So I read this manhwa last week cause I saw someone recommend it. I clocked out after a few hours with that Shyamalan-ass ending, sat back, and did something I never do. I deleted my mangago history because I had such a miserable time. What started as a lighthearted story about two (severely) down-on-their-luck dudes trying to stay together despite horrible circumstances just turned into just your regular BL shovelware with no self awareness. In the beginning, Jooha is framed as a mysterious, but hardy guy and his relationship with Dooshik is pretty equal and respectful, hence why people still cling to that “Dooshik Green Flag” cope to this day. But that reciprocity in their relationship completely goes away and it just becomes an incredibly tedious cycle of Jooha being abused and exploited by gangsters, Dooshik saving him and being like “I’ll protect you my omega”, and then failing to protect him all over again. It’s no different from all the boilerplate het stuff that people complain about. Jooha has zero agency. None afforded to him by Pilwon, Jaeil and his crew, the twins, or even Dooshik himself. After Dooshik organizes the gang rape in chapter 78, he comes home to Jooha and starts lovebombing him and forcing himself onto him. The one guy who was supposed to never hurt Jooha, now digivolving into Pilwon 2.0 because Jooha didn’t immediately approve of him having someone raped. And I know it’s been over a year since that happened, but I think had the characters been even slightly critical of Dooshik’s decision to have Daekwang raped, I would have respected the story a lot more. I’ve seen people argue until the cows come home on social media about whether he “deserved to get assaulted by 20 men” or whatever. I’m not going to opine on that because I have complicated feelings on the twins as is. But what I will say is that I was super bummed that this monumental event for Dooshik’s character gets totally swept under the rug so he can continue to be Jooha’s knight in shining armor. And I know Inking writes these savior traits to be attractive to the reader. Seeing Dooshik burn the world down to protect Jooha makes him a good boyfriend, right? But in my opinion, that was the moment for me that Dooshik became just like every other man in Jooha’s brutal history. Every important male character is either a rapist or a rape facilitator. And the whole point of Dooshik’s character was for him to be a safe haven for Jooha, who was the victim of that violence. Jooha immediately forgives him, of course. But I think this story could have been much more compelling if Jooha had the emotional tools or the willpower to realize WHAT it means that his boyfriend did to Daekwang. If he had reflected more in the aftermath of Dooshik assaulting him because he thinks Jooha is going to leave him, and realized that maybe their relationship isn’t healthy, and that the only thing that’s keeping Dooshik from reaching Pilwon levels of obsession is his paternalistic desire to protect him. Not even the man who saved him, showed him that he can live the life his mother wanted for him, is safe from that violence. They could have had an honest dialogue and figured something out. Maybe put some distance between them. But that doesn’t happen because the story doesn’t ever prioritize Jooha’s voice or his status as a trauma survivor. It’s all about making sure Dooshik can eat his ass 24/7. Stupid magic healing cock.
I ain’t reading all that, you ain’t in English class writing an essay for a novel
HELP
- person who was definitely not tearing up while writing this reply
look around and see who gaf at that response
True, the only person who gaf is you, sitting in your room, porn pulled up, ready for a rigorous day of media illiteracy.
I’m not the one writing a whole essay about a damn fictional story crying in the corner thinking anybody cared about their thoughts, to which they find no one did.
So, have a good day with your literacy profession! Put it to good use instead of using it to complain about a fictional story where not even the author knows you exist on an illegal website!
Bro thinks Inking is gonna draw them a customized drawing of Dooshik in a wet t shirt that’s so fuckin cute.
Bro thinks Inking will actually notice this whole essay about their work criticizing and really care, that’s so fucking cute.
Crazy how “nobody cared” so you decided to reply to me. So heartwarming. It’s so wild how the author doesn’t even know you’re defending their work. Because you are also on the illegal manga site.
I’m in no way shape or form defending their work, all I’m saying is that it’s crazy you’re on here complaining and criticizing it on that same illegal website I’m on.
