Chapter 305-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
[#1: Ran into what might be the actual rival fandom character at a comic convention today. What do I do?]
[#2: What do you mean? You bumped into a rival fandom's fan creator?]
[#3: No—I feel like it was her. The actual person.]
[#4: Is OP's fave a real idol or celeb? If you ran into them, you ran into them. No need to drag 2D grudges into real life.]
[#5: Not a real person—a 2D character...]
[#6: You ran into the actual character at a comic convention? Girl, you realize how creepy that sounds.]
[#7: OP, are you so consumed by rival fandom hatred that you're hallucinating now?]
[#8: That's exactly why I posted! But she was really nice—she complimented the doll of my fave, said it was cute. In person she's literally goddess-tier.]
[#9: It's over for you, OP. You've clearly gone from hate to love. Rival fandom (X) Dream girl (O)]
[#10: What is with you 2D fans, each one more unhinged than the last?]
[#11: Calling it now—OP is some cosplayer's stan or the cosplayer herself doing a reverse promo. Watch, she's about to drop HD cosplay pics any second.]
[#12: I'm losing it—I'm NOT promoting anyone! She walked out of this unfamiliar street, and she looked kind of unwell, so I went up and asked if she needed help. Her aura and looks were seriously not something a 3D human could pull off. I thought she was some famous cosplayer and wanted to exchange contacts.]
[#13: When she spoke, her voice was incredibly beautiful too, overflowing with warmth lol. But the more I looked, the more familiar she seemed. She wasn't wearing any of the typical character costumes—it looked like a battle-damaged original design. But I could totally tell which character she was cosplaying. That gentle, compassionate aura was like she'd walked straight out of the manga. Hard not to recognize her.]
[#14: Up to this point, I just thought I'd met a rival fandom cosplayer with godlike looks. I spent ages agonizing over whether to exchange contacts. My friend who shares my fave even yelled at me for being insane—wanting to befriend a rival fandom member.]
[#15: Yeah, I agree with OP's friend. Careful she doesn't turn around and trash you.]
[#16: So OP talked all that just to say she met a pretty cosplayer? Anyone want to decode which rival character she's talking about? She sounds genuinely amazing.]
[#17: Here's the important part! I decided to at least get a photo together. I wasn't about to let a face that magnificent slip away, even if she was from the rival fandom.]
[#18: BUT—the moment I looked up, she was gone. She vanished, along with the entire street!]
[#19: I've been to that convention venue tons of times. I'd been wondering when they'd built a new street, but I was so focused on the cosplayer I didn't think much of it. Then I look up and it's gone—she and the whole street—back to the way it was before. I nearly dropped my phone.]
[#20: I'm wondering if I accidentally wandered into one of those weird spaces. You know those urban legends that are trending lately? I never believed them before, but when it actually happens to you, you kind of have to.]
The bizarrely titled post quickly became a hit on a certain 2D forum.
[#64: If you really did stumble into one of those rumored anomalous spaces, then you're lucky you met a gentle, compassionate rival fandom lady and not some random monster.]
[#65: Sounds like OP is just hyping herself up—her rival fandom girl just HAD to cross dimensions to tenderly look after her precious little 2D princess~]
[#66: I checked OP's post history and decoded it. OP is a King of the Demonic Domain fan. No wonder this is so unhinged.]
[#67: I knew that rival character description looked familiar. OP really brought the drama right to her own doorstep, huh?]
[#68: I don't read King of the Demonic Domain, but I already decoded which female character it is.]
[#69: Instant decode. OP is a Percy fan, and the rival lady is Ye Zheng.]
[#70: Oh my Ye Zheng!]
[#71: Rival fandom just casually whips up a whole feast out of thin air. Thanks, Percy fans, for the meal.]
[#72: Break it up, people. Listening to Percy stans ramble is less rewarding than checking out the yumejo masterpieces in the Zheng empire. Strongly recommend Milk Tea Taitai's When Ye Zheng Comes to You.]
[#73: Hilarious—even Zheng fans wouldn't dream this beautifully. OP really dreamed it on our behalf.]
