#manniversary 2020

[redglassesgirl-maruma]

I did my best but it’s been so long since I drew them that they look kind of weird orz

❤ ❤ ❤  Happy Anniversary!  ❤ ❤ ❤ 

[chiwanzijun]

Lord von Bielefeld, who passed him as he left, frowned and followed Saralegui with his gaze. He looks like he wants to ask why he's in such high spirits at the start of such a serious voyage.

“Günter asked me to give this jacket to you. It might not fit too well, though.”

Wolfram is also still wearing a kitchen apprentice’s clothes, but there’s a thick OFF-WHITE jacket hanging on his arm. Be it the sleeves, the hems, or the decorations, everything is supersized.

“Oh, that's alright. Just now Saralegui lent me his cloak. Besides our heights aren’t that different so the size should be a better fit than Günter’s clothes… Wanna see?”

Wolfram spreads the cloak out and scrutinizes it closely, even bringing it to his nose like a little rabbit sniffing at the fabric.

“Hmm.”

“Wolf… What are you sniffing it for? Saralegui did take a bath.”

“I'll use this one.”

“Eh, why? He purposely lent this to me, you know?”

I look the third son from top to bottom. He has smooth cheeks that have never gotten tan and EMERALD GREEN eyes that remind me of the bottom of a lake. Compared to me, who's constantly outdoors practicing, his skin is so white it looks like it can’t bear direct sunlight.

“… On second thought, it might be better if you wear it. Alright, yeah, you take it. I don't mind if I get more tanned.” 

Because he's so fair, I ask him to wear the hood too and I pull it up until his blonde hair is hidden. Now he looks just like a light blue weather doll, and I can’t help but laugh with a ‘pfffft’.

“What? What are you laughing at, Yuuri?”

“Because you’re super cute-… No, I mean, it feels like the weather will be on our side. If we hang you from the mast, the entire journey might be sunny.”

“You want to use me as a live sacrifice to pray for a safe voyage?!”

“Not a live sacrifice, weather dolls aren’t live sacrifices!”

episode from MaruMA:Volume09:Chapter 9

======

I drew this picture in September when I just started learning HOW TO DRAW, and I can't help but thinking about this scene. However, uh... I've drawn Wolfie(I learnt the nickname from @marumafan 's article, it's sooooooooooooo cute to call Wolf as Wolfie!!!) in the WRONG clothing!!! Cuz he was actually wearing a kitchen apprentices clothes... Whatever... God bless me... OTL

So, why could Yuuri get an imagination that Wolfie = THE WHETHER DOLL!!! He's really a genius!! If I were him, I wouldn't do such a good job. And he was so sweet to help Wolfie hide his hair! Yurri Lovely guy~ XD

[mahorosaber]

Haha~it was draw by my friend chiwanzijun! @chiwanzijun

She is a little shy about posting this picture, so I do it. XD

[hiirolangley]

Maruma ramblings

This week's MAnniversary assignment is supposed to be choose your favorite scene and analyze it, but there are too many scenes to pick a favorite so I just chose random sections I like.  Super long so under a cut~

First up is the cliff scene!  This one is amazing in several ways, but I feel like the most overlooked part is when Yuuri is afraid that he'll pull Wolfram down off the cliff with him and IS STARTING TO TELL WOLF TO DROP HIM.  Hardly anyone talks about that!  I think it gets overshadowed by Wolf cutting him off with his famous line of "If that happens, I'll fall with you."

ALSO, a little bit after this scene when the gang gets back to Caloria is the last time Yuuri ever tries the "but we're both boys!" line (that I have noticed).  This whole section is also a defining moment in the story because Wolfram goes through a rapid change with Conrad's 'death' and Yuuri notices.  There's actually an excellent mirroring of novel 2's pirate attack in novel 7 where Wolfram is stepping up to take Conrad's place.

Novel 2 = On a ship, Conrad hides Wolf and Yuuri while he goes off with Josak to fight on the deck. Novel 7 = On a ship, Wolf hides Murata and Yuuri while he goes off with Josak to a possible fight on the deck.

More thoughts on Wolf stepping up to the plate later...  but I noticed that Yuuri's complaints of "we're both boys" is now replaced with "Wolf is starting to remind me of Gwen and being adult-y, holy crap I'm gonna get left behind."

Backtracking to another part I liked: Yuuri running off in Hildyard and Wolfram finding him in Luis Biron's office and promptly starting to strangle him.  It's not really because the comedic value or any Yuuram, but because he says, “Do you have any idea how much Conrart lectured me because of this!?”  I like this because Wolfram is accidentally revealing that he cares what Conrad thinks - or at least that's my opinion~  Wolfram's not yelling that Yuuri took a stroll at night with his would-be assassin and could have gotten hurt, he's saying 'Conrad yelled at me!' (and also how dare you go to the red-light district XD)  There had been instances before where Wolfram reached across the gap a little like when he asked Conrad about Julia, but I really liked this one.  I guess you can say that Wolf complained about that because he was mad Conrad dared to lecture him, but I really think it's because Wolfram was starting to warm up to Conrad again so when Conrad lectured him, it was doubly embarrassing.

