does the depiction of the empress from How to Win My Husband Over ever feel weird to you? i mean, her, her daughter and Cesare are the only dark-skinned people in the manhwa, there might be a dark-skinned knight in Izek's group as well - they are all either villains or people who practically worship the main characters. i don't even see why her character, heavily implied to be a romani slave at first, was really needed. it's not like she had a son/they live in a matriarchial society where women get the throne
Thank you Anon for this ask! And yes, I really think it's weird and will use this post to LOUDLY voice out how I'm heavily against this element of How to Get My Husband on My Side.
I think it's a good time to mention on how i think it's pretty fucking weird that the two villains/antagonists we have are dark skinned especially considering the time era we are basing this off (the renaissance) but i think i'm gonna only talk abt the Queen and her daughter, Arianne (Cesare is a whole can of worms i will open in another day)
SPOILERS FOR HOW TO GET MY HUSBAND ON MY SIDE (MANHWA AND NOVEL)
It's heavily implied that she's Romani/or an ethnic group based of the romani (and if i remember properly was mentioned that she was from a nomadic tribe) considering how one of her scenes in the manhwa have her wearing romani culture inspired clothing
(As for her dancer attire, I cannot provide a stance on it because I don't have much knowledge in their cultural dances, I'll just leave this part for someone who's more acknowledgable in this field to add in)
Now I personally think that the Queen and Arianne are horribly demonized and dehumanized by both the narrative and the fandom on its whole.
Also i think it's fucking insane that the Queen was never named throughout the entirety of the story but her bum ass husband was.
Like if I were to say something, it's easy to say that a lot of people within this fandom jump on the train to hate on a character without properly dissecting their writing and motivations (i vaguely remember during the hype for HTGMHOMS, the fans were using racial motivated wording when it comes to insulting the Queen because she's the one who poisoned Enzo in order to bring Ruby over back to Cesare's side)
Now here we're going to novel spoilers, quick disclaimer that I haven't read the novel nor do I plan to because I am a PROUD Spice&Kitty hater but do take my words with a grain of salt and I am happy to accommodate and edit my post when new accurate spoilers surface but this is based off what i've heard in passing.
I find it fucking insane that Arianne was exiled.
Apparently in the novel, after this entire ordeal, the Queen was executed or punished at least(?) And King Faenol out of guilt and shame of what his ex wife has done decided then and there to EXILE his only daughter and strip of her titles before naming Iske his heir (who later on becomes king)
It's crazy how little grace they were given by the author the moment the Queen finished her part in the story of conveniently knowing magic to bring Ruby over to Cesare.
Like i personally thought when I read this, I thought that it just made it seem like the author decided that Arianne was simply an obstacle in the way of Iske and Ruby's happiness instead of a child who was trapped in the crossfires and oppressed by the people around her due to her ethnic features standing out.
The fact that the author made this entire build up on how Arianne was a lonely child due to everyone around her seeing her as a misfit and the stain to the Royal lineage just because her mother came from commoner backgrounds and is someone that doesn't apply to European beauty standards to show that she was able to open up to the people around her thanks to Ruby's help only for her to be thrown away is crazy.
I had an argument a few years back regarding this topic (which never ended properly because the other party blocked me when I called them out on their racism) but one of their arguments was that it's common for parent and child in historical settings to suffer consequences of the parent together
Which i mean, yeah...? But this is also a fantastical world and i've seen other manhwas with children of villains who wasn't treated horribly and thrown away by the narrative as quickly as Arianne was...
