WHEEL SMASHING LORD 1-20
Chapter: 1
“Lord Mana, a man that treats people as he hammers iron, and treats tools as his most tender lovers. No greater craftsman will ever exist, I am sure. Shame.”
-Payapop Pritram
Kill Six Billion Demons
BREAKER OF INFINITIES
But the killing was inside her all along.
i dont care what everyone else says, this was disrespectful in concept *and* execution. “whats a bad thing that can happen to a woman?” copied straight from the Hack Writer’s Cheap Tricks manual. AND your panel margins are all wonky.
me: this feels disrespectful in concept and execution. hack writers cheap tricks manual much???
my rapist, suddenly remorseful: fuck. sorry. my bad. i’ll do better.
my rapist: um, actually, this isn’t that trope at all because this isn’t rape, how dare you imply this sex isn’t consensual, i’m a woman i can’t rape furthermore I was violently _actually_ raped this day several years ago and if you don’t have sex with me to make me feel better then i might do something drastic
me, years after leaving her: holy shit, i was raped what the fuck
Grow up.
Maybe Mana forged it, maybe he didn’t. At least we know she ends up with the Maybe Sword, though maybe it isn’t as effective as we’d like if Incubus is still alive.
Incubus is a master of Head of John. That means his head *literally* cannot be cut. If Maya truly beheaded him with a single cut, that speaks volumes for how effective the Maybe Sword is.
Panel 2 first thought “That .. not gonna work geometrically speaking ..”
It cant , right ?
Until it works as something of a plushy hugging toy to hug when you go to sleep or something.
I am no prophet, but I would dispense a possible future:
Maya, upon tempering her anger, desperation and need for vengeance, forges the Maybe Sword herself. After all, killing a god (even a pathetic one like Incubus) isn’t something one uses simple metal for, however well wroght. So, she makes it out of killing intent instead, using her experiences with Preem Blacksmith here as the tools. And, upon its completion, demonstrates it upon him, thanking his corpse for his help in crafting such a sublime horror. At which she point she leaves, and perhaps stops by for some noodles on the way to her revenge.
Personally I suspect Mana decided to forge Maya herself into the Maybe sword, he hammered at her mind, tempered her will, and forged her focus under the pressure of years. however when it came to “test her edge” much like the blade she bares, she broke. with mana struck down, this woman twisted into the likeness of a sword fit to slay gods- left.
ass, grass, or gas. this is a transaction, she’s not a slave. if she could learn to forgive, the revenge quest could be over and she wouldn’t get railed by a giant. that’s the point. she chose this.
jesus that’s a gross comment
genocide is no biggie buyt you draw the line at a sexual transaction? lmao
I’m talking about your comment?
my statement of fact?
He is taking advantage of her vulnerable physical and mental state, forcefully drugging/intoxicating her, and also isn’t even going through with his end of the ‘deal’. So no, it isn’t a transaction, and no, she did not choose this.
And who started this? Was it the one who said “I will sell my body for a murder weapon” or the one who made the offer?
an offer is inherently a choice. why are you stripping away her agency?
she came to the blacksmith, told him she’d do anything, and accepted his terms. you create your own hell. she is not a child.
Ugly people need love too.
The power to kill gods rests within.
The tool is merely a tool however finely fashioned.
Sharpen your rage and despair and worlds shall be cloven.
His house looks like an anvil! The design in this webcomic never fails to kill it.
Have you guys noticed, blacksmiths (from the Greeks and proto Greeks and many other myths) have some physical disability, deformity or are pictured ugly? The dwarves in you, working away, never seem to catch a break don’t they?
One theory I’ve seen proposed is that the fumes of a lot of smithing processes are poisonous so they spent years building up toxic substances. So the work made them strong but also unhealthy.
It’s not actually a mystery; everyone has to pay the bills, if you have a bad leg but your upper body is still otherwise healthy and functional and you can maintain your balance then smithing is a craft you can do well. Heck, you could even have a bad arm, so long as you have one good arm for the heavy work and your other arm can at least hold something steady. So you can see why many disabled people would be drawn to the profession.
Jesus Christ, Maya- you already won the award for “most soul-crushing origin story”, you can stop winning it now.
She became the sword.
Broken but sharp.
Withered yet strong.
Tempered by sorrow.
Forged with pain.
The flames of rage mold the shape.
Maybe death will come quickly.
Maybe death wil come slowly.
One thing is certain,
Death will soon come.
Continue the story. Don’t read the comments. Create for yourself, not to appease others. Evil things should make us uncomfortable and upset us.