Honestly, this entire angle where the two brothers have been responsible for Yuuri's safety up until this point with Conrad carrying most of the weight and coming to Wolf's rescue as well would have made an excellent setup for later novels if Sensei hadn't been bullied into resurrecting Conrad from the dead.  It was perfect.  Wolfram - childish, jealous, and acting like a spoiled brat - suddenly gets all the responsibility of keeping Yuuri alive dumped in his lap and has to instantly grow up all while having to deal with the grief of losing his brother he's been treating like shit for decades?  That had so much potential and it was kinda going in that direction before Conrad magically appeared again.  Not that I'm super disappointed (because Conrad needs a break, omg), but it is a little disappointing to see a great setup get dropped.

Back to the Yuuram!  The arrow scene!  The one Sara stole from Wolfram in the anime!  I like this scene for the obvious reasons, but it also revealed something to me I completely overlooked about Wolfram which I fricking fell in love with.  When Wolf gets up again after getting shot and sees that Yuuri is in Uesama-mode, he says, “Snap out of it, Yuuri! Turn back into a rookie!” and is talking to him like he would normally talk with him...  which made me pause because at this point we know this isn't Yuuri, this is another personality from a past life taking over his brain for a moment.  Curious and with a suspicion forming in my brain, I started skimming Wolfram's other comments about Uesama-mode and found this gem in novel 8:

"I’m worried about him being totally exhausted after he collapses, but he’s somehow worked things out with that condition so far."  

My suspicion growing at an exponential rate, I checked the original Japanese text and saw this gem of a word: 症状/shoujou.  The word for condition for an ILLNESS.  Wolf doesn't know about the past-lives coming through the crack in Yuuri's soul.  Wolfram thinks Yuuri has some kind of dissociative identity disorder and he is totally cool with it.  He loves him anyway.  Warms my black, icy heart~  I was living in Japan when this book was published.  Mental illness was not accepted, like, at all.  If you had one, you were weak and an embarrassment.  It's only marginally better 17 years later.  But sensei just casually put this into her story and I AM HERE FOR THAT!!

ANYWAY, it's 5am and I need to stop XD

[royal-couplecats]

For me, the sweetest and most touching scene in the manga is when Yuri was able to free Wolf from the box by acknowledging their relationship in Chapter 108.

“Your world will be better if I don’t return."

"It's true. But without you it will no longer be my world ..."

[arius-starwalker-1412]

How the Royal Couple came to be-

Since I really didn't have anything to share yet (cause my fic is making me sweat buckets) so I thought I could share this awesome part of how our Royal Couple were engaged. It is so amazingly written that every line makes me laugh and hold a different emotion.

You feel it more once you thoroughly know all the novel characters, or have travelled with them through some part of the 17 volume long adventure. It is a wonderful and tender feeling, when you know how they'd grow from this point on. And develop because of a misunderstanding of all things!All you need is a quick read of chapter 4 of volume 1 and you find so much.

Conrart's years of wait and his mission when he assures Wolfram that he can never mistake Yuuri.

Gwendal's years of dedication and calm care when he accepts Yuuri but had increased frown lines when he concluded that Yuuri didn't want to be a Maou- knowing him it was probably his way of taking care of him, probably indirectly saying "You don't need to burden yourself with something you don't want to do".

We also see Wolfram's judgement, as even though he was annoyed but he had his reasons because he didn't want to witness this country go through another war. All he wanted was a ruler who loved this country and he'd serve him gladly. Thankfully he did get one.

We see the forshadowing of Julia's soul when Yuuri mentions he can always know when Conrart is smiling.

We see a Günter in the initial stage of becoming Heika fanatic and spilling juices all around.

We see Cecilie's love for her children, and her husbands. Their unique but endearing mother-son bond.

We see the acceptance of homosexuality as another form of love. Because, love is free to pursue!- in Lady Cheri's words.

We also witness Shin Makoku's culture, it's delicacies and know how different it is just as much as it is similar. (Admit it, we are all secretly glad for Yuuri's clumsiness- and him not wanting to punch the beautiful face🤣)

All of this woven humorously, just like how Takabayashi-sensei does. And, I realise, yet again, just how much this novel means to me.

[sketcherin]

I've wanted to describe so many scenes, but when I statred writing, it was more like fawning rather than analysing. And while writing I accidentally deleted 70% of the work... I decided to take it as a sign. So I went to the very beginning and starting thinking over each scene, one by one.

And, surprising myself, I picked the battle scene.

First fight of the royal couple really :) but not really... They were accidentally engaged. And sorta... Kinda... Hated each other... Though not really.

At least Yuuri was reasonable, not blowing it out of proportion...

But maybe Wolfram didn't also?

We're shown all the events from Yuuri's perspective, and hear only what he hears and thinks about each situation ( I found it adorable how he was watching the fidgeting blonde from the beginning of the dinner. And Wolf was so ruffled - cute >\\\< )

The episode in itself for shounen is nothing new, very mild even, but I think that many of you wondered about the sudden change of heart in Wolfram after the duel.

