Ajoiya

I fear that if the ending is poorly written, then what am I gonna do? I’m gonna crash out.

Im pretty sure in the creators note they mentioned nanjo and mokyeon will be in a exclusive relationship and it’ll be a happy ending.

also it's supposed to be a 60ep story somehow, don't know if the author changed her mind in between

yeah either this gonna be a good representation of mental health issues or be heavily romanticized for a cheap plot (cuz if we're gonna have amnesia arc then it's gonna be a slop)

It really depends on how they write it. To properly handle the mental health themes there are 4 steps. You need to show the descent into madness(I think we finished this part), rock bottom(what I think is coming next chapter), the (internal) desire rebuild and the actual rebuild.

The problem is right now is the fact that is a romance. So the internal desire cannot be motivated by another person. The other person can be the spark but not the cause. Plus as of now Nanjo is done with him, so you need a reason for him to change his mind that isn't contrived.

Most yaoi authors tend to cheap out by having one of the two get seriously hurt. Which I think might be happening with the car accident. But this story is a little to real for that method to be effective.

Again we will see. They have been a pretty good writer thus far.

"So the internal desire cannot be motivated by another person. The other person can be the spark but not the cause." Hmm interesting
i don't think Nanjo would accept the current behavior of Mokyeon, maybe he will be the spark as you say, by having a real talk with Mokyeon like yes i kissed you back because i also had some feelings because you are actually a lovely person, but like this we cannot be together: get your shit together, stand up and walk straight in your boots, be deserving of me and then come back to me, we'll see maybe i'll accept you then

I hope this is the route they go.

I really like how you articulated your thoughts on this, it's refreshing (even though I don't agree with everything you said, particularly about Jinx and KS being put in the same category, but that's not the point here).

I unfortunately think that the deep and dark themes put in this story are all dressing pieces, or excuses, created to enhance the raw "yaoi sex" and "toxic love" scenes that everyone ""expects"" and ""waits for"", and not the other way around.

I've come to not really trust this author with how they will present and develop those heavy themes; don't get me wrong I'm still quite interested and invested in this manhwa, but I keep side-eyeing it... For example, the compulsion to announce that yes Nanjo and Mok will be together at the end and it will be a happy ending. To me that's an insane thing to do as an author.
It means they think the readers refuse be surprised: no matter what dark turn the story may take, no matter what the character relationship chart may look like at the moment, the story WILL get to the promised happy ending. No matter what. And I think that's not a good writing plan. The author thinks the readers won't be satisfied by anything else, they won't be satisfied unless the 2 guys on the cover have their [side story : 4] chapter where they go on a lovers' vacation together... I'm being snarky right now, but what I want to say is that it's too bad that certain conventions and readers' expectations create this climate where authors think they have to disclose how things are gonna end, and that they HAVE to end HAPPILY (and given some comments out here, yeah they are kinda right to think that!).

And that's why I like that you talked about genres. I wish I could have faith in this author and trust that they'll know how to make me believe that what Nanjo and Mokyeon have/will have is a twisted but romantic story with a satisfying happy ending. But right now, I cannot see it, and I feel that the story will forcibly shape itself into the mold of its (percieved) predominant genre, Romance. It's already happening, it was happening in season 1 too. But as the story puts its main character into his darkest spirals, the Psychological genre aspect keeps getting more and more important and heavy and I think the return to the Romance genre will be jarring.

Especially after this last chapter, the way Mok talked about wanting to scarr Nanjo for life with the knowledge that he would be the last person to see him alive...? Wanting to place that huge amount of guilt on him......? There is so much to unpack here, so so much; and the road to those 2 being together is so so so, so long, I'm not sure the author will truly take their time to tell it with the respect it deserves. Mokyeon's skewed views on what it means to love someone, Nanjo's point of view and what he actually wants and thinks... All of this shit needs to be addressed and dived into thoroughly or else the story won't work. Is it crazy if I say that I would actually prefer if the author all baited us with the yaoi and actually intended to a character assessment story ? (and lied about the happy ending) I love yaoi but sometimes, something new and refreshing would be cool ! I can keep dreaming lol

Anyway sorry for yapping (english isn't my first language), it's just that I think this manhwa had the potential to do something bold with it's character work and themes, and if placed into different genres (Psychological, Tragedy, Yaoi, instead of Romance, Drama, Yaoi), it could have been truly one of a kind. But I'm sort of pessimistic about it... As you say, we will have to see. Cheers

I think you articulated yourself amazingly, especially considering English isn't your first language.

Unfortunately these kind of backstories and traumas are usually used to justify the victim getting back with the rapist. Mokyeon doesn't even see Nanjo as a person but more as a goal. Nanjo should walk away from this and never look back. Honestly, the best ending would be them going their separate ways to the road of healing.

I actually regret the Jinx comparison to killing stalking, because while it was clearly a fantasy it got pretty real at times too. ML interest was a decent representation of a toxic athlete and Kim was the one always victimized. I actually worry this will be like Jinx, but with the power dynamics flipped.

Killing stalking actually ended the way most of these should end, in tragedy. That one was obviously a horror but both of them dying apart made sense and ironically audiences did hate that ending.

"Is it crazy if I say that I would actually prefer if the author all baited us with the yaoi and actually intended to a character assessment story ?"

I actually want this ending myself. The reality is most of these authors want to make a rape fantasy but also have a happy ending. The ability to do that is incredibly hard and I currently don't trust the author to do it.

But we will see.

Thank you for saying I was articulate ! Makes me happy :)

Yeah, that type of plot point so common in dark yaoi stories, to a point where it's too predictable and forced in my opinion... I wish we could get the ending you are talking about but we already know this isn't where it's headed. Bit of a shame, oh well...

I didn't mean to get you to talk about Jinx and KS haha ! But yeah what you say is very interersting.
My experience with Jinx... Jinx really frustrated me and, I'll admit, angered me a bit, because I truly felt like the author wasn't realizing how heavy the imbalance of power was between J and Kim, how their relationship was based on rape and not simple lust, and had no idea how to handle what they had created. And mind you I was aware that it was a fantasy, as I'm someone who seeks this kind of fictional fantasy for catharsis; but nothing irritates me more than an author looking like they don't know what they are talking about lol.
I personally think the author of The Boundary of Delusion is better than Jinx's author at handling heavy themes; but my hopes are not very high too, given the trajectory.

You are so right about KS's ending ! In my opinion, as messy and unperfect as that manhwa was, it was still honest on a lot of promises : horror, psychological, obsession, mystery, police work, lust, sex, tragedy... It was a tough read, and it could be frustrating and horrifying at times, but somehow I still sensed that the author had a fairly good grasp on the themes.
That ending took courage and showed that they owned up to the fact that their characters simply could not live happily ever after. Was it depicted in the best quality? I don't really think so, but I appreciate the attempt. And the audience's reaction... Goes back to what I was talking about with audiences refusing to be surprised and challenged. I'm not saying that we, as readers, have to always like what an author is putting out, of course, but there is a clear refusal to let stories out of their perceived mold and let them flow and reach their natural conclusion. And it's hindering stories, like the one we are currently commenting under, and preventing them to reach their full potential. Sometimes it really is that deep imo.

We will see indeed !

A pleasure to chat. Have a good day