The Fantasie of a Stepmother - Vol. 1 Ch. 62 - Epilogue 6 - The Ending of a Fairy Tale (7)

[no168_92]

@kooncity

Good reply. someone who knows what they're talking about.

This story is good. I know that.

but as a manhwa, this Epilogue is taking toooooo long for my taste. that was my original take on the whole arc. and I know the novel is completed but sadly got no translation afaik.

maybe I'll wait and binge it like you said. depends on how long this epilogue continues on...

 

[M_Y]

Ok, the emotional gap between the chapter and staff corner is too much. I went from holding my tears and frustration to holding my laugh in the library 😂

 

[RenTheWitch]

omg the church guy...is a demon...

 

[rekii]

@no168_92 That’s why I said that it’s a narrative choice. We’ll only really know if the arc contributes anything to the current timeline once it’s close to reaching a conclusion.

If it doesn’t add anything to the current timeline, then it doesn’t. What it does (as I’ve explained before) is tell the readers why Shuli’s death should be prevented. It’s just a peek into the timeline where she DID die. I know how multiverses work and how it won’t affect TL1, but it gives people more reasons to want to root for her and the other characters’ happiness. If that part doesn’t appeal to you, that’s ok.

Honestly, I don’t think we’re getting anywhere in this discussion because it’s clear we value different aspects of the story. You want plot progression, I want character depth. And while those are not mutually exclusive, we obviously want them portrayed differently—it’s just that the current narrative doesn’t appeal to you and that’s fine. I just disagree that what has been shown so far is “a waste of time” at least for people who want to see what happened beyond Shuli’s death.

 

[berryk]

staff corner is the highlight of every chapter never stop pls

 

[brownacorn]

Also @no168_92 good news is, the epilogue arc/season 1 will end in 3 more chapters according to the artist’s Twitter. I think that the 1st timeline perspective will end soon (next chapter maybe?) with the civil war and probably Nora planning to flip the church down.

 

[Solosura]

Thanks for the update 🥰

Imo the author did an amazing job by making us love the characters and after a while throwing the heartbreaking epilogue series so it would be more emotional and saddening.
I'm happy to get more info about the first timeline so we can understand more things about the current one (and probably it will help understanding what the story will unfold in the next chapters).

 

[rekii]

@kooncity Completely understand your frustration, but I also feel like because we were essentially looking at events through Nora’s eyes, the perspective presented was a little skewed. It was unfortunately easier to look at it from a romantic lens vs the actual reality of it. Poor Shuli, honestly.

 

[Thifa]

@kooncity

It's how the author decided to flesh the story out instead of just spoonfeeding the readers some exposition about the past in a quick generic flashback.

The author has done some quick flashbacks before, but the problem is that this Epilogue is something that can't be shown using that, since it is something where Shuli, the one person who knows both timelines are already dead. How would the Author show something that no one has experienced in the current timeline in a flashback? But it's not like the manhwa artist can not shows them too, since with manhwa the impact of how much the schemes need to be unveiled will not be delivered as smoothly as it is a novel (there's definitely always some nuances from the novel that is lost in the manhwa).


Honestly I can't comprehend how some people can think this arc is simply a "filler" or a "waste of time" since it's "not related to the main story plot" when this is clearly how the writer (or at least how the manhwa artist try to deliver the writer's intent) want to hint what exactly the next sinister plot that will happen in the main story timeline.

 

[rekii]

@Thifa @kooncity Bless you. I’ve been trying to get this point across for two hours haha.

Like, I don’t know how many times I’ve had to say it, but it’s how the story was chosen to be told. Though it might not directly impact the current timeline, it creates an opportunity to shine more light into character motivations which CAN and MAY impact future story threads. It’s non-linear storytelling and sometimes it’s essential to utilize when the focal character of the story can’t offer perspectives due to circumstances. So we’re forced to view events unfold through the eyes of (possibly) unreliable narrators.

 

[Darkmeep]

I'm getting a little tired of them milking the woe is me part of the story xD

 

[Straborvsky]

honestly, this flashbacks a bit dragging already, just get to the conclusion already!

