Webnovel Review: The Supporting Male Character Just Wants to Be a Tool Man by 林盎司

Title: The Supporting Male Character Just Wants to Be a Tool Man
Author: 林盎司
Chapters: 213 chapters + 59 extras
Publication: 2021
Summary from Novel Updates:

Shen QingShu, 22, died in an accident. His biggest regret before his death was that he’d been single all his life. He obviously wasn’t a monk, but he’d never eaten meat.

Then, when he opened his eyes, he saw a handsome, self-assured man standing before him. The handsome man parted his thin lips slightly and asked, “Wanna have a one-night stand?”

Shen QingShu didn’t hesitate at all. “Let’s do it! Twice!”

The next morning, Shen QingShu woke up aching all over. Only then did he discover he’d transmigrated into a book. The handsome guy beside him who’d gone two rounds with him was the protagonist gong, Han Cheng, the second son of the Han Group.

And the original owner of this body was just a disliked, death-seeking cannon fodder.

Shen QingShu: …Well, this is f*cking awkward.

But Shen QingShu didn’t panic. Anyway, he was just a cannon fodder. He figured they’d part in a few days

He knew he was a tool man, a character who only existed to develop the plot.

-Half a year later-

Shen QingShu looked at the man next to him and wondered: It’s been more than six months. Why hasn’t he left already?

Until the day he saw the protagonist shou and Han Cheng meet by accident.

Tool man Shen QingShu immediately felt the call of duty. Eyes shining, he prepared to push the plot forward.

“Don’t come looking for me in the future.” Shen QingShu was extremely self-aware.

Han Cheng was shocked. “Why? Do you have feelings for someone else? Who is it?”

Shen QingShu: … Darling, this reaction isn’t quite right.

“I don’t accept this,” Han Cheng said, furious. “One day as husband and wife means a hundred days of grace. Can you even calculate how much grace we have?”

Shen QingShu: … No, wait, what are you talking about? It’s not like I’m your wife. I’m just a tool man, and it’s time for me to go offline!

However, Shen QingShu found that not only did the protagonist gong refuse to let him go offline, he was going to make him his bride!

Shen QingShu: I’m crying.

4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

The comedy was top tier! I laughed so hard whenever Shen QingShu, Han Cheng, or their family and friends became Oscar level actors deep in the act just to piss people off! All of their enemies vomited buckets of blood with every interaction lol. 

While I loved how fleshed out and lovable Shen QingShu and Han Cheng were (the best couple ever, the greenest flags I've read to date), I also loved how the author wrote her villains so detestably. In a lot of novels, you have 2D villains who are just meant to push the love interests along; their reasons for revenge are generically shallow. You're meant to hate them just because they're the villain and have plans to hurt the protagonist or their love interest. 

Here, we have villains who are so self-absorbed, so delusional, so VICTIMIZED that they constantly think they deserve the best with no regards of how this would hurt others because they're the only ones that matter. That's why it is SO REFRESHING when Shen QingShu and gang stage these dogblood skits just to put them in their place and reflect how delusional they are! 

Also didn't expect to tear up a few times. How dare you cut onions near me when I'm having a good time reading about Shen QingShu and Han Cheng's super oblivious love for each other! Their hilarious teasing and care for each other in the name of being car friends was so cute and funny. Shen QingShu was so clear headed and strong and was always willing to do what he thought would make Han Cheng happiest. He was so soft but so strong at his core. And Han Cheng was always distressed for him because of this reason. Instead, he was even more gentle towards Shen QingShu. Once they got together for real, it was dog food every day because they were so obviously smitten with each other, which was so fluffy and hilarious.

The parallelism and satire throughout the book was also great. I loved all of the family interactions with Hang Cheng's family. They were great and hilarious together. Finally, an example of healthy family dynamics, especially for a rich family with two potential heirs. Compared to Shen QingShu's family when he transmigrated over, what a breath of fresh air.

Overall, this was a great, hilarious novel. I just wished that the comedy was a little stronger during the second half of the book like how the first half was.

New Anime and Movies This Fall That I'm Excited For!

Last fall's anime overall were pretty good! Alec and I watched five of them and liked most of them. Unfortunately, I'll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History was kind of meh. You don't need watch it unless you really like the villainess genre.

Didn't end up watching any of the movies though. Honestly, I haven't been to the movies in almost a year now and haven't been in the mood to try any of the movies on Netflix for a while. Maybe we could turn it into a date night idea since Alec has been experimenting with popcorn seasonings lol.

