feelin’ SYLeepy these days

No.1 Jennette Defender | Art in [#syl art] | Analysis/Rants in [#syl tea] | Writing in [#syl fics]

[sylver-drawer]

I shouldn’t have cared. I shouldn’t have worried. I should’ve just left you the moment I found out the truth instead of worrying about a “friend’s” mental state or how isolated and lonely you could be. Because it’s clear the moment you burned one bridge down you burned mine as well. I thought I was supporting an old friend of over four years. But I was actually the last burden you were waiting to drift before burning it all and showing your true feelings and colors. Four years. I shouldn’t have cared. I shouldn’t have given you advice or told you what I noticed and felt, thinking that maybe you’d take them to heart and see something and figure things out about yourself and change for the better, because it’s clear to me now that you already decided whatever I would say means nothing. I’m not a friend irl. I’m just some person on the internet after all. My friendship and words mean nothing. Fantastic. Brilliant. Bravo.

What a cold, cruel person you are.

Continue being this cold, cruel person. Continue being showered in love you could care less for, from people you don’t actually care about. Have fun in the next place you wander to. I wish you everything you want and desire, and pity the next poor souls you decide to ‘befriend’ half heartedly for years, only to burn the moment you lose use for them.

You’re just like the person you hate. You’re just like R. And I hope you enjoy being like them.

[sylver-drawer]

To Be Loved in Another World

Basically, it takes place after the LP Novel Sidestories—a “what if Lee Jihye had taken LP Athy to live in her world (SBAPOD)” scenario.

Since LP Athy, timeline wise when Lee Jihye visited LP, would’ve been close to the poisoning incident and even if LP Claude wakes up from his coma and doesn’t treat LP Athy as cold as before (due to his apparently fractured memories of Diana returning(?) even though that shouldn’t be possible), Rosalia was the one who staged the poisoning and since LP Athy showed her skills in government paperwork to the people, Rosalia would 100% follow through with it bc LP Athy is now a bigger threat to her plans for LP Jen’s ascension.

So Lee Jihye decides to take LP Athy to live in her world, since there is zero repercussions for changing plot lines and meddling in other worlds/dimensions (thanks, novel)

but it’s not sunshine and rainbows

Lee Jihye in her bias and naivety believes that because Claude loves her, Claude will love LP Athy

and Lee Jihye’s misplaced optimism gives LP Athy hope, but in reality (though Novel Claude isn’t cruel or aloof compared to how LP Claude treats her) Claude is indifferent to LP Athy. He could never be cruel or hurtful toward her because she does have Lee Jihye’s face and is his daughter in another world, but he can’t feel attached or interested/affectionate with LP Athy.

so LP Athy, with hope that she’ll actually be loved this time since Lee Jihye was loved by Claude, sees the crueler reality before her that she will never be loved even in a world where Claude loves Athanasia. Instead, she’s watching a ‘better’, ‘smarter’, ‘stronger’, ‘talented’, more ‘bright’ and ‘confident’ other version of herself getting the love and affection she’s always wanted. And that’s what makes her truly give up on Claude’s love. She had already given up on LP Claude’s love and attention by the end of the canon LP Sidestories, but this really makes her give up on Claude period.

but that’s not the end for LP Athy

LP Athy is adjusting to the SBAPOD world, and of the things and changes she’s curious about, one is Jennette. She’s used to seeing Jennette often, because Jennette and Lily were the only ones she was decently close to. She’s used to Jennette being the one doted on and looked at warmly by Claude—yet not once has she seen Jennette in the palace.

one day at dinner before Lee Jihye joins them, because she cannot conceive Claude being cold or cruel to Jennette, she brings Jennette up to Claude. And Claude’s response is chilling, cold, apathetic, and cruel—the face of Claude she was used to back in her world, and a face she had never seen on *this* Claude before. But his response doesn’t answer anything or give her any details, so after dinner she brings it up with Lee Jihye—who, initially, was going to white lie or phrase it very softly and gently—ultimately decides to tell LP Athy the truth of what went down.

It’s inconceivable to Athanasia. That Jennette, who she always saw as warm and dazzling, deserving of the sunlight and effortlessly earned everyone’s love and favor, was miserable in this world. Miserable, alone, rejected coldly and cruelly by her family, with no one to comfort her. The palace, the nobles, and the world moved on without her, and didn’t matter if she really existed or not. And for the first time since settling in this world—or perhaps, in her whole life—she empathizes with someone.

