#TPN Don and Gilda (Light Novel Story)

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Many thanks to @1000sunnygo for translating the remaining fourth light novel story. 🙏🙏 It's bookended by segments in 2050, but the main portion is set on January 28, 2046.

The ending that was included for this story's rerelease in the light novel is the inspiration for the top two photos in the series' fourth anniversary art:

Which is 🥺🥺🤧

Small smattering of reactions under the cut:

Emma knowing deep in her bones how amazing Don and Gilda are, even without her memories 🤧🤧

REAL FUCKING DON AND GILDA APPRECIATION HOURS HERE 👏 👏

(Chapter 59)

Me, treasuring any crumb of Don and Emma interactions:

They take their responsibility so seriously 🥺🤧 goodest kids

FJLDSFLJEASD Gilda immediately shutting that shit down after what happened with Emma fainting two weeks ago…

…only to come to the conclusion this is exactly the kind of shit the trio would pull, in the same way that's conveniently summarized in "The Chess Proverb" short story:

With the spark of unconventionality that Emma brings and her drive to achieve the seemingly impossible to balance out Ray's wisdom and pragmatism and Norman's cunning and ruthlessness in execution.

They admire the trio so much after all the years they spent looking out for them and they want to do them proud, and then the look on their faces when Emma and Ray choose them to accompany them on the search for Cuvitidala and the Seven Walls without hesitation because of how much trust they have in them after everything they've been through—

Also this is hardcore I'm so proud of these two little ten year olds and how in sync they are throughout this whole thing.

"smiled softly" oh son I'm soft

Also yes you better be heaping praise on them after everything, including making Gilda cry which is a tragedy in its own right

And a little bit of Raydon banter at the end too to complement what we got in "Operation Stormy Night," beautiful. 🖤❤️🙏

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First part is so so painfully canon with the nightmares we see from him in "The First Shot" bonus chapter:

The one child is being impaled through the chest as the nightmare demon grips him, which ends up being scarily similar to what actually happens to them. I also think it's cool how Demizu emphasizes not only the mouths given his focus of terror here, but down to the number of fingers he imagines them to have while working off his fragmentary memory of his year in headquarters

(Chapter 28 | Mystic Code Book Q&A Chapters 1 & 7)

When it seems safe to assume as Isabella's biological child he was frequently paraded in front of them as they kept tabs on his progress, so in his waking recollection he sees them more accurate to life.

Regarding gupna, based on this exchange in chapter 63, Ray knew about it before reaching Goldy Pond, even if he never performed it himself prior to that point.

There's also this panel of Emma teaching Don gupna at the beginning of chapter 59 and mentions of him performing it in the Don and Gilda short story in the fourth light novel:

So I think it's safe to say at least all the older Grace Field escapees who go hunting know about it before the end of January 2046 for practical purposes. Whether Emma or Norman ever talked about seeing the aftermath of gupna performed on a human with anyone else is up for debate, but Ray would be unaware of the specifics prior to escaping, so he was left to dwell on that as another facet of his failure for two and a half months, and we can see the toll it took on him during his speech in Grace Field's dining hall.

Just realized that before Ray escaped, he had no idea how demons killed the cattle children. like for all he knew he was watching as his siblings were shipped off to a brutal, gorey death. Imagine how much scarier his nightmares must have been, not knowing whether his siblings were being killed cruelly or not. The mind can be the scariest thing and no doubt he was imagining the most gruesome deaths and details. At least Emma and Norman had seen Conny and had an idea of how she was killed. But there was no way Ray was going to ask "was Conny's body like all torn up and mutilated or was she pretty much unharmed?"

When Norman was being shipped away, he still didn't know the details of what was happening to him. Not only was he losing his best friend, but he also didn't know if he was in for a painful and sadistic death or a quick one. He could’ve been picturing the worst and probably was. and when he escaped, at first his exposure to the demons was limited to the wild demons and the demons from Goldy Pond, both were trying to kill humans ruthlessly. it might’ve been a while before he learnt that the flower thing is kinda painless, it’s so sad to me

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A Letter from Norman reactions

Tonight I was feeling like reorganizing the notes I took after reading the novel for the first time. Just some random personal reactions I had after reading it; if anything catches your attention and you'd like to know more about a particular event from the novel, please feel free to ask and I'll be happy to help!!!