Anime:

• Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Season 3
• Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V: Goddess of Fertility Arc
• DAN DA DAN
• Shangri-La Frontier Season 2
• Loner Life in Another World
• As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I'll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World Season 2
• Let This Grieving Soul Retire
• I'll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History
• Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii
• How I Attended an All-Guy's Mixer
• Murai in Love
• The Do-Over Damsel Conquers The Dragon Emperor

Movies:

• Bad Genius (Oct 11)
• We Live in Time (Oct 18)
• Venom: The Last Dance (Oct 25)
• Red One (Nov 15)
• Moana 2 (Nov 27)

Books I Want to Read This Month

Oops! Didn't mean to go on another unexplained hiatus! By the time I realized that I had already published all of my scheduled posts, I was in New York or recovering from another sickness. It seems like we're busy almost every weekend, and I have no motivation to blog after work, so it's hard trying to find time to blog anymore. 

Also, I have a feeling that the more behind that I am with my posts, the more pressure mental pressure I give myself to catch up, which makes me dread actually posting anything... It's a self-defeating circle. I really need to do better. I am working on it! 

After talking to my manager, I realized that when I do creative work (like scrapbooking) outside of my actual work, I have a lot more energy and ideas when it comes to my projects! Like, we both realized that we need creative outlets to get our creative juices flowing for work when we're stuck. 

I think because I stopped posting and scrapbooking as much since moving and getting married that I've been in a mental creative rut, which has affected not just work but my daily life as well. So I'm going to try to be more intentional about getting back into my crafts and hobbies! I definitely plan on reading as well, but it might not be as much as before. Stay tuned~

In the meantime, here are the books I plan to read this month:

1. Yona of the Dawn vol. 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi
2. Yona of the Dawn vol. 2 by Mizuho Kusanagi
3. Yona of the Dawn vol. 3 by Mizuho Kusanagi
4. Wotakoi Love Is Hard for Otaku vol. 1 by Fujita
5. Wotakoi Love Is Hard for Otaku vol. 2 by Fujita
6. Wotakoi Love Is Hard for Otaku vol. 3 by Fujita
7. Wotakoi Love Is Hard for Otaku vol. 4 by Fujita
8. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Familia Chronicle Novel vol. 1 by Fujino Omori
9. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
10. Scum Villain's Self-Saving System vol. 1 Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
11. Bailin and Li Yun by Jayessart
12. Home Body by Rupi Kaur
13. This is for the Women Who Don't Give a Fuck by Janne Robinson
14. Please Don't Go Before I Get Better by Madisen Kuhn
15. Heart Talk by Cleo Wade

October in Retrospect

We got married in October, so it was a pretty busy month for us preparing the house and getting everything ready for family to come over and spend a week at our place. That didn't leave as much room to read, but we did have a horror movie night at a friend's house on Halloween!

I read: 

• This Alpha Is Little And Sweet by 摇摇兔
• Jiangzhi's Female Supporting Role Just Wants to Lie Flat by 栗非
• The System Forced Me To Raise The Hero And Villain by 醉折桃花
• Being A Soft Rice Boy In A Zerg Group by 软饭天才
• The Sick Beauty And His Bamboo Horse Bodyguard [Book Wearing] by Su Mang
• The Green Lotus Peasant Girl by 倾碧悠然
• Seventy's Only Daughter Doesn't Want to Work Hard Anymore by 海岛听雨
• Doomsday Cannon Fodder Who Just Wants to Be Salted Fish by 简三顾

I watched: 

• That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 (2024)
• The Ossan Newbie Adventurer (2024)
• Parasite (2019)
• The Exorcist (1973)
• I Parry Everything (2024)

Books I Want to Read This Month

I finally started reading Demon Slayer over the holiday break because I'm too impatient to wait for the movies to know what happens next! Although, I still can't wait for them to come out because these fight scenes are going to be amazing animated! Also, I've already cried so many times reading this series!

1. Demon Slayer vol. 20 by Koyoharu Gotouge
2. Demon Slayer vol. 21 by Koyoharu Gotouge
3. Demon Slayer vol. 23 by Koyoharu Gotouge
4. Yona of the Dawn vol. 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi
5. Yona of the Dawn vol. 2 by Mizuho Kusanagi
6. Yona of the Dawn vol. 3 by Mizuho Kusanagi
7. Wotakoi Love Is Hard for Otaku vol. 1 by Fujita
8. Wotakoi Love Is Hard for Otaku vol. 2 by Fujita
9. Wotakoi Love Is Hard for Otaku vol. 3 by Fujita
10. Wotakoi Love Is Hard for Otaku vol. 4 by Fujita
11. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Familia Chronicle Novel vol. 1 by Fujino Omori
12. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
13. Scum Villain's Self-Saving System vol. 1 Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
14. Bailin and Li Yun by Jayessart
15. Home Body by Rupi Kaur

September in Retrospect

I'm trying to catch up on all of the previous posts! Here's everything that I read and watched last September! I managed to read quite a bit! But I also DNF four books, so it was a mixed bag of books that month lol.

