Satou: Uhh, you're requesting me a lot, are you doing alright financially???

Makino: Yeah, absolutely, by using textbook and blackmail money

She's winning frfr

Yeah people are definitely mischaracterizing her here. They’re acting like she went “I know , I’ll threaten my sister and get her to give me money!” rather than what actually happened, which was the sister making up both sides of the scenario in her head and then just taking the money her sister offered her.

"Please don't tell Mom! I'll do anything!"
"*Anything?* Eh...? Alright, there is one thing I'd like from you..."

This is literally what's on the page. There's not much room for interpretation.

For the record, I, at least, am not suddenly in a position of, "Wow, I now hate this story and character." If anything I find it funny just how low she's gone. But I must acknowledge that it is horrible of her.

I'm like Ivanhoe championing Rebecca in her trial for witchcraft. I suddenly feel so cool.

I was about to write "hah hah, what an exaggeration" when I recalled all the things peepz have been commenting about mc, before and after last chapter. Then I realized the analogy is good. Too many commenters in Dynasty take any fault or wrong by a fictional character as a excuse to put them through a honking trial for witchcraft, medieval way.

I'm like Ivanhoe championing Rebecca in her trial for witchcraft. I suddenly feel so cool.

I was about to write "hah hah, what an exaggeration" when I recalled all the things peepz have been commenting about mc, before and after last chapter. Then I realized the analogy is good. Too many commenters in Dynasty take any fault or wrong by a fictional character as a excuse to put them through a honking trial for witchcraft, medieval way.

Where’s the ‘like’ button around here?

(Remember: Onee-san is an independent adult from a very wealthy background, the fee she paid is most assuredly nothing to her.)

I was wondering about this. Makino is kept on a tight leash, but isn't the family wealthy? Like, owning the cram school Satou is working for?

lmao she's scummy alright

Sleeping course chapter is going to be wild

Yeah people are definitely mischaracterizing her here. They’re acting like she went “I know , I’ll threaten my sister and get her to give me money!” rather than what actually happened, which was the sister making up both sides of the scenario in her head and then just taking the money her sister offered her.

"Please don't tell Mom! I'll do anything!"
"*Anything?* Eh...? Alright, there is one thing I'd like from you..."

This is literally what's on the page. There's not much room for interpretation.

For the record, I, at least, am not suddenly in a position of, "Wow, I now hate this story and character." If anything I find it funny just how low she's gone. But I must acknowledge that it is horrible of her.

Essentially this. It is interesting how many people have come out of the woodwork to actually defend and outright try to excuse the main character. "Oh, the sister set up 90% of the blackmail herself", as if that is not an utterly insane position to have. Or concocting fanfiction scenarios where the sister is not bothered and is almost depicted as happy to be giving money to her "cute baby sister". (Amusingly, although there is at least one poster here who usually has issues with such fanfictional interpretations, they apparently do not have a problem if the particular fanfics are feeding into their own narrative.)

But as usual, these pious lectures always ignore the fact that in stories context matters—generic context (the expectations for a given genre), tonal context (the tone set up by a given story, including the art style as well as the writing), authorial context (how a given author usually tells stories), etc. The idea that readers of this story might be led to think that real-life blackmail is “good” is quite ludicrous.

Tonal context is the issue here, and is almost definitely the reason some people reacted strongly to this chapter. The main character was not shown doing anything as scummy as this before. Her victims were also presented rather unsympathetically (the parents), giving people even less reason to be upset. And all of this was presented in a light-hearted comedic tone. And now suddenly she is blackmailing her sister in order to get money to pay for a gay prostitute, and what is she blackmailing her sibling for? Oh, right. For being gay. Presented in the same light-hearted comedic tone.

Her actions are telling us that what she has done is repugnant, but what the tone and the cutesy art are telling us is "lololol, look how scummy she is, she like, booked a hooker immediately, how funny is that, lololol".

yeah, though to clarify, i'm like honestly happy that she's doing something scummy because it's like, finally I am getting what this story promised me. haha

My issue is that 16 chapters in is far, faaaaar too late for the story to do that. I actually expected something like this would happen when I picked up this series, because, you know, the title. But then it went on and on and on and I was never really sold on the main character being scum because that element was barely there at all.

If the author wrote her to be as scummy as she is now from the get-go, even with the comedic tone, it would have been fine. That would be the whole point of the series, and people would know what to expect and could enjoy it for what it was. Very few people would be surprised or outraged, as all of us literally signed up for this exact premise.

But then the author spent 15 whole chapters establishing the main character to not really be all that scummy, and only now swerving into what the manga was supposed to deliver from the beginning. And again, even such a swerve could have been handled better if the comedic tone that laced everything up until this point was dropped, at least for this particular scene. But nope, the author decided to have their cake and eat it too.