I heavily agreed with one of twins getting . He was fucked up for that. Most of these BL readers are girls too, i’m like do yall not care or have a heart?¿ two wrongs don’t make 1 right.
That’s not even karma either, that’s just pure evil and disgusting. I wouldn’t even wish my worst enemies to get by 20 men
Gonna be srs for a sec. I am also highly against people yapping about how “disgusting” something is only to keep reading it. I bought the chapters in Korean to stay caught up. But like you, (I’m assuming) I like to read the chapters in English here and discuss with others. I’m not saying the author or the readers are disgusting for creating and consuming it. I literally spent money and read Dooshik somno’ing Jooha. I have no quarrel with the people who enjoy it or the author themselves, who I acknowledge worked hard to create the story. However I believe many aspects of the story were not well-executed and I think BL readers in general should be more critical of what they read. It’s not an attack on anyone’s character and it’s purely from a literary perspective. One that I don’t need Inking themselves to see. I’m just a goober sending my thoughts into the void of the other illegal website goobers.
I didn’t really get into it in my original statement but it’s a little hard to inject regular people morality into a story where pearls shoot out of the mc’s dick. I also felt pretty awful when Dooshik arranged the rape, but I want to inspect why I felt that way without accusing other readers of really serious stuff. I felt like it was a very hamfisted moment for Dooshik’s character, who was always the sole “safe space” Jooha had. From a narrative point of view, I was honestly more disappointed that PB didn’t unpack what had happened beyond Jooha and Dooshik fighting and making up immediately. Although I think you could argue that Inking wrote the rape to make the Koh brothers more “sympathetic” to butter the readers up for their spin-off story that’s allegedly coming next year.
this mf writing thesis over a BL it's never that serious
what's serious are your feelings for me since you tracked down this five month old comment, c'mere pookie pie
What I really like about the upcoming chapter is how it subverts expectations! You think Hayden is going to step in and “protect” Brett, but he’s got himself handled and cleans house all by himself. I think it does well to demonstrate the importance of Brett’s agency in the story, because often bottoms in manhwa just get yanked around and abused, but Brett has everyone dancing to his own tempo. He might be a freak, but any and all intimacy happens on HIS terms and Nathan learns this the hard way.
Sadistic Beauty is trash but I still can’t fucking get over the fact that the translator purchased and translated an entire story they hated to shill their mid fanfiction about said story. That’s like me giving everyone in my neighborhood crabs just so I could get customers for my one star sexual health clinic run out of my aunt’s massage parlor.
fr
I agree but at least we got to read it for free ts was ass glad i didnt support the author cause wtf.
Actually now that I’m thinking abt it again Brett and Hayden are made for each other. I think annoying boys who wax poetic about literature and annoying boys who talk about alpha male biology like one of those Fresh And Fit mfs deserve each other.
I was thinking the same thing!! Individually they’re both annoying and pretentious and could never be in a normal relationship with someone else. That’s why they’re perfect for each other
100% agree with you
Brett is like that “she sat on my face and broke my neck” meme but it’s “he knotted my mouth and knocked out my molars” or some crazy shit.
I started reading bc of your comment but he didn't knotted not disappointed tho ╮(￣▽￣)╭
He knotted his ass in the fourth chapter, but no oral knotting yet….but I still have hope!
Me too me too
Okay, so for anyone who’s wondering about the nosebleed, it’s because Hayden is releasing his alpha pheromones. Now, this wouldn’t be a problem if Brett was an omega, because they’re built to be receptive to those pheromones. But Brett is an alpha, an anomaly, anyway. He does NOT have the proper biology to accept the pheromones and his body/the alpha inside him is rejecting them, thus the nosebleed. This is a trend that continues to happen, where despite their coupling causing physical (and maybe psychological) damage to him, Brett is freak nasty and actually enjoys what it does to him. He wants Hayden to release his pheromones because it’s pleasurable to him, to be this big, strong alpha designed to breed and dominate—ending up dominated himself. I think that’s why the aspect of consent is so important and fascinating in this story, because the alpha in Brett is howling and fighting against Hayden’s brutality, but Brett himself is a ho and absolutely loves it. And then Hayden comes back to himself and is like “aw Fuck, I can’t believe you’ve done this”.