Oh, please. He’ll live. Let women talk about something they are forced to experience and witness since day one.
I never said to silence anyone. Let people talk.
lol if you actually think this deranged way
Exactly which part of what I said is deranged?
The response is attached to fororoor’s comment
I remain in awe of the depth and many facets your characters possess. They are so complex and feel so real whilst also feeling divorced from reality in the way characters from legends do.
I never expected to have an ugly bastard flashback. This comic truly has everything.
Ah damn, you always need to have evil men who force women to have sex with them just cause they are in upper position and them treat them like shit just cause they can.
Now we need to see him being alive and well and also demanding it from Allison and Maya both next to reforge the blade as cost.
So making Maya family killed was too little so it also needed to have some bad sexual story tied into it too for amusement of some readership to joke from?
I wonder if we will ever get any male character tragic sexual backstory about being forced to have sex and be abused bu ugly group of women for plot too.
Why not to add Zaid sad backstory where he had to have sex with old ugly women for his two awesome swords then during the timeskip? Or men?
Or that fate is only reserved for women in such type of stories and male characters are sexually untouchable in bad way in this work?
Cio already was offed for drama sake so now Zaid could tak her place and shine so please author give Zaid also such “awesome and original” backstory you did create for Maya. But he is a guy so it won’t happen.
@noon
Exactly. It’ll never happen. We on the other hand are up for grabs always, even in fiction and fantasy we get no respite.
Almost as if the story is attempting to reflect and comment on reality in a meaningful way!! If what you’re looking for in fiction is to be held and told that everything is gonna be okay that’s your prerogative but don’t start moralizing at people who find value in seeing their fears and traumas represented.
Here’s a secret spoiler: You don’t give a fuck about men so you wouldn’t care if they got raped. You would say “ha ha good, fuck the patriarchy” because that’s exactly what you sick people are like. Meanwhile, this is a powerful story that actually speaks to victims.
“tropes” like this work because people actually care and they are more representative of reality.
why on earth is this somehow a debate about men being raped. maya isn’t a man? Rape of men exists and is terrible, god do I know, but talking about how depictions of rape in general may or may not be great doesnt conflict with the idea of men being raped? Can you please stay on the subject? I don’t think anyone here is questioning the veracity of whoever is saying they are traumatized; I think we’re in a space that we can take that on faith.
I am on the subject. You’re not paying enough goddamn attention to connect what I’m saying to the person I’m replying to. Which is incredible, because it would require you to completely ignore the whole thing and just respond to me.
i keep coming back to this but. This page is really the pinnacle of all the ksbd’s orientalism. racialized monstrous man takes advantage of svelt woman. do better imho
He’s not racialized, he’s not even human. He’s essentially an oni or ogre—note the gray skin, tusks, size, and the giant bump on his head.
To look at such a monster and assume it’s some kind of racial stereotype depiction is in itself kinda racist =\
wow. the most ‘i am very smart” comment in the world. shocking to you, i have eyes and a working memory of racist visual depictions, and as well a working memory of how racist works often dehumanize the other. there would be no contradiction if mana was not considered human (though i would dispute this, actually, considering tom has said jagganoth is human and this character has similar traits) because racist stereotypes involve the dehumanization of the Other.
i find the similarity between this particular character and many historical instances of racist dehumanization to be disapoointing.
Jagganoth and Mana look almost exactly the same except for physique and the bump on the head. I would theorize that their inner self effects the shape of their physical form, directly or indirectly.
Shut the fuck up virtue signaler. You’re right up there with the absolutely fucked up deranged “orcs are black people!” crowd
Ogres and the like are literally some of the most obvious and widespread racial stereotypes in fiction. It must be very uncomfortable to keep your head planted so deeply in the sand.
Ogres are first and foremost a metaphor for unbriddled brutality and power abuse that goes beyond any racial consideration. It must be exhausting to live a life so devoid of any stimuli that you have to create your own cheap indignation from made-up reasons.
They are, literally, a race of humanoids who are inherently barbaric, violent, and stupid. Hmm, I wonder how that could relate to an author’s view of the world. Look, I’m not complaining about the existence of these tropes, and I’m certainly not saying that any author that uses them is racist. They’re widespread, and authors use them in all sorts of ways. However, to pretend that there is no connection to racism at all is ridiculous. Insinuating that pointing out the connection is racist (the comment I was replying to), is just being deliberately obtuse.