[#74: Zheng haters can't find anything to attack about her so they're roleplay trolling to smear us Zheng fans? Our Zheng fandom eats well and our brains are perfectly clear, thanks.]
[#75: Gotta say, you Percy fans really nailed Ye Zheng's characterization. Shove an ugly doll in her face and she'd still call it cute. That's just the kind of gracious person Ye Zheng is.]
[#76: To be precise—if it's Ye Zheng, she should be called the original fandom lady, not the rival.]
...
[#239: What a hilarious post. The Zheng fans descended from all directions like a fleet of steam trains (steam_train.jpg)]
[#240: Neutral here. OP, just surrender—you've already fallen in love with the rival lady!]
[#241: Falling for Ye Zheng is simply human nature.]
[#242: I have a feeling this post is going to become a legendary classic...]
[#243: I can't anymore—cosplayers doing Ye Zheng have already started using "Ran into the actual rival character at a con" as their caption. Another meme for the rival fandom collection.]
[#244: Just curious—what was even the point of OP making up this post? To make us Zheng fans believe her and then die of envy? Well, you win.]
[#245: Truly chilling when you think about it. Percy fans have finally discovered our Zheng fandom's weakness—trying to kill us with jealousy!]
[#246: WHO is out there having chance encounters with my one true love (running around) (screaming hysterically) Did you steal the life where I was supposed to be with Ye Zheng?! (grabs collar) (shakes violently)]
...
Tang Yixin saw the forum screenshot shared in the Zheng fans group chat and burst out laughing.
Probably some Zheng hater trying to mimic those wildly popular yumejo fanfics to smear the Zheng fandom's reputation? Even the worldly Tang Mingxi couldn't fathom any other purpose for making up something like this—surely it couldn't be a real encounter with Ye Zheng.
This week's manga update had a Zheng content level of zero again. They'd been a little down about it, but the rival fandom had just delivered this hilarious treat.
In the newest chapter, Heath brought Percy back to the upper district and revealed the Emperor's true identity: he was none other than Aston XIV, who had led the Empire to defeat the Demon Dragon five hundred years ago. He had been inhabiting his descendants' bodies to stay alive ever since, and his purpose in raising Percy was to prepare his next vessel.
Learning the truth, Percy killed the Emperor in a surge of grief and fury, then set off for the lower district—determined to eliminate the source of the disaster: the Demon Dragon, and Ye Zheng.
After dozens of chapters, he'd finally achieved a small highlight moment.
[#1: Tremble! The king returns to his throne!]
[#2: Is he finally going to start beating the villain? King of the Demonic Domain, I'll believe in you one more time.]
[#3: I genuinely hurt for him. Forever misunderstood by people both in and out of the manga—teammates and mentors dead or gone—the Emperor who he thought truly cared for him had ulterior motives all along. Percy's really suffered too much...]
[#4: With the big showdown looming, putting the male lead through more torment really doesn't make sense.]
[#5: I'm so angry. Is this what happens when a series doesn't get enough buzz? Do you have any conscience toward your own characters, Old Uncle?]
[#6: Percy IS popular, right? The anime brought in tons of fans. It's just that a certain fandom makes a lot of noise with inflated popularity numbers.]
[#7: It probably hasn't been Old Uncle writing the story for a while now. Word is the studio took over ages ago, which is why it's gotten so commercial and politically correct.]
[#8: I've literally never seen a shonen manga where even the protagonist's status gets questioned. When you use the "love women" slogan to bully Percy fans, did you ever consider that we're women too?]
[#9: This forum is worse than certain other boards. At least those boards can still tell protagonist from side character, hero from villain.]
[#10: Percy's already this miserable and people are still calling him Skin-Suit Guy...]
[#11: Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. The baby-girl moms are the ones who love wearing women as skin suits. The Emperor's dead now—that nickname has zero impact on Percy fans, okay?]
...
[#102: How many times has he "returned to the throne" now? I've never seen a protagonist who's perpetually on the way back.]
[#103: The undisputed king of the "returning to the throne" genre.]
