Tikky's Topics (133)

Wow, he gave his sword the most Chuunibyou of Chuunibyou names, but I still don't hate it.

He's officially broken. And Kane will be returned bedridden as well, probably.

Why would a switched child show up years later and the 'false' child be at fault? By that virtue, they were also just a baby. Now that's just silly.
Why would they look exactly the same even as adults and people assume they are not simply twins? That's just silly.
Why would you pretend to be outraged at the family that should be the victim, instead of understanding their decision of having a child with them? That's just silly.
Why would they even be able to be forced to accept that child? That's just silly.
Why does she have so many strong and influential allies, i.e. a spirit king, a magic tower master, a crown prince, but none of them have the ability to prove her identity or lack thereof for this Lyla girl? That's just silly.
Why would you agree to a test when the party that's trying to screw you over smiles over the idea? That's just really silly.

Not yet through the chapters, but they just mentioned someone else was involved with the Timetravel-Spell. Must have been the Duke, right? I mean, he's the only other person who showed signs of remembering the past future.

I'm now through chapter 22, starting 23, and I'm wondering: Are we supposed to feel bad for the duke or something? Because I sure as hell ain't.
It seems to me as if you saw all those scenes from his perspective - actually, right from the start of her return, where he notices in what looks like horror that she stopped calling him »Father«. But someone who would only realize what's important to him once he loses it, when it was comfortably there without him asking for it or even deserving it, isn't someone I want to take pity on. When he's already fancily remembering the times when Keira ran after him and tried to be acknowledged desperately, he shouldn't conveniently leave out the parts where he didn't pay attention to her. I mostly wonder about how he even remembers her happy face from back then, considering the fact he never actually stopped to look at her like a father should.

I just started reading, like 3 chapters in, so I don't know much about the later story, but I still had a thought on my mind that I needed to vent, so now I'm here.

Now I do believe I read a similar story before, with also something like a fake claiming or being claimed by others to be the real thing and the real thing being discarded. All fine and dandy, can't remember the plot from the other story at all, I just feel like I had the same feeling before in a similar setup.
So here's the thing: In a story where there's a timetravel, even if there's some revenge to be dished out, you can't actually take revenge for something that didn't even happen yet. So just assuming they are the same kind of trash and didn't act however they acted in the past future, just because something made them do it, it's still kind of anticlimactic to take revenge for something that basically never happened.
I can tell that there's a lot more to the story here than simply »Yeah, I need to get back at them for killing me in my past future«, but still, wouldn't it be more interesting to see how the story turned out after Keira was killed? Like, Cosette seems to have some kind of spiritual power, too, right? She did something and Keira could see it, but she wasn't just spilling some water here, right? Are they both his daughters? No? Is she some kind of witch?
I mean, it's obvious she's the bad bitch, so they didn't make a secret out of it, no, Cosette straigh up tells her about her being the real daughter. I mean, I don't even know how the child that had no reason to not believe to be his daughter is supposed to be at fault, even if she wasn't his real daughter. Like, wouldn't it have sufficed to throw her out? Why kill her anyway? It's not like she could have known who her father was, it's not like she was around when it happened.
All of that aside, Cosette was planted there for a reason. That much is obvious. The Nymph, who's supposed to be the saviour of the country, is probably also a problem, so having her killed is always a plus. I would like to see those idiots realizing they killed off the real saintess to keep the fraud who might have powers, but surely not to do good with it. That would be so much more satisfying. I already hate the duke anyway. And the rest of the people around her aren't better.

