ari's Topics (152)

If you have like 6-7 dollars you can buy the raws online: https://ebookjapan.yahoo.co.jp/books/570279/A002289939/

Raw digital BL is pretty affordable and also supports the mangaka.

It’s so weird how if you just ignore that their relationship really started in such a gross and messy way, this COULD have been a nice and fluffy story through and through.

I wish the author had just made their beginning into a drunken hookup that BOTH of them do not remember, but instead we saw in detail how Sungyeon was getting Hosik drunk and assaulted him against his will. I don’t understand why the author did it like that, because this series could’ve been easily a 10/10 if it wasn’t for it.

I love Pauliana but the real fantasy aspect of this story is that a conqueror who invades neighbouring countries would be led by a kind and benevolent king w/ totally good and honorable intentions lol

This comments section is so funny because it keeps wanting to have the story be something it’s not. The story is clearly headed for tragedy. These characters are all self-aware of their lots in life and their lifestyles have made them all morally ambiguous to the point that the protagonist thinks maybe living as a pampered whore is better than living as in poverty. It’s honestly such a fascinating series to read, because it’s such a realistic take on the choices people would actually make.

Sorry but I’m absolutely loving this series. As much as we love to complain about how Hyungdo is an idiot, he KNOWS he’s being an idiot, but he’s still pushing through with what he wants anyway regardless of how it’s obviously going to turn out bad. That self-awareness is so human, and makes him so much more interesting to me. He’s headed towards his doom, and he knows it, and I as an audience cannot look away.

There’s so much buildup too with Charlie, the driver, and Lee Gyung. You can tell that this horrible man will have something terrible happen to him, because of how much he mistreats the others around him.

This series is headed towards tragedy and I cannot help but love how it takes the old premise of “abusive seme/uke that lets him get away with anything” and has its side characters look at them constantly going “holy shit your relationship is so messed up!! this is so fucking toxic and unhealthy” instead of being supportive like in so much rapey BL manga out there. The author is taking tropey BL and putting it in the real world where the rest of the cast can see how these two men are going to destroy each other, and I honestly cannot stop reading because I want to find out how.

Wow the biphobia sure did jump out on this comments section.

Whoever Ugetsu ends up with, I hope they’re a good person.

Damn, is critical thinking no longer a thing when it comes to reading a fictional work? We all know what Aki did is bad, we all know in real life, men who do this are garbage. But Aki isn’t a real man, he can’t hurt any of us. It’s why we’re able to read stories where characters are protagonists while also being capable of doing horrible things. Hell, the series itself is aware that what Aki did was wrong and isn’t even romanticizing the assault, which is why Aki wanted to be a better person before confessing to Haruki.

People are also acting like Haruki is a real person — he’s not. He’s so good that he’s almost good to a fault, and we as an audience are seeing a story wherein “what if a good man was in love with a man who WANTS to be good but messes up instead because of the downward spirals in his life caused by a toxic relationship”. It’s up to us to realize what part of it is bad (a. the sexual assault) what part is good (b. people are capable of change) and what’s applicable in real life (c. people can only do b. when they’re truly being honest and regretful and sincere about it). That’s how you read a story.

LMAO the comments section sure did take this series personally. Honestly I think Kyujin did the right thing. As long as all three of them where in the proximity of each other, this cycle of cheating would continue, so he took himself out of the narrative so that all of them could move on with their lives. It’s a really melodramatic webtoon and unrealistic in a lot of moments, while at the same time being realistic with saying that a love triangle is complicated and that most people usually want what they don’t have (and at the same time, take what they DO have for granted). A lot of people here are saying the main character is being indecisive, but isn’t choosing no one a choice too? So yeah, I don’t think he ran away — I think he did what he had to do.

Reposting this thought of mine (it was a reply to a comment originally) because I see a lot of people thinking Haru is just a rebound and Akihiko’s feelings for him is sudden:

For me personally, Akihiko shows a bias for Haruki in really tiny ways. It’s in how he always touches his hair, how he notices things about Haruki, and how before the assault, he always tries to show how cool he is to Haruki. He says it himself at one point that he doesn’t want Haruki to see his bad side. And then he fucks up BADLY and he ends up showing Haruki his WORST side because he’s an idiot, and the only thing that salvaged their relationship is because Haruki’s too good to kick him out and live on the streets. And then from that point on they’re living together and they see the sides of the other person they didn’t want them to show. Reread the chapter where the two of them stay up so late playing music that they walk home, when they get home the framing is that Aki looks at Haru’s tired and sleepy face and then his body language is suddenly awkward. To me this reads as Aki realizing that “oh shit, I think I love this person”. Given’s mangaka didn’t have Aki say his feelings out loud in moments like this but it’s the things that are unsaid about their relationship but you still see in their actions that I can’t help but notice.

I’m in the minority here but I actually find the characters and relationships in this series to be very interesting. The author makes it very clear that these aren’t morally good people, and that they’re selfish and will do stupid and terrible things out of their own selfish desires. Hyungdo knows he can’t trust Gyung, and that he’s a liar and doesn’t truly return his feelings, but he’s so starved for affection and so attracted to him that he’ll forgive the abuse and is fine if Gyung’s words are a lie. Gyung meanwhile is extremely affected by Hyungdo. He wants him so badly he’ll do anything to have him. And it seems to me that he does feel something sincere for Hyungdo, but because of his standing and position and all around belief that people are objects to be used, he still treats Hyungdo like a prized sex doll. The series definitely warranted its title of “Down and Dirty” and I am actually really interested on how things will develop.