Did BL Fall Off? – 2026 q1 review

[sarcoline]

clickbait title 😂 well i suppose i'm half-serious...? as an avid bl slop consumer for the past 10+ years, lately i have noticed that bl reading my beloved routine pre-bedtime activity for so long has fallen off a bit. undoubtedly my somewhat recent descent into f1 yaoi (i know) is partially to blame, but combined with The Great M*ng*g* Listpocalypse of Jan 2026 i feel like it's just been harder for me to find the will to keep up with it, especially any series that i was only following out of habit anyway. having finally intermittently & manually added some of them back these past two months, i thought it would be appropriate to recap and review my current reading/read/want to read while the numbers are still fairly manageable. "recently" to me is defined as within the past six months.

CURRENTLY READING

• dreadful night - mo-an (75 chapters, ongoing)

time loop horror game simulation story with a seme who is sooo The Killer (not to be confused with the “real” killer in the horror story.. but he does still kill people!!) and obsessive about the uke and a uke who is like can we please focus on the task at hand stop trying to fuck me!! perfect dynamic. tbh when i first started this manhwa it felt like op was cosplaying having the mind of a mastermind a bit, like where is this all going…but then season 2 hit and i was like wait maybe op does have the mind of a mastermind #real not clickbait? #TrustTheProcess. even though the story is still mildly confusing and would probably be greatly enhanced with a reread or reference to fanmade gdoc of plot points and theories, dreadful night is pretty engaging; it has a fairly compelling mystery thriller plot and a good amount of cockenbahls. if i had to nitpick i would say the pacing and balance are a bit spotty though, for a while in the first season op was edging and blueballing us so bad and then when they finally were allowed to fuck, it was entire chapters of smut followed by barely any plot progression before we would go back to entire chapters of fucking again, and i would be like can op pls get back to plot PLEAA… which is a rare sentiment from me truly but i guess it goes to show how badly i want to see the story resolved lol

• the thread that never burned - goodmen / monnyang (35 chapters, ongoing)

gorgeous art that i honestly think powerscales all of op's other works so bad though it still does have the typical egregious size difference that is signature of her seme-ukes. plot is fairly predictable but it’s enjoyable in a way that feels light and easy despite there literally being mafia business and non/dubious consent and kept wife(shaman) trope? the full page dream-like sequences from the historical era backstory really add to this bl's visual appeal.

• guiding hazard - sunsun / chungnyung (74 chapters, ongoing)

guide/esper bl from the same artist who did angel buddy, consistent art as always. kind gentle seme who wants to take care of the headstrong uke that refuses to be taken care of…tale as old as time. uke has an ugly rapist ex that doesn’t know when to quit…when he finally gets his comeuppance i imagine it will be so gratifying but for now we must dither in the uke’s abandonment issues induced “i don’t deserve love” trauma spiral bc he thinks the seme is too good for him. pack it upppp like i swear to god if we don’t wrap this shit up in 15 more chapters…

• semantic error side stories - j soori / angy (2 chapters, ongoing)

i didn’t know there were side stories until recently! i remember enjoying the main series when i read it a couple years ago, seme is typical asshole with a heart of gold and uke is so amazingly autistic despite op repeatedly saying he’s not. but he is. lighthearted and comedic enough, iirc main story was r15 so you don’t really get explicit smut but the story carries on well without it anyway.

• jinx - mingwa (95 chapters, ongoing)

in mingwa typical fashion we have boomerang brows asshole seme and pushover doormat chronic victim uke ft. thee most cliche noncon to love(?) plot progression ever. jinx is a one step forward two steps back kind of story which is so frustrating but nothing new given that wbk from bj alex lol. i will say i like dan’s character design better than the bj alex uke (i forgot his name lol) but that really is not saying much given that i don’t even like op’s art style that much. so it really begs the question what am i still doing here? well… sometimes you shop for things you like at the things you hate store to test ur abilities. or something. i am hate-reading in the name of ostensibly giving her another chance 🫶

• my guildmate next door - angela, honey trap / bijak (110 chapters, ongoing)

also known by the title virtual strangers. sometimes i have to pause reading this for a few updates because the secondhand embarrassment i get from seme being a stupid idiot baby who has never socialized with normal people in his entire life is actually insane. i think this is dubbed as the orv bl in some parts of the internet due to faint visual similarities to manhwa depictions of yjh and kdj but that is literally where the veryyy tangential similarities end. i actually do like uke's personality a lot but seme pisses me off so bad like bro is ragebaiting the fuck out of me!! sorry it’s actually not that serious. but i need him to grow up like yesterday.

DROPPED / PAUSED

• a tree without roots - lapo (97 chapters, ongoing)

i keep meaning to come back to this but i get scared... not in the sense that anything overly violent or actually scary is going to happen but. i don't know. i'm scared. younger blonde seme that keeps his ex-guardian older uke captive… heeseo is literally top that doesn’t understand why the bottom won’t love him despite behaving extremely scarily and abnormally… the dynamic is actually so :slurp: emoji i really should get back into reading it.