Come on, I don't want to wait another week or so Q-Q

... there's no childish »good« or »evil«, because good as well as evil are always nuanced in every situation and only in a story directed at children who aren't meant to think too deeply about a characters motivation and thoughts, would one bluntly make someone do »evil« for the sake of being »evil«.
I know this seems unprompted and it kinda is, actually, but I did have that thought since I answered someone's question about who's supposedly good and who's evil in this one, which I expect to be a reaction to the latest chapter in which the Bow God showed his true colors to the Sword God. Someone answered, every person on the male leads side was supposedly good. That makes everybody else evil? I kinda disagree and would like to get that thought out of my system, so I need to ramble here a little.
What I like about this story is the fact that it is - as of now - so simple and yet complex in how it portrays it's characters and motivations. There's no grand scheme to be seen yet, but still, there's enemies as far as the eyes can see. Why? Because of the premise.
The premise isn't something as grand and pretentious as saving the world from an outside force, but simply people challenging a tower for their own benefits. While Jeong-Woo still tried to reach a goal, by finding something that would cure his mother, everyone else is most likely there to reach the tip of the Obelisk and become a god. And to reach that goal, they amass power, trip over each other, betray whoever they need to betray and climp floor after floor. Some may even be comfortable in their position, not trying to climb any further, but using the power they already gained to live like kings anyway. Who wouldn't settle, if the way up was only going to be harder and may even cost ones life?
Be it as it may, what I'm trying to say is: It's the tower that encourages them to be like that. They want to achieve something, so they do whatever they have to, to reach that goal. In the end, everyone fights for themselves, since they don't have a uniting goal behind them, but instead, they are there to compete in the first place, that's the whole point of being there.
Is the Martial King, who is stated to cut off anyone who is either in his way or simply not of use, a good guy, just because he's on the MC's side? No. He does have a few good trades and he's nice to Yeon-Woo, but even he states how lucky he was, that he didn't antagonize the Martial King, when he almost had and how much slack the King actually cut him that time, to not simply let him go. He wouldn't have a problem, fighting his own brother or children, if they ever crossed his path in a fight from the wrong side. Because he's like that, he was able to become the Martial King.
Yeon-Woo also killed a bartender who's only sin was selling his information. Yes, that was stupid and it certainly wasn't nice, but he only looked out for himself. Yeon-Woo kills that man, because he inconvenienced him. He could have warned him first, but he blew the whole place up, disregarding who could have gotten caught up in the aftermath. Not everyone was or is involved in the scheming behind the scenes of the tower. Not everyone was involved in what happened to Arthia. But he wouldn't make a difference in who to kill. Is he supposed to be »good«?
The Answer is simply: Neither of them are good nor bad. They have goals and follow them. And I would like to say the biggest difference inbetween them and people like Leonte or Bahal would be the fact that they don't have this heavy back stabbing streak, but in reality: What was it, that Yeon-Woo did to Bahal and the Red Dragon? He stabbed them in the back, when they expected it the least. Just like Bahal did when he was a part of Arthia and probably already a part of Red Dragon all along. Or what Leonte did. What the Bow God just now did. Just because Yeon-Woo did it to kill the people responsible for the fall of Arthia and his brother in the process, it's still just the same wrong and that doesn't make it right. But that just goes if you want to make such distinctions.
That's why Yeon-Woo also wants to destroy the tower, because it's a rat infested septic tank, that pulls you more and more down, the further you go up. And it's interesting to see how the people spiral down into that tank.
Like the Summer Queen, who doesn't have many goals left, except for ... NOT dying. Or the Bow God, who may or may not actually work for someone else entirely, but maybe he just wants to take over the Azure Sword, make a name for himself that is actually a name or whatever.
The way you can basically only trust the fact that you can't really trust anyone in the tower, perfectly portrays the egotistical side of humans (even if a lot of them aren't exactly human) and that is quite interesting. They are all kind to some and cruel to others, they are clearly also human beings, who have people and things they care for. Of course, that's just normal, but that's why it's so hard to tell who's gonna be a snitch next, because in the end, no one owes anything to anyone in particular. And even if you think there's someone who's actually gonna be loyal, you never really know.

