New massive update on AP is up
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..Comics Collection Melissa N. Collection [2025-09-19] [Melissa N.]
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Since the admins on this forum aren't exactly fans of mass uploads to posts, I'd like to point out the newest update to Aphrodite's Mirror is also uploaded to Mediafire and can be found in the first post, or more directly,
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Stevedore100
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Seems like the big takeaways from this update are:
Toska is not involved in the plot.
James is.
Marina thinks Sederu, Joel, James Gjoka and blond woman are all in this together (notably she leaves out Angeliki)
The policeman got involved with the family due to Fillip's disappearance.
Seferi's poppies have some importance that the policeman should know about.....were the cameras in the house hidden in flower arrangements and a camera/microphone hidden in the poppies as well? Or is it something else significant about them? This is a hard one.
Toska is not involved in the plot.
James is.
Marina thinks Sederu, Joel, James Gjoka and blond woman are all in this together (notably she leaves out Angeliki)
The policeman got involved with the family due to Fillip's disappearance.
Seferi's poppies have some importance that the policeman should know about.....were the cameras in the house hidden in flower arrangements and a camera/microphone hidden in the poppies as well? Or is it something else significant about them? This is a hard one.
I guess this is where Marinas past as a journalist comes into play. The exposition is interesting and not un-needed, but part of me wonders how she knows all this. And does that have anything to do with her makeover (well, downgrade)? Did she go undercover somewhere to unearth all this knowledge and connections?
rebirth095
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So, Aphrodite's Mirror is 100ish pages of transformation content, 100ish pages of sex, and 1500 pages of people hinting at a convoluted plot that explains the transformation?
The story is so hard to follow and became uninteresting because of the overuse of flashbacks. Such as shame.
Samantha Emberlyn
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A Kpop Idol Chapter 14 Part 1
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Thalantyr
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Interesting. He knows Nabi is a guy but doesn't know he was forced into this. The rational thing for Nick to do seems to be to beg this guy for help, but I'm sure that won't actually happen.
By the way, what is Nick's actual female name? I'm pretty well-versed in Japanese honorifics and various forms of address but Korean confuses me. Minji calls him Nabi-ya, and originally gave him the name of Kim Nabi. I assume Kim is the family name and Nabi is the given name, and -ya is an honorific. But now this new guy is referring to her as Kim Minah, and she introduced herself as Kim Minah to him too. I assume this is not a continuity error because Minji is still calling her Nabi-ya. So what am I missing here?
rebirth095
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I've not taken Korean, but based on a little research:
"ya" is used in an informal setting but is different from something in Japanese like "chan" or "kun" (or the Chinese "xiao") because it's not really an honorific the way we think of in those languages. It grammatically serves the purpose of making it unambiguous the person being addressed. However, while it's not an honorific, the usage is for informal and to show closeness, as it'd be rude to use it between strangers. So from that standpoint, it'd be like when in Japanese, characters are on a first name or less formal honorific basis.
As for what Nick's new name is... I don't really know as I'm not familiar enough with Korean naming conventions and slang. However, quick search shows Nabi to mean butterfly? Considering the literal transformation and themes otherwise present, I'm assuming this is a nickname (ranging from affectionate to mocking given the circumstance). Maybe chosen both based on the transformation, but also a little bit close to Nick's original name?
Melissa here. I decided to take a look at this thread after some time and I see it was at a good timeInteresting. He knows Nabi is a guy but doesn't know he was forced into this. The rational thing for Nick to do seems to be to beg this guy for help, but I'm sure that won't actually happen.
By the way, what is Nick's actual female name? I'm pretty well-versed in Japanese honorifics and various forms of address but Korean confuses me. Minji calls him Nabi-ya, and originally gave him the name of Kim Nabi. I assume Kim is the family name and Nabi is the given name, and -ya is an honorific. But now this new guy is referring to her as Kim Minah, and she introduced herself as Kim Minah to him too. I assume this is not a continuity error because Minji is still calling her Nabi-ya. So what am I missing here?
Nabi is her nickname. Yes, it means butterfly, but it's not a real name in Korea. The girls talk about it on pages 388 and 389. It'll also be her stage name. Her "real name" is Kim Minah.
"Ya" is an honorific used to address someone with a lower social status, but with whom you have a certain degree of intimacy. The girls use this honorific to address Nabi because she is supposedly the maknae of the group, and the meaning of maknae is literally "youngest member". Nabi uses the honorific unnie when addressing her members. The translation of unnie would be something like "older sister".
Thalantyr
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Thank you for clearing that up! I totally forgot about the conversation on 388. I think it didn't sink in for me because the names are all so unfamiliar to me (my fault, not yours. I'm having similar problems remembering all the Korean names in InZOIMelissa here. I decided to take a look at this thread after some time and I see it was at a good time
Nabi is her nickname. Yes, it means butterfly, but it's not a real name in Korea. The girls talk about it on pages 388 and 389. It'll also be her stage name. Her "real name" is Kim Minah.