But also on that note, I feel like they could never have conventional “bdsm sex”, because despite having all the hallmarks of a d/s relationship, bdsm is built on a foundation of the dom receiving and responding to the sub’s needs. There’s a lot of communication involved and the scene can stop at any time. What Hayden and Brett have is not like that. They both know that once Hayden gets going, he will *never* stop. It’s why Hayden deliberately went against what everyone told him by spending his ruts alone, and why Brett schemed the entire thing just to instigate Hayden’s dick in his ass. I’ve mentioned that Hayden likes to make things more difficult for himself than they need to be, which is why Brett is a literal godsend for him. Because he doesn’t need to hold back like he would with any other sex partner. Brett fights back on the principle of his alpha nature, but he takes everything Hayden has to give and then some. So, it’s unconventional, but ultimately Brett’s needs do get met, on account of the fact that their sex is not sane, not safe, but somehow consensual.
Ohhh I love your comment!!! I really love the story and the ideas it explores because I've never read anything like it before. But I struggled to put into words why I find it so interesting. But then you were able to explain it so well!
Ohhh I love your comments!!! I really love the story and the ideas it explores because I've never read anything like it before. But I struggled to put into words why I find it so interesting. But then you were able to explain it so well!
Thank you for explaining this I love you
Thank you thank you thank you haha I was so confused why Brett almost dies everytime they bang makes sense now
Well written commentary.
A little spoiler:
You mention that once Hayden gets going he’ll never stop. In chapter 16 he mentions this and tells Brett he wants to have a safe word even if Brett doesn’t want it and he picks the word “honey” because he tells Brett that is a word he’d never use on him.
Then in chapter 21, Brett comes injured from a game and tells an out-of-it Hayden that he’s not feeling it, but Hayden is not listening, so after smacking him and trying to get away, he remembers the safe word and blurts it out and Hayden stops.
He doesn’t remember anything that happened, but his subconscious did and he stopped dead in his tracks as doing as Brett said “honey”.
My understanding of Korean is tenuous, but I do remember him stopping during the rut scene. Good for Hayden, though. I’ll amend that to “the consent develops in a very nebulous way” throughout their relationship. Brett seemed pretty surprised that he stopped at all, and then amused. (Hayden also seemed a little surprised that he stopped, too, despite pitching the safe word to begin with). Another thing is that Brett seems like he enjoys himself retroactively during the intense sex scenes. He mentions that Hayden “ripped him apart” that first time, but still speaks fondly of it. The guy just really feels best when he’s about to die during sex I suppose. I don’t remember all that well what he said after the rut scene from 20-21, but he was pretty chill. I’m glad he bounces back quick, even though during those chapters he was fighting for his life. Maybe I was wrong in one of my old comments and Brett is gonna get dickmatized after all lmfao.
I read it in Spanish, but I can’t say how good their Korean language skills are, so some of it may be incorrect.
I’m not sure when I came to this conclusion but Euihyun kinda has that “Till Alien Stage” look to him. They have the same eyes and similar personalities. Please tell me you see the vision.
Yeaaaa
PLEASE STOP HURTING MEE (u are right)
RARHHH YAYAYAYA AILEN STAGE MENTIONED WHAT THE FUCK IS REQUIETED LOVE
I owe you an apology mister Lee Myeong-Il, I was not familiar with your game. Calling Fraudgi a “tall woman” right to his face is why you’re the goat.
I’m sorry for using the dudebro battleboarder speech about a yaoi. I will reflect on my actions.
it’s ok my sigma alpha dude bro don’t let other skibidis bring u down from doing mogging and rizz business be urself
Fax, my brother.
