They say every good story has already been written.
But even the ones that feel fresh or unique still follow the same familiar beats, plot twists, heroes, villains.
Look closely, and you'll find echoes of other tales you've seen, heard, or read before.
I consume a lot of stories, movies, series, anime, manhwa, you name it.
And sometimes, when the storytelling is especially tragic or bizarre, I start to believe in things like reincarnation and transmigration.
Take this manhwa I stumbled upon recently.
I don't remember its name, but the plot stuck with me. It starts with your typical shut-in gamer guy—jobless, living in his mom's basement, no girlfriend, overweight.
One day, he sees a homeless man lying on the street. Feeling sorry, he gives him couple bucks. In return, the old man hands him a comic book (manhwa).
Curious, he reads it and becomes obsessed.
It's one of those villainess love triangle stories, heroine, prince, betrayal, drama.
You know the type. But the ending? The heroine dies, and the prince ends up with the villainess.
That twist drives the guy nuts. He decides to rewrite the story, changing the names but forgetting to change the theme or plot. Yeah… not the brightest move.
His version gets rejected. Frustrated, he runs off, gets hit by the infamous truck-kun, and wakes up reincarnated, as a sickly second-tier villain doomed to die halfway through the original story.
See? Even the most "unique" stories follow a pattern. But that's what makes them addictive.
…..
Wait…hold up. You thought I was talking about myself?
Nah, that wasn't my story. Just a manhwa I picked online. I finished it, hated the ending, left a bad review… and now, somehow, I think I've been pulled into it.
I don't know how or why...but I think I've been reincarnated.
.
.
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