beta
But the dubcon plot, which was very popular in the past (for many writers, not that I like it) seems kinda outdated to me. The fact that the ML constantly molest the MC and putting it as a flirty, casual way of showing love kinda annoys me. So when the plot wants to make a “serious” twist, it does’t make any impact to me at all. And then after, the ML just met him secretly and started SA him, again “because he still loves him”. That’s kinda put me off and made me drop the reading.
It's from 2022 so yeah, at that time these kinds of stories are quite popular. These days there are still some manga with dubcon too, but it's already quite mainstream and not selling much anymore so mangakas explore other plots instead
Ya'll make me feel ancient lol
Dubcon has been a trope in bl/yaoi since inception. The only reason why it feels like it "boomed" in 2022 is 'cause the genre exploded with covid lock downs.
And I don't think it'll ever go away even if it isn't "popular" anymore.
my thoughts exactly
Fr, 2022 is literally modern day
I didn't say 2022 is a long time ago. I was saying that this story which came out in 2022 came out at a time when those kinds of stories are common. Idc if it's been around since longer
Rape in BL has been very common for the last 20+ years and continues to be up to now, so 2022 wasn't a special year for this. If you don't care that 2022 isn't an anomaly then I'm not sure what your point is /gen
But having him pass the combat round this easy. Why is the qualified knight was so weak, and yielded so fast by just one fall? lol. And also, no one (except maybe the lord commander) in the king’s guard can fight better than the grand duke is quite concerning. How can the protectors are weaker than the one they’re protecting.
I think it’s important to note that he’s not really fighting a knight with years of experience, he’s fighting one who just passed the entrance exam recently. It is said that the typical entrance exam is easier than the one he’s currently taking, so the knights that just passed had an easier qualification and probably required less skill. Now if MC goes against a knight higher up, it’s very unlikely he’ll win one on one. He even notes this by saying that the commander isn’t so unfair as to give him an experienced knight.
Regarding the duke’s skills, it makes sense that he’s highly skilled. He’s not the emperor where it’s not expected for him to be on the front lines. He’s in a territory that despite it looking peaceful in the city, is riddled with attacks that he needs to fend off. That’s why he says that it’s required of him to be highly skilled in combat to even become the duke. Is he the most skilled in combat? Probably not. But he is up there at the top.
As for MC saying he can beat anyone since he sparred with the duke, that’s probably just him talking and it’s not meant to be taken as fact from the story. Although he does have the component of surprise on his side, people in the north have bigger builds and most likely thinks skill and strength comes from having a bigger build just like his opponent thought. They also probably have more direct and typical combat. They aren’t used to fighting with someone who is smaller and fast and who would quickly look for other weaknesses (such as feet) instead of trying their best in a battle of strengths. Regardless, he’s not a character of fact, he has his own personality and ego too. He utilizes that here to increase his confidence on the next upcoming rounds :)