[#104: The last one who "returned" was—]
[#105: Sykes and Roy once had their glory days too (sigh). Until they met Ye Zheng (sob).]
[#106: The gold standard of King of the Demonic Domain's one true male lead speaks for itself—the Emperor that Ye Zheng couldn't handle? This man took him out effortlessly. Rival fandom, please stop embarrassing yourselves.]
[#107: Actually it's the rival fandom's male side characters who can't function without our true female lead. Please stop leeching off our tutorials.]
[#108: The feeling when every character I stan gets killed off by Ye Zheng one by one... the redemption arc of it all...]
[#109: I'm begging you, don't stan Percy next...]
[#110: I'm begging you all to stop being boy moms. The more you mom, the worse it gets (at least in this manga).]
[#111: Isn't it perfectly natural for a straight girl to like guys? I'm just a desperate straight woman here!]
[#112: Whatever happened to "liking 2D characters transcends real-world gender and focuses on writing and personality"? Turns out only us baby-girl moms took that seriously.]
[#113: So who exactly is this "desperate straight woman"? I'm straight too and that doesn't stop me from having zero interest in romance. I don't see straight men screaming "I'm a desperate straight man" and then going to war with misogynistic men over women.]
[#114: Here we go again. Zheng fans being terrified of women consuming male beauty is just like their fave—only men get to consume female beauty? After all that righteous punching, the casualty count for men is still zero.]
[#115: If women "loved men" the way men "love women," then streets and entertainment would be full of dainty soft little househusbands in heels and strong, heeled women with rich inner lives and full autonomy—from appearance to spirit.]
[#116: To date, the only fans who've been doxxed by incels are Zheng fans. THAT is what bullying actually looks like—not picking fights you can't win and then crying foul.]
[#117: Zheng fans are the best in the entire fandom at calling out men—from 3D men to 2D men, not a single one spared. Where on earth did you get "zero men harmed"?]
[#118: That doxxing incel already dropped dead, didn't he? And certain boards still had the nerve to spin it as "Zheng fans cyberbullied him to death." Zheng fans and Ye Zheng are both starring in Final Destination at this point. Some people just keep rolling around with their eyes shut.]
[#119: Rest in peace, doxxing bro. Skin-Suit Guy will be joining you soon!]
[#121: I'm not saying anything, but there really does seem to be a divine Zheng force at work. Those who slander the Zheng Goddess—your days are numbered.]
...
[#484: I'm not too optimistic about this. If the Emperor survived for five hundred years with schemes that deep, would he really be killed off that easily?]
[#485: Agreed. Plus, the more I follow the plot, the more I think those earlier theories were right. The Emperor is clearly the villain—maybe the Demon Dragon was actually the force fighting evil five hundred years ago, and got saddled with a bad reputation after losing.]
[#486: I truly don't understand what the female supporting character's fans are clinging to. The plot is obviously heading toward Percy defeating evil and restoring order. No matter how popular Ye Zheng is, she's still just a supporting character.]
[#487: Isn't there a rumor going around that King of the Demonic Domain is just the prologue to Ye Zheng's story, and they're going to launch a Ye Zheng-centric series next?]
[#488: That would be a spin-off, right? Usually just supplementary material outside the main storyline. Once King of the Demonic Domain wraps up and the Demonic Domains are dealt with, even if Ye Zheng survives, what story could she possibly carry?]
[#489: Hard to say. This is Ye Zheng we're talking about—is anything really impossible?]
The protagonist defeats the villain and saves the world. That was the ending everyone expected.
But who was the story's protagonist?
Tang Mingxi didn't even get particularly angry anymore reading those arguments. She channeled indignation into motivation—something she'd learned from Ye Zheng.
July 16th was the date Ye Zheng first appeared in the manga. They were preparing a celebration, and by their estimate, the timing might coincide perfectly with the end of the anime's first season and the manga's conclusion.
Multi-country LED billboard tributes were already in place. She had no doubt whatsoever—this time, too, Ye Zheng would survey the world from her throne of victory.
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