#feat. the two mysterious ppl in the end i guess

[redrawthecolorlessworld]

Main Story (Legacy): Modelista Arc — Chapter 1: Meeting

nvm guys here's ch1 right here lmao

———

The news regarding the strange seal that trapped Modelista within it managed to get the attention of many Rhymix citizens all across the globe. It had become the trending topic in various social media and got news coverage too.

It's to the point where the seal is dubbed as, "The Unknown Seal."

While many people made theories on what or who are the sources of the seal, the Gods are also holding their own meeting in the Realm of the Almighty to discuss this odd phenomenon.

According to Amazing Mighty...this is nothing that he had ever seen on the job before. Pandora Paradox could back up on that too, since she also has never seen something like this happen in Rhymix before. It's almost as if it was caused by a third party—a source outside of Rhymix.

The people of Modelista—the main victims of this strange seal—have also decided to take matters into their own hands. Some of them have decided to investigate on the matter a little bit, with some making research and others observing the seal above them a little more to see if anything will change.

Chronomia? She wanted to investigate things too. But she knew she can't do it alone.

So she called for her next best investigating partner—

"What did you called me here for, Ms. Chronomia?"

Professor Aleph.

"I need your help." Chronomia briefly answered, and from the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes, Aleph could tell what she needed help with. "I see. Alright then. I already know what's going on here. I'll graciously help." He said, his mood becoming more serious too.

"But...where do we start?" Aleph asked, and Chronomia could only silently think. She didn't really thought long and hard on what to do first, but the least they could do to start things off is to ask around. "Maybe we should ask the people here if they know anything about this? Or maybe conduct a bit of research?" She then finally replied.

Upon the mention of "research", Aleph perks up. "Research?! Hmm, my...I wouldn't mind visiting the local library and search for answers." He said, the sparkles in his eyes becoming more visible. Chronomia sighs at that, before a smile appeared on her face. "Well, alright then. Let's go."

———

They didn't managed to find their answer in the library.

No matter how many books they find, no matter how many books they read, no matter how many books they have to stack up somewhere beside them in one of the reading areas, they didn't find a single hint or clue on what the true source of The Unknown Seal is.

Placing another book on top of a stack of many other books, Chronomia heavily sighs, feeling exhaustion weeping inside of her. She glanced at Aleph, who was frowning as he flipped through another book, before sadly closing it and placing it on top of another stack of books. "Nothing." He announces, and that's all it took to make Chronomia frown too. If their answer isn't in the library, then where else should they look?

"Hello~? Ale-Ale? You here?" A voice suddenly echoes throughout the building, catching the top hat wearing duo's attention. They quickly turn their heads to the source of the voice, before seeing a girl with white hair standing near the now closed entrance of the library. "Hey! At least be quiet! We are in a library, Ms. Destr0yer." Aleph quickly shouted back, annoyance very present in his voice.

The girl—Destr0yer—groaned as she approached the duo, who are sitting on one of the reading areas in the building. "What the hell are you both doing here?" She asked, crossing her arms. Chronomia raised an eyebrow at her. After all, she is quite unfamiliar with who this random girl is. All Chronomia could conclude right now is that she and Aleph know each other in some way.

"I should be asking you the same question. Well, more precisely, why were you looking for me?" Aleph asked back, and to that question, Destr0yer's face expression brightens up. "You both were researching about The Unknown Seal, right? I came here because someone I know wants you to gather somewhere with me and some others." She answered.

Aleph nodded, but then his face expression morphed into one of suspicion. "...For what?" He asked again, and Destr0yer groaned again. "It's about The Unknown Seal, you idiot! What else?! Just come with me—you can bring...uh..." She then trailed off, glancing towards Chronomia—the only person in the building she's unfamiliar with (though, to be fair, there's no one else in this building, so even if there were to be other people in the library, she would be unfamiliar with them too).

"Chronomia." Chronomia simply responded, a polite smile on her face. Destr0yer scoffed at her attitude. "Right. Chrono-something. You can drag her along in this too. Just follow me, alright?" She said, before quickly leaving the library. Aleph jolted up from his seat at that.

"Wh- hey! Wait! Give us some time to actually follow you! You idiot!"

