Hello! I am currently open for submissions! If you want to see a review of your favorite series send me a message! I love obscure things so don't worry about that. Any kind of media with a male yandere in it is valid!
What was it like to have no way out? Lots of modern women have asked themselves this question. Reading about possessive guys is all fun and games until you remember women were property once. This solemn story is about the quiet misery a "spoiled noble wife" experiences. Even when she is saved she isn't really. She doesn't know if she's receiving crushing love, or mere duty.
Jinya doesn't know her place sometimes. Sometimes, she has thoughts. Sometimes, she wishes being the wife of a powerful man wasn't such a stuffy existence.
Jinya has no friends, because that's normal.
She was married into her husband's family at the age of seven, and that's normal.
Her husband sent her away to live in an annex house until she became old enough to bear heirs, because that's normal.
If you read this review you have to say "hooray for feminism" after you finish.
Her first husband is a general. A man who could have become king. She lives a life of silk. A life the peasantry cannot even comprehend, but in exchange she must be chaste and quiet. No family secrets must leave her lips, and she must prepare to have many children. Her family branch has been struggling to produce heirs, and there is more pressure than ever on new wives.
Behold, the perfect match.
A hardworking husband with slightly hollow cheeks, and his young well bred wife. They live in a lovely home. They dress conservatively. The man of the house is a passionate leader of the people, and he's always on the front lines. He's something of a hero.
That young wife is struggling to get pregnant, but he doesn't blame her. He realizes the fertility issues plaguing his family are not her fault. How astute and forgiving! A man in need of an heir who treats his childless bride well. What a catch! Most men would blame that empty womb on the woman!
What a life...but it's chapter one and the story is a disgruntled subordinate killed him on the battlefield. A stab in the back.
The end.
Now his stupid little wife will inherit all his money.
Oh well, she's finally pregnant.
The child can be used to control her.
Or not.
You see the general recuited a very young boy. A talent found inside a dead battlefield. Woohee should be dead. Absolutely. 100%. The general found him in the thickest part of the battlefield. Where babies were abandoned to die. He was so young. So oddly sharp.
Capable of doing awful things to survive, as if it were only natural.
The general trained him up to be an assassin, and he didn't blink when the boy became Jinya's first friend.
Why would he care?
The boy isn't a real boy.
Just a servant, with a creepy lack of empathy to boot.
The astute general is genuinely shocked when he finally realizes there is an issue. By the age of 12 it's clear. His pet killer has a crush on his wife. As always he was astute. He slowly made plans to rid himself of the smitten young boy.
Not a moment too soon too, because Yeon Woohee does it. He asks Jinya to run away with him, and she refuses. She isn't trained for life on the run. She didn't know about his feelings. They both know she secretly hates her family, but she stays.
Woohee is full of talent, so the ambitious young king doesn't say no when the general offers him up.
This is the only stronger chain. The one man above the rank of general.
The king briefly wonders what the army hero is so afraid of, but he accepts the gift.
Yeon Woohee takes Jinya's rejection and he tosses it out the window. Her refusal has only bought her time. Yeon Woohee quickly becomes one of the kings aides, and the reward he wants is the house that hid his woman from him.
Plus the woman obviously.
It is a grim and stressful remarriage. Yeon Woohee has absolutely no talent for romance. In the beginning you doubt if he loves the wife he won at all. He is eager to desecrate and destroy every memory she had with her first husband.
He doesn't even care if the child in her belly isn't his. She can use the boy to control her relatives if she likes. She can be a political player. She can be lazy. He loves to give her options and she's afraid of all of them.
In some ways he's like every other man, but he's excessively generous and he encourages her....wrongness.
He wants her to admit she hates her family, and he wants to put his assassin skills to use.
Sometimes he brings her gifts and he's shocked when she's horrified.
He's not a jewelry giving kind of man.
I think it's nice that you can tell they've been friends for a long time. Jinya feels like a sinner for immediately clinging to her only friend after losing her husband. She's also mad she was forced into a remarriage over money and politics. She also hates how money and politics both control her.
Being with Yeon Woohee used to relax her, and now she has to deal with new feelings.
Specifically, a new dynamic.
Jinya used to be in charge. Yeon Woohee was a mere sword.
Now that he's the man of the house he's in charge, and it makes her so uncomfortable you can see it when they're intimate.
His flippant attitude around death doesn't help either. Yeon Woohee is downright Gothic. He wants everything burned with the old husband. Out with the old. In with the new.
Let's kiss in front of his grave.
It's intense.
The killing comes hard and fast.
It really does feel like....noble life sucks?
Listen, the hints we get about peasant life super suck.
