Peachy

Honestly!! The plot at the beginning was so good I was excited but after the ML killed the guy i saw how everything was going to turn toxic and dropped. I might read once its over just to see how it ends lol

Fr, it sets up a toxic mindset where if you stay with a man for a long time and accept his destructive tendencies and personality, you'll end up falling in love. I always see on tik tok fans d-ridinga rapist character just cuz he's handsome and treats MC "better" at the end of the story. Honestly...

Maybe you need to dive more because I'm reading ongoing bls with good tops and/or powerful bottom

i feel like this story is a little bit different from the rest in the genre you're describing, is it not? i've also read a lot of stories where the top is just insanely toxic and evil and the bottom is helpless, but those stories typically just revolve around the abusive relationship.

this story actually has a plot outside of their relationship. and even tho ML is evil for killing people in the name of fairness and justice, his character is still (seemingly) complex in that he doesn't seem to be aware that what he is doing is wrong or fucked up. likely because he's not a human being.

and MC is not completely helpless because he's weak or easily manipulated. they explored why they can't just band together and kill the ML off (1. he's strong, and 2. the hounds will fucking kill them for it), so season 2 will likely further explore who the hounds are and what their potential weaknesses are as MC and the girl think of ways to take ML down. plus, in the meantime, although MC cannot physically overtake the ML, he can mentally influence his opinion and beliefs as he already has.

moreover, the MC literally agreed to take ML down. i don't believe they're going to end up together. i predict that at least one of them dies.

overall, i agree with you that the BL genre has too many toxic, 1D characters and stories about insanely abusive relationships, but i don't think this is one of those stories. this story seems different; it has actually interesting plot and characters.

i agree. although the BL genre as a whole struggles to be healthy, there are still plenty of good BLs out there. if not in the yaoi category then def the shounen ai category.

Exactly my thoughts. It’s completely separate from their other work and clearly more of a mystery and was supposed to subvert expectations. It was never intended to be a “feel-good” story. We quite literally know next to nothing about Guwon like where he came from, who he is or even WHAT he is. There’s clearly more to this that meets the eye but lots of people wanted surface level content when this is definitely much deeper than that. Guwon isn’t a typical toxic BL ML where he’s aggressive for the sake of it and no explanation to follow.
If you guys want feel good BLs I can give yall some recs but I’m tired of people seeing this as “typical yaoi shenanigans” (which I hate so I see where the frustration stems from) when, imo, there’s clearly a lot more that goes into the characters and the cold, apocalyptic world they live in.

that's a really good way to put it - this isn't a surface-level BL. i agree that just because this is a mystery/thriller with gray characters doesn't mean this is a typical yaoi manga with shitty characters and a shitty, non-existent plot.

14 dislikes is crazyy they're right tho like who tf wants toxic shit I'm tiredd

They’re right but toxic doesn’t automatically mean it’s bad. You can dislike morally gray characters but comparing the plotless rape fantasies that are always on the main page to this, which seems to actually be heading in an interesting direction, plot wise, despite Guwon’s toxicity is baseless. Guwon is a bad guy, but he’s been a bad guy from the start. People were seeing him through rose-tinted glasses and lured into a false sense of security even though chapter one not only showed him as violent and extremely abnormal but so is the world and characters outside of Guwon and Jinwoo. Not only that but falsely labeling Jinwoo as “helpless” compared to these other MCs is kinda crazy. He was also lured, just like the reader, but is smart enough to know Guwon and the hounds could easily kill him. He’s definitely not one who would turn over and take it in the face of adversity, but, secretly conspire in the shadows using Guwon’s “love” for him. Their relationship drives to plot compared to other tasteless yaoi where rape is not only extremely unnecessary but brushed under the rug.
With me defending it sm I would HOPE it wouldn’t disappoint me in the ways MANY other yaoi have (COUGH CHAMPAGNE AND ROSES COUGH).

100% agree. And even tho ML is evil, there’s so much mystery and intrigue around him that one can’t help but be interested in why he turned out the way that he is. I’m also excited to see if the MC will successfully kill ML or not.

Agree bwahaha so many but I dropped this manhwa for a bit because yes, I expected him to be a green flag

I got your back! Here are some of my personal favorites with green flag tops/MLs:
Perfect Buddy
Star Seeing Nightmares
Our Sunny Days
December
Home
Again
Who Can Define Popularity
Novel of The Fallen Duke and the Knight Who Hated Him (manga discontinued buts it’s SO good)
Oreshika Shiranai Karada
Pink Heart Jam
Dead or Alive (kind of green flag but it is really good)
Kings Maker (Highly recommended!!!)
Here U Are
Two Souls
Kyuuketsuki to Yukai na Nakama-tachi
Faded First Love

Good point! I see it differently now. Thank you!