The combination of the main character's previous antics being less severe and the fact the tone remained the same creates the impression that the author considers this blackmail to be just as innocuous as the aforementioned previous antics. To draw a comparison with a series that otherwise has very little in common with this manga, in Liberty the love interest is a horrible and deeply unstable person without any redeeming qualities, but the way the author writes her is as though we are supposed to sympathise with her. There is a dichotomy between what we are presented with and the way the author presents it.

Essentially, it is bad writing.

Wow.
Way too many people are way too personally offended at this chapter.

I think the nuance you're missing in your positions is harm. You're assuming harm, when it's been all comedy so far. If there is some harm on the sister's part shown in the future, then I'll be on your side, but until then, this is minimal scummy, not worth the giant essay above my comment here.

I'm 99% sure this blackmail is somehow going to completely blow up in MC's face. Maybe Satou finding out and refusing to see her again or something? Would just fit the general theme of the story I think

Essentially this. It is interesting how many people have come out of the woodwork to actually defend and outright try to excuse the main character. "Oh, the sister set up 90% of the blackmail herself", as if that is not an utterly insane position to have. Or concocting fanfiction scenarios where the sister is not bothered and is almost depicted as happy to be giving money to her "cute baby sister". (Amusingly, although there is at least one poster here who usually has issues with such fanfictional interpretations, they apparently do not have a problem if the particular fanfics are feeding into their own narrative.)

Quite a bit of garbled thinking on display in this post, which conflates what the story shows, what the author intends or may intend, and what readers are saying. Who exactly are you accusing of being "insane" here?

So far from being an "insane" interpretation or a fanfiction attempt to "excuse" the MC's blackmail, the reading that "the sister (inadvertently) set up the MC's blackmail scheme herself" is exactly what the story shows in no uncertain terms. (To be sure, "the sister is now fine with it" is indeed currently just speculation without evidence.)

And so far from being "insane," the overly quick offer of "I'll do anything!" by someone caught doing something they don't want revealed is a bog-standard story trope, and the standard response by the "blackmailer" is to give an evil leer and then make their demand, which varies in seriousness according to the genre.

EDIT: Actually, the other person first says, “Anything?” Case in point, among many other possible examples:

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/secret_of_the_princess_ch01#5

Few readers here have denied that it's crappy, wrong, unethical, etc., behavior for the MC to take advantage of her sister this way, most also agree that the blackmail creates a tonal shift from what has gone on previously in this story, and a number of readers are uncomfortable with that change. But to point out that the MC simply begins to say that she knows that the sister's "boyfriend" is a girl when the sister blurts out "I'll do anything!" is no one's imposed "narrative" and it's the furthest thing from "fanfiction." It's simply an incontrovertible fact.

last edited at Feb 20, 2022 10:54AM

I want to put a cap on the term blackmail for the moment.
Think of it like this: do you really think scummy has any intentions of actually telling her folks?
I don't think so, she might make a nudge about it at most, but until we see her seriously considering telling then it's not really blackmail

I want to put a cap on the term blackmail for the moment.
Think of it like this: do you really think scummy has any intentions of actually telling her folks?
I don't think so, she might make a nudge about it at most, but until we see her seriously considering telling then it's not really blackmail

I try to stay away from the predictions business, but in general this series reminds me of those stories of a fairly likable grifter (in British slang, a chancer) who drifts from scheme to scheme, grabbing opportunities as they present themselves, and getting further and further in over their head as they come up with each new half-baked scheme in order to avoid the consequences of the previous one. (Although the “drug addict” analogy someone mentioned has a good bit of relevance as well).

I do agree that it remains to be seen what the sister’s attitude toward all this will be; we just haven’t seen a great deal of her so far, so this situation could resolve itself in any number of different ways.

I do agree that it remains to be seen what the sister’s attitude toward all this will be; we just haven’t seen a great deal of her so far

So far we know she's independent (she has her own house), she's single (but like girls and seems to be dating Sena), she gets along well with her imouto (she's happy when she gets a call from her), and of course we know that her family is CRAZY RICH (they own a nationwide chain of elite cram schools). We don't know about her job or personal sources of income, but it's a given that she makes a lot—because her parents wouldn't be satisfied otherwise, and also because without a doubt Sena is very expensive. ≺evil laugh≻

I do agree that it remains to be seen what the sister’s attitude toward all this will be; we just haven’t seen a great deal of her so far, so this situation could resolve itself in any number of different ways.

Assuming the sister exists as more than a plot device, to show up Makino's deficiencies and provide an extra source of income.