That doesn't mean the constant war and assassinations and fighting over baby heir mess is a picnic.
The baby, a boy heir, comes into play pretty quick. Jinya loves being a mother pretty much instantly, but birthing a high ranking future man is akin to shooting yourself in the leg here. Jinya can scarcely leave the nursery without getting a "visitor" who is only interested in her child.
Yeon Woohee isn't. He is a helpful and dutiful parent. Not a doting one. He's there when it counts though, and that is why Jinya decides to live as if the boy is his son.
Sure, the boy looks more like the general. Sure the timeline makes things even more...uncertain, but Jinya isn't uncertain.
She can trust him to be there for the child.
Does she trust his love at this point?
Absolutely not, and she shouldn't.
A love this bloody deserves her scrutiny and doubt.
I deleted my level 75 account. The app barely fits on my phone. I have to run it on the lowest picture quality. The free Valko event cards I was looking forward to aren't coming. I actually really like the Home function. It's a vibe, but the devs are simply too stingy and mired in drama to provide a good gaming experience.
***the political stuff isn't their fault. The bad experience for me (the customer) 100% is.
I acknowledge that this isn't just drama. The police are now involved due to harassment from fans, but the lads team should have thought ahead more. China has been hostile towards a wide variety of gaming companies. A sensual otome game company is an even bigger target. They should have moved their headquarters ages ago to avoid the CPP's growing hatred for women's romance media. Male actors are REQUIRED to present as traditionally masculine on TV. The writing was on the wall. Infold's inability to think ahead and deal with their fan base was their real downfall.
That subtle horror in that line alone hits hard. I love the concept of a failed yandere. A love lost in obsession. A love so selfish that the giver cannot see how poisoned it is, and such "love" is often unfixable. In this our perfect doll finds better. She moves on and far away.
Rebecca is not from some grand family. She is not special nor magical. She was, however, the most beautiful debutant at the age of 17.
Her mother knew from the start.
The great Count Devonshine was far and above her daughter. He had no reason to want her. It was suspicious. Originally, the matriarch stepped in and rejected the proposal. Then later on their business failed and the generous Count offered help.
She knew, but her daughter was in love. She wanted to believe that it wasn't all desire to posses. That her daughter's happiness was real, and a little ruthlessness is normal for a noble man.
They marry, and everyone who ever truly loved beautiful Rebecca regretted that day.
A doll.
That is what she became that day. Trophy wife does not encompass how tightly controlled she is. Count Devonshine picks her outfit every day. He bribed her "low class" friends to stay away from her. He used money to keep her family completely underneath his heel, so no one would dare tell her a bad thing about him. He only ever punished his wife when she tarnished her own perfection. By dancing with other men at balls...or looking at them too long. Crimes like that.
He loves art. He has a locket with her photo in it. He fell for her at first sight. Everyone knows of his intense and crushing love, and some other noble men even understand it. After all, Rebecca is so beautiful. It would be a shame if she ran off with another man, or got led astray by some charlatan. Beautiful women need to be protected.
Don't they?
The Count plans out everything, from her skincare routine to her diet.
Truly, there as no one as devoted as him.
He is so enamored that he is willing to take a second wife. He would never, ever divorce his perfect wife. Rebecca is his first wife. Not some concubine or the second or the third. In his perfect vision she is there. Even if she is infertile it's fine. Even if her body is too thin to produce an heir it's alright. She's perfect anyways and he can always take on a window dressing second wife.
Rebecca watches on in horror as the young second wife steals her child.
She fled the mansion. She planned to live as a simple bar keeper with her child, but he found her.
If she won't love him fine. He'll make the child she tried so hard to hide love him.
Rebecca has gotten old anyways.
She's no longer perfect.
He burns her alive for leaving him anyway.
When Rebecca reincarnates it's just in time for wedding number two. Rebecca obediently watches the Count marry his common lover for breeding purposes.
He instructs her how to smile properly before the procession begins.
Rebecca makes a heartbreaking choice. She will never see the child she had with him again. Her beloved child shall never be born into this life. No, she must dedicate this life to revenge.
The little commoner rose up. From pitiful discarded fling to maid. Then all the way to second wife. Rebecca didn't see it coming in her first run because she was so desperately lonely. Now, things are different.
She likes her former enemy.
She is curious.
She wonders what would drive a woman to want to sneak in so badly, when the Count is so...strict.
That second wife shares a deep truth. Pretty commoner girls do not go a day without being harassed. Being slapped around occasionally by a rich man, while you sleep in a plush mansion, is very preferable. It can be love if you try, and if you're used to worse treatment it's a dream.
Rebecca does not try to save the second wife, but she understands.