———

After a few minutes of following and pointless bickering between Aleph and Destr0yer, the trio finally arrived to a place that only Chronomia is unfamiliar with. Truth be told, she doesn't really go to too many places here in Modelista, especially after The Unknown Seal made itself present a few days ago.

It's just a building used for important events and the like. It didn't belonged to anyone, so anyone could just use it as they please. As the three of them went inside, Chronomia decided to ask a question. "Hey, Ms. Destr0yer?" That managed to catch the white haired girl's attention. "Hm? What's up?"

"Who is this person who you said wanted us to gather here, exactly?" Chronomia then asked. Destr0yer then showed a rather smug expression towards the top hat wearing girl. "He's right there, onstage." She simply answered, and for a moment, Chronomia couldn't understand what she meant by that. But then, she looked at what's infront of her, and she was shocked enough to find out there's a stage there.

And just like what Destr0yer said, someone's standing on it. Chronomia doesn't know who he is, but judging from the symbol of the badge that's stuck to his blazer, she could tell that he may have some connections to the Gods of Rhymix.

Chronomia also takes the time to look at her surroundings. There are several other people she is either familiar with or unfamiliar with. She could see a familiar shade of red standing out amongst the rest of the people in the building. She could also see a girl with just the colors black, white, and pink. Chronomia is also rather familiar with who she is, she's famous for a long period of time before she stepped down the world of being a celebrity.

"Uh...alright! Is everyone here?" The man standing on stage asked, and Destr0yer only shrugged. "I don't know. Depends on whether anyone else is gonna come in and bring in some other bitch." She said, and Aleph scoffed at the use of the word "bitch". "Doesn't seem like anyone else is gonna come in, though, Destr0yer." The red haired man Chronomia saw earlier said.

Destr0yer rolled her eyes carelessly. "Eh, whatever. You can go on and start, Felys." She said, and the man onstage—Felys—nodded. "Alright, everyone. I gathered all of us here today because I wanted to discuss something important. It is per Amazing Mighty's request, so I might as well oblige." He explained.

"Yeah, because he's your—mmf!" A girl's voice immediately gets interrupted. Chronomia quickly turns her head to look at the source of the voice. It's just a purple haired girl getting her mouth covered by a boy's hand. The boy, who Chronomia is sure she's familiar with, gave a thumbs up with his other hand, a rather forced grin on his face.

When Chronomia turns back to look at Felys, his face looks slightly red, before he decided to just ignore what he just heard and saw and let out a sigh. "Right...anyways, I'm here to discuss about the results of the meetings between the Gods and what we're all going to do onwards." He then said, before going on the explain the basics.

"After a brief meeting between the Gods, it has been decided that they'll all investigate this matter further. However, since this problem is something completely new that not even Amazing Mighty has ever encountered before, some extra help is needed. That's why he personally asked me and Ms. Conflict in the back over there to gather some trustworthy enough people to investigate this matter with us."

"So...all of us are going to...?" Chronomia then asked, and hearing that question, Felys nodded with a smile. "Yep! I hope we can all work together, and I hope you all can cooperate well with Ms. Conflict and I." He said. After that, silence.

...

"...So...when are we going to start this?" A young boy who looks no more than 12 asked. "Anytime, if you want. Or maybe we can do it separately and report back anytime." Felys answered, the same smile on his face never wavering. The only thing Chronomia could think of is; Wow, Mr. Felys sure is nice.

And in a sense, he is nice. He really doesn't know when to say no, though.

———

A few time has passed, and the meeting finally concluded. Everyone stayed behind to probably introduce themselves to each other, though.

"I know most of these people! So I'll give you a rundown on who everyone is." Aleph said to Chronomia, and while saying this, he whips out a notepad and flips it open to a certain page, before showing what's written on it to the clock enthusiast. "You...wrote everyone's names on here...???" Chronomia asked in disbelief. To think that the teacher would write everyone's names down is...certainly an odd feat.

"Why yes! Because I knew I had to introduce you to them either way. I even gave a few specifications on who is who so that you can look for them yourself." Aleph said in a cheery tone, before ripping the page from the notepad and handing to Chronomia. "Keep it. Just in case you forget~" He then added. Chronomia looked at him in disbelief, before sighing as she took the piece of paper from Aleph's hand. "Well alright then. Thank you, Professor."