Perhaps to pay back the Jennette who made sure to reach out to her in her own world, she decides to reach out to the Jennette of this one.

It starts off with few letters at first, awkward. Lee Jihye had difficulty getting letters from Jennette before as well, and their relationship hasn’t recovered either. Jennette was apprehensive at first, getting letters from someone who isn’t the Princess yet shares the same name, claiming she’s the Princess from another world who had begun staying at the palace. Her writing is similar, yet different—softer, strokes smoother yet the thickness of the ink implies a certain weight and carefulness the Princess she knew doesn’t carry. The tone in her writing is much different as well. Before long, their letter exchanges became more frequent, and Jennette could feel herself feel a bit lighter. Not the same way that the Princess made her feel in the past. Unlike the Princess of the past, the other Athanasia didn’t know what to say to make things better.

But strangely, that awkward honesty with words not knowing how to comfort healed her.

Jennette found it a bit ironic—that what’s healing her is the Princess, who she believed as her sister and family not too long ago, and who’s existence had become such a wound to her already fractured and dying heart. All she ever wanted was to be close to her family, to not be alone in this cold world, and for anyone, anyone, to honestly understand. And the one who has given her this kinship—not of pity or of distance, but of genuine understanding that knows not how to comfort or fix—is the Princess of another world.

A story of healing for both girls, who were alone and abandoned by the family whose love they wanted, finding that family and kinship in each other.

[sioanna]

Manhwa and stories are often about perspective and who gets to tell the story. For example, if Thalia were a side character instead of the protagonist, many readers would probably hate her despite her tragic past. They would see her as someone who hurt others and tried to take another woman's—her half-sister's—love interest simply because she loved him. This is a common manhwa trope, where the female lead's(in this case Ayla) first husband or lover falls in love with another woman and ultimately ends up with her.

Likewise, if Navier were a side character, she would likely be labeled a villain for supporting and defending slavery. If Claudine were the female lead, many more readers would sympathize with her because she was forced into a marriage with a terrible fiancé who cheated on her.

In Thalia's case, many readers believed it was acceptable for her to pursue Varkas because he did not love Ayla. However, in Claudine's case, people condemn her because Matthias cheated on his fiancée, Claudine, and raped Layla. Ironically, Thalia also sexually assaulted Varkas, yet both situations are often portrayed as romance even though they involved blackmail or coercion rather than genuine consent.

Eckles also receives a great deal of hate for becoming obsessed with Penelope and for being seen as an ungrateful slave. However, if the genders were reversed and Penelope were a man who manipulated and used a teenage female slave named Eckles solely to survive while genuinely developing feelings for a female version of Callisto, the sympathy for a female Eckles would likely be much greater than it is for the male Eckles. She would still rightfully be criticized for harming the people of her kingdom, but far more of the blame for the grooming and manipulation would be placed on the male Penelope rather than on Eckles.

Cesare is another character with a background—and, to some extent, motivations—similar to Thalia's. Both came from lower social backgrounds and were neglected and abused by their families. Both became obsessed with the first person who showed them kindness and convinced themselves it was love. Both were willing to do anything to obtain that person, even if it meant hurting them or innocent people around them. They even went so far as to target their own siblings: Cesare successfully killed Enzo, while Thalia failed in her attempt to kill Ayla.

The people they loved, Ruby and Varkas, were both in political or arranged relationships with people they did not initially love. Ruby and Izek did not love each other at first, and their relationship gradually developed into genuine affection. Similarly, Ayla loved Varkas, but his feelings for her were never romantic.

Both Cesare and Thalia were physically abusive toward the people they claimed to love, throwing objects at them and slapping them. Both also attempted to force sexual intimacy on them. The difference is that the fandom overwhelmingly condemns Cesare because Ruby never loved him, never consented to his advances, and because he was openly aggressive and abusive despite his traumatic past. In contrast, Thalia receives far more sympathy because of her tragic background and because Varkas ultimately loved her.

However, Varkas explicitly told Thalia "no" and tried to stop her during the sexual encounter, yet she ignored him. In both Matthias's and Thalia's cases, blackmailing or forcing someone into sex constitutes rape because genuine consent is absent.

Ultimately, the different reactions these characters receive often come down to their gender and the role they play in the story. It is surprisingly rare to see readers judge characters consistently based on their actions rather than on whether they are the protagonist, the love interest, or the antagonist.