"Ya" is an honorific used to address someone with a lower social status, but with whom you have a certain degree of intimacy. The girls use this honorific to address Nabi because she is supposedly the maknae of the group, and the meaning of maknae is literally "youngest member". Nabi uses the honorific unnie when addressing her members. The translation of unnie would be something like "older sister".
).The last version of A K-Pop Idol is in the opening post and can also be found
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rebirth095
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So, I'll repeat my previous sentiment:
That said, as I mentioned in the past, I was kinda hoping for a whole feminization idol operation. Like a feminization version of the
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But that doesn't seem to be the case. Dude seems awfully confident this will work though. Since we're done with the physical feminization for all intents and purposes, I'm looking forward to the mental and behavioral feminization.
Thalantyr
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Plus lots of fun outfits, I bet. It is a K-pop group after all.
Chapter 26, part 6 is uploaded to the first post and can also be found
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. Some more Marina theorising on events.
rebirth095
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...
So after the fairly lengthy and convoluted setup, explanation, and even a declaration by the author that the feminization was not happening due to hypnosis/mind control... the story introduces brainwashing/mind control...
And the mind control is so effective that the person drugged completely believes the new reality.
I've got two issues with this.
1) I find it a bit weird/tedious that the writing is trying to both introduce this drug as existing in this world, and at the exact same time trying to dismiss its existence to keep the mystery going. Like, the inspector is claiming that Marina's theory is wrong because she's naive to how bad of a person Nikos truly is... except Marina's theory includes a convict wanting revenge against Nikos... So by purposefully putting them at odds, it gives the impression that either Marina is that shit of an investigator that none of what she said was actually useful and she didn't notice... OR the investigator is in on this and trying to dissuade her from reaching the truth.
2) We already know that Elena has been drugged before. There's been a lot of back and forth regarding how reliable of a narrator Andrew is when thinking about staying as Elena. And this throws a massive wrinkle into all the inner thoughts. As any/all of them could be a result of the mind control.
Overall, based on this latest part, I think the way it played out is:
- Nikos did plan on feminizing Andrew and he hired Joanna to drug Andrew that night. This ties back into so many of the times Nikos seems to be conditioning Andrew to "want" to be Elena. I'll note that maybe he was interested in a brief fling, and instead it escalated.
- Joel realizes Elena isn't the "real" Elena, and thus conspires with Seferi on a way to lure in Toska.
- Joanna and her husband are free agents without personal ties to this plot. They go where the money is. They're paid to continue messing with the family to further Seferi's plot.
- This might also explain why Nikos doesn't seem to care about this supposed Toska threat. Because he knows its bullshit. He's enjoying getting to fuck his nephew-in-law.
So I think what Marina gets wrong in her theory and what the investigator is correct about is that she assumes the drugging was being done by Seferi. I've theorized before that Joel realized Elena wasn't Elena and then quickly called in Joanna to drug Andrew. But if both sides have part of the truth in this back and forth, then the major hole in Marina's theory is just how quickly Andrew gets drugged. So maybe she's right about the overall revenge plot, but the inspector is correct that she's underestimating Nikos, and that Nikos is the one behind the feminization.
Actually... I just thought about one more reason why I think it HAS to be Nikos who does the drugging via Joanna (and is possibly the leader of the black petal?) If Seferi/Joel had access to this super mind control drug, then there's no need to drug Elena that night. You just drug Toska and Nikos right there. Brainwash them and win. Right there. Back when we just thought the drugging was a sedative/roofie that was one thing. But if actual mind control is on the table... then using that drug to "improvise" makes very little sense.
Also helps explain the Filip brainwashing. It really only helps further Elena's feminization. And there's really only one person that seems to be actively pursuing that as the end goal.
So after the fairly lengthy and convoluted setup, explanation, and even a declaration by the author that the feminization was not happening due to hypnosis/mind control... the story introduces brainwashing/mind control...
And the mind control is so effective that the person drugged completely believes the new reality.
I've got two issues with this.
1) I find it a bit weird/tedious that the writing is trying to both introduce this drug as existing in this world, and at the exact same time trying to dismiss its existence to keep the mystery going. Like, the inspector is claiming that Marina's theory is wrong because she's naive to how bad of a person Nikos truly is... except Marina's theory includes a convict wanting revenge against Nikos... So by purposefully putting them at odds, it gives the impression that either Marina is that shit of an investigator that none of what she said was actually useful and she didn't notice... OR the investigator is in on this and trying to dissuade her from reaching the truth.
2) We already know that Elena has been drugged before. There's been a lot of back and forth regarding how reliable of a narrator Andrew is when thinking about staying as Elena. And this throws a massive wrinkle into all the inner thoughts. As any/all of them could be a result of the mind control.