Chronomia then settled on looking at what's written on it. She could already see how delicate and clean Aleph's handwriting is, but nonetheless it's still clear enough to read. She then reads each word on the piece of paper;

"1. Nhelv (red haired guy with the horns) (pretty close friend of mine!)

2. Destr0yer (white haired girl who dragged us over here to begin with) (also close friend of mine!)

3. Perfect (girl with beret) (pretty famous, maybe you've heard her name from somewhere?)

4. Felys (guy who was onstage earlier) (also has relations with Amazing Mighty, for some reason...? I wonder what kind...)

5. Conflict (purple haired girl) (also a Goddess, by the way)

6. Upshift (guy who silenced Ms. Conflict earlier) (also a known DJ here in Modelista. Maybe you've also heard his name from somewhere)

7. Random (the only young looking person in here) (knows Mr. Nhelv personally)

That's everyone, I think. Hope this helps somehow, Ms. Chronomia! :)"

...The note ends there.

Chronomia folds the paper and tucks it into the pocket of her coat, before nodding at Aleph, who smiled back at her earnestly.

She'll have to work together with these people now, as unreliable as some of them are.

But it's fine. It's okay. She'll manage.

There's also a chance more people will join them eventually, so she'll see how things will go.

———

"...Boss."

"You're back. How did it go?"

"They're assembling or whatever."

"That is...a clear enough sentence for me to understand. Seems like they have decided to start a little investigation group."

"What are we gonna do now, Boss?"

"Hmm..."

...

"...I will think of something.

[marimopeace]

there's a limit on how much you can be an isekai intellectual...

a bunch of analyses have been popping up before me all day so i wanted to throw my hat into the ring. all love to ppl who are exercising their creative minds + ppl like geoff here who just talk about these things because of fan interest but i feel like there reaches a point where exploring the "types" of isekai is pointless? i've seen ppl list out the different types of villainess revenge isekai or fantasy mmorpg isekai but eh why fit them all into separate boxes like that?

i think it's easier to think of isekai as a "type" (genre) of itself with only two categories: 1) a focus on isekai (lit. another world) 2) tensei (lit. to be reborn). this allows for a variety of applications and thus tropes that ppl see so many trends of!

with isekai - in another world

you see everything from:

pure fantasy (inuyasha, digimon wait maybe not the best example but in my childhood mind i count digimon as pure fantasy, fushigi yugi)

mmorpg inspired fantasy/adventure (.hack//legend of twilight, sao ugh, log horizon, overlord (LOVE OVERLORD!)

otome game-esque worlds >>> this is where it gets complicated with "villainess routes" since i admit there are multiple villainess tropes but this is why it's nice to not think of this as a "sub-type/genre" bc it frees you from those complications! (the saint's magic power is omnipotent, the white cat's revenge as plotted from the dragon king's lap soso cute!, the savior's book cafe in another world, i'm a villainous daughter so i'm going to keep the last boss wait i can't remember if she's reborn in this one lmaooo see this is why rules make everything hard)

with tensei storylines - being reincarnated/reborn in another world as *insert character/role*

you see...

the same tropes!!

pure fantasy (a returner's magic should be special, reminiscence adonis, the lady and the beast, light and shadow, i can't think of a manga off the top of my head for this ah)

mmorpg inspired fantasy/adventure (so i'm a spider so what i stan kumoko so hard, her majesty's swarm, can't name another off the top of my head ah i hate lists shorter than two things...)

self-insert based games/novels (fiance's observation log of a self-proclaimed villainess, who made me a princess, death is the only ending for the villainess, the villainess wants to marry a commoner, honestly games vs novels are different applications but i'm not in the headspace to try to remember a bunch of both lol)

