My dearest Heart -
- Skip beat for me
╢Personal work and characters╟
Some gifting for my girl's upcoming birthday! I'm way too early for it, but I rather finish it than having projects piling up a backlog.
Since people seem to like Zlatomir's parasitic petals, I thought it would be a good opportunity to show they aren't actual flowers and instead a mimicking tissue. They do shed occasionally, but they also have blood supply and nerve endings that dry up before they do so. Touching them causes the same discomfort as touching any internal organ would do, and Taffy sneaking her hands in there is a painful ordeal. Like a moth to light, she can't help herself, but she does it out of infatuated obsession love and makes sure to be as gentle as possible. He reluctantly lets her, because beyond the discomfort and pain he feels an incredible sense of safety and warmth when those hands finally cradle his heart.
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can we see at least one more Chain 🥺 i miss him
:) happy you still think of him!
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Kashoku no Shiro - By Takayama Shinobu (9/10)
Toxic romance after toxic romance. Nothing but twisted love. Our protagonist has quite literally never had a healthy relationship. She leads a cursed life, as the bride of the progenitor of all demonkind. Before her marriage she was trapped by an unstable young master too, but she's no villain. She tries to find her own form of happiness, within the confines of her eternally twisted existence.
Superstition and bad luck banded together to ruin her childhood. The smart elder brother was born blind. The father who lives with constant illness. The cute little sister covered in ugly birthmarks. Birthmarks are a bad omen, and their ugliness prevents the only girl from getting married. The family is stuck in a cycle of poverty and shame.
Shiraume, the ugly and unlucky daughter, gets "saved" by the handsome and smart son of a landlord. He is the first yandere in her life. Juro saves her and her blind brother from completely crushing poverty. He keeps her as his servant, but her quality of life is still poor. Juro is the ideal heir, but he is not the legitimate son. He is constantly abused by the real heir. He projects his toxic savior complex onto Shiraume, until he starts to see her curse as his only possible savior. He wants her curse to destroy the household that will not acknowledge him.
The heir turns into a demon, because he's even more toxic than Juro.
Jin appears and he proposes in the most dramatic way possible. He tears out one of Juro's eyes. He kills the newly born demon, and he says Shiraume is the one and only bride for him. She is the best bait. Demons implant flowers in humans they want to feed on. Shiraume's pure flowers can drive any demon mad. Jin promises not to eat her. He will treat her well as a bride instead, as long as she helps him lure out the bloodthirsty monsters.
Her relationship with Jin is much better. Shiraume doesn't want to be a lazy bride. She sees herself as a servant, really. Jin doesn't force her to do anything. He just protects her, and he tells her (gently) that she shouldn't do things that make him jealous. Even though they aren't (technically) romantically involved they accidentally flirt all the time. Jin is a demon though. Not a hot guy with pointed ears. I completely understand why Shiraume is keeping her distance, especially after what happened with her first savior/crush.
This is a convenient rich reporter guy that Shiraume could choose instead of Jin. He's quirky and wholesome and he loves mysteries. When Shiraume lures out a demon with her flowers he is smitten and interested. Once again his feelings aren't entirely romantic. He wants to save Shiraume and take care of her...just like Jin...just like Juro. He's a regular, happy guy though so he's less forceful about it.
She rejects Kiso. She chooses Jin. She's learned her lesson. Jin is patient with her, and his possessiveness isn't restrictive. He's not like Juro. He doesn't want to lock her away and babble about curses. Jin wants to rid the world of demons, and he's good to her. I hope the series ends with them actually getting formally married. Shiraume doesn't value herself enough, so she sees the flower contract as a job, not a marriage.
Her past with Juro was painful. She doesn't hate him, but I think he may be a villain later. Kiso is still following her around too, trying to save her. Men with savior complexes cling to Shiraume like flies. It's a joy to watch her reject them, and continue her adventures. She saves lots of people. She faces plenty of danger, and it's all worth it in the end.
She's no simple housewife.
She is a strong and forthright demon bride.
There is one problem. I don't think Shiraume and Jin get enough page time. Too much of the story is dedicated to Kiso and Juro. It's cool. It's neat that there are so many obstacles in front of Shiraume, but Kiso is presented as the protagonist in the beginning...and he's not a very good one. He's annoying. I would rather see this entire tale from her perspective.
This scene sums up everything I'm annoyed about. Shiraume KNOWS WHAT SHE IS DOING AND SHE IS WILLING TO DO IT...and yet Kiso, a virtual stranger, continues to stalk her and fret over her like she's a dumb child who is being manipulated. Jin is no angel, but he is never going to sacrifice Shiraume. He loves her to the best of his ability. He is a demon, but it seems like he's really trying his best. Kiso's ultra heroic attitude is just boring in comparison.
More of this.
Less of that.
Please.
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