[fast-moon]

MAO may mostly just be Inuyasha in the 1920's, but I do appreciate that it has the mindfulness to go:

Mao: "We need to investigate this person/artifact/event." Nanoka: (goes back to the modern world and just fucking Googles it)

[nocandnc]

I want to talk about something regarding this scene, but it firmly involves future manga events so I'll put it under the cut lol

While the events play out more or less the same from manga to anime, the anime has put a much stronger emphasis on the purification that occurs directly after Nanoka hugs the boy to keep him still.

The glowing light that appears is yellow - Nanoka's signature colour, and the traditional colour used to represent Earth in Onmyoudo as well (metal being white, water black, wood green, and fire red.)

Given that Nanoka is of the earth element, and that the earthen medicine that's gone awry here was partly the work of her future mentor Natsuno, I think the anime has used this moment to foreshadow Nanoka's future role as a force of healing - a medicine that cures curses rather than a poison to feed them.

Basically, I think it was actually Nanoka's energy that caused the miasma to subside and allow the boy's leg to heal properly. Maybe this was also the case in the manga (it can certainly look that way in retrospect, but knowing how Takahashi writes...) but the anime has definitely put more focus on it as a nod to later events.

And I think that's pretty neat!!

[gifflower]

I know that Nanoka prefers to fight with her sword rather than with magic, and I know Daigo is supposed to be sketchy and distant now, but…

I wish we could have an arc with Daigo helping Nanoka improve her earth abilities! I feel like we haven’t seen her use her earth magic in so long, so I think an arc with these two could be really interesting and could create a bit of a false sense of trust with Daigo. I also feel like she’s unfortunately taken a back seat in the story for a while; I want her to keep being a strong fighting queen that improves her abilities!! (Without being too impulsive ofc)

[sunevvv]

After watching the new ep I think I miss when natsuno was allowed to smile/show more emotions

[sylver-drawer]

I just got caught up with Mao’s manga and man,,,

I’m still grieving Natsuno sobs like I really like and am super interested in Daigo and whatever his deal is and his complexity, but also,,, Natsunooooo

Also gonna be so devastated if Mei dies. There isn’t any other fellow female character fighting beside Nanoka and co since Natsuno’s death, and so far Mei has established as having morally-grey-but-good-leaning-morals and has generally been pretty amicable towards our peanut gallery so I’ve been liking her a lot (but her and Renji are screaming doomed couple to me because every couple in Mao but our main protagonists seems to be doomed). Yurako is also there, but she’s obviously (while nuanced) meant more to be an antagonist in both her role in the plot and romantically (when I just want more female friendships sobs maybe I was just spoiled by Inuyasha with Kagome-Sango)

[completeoveranalysis]

I completely forgot about this happening

[sylver-drawer]

An example of Plutus’ repetitive writing (that served zero purpose and accomplished little to nothing because they showcased the exact same thing):

Jennette’s picnic that starts off the last timeskip (~ch.130):

Ijekiel (and Roger) arrives —> Ijekiel and Athy have an inside joke/knowing conversation with eachother (about how Roger clearly is trying to set her and Ijekiel up with the excuse of checking on Jennette) —> Ijekiel and Jennette have a moment and Athy has a jealous reaction (feeling a pain like a hangnail pinch from watching them together) —> Ijekiel escorts Athy goodbye and Athy gets in her feels —> Athy is alone now and Lucas pops in and was spying the whole time —> Jealous Lucas gets rid of the gloves that Ijekiel kissed —> Lucas insinuates that Athy is “his” and Athy responds with “Why am I yours? I belong to me!”

The Hunting Event right before the Finale’s Arlanta Delegation Send-off Party (~ch.145):

Ijekiel (and Jennette) arrive —> Ijekiel and Athy have an inside joke/knowing conversation with eachother (about Blue and how he was the one who gave Blue to her) —> Ijekiel and Jennette have a moment and Athy has a jealous reaction (turning away from Jennette having Ijekiel’s coat on her shoulders) —> Ijekiel escorts Athy (fixes her stuck shoe) and Athy gets in her feels (then tries to reject him after realizing she’s catching feelings again) —> Athy is alone now and Lucas pops in and was spying the whole time —> Jealous Lucas says something to assure Athy that she didn’t lie about her lack of feelings —> Lucas insinuates that Athy is “his” and Athy responds with “Why am I yours? I belong to me!”