Under the cut because it's l o n g. That is, if Tumblr allows me to add a "read more", which has never happened before, but I'll keep hoping in it.

• Disclaimer: I'm suing anyone who ever said that the novel is all about NorEmma. I've literally put off reading it because I didn't want to get into something overly romantic while there's??? Nearly nothing about it that is romantic??????? Just a slight mention in that last chapter and that's it???????? Why are y'all like this

Prologue

• I need you all to know that the important letter™ through which Norman informed Emma about his plan starts with him describing the weather. I just think it's a relevant information.

• Ok I'm at freaking page 1 of “A letter from Norman” and. NORMAN IT'S A FREAKING LETTER TO EMMA NOT A SHAKESPEAREAN PLAY THERE'S LITERALLY NO REASON TO BE THIS POETIC

Maybe, I would get it if it was directed to Ray, but to Emma?????

Chapter 1

• Emma in 2038: Let's befriend ghosts

Emma in 2047: let's befriend demons

Seems like a logic consecution to me

• Ok but why has nobody ever mentioned the extremely precious Emma / Gilda moments in the novel???? My heart was completely melting that was the most adorable thing I've ever read??????

• The way Norman is constantly in awe of Ray is so adorable... Baby is so sweet I swear, he deserves the world

Chapter 2

• OK BUT THE SWEET EXCHANGE between Ray and Isabella before him and Emma go out at night?????? Ray is so pure is swear... He's a precious baby who didn't deserve all the shit he went through.

Reporting it in case anyone's curious; for context, Norman is sick, and Emma wants to go out look for a flower that she's read is going to help him feel better. Emma and Ray are convinced that Norman is going to die because babies are just that dramatic, and easily impressionable as well. They're seven here.

“ «Ray, I'm counting on you!»

Isabella pressed an hand on the boy's shoulder, who turned his face to her and diligently nodded, before continuing: «Differently from Emma, I don't think the flower is going to help Norman heal».

«What do you mean?»

«However, it's better than having to sit back and watch without doing anything. I too, like her, want him to heal as soon as possible.»

«Sure, I understand...» ”

NOW that hits so hard. You have to understand, this is after Ray had made the deal with Isabella. He had already started to plan the escape. In this occasion, he was on a very thin line: alone at night with Emma, outside the House, a child who knew the truth. Isabella knew those were the right conditions for him to attempt an escape, so she decided to test his loyalty; one misstep, and their deal - which was fundamental for the escape Ray was planning - would have ended.

But at the same time, Ray needed to go. Because, just like Emma, he just couldn't stand to lose Norman. And to see these three children caring so deeply about each other even at such a young age makes me honestly bawl. This is quite certainly my favorite thing from this series. And Ray deserves the world.

• Ray was so determined to save his two friends, he even considered for a moment, in the woods, to tell Emma the truth about the orphanage. I find it very nice how the novel hinted of all these times Ray almost revealed the truth, it really puts emphasis on how he was trying to find the best moment for the escape- but it also hints to how desperate he was to share this grievous burden he was forced to carry for the longest time.

• “ Ray, you must keep on living, Norman whispered to himself like a prayer. ”

I'm... I'M 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Doesn't help the fact that this bit was literally at the end of pages of Norman praising Ray and how brave he had been for so long.

• “ Nobody in the House would have wanted for Ray to pay with his life to amend the silence of all those years. ”

I love this bit. Nobody between the children ever hated Ray for speechlessly assisting to dozens of his siblings being lead to death, because they all immediately understood how much he was suffering, how powerless he must had felt, and also, even though it only led to him being even more hurt, how deeply he loved them all. It's really nice to realize that no children ever hated Ray- no one besides from himself. His siblings love him unconditionally, and that's precisely what he deserves 🤧🤧💕💕💕

• Norman: *adventures in a detailed description of Ray's features and gestures for no other apparent reason than the fact that he finds him pretty*

Chapter 3

• Ok I know people use to see Ray and Susan's interactions under the light of Ray having a crush on her but honestly? I think they make the cutest brotp. I never knew how much I needed Ray-having-an-older-sister content untill now.

