absolutely agree with you - minimal build-up, minimal romance, boom - loooooove! itʻs jarring. I mean, they look good and yes, some points in the plot makes sense, but not everything.
You noted to major things - proximity and imbalance in power, which make a relationship and, therefore, consent, questionable. Love by proximity/convenience always bothers me in BL stories, cause itʻs very much a replication of straight romantic notions. men going after women, cause they are emotionally and physically available, pretty, and fit their personality (hobbies, etc.) - a hallmark of a heteronormative romance. not sure if itʻs internalized heteronormativity (among LGBQT peeps) or straight people writing BL/LGBQT stories, or both....
E.g., Dawn of the Dragon, itʻs the same thing... they are in proximity, and then boom, the dragon is in love or, should I say, they are in major smut. there are many other mangas like that. once you see it, canʻt unsee it....
Wow, couldn’t have explained it any better. I almost felt reassured that seo an wasn’t the top, imo it balanced a little bit the dynamic of power that seo-an had on him already.
Glad that I’m not the only one who feels like this.
You are not the only one. Except, people are reading for smut and fluff, lol. I saw you got downvotes on your comments.
As you noted, financial imbalance in their relationship might result in being stuck in a bad situation for Woowon or a terrible housing situation, if the relationship goes bad. Imo, money is a much more pronounced power lever than a sexual position.
I am one of those people, who often find top-bottom dynamics in BL also to be a replication of heteronormativity. For me, itʻs not a true imbalance (personal opinion). yet, it is frequently played out as if itʻs a power lever, hence, "power bottom" and so on. also, Seoan is a switch. I almost feel like writers use switching as "look, I made a sacrifice for love" situation. How is it a sacrifice or losing power, if you are in a healthy and loving relationship? But I am pan/queer/non-binary, so my thought process is outside of binary (top-bottom, man-woman).
Sorry for rambling into the distant future. I am not here to convince you. Just chatting and procrastinating on my actual work, lol. also, happy to meet another Army!
I agree with you. but I feel this is a common behaviour pattern with people who have trauma or feel out of place with other people. you find someone you feel comfortable with and like, and then boom from 0 to 100. even though they are not a toxic couple or anything imo a lot of these are obsession and anxiety issues that they are dealing with. so even though I agree with you, I feel this makes sense in this story and with these characters.
Shsss . It's a mature thing. (▰˘◡˘▰)
Sshhhhh the adults are talking this is fluff and angst not just sex
The buildup is them supporting each other through everything; semes broken hand, ukes panic attack, semes semi mental break, semes fever, ukes parents etc etc. This manhwa is not romance/flirting/sex- both characters are very broken and its about the comfort & trust they give each other, not the butterflies (although butterflies more prevalent in 2nd season).
True af ,༎‿༎
I didn’t like the pacing of their relationship at all. There is literally no flirting no romantic situations until chapter 30 and then suddenly they’re super lovey dovey with each other?
And I hated that seo an confesses when woowon is living at his place, meaning that if he refuses then he knows he has to move out, it felt coerced… like i did this for you, now you better date me.