I read: 

• Back to the Year Before the End of the World by N/A
• When A Vampire Bit An Omega by 初陌笙
• When the Male pProtagonist Turns Black [Quick Tme Travel] by 作者
• After I was Reborn, I Became the White Moonlight of the Prince by 小庄周
• Embracing Me Over the Balcony by Roca Kato
• Our Whole Family Has Secrets by 像野
• He, Who Is Always Wrapped By A Snake by Don't Listen To Zhou
• Rebirth of the Bright Starry Sky by j112233

I watched: 

• Tower of God (2020)  [rewatched]
• Spy x Family Code: White (2023)

HAPPY 16TH ANNIVERSARY!

I'm a week late, but...

Sixteen years is a long time to stick to any sort of medium. Last year, I slacked a lot on here because there was so much happening irl that I didn't have the brain power to sit down and write it all down. Now, I kind of regret it because these are the types of situations that I would like to look back and remember and reflect on since I have such a bad memory lol. Instead, I feel like I reached out and talked to more people about my problems this past year, so it feels like a trade off!

Sorry for the unplanned hiatus. A lot happened in the past few months that I was either not home or too exhausted to try to maintain consistent updates. Instead, I had a lot of half written posts drafted here and there, so I'm going to try to get things back in order in the following months and start publishing everything.

Also, I caught a cold last week from all of the traveling, so I'm still feeling brain fog and gross from all of the phlegm coming out of my body 😨

And as I'm typing this post, I'm realizing just how much my index finger is important for keyboards... I broke my nail on my right index finger last month. The nail broke all the way into my nail bed. It's grown out a bit since then, so I thought it was okay, but as I put pressure on the nail when I type, it kind of hurts... I might be slow in typing these posts out... 😭

What a way to start off the new year! Lol thanks for sticking around. I hope you find what you're looking for.

Webnovel Review: The Omega Can’t Pretend to Be a Beta After Accidentally Witnessing the Major General’s Susceptible Period by 翡唐

Title: The Omega Can’t Pretend to Be a Beta After Accidentally Witnessing the Major General’s Susceptible Period
Author: 翡唐
Chapters: 98 chapters
Publication: 2021
Summary from Novel Updates:

The top alpha, Major General Ji Cheying, disguises himself as a down-on-his-luck beta in order to carry out a secret mission. One day, when he goes out to take out the garbage, while wearing a pair of torn socks, he comes across the poor nephew of his landlord, Xie Quan, a good-looking beta who was staying in the dirty and terrible bas**ent.

The two look at each other, each feeling a little sorry for the other.

No one expected that one of these two miserable people was the prestigious Major General Ji and the other was the most powerful mecha engineer in the Empire. And to Ji Cheying’s further surprise, this beautiful beta confessed his passionate love for him!

He was torn again and again under the prudent choice to refuse the other, after all, this is a mission, not the time to talk about love.

When the mission was over and it was time to talk about love, it was Xie Quan’s turn to become baffled, “Who do you think likes you? Who confessed? I didn’t, I’m not, don’t talk nonsense.”

Ji Cheying: ???!

It was only then that Xie Quan unexpectedly realized that the Imperial Major General seemed to have mistakenly thought that he was in love with him.

A few months later, Major General Ji, who had entered his susceptible period, was violent and fierce, not able to be approached by strangers. However, his eyes were red and he was tugging at Xie Quan, his voice hoarse, “You little liar, cheating on my feelings and not taking responsibility.”

Xie Quan sighed, lifted his hair, and tore off the invisible gland patch, finally revealing the omega gland at the back of his neck, “Bite it. I’ll give you a bite.”

Ji Cheying gritted his teeth, “You’re a f*cking omega?”

True love has nothing to do with identity and gender.

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

Don't let the summary fool you; the actual gender reveal doesn't exactly happen like described. It's definitely more serious than described lol. 

I was also mainly expecting action and comedy based on the summary and tags on Novel Updates, so I was surprised by the amount of suspense and mystery throughout the book. It kept me hooked, that's for sure! However, I felt like the author was too wordy at times trying to drag out the suspense by rehashing scenarios from different people's perspective. 

Xie Quan was a rare cold and intelligent omega love interest. I loved how rational and calm Xie Quan was, even in the face of his pheromones going out of control. He was cold hearted, logical, and smart, which helped him out of many situations that could have gone south quickly. 

On the contrary, Ji Cheying was a rare male lead alpha who also had a super tight control on his emotions and pheromones. Best of all, the man knows consent! Even in the midst of his susceptible period! They really were meant for each other, but man, they had to go through so much to get there. 

Also disappointed there were no extras. I want to see how they spent their future together!