• For real though!! What hits you really hard is to find out, even though he would had never ever showed it, how desperate he was to have somebody care about him, and to be loved. He literally grieves for losing someone that looks after him and is there to check on him in his lowest days- we know it's the thing Isabella never gave him. Man, this boy didn't deserve all the shit that happened to him. Tpn may have become an old known story for me, but Ray's sufferings in his early age will never stop tearing my heart apart.

• Ok, I wasn't ready for all this angst on Ray's part. I mean, I obviously know GF were hard times for him, but I didn't expect for him to take over the pov. Sis, how wrong I was. Now I'm crying.

• Coming to the realization that Ray's initial plan actually was to bring everyone in the escape, but he clearly had to give up on it after having realized it would have been impossible to save them 🥺🥺🥺

(I mean it was not impossible. He believed it was. But it wasn't.)

• Ok but. The last part of the Ner chapter. I really don't want to spoil it for anyone because it really was a beautiful chapter but I really need to say: Emma and Norman. The way it wasn't just Ray always being there for them, protecting them from afar; no matter their blissful ignorance, they have always been there for him too. They never abandoned that lonely boy, and they made it so that he could have a last reason not to give up. A single, dim light of hope in that pitch black, devastating world he was born in. I may or may not be crying my eyes out.

(Btw I had written this before the Ray special chapter came out, and it's kinda funny to look back at it now)

• The thing with the Ner chapter is: you enter in it after reading two chapters of normal, wholesome children's stories. There's a dark undertune in it, but it's very subtle and it doesn't interfere with the happy, cheerful atmosphere of these children facing adventures together with each other. But then the Ner chapter strikes, and the Ray pov arrives, and it's like being beaten with a bat in the stomach several times. Deep down, you had always known it; but you suddenly realize that all these children are going to die. And, even worse, there's one child who knows. There's one child who has to assist to everything powerlessly. There's one child, one freaking-nine-years-old who knows that all his siblings are going to die, and there's nothing he can do. That a single mistake could ruin the chances of making just two of his siblings survive, which is everything he's hanging to right now. One child who only needs to be loved. Well that... That hits hard.

Me expressing my thoughts: girl this form is shit you can't write something that is understandable to save your life can you

• Also can we please appreciate Norman taking so long to get out of the forest as it's a recurrent characterizzation of his character to be desperately willing to live just *French chef kiss*

• I really like how the novel underlined how Norman's choice of sacrificing himself corresponded to a betrayal toward his friends (when you think about it, Emma definitely felt betrayed). It's almost like in his last moments Norman chose to switch roles with Ray, taking on his shoulders the burden of being both the traitor and the sacrifice.

Chapter 4

• Norman: * “ He instinctively closed his eyes and abandoned himself to the sweet memory of that time he understood how deeply loved he was. ” *

Somewhere, Ray: Can't relate

• Emma: Norman, what you want to do when you grow up?

Norman: It's a secret.

Me:

• “ Ray woke up before everyone, as usual. ”

A remarkable detail. You'd think Ray, as a good depressed person as he is, would sleep more than the average. The truth is: he doesn't sleep at all.

• Norman: There's... Another person I like

Me:

• OK NOW WHY did none tell me about the nine (9) lines of Norman / Don interacting it was worth reading the novel solely for that.

• WHY DID NONE TELL ME ABOUT DON ALMOST STRANGLING NORMAN AND MAKING HIM LITERALLY PASS AWAY IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH READING THE NOVEL SOLELY FOR THAT

• Reading about Conny being there hurts a lot but reading about Sadie and Hao brings up a totally different kind of pain. Also who the hell is Cindy?

• Norman: Oh yes, Emma and Ray, my most dear friends, my closest siblings, the reason I wake up in the morning, my only reason to live, the ones I'd entrust my life with,

Also Norman: Dunnot in the last thirteen hours and six minutes they have been acting pretty sus, I'm kinda sure they're betraying me somehow ://

• “ «I agree, but it feels like you've fallen down a rabbit hole. You're restless, you constantly look off...» said the raven haired boy, distorting his mouth in an hardly intelligible grimace and giving his friend a meaningful look.

«Norman, about that mysterious girl...»