Not to imply that the argument made in the comment you replied to was logical, but the comment Raptie was replying to was very clearly a bad faith argument, and a very clumsy appeal to emotion.
I’m not “appealing to emotion” this is not pathos because I am not attempting to convince anyone here. I am mad bc raptie was commenting in bad faith first, and I am expressing how pissed off I was about it. Thanks for playing you debate weirdo
And you are entitled to your opinion, obviously. But do not pretend that you can speak for my intention. I speak to convince no one but myself, to clarify my thoughts and sharpen their edge. I do not debate with anything more than innocent selfishness. If you’re going to present opinions, expect others to follow. Have a great day, or don’t. It’s not my business, but it is your choice.
whoa hold on i was talking about tom lol
Big words don’t make your point. Logic does. Incubus is a white monster. Jag is red? monster. Mana is blue monster. You’re what? Feeling good for calling a creator of free fantasy entertainment racist?
I’m not arguing in bad faith. I’m not denying the existence of monsters-as-other
What I’m saying is looking at an oni/ogre (specifically ones from an Asian mytholog(y/ies) and stating that it’s a Western stereotype that’s racist is in and if itself racist.
Additionally, this character exhibits none of the gross stereotypes that have been applied in the West towards Asian peoples. None.
Jumping to the conclusion that this character is a stand-in for otherized Asian people is really really weird. It’s like viewing the chimpanzee from Nope as a caricature of Black people.
They CAN be used with a racist agenda in mind, there is no denying that. But the “barbaric, stupid and violent” characteristics of the ogre are originally a warning about human nature and the risk of giving in to our instinct. In Japanese folktales, oni are often regular Japanese men who couldn’t repress their violent pulsions, thus becoming monsters. So saying that ogres inherently represent the “Other” in aracial sense is wrong. They represent the animal that lurks in all of us.
Like you said, some authors would twist that trope, and we should stay on the lookout for that. But here, in a webcomic that has been very considerate about the diversity of its cast and about questions of identity? Come on, let’s give Tom more credit. If anything, the use of an oni-like figure is perfect to represent an abuser – because what are sexual abusers but humans who let their inner monster out?
I find it much easier to believe that people who want to see real world race in fantasy are people who wholeheartedly believe the stereotypes themselves.
they don’t ‘represent’ the other, they are simply using extremely loaded imagery that has been used in a shit ton of works and media to *dehumanize* racialized people (‘othered’ people). “Portraying the violent pulsions within us” is not, in fact, a historically or philosophically neutral concept, but in fact something ALSO used to dehumanize certain populations. If you aren’t already aware of the large amount of history here, then sorry, but it’s really not worth the headache to scrounge up citations to prove you wrong. If you’re taking me in good faith, thanks. If you actually want to read more, try orientalism by Edward said. That’s a classic primer but my god it would have done tom some good here
I am taking you in good faith, otherwise we wouldn’t even be discussing. Again, I agree with what you say about the potential use of these figures for a racist agenda. But I don’t think it’s the case here, it’s as simple as that. I think Tom just used such a character because he wanted it to be a reference both to cyclops, who are master blacksmiths in Greek mythology, and to the brutal nature of oni/ogres/giants in pretty much all folk legends of the world. It is readers who choose to attach a racial interpretation to it. Doing so strikes me as rather dogmatic, but it’s up to them.
On that note, I think you and I have spent way too much time in this comment section and we need to agree to disagree and leave before the rambling of strangers on the internet start affecting our sanity. Wishing you well, and thanks for the book rec!
only continuing this on the basis of pedantry; I’ll be honest, Greek mythology is oftentimes pretty xenophobic. the figure of the Homeric cyclops is not, in fact, above reproach; much of the surviving literature we have is by and for the landowning nobility in Ancient greece. And anyways, ultimately intent is not the proper place to base critique; it’s more important to speak to its effects on the world. If a guy throws a brick over a fence and kills his neighbors dog, that dog is still dead even if it was an accident. This particular dog just has so much history, and I wish tom had looked a little longer first before throwing it out there.
being obtuse to help defend racism sounds exhausting, get fucking better soon
Speaking from experience being a racist that sees caricatures (especially considering them intentional!) in everything?
Claiming that this character is a stereotype of Asian people doesn’t make sense when mythology from Asia is where the design comes from.
I never said to silence anyone.
I am quite interested in what the angels have been up to since the last major appearance from them.
I am going to reiterate what some other commenters have said and suggest the possibility of a content warning for this page in the vein of what seems to be a prettttyy straightforward implication of sexual assault and sexual manipulation.
