Came for the art, stayed for the aggressive cupid doggo Yongpal. Bro just wants his 5 star groomer (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
Yeah...
H O L Y S H I T
the author pulled a full 180 on us
This has got to be one of the most realistic and decently-written proposal scenes in a ropan that I've read.
It doesn't take away from the drama of Lariette processing her grief, and the timing also isn't perfect, but I think that makes it better.
Now how many chapters will the wedding take lol (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
WAIT THIS SIMPLIFIES EVERYTHING
DAMNNN SO THATS WHY EVERYTHING SEEMS SO MUCH MORE COMPLICATED FROM BADA'S PERSEPCTIVE
BECAUSE BADA HIMSELF IS PART OF THE GAME （/TДT)/
so now that fixes the weird timeline too...
and it now looks like this:
ACTUAL LOOP START OF GAME = riding through tunnel
NPC BADA'S START = meets players at end of tunnel
LOOPING BADA'S "START" = waking up in van (he mightve been knocked out by Doha)
when the game resets, that means everyone except Seungchan and Doha THINK THEY'RE STARTING A NEW GAME AT THE TUNNEL...
FRIIIICKKKK THAT'S WHY YONGGOAT WAS SO CHILL ABOUT NOT PLAYING WITH HIS MEMORIES ANYMORE OMGGGG
the lore... THE LOREEEEE
so...
1. Everyone in the group has been "playing the game"
2. Bada joined last(?) - needs to be confirmed by Seongchan
3. Hyungshin and Jaeseob wiped their ORIGINAL SAVES first since they didnt like to be aware of dying over and over.
4. Yongtaek lost his OLD SAVE from the abandoned mine, which was then found in Ch50, causing his nosebleed.
5. Seongchan and Doha had a falling out after Yongtaek lost his SAVE
6. The checkmark tape is an OLD SAVE of either Doha or Seongchan (I think it's Doha's, which might be a plot twist)
besides that, the following game mechanics have been confirmed:
- TAPES are SAVE FILES
- CASSETTE PLAYERS are LOAD POINTS
- CLEARING AN AREA empties all of its data. this is MAINTAINED IN ALL FUTURE SAVES
- NEW PLAYERS can be BROUGHT INTO THE GAME
- An ENDING BOOK (found by Bada in Ch1) acts as an ARCHIVE that DOES NOT RESET
what is not confirmed (that i wanna know) are the following:
- when did every player enter the game
- the actual way to escape the game
- is the lodge they start at clearable
- seongchan and doha's falling out
- how bada entered the game
whew...
now for theories I'm gonna fire blind at...
1. The lodge they always park at the beginning of every run is the final/boss area of the game.
2. Clearing [or literally burning down] the lodge might be the actual escape from the game
3. Seongchan wants to keep everyone in the game
4. Doha having the hots for Bada is part-revenge against Seongchan and part-simp
RIP Yongtaek I did not expect dad joke guy to become an absolute GOAT, may you NPC in peace bro.
Haven't read spoilers but ain't no way he killing off 1st place when Ruhak and Sehyun's vassals could easily solo the shit out of him if he even tries
Hear me out. I think they're all players.
but first off...
RULES OF THE TAPES
- Tapes = save files/load point
- Tapes only reload if they were played before you died
- Faulty tape = faulty load point (i.e. Hyungshin thinking he's some spiritual guy that one time)
- Tapes can be marked AND THESE MARKS WILL NOT BE OVERWRITTEN. (ex. Yongtaek's smiley tape, Seongchan's check tape)
- The MOST RECENTLY USED TAPE of a player is considered their latest save file, regardless of markings.
PLAYERS:
1. Bada
- I agree with another comment that Bada probs has another tape with his old memories, but it's been lost for a LONG TIME.
- Bada DOESN'T mark his tapes, which is probs why he lost his Main one
- Whatever tape Bada used to replace his lost one might've been Doha's Main tape, hence why he knows he's in a game, but not much else
2. Seongchan [Main tape = tape with check, but no confirmed save file info]
- Since he's Bada's cousin AND has a marked tape, he probs also got numb to dying, WHICH IS WHY HE'S NORMALLY THE FIRST TO DIE. He doesn't care anymore.
- Him dying early is why he tag teams with Yongtaek. Yongtaek does double the work if Seongchan dies (lazy ahh)
3. Yongtaek [Main tape = smiley faces w/ "The End"]
- Was likely dragged into this freaky ahh death loop by Seongchan
- Joined AROUND THE SAME TIME as Bada
4. Hyungshin [unknown Main tape]
- His OG tape was either faulty or got completely wrecked
- His wrecked tape data is probs why he's a himbo (or he's just naturally that way)
5. Jaeseob [unknown Main tape. full theory, no confirmed info]
- His tape/save file is probs the most secure and hidden
- His chronic complaining can be explained cuz of HIM HAVING HIS COMPLETE MEMORIES FROM BEFORE THE GAME
- Might be the only player remaining who still remembers the ACTUAL way to end the game
6. Doha [unknown Main tape]
- Might be the newest player
- Clearly has practical and intellectual experience with horror
- Like Bada, he doesn't mark his tapes, which is why he's likely not using his Main tape with his pre-game memories. He might've found Bada's Main tape, which could explain why he's so into Bada.
RULES OF THE GAME (that we know so far)
A. Dying is not an escape
B. Different ways of dying = Different "endings"
C. Solving puzzles to reach certain areas (AND THEN dying) counts as a new ending
D. The killer normally appears when players trigger a death flag trope
E. The killer respawns unless Doha kills him for some reason, idk why
F. You can only save using casette tapes (see above)
If anyone else has stuff to pitch in/need me to edit, drop a reply.
New readers to this won't have to feel the same anticipation we all went through waiting for each chapter （/TДT)/
Holy sh t the latest chapter...
Atp I pretty much think that everyone is a player.
The gimmick is that all players can only "save" their progress/memories if they played a cassette tape before they died during a run.
We know Bada's recent saves are REALLY short lived because of his whole completionist idea
Hyungshin turned out to be a himbo because his tapes are always faulty, hence his short memory
Seungchan and Yongtaek play together, probs going to the places that Bada doesn't visit during a run.
And for the current run, Seungchan's tape was left unplayed before Doha fast-forwarded Seung's game over, so his progress in the last run was "unsaved." The smiley face tape turned out to be Yongtaek's.
So... for current run (Ch 42)
Bada - Save loaded
Doha - Save loaded
Seungchan - Unsaved
Yongtaek - Save loaded
Hyungshin - Unsaved/Faulty save due to faulty tape
Now I'm curious for sassy queen Jae-seob's player reveal. (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
This ex-cuse of a husband had three years to admit his reasons AND NOW HE FESSES UP.
Yuck. Just yuck.
I just remembered wayyyyy back in the plot that it was mentioned that Rivanpel COULD kill the Marquis at any time, but didn't.
Something about how even tho the Marquis was definitely trash, he knew his politics better than Rivanpel.
...I think I get why now. He may be an asshole, but he sure knows how to improv on his feet.
He's still an asshole. Just an interesting one now.
Man S3 has me on the edge of my seat, can't wait to rip my pillow apart from the tension (╯°Д °)╯╧╧
Ayt so a lot has changed with approaching the third condition.
Yall can check the other comments about what the OG condition was in the novel.
I wonder if it's going to be the same for the manhwa.