She truthfully says she's planning on leaving, and her place is free to take.
Duke Johannes saves her from a sad future solely dedicated to revenge. Rebecca needs to divorce her obsessed husband to make his misery begin, so she picks a fake husband. A classic contract marriage candidate. A guy with a curse.
He says yes, but instead of intrigue and blood her future grows brighter.
Her family reaches out to her. She decides to try and forgive them. The Duke's curse and his magical bloodline issues are....kind of silly. A breath of cat? themed fresh air compared to the Counts stuffy obsession with observation.
He falls first and she becomes happier until all is lost.
She will ruin her first husband, but her second life doesn't have to be fake.
Being with him makes her feel like she's allowed to move on.
Also lesbian secret assassin jumpscare? Ok, it's just implied but Kanna is way TOO loyal. There's even a long speech near the end of the story, where Kanna finally "accepts" that the Duke belongs with Rebecca. His kindness wins her over too, despite her broken heart.
(It is all implied but hey. It's there.)
She won him over by patting his head. Her evil plans aren't the first or tenth thing he likes about her. Women who go through bad experiences are allowed to go back to the soft life they miss. Rebecca doesn't have to become a sword master or a magician to earn her freedom. She has to commit to leaving behind a life she used to desperately want, and I think that's a lesson lots of people need to learn.
..
....
.....
(Personal endnote. I decided to review this because a family member recently told me I have gotten fat. Not "you've gained weight" or "you look healthy" but fat. This is someone that has previously been nothing but nice to me my whole life. It really made me look back. I've been doing these reviews for a long time. I'm actually getting older for real now. I'm not overworked and desperately saving money any more. I have my own kitchen. I love going to cafes. I have the kind of cheesy romance Rebecca and the Duke share. I have my own money and home with no bad debt. No one tells me how skinny I am when they first meet me anymore. I hate to admit I miss that. Maybe I was sick the whole time. I was definitely overworked and I often skipped meals. I thought it was a virtue. To have water with dinner to save money and the "empty calories". Maybe this particular story reminds me of growing up. Maybe you'll know what I mean when you read it. Pretty girls aren't your enemy. Bad boys aren't your friend, and being perfect isn't real.)
I beg my kidnappers for a phone, swearing not to make any calls or texts, and they stare over my shoulder, holding a gun to my head as I use my newly-freed hand to post, "So do like, dudes just buy ropes and baklavas from the same store or what lmfao like a specialty Crime Store"
One of the kidnappers says "balaclavas" but it's muffled under the fabric. I ask them to repeat and they do, their voice raspy from disuse. "You wrote baklava, that's a pastry." The other kidnapper goes "stfu" and then after a pause goes "Why would you buy from a crime store"
I didn't wanna say this but now that someone's left this kind of comment I have to be honest: Everyone else's tags are funny but this is the only person who understood my vision for this scenario
First of all I'm biased towards this author. I really like some of their other work. Demons and contacts are a familiar concept. A vengeful woman even more so. A demon and a human that just cannot understand one another? Familiar AND tragic. This one isn't as unique as my favorite by this author, but it holds up and it's good for scary yandere fans.
A demon and an unwanted princess.
How cliche.
Estelle is the real, rightful princess!!!!!!
Kinda.
Her mother was the Emperor's most favorite concubine before her death, but that concubine refused his love. The entire empire knew his beloved as his prisoner, not his lover. Out of bitterness the Emperor treats Estelle like air. After all, she's just a reminder of his biggest failure. His wasted attempt to conquer someone who saw his true, disgusting self. The very man that randomly slept with brides that belonged to other men, simply out of boredom.
How dare she point at the ugliness behind the crown.
Her daughter shall suffer.
That's what the new Empress thinks too.
The Empress totally isn't overcompensating because her son, The first prince, is in love with his sister. Estelle.
Ew.
His fiance is a poor copy of her.
Ew.
He spent his spoiled childhood whipping her and locking her in closets when she didn't suck up to him.
Ew.
He is also NOT the true blood prince. The Empress sired him with her lover, on purpose. Shocker she hates the Emperor too. Everyone hates everyone.
Does that mean Estelle is just as gross as her family?
I mean she's definitely mentally iffy. She considered an early death, but her "imagination" saved her. Yes, Estelle had an imaginary friend. A beautiful "angel" who listened to her dreams. They read thousands of books together. The unwanted princess has spent most of her days hiding in there, indulging in fantasy and avoiding her "family".
One day she forgot about her angel, because he was a mere imaginary toy.
She had to grow up.
She had no choice.
Rumors of her madness had spread through the land, and if she continued to read forever well...it would have been the madhouse or convent for her.