*insert line break to give random ppl a break from scrolling but tl; dr just enjoy things for what they are no need to micro analyze*

similar variations occur in both genres (if ppl want to be super technical i guess i'm arguing that isekai itself is a massive genre that has the "another world" subgenre and "reincarnation" subgenre tl; dr) so i think it's honestly a huge pain to try to separate all these trends into so many different types of stories. for me personally it's easier to not get overwhelmed by this gigantic umbrella of "isekai" that spans light novels, manhwa, manga, and mobile games by just stripping each story down into its trademark tropes (aka character archetypes, story structures) and slapping "oh this is a person going to a world that's not ours" and "this person gets reborn as blank in another world". none of this "omg this power fantasy is such a this kind of isekai moment" or "there are 14 different types of villainess revenge stories and this series fits into this" bc AH labels! limitations! circle-jerks via ppl trying to compartmentalize everything and sound smart for leaving a comment on story analysis instead of ooh-ahhing over a character's face! dividing things into light novel manga vs manga vs korean manhwa ft. female characters!

the last bit is mainly why i feel frustrated by ppl's insistence to group everything?

the video linked at the beginning of the post (honestly good video essay, i enjoyed it, i just kept thinking in my head the whole time "marimo these are tropes do not take the genre talk literally") has a baby comment thread talking about "korean isekai manhwas" as a genre featuring nothing but reincarnated villainess' and i can't.

like i cannot acknowledge that as a genre of any sort. the energy i felt reading through some of those insights takes me back to 2012 when all yt americans discovered k-pop and deemed all korean music k-pop from then on! (ppl still do this now, yes you are seen and don't talk to me pls i don't like you. k-pop is korean pop music and nothing less and nothing more. take a few seconds and try to parse apart aspects of korean culture instead of slamming everything into a monolithic label that has the letter k and a hyphen.) it feels so odd to see a bunch of young ppl on ig and tiktok acknowledge korean media that happens to be in the form of a webtoon as "oh stories all about young girls becoming villains in stories they made/played" bc it feels so reductive u.u

(positionality disclaimer that i'm praying isn't actually necessary: i am a 3rd-generation korean of japanese descent do not fite me i am exhausted irl of ppl asking for validation/verification bc massive shove off.)

breaking news! korean manhwa...is just as multifaceted as japanese manga...bc how can comics as an art-form not have multiple genres...huh such a shocker?!?! same likely applies to media in other parts of the world like chinese manhwa and french comics--not my place to explain either of those i just know those industries exist bc of wakfu and donghua shows by Tencent.

at the end of the day it's not like analyzing any kind of isekai is wrong--absolutely not!! i think it can be super fun to think about how isekai elements complicate a story (MCs trying to go back home, ppl from the og world, reincarnation plot-twists) or maybe even bash a series for including some kind of other world element when they could have just written a super fun fantasy.

insert marimo's brief ramble that hey you can get sick of truck-kun's hitting disillusioned guys who happen to be super duper smart or girls who happen to be master chefs/craftsmen but transporting a fully-grown being into a fantasy setting is the ultimate cheat code for making mundane modern technology seem cool and overpowered, and being reincarnated as a fully grown person in a world with a pre-made story/game set-up completely bypasses the need for an author to slowly flesh out world-building in a natural progression so isekai is actually a really smart writing tool it's just that there are some series where the author didn't use it well at all and it's cheesy or clearly isekai was misused as a vehicle for character/story development and it was pointless *DEEP BREATH OUT*

in this essay i will argue...lol i am such a culture studies major!! if i were an english major i would be talking all about writing but here i am having a side-tangent about world-building via someone being reborn wow i love this for me (don't get me started on when an author has someone reincarnate as a baby and the story is mostly them having warm fluffy moments with their family--typically father figures--and getting lots of powers i could and would and probably will rant about east asian toxicity)

but anyway am i crazy????? like yes for being passionate about the technical use of a word like genre (i am a scorpio rising let me be fussy pls) but i don't think it's a lot to ask for ppl to not unironically see "villainess revenge isekai" as the definition of korean manhwa.

idk as someone who resonates with why japanese isekai is so popular domestically + why a lot of korean manhwa feat. the same tropes (it's not for great reasons lads it's actually depressing tbh) i'm just starting to feel kind of pained by the generalization and need to separate "cute japanese girl in an otome game"/"japanese boy finds a harem in another world" from "korean girl dies and comes back as a villainess" bc they are just! applications to the same story device!!

recommendations for any who makes it this far down below <3

// also gladly recommend any of the examples i've listed in the above rant as i've read/watched all of them and adore them v much! //

save me princess

super refreshing fantasy manhwa ft. a princess and her ex-boyfriend having to save the world!

