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WIP The Villainess Lives Twice by PARK Jin-woo - Original Fiction - M

Discussion in 'Almost Recommended' started by Halt, Jul 13, 2020.

3.4666700363159/5, 15 votes
  1. Halt

    Halt 1/3 of the Note Bros. Moderator

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    Jul 13, 2020 #1
    Title: The Villainess Lives Twice
    Author: PARK Jin-woo, Piciberry, HAN Mint
    Rating: M
    Genre: Drama / Romance
    Status: WIP
    Summary:
    “Tia, your brother has to do well for you to do well.”

    By committing all sorts of evil acts, she made her brother the emperor. But her dedication was rewarded with betrayal. At the brink of death, the one who extended a helping hand was her arch nemesis, the righteous Grand Duke Cedric.

    "Devise a plan."
    "..."
    "I can't think of anyone else who could turn the tables in this situation, Lady Rozan."
    "..."
    "Lend me your strength."

    It wasn't possible to restore the balance of power for an empire that was already falling into ruin, but there was a way... to turn back time before everything went wrong.

    With her blood and tears, she sacrifices her own body to cast ancient magic in order to turn back time.

    This time, she wouldn't fail.

    Returning back to her 18-year-old self, Artezia resolves to become the villainess for Grand Duke Cedric.

    "Please ask for my hand in marriage. I will make you the Emperor."
    Link: (took down link cuz it's warez, but a cursory Google search will bring up dozens of sites you can read this from)

    This is one of several manhwa @VereorNox recommended to me recently, and by far one of the best I've read.

    TLDR, a political mastermind girl MC makes her brother the Emperor by lying, cheating, and murdering, but in the end is betrayed to keep her quiet. Dejected, she is rescued by the male lead, and she reaches the conclusion that the only way to stop her brother is to go back in time Peggy Sue style.

    She then schemes to make male lead the Emperor in place of her brother.

    The biggest selling point to me other than the total BAMF that the female lead is, is its heavy focus on politics that actually feel organic and not cringe. It has one of the best depictions I've seen across all forms of media, probably up there with House of Cards Season 1-2.

    So long as the story keeps up this level of quality, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be library worthy.

    Recommended for Realpolitik sluts like me.
    Adding in rating: 4/5
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2020
    Xarlor, The End786, oakgem217, VereorNox, mangaguy, Paladin
  2. Sesc

    Sesc Slytherin at Heart Moderator

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    Jul 13, 2020 #2
    It's good. And by "good" I mean "good on a relative scale within the utterly constricting format of a comic". If someone had enough talent and wrote an actual story with this, I'd be all over it. I guess it would turn out something like J. Carey's Kushiel (well, sans the SM stuff).

    As it is, I'm sorely missing the depth that just can't be conveyed with pictures, dialogue and the occasional caption. I dunno what to rate this ... if you're fan of visual stuff, it's a rec, and if it's only because characters in 80% of all cases emote like a rational human being. It helps that MC is supposed to be cold and unfeeling. This renders to behaving like a normal person. OTOH, if you ain't a fan of visual, it's not going to replace an actual story.
     
  3. Selethe

    Selethe normalphobe ⭐

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    Jul 14, 2020 #3
    I enjoyed it. This isn't really a politics story, it's a Romance with intrigue window-dressing (which I'm absolutely fine with tbh). The politics exist so that the MC can be a manipulative puppeteer if that makes sense. Admittedly her plots are clever but the story feels a bit shallow. We don't see her thinking and scheming we just see the effects, and the MC's master plan is unfolding perfectly without any legitimate roadblocks so far. However, the story does seem like it's only just begun. I'll wait a few months then drop a proper review.

    4/5 maybe 5/5 in the future. What can I say I'm biased.
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2020
    CrackedMind, The End786, Halt
  4. Vira

    Vira Third Year ~ Prestige ~

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    Jul 14, 2020 #4
    It's fine.

    Nice art, but most of the characters outside the main couple are shallow. I don't see much character development in the future for the prince or the mother, and honestly, it's a pretty straight-forward story. Good if you're raring for a romance with a competent female protagonist and a guy fixes her awful life and tells people off for her, but it doesn't have a presence outside of that.

    I still read it though.

    3.5/5 - > 3/5.
     
    Kravot
  5. Swirly Mango

    Swirly Mango Seventh Year

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    Jul 14, 2020 #5
    OK, is there a way to view this compacted or something? The artist has so much wasted space it's unbelievable. I'm pressing space to get down the screen to read *glace* then pressing space twice more to see *smirk* then pressing space twice more, then scrolling up, then scrolling down, to read *oh* like it's just a sappy romance wtf.
     