There is no one, no one in this world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts… But the sword. The sword you can trust.
it occurs to me that there are multiple interpretations to the statement of “treats people as he hammers iron, and treats tools as his most tender lovers” Yes it can be read as “he treats people harshly, and treats his tools as his most valuable possessions” but if we ask the simple question of ‘why does one hammer iron’ we can change the meaning, for one does not ‘hammer iron’ simply to be harsh, no they hammer Iron to give it form, shape, purpose. Look at the people he surrounds himself with, broken, scarred, and twisted craftsmen and women, folk that none of the demiurges would be seen in the company of simply by virtue of their mangled bodies, people who have been given purpose by him. Yes he abused Maya, but his reason was clear from the moment he took her to his bed, he would make her sword, but the material of that blade would be herself, her mind and will either broken, or hammered into the shape of a Tool of death, fit to slay a god or seven.
No. He wasn’t trying to forge her into anything, he was just taking advantage of her, plain and simple. Maya might come out of this as a weapon of pure hatred, but to presume that “that was the blacksmith’s plan all along”, or to give him any credit for it, is deeply disrespectful and frankly stupid.
I believe there is a difference between saying “This was his plan to create a god killing weapon” and “this is what he should have done”. He absolutely should not have done this, and he absolutely should not have abused her. There are other ways to accomplish his goal.
But he treats people like iron. He hammers them to his purpose first. To say that he did this intentionally is not to declare him a good, moral, or even factually correct person. This was wrong, there were other paths to the same goal… but it was intentional. Honestly I think that makes him worse, not better.
I will say this: so far, I don’t personally have a problem with the author’s choices on this page, unlike some of the other commenters here (although I understand where they are coming from), but if this turns out to be a story where the abuser is only abusing the woman to make her stronger, I will be disappointed and surprised.
“Only” is such a strong word. I can hardly recal any examples of a character doing something for a one dimensional purpose in this story.
It’s a powerful page eliciting powerful emotional responses. Completely in context with the story you’ve been telling. That said, putting it behind a trigger warning might be appreciated by some.
To be honest, I’ll live my life just fine with only passing concerns with who approve or disapprove. I do have empathy for those that have gone through traumatic experiences and might find this a reminder of things they would rather not be remind of. Just sayin’.
I’ll still be reading this story and recommending it to others that want an epic not matter what happens next. You’ve a lot of author cred with me.
More like it is a lazy writing than something powerful, oh look it is a woman backstory, I have a brilliant idea, she must have sad dead family trope and also to add to it let make her have some sex with old ugly bastard she can’t refuse cause she wants to revenge for her family and also lets make them abuse her too cause it would be good and powerful momento, right? Where are the powerful moments for male characters in this story of similiar value? Zero. No, only a woman gets it and then guys like you call it powerful and beautiful story moment. Why always women need to get this and never guys in this story? I know author is a guy so maybe that limits his way of writing where he has a fixed brain that only women can receive sexual abuse moments for tragic fate but then there actually exist male authors who aren’t afraid of also giving such fate to guys, it doesn’t hurt, so please dear author give such story to some guy too in future but seeing this is last chapter it seems you will never go there. No it is better to show guys always gettting everything for free and just be cool about it. Why Solomon or vampire guy or our big enemy guy or our currently top cool guy Zaid or hell even Zoss didn’t get such special sad sexual backstory but Maya did?
Case in point.
“Completely in context with the story you’ve been telling.”
Yeah no. That implies something in the story set this up, but this page is the first time we learn:
1. Who Mana is
2. That Maya agreed to trade sex for the sword
3. That Mana turned the arrangement effectively to sexual debt slavery
4. That Maya lived in a cycle of abuse for six years
None of which has had any setup or ties into anything we’ve learned before. It’s also tonally a pretty hard turn from k6bd’s normally pretty cartoony grimdark.
Is Maya gonna get a puppy just to have it beat to death on the next page? This is so lame. This is like getting the lore behind why Han Solo is called Solo and it’s just a 30 minute segment of Han getting raped.
>like getting the lore behind why Han Solo is called Solo and it’s just a 30 minute segment of Han getting raped.
That would not be worse than what Disney already did to franchise .
Also, disney producers : “Write that down , write that down!”
;P
*HONK*
I wonder if people remember that character from YuYu Hakusho, the girl that spilled acid on herself and was hate-powered. Maya’s story looks a lot like that one -maybe a retelling?
NVM did a google search, name’s Mukuro!