“So I had thought… that maybe there might have been love…” - Jeremy von Neuschwanstein
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Holy crap so Ive read all the A Stepmother Volumes I could find (5) and I have to say volume 3 and 4 HIT ME SO HARD. Especially Jeremy’s portions of internal thoughts. My poor Jer. He’s probably my favourite character in all of ASM in spite of all his flaws.
What I’m talking about is of course whenhe’s at the trial and they’re debating the legitimacy of Shuri’s marriage. And then one of those crusty old men just shouts “WELL? THEN WHY WERE YOU MARRIED IN THE FIRST PLACE?”
OF COURSE it’s Elias-lookalike Herman who knows the true true motive surrounding Ludovica, but Jer doesn’t know that.
For him it all clicks. That resentment he’s always carried for Shuri, that Johannes chose her over him, it should have been directed towards himself all along. He was incompetent, he could not have been trusted to carry on the family.
And all because of him, Shuri became a ‘ruined woman’.
Of course we know that Shuri doesn’t think this of her marriage (partly because she’s been conditioned into this accepting role. She carries with her an air of denial), but in that moment Jer has no way of knowing.
And it’s just so tragic when he realises that all this time he’s been living in his own ‘fairytale’ of sorts. One where Johannes married Shuri out of pure love, and stole him away from Jeremy. Where Jeremy was the victim. And the guilt he felt when he remembered not once did he consider Shuri’s feelings. How terrified she was when she had to shoulder this great responsibility, go out to be ridiculed by the nobles and returned to a house that carried nothing but vitriol for her.
And yet despite all his mistakes, she was doing everything she could to save him when he really did not even want to save himself.
It was definitely a necessary realisation in order for him to grow, but it just doesn’t diminish how heavy it feels to have it all fall on you in one moment. It made me feel awful for both Shuri and Jeremy.
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One thing I have to say is that I think Shuri has to address these demons from her first life. She’s moved on, but it feels to me like she’s moving on for the sake of staying strong for the family, not because she had acknowledged everything that’s happened to her. She seems to have some repressed trauma.
Aint no way Johannes was that nice. No one who marries a 14 year old who looks like their deceased crush is. Or maybe I’m just cynical, I don’t know.