No more Jingi x Myeong-Il VS Heonjae x Myeong-Il. Let’s get Myeong-Il x some fucking kegel exercises this dude’s gonna be rocking permanent worn-out scrunchie anus if he doesn’t do something soon. The Butthole Brothers have him on the clock every waking moment and 2 million won is NOT enough to get dug out like the pit from season 1 of Parks and Recreation every single day.
I am sorry...I accidentally down voted
All is well!
I think it’s darkly funny that Harada has shown to have the writing ability to delve more seriously into Reo’s abuse of Kuzuya, since she’s made absolute psychological bangers, but deliberately chooses to keep writing the world’s longest rape joke. Like yes there TECHNICALLY could be a dialogue about how violence reshapes the body and how Kuzuya internalizes it to the point where it’s implied he seeks Reo out for physical pleasure because he’s accustomed to it. But Harada is like “Anyways guys here’s an eldritch god thing granting wishes. Kuzuya’s dick is 36 inches long all of a sudden.”
But anyways I don’t think people should be reading this expecting the story to suddenly be serious about its dark topics. It was hammered in pretty effectively for me seeing Kasuya making Kuzuya apologize for being raped in chapter 4 and everyone watching idly as Reo kisses him as he sobs and struggles. Harada is a uniquely self-aware BL artist and I think she knows very well how constantly injecting levity into Kuzuya’s abuse in a way makes HKL darker than many of her other works.
What I love about how Harada handles the long running Leo/Kuzuya rape joke is that she doesn't minimize the rape. The rape itself is not the punchline. Just look how graphic and violent Kuzuya's class race story is, it makes the viewers wince just as hard as it makes Kasuya wince.
The punchline is the aburdity of how Kuzuya's rape is handled, the way it doesn't get caught or punished, how Leo is so delulu that he thinks it love the whole time, and how because of it Kuzuya ends up screwing the whole family and now works for his rapist
"Comedy is tragedy plus time" (Mark Twain). "Comedy is merely tragedy happening to somebody else" (W.C fields)
Well actually Kuzuya's rape not being punished or caught isn't the comedic part (she doesn't depict that aspect as being funny)... but yeah, Harada's the goat
I agree! The dichotomy between the violence of what’s happening to Kuzuya vs the way it’s been normalized to everyone in the story is a deliberate attempt at absurd comedy on Harada’s part. Personally it’s not very funny to me at all and makes me quite sad, but what is funny is Harada’s commitment to being unserious while delivering such bleak material.
I like how Harada uses Kuzuya's trauma with Reo/Leo as a mirror for Kasuya's shittiness. When Kasuya's laughing at Kuzuya's expense or being envious of his dicking down by Reo/Leo, we're meant to feel disgusted with Kasuya. And it's fantastic when Harada makes a joke out of Kasuya's hypocrisy (Kasuya wetting his pants when actually man handled by Reo/Leo, despite proclaiming to be envious of Kuzuya). It's like a nice rebuttal of all those who minimize SA (kind of like a, experience it yourself and see if you can still feel the same type situation).
As for the other characters that are aware of the situation, namely Reo/Leo's family (or hole-family as Kasuya would say), it's implied that they are apologetic about what Reo/Leo did, hence the willingness to hire a NEET like Kazuya. Obviously that's not enough but it also seems like Kazuya doesn't seem interested in getting the justice he deserves...
Well, I guess the Dad was willing to hire Kuzuya even before finding out but overall based on the reactions during that whole family schbang it looked like they were apologetic (but unwilling to prosecute flesh and blood lol)
Yeah but definitely right that overall weak reactions from other characters to Reo/Leo's behavior towards Kuzuya shows how SA is kind of normalized by the characters themselves. But I'd like to think that Harada doesn't let us, the viewers, forget, because she fully shows Kuzuya's terror and aspects of his trauma. Definitely agree that the juxtaposition makes the manga darker.