THEORY #1: IS DOHA THE ONLY NPC?
What if Doha is the *only* NPC in the game? If you think about it, everyone else has tapes, right? (Bada, YongTaek, Seongchan, Bae Hyungshin) But has anyone seen Doha's tape? It doesn't seem like he's making save points. Although, there’s that one moment when he inserts a tape to make a save, but that was when Bada was walking him through the game’s basics.
Then there’s the thing Doha says about how far he’s willing to go to keep Bada by his side forever. What if Doha is just an npc who *knows* he’s an npc? And because he’s obsessed with Bada, he deliberately did something with Bada’s tape and sabotaged everyone’s gameplay in the process. This could explain why YeongTaek says in Chapter 43 that Doha is a dangerous person who needs to be kept in check, hinting at something he did in the past that caused a lot of problems.
Chapter 43 also gives us some key information about the tapes—apparently, as long as a player's tape is intact, they won’t lose their memories, even if they haven’t saved for a while. The only reason why they would stop "remembering" and behave as npc's is because their tapes are ejected. If that's the case, why did Bada lose his memories? It could be that his tape was destroyed (probably related to what Doha did) so maybe they had to use a fresh tape for him, which would explain why he seems so limited in what he remembers.
THEORY #2: BADA IS TERMINALLY ILL IRL
Another theory is that Bada is ill in the real world (vegetative state maybe?). So, Bada's friends and Doha created a game as a way to keep him alive and present with them. Otherwise, why would Doha be so hung up on him completing the game if they could just be together irl???
SO MY MAIN QUESTIONS ARE:
- What is the game's true purpose?
- How is Bada connected to the game's creator?
- Are Bada and the others real people outside the game? Or are they simply just players/characters in the game that became sentient?
- If Doha is just an npc, is he part of the game's system but has developed emotions or autonomy overtime?
- What's the direction of the plot? Is it scifi (Doha is an AI or something made specifically for the game to challenge players) or is it something spiritual (purgatory as a dream-like state and each character/player represents a deeper meaning in the MC's life)
You should read Moritat - it has a lot of the same themes as this, but you don't find out about the true intentions until the end of the story. Your theories fit in really well with the theme of Moritat!
Ugh, sorry I wrote the same sentence twice but slightly differently. I hate it when I do that (⌒▽⌒)
OMG YES!!! Moritat is one of my favorite reads. It was a roller coaster ride that fcked my brain lmao
I'd also recommend these. They kinda have the same theme of mystery/suspense/psychology
bl
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/psycho_young_dream/
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/hotel_phryne/
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/interview_with_a_murderer/
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/criminal_interview/
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/cut/
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/similar_terms/
nonbl; little to no romance
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/an_uncomfortable_truth/
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/save_me/
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/bastard_hwang_youngchan/
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/hwaja/
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/metronome/
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/hanged_doll/ (this is rather creepy than dark)
- http://www.mangago.zone/read-
Oooo thank you!! I'm gonna start reading ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
CH47 UPDATE: Doha has a tape too
I'm slowly making my way through the list, but there's one more to add to the nonbl section and that's Pigpen by Kim Carnby. It's so damn good but makes my brain melt slightly every time I read it
What if it's Doha who's the main player of the game while Bada is just an npc? I know it's been pointed out already, but the amount of control Doha has on the game is kinda weird, like how he's the only one who could kill the killer. Also, remember that bit on chapter 18 where Bae Hyungshin was able to retain his memories because he didn't eject his cassette tape? What if that's what Doha did to Bada? Maybe Doha has Bada's tape and is keeping it somewhere in a cassette player (that cassette player in the latest chapter perhaps?). This would explain why Bada became a sentient npc and thinks he's the main player.
OR if we stick to the Bada-player and Doha-npc theory, maybe it's Doha's tape in that sus casette player? And that's why he's trying to distract Bada away from the player, because he doesn't want Bada to discover the tape inside??? Agghhh the point is either Bada or Doha has their tape inserted in a cassette player somewhere, which could possibly be the reason why either one of them became a conscious npc.
Oh my God why have I never thought about the possibility of Bada being an npc?! He could actually be, he doesn't remember anything afterall so his memories of being into the game could actually be false memories imposed on him that follow a certain plot, or they could be true, and maybe the game continues to reset because there are always new players trying out the game (maybe in Doha's body because he's clearly a different person)? And I always considered it obvious that Doha is a player, but I never considered that he could be the ONLY player in the game while everyone else, Bada included, is an npc. Either he's a player or he's the game master/programmer or something. Or maybe NOBODY is an npc and everybody is real people trapped into the game, and Doha is somebody that was sent into the game to help them (even though he's clearly not interested in finishing the game with Bada)? Idk I'm more and more confused and my theories are getting more and more tangled and ridiculous LMAO
You're theories are good too!! I also want to add (because it just clicked when you talked about reset). The game doesn't restart right after Bada dies. I forgot which chapter it was but there's a part where Doha continued the game even when Bada died. So it can be implied that it's only a game over when Doha dies (this adds to the Doha-player theory) OR when all of the players/npcs die.
Im also curious how the author will transition from the game to the real world. You get what I mean? Lol Im sure the in-game lore is significant (the one about the kid murdering his family).
You're right! If Bada was the main player the game would reset when HE died, like any other videogame. And I'm also curious about the transition to the real world! I can't wait for the plot to progress (side eye to Doha)
Saw this on my homepage. I clicked on the cover because I thought it was Cale from Trash of the Count's Family
Red hair yaoi fr
Yeah lmao. Im currently reading TOTCF rn and I was like... Huh? There's a spinoff??
Not complaining tho, because this one's also good!
What is the TOTCF manga....idk the full name
Just look the trash count and you'll find it
Thankuuuu
Lololol..... same
The manhwa's title "True Education" is about TRPA's mission to reconstruct and restore people's character and morality. But the TRUE education here is how us readers learn about real-life social issues by reading this manhwa. I really learned a lot, not just about the issues but also different perspectives in viewing things and how to respond to certain situations. I like it so much that it got me to do some research lmao. My favorite were the Brainwashing Education and the Helper-Runaway arcs. Kudos to author-nim
Im lost. I thought I missed some chapters since it's been a while since I've read it. Good to know I wasn't the only one.
Uggh this was the reason why forums and comments had to be disabled for years (╥﹏╥)
so its kinda made clear that Doha has a tape too