^ This.
Good that somebody realizes it.

dang, this was not what I expected to see in the comments. and here I was being overwhelmed by cuteness, from both the characters and the author

well I guess I'll throw in my two cents. MC just thought "I can get paid to do something I was gonna do anyway? sweet!" and took it. "Blackmail" honestly didn't even cross my mind, since it was kinda thrust at her one-sidedly. It's more like the sister is offering a bribe, and MC sees no reason to correct her overly hasty assumptions and tell her that it's not needed.

last edited at Feb 20, 2022 6:15PM

Okay now she is actually being really scummy by kind of black mailing her sis to send her money to not say anything. Like thats really bad. I do wonder how much her sister is sending her to keep her quiet

While the sister may think she gets along with Makino, we also know that Makino resents how much her parents keep comparing her to her older sister. I don't think that this means Makino is happy to get back at her, but it may explain why she has no scruples about accepting hush money.

dang, this was not what I expected to see in the comments. and here I was being overwhelmed by cuteness, from both the characters and the author

well I guess I'll throw in my two cents. MC just thought "I can get paid to do something I was gonna do anyway? sweet!" and took it. "Blackmail" honestly didn't even cross my mind, since it was kinda thrust at her one-sidedly. It's more like the sister is offering a bribe, and MC sees no reason to correct her overly hasty assumptions and tell her that it's not needed.

Overwhelmed by cuteness here, too.

A simple summary of this chapter would be: Makino is sad because she has no moneys to buy nookie from Maron (and all the readers are sad too because we feel for her) then a pie from the sky falls on her lap and she is happy again because now she has moneys for nookie (and all the readers feel now happy and waffy as well).

Of course when I say "all the readers" I'm talking about the intended audience of Japanese readers. If you carry a different cultural baggage then ymmv.

I do agree that it remains to be seen what the sister’s attitude toward all this will be; we just haven’t seen a great deal of her so far

So far we know she's independent (she has her own house), she's single (but like girls and seems to be dating Sena), she gets along well with her imouto (she's happy when she gets a call from her), and of course we know that her family is CRAZY RICH (they own a nationwide chain of elite cram schools). We don't know about her job or personal sources of income, but it's a given that she makes a lot—because her parents wouldn't be satisfied otherwise, and also because without a doubt Sena is very expensive. ≺evil laugh≻

Not only is the family rich but they also spoil their kids rotten. No wonder the MC wound up the way she did. She was privileged and spoiled rotten and never felt the need to work and do anything for herself because she was already given everything from the get-go without any real consequences. Remember, her room is FILLED with Chiron merch and that merch is expensive and the MC hasn't worked a day in her goddamn life, meaning that her parents spoiled her so much to let her get all of that merch.

To add, the sister was a childhood prodigy, hard-working, going into a solid career, and probably does have a decent paying job, so the fact that she pretty readily accepts giving her money does imply she's probably not having many financial issues either

Just ask her out already!

Essentially this. It is interesting how many people have come out of the woodwork to actually defend and outright try to excuse the main character. "Oh, the sister set up 90% of the blackmail herself", as if that is not an utterly insane position to have. Or concocting fanfiction scenarios where the sister is not bothered and is almost depicted as happy to be giving money to her "cute baby sister". (Amusingly, although there is at least one poster here who usually has issues with such fanfictional interpretations, they apparently do not have a problem if the particular fanfics are feeding into their own narrative.)

Bois-Guilbert, is that you?

Not only is the family rich but they also spoil their kids rotten. No wonder the MC wound up the way she did. She was privileged and spoiled rotten and never felt the need to work and do anything for herself because she was already given everything from the get-go without any real consequences. Remember, her room is FILLED with Chiron merch and that merch is expensive and the MC hasn't worked a day in her goddamn life, meaning that her parents spoiled her so much to let her get all of that merch.

Spoiled rotten? Scummy doesn't like studying because her tightass parents kept shaming her for not being as good as her big sis, so she naturally developed an aversion towards what they kept shaming her over and instead throws her all into escapism

Unless your definition of spoiled is "wasn't tought strong values by her incompetent parents" and it doesn't matter that's she has a highly uncomfortable home environment, or as the title puts it, a hard life

It is interesting how many people have come out of the woodwork to actually defend and outright try to excuse the main character. "Oh, the sister set up 90% of the blackmail herself", as if that is not an utterly insane position to have. Or concocting fanfiction scenarios where the sister is not bothered and is almost depicted as happy to be giving money to her "cute baby sister". (Amusingly, although there is at least one poster here who usually has issues with such fanfictional interpretations, they apparently do not have a problem if the particular fanfics are feeding into their own narrative.)

Figures that with a nick like UranusAndNeptuneAreJustCousins you'd be a troll. Makino never had any intention to snitch on anyone, much less blackmail. This is textual fact. This is canon. Her sister, who very plainly loves Makino, offered a bribe and Makino accepted because, as in the Chinese saying somebody quoted, it was pie from the sky. Denying this is just trolling. And the personal attacks don't make it any better. Who are you calling insane? Who feeds fanfics to their narrative? If you have personal grudges against Blastaar or whoever, keep them to yourself. Your trolling is almost as dumb as your nick.

Bois-Guilbert, is that you?

Nope, Bois-Guilbert was a cool bad guy. This is just a garden-variety troll.

last edited at Feb 28, 2022 11:35AM