  6. CrackedMind

    CrackedMind Chief Warlock

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    Jul 16, 2020 #6
    I really enjoyed this. I'm a sucker for 'people who're mean to the protagonist get their comeuppance', which is probably why I loved Indy!Harry stories for so long.

    It's just a very solid story. There's definitely more romance than politics, but it really feels like it's only just begun- I breezed through it in like two hours. @Swirly Mango is right about the wasted space too.

    Looking forward to seeing where this goes. 4/5 from me.
     
  7. Download

    Download Auror ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Jul 16, 2020 #7
    Same problem. It's frustrating to read.
     
  8. mangaguy

    mangaguy Fifth Year

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    Jul 16, 2020 #8
    These webtoons are primarily mobile-first. The scrolling is a lot more natural if you read it on mobile.
     
    StrawberryPingu, Feoffic
  9. Donimo

    Donimo Auror

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    Jul 23, 2020 #9
    It's the 50% white space killing my eyes, more than the scrolling, that's the problem.
     
  10. Donimo

    Donimo Auror

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    Jul 24, 2020 #10
    I finished what's available. 3.5/5 Good for what it is, maybe it will get better.
     
  11. Dryops

    Dryops Second Year DLP Supporter

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    Jul 29, 2020 #11
    I really enjoyed this. I'm fairly new to the genre, but it's a great blend of story and art. I do agree with the others who suggest reading it on mobile, for a better experience.

    Currently a 4/5 for me, with potential to move either way.
     
  12. Donimo

    Donimo Auror

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    Aug 1, 2020 #12
    This updated with a couple more chapters.
     
  13. Kobolum

    Kobolum Squib

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    Aug 4, 2020 #13
    So, our main character is an evil lady who has a guy friend that lost his family. They're both involved with a girl who is too pure for this world. They have to deal with an evil prince in line for the throne who is clearly the true villain of the story, and a somewhat tense political situation due to the scheming nature of nobles.

    I just described the bare-bones of two stories: The Villainess Lives Twice and To Be You, Even Just for a Day.

    I've read 26 chapters of The Villainess Lives Twice and 13 chapters of To Be You, Even Just for a Day. I read To Be You one week before The Villainess Lives Twice and as I was reading Lives Twice, I kept thinking of how To Be You did everything Lives Twice did but better.

    For example, The main character of Lives Twice feels like a bad person by circumstance. She's said to be evil, and we are shown some evidence of that, but it doesn't do enough to make me think that she's actually an evil person that's actually capable of doing the things that were told about. It doesn't help that the opening of the story is her being falsely accused of a crime she didn't commit. By contrast, I feel that the villainess of To Be You would actually kill me if I met her in person.

    I say give the story a look and if you like it go read it To Be You, Even Just for a Day.

    3.5/5
     
    StrawberryPingu
  14. Donimo

    Donimo Auror

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    Aug 18, 2020 #14
    This updated again with several chapters.
     
  15. Nicovi

    Nicovi Fourth Year

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    Aug 27, 2020 #15
    While it has some charm it reads like a weak fix-it-fic.

    There is only so long everything can go "just as planned" before it gets boring. 33 chapters in and almost all characters are both shallow and predictable, with anyone* passing a turing test on the MC's side.

    *Well, apart from her brother. But he mostly just stoically stare at stuff with his long milky shoujo eyelashes.

    A mastermind needs a capable nemesis or at the very least some occasional bad luck. At this point I'll settle for her stubbing her toe.

    2/5, eagerly awaiting some conflict.
     
    Deft
  16. Sesc

    Sesc Slytherin at Heart Moderator

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    Nov 14, 2020 #16
    I just caught up, and I actually think it gets quite a bit better. 4/5 at least.

    I don't mind the lack of a pushback against her, for now. All her plans (except the engagement) are covert, so it takes a while for anyone to notice and react. I also think Tia got more depth; there is this nice contrast of awkward feelings and her remorseless, ultra-utilitarian view of everything, including herself, as a tool to achieve her goal. Makes me want to huggle her and have her all for myself.

    upload_2020-11-14_21-12-58.png

    I mean, how is this not utterly perfect? upload_2020-11-14_23-41-46.png
     
  17. Donimo

    Donimo Auror

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    Nov 15, 2020 #17
    Doesn't seem to be updating on the linked site anymore. Where are you reading it?
     
  18. Sesc

    Sesc Slytherin at Heart Moderator

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    Nov 15, 2020 #18
    That post only included what's there, so through ch.33. Like I said, I was catching up. Turns out there is more, but you need to join their discord to read it on their own site (#faq). They moved it over. The link is here, decide for yourself whether those are too many hoops to jump through.

    https://mangadex.org/group/7881/sawateam