«No, you're mistaken! I...»

Norman, filled with frustration, raised up his voice, starting to lose the coolness that was usually characteristic of him.

«But I haven't said anything yet!»

That being said Ray, with slightly mocking doing, turned on his feet and went away, leaving Norman like that. ”

I LOVE THIS BIT SO INEXPLICABLY MUCH I'm always *so* in for Oreo finishing each other sentences / reading each other's thoughts. Here, Norman answered Ray's question before he could even expose it, because he already knew what it would have been. Equally, Ray knew what Norman was going to say even though he cut his answer halfway through.

I love how much on the same page they are, they really... Totally and fully understand each other even without words, and I find it so sweet. Seriously, their dynamic is so wholesome

• Norman's last birthday gift: the thing that matters the most to him: his family's happiness

Emma's reward: the thing that matters the most to her: her family's happiness

Some things hit harder than others.

• I don't know like. When you read the novel after the series has ended, everything hurts so much more, because you know these are all memories Emma has lost forever.

• So you made colorful clothing by "coloring old clothes"? Have fun realizing y'all have celebrated Norman's birthday wearing your dead siblings' clothes

Bonus this epic note I randomly took I completely forgot the context of:

• Isabella is a bitch. I don't give a fuck about your dramatic past woman, leave that boy alone

(When the protect Ray mood hits™)

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Many thanks to @1000sunnygo for hooking me up with "Operation Stormy Night" from Films of Memories.

Some of my favorite bits under the cut (fiddled around with the wording to help it flow a bit better from Google Translate).

He would move heaven and earth for her.

Not thinking about how if she has Little Bunny this is within just a few weeks of her being shipped.

When you think about how much he tried to keep all the kids at a distance in his heart, but they still instantly clung to him for comfort when they were scared.

Me any time Ray has to interact with this woman over the course of six years with a straight face in front of his siblings. 🙃🙃🙃

@goldiipond points!! Raydon crumbs!!! (He could've clung to anyone, and yet, and yet—)

(Chapter 1)

Back on this again (or the prelude to it I guess kfjdsklf)

The foreshadowing to his mastery of cooking in a single day.

Ray picking up on the Noremma and the little Norray banter. 🥹🧡🤍🖤

"Ray, shut up and go to sleep."

KLJFK they are. Everything. 🤍🧡🖤

@burgerfootlettuce the comfort and safety they draw from each other's presence. 🤧😭🖤🤍

THIS WOMAN I'M

Me whenever Don and Emma's bond is acknowledged. 🥹

The kindest and most exuberant sunshine children.

BRUH HOW CAN YOU CUT IT OFF THERE AFTER HE TOLD THEM HE FELT THE PRESENCE OF THE THREE OF THEM THAT'S SO CRUEL 😭😭😭

But at least he told them about Conny (while potentially keeping the bit about Yuugo and Isabella to himself), and I like the pensiveness about it, showing how much it tugged at his heart.

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how do you think Emma (post cannon or otherwise) and ashye would interact? I don’t think Ashye would hate her just because she’s Norman’s friends since she gets along with Ray in the side story decently enough

Ayshe definitely wouldn't hate Emma. While being raised by a demon, she's not misanthropic; she just hates a specific group of people.

I talk about this on my Gildayshe musings post and this recent poll, but the first conversation Ayshe has with Don and Gilda has them reacting like this:

(Chapter 139)

After she just told them Norman was behind her father's murder—someone who was her whole world—they're in tears at the thought of not being in conflict with him. Even when considering the possibility that Norman ultimately plans to kill Sonju and Mujika after they bring them to the paradise hideout, if there's a chance of negotiating with him, they'll take it.

It goes even further when Norman betrays them and uses them as bait just like they suspected in chapter 135.

(Chapter 144)

Gilda still pleads with Mujika, after Norman just tried to have her and Sonju—her companion of 700 years—killed, to help them stop Norman before things become irrevocable for him and everyone around him. She still considers him her older brother after all of that. Don looks empathetic and in agreement with her while Ayshe is left in open-mouthed shock, because she could understand if Gilda didn't want anything to do with him at this point.

But she also understands family, and her new companions have made it clear that her father's murderer is still important to them. She doesn't begrudge them for it.

