No More Cannon Fodder: Starting with Winning Over the Villain

Here's a preview of my upcoming novel: Don't Step on the Demon King's Tail. If you're interested, please add it to your collection (starry-eyed). All three arcs of this story are complete. Feel free to pick the ones you like~ 1. Insect race: cruel, haughty (?) seventh prince, a noble male insect who later falls from grace, top x psychologically twisted, wingless, disabled, anti-male (?) general, bottom 2. Entertainment industry: snobbish about wealth and status (?) minor actor and cannon fodder, top x ex-boyfriend who talks tough but is softhearted, obsessive and devoted, rises to fame and becomes a CEO, bottom 3. Apocalypse: selfish, self-serving (?) professional hanger-on who throws his weight around, cannon-fodder top x vicious, gloomy, taciturn, stuttering zombie king, bottom There is a group of people in novels who are unlike the protagonists, born extraordinary and basking in the spotlight, able to overtake others even on a winding road and turn the tables in adversity. They are also unlike the arrogant, tragic, powerful villains who are as impossible to kill as cockroaches. They're selfish and petty, greedy and despicable. Their stories are glossed over, their suffering deemed insignificant. A few lines casually written by the author make up their absurd, tragicomic lives. They're tiny obstacles on the protagonists' roads to success, too small to notice. They're the brave pioneers who lay down their lives on the villains' paths to failure. They share one name: cannon fodder. One day, after being bound to a System, the cannon fodder finally get a chance to rise up and sing the cannon fodder's song. The System sounds the horn: "Stop being cannon fodder. Start by winning over the villains!" The cannon fodder angrily refuse: "Villains are so scary! Why can't we win over the protagonists?" The System: "Because you're cannon fodder." The cannon fodder struggle desperately: "Then why win over the villains?" The System: "So you won't be cannon fodder." Helpless, they grit their teeth and persevere to avoid the endings written for them. Protagonist 1 tries to tempt them with money. They ignore him! Protagonist 2 offers them power. They sneer at him! Protagonist 3 tries to win them over with beauty. They couldn't care less! There are only two words in their hearts: Villain! Villain! Villain! So the cannon fodder give every bit of kindness and goodness in the world to the villains hidden away in the corners, working diligently and striving to improve. Once their affection meters are full, the cannon fodder prepare to brush off their sleeves and leave with a flourish, only for the gloomy villains to grab their hems. "Do you want to leave me?" The villains look up pitifully, crying as they sharpen their knives. The cannon fodder are horrified. "Wasn't this supposed to be a familial/friendship/comradeship/classmates/brotherhood story?!" The System shakes its head mysteriously. "No, it's a romance." [This is a fictional setting, unrelated to reality. Please don't draw real-world parallels!!] Here's the blurb for Don't Step on the Demon King's Tail: [Beautiful, haughty demon king top who gets all riled up when his tail is stepped on and loves glittering jewels x gentle, scheming archangel bottom who's passionate in bed, a tease out of it, and loves touching the demon king's tail most of all] Ten years into his undercover mission in the human world, the demon king Ares had not only failed to destroy the world, but had also managed to build a happy family. A handsome, gentle, kind, and passionate human partner, a little cat who was a bit elusive but still cute and affectionate, and a respectable job and harmonious relationship with the neighbors, all things considered. Everything was simple and wonderful. If only Ares hadn't lost the concealment potion sent from the demon realm, causing his magic to run amok. For a demon king, a magical disturbance was a minor issue. He only needed to find time to return to the demon realm and breathe in some fresh air, and he would recover, refreshed and in high spirits. But for "ordinary human Ares," a magical disturbance meant the end of the world. Until a new batch of concealment potions was made and delivered, he could no longer easily hide his tail, horns, magic markings, and pointed ears, all traits of the demon race. His partner might faint when his little wings suddenly unfurled. The cat might chase the tip of his uncontrollably swishing tail and smash the flower vases at home. The neighbors might scream and throw freshly baked muffins and cakes at him. He wouldn't even be able to keep his job, because he couldn't control his magic. Every day, he was either beating up his boss or on his way to beat up his boss. That meant he would have no salary and could no longer order glittering, beautiful gems from the kind owner of the jewelry shop next door, or bring flowers home to his partner after a long day at work. It was all absolutely dreadful, even just to think about! So Ares secretly resolved that he must not let his identity slip before the new potions arrived. Whether horns, tail, or the bat wings fluttering behind him, longing to bask in the moonlight, he had to keep them all tightly concealed. Even if someone accidentally stepped on his tail, he had to grit his teeth and endure it. As the soon-to-retire archangel of the celestial realm, Yadesimo's final mission before retirement was to track down the terrifying demon king who had surreptitiously infiltrated the human world as soon as he took office, with wicked intentions and an evil heart, bent on destroying the world. But he hadn't expected the human world to hold so many temptations, or for a beautiful, haughty, awkward human boy to be so irresistible to the archangel. Ten years had passed, and the mission had made no progress. The angels were frantic every day, and the human world was always in danger. But so what? At least Yadesimo had successfully won over his beautiful boy, Ares, and secured his place as his one and only partner. Everything should have carried on peacefully and happily, if only he could hide the angel feathers of his coworkers, who were disguised as neighbors and kept coming around to pester them. Lately, however, Yadesimo had increasingly felt that something was off about his boy. He often got angry and embarrassed while talking to himself in front of the mirror. He also didn't seem eager to sleep with him, and whenever asked, he stammered that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold back. Actually, Yadesimo hoped he wouldn't hold back. An angel could withstand far more than a human boy could imagine. Not only that, Ares often got up in the middle of the night and sneaked out in his pajamas to the balcony, where he opened the window. Each time, he was gone for half an hour. Odd marks would sometimes suddenly appear on his body, like some tacky tattoos. Yadesimo wondered who had led him astray. And there was a strange, thin, long, very flexible object. It sometimes appeared on the bed. Perhaps it was some kind of fun toy. The archangel was happy to indulge his young partner's interests, and sometimes even deliberately reached through the covers to press and step on it, hinting to Ares that he liked it very much. But Ares had never used this little toy on him. He would even sneak out of bed and go to the bathroom to wipe away his tears. This was wrong, very wrong. It had all the signs of the seven-year itch. Yadesimo secretly resolved to find out what was wrong with his partner and save their marriage! Theme: Be strong, work hard, and never stop striving