Well, it's an interesting setting. I mean, there's bound to be more shit coming, regarding the Gods and Demons of the 98th floor, the Black King (or what was his name again?), the tip of the Obelisk and so on. But that aside, I like the carnage going on here and the way they portray good and evil of human nature, without being apologetic about it. Nice.

I just started reading. Kinda bummed out, since I expected more of this story and there's already so much that annoys me, but the last chapter I read - Chapter 5 - really took the cake.
Tina is such a dumb fuck, I can't even.
Sorry for everyone who likes her, I mean, it's my opinion and you obviously don't have to share it, but I need to get this rant out of my system.

Dyan tells Eric and Tina to go back to the village and inform the others, so they can return with seasoned hunters and help him out. That's the most sensible thing to do in that situation, since Dyan might survive this, but children would only turn into a liability.
I don't want to say that Eric acted great in how he lets her have her cake and eat it, too, but he at least starts off by putting her into place. She's a child without any experience and Eric can't do too much either, since he's also only 8 years old and his physics won't change, so long as the lore doesn't give any feasible reason for it to be otherwise. The Problem ist, that the narrative of the story seems to be aware of the fact that two children running into a fight would simply endanger everyone involved, by having Eric apologize the moment he decides to enter battle alongside Tina, who's selfishly charging in.
The thing is: Since it ended well - because what else would have happened, really? - no one spares a thought, but if they had all died, who would have been to blame? She only managed to do this, because she remembered wearing her plot armor, otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten out of this with barely a scratch, when having literally no experience whatsoever, because that's not how it works. At this point, Tina is a Mary Sue.
Yes, I said it. She's a Mary Sue. I said that, in the context of a story which will probably end up with a very strong protagonist. But here's a fact: It's not overpowered, as long as the character actually had to work and go through hardships to become powerful. He has to be somehwat responsible for his strength. For example, in Kill the Hero, it seems like the protagonist has it waaaay too easy, but even then, it's not a Mary Sue, since he learned all of his abilities and had to go through a life of hardships to get to the point he was at the beginning of the story. With the experience and training he had, it's obvious he would excel. But Tina is just a child. Even if she's fucking gifted, there's no way she could use her powers in such a situation with such confidence and accuracy. But even if I stop there and get over the fact that she's a broken character, that's not even the real issue of that scene.
The real issue was that goddamn speech she gave Eric. The fault I find with that speech is the fact that the narrative of the story seems to shift that very moment. From Eric, rightfully apologizing for not heeding his father's order, endangering the whole village in the process, to Tina, as she rambles on about how she wouldn't want to live on, if she was the only survivor (coincidentally forgetting about Eric, who would also survive and acting as if she cared more about Eric's dad than he himself does). But reality check: Saying something like that isn't an act of bravery, but an act of cowardice. You jump in because you are afraid of loss, but make the other's sacrifice obsolete in the process.
In the end, she gets to have her way and Dyan only tells her how he's proud and thankful. The fact that her egotistical behaviour could have easily killed all three of them, endangering even the viallge - which isn't warned because she didn't want to return and call for backup - is not even mentioned by anyone. In fact, they simply brush it off.
She should have thought about these things, because the whole time, this Manga is trying to portray children as adults who can see the bigger picture, so I expect her to see that far ahead, too. And if she can't, fine. But then make it a learning experience instead.
I wouldn't have been so pissed at this scene, had there been someone smacking her upside the had a few times in anger afterwards. At least a stern talking would have been called for. Like that HeroAca Scene, when a few students tried to help save another, which wasn't allowed and could have ended terribly. The homeroom teacher then talks to them in a way that perfectly conveys how disappointed he is, all jokes aside, and how he would have ejected them from their hero course, if it had been up to him and if the circumstances had differed just slightly (because a lot has happened, so he let them have it, but he gave them a clear warning about acting out like that again). Because stupidly endangering yourself and others is neither brave nor intelligent. It's stupid and shortsighted.
But in this story, somehow ... nobody cares.

Is that you? :'D