(Chapter 167)

And she doesn't hesitate to save them when they return to Grace Field.

She has known them for ten days.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 7)

Within the span of four days, she's willing to have this conversation with Ray:

(Chapter 169)

This is after Emma has made it clear how close she and Ray are with Norman:

(Chapter 161)

She's conciliatory to Don and Gilda when she says "it's true that he ate humans, but to me, he was my father" and here. Despite acknowledging that familial connection she feels toward him, she gives all of them an out. 'You don't have to spare my feelings. I understand why humans hate demons.' Knows most demons wouldn't think twice about eating her if given the opportunity. She's downcast and gives a light sigh of resignation because she's aware of how bizarre this would look to another human. They can conceptually see why she feels the way she does, but not how profound that loss is for her, so she'd rather skip the attempt at sympathy.

It's why she's so shocked at Ray's blunt declaration reaffirming her love for her father as valid and gives her full attention to him in earnest. She follows it up by saying their parents were also good people.

Given their prominence in the story since the start, I'm fairly confident the figures on the left and bottom center are Norman and Don respectively so all five of the oldest Grace Field kids are included here and poignantly attached to her sentiment. It's possible she's lying to Ray to be reciprocally kind or mentally separating the kids into differing levels of good with Norman at the bottom to still technically qualify him, but with less reason to lie to him between the validation of her feelings and the intimacy of the setting I'm disinclined to believe the former, and with the latter he's still included regardless.

(Chapter 181)

With all that in mind in addition to how she's willing to let Norman and Vincent hold her dogs' puppies post-timeskip, it would be very bizarre for Ayshe to hate Emma. If anything she'd think Emma's too good for Norman lol

I also imagine there would be a lot of overlap between how she interacts with Emma and Ray.

(TPN Light Novel 4: Films of Memories - “Don and Gilda”)

She reacts this strongly to Don and Gilda even thinking about being burdens in the post-canon. Despite lacking those memories, there are still convictions she holds that are etched into her very being. If she was given a rundown of Ayshe's history, she'd also conclude that her father's species was irrelevant if he saved her and provided her with unconditional love, possibly more forcefully than Ray. It wouldn't come as a surprise to Ayshe, given her interactions with all the other Grace Field children at this point, but it'd be comforting all the same, that reinforcement of why Emma's friends and family cared so deeply for her and spent years searching for her. There was never really tension between them, but it makes Ayshe feel more at ease around her all the same.

I'm also a very big proponent of wlw Ayshe, so I enjoy @dyslexicsponge's take of her having a crush on Emma (intimidating Norman by going to hang out with him because he's so obvious about his crush on Emma and Ayshe's so smitten she doesn't know who else she could possibly commiserate with optional lol).

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Hello!! I'm really sorry, but could you do a summary of the Krone and Isabella light novels? I can't find anywhere to read them. thank you so much!!

No need to apologize, happy to help!

I've talked about the contents of the first light novel here. Almost all of it is available either translated in text or via sound dramas with English subtitles. The exception is the "NER in Bird Cages" story, which is only available in English as a summary.

I've provided a general overview of the second light novel here, as well a link to the masterlist of TPN content for the English-speaking fandom. The first half is dedicated to Isabella, and the second half to Krone, though if you've read chapter 181.2, you'll already be familiar with most of it.

If one of the stories is part of the content of a post, I'll usually tag it as light novels, the title of the light novel in question, and the title of the specific story. (e.g., TPN Light Novels + Moms' Song of Remembrance + The Starry Sky and Leslie's List)

Here's all the light novels laid out with their story tags (with the exception of the fourth one because I've only read the half that's translated):

Light Novel 1: A Letter from Norman

• "The Ghost Incidents at Grace Field House" - Norman reminiscences about his earliest memory with Emma and Ray, when they were about three or four, trying to solve the mystery of the spooky occurrences around the house. • "The Day Emma Cried" - Norman recalls an incident when he was about seven and became terribly ill retrieving Emma’s handkerchief during a rainstorm. Thinking he’s on death’s doorstep, with Isabella’s permission (to both appease Emma and test Ray’s loyalty), Emma and Ray go out to find the miracle cure, a white flower that only blooms at night. • "NER in Bird Cages" - Norman muses how he's never seen Ray cry before he remembers the incident where they rescued an injured bird sometime after Emma's ninth birthday. Ray deals with the grief of not being able to save his beloved older sister, Susan, if he wants to save Emma's and Norman's lives. • "A Gift from the 39th Girl" - The Grace Field kids secretly work on putting together a gift for Norman’s eleventh birthday.