Overall, based on this latest part, I think the way it played out is:
- Nikos did plan on feminizing Andrew and he hired Joanna to drug Andrew that night. This ties back into so many of the times Nikos seems to be conditioning Andrew to "want" to be Elena. I'll note that maybe he was interested in a brief fling, and instead it escalated.
- Joel realizes Elena isn't the "real" Elena, and thus conspires with Seferi on a way to lure in Toska.
- Joanna and her husband are free agents without personal ties to this plot. They go where the money is. They're paid to continue messing with the family to further Seferi's plot.
- This might also explain why Nikos doesn't seem to care about this supposed Toska threat. Because he knows its bullshit. He's enjoying getting to fuck his nephew-in-law.
So I think what Marina gets wrong in her theory and what the investigator is correct about is that she assumes the drugging was being done by Seferi. I've theorized before that Joel realized Elena wasn't Elena and then quickly called in Joanna to drug Andrew. But if both sides have part of the truth in this back and forth, then the major hole in Marina's theory is just how quickly Andrew gets drugged. So maybe she's right about the overall revenge plot, but the inspector is correct that she's underestimating Nikos, and that Nikos is the one behind the feminization.
Actually... I just thought about one more reason why I think it HAS to be Nikos who does the drugging via Joanna (and is possibly the leader of the black petal?) If Seferi/Joel had access to this super mind control drug, then there's no need to drug Elena that night. You just drug Toska and Nikos right there. Brainwash them and win. Right there. Back when we just thought the drugging was a sedative/roofie that was one thing. But if actual mind control is on the table... then using that drug to "improvise" makes very little sense.
Also helps explain the Filip brainwashing. It really only helps further Elena's feminization. And there's really only one person that seems to be actively pursuing that as the end goal.
Stevedore100
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You may well be right about Nikos, but that does make Marina responsible for a really crappy ending for Elena - losing his wife and then having her push him further into a relationship with the guy who plotted the whole thing. That does not seem to fit the "happy ending" mode.
Aside from that Marina's theory seems solid- Seferi did meet his partner in prison, James does seem to be his son. The big question is who is Seferi's partner? You'd think it is someone we have already seen (unless it's something like a black sheep brother of Nikos), which leaves few choices. And based on Marina's theory, it is a male. Joanna transitioned? (explains her plastic surgery), so she's a maybe, maybe. The police inspector? Orlov (seems unlikely), who else?
And what is the role of Joel and Angeliki? Are they freelancing or are they still part of the plan? That bewilders me. I guess that the plot against Toska goes on even if he isn't the bad guy we were left the believe.
And ....does any of that Aphrodite dream stuff have any relevance anymore? There was this whole thing about Andrew's weird personal issues that seem to have been made irrelevant as he was manipulated right and left all along.
rebirth095
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At this point, I honestly don't think the "happy ending" speculation is useful anymore. Using your own scenario, there are people that have, since very early on, hated Marina and would consider Elena "getting rid of that bitch" and ending up as a trophy wife to a rich stud to be a "happy ending".
Joel and Angeliki still have the exact same role as before: Joel works under Toska. Joel wants more power/money. If Toska is out of the way, Joel believes he would benefit. Thus, he's happy to work with people who are getting rid of Toska. Angeliki is allied with Joel but apparently also hates his guts. I think that's the long and short of it.
I'm leaning towards the partner is going to tie into the mystery of the "real" Elena.
If the mind control stuff is real, then I think it's one of two things:
1) We're getting to see the mind control in "real time" and seeing how the inner thoughts are battling and getting corrupted.
2) Andrew's brain is already mush, so the mind control has manifested in a weird way.
If what happened to Filip was true, then what SHOULD have happened when Andrew was drugged, was that he should have immediately took everything he was commanded to as gospel and truly believed it.
That's not what we got. We have Andrew "role locked" as Elena. It's not a split personality. It's like he's on autopilot and just can't help himself. He occasionally "breaks" character, but there are other aspects that he just can't seem to.
So, I think it's possible that he was drugged, but because he already has a history of being lost in character, it's caused his method acting to be more impressionable.
Stevedore100
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My guess is people are good with Elena ending up the trophy wife of catch guy, but probably less happy with her being the trophy wife of a evil rich guy. But maybe she wouldn't care either way. It would seem really cruel to have Marina duck up Andrew so completely,; she's already done enough and deserves done redemption.
Weird thing- this black petal group drifting with drugs made from poor seeds - Seferi brings Elena the red poppies in the hospital..... coincidence, Seferi trying to send her a secret message, or being a dumb criminal?
I agree that the drugs enhanced Andrews acting, kind of the unanticipated extra boost that drove the plot forward as far as its did.
I brought up Angeliki because I think she says she's been working at her lousy job for 3 years waiting for the plan to go, which predates any idea of Andrew showing up or even being known to exist. I suppose she may have been useful as a mole, knowing what was going on inside the Samaras family