[sylver-drawer]

On the topic of how strange and conflicting Lee Jihye’s writing is (ft. little pieces of evidence that she was still crushing on Ijekiel + her weird change in how she treats Jennette), I find it funny how the moment we get to the 17years old timeskip final arc, the first thing we get is:

Lee Jihye attending Jennette’s picnic/tea party

Lee Jihye affectionately fixing Jennette’s hair because it got messed up while she was running over to welcome her (with Felix watching over them warmly ‘like a father’)

Lee Jihye noticing that Jennette is a bit quiet/awkward and hasn’t been able to jump into conversation, so she helps Segway Jennette easily so she can get along with her own guests (like, actively does this to help her dear friend Jennette)

Ijekiel (and Roger) appears, and Lee Jihye can see through that Roger is trying to set her and Ijekiel up

Ijekiel and Jennette share a ‘sibling-like conversation’ and she feels a pain like a hangnail digging into her fingertip watching them (but totally means nothing, right,,,)

Ijekiel escorts Lee Jihye to her carriage and they have a yearning-filled moment:

[“It would probably be rude of me to say that I don’t want to let you go, wouldn’t it?”

“Lord Ijekiel.”

“I know. Would you at least permit me to bid you farewell?”

It was hard to refuse such a request. I looked at his lowered silver lashes and those vivid golden eyes, and I had no choice but to remain silent. Ijekiel's lips landed lightly on the back of my hand. It felt as though all the surrounding greenery stopped moving entirely as he whispered softly to me, "I shall be counting down the days until we meet again.”]

Lee Jihye has to force herself not to look at Ijekiel as she leaves, distracting herself by thinking about Jennette

Lucas suddenly appears and we get a mini update on Jen and her mana (ultimately it not being a bother to her vs Lucas who looks at it fistastefully and desires to get rid of Jen), Lee Jihye also TLDR’s stuff from the two year timeskip

Lucas claims Lee Jihye as his possession/belonging to him and Lee Jihye gets ticked off, proclaiming that she only belongs to herself

Like this established info at the beginning of the timeskip is so crazy knowing what happens as this arc goes on.

Lee Jihye refusing to help the uncomfortable and awkward Jennette at HER OWN tea party as she’s hounded by HER OWN guests (when at the beginning of the arc, she went out of her way to help Jen grow comfortable and get along with others)

Chooses not to help Jennette again at the Hunting Event when a noble lady (who Lee Jihye basically says, has been in love with Ijekiel for a whilel) tries to put Jennette in a difficult/uncomfortable position (and then only stepping in when it gets awkward for everyone, as a different noble lady tries to defend Jennette instead but in the process implies servants can be untrustworthy, which backfires as Jen trusts servants—then Lee Jihye decides to step in,,, not when her bestie is uncomfortable though!)

Jen’s black magic suddenly matters to Lee Jihye a lot but not enough to actually help Jen out with it (she will however, help other people from Jen’s black magic instead)

Is so suspicious of Felix wanting her and Jen to be friends that she literally uses purification magic on him,,, (when, he had always wanted her to have friends, and has been watching her and Jen be friends warmly for a while now. And why is she suddenly taking offense or suspicion??? Have you NOT been friends with Jen? What happened to the girl who ditched her dad to have a night out with her self proclaimed best friend…)

Not really empathizing with Jen’s meltdown, until Lee Jihye compares Claude’s cruel and murderous treatment of Jen to how he treated her (Lee Jihye) during his amnesia,,,:

[Jennette burst into sobs. Her shock was more than understandable. Hearing from the man, who she'd thought was her father the whole time, that he'd wanted to kill her...

For some reason, memories of Claude when he lost his memory flashed through my mind.]

And then at the very end of the main story, seemingly having zero interest in Jen’s mental state or well being after her attempt (claiming she’s ‘guilty’ and ‘partially at fault’ for it, but her actions say the opposite when she ends with “I don’t ask Duke Alpheus about Jennette or Ijekiel even as we pass each other in the halls”) (like we’re talking about the girl who was constantly spying on Jen and Ijekiel secretly using her magic, telling to Jen’s face previously in THIS ARC that she loved and missed Jennette,,,)

I forgot how close and attentive Lee Jihye and Jennette were at the start of the timeskip, and how she suddenly flips some sort of switch and decides not to be a supportive friend (and if she is, it’s solely in private where no one else can hear, and then proceeds to not carry this love or friendship support out in public/around others,,,). And then after all of this, literally one chapter after Ijekiel and Jen are sent away miserably and she’s like “out of sight out of mind”, she has a ‘happy and romantic’ ending on her 18th birthday (in which, not once has Lee Jihye ever thought of her 18th birthday specially or as a goal since she was literally five sobs)