So here are the solid facts:

Wolf wanted his brother to be the king

He was effected by Cherie's special shampoo

The slaproposal was a humiliation for him

He never accepted his defeat fully, unlike his status of a fiancée.

The rest will be my thoughts anf ideas.

So please bear with me this while, I'll theorise about Wolfram's motives and reasons.

If Wolfram was a normal hot tempered human, he'd initiate the duel without the magic shampoo's encouragement.

But he's an 82 year old mazoku, even Gwendal comments on how unexpected it was.

Thus we may conclude that the fire mazoku is not as fiery as he's seen through Yuuri's eyes.

Add to that how Yuuri's strategy to aggravate him failed.

Add to that Conrad's comment and we get an angry, reluctant, but faithful ally, as long as the King strives for the nation's wellness.

But does Yuuri?

That is the main problem.

Not only the comment about appearance and intelligence. Plus, he's a stranger, a foreigner. As Wolfram sees, Yuuri is not even one tenth as devoted to the kingdom as his Brother.

In Yuuri's defence it's understandable why he doesn't jump in joy at the thought of becoming a demon, humans' enemy, much less a demon king. He'd rather bail out, but as he doesn't know how to, he's also scared of the Shinou's punishment.

Wolfram is too. But here's the lucky chance - the duel. Yuuri accepted it, so he can get rid of him. A king that lost - even Shinou should want to rethink his choice. He'll reject the proposal, and Gwendal will become a king. Perfect.

He agrees to the unfamiliar challenge. Well, this shows he's not very bright: he should have at least asked for demonstration. At least when Yuuri commented on how Wolfram wouldn't understand the rules anyway. Or maybe it's just his arrogance and pride, as he still expects to win.

He is in the right.

And the imposter is not even taking the deal seriously.

Whatever the cost - he must cut him down.

But he looses each challenge. At first - by surprise, at second - by his mistake (note how Yuuri reads him), at third - by the opponent's sheer power. 

And first thing he tells Yuuri after everything is settled and maybe apologies are in order, is:

"It's not over yet!"

And

"You did a little bit, but being in that much of a trance is disgraceful. You have a long way to go to become the Maoh."

All the while avoiding to look him in the eyes.

He praises Yuuri.

He points out his flaws - to work on, on the way to become the Maoh.

Yuuri doesn't notice that he is being accepted and he doesn't understand why the other boy suddenly starts fussing over him. Well, he's sixteen, perfectly forgivable. And confused, and doesn't really remember what happened or what he said.

Wolfram was scolded by the Maoh, by his mother and maybe by his elder brother too. He's in Yuuri's room, waiting for him to wake up for days. Maybe as punishment, maybe out of free will. He had a lot of time to contemplate, standing at the doors and watching the outworlder sleep. 

He was ready to be killed, but was spared, because "even Gods have mercy". So this person had really been chosen by Shinou. And true - Wolfram deserves the death penalty for defying him so strongly. If Maoh hadn't said those last words, he might have been waiting for execution in the dungeons by now. Yet he is free and has to "change his ways". As if it's such an easy task. But he will obey. Be it his idea of ammence, or is there a prickle of an unfamiliar feeling? He accepts it. Of course, he won't suddenly become Conrad, that Yuuri seems so fond of, but he tries. After all he now accepts this newbie, and is determined to do all he can to support him.

PS. 

"Why should I have to apologize to you?"

"Because you just changed the rules however you wanted, and used magic that I didn't know... Ah... yet..."

I finally remembered that he was defeated. At any rate I can only remember the climax well. Perhaps I hadn't been defeated, and when Gunter said I hadn't gone down it wasn't to comfort me.

"That's enough, it's a draw, a draw. Even if it's just a draw it's well-done."

"A draw?! My victory is taking a battle to the end! But, I won't be ashamed. Who was the victor was known beforehand. If I can be knocked down by the likes of you, I can't stand the thought of myself as one of the ten nobles"

There was once a poem, where the poetess desribed the special feeling as not knowing which has won and which was won over. That special feeling starting with letter "L" ;) Wolfram and Yuuri are not clear on that either.

Oh, let's go back to the banquet scene for a bit! Like PS2! PSS )

So, Wolf was effected by shampoo drag, Gunter too, Cherie must have been (if she's not immune) and Gwendal, right?

Gwen likes cute things.

And dislikes "that", that came as a chosen one.

So maybe the two feelings cancelled each other out? Because otherwise, why was he so unaffected?

Or maybe because the smell's range is short?

And also - it's the shampoo's smell that effects mazoku. Meaning, that the smell might be coming from Yuuri, but it's the shampoo not Yuuri himself. And Wolfram is sitting next to him, thus he is over-affectionate towards mother and brother too. And to the not brother as well, with the negative multiplication. Which establishes how Yuuri perceives him.

Oh, Lady Cecilia, just how much harder you made it for the two to develop their chemistry? But maybe this actually surved as an accelerator?

[maru-maru]

The original one. I like both 😄