I really liked the story in the beginning

i think it’s fine; imo, there’s nothing wrong with the pacing. i can see why some might feel impatient, especially with the very slow updates.

But, i don’t think it’s comparable at all to strange joke. strange joke is one of my favorite bls and was developed really well and realistically. maybe consider that you’re just not a fan of slowburn romances...?

I love slow burns. I literally don't care about the romance aspect and how quick it's built. It's the lack of straightforwardness that irks me in stories. Dialogue and character interactions matter in a story. I used to look forward to reading this story but it slowly became more and more absurd. Although, they're in their 20s, it feels like I'm reading a story of about middle schoolers just based on the odd occurrences and reactions.

I love long stories when they're well executed but you can just tell when a creator either doesn't know what they're doing with the story or of they're purposely dragging it out(which i do not blame them for).
This is just an off hand example that could probably apply to many long comics but taking 10+ chapters to flesh out a problem that could be resolved in one panel of conversational interaction...yeah no. The interactions in A Strange Joke were not realistic imo.

I am disgusted by the amount of times I wrote "story" in my reply. I'm sorry to myself and to whoever reads this.

ooooh really? now i’m just wondering out of curiosity some of your favorite slowburn bls are?

yeah i see what you mean especially about teach me. i definitely agree that i think this story started out much better than it’s current direction. but, i also think it’s common for a lot of romance manhwas (not just bl) to use the miscommunication trope just because it’s an easy way to add drama and conflict which a lot of readers enjoy, even though it can be frustrating. (personally, sometimes i like it sometimes I don’t; it depends on how well it’s done in the story) i also think the span of chapters often feel longer/slower because we wait for updates on a weekly/biweekly basis.


“I love long stories when they're well executed but you can just tell when a creator either doesn't know what they're doing with the story or if they're purposely dragging it out. “ that’s really nicely said i agree with that. there’s so many stories that start out with good potential and then you can tell the author doesn’t know what they’re doing anymore or are milking it because they can.

“The interactions in A Strange Joke were not realistic imo.” i still disagree with this i liked how the dialogue was written especially compared to a lot of other bls. unless you’re mainly talking about the miscommunication of feelings (!!!SPOILERS) i think the author gives both min and sijun good backstories that help you understand why they were hesitant and didn’t trust each other enough to admit feelings while in other stories they often make characters miscommunicate for the sake of drama. but to each their own!! it was nice to hear why you thought so. (▰˘◡˘▰)

LMAO i am queen of redundancy so I feel you on that

You're totally right regarding how romances are set up. I don't strictly read BL and I've dropped stories plenty of stories because of the use of miscommunication. A character just staying in their head all day, it's not something I resonate with which is why I can't tolerate it for long. Maybe it's cause I'm kind of blunt in actuality that I'd like to see it be portrayed more but stories do need to have substance which is why miscommunication is often used as padding.

I feel like even comics that are less than 10 chapters can be considered slow burns but I'll just give the ones that are over 20 chapters.

Stigma by Marloong (completed and honestly not really a slow burn to me. It's just a long-ish story since it's over 50 chapters. It's just a habit to always recommend cause I do like the story and the characters (mainly Sehyun) regardless of my many criticisms of it lmao)

Itoshi no Nekokke (ongoing but you can be content of where it's left off)

Someone Else's BL Manhwa (completed)

Specters : Karma (ongoing and will probably be like that forever. I like the overall story and concept even regardless it being shounen ai)

A Lucky Coin (ongoing and it's over 100 chapters and I'm still not over it. It's great. They're cute. The art and interactions? Blessed.)

Shuchu ni otoshite iidesuka (ongoing. The way things are set up, every chapter is a slow burn. The translators did such a good job on this story.)

A Shoulder to Cry On- (completed and it is a quick read for something that's over 30 chapters. I liked the push and pull throughout the story)

you know what the fact that you mentioned you have a more blunt personality in real life is a good point actually and made me realize that I’m not so direct which is probably why I can resonate with / tolerate the miscommunication trope a lot more! it’s true that we need more blunt communication...

someone else’s bl manhwa, a lucky coin, and a shoulder to cry on were all some of my favorites actually, but thanks for the other recommendations i’m going to check those out. we might have some differences in taste, but we have some in common too ^^

by the way, maybe you would like maybe you would like the king of homecooking (bl), green apple paradise (bl), hate mate (bl), or merry go round (straight romance) second two are both by the same author and all have some good dialogue/characters imo

Not to intrude, but I was kinda lurking in this thread and think we all hav similar tastes, and I would love to recommend one of my favorite BLs Guardian with Benefits (●'◡'●) great pacing, dialogue, adorable characters, wholesome, no dragged out misunderstandings, very underrated,

Oh and I also recommend the BL tu quoque for the same reasons ^ pls give them a shot if u haven’t already :”)

Lol people really find entertainment in which they can resonate with which is why it's all subjective. I really appreciate you sharing your outlook and partaking in this discussion with me.


I've read all that you've mentioned except for Merry Go Round (I did bookmark it, though!). I would've definitely added those to the list of slow burns but only put those that immediately came to mind. Park Hanhoo's Manager is another one I'm currently enjoying. I appreciate the recommendations.

thank you i’m also glad we were able to have this conversation too!!

SAME i love park hanhoo’s manager. their other work is really good too btw! the sound of sugar cubes :)

thank you!!!!! love and read both of those :)