If Sangwoo suddenly stops feeling the need to kill any more, that'd be so cliche. Changes are gradual, so if it's going down that route, I hope it's a loooong series. No, actually let it be long no matter what route.
I honestly wouldn't pull it past any manga artist to want to make their yaoi a happy ending or whatever. But in my opinion, it'd be very cliche and fake. He's portrayed as a psychopath and in any other form of media - like a movie or a TV show - they would never really be able to pull off this serial killer falling in love and stop killing because they're incapable of love. that's the definition of a psychopath - the inability to feel emotions. so he can't ever fall in love. He literally is not capable of doing so.
even if he did, it'd be because he just didn't want to be bored and he wanted the other person around. but it would never be like the "I want you to be happy even if I have to sacrifice myself" sort of love. It would be "I'm selfish and you fit some sort of spot in my life but if you suddenly stop fitting that role, then I don't need you anymore". At that point it wouldn't be love, it'd be like possession.
If you've ever watched criminal minds, a lot of the serial killers they capture are like Sangwoo - so I'm really curious to see what direction the author tries to take it.
I bought ch. 13 in korean today and you'd be surprised if you saw how much emotion Sangwoo is capable of having. To give a tv show example, Dexter was ready to be killed or arrested by his sister Deb bc he'd never hurt her. He'd sacrifice himself for his sister. Deb had to kill their police chief Laguerta to save Dexter. They both loved each other. Dexter fell in love with Hannah. Another example: Once upon a time tv show has Rumpelstiltskin - the villain who doesn't care one bit about human life. He changes after he meets Belle.
If I think about other examples, hmm, I just assume hitmans (e.g: John Wick, Deadpool, Leon) or ppl who are raised by mafia to become killing machines don't count as psychopaths. There are a lot of killer couples, but do they sacrifice? Maaan, finding an example is hard. Usually the psycho just kills you in thriller/horror movies such as All good things, P2, Taking Lives, Breathing Room... The way I see it, the psychopath killing you is cliche. That's the easy way out. The way I see it, a bad ending is cliche; it's a dime a dozen. Your usual yaoi manga always end happily, that's what is cliche.
Idk about the fake, though. It seems more realistic to say psychopaths can't stop killing. Like in A Clockwork Orange, a psychopath may just pretend to have changed.
How about a happy ending but he continues killing? :P Dexter was going in that direction but it didn't happen because writers didn't want it for some reason!? (╯°Д °)╯
That kinda ending is too immoral, I guess. So, the chance of a happy end is slim. But it'd be really rare and original if it was a happy end is all I'm saying. I can take a little fake. Yaoi manga aren't very realistic in the first place.
in short:
- you think HEA like every other yaoi manga is fake and cliche. --> which is true
- I think a bad end like every other psychopath movie is cliche (romantic interest either kills you or manipulates you). --> which is also true but Killing stalking is not a movie.
So what was I arguing about for so long? You obviously win.
But if they make this a movie, I want a HEA, ok? I really wanna see a happy psycho movie couple for once.
Actually, I think Sangwoo showed more signs of being a sociopath than a psychopath. Psychopathe are speculated to have a genetic predisposition whereby their brains are not fully developed in the emotional nerve center. Sociopaths are catagorized more by having bad childhoods. Psychopaths are literally incapable of feeling empathy because of their brains. So they will not hesitate to kill you if serve no greater purpose in their plan. While sociopaths can feel empathy, but it's in very controlled doses of their choosing. So it is possible for a sociopath to be affectionate, even capable of a twisted version of love. Sociopaths suprisingly like having animals because they like the feeling of having something that depends on them and the power of superiority that comes with it. So long as the animal is completely obedient, the sociopath will love, cherish, and care for them just as much as any other adoring pet owner. But the moment they step too far out of line, that's when the kicking, punching, and abuse come in. And then when abuse is done, they'll go right back to being the loving owner, and that all these injuries they're patching up are just the result of the dog tripping or something, not the owner's fault. They are super possessive, so running away is a huge no-no, and if anyone touches their pet the wrong way, that's it. This logic applies to humans companions too. It is love, kinda if you squint, but there is a fair amount of manipulation in there too.
So now let's look at Sangwoo. It's clear that he doesn't really have any sort of agenda outside just randomly killing people, and that Yoon Bum was never supposed to be apart of his life. The only reason he initially keeps Yoon Bum alive is because Yoon Bum has demonstrated near absolute obedience. After Yoon Bum gets sick, Sangwoo learns he really really likes caring for weak, dependant beings. When he finds out they share the broken home backstory, he decides to keep Yoon Bum as his baby/wife/pet to shower love on. I guarantee you, the moment Sangwoo finds out what Yoon Bum's uncle did to him, Sangwoo is going to kill him, even if what he's done is way worse. Mistakes aren't a problem for making Sangwoo mad, but direct disobedience certainly is. And when it happens, they go right back to the basement. It all fits...
WHOA.
I've learnt something new today.
It all fits...damn.
Still, it's love. Even if it's twisted...
I like it more when it's twisted, tbh. Two psychologically broken ppl find what they're missing in each other. No matter what everyone says, that is romantic.
I think this manga brings up a lot of aspects of yaois you don't really see often. First you have the charismatic, "beloved" seme who isn't just a sadist he's a serial killer. and the uke who has a hard life making him the perfect target. Both of them are psychotic, including the uke who's kind of creepy when you look at it from a third person point of view. He broke into his crush's house and jerked off in his bed. The reason that works out so well though is that as the victim, the uke is already conditioned to rather be with the seme than escape, because he loves him.
The whole time I was reading it I was expecting some scene in the future where the police officer visits and the uke is like "oh yeah we're fine". It's kind of like stockholm syndrome except not even because he didn't need to be conditioned, he arrived already in love and alone.
So i think this is really interesting and I can't wait to read more! The only problem is that I'm worried about the ending. The way I see it, the author doesn't seem like the type to end this with some sort of cliche like they're happily together forever. Because if he's a serial killer he probably has some sort of psychopathic brain and you can't fix that. Therefore, a happy ending that seems plausible would be for the seme to continue killing but have the uke as his accomplice while they're dating. It could also end in tragedy where one of them dies. Well, I guess we'll have to see but I can't wait!