And I find it super suspicious how Arianne's storyline was conveniently wrapped up by her mother's crimes just so the beloved scary alpha male lead of this story gets to become king like every single manhwa out there has the ML usually becoming a king or a duke 🤔
Ok put your tinfoil hats really quick this is some next level possible bullshit coming out of my head
But i personally think that a lot of people in this community would voice their criticism towards this if only the Queen and Arianne had eurocentric features and was painted as the main characters of the story than simply as just antagonists or obstacles for the actual main characters
Like it's crazy how differently two characters from the similar story background and (kinda) characteristics are seen differently by this fandom
These two are:
Dancers who travel the world and met their spouse during one of their shows
Would go on to start a relationship with said spouse and have a daughter with him
Due to their background, their daughters's positions are constantly being questioned by the people within an empire or a kingdom
But only one is considered as a free-spirired, kind and caring individual who did a noble sacrifice in giving birth to her daughter and watching over said child even after her death and the other is seen as an ungrateful, traitorous bitch who sided with the big bad of the story therefore she isn't redeemable even though she also did it for the sake of her daughter (oh and her daughter will pay for the price too just so we can put our beloved main protagonists on a throne even tho they're both already in one of the highest seats in the kingdom 😍😍)
I think the post is enough to voice out on how much I don't like this manhwa and how much I HATEEEEE Spice&Kitty and maybe one of these days I will make a full length rant post about Spice&Kitty and a deep dive on why i hate them and their writing
God speed both of you, mayhaps in another life you both are with your actual people and your community and not surrounded by a bunch of aristocratic assholes who objectifies your identity, secretly looks down upon you and will throw you under the bus at their own convenience.
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Some of my favorite panels from the first chapter of Stepmother's Märchen (more below)
I love the way Orka drew the first chapter as a storybook, like the kind of picture book you'd read to a kid before bed.
The colors lend themselves to that style of storytelling, but still carry themselves over to the color palette of the web comic even though they're different art styles.
The way the roses & vines slowly morph into thorns as Shuri climbs the steps of her life with the Neuschwanstein children. How they end up engulfing her at the end when all she wanted was simple, happy life.
The last two panels are amazing, showing a "glow" as she's consumed by the thorns and looks like she's been stabbed through the heart. Compared to the bleakness of the panel that has the magic bean that she held in her heart along with her hopes of a simple future.
Also, I'm not the biggest fan of the Tapas translation of the title since "The Fantasie of a Stepmother" doesn't quite capture what a märchen is. It's not a normal fairytale. A märchen is a folktale with supernatural or magical elements like a character with special knowledge of certain events that works through obstacles to triumph in the end, sometimes with magical/supernatural help. I also love that the "epilogue"/first life chapters put a twist on the "wicked stepmother" trope.
Was not expecting someone to get eaten right off the bat though given the title... XD
I would almost be following but things felt like they jumped around a lot and I kept feeling lost as to "when" I was in the story and often where.
Stuff was being stressfull at work so I re-read 1-11 of this series. It's bright and happy and silly and unserious so a good comfort read.
Totally needed more characters to have emotions about. ^_^ I do think it's unfair that Haymitch gets read-in to the rebllion like "here it is" when Katniss is eternally kept in the dark. Louella....
I get why this book is so popular. Awwww 🥰
Ended up re-reading OG Hunger Games trilogy due to Sunrise on the Reaping. Ended up notcing so many more things on this read. ^_^
Golem garden...
re-read 1-3 and read 4 for the first time. Do enjoy this series.
Ah...this series is over. Good ending. Also can I have a carry-on spirit attached cat? Pretty please?
Weirdly felt like the book was trying to be shippy between Gus and Sacajawea. Also a little between our boy and Lewis. ^_^' I may just have my shipping goggles on too much though. Did spend a lot of time appreciating Sacajawea for being amazing and all the crap she went through in her life.
This was really good! Had to fight myself not to order the authors other two books. In time...
My mom puts this little book out every year around easter so I felt compelled to give it a quick reread. ^_^
Some truths about the Anadalites past and poor Ax being lonely and torn between what his people have taught him and what feels like the correct course of action.
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A full-color fantasy comic/webtoon of romance, drama, and second chances. Also known in English as The Fantasie of a Stepmother on the Tapas Media digital platform, this is the story of a beleaguered young noblewoman raising her stepchildren on her own…until she dies and wakes up in the past with the chance to remake her life!
The marchioness Shuri Von Neuschwanstein is no stranger to hardship: her husband dies when she’s still a teenager, leaving her to manage his lands and raise his semi-grown children herself. Her stepchildren never warm up to her, and other nobles disparage her behind her back. Years later, however, it seems her efforts have finally paid off: her eldest stepson is to be married and take over the estate, freeing her of many responsibilities. But shortly after learning the cruel truth that she’s not invited to his wedding, she dies and wakes up on the day of her husband’s funeral seven years earlier! If Shuri is to live these seven difficult years all over again, she’s going to do things differently. Can she write her own fairy tale ending this time around?
Note: Seven Seas will have a different translation from the digital release.