• between the lines - hodot (85 chapters, ongoing)

a bl that is sooo mildly jmjn coded a bit especially visuals wise with that one tiktok; blond prettyface seme x short black haired uke (bhu) a classic combo. i forgot why i dropped this actually i may have just forgotten to pick it back up between seasons when it went on hiatus lol. another inadvertently slutty uke that is giving a touch of tism + mildly manipulative seme that cares soo much about carefully curating his image / hiding his true self + a setting that is quite meta (bl author universe)... i believe uke has long hair again in the newer seasons so we cheered (guy who hates short hair) 

• backlight - gangddo (65 chapters, ongoing)

another blond prettyface seme x short black haired uke except the blond seme is actually trashy s1ut asshole this time. who ofc has a soft spot for the uke and is only soo damaged and manipulative and trashy bc he has trauma and abusive family etc etc. dropped this one around ch. 60 or 70 idr i feel like the plot was just dragging but i did eat beautiful blond hair purple eyed seme visuals like seoin is seriously so gorgest to me... and uke is okay looking as far as short black haired ukes go. 

• dash - ijen / skye (41 chapters, ongoing)

spoiled the plot for myself by reading a good amount of chapters from the bl novel, it seems like a pretty decent popcorn bl centered around athlete/manager + swimming + omegaverse, i'm just not super inclined to get back into it rn but i remember thinking the webnovel was a breezy easy read.

• negative love - gyeon (53 chapters, ongoing)

got baited by seme named jaemin… likely place for me to be. but this one is just… not very engaging. seme jaemin is very much creepy killer in this, which theoretically should be so up my alley, but i think everything is just falling slightly flat. uke has asshole ex that belittles him which i guess is supposed to make jaemin look so much better in comparison but i just kinda feel like this one is going nowhere.

• kiss me if you can - zig / giho, sanho (37 chapters, ongoing)

another bl i put in timeout for cringing me out too much. art is fine, i just wish seme would stop acting like that. getting jealous of uke's SISTER like brother can we please get a couple of braincells up here. chase is really so beautiful blond (and also coincidentally purple-eyed) seme though, maybe i'll pick it back up again if i can turn off my brain enough to stop rolling my eyes. 

• case file compendium - meatbun doesn't eat meat (webnovel, completed)

i’ve tried to read this like 3 or 4 times and i’ve just never gotten past chapter 100 absolutely no hate to meatbun tho. this also has all the tropes i should like on paper: crazy obsessive rich younger seme that is lowkey the killer, stoic doesn't-know-he's-beautiful uke, mild (for bl standards) age gap, some kind of background mystery, handwavey magical realism, etc… i think i just haven’t managed to find a good epub and lock in lol i’ll get to it some time.

RECENTLY FINISHED

• love loop - gungjwi (10 chapters, completed)

just binged this lured by the promise of time loop / groundhog day trope which is always so enticing to me and well—not to say this wasn’t good but idk... the reveal and resolution was a little underwhelming and bewildering at the same time. to its credit it is only 10 chapters and i really should not expect too much from bl logic at this point but i will keep hoping nonetheless. art is fine, cockenbahls are decent. quick read solid 6/10.

• cash or credit - goodmen (71 chapters, completed)

same artist as thread that never burned, it’s mafia prison bl so you know that consent is nonexistent but honestly a fairly enjoyable brain smoothening popcorn bl for the cockenbahls. op does get egregious with the proportions and art especially as the chapters progress but it is something that i can overlook and quite frankly expect from her at this point lmao.

• mr. a's farm (s1) - nachioboy (24 chapters, ongoing)

not even sure i have the words to describe this one but. wow. i honestly respect that op is unabashedly a freak. genuinely looking forward to see what crazy shit is in store for s2.

• alpha predator - shui qian cheng (webnovel, completed)

i don’t know... started reading this upon nizrec like 1.5-2 years ago and stopped when the translator disappeared 60 chapters in. finally picked it back up randomly a couple months ago using another translation that i assume was edited mtl or just lower(?) quality but regardless it was a swift read and honestly not as good as i remember. typical wife-chasing story, i suppose the handful of cockenbahls chapters did hit.

TO-READ (mostly oomfrec) 

• the 11th school trip - do haeneul / mingnyu

poppyrec! i heard this is a time loop one and i do love myself a good time loop so… hopefully i will add it to the rotation soon. it looks promising...

• curveball and splitter - bad pharmacy

beautiful looking art i saw on twt… #1 bait taker in the world i’m looking. also in my sports yaoi era so 🧐

• 18's bed - cheongdam, munseullo / jatae

the 3-4 month period where ciel was begging half of us to read this 😂 um.. ill get to it.

honestly i cannot say i rec many of these like this is not a rec list, to be clear. just A list. of choices i have made. shopping at the slop store for slop. lowkey i do feel like my gen & hetslop manhwas have been mogging a bit but feel free to drop recs for me here or down below 🫶 maybe it will convince me that bl is so back...or maybe it never