them, housing them, helping with childcare, etc. from somewhere, right???
Just curious on your opinion on this: Do you think twst's writing in terms of storyline/plot and overall characterisation of the characters has gotten better or changed in any way over the years? Or would you say it's stayed relatively the same? Or maybe varied?
***Disclaimer: Everything I say in this post is just my opinion and is NOT me imposing my views onto you or insisting that my views are superior. Nor in no way, shape, or form am I demeaning those who enjoy the things I did not or did not enjoy the things that I did. Me not personally liking certain books or events is also NOT me dismissing any characters’ experiences or trauma.
Let’s remember to remain respectful.***
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>_>
*leans into the mic*
Look, I love Twst and all, but I also think that Twst's writing quality has proven to be pretty inconsistent and is actually painfully mediocre most of the time.
When I sit down and really think about it, the main story has 3 books I actively dislike. That's basically half of the main story, seeing as book 7 is so darn long just by itself. Even if I minimize my own bias, there are just objectively bad narrative decisions made in many places, such as setting things up and not letting them get proper payoff later, obvious plot holes, or going for 100+ parts without allowing two major characters in the book to appear.
(I go into more detail about how I personally rank the books here. Here is also a graphical depiction of that ranking yes, I am breaking out the charts:)
Book 7 was especially egregious… It has its monstrous length as well as the tonal whiplash, inconsistent pacing, lack of urgency, and overexplanation of the dreams that take up a good 2/3 of the book. So much was happening and yet so little also happened.
(Here’s how I feel about the major story points in 7:)
In terms of events, I'd say they improved how they're organized over time. In the very early events, Twst failed to separate stories into Episodes like they do now, meaning you'd just get one long stream of story (ex: Beans Day II is 39 parts) instead of it being broken up into more easy-to-digest chunks (ex: GloMasq has 5 Episodes, each ranging from 15-19 parts). Hometown events also took on a predictable formula, with Episode 1 being the set-up to venture elsewhere, Episodes in the middle dedicated to exploring the area, and then Episode 5 having the crew resolve some minor issue. However, this doesn't always mean the pacing of events is good. For example, Stage in Playful Land Episode 3 has a paltry 11 parts whereas Episode 2 has 21, which is almost DOUBLE the length of Episode 3.
Many events have nothing of real importance or excitement happening (Tsumsted Wonderland, Lost in the Books, Master Chefs/Culinary Crucibles, Sam's New Year Sales, etc.) or mainly involve eating food and souvenir shopping (looking at you, hometowns). The events that are good do something unique and does it well (or at least is funny) OR actually advances a character's development/growth. Because so many Twst events are middle-of-the-road, it makes the few solidly written events (like Glorious Masquerade) stand out. We remember these solid instances more strongly as a result, which then projects over the other events (which were mid) and boosts them in our minds.
(Here’s where the events stand relative to one another:)
Vignettes have more liberty with character writing because most of them are not canon to the main story. Sometimes characters regress into their old ways (Epel going back to his pre-book 5 personality is pretty guilty of this), but that's usually fine since I treat vignettes as essentially "what ifs" or transitive periods of growth between major story beats. I like that vignettes are oftentimes very mundane and can take their time to explore the unique relationships and dynamics between the boys. It often feels like so much other stuff is happening that we don't get to slow down and just... enjoy the boys as they are.
Looking at the overall trend lines, it unfortunately looks like Twst is, as I suspected, hovering around the “could be better” to “okay” range in most cases. When Twst does well, it’s great. (To this day, I still believe GloMasq was peak for Twst and no event since had topped it.) When Twst fumbles, it fumbles HARD. (Playful Land and book 2 infamously have many plot holes.) But when Twst is mid, it’s… well, absolutely unremarkable 😭
I think the issue for me is that Twst tries to be ambitious with its stories but has limited success in executing those stories. Maybe it’s the fault of limited budget or assets (as a mobile title and not a console title), maybe the writers just aren’t that skilled, maybe it’s a time constraint or not a lot of research done, whatever.