 

[no168_92]

@rekii
@kooncity

honestly, if the novel got a translation, I'll drop this manhwa in a heart beat and binge read the novel.... it's only 5 volumes anyway, something I could finish on a weekend. but there's none that I could find.

this arc really makes me want to drop this manhwa altogether. I know non-linear storytelling. (Ever tried reading the Wandering Inn?) but the arc itself is stupid since no character development actually happen.

characters in both timelines are different people since their circumstances are different. and this arc would never ever again be brought up in the future of the story until it's completion. something to be forgotten and hence the 'no point-ness' of it all.

@brownacorn

thanks for the info. I guess I'll stop reading and wait for the second season to start.

Edit: If you all really wanna read do-over stories, I recommend Mother of Learning and The Perfect Run on Royalroad. time-loop all you want.

 

[SakuraOrihime]

I can understand some people not liking the epilogue arc, that's ok, it's not their cup of tea.

But calling it a waste of time? Really?

When we are getting so much plot and context in a buncha stuff? For real?

When this hit one in the feels so hard? Seriously?

I get you not liking it, but saying it's a waste of time, a way of saying things that implies it's bad/useless/unnecessary, even if that's not their intention in saying it? Now that made me quite shocked and angry, to the point I need to say it here...

Bruh, wtf man? This shit is good, wdym. This here is good writting! Makes you invested in the characters, and curious for the next chapters. Not liking it is ok, but saying it's a waste of time is heresy bro :v

As someome who was hella curious for what happened in the before redo, I can't help but get kinda angry :V

 

[Natkoo]

WELL SAID NORA GAHHHHH I RLY RLY RLY LOVE THIS, IT GIVES ME GOOSEBUMPS AND FEELS 🏌‍♀️💓 ESP THE ART!!!! BRUH ITS LIKE WATCHING A MOVIEEE DAMN SO GOOD

 

[genesisgrey]

I'm enjoying this. ^_^

 

[kooncity]

@rekii
It's interesting choice narratively imo. To have key characters as their own narrator and propelling the story according to their own beliefs/wants. Readers get so sympathetic and invested on characters. I rmb when Ohara's PoV came out, the white knights rallied hard. Here we have Nora's and people, like then, get invested in his self righteousness and his idea of romance with Shuli. I do wonder if they are going to include another pov? If s1 ends soon, we might be staying with Nora's. I do hope there's a cardinal pov squeezed in there. I'm so interested in how they'll unfold his part of the story.

 @Thifa
What I like about Märchen when they do flashbacks, it doesn't outright tell you. Sometimes it implies. At the top of my head I remember vividly the flashback where Johannes was longingly staring Ludovicka's painting and the count was watching him, then it cuts to the count's face. The realization. There is no exposition, just that poignant silence and implication that ah.. Johannes is possibly in love with the previous Empress. I appreciate that scene so much as a reader bc I don't get spoonfed all the info. The medium the story's told is through images and is told extremely well given the circumstance. There are hints and mysteries that unfold slowly but surely, like I'm picking up parts of the puzzle as the story goes and I get to piece it together to see the big picture.

Though I do agree that some of the novel's nuances are lost, but as an adaptation, it stands fairly well against some of its peers.

  @no168_92
Oh I agree in a sense that the release date of the medium itself actually hurts the story. Märchen is hard to consume in parts. I rmb when belittled_mia batch released the Jeremy imprisonment arc with a superior translation. It was such a cathartic read from start to finish. The most satisfying binge re-read ever.

 I understand some people don't have the patience to deal with the slow pace releases and would definitely recommend you guys to just wait and binge read to avoid getting frustrated.

 

[Thirst_420]

Orka's art is really stunning

 

[belisandre]

I am getting so tired of the righteousness of Nora's character. He basically saw her once, fell in love, and now feels entitled to shit talk her actual family. I'm just so uncomfortable with how he is being written as the love interest when their positions are so different, yes, their age is very close, but making him her love interest is weird.
If flashback Nora was drawn like the cardinal, we would be getting people calling him a creep. But he's the basic black haired male lead, and this is the sad reality I live in.

Great art tho. I'm happy there is people who love and support such a well crafted art piece. And the scan team keeps on doing banger after banger, especially in the flashback episode where there is the ever present black background.

 

[pheonixa]

say no more
it's a yes to adult Nora

anyways, that's the thing you learn - to be grateful and appreciate what you have. sometimes it gets too late to learn that until you lose it. They're kids and it's totally understandable that everything happened the way it did, and that's just so sad to me T.T