Light Novel 2: Moms' Song of Remembrance

• "The Starry Sky and Leslie's List" - Isabella's story where she remembers helping Leslie with a list of goals he set out to accomplish over the course of two days before he's shipped out. She also reflects on her relationships with Ray and Sarah. • "Searching for the Skies of Freedom" - Krone's story; chapter 181.2 is a retelling of this.

Light Novel 3: Records of Comrades

• "Two Paths" - The story of how Lucas and Yuugo's group acquired the tea set we see Yuugo with in the bunker, interspersed with scenes of Lucas interacting with Emma and Yuugo interacting with Ray during the present timeline. • "Two Wills" - Gillian and Nigel's story of their earlier days at Goldy Pond when they both lost their sisters, Lala and Emilia. • "Two Destinies" - The story of how Mujika and Sonju met and how Leuvis inadvertently ended the farm system and thousand-year promise because he was bored.

Light Novel 4: Films of Memories

• "The Days to Celebrate" • "Operation Stormy Night" - The Grace Field children reminiscence about the night their older siblings helped them feel safe during a particularly bad storm. • "Ray and Conny" - The Grace Field kids are telling Emma about their life at Grace Field house when Conny comes up. Ray recalls to himself how he helped three-year-old Conny adjust to sleeping in the larger shared bedrooms with some indirect help from Susan. It's a story only he and Norman know now. • "The Chess Proverb" - Ray teaches Norman how to play chess, and Emma and Norman join in a match with Ray against Isabella. Serves as a metaphor for how each of them approaches a problem and how they balance each other out when they work together. • "Don and Gilda" • "The Guiding Star" - The story that explains how the trio got on the roof for the chapter 119 cover art and the comfort they each draw from the stars.

Finally, here's my general tag navigation page that's hopefully accessible on mobile as well as desktop.

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#hh feels #this is the coziest story in the novel and I really hope one day I can add it in my blog #after translating I mean #following shirai footsteps keeping it for future #“few weeks before being shipped” OUCH UUF #I also cropped some screenshots back then and most of them matches w yours haha #except I highlighted Norman's shadow puppet moment #and a couple more like Emma's suggestions #I loved what I read and I want others to read it someday (via @1000sunnygo)

Many thanks to @1000sunnygo for hooking me up with "Operation Stormy Night" from Films of Memories.

Some of my favorite bits under the cut (fiddled around with the wording to help it flow a bit better from Google Translate).

He would move heaven and earth for her.

Not thinking about how if she has Little Bunny this is within just a few weeks of her being shipped.

When you think about how much he tried to keep all the kids at a distance in his heart, but they still instantly clung to him for comfort when they were scared.

Me any time Ray has to interact with this woman over the course of six years with a straight face in front of his siblings. 🙃🙃🙃

@goldiipond points!! Raydon crumbs!!! (He could've clung to anyone, and yet, and yet—)

(Chapter 1)

Back on this again (or the prelude to it I guess kfjdsklf)

The foreshadowing to his mastery of cooking in a single day.

Ray picking up on the Noremma and the little Norray banter. 🥹🧡🤍🖤

"Ray, shut up and go to sleep."

KLJFK they are. Everything. 🤍🧡🖤

@burgerfootlettuce the comfort and safety they draw from each other's presence. 🤧😭🖤🤍

THIS WOMAN I'M

Me whenever Don and Emma's bond is acknowledged. 🥹

The kindest and most exuberant sunshine children.

BRUH HOW CAN YOU CUT IT OFF THERE AFTER HE TOLD THEM HE FELT THE PRESENCE OF THE THREE OF THEM THAT'S SO CRUEL 😭😭😭

But at least he told them about Conny (while potentially keeping the bit about Yuugo and Isabella to himself), and I like the pensiveness about it, showing how much it tugged at his heart.