She had no choice.
As an adult things are much, much worse. Even in unfit gowns her beauty is obvious. Her "brother" grows worse by the day, oh and yeah right her blood has special healing powers. Thanks to her mom, who was the last of some magical royal line.
If that particular secret comes out she'll be used as a blood bag for the Emperor's vitality.
Ew.
So, she decides to offer her special blood to the ice castle in the sky.
It only appears once a year. The great blue demon, who turned the north into a lush land on a whim, lives there.
She doesn't recognize him. Her horrible life has drained her childhood joy away.
Her wish is simple. You may eat my delicious body and soul, mixed with two rare bloodlines, in exchange for the throne.
-No shortcuts. Slowly lead me and cause the destruction of my family. I want it to happen slowly, and I also want to help the poor while I'm at it. I feel a little guilty about royal corruption too, as well as my own abuse.-
She basically repeats this about a hundred times, which feels unnecessary for such a simple set up.
It's all just a game for Mr. Angel, or Sateal, who is actually the oldest devil alive. He is in fact so old that most of his memories mean nothing to him. He only remembers snippets, and he's been sleeping for the past few centuries. He sometimes remembers to wake up and check on the imperial family, because their ancestor is the one that cleverly convinced him to make a new lush continent.
They're boring now though.
An average corrupt rich bunch.
He meets Estelle by accident, and he plans to eat her at first. He wasn't her imaginary pal. She made a deal with him.
Be my guardian angel.
He agreed.
He saved her from her brother a few times.
He enjoyed her company.
Slight problem. She isn't dead. He hasn't eaten her yet, and the Empress thing is a SECOND contract. Hmm.
Why didn't he eat her before?
Why is he hurt by her forgetting him?
Hmm.
The side characters hint at his madness first.
One tastes Estelle's blood, and from that taste Sateal's feelings seep through. Which, in turn, makes the affected demon completely obsessed with her.
Just a drop, and she's all he can see.
Wow.
The blue demon must have some pretty strong feelings then.
It becomes...claustrophobic?
They become intimate. She doesn't think she loves him. She's afraid of dying. Of letting her revenge hurt her citizens.
It's so, so clear that Sateal doesn't care about that.
It means her uncomfortable.
Anyway she ends up in the blue ice castle, under mind control for a while.
I do like it when stakes go up. When things keep escalating. Sateal doesn't turn into a nice guy. He's unpleasant to be around and mind control is always a dicey subject. He takes her entire country hostage. I'm sure it'll get bloody too.
A woman blinded by vengeance! That's what we usually get, but not this time. Our ice princess is on her way to becoming an icy Empress. Half the time it's hard to tell if her potential Emperor even loves her. His violent shows of favor could be mostly politics, because she is his perfect bride. If so that's alright. Love will never be her main goal.
Medea fell madly in love...with the second prince. She gave him everything. Land. Her army. Her holy magical philosopher stone treasure. The use of her royal seal. Two healthy children. All of her money. She became an assassin. A hunter. A woman beyond peer. All for the man she loved and her children.
Alas, it was never enough. Her beloved second prince would have never become Emperor without her, but he gets rid of her anyways. Her devotion and perfection infringed on his little ego, and he's actually been waiting for a chance to be rid of her....and his two children. For years.
Her love cost her everything while he took every benefit, and here is the result.
An Emperor with the power to throw her away.
Time turns back because our princess was a fool. Beloved by her brother. Given an unlimited party budget during wartime. Her cousin happily invited her out to plays while the veterans were starving and turning into rebels. She had no idea. Everyone hated her except her beloved family...and her new fiance. That's why she gave him everything. She thought she was some unwanted black sheep. Totally unaware of the fact that her uncle and cousin had destroyed her reputation on purpose.
The holy stone gives her one last chance.
It's nice to see this story delve deep into what being an "innocent princess" really means. It means you're a bad negotiator. It means you're easy to take advantage of. Your precious innocence can cost people their lives. Medea's brother is definitely at fault for sheltering her in her first life, but he was afraid with good intentions. Their parents get assassinated in both timelines. Being a good king sucks almost as hard as being an innocent princess. It's good that the new version of Medea is very motivated. Side characters like her nanny's daughter straight up no longer matter to her. She stops letting people take advantage of her because it's the REAL right thing to do. Sucking up to her friends, family and fiance got her nowhere in life.
Her spoiled old pal doesn't see the blade coming.
Instead, Medea prioritizes her allies. She embraces life as a politician during wartime. No one ever respected her in her previous life, but now she has all the training and insider information needed to succeed. She saves her knight first and foremost. She was so depressed and useless before that.....well her loyal protectors died to sheild their useless innocent princess.