[sylver-drawer]

Rereading the novel, and it’s actually super obvious that Lee Jihye is still in love with Ijekiel when she’s 17 lmao (as in like, she’s still in love with him like 15 chapters before the end of the novel,,,)

[sharper-than-a-serpents-tooth]

varkas disqualified himself as a ml to me the moment he was victim blaming talia for getting sexually harrassed because she dressed too sexy

[clio-mokona]

07/20 Alice Baskerville #Birthday

[clio-mokona]

07/20 Alyss The Will of the Abyss #Birthday

[sharper-than-a-serpents-tooth]

hello! I’m curious how you think Claude would react to Athy having a twin brother. Assuming Athy acts the same and eventually worms her way into Claude’s heart. I feel like if she was a male from the start, no amount of kindness could warm male!Athy up to Claude, but in this au she’s already softened his edges and has a twin. Would Claude just ignore the boy or would he try to be fatherly towards him for Athanasia sake? He’s a selfish bastard so I could see this going like LP version where Claude ignores his son in this case and treat Athy like he did Jeanette

By Claude's own admission he would not be able to love another unless "that child were to split into two", which is the closest one could come to with a twin AU. I find it interesting that it had to be literally spelled out in the narrative that Claude can only love a copy of someone he loved. Personally I'm not interested in AUs where Claude has another child besides Athy. I think he could love a twin of Athy, but he would show a clear preference for a daughter over a son. He's what one would call a girldad.

[sylver-drawer]

I talk about it in private, but I honestly would hardly believe Claude would even love an Athy clone tbh too despite his own claim

Recently reread some of the wmmap chapters releasing on webtoon, and the Athy-clone that Lucas makes in chapter ~42 is the closest we could get to an Athy twin. I got somewhat enamored because though she has the same appearance as Athy, she seems to differ in personality slightly (quiet—perhaps the nature of newly born clones, but a bit more cute/gentle sweet which contrasts Athy’s more playful demeanor).

Had Athy convinced Lucas to not do away with Athy-Clone and introduced her to Claude, I don’t think Claude would accept Athy-Clone weirdly. Claude seems to have this weird ability(?)/habit like Lucas where he can tell when someone isn’t a normal human/mixed with Mana (as, when he has a tea party with Jennette during the amnesia arc, he seems to refer to her as ‘it’ or ‘thing’ if memory serves) so he undoubtably would know that Athy-Clone is a mana creation. Just in that alone, I feel he would be at best, dismissive towards Clone-Athy. Even when Athy was younger, whenever Athy was quiet or showed fear or any sort of normal subdued emotion, Claude wouldn’t like it. Clone-Athy, the closest to being an Athy twin who seems to be just a quieter and less enthusiastic Athy, I don’t think he’d take too kindly. He would treat her like Raven/Blackie/Dusty, something to tolerate because Athy likes them but otherwise pays no real mind.

I also have thought about the novel and what if Lee Jihye had just brought LP Athy over to her world (since,,, she clearly wasn’t safe in LP nor is she treated very well by Claude + there is zero dimensional repercussions for meddling in other worlds seeing as LP Lucas is out here traveling to multiple worlds and apparently saving Diana in one,,,). Lee Jihye in her naivety and bias would believe her Claude would treat LP Athy kindly because he is kind to her. But the reality is that Claude wouldn’t accept nor love LP Athy for the aforementioned reasons above. Just as he says, “that child splits into two”, but he wouldn’t actually love that second child.

It’d be a crueler fate for LP Athy, because Claude would just as previously described, not be antagonistic or mistreat LP Athy (as LP Claude, contrary to some claims, is VERY antagonistic towards LP Athy) because she does share Lee Jihye’s face and is an alternative version of his daughter—but he would spare no warmth or personal attention. LP Athy would watch how even the kindest and closest version of Claude cannot love or be a father to her, watching how a more ‘enthusiastic’ and ‘brilliant’ version of her receives the love and affirmation she wanted, solidifying her internal self worth as someone who can never be loved, even in a world where Claude loves Athanasia.

[sylver-drawer]

Using coins and reading ahead on webtoon, but man,,, there’s ONE person in the comments who makes it a point to dog on and demonize Jen under nearly all of the future chapters she’s in sobs I’m so sick and tired