Feel like if you re-read the story form the top you can understand both sides better instead of just reading the updates cuz we can all agree that most of us forgot what happened season 1
Everyone keeps hating on riftan while we are not trying to see both sides. BOTH grew up w shitty childhoods one was a mercenary the other an abused child. For someone who doesn’t know what love is riftans doing an okay job he cannot be perfect and u can’t expect him to be perfect. I may sound like a maxi hater but I ain’t like I agree get ur education girl and yk try shit u havnt done before but not discussing with your partner that you plan on dipping for 3-4 years is insane. Yall put ur shoes with riftan for a moment like you went to war for some girl who randomly became your wife, you don’t know jackshit abt her and she doesn’t tell you anything about her history nothing (she didn’t have to go into detail but she could have been like my childhood wasn’t the best, she doesn’t mention anything). Both are toxic partners and suit each other they literally mirror each other. The hate on riftan alone is insane, cuz every comment abt how he is so shitty like guys this BOTH their first relationship and they been having shaky steps. Btw felt like we moved past her miscarriage too quickly like girl it don’t matter if u pregnant or not why THE FUCK were you there sometimes you just gotta stay home and look pretty, couldn’t catch me going to war tryna see how my manz doing
Finally, a comment I can agree to.
1)You said they both had crappy childhoods and then proceeded to say Riftan was a mercenary(something he chose to do when he was 13-16) and Maxi was was abused(smt she was born and raised into and had no choice but to deal with it her WHOLE life) and got the nerve to compare them like they're the same.
2)Riftan knew more about Maxi then she knew of him. He's been watching her since he was 13. He chose to marry Maxi, she didn't get a choice and she never would have since they live in a society where women are property. So your argument that he married a women he knew little about doesn't make since.
3)As I've already said, Maxi was abused all her life and they live in a society where women are property. Because of this, Maxi was taught and threatened to keep her head down, don't speak, and don't do anything that'll embarrass her father or lower her value. Her not telling Riftan anything was her just practicing what she was taught. How could she trust a man who yells when he's angry and who's knights glares and speaks badly about her, when the first man she's every met(her father), showed her nothing but hate.
4)Maxi is definitely not a shitty person and based on your post, it doesn't seem like you have in proof. Her having trauma and trust issues should never be a reason for her "suiting" an obsessive and controlling man.
1) riftan had no parents saying becoming a mercenary is a good thing and as a kid not a definition of a crappy childhood is a wild statement. On a scale of shitty childhood atleast maxi had a roof over her head and parents and a place to call home, even if it’s not to OUR definition on home, she got smt. Riftan had jackshit, nothing buddy was a peasent feel like ur not able to see two sides of the story which if ur reading this book at the age it says you must be above, I got nothing else to say except wow that’s shocking.
2) by knowing someone that means you talk to them, interact with them, know their wants and needs, not just seeing them around town that isn’t the knowing I was talking about. He chose her cuz she was pretty and he went to the dragon conquest FOR HER again u can do that for someone u met (love at first sight) that still DOESNT MEAN YOU KNOW THEM.
3) in the case of maxi as u say in the time period riftan would be THE BEST husband AT THE TIME. If you think he is shitty COMPARED to the husbands AT THE TIME, again you got bigger fish to fry over your literacy and reading skills (NOT SAYING THAT MINE ARE THE BEST JUST MAYBE SLIGHTLY BETTER).
4) lists of times maxi has been NOT THE BEST partner (ONLY TALKING ABOUT MAXI NOT RIFTAN AS TO ANSWER YOUR STATEMENT): signing up to become a mage without talking it out or even bringing it up in any convos, went to war and put her own life at risk to see a guy who been going to war for years, communication skills are terrible (yes they both struggle with this but am only talking about maxi), when in the first season (I believe) he asked about her childhood and she didn’t mention it at all (I understand it’s a hard topic for her but a hint would have been lovely), helping riftan out after he said he didn’t need help (this only applies in the situations where she puts herself in danger which in turn puts more than HERSELF in danger).
You can go on and on nitpicking my opinion but then again you gotta realize am looking at both sides am only saying this about maxi cuz so many ppl be attacking riftan as if they BOTH aren’t in the same boat. They had shitty childhoods and had to work their way up to some extent. One just believes that he doesn’t want his partner to get hurt and the other is a child ready to explore the wonders of the world and does MANY things without a care for her surroundings.
The End, thank you very much!
Amen. I read the "he chose to be a mercenary at 13-16" and almost wrote the same speech.