She won't let that happen again.
Medea then wins her grandmother's favor back, but their familial closeness never returns. Uncle tricked grandmother into believing that princess Medea is a lush, stupid, irresponsible princess. All by simply pinning all the party and shopping bills under her name. In the end Medea receives an unbreakable steel fan weapon from grandmother, and the woman is clearly wrecked by guilt, but its not enough.
Medea accepts grandmother as another ally, but they barely speak.
The real prince and the second prince. It was a miracle that Medea's loser ex won anything last time. It was all her doing. She thought her man was so great, but she was so blind. Her ex-husband was never a match for the First Prince.
He only won the throne because a petrification curse froze the competition, and he tricked an excellent wife into slaving away for him.
Medea often feels...numb. Overwhelmed by the loss of children that were never real. The loss of her own childhood, and the guilt that comes with accidentally starving thousands of war veterans. She can see the other royals of the realm as they are now. Opulent scum who don't know their true role. Which is to die and fight on the battlefield for the glory of their citizens. In this setting most royal children learn magic or aura sword skills. Medea was a spoiled exception. She is disgusted by how snooty the other royals act, because she knows exactly what happens to pretty princesses that don't serve the people.
She proves that she means it. That her body and soul belongs to a real princess. She duels with another snotty princess. Not for her own glory, but for war supplies. Her army is in need. Her nation is small. Her brother is away on the war front as he should be. Feeding the troops is of much higher priority than anything.
Yes...even her revenge and her life.
This direction muddies the water a bit. I didn't think all of the royal families were war dogs, but that seems to be the case.
Does the cursed first prince destroy for her sake? Out of interest in her, or because of their shared values? I'm not sure, but the flag of the enemy army is no normal engagement gift. Dueling to the death for your honor isn't either.
Maybe this isn't quite yandere, but a violent kind of political love that I just don't understand. Every day is a battle for these characters, stuffed with drama, and just reading it made me tired.
The gods are benevolent, but they are playing games. It's up to our "Fake Saint" protagonist to translate their will and gradually slide into becoming the real deal. Her harem of scary men is actually a necessity. Without obsessed and devoted allies she is doomed. Godly conspiracy ahoy!
Is it just a book?
Is it just a game?
Who knows?
Saint Ariel is a reincarnated soul from another world, chosen for this position. Originally Ariel was meant to be an immature fake. The real Saintess is beautiful and wise. Not an immature kid with a crush on the prince.
The new soul is left believing she is insignificant, so she tries to save money and flee from her destiny.
It doesn't feel too forced. New Ariel is just a lost soul in the beginning. She has no reason to want to be a Saint. She is a stern and calculating person, and she tends to cling to simplistic goals. She believes she must sneak around to live.....even after the gods start speaking to her via floating messages daily.
This is the prince everybody thinks she's madly in love with.
He's actually a pretty cruel heartbreaker, and the mid-story villain is a woman he rejected.
That's pretty good, but I just can't look past the "romance".
Ariel has little to no romantic chemistry with any of her men for the first eighty chapters.
This is the son of the previous Saint. He's usually pretty emotionless, but he knows being important is a political headache. So, he occasionally pops in to help Ariel and take her out on dates.
Ariel stays suspicious of everybody for the entire first season. She's not bad, but she complains too much. Even when the male leads are being sincere it doesn't reach her, and I think it's supposed to be funny?
It just makes the plot too slow.
Even the secret demon guy love interest isn't all that interesting. I appreciate how he's actually important to the plot. He's not just hot, but he's not trustworthy either.
Ariel only trusts Daisy. Her closest Priestess. Daisy is kinda the main reason why Ariel accepts her destiny as a Saint. All of her men are great strategic allies and they're strong but I swear....there's so many cute scenes with Daisy I thought maybe...
Yuri route?
I mean seriously this is how she reacts when Daisy is in danger.
Like.
Ok.
The pope is a yandere and he's not a bad one. He's also not a bad choice. He constantly prays to his patron God for strength...so he can fight against his "evil and selfish" feelings for his master.
He's extremely useful too.
I'd say the Saint's son guy is the least useful.
Prince guy is solidly in the middle.
Demon guy might not be entirely hers.
It's not a bad set up.
I also love how violent the story gets.
This is the "real" Saint.
Another fake Saint straight up dies within a few chapters. There are actual stakes and things to worry about.
Ariel may be the most talented Saintess ever, but that doesn’t mean her life is easy.
I do think the post that's like "when they torture you to insanity and then torture you for being insane 😂🤣" is one of the most succinct and foundational analyses of interpersonal violence and conflict that had ever been written
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