the beginning after the end

an AMERICAN web novel turned into a comic (but see it being not korean/japanese doesn't really matter when you just consider isekai as a genre...isn't it nice to not overthink it?) ft. a super-powerful wizard king reincarnated into another world and starting from scratch--gives mushoku tensei vibes but huge twists!

the reason why raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion

love love LOVE this story--read the title and you'll learn how this girl reincarnated as the character raeliana in a book gets married to a duke!

trash of the count's family

such a good novel!! a guy gets reborn as a lazy oaf and he takes the hero of the story under his wing...plot twists come up later on!

this time i will definitely be happy!

v good and refreshing for a shorter series! she's been reborn 3 times and remembers every time the hero's stabbed her in the back, and now she just wants to break up with him!

silver diamond

older manga but v good adventure w intrigue! a boy who loves plants get sucked into a desert world with demonic lizards and a mysterious bodyguard by his side. shonen-ai not BL but wonderful vibes nonetheless + great side characters!

the princess imprints a traitor

adore everything in this from the world (not in that way this society makes me so angry) to the machinations at play and the dynamic between the fl and ml

[paperpeachy]

dimentio!

🎭

How I feel about this character

trooly the blueprint. i luv him a lot!!!! i rlly like how dimentio is fairly inactive for half the game- you face off the most w o'chunks n mimi, and mimi n L are these big involved chp bosses. dimentio sorta chimes in every now and then until the script just FLIPS in chp 6 and he just takes the reigns so suddenly- and everything is happening so FAST and he takes advantage of the chaos so so well. he starts by goading mimi n L to go against the count's orders, waits for them to do their part, meets up w L and makes sure he dispatches of him properly, meets up with the heroes and makes sure he dispatches of them properly as well. spm wouldn't b as interestingly structured w/o an unaccounted-for-factor like him. the way he works is always so fun n entertaining !! forever a delight even tho i don't talk abt him much... i do lov a chessmaster.

All the people I ship romantically with this character hmmm ! i sorta talked abt this before- i don't rlly ship my dimentio w anyone, but... im also not too passionate abt my take on him, so i appreciate when ppl try make dimigi work- in a way that gives dim’s chara room to play around w ! i think they're characters who deserve their dynamic being explored, esp since their relationship in-game is one of the most notable ones, along w peach/bowser and timpani/blumiere. they all preform such grand feats, it'd b a waste for me to sweep their dynamic under the rug just bc it's unconventional. so, while it may not b for me personally, it's def one im here to appreciate in som cases !

My non-romantic OTP for this character HMMMMM HM HM.....i wanna say... mimi, for however long it lasted. these two are the least compassionate of team bleck i'd say- and i feel like that kind of emotion stiffness is somn dimentio plays w when he's around w mimi. esppp since in my hc, they have a LOTT of history together that mimi can't quite remember, but it adds som substance to their interactions. they're bickering around one second, teaching the other how to levitate rubees, generally using magic foolery to nab w/e mimi wants from the mall. and then a few chapters later dimentio starts acting up and mimi is quick to notice. when dimentio picks on her it comes off more malicious and mimi isn't taking any of it and they both just CLASH AND. and. ok i guess this isn't as much of a brotp as it is a tragic, fleeting friendship. they're like. friends to enemies to bitterly thinking back on memories and being like 'yeah i hate his guts and never want to see that freak again but he was fun sorta....while it lasted. whatever' SOMN LIKE THAT.

My unpopular opinion about this character i don't think he's expressive at all. the spectrum of dimentio emotions goes from comic---->tragic and in extreme cases madly comic---->madly tragic. like, he has an image to retain ! i don't think he ever gets mad, even as a facade. he's two sides of a theatre mask and that's a big appeal of him to me.....that he's so fully immersed in his charming court jester shtick. i do think hes being fr when he says hes always deadly serious- i just think....he has a pure theatre soul. that's just what he embodies ! uncanny smiles and uncanny tears. uncanny man i lov u so.... anyway my point is i just don't think he gets. legitimately frustrated or angry. hes too pretty for that.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon. NOTHING RLLY.... i can't think of anything aaah i like that he went out in a mystery like that. i like the note spm ended on so i'm fine w the amount of autonomy he had ;v;