He "chose" to do it so he's not abused? Writing that sentence alone is so tone-deaf. Like you said, he was born a peasant (likely a serf.) The only people who should have seen him as more than dirt on their shoes were his parents: one was never there (he knew he existed though,) the other was only interested in waiting for their own life to begin again (his mom waiting for his father,) and his stepdad, who honestly was more of a standup guy by his actions.
Riftan chose to run away from the trauma of his mother's selfish actions. That's the only choice he made. He became a mercenary because he HAD to. He threw himself at monsters because no one gave a sh*t if he lived or not (until Ruth, and even then, it started off as survival.) His life was so crappy, his only good memories were of Maxi, who he never exchanged any words with.
It's like wanting to execute a dog for biting anyone that comes into their property when that's the job they were trained for. It's the same as wanting to execute victims of guerilla warfare who were kidnapped at a young age and trained to kill instead of giving them a chance at rehabilitation.
Riftan needs that chance at rehab. In this time setting, he isn't going to get that. Maxi is taking charge to get her own. The hope is that by her bettering herself, it can open the door for him to do the same. We have couple therapy and PTSD support for people like this. They don't.
Words of a wise person here
I just read the only chapter and why was it dropped? The art style looks beautiful, and how is this racist? Am sorry but am black too and I didn’t see any issues with it, then again if you point out a valid reason I may agree. One think I realized ai to social media is a lot of people and I mean A LOT of people are getting far too sensitive all in the name of being woke. Like guys wrap it up if you have an issue with the slave-master relationship it looks like it maybe displaying but none with other books with rape and more, where’s the woke-ness. Also I feel like the only people who would have an issue with this are those who aren’t connected to any history of slavery and probably owned slaves who are just nitpicking everything. Sad this was dropped because it looks like it had mad potential. Thx for reading my rant
with song of the wasteland, the combination of subject matter, visibility from the creator's popularity and international attention contributed to pressuring the platform and creator to change their plans. if anything, this situation suggests some tactics that people can use to address other issues if people are aware and organized enough. people were emailing the publisher directly about their concerns and being vocal on social media. if you're someone who actually, seriously cares about how poorly things like exploitative relationships, abuse, rape, incest, and pedophilia are used in BL/media in general, it's time to start thinking tactically now that you know that things can change, instead of implying that people are hypocrites for... caring about racism and advocating against it here.
I think there was a justified basis for suspicion and skepticism from the one chapter given. the foundation a story is built on, and it's execution, determines the strength of the final story. even though I can think of ways this could have beaten expectations, this story was on shaky ground to begin with, starting with the setting and characters, and ending with the "I'm your slave" line.
of all the kinds of people and stories you could tell about this time period in this place, why are these the ones chosen? what's the appeal of their dynamic? how is the setting and time period relevant to that?
as it stands, it looks like there was a very deliberate choice to write around the existence of Black people who lived during that time even though their presence and labor is integral to the livelihoods of the MCs. maybe the author thought they'd avoid the backlash they got by doing that, but that's still an expression of racism, by ignoring that Black people are also people who want their stories and experiences told and treated with respect. and if the author didn't want to include Black people, which they're ultimately not obligated to do, they would have been better off choosing another topic and setting to write about, because like it or not, when writing about American history, you'll have to grapple with the racial dynamics of this country one way or another, to say nothing of the civil war era (even postwar) where the crux of the conflict was "what are we going to do with these Blacks? (are they even people?)". to then make the only Black people in the story be faceless mobs seemingly only with the intention of making the white MC look good and ethical, just rubs salt in that wound.
it's very suspicious to have a story where the civil war and its aftermath are significant to the narrative and characters, and then only feature Black people as background props to assure modern readers that the protagonist isn't a bad person by their standards. maybe there would have been actual Black characters done well in future chapters, but that initial presentation does not inspire confidence in the creator since they were not even aware of the implications of what they drew in chapter one. and if they were aware of the implications and making choices for shock value in the first chapter, like the "I'm your slave" line, then the response to those choices shows that the creator needed to reconsider their approach if they wanted better, more favorable reactions.
that's not even getting into how ezra, the ml, looks very ethnically and culturally vague... how was the creator going to handle the history of dispossession of indigenous lands and the violence inflicted on indigenous people by whites to settle their land and by indigenous people to whites to defend themselves? the various tactics and policies implemented by European settlers to weaken indigenous populations and suppress their ways of life that amounted to genocide? and that's not getting into how the ml is evidently mixed-heritage with blue eyes, which is its own can of worms in terms of visual design choices and how the creator would explore that character background.
perhaps the creator would have given more depth and nuance on the power and racial dynamics between the mc and ml in this time period, but their handling of the setup in the first chapter gave me significant doubts.
if the author wanted an interracial cowboy romance with this particular dynamic, they had other options for time and setting (and not to mention that those power and racial dynamics are present in other times as well).
every choice a creator makes in their story reflects their knowledge and interests, which are not free from bias. intentional or not, there were many opportunities for missteps here.
racism isn't always direct insults and targeted violence. it's also erasure and exclusion, putting particular people in particular roles. it's often unconscious and not deliberately intended. similar to how bullying isn't always physical violence, racism can operate in all kinds of subtle ways that can be hard to explain to other people if they aren't the target of it. many explanations have also been given in these comments for why people have reacted negatively to this.
I liked these threads for more background info -
https://x.com/SPLover1863/status/2069382347972063697
https://x.com/SPLover1863/status/2069512321475465603
It’s only been a chapter tho. Really long paragraph I must say, I get it’s dangerous water the author is looking at but holy it’s a chapter. And I seem very oblivious but felt the book deserved a chance and also if someone wants to use it I think they can use the themes because one way or another it’s gonna cause noise about the past. Which can also be a good thing. Sorry if am rambling and you don’t understand. Although am black I cannot say I have experienced direct impacts of American slavery to an extent just saying.
"it's only been one chapter, it could have been good!"
based on what? does anyone saying that care to explain why they think so aside from just calling anyone who criticized this oversensitive? (as if oversensitivity isn't a natural response to pain and hurt, or simple vigilance) what's wrong with being sensitive, as opposed to being callous or numb?
the people who were concerned based on what was shown in that one chapter explained the potential for this to go wrong(er than just its conception in the first place) in multiple ways and brought it up to the creator and platform. and evidently the creator recognized the limitations to their preparedness and/or ability to execute the story in a way that satisfactorily addressed those concerns, and discontinued the series.
and that's not a bad thing!
it's good to admit and acknowledge your limitations when it comes to knowledge and experience! you yourself say that despite being Black you "seem oblivious" and haven't "experienced direct impacts of American slavery to an extent", so you correctly make that acknowledgment, too. which then makes me wonder why in your original topic, you came in pretty strongly dismissive of people taking issue with the story despite your not having knowledge or a personal stake in the historical topic in the same way as the people making criticisms. you don't have to answer me on this, but i urge some reflection on your perspective and why you have it, and how that conflicts with other people's perspectives and why they have it.
just because a person is Black doesn't mean that they'll have an immaculate understanding of racism in all ways. depending on where a person lives and their class position, they might be shielded from some of the worst effects, and might not recognize some of racism's more subtle cultural and psychological expressions. there are many things that are hard to recognize and articulate if you don't make the effort to observe and analyze, or worse, you just accept the dominant/mainstream narrative about history and current events.
i have said in other replies that i don't think the topic of war, post-war conditions, slavery, and all sorts of sensitive topics are untouchable in fiction. ideally, someone who has done the research, is aware of the racial dynamics, and has the skills for it could pull off a story in this setting. i think it would have to depart from many typical BL conventions to be good and worth doing, though.
people can and should be free to create whatever they want, but that doesn't make it free from criticism or pushback from other people, especially when the profit motive is involved. why should anyone be able to make stories based on painful real life history and make money off of it without any feedback or response?
the creator and the publisher sought to make money off this series, and it was feedback from potential customers that indicated that there would be problems monetizing a series like this. if this story was something the creator felt passionate about the world seeing, they could release it for free. otherwise, they currently have an opportunity to rework it/do something new, and make a better release.
all of this isn't to yell at you or berate you or anyone who's like "why couldn't we just give this a chance?", but
to explain why people weren't optimistic about it,
to encourage some thoughtfulness, reflection, and hell, even some research about the relevant historical and contemporary topics,
and above all, a willingness to listen/curiosity/open-mindedness that the creator was able to show and that the people upset about the discontinuation are failing to do, which reveals either ignorance (best case scenario, fixable) or malice/racism (can't help y'all here).
Am so lost rn like what’s going on? Why is teach going against him? Buddy ur in the apocalypse you don’t got the ability to f around and find out…
He's got some issues in his head. He thought Guwon killed his dad so he's in some kind of revenge BS with the rest of the people in that town which is stupid imo. They're only alive because of the hounds. So why are they planning to kill Guwon??
That’s what am saying plus even if he killed his dad at least he still living w/o the hounds they all would be dead. They seem kinda greedy
because even though they are alive, they are still oppressed. they live day to day in fear of making a mistake and potentially getting killed for it - it fries your mental state. Teach is sympathising with them bc he’s so new to the environment and can see it with fresh eyes, and also cos he thinks guwon killed his dad ┑(￣Д ￣)┍
I see why it harms ur mental state but idk abt betraying guwon it dont seem like a good idea
it really isn’t a good idea but the entire hustle is basing it on the assuming that guwon is so whipped for teach that he’ll let him do anything and forgive him for anything
They're right abt Guwon forgiving teach... But not them they'd be all dead once it's all out
Teach can survive ts but those ppl idk why they think they can harm the hounds, if they can ill be shocked
Okay so ik this is messy but how tf is white hair guy the dad . Like that doesn’t make sense at all. Like I get loving him and all but my brain can’t wrap around this topic at all. Ik if he got with the black haired dude that it would be messy but I still can’t wrap my head around this. I think am mainly pissed cuz I thought blk would win (tho he toxic af like holy, felt bad for him a couple of times) cuz a TikTok I watched with some orange head and black haired had a kid and realized at the end that I was wrong about the name. But the concept of him being the dad makes 0 cents. Thx for reading
no it makes sense that he's the father cuz of the first time mc and white hair fucked they didn't use the birth control or a condom.
But black haired litterly knotted and stuff like my brains tweaking so much.
It makes sense though? this is what happens when you if you first saw it on TikTok, white hair is much green flag than that guy. It makes so much sense since they're the first to fuck, that black hair guy is a rapist anyway why would you even vote for him lmao
Guys this one is actually true, like search the whole dam internet, an Omega can still get pregnant even without the alpha knotting. They literally did it raw, white guy said he was gonna give him the birth control pills but we saw that he didn't really give it
Why would you even feel bad for a rapist and his a manipulator just pure toxic
EXACTLY THE WHITE HAIR GUY IS MUCH GREEN FLAG LOL
Fr I think black hair guy was just curious about what love feels like, making our MC more like his experiment, black hair doesn't even give shat that he was uncomfortable with him being too close, even with that 5 star hotel I think
Idk it just seemed odd, tho I agree white hair guy was way better in the relationship
Anyone else get the hate on this manhwa?
Ml baby trapped and sa'd the bottom, every bottom in this manhwa also looks like a child
But aren’t omegas supposed to look young and he also is like in his early 20s? Like not tryna defend anyone idk maybe am j not awake enough to nitpick like that, cuz at the end of the day it’s a book . Like I get the assaulting part ain’t chilling and the baby trapping not cool also but like idk
They're supposed to look young but not like children. And it's not only omegas the beta guy that ends up with the MLS brother (?) also look too young
Is it just me or I don’t think he deserves the bot (cuz I forgot his name) because like if that was me in the other life I would nevaaa let that side. He letting him off far too easy. Not being able to see or name any of his 6 kids and in his life he only knew 1 kids name towards the end like he getting too much credit, where’s the hate like for jinx
This story is pure tragedy
If you like tragedy you read it
If you ask me if I would have picked it up if I went back in time
I'd say NEVER!! It had me depressed
Is it better now? maybe!
I don’t hate the story I actually like it, it’s different. I get the tragedy part to some extent but like it’s good tho and good you picked it up
Am sorry but I feel like this should be ending soon or like a long time because it’s been dragged for so long not sure if it’s only me or others think like this.
Can anyone please summarize that season cuz I wanted to protect my sanity by not reading that bs cuz that season don’t exist in my books
well well, the tops grandpa came out of nowhere literally and he was extremly homophobic, so he seperated them guess how? kidnapped haebom tortured him, the top had no idea where he was, he searched for him blah blah and than there was this one gangster (kidnapper) who tried to rape the bottom, and then the top found haebom and raped him too, then the top tried to get his granpa to prison and he made it eventually, now they got back together suddenly it was the end
in conclusion the season was just bullshit and shit and bull
Absolute rubbish wasted time and effort for that btw top would never rape the bot like why we gotta force that shi he originally wouldn’t not sure why we tryna make the greenest green flag top a red flag. This why I say that bs season don’t ever exist. N why grandpa care so much. Thanks for the summary tho
yeah like why cant the author just let this shitty manhwa go already? dont get it and will never. youre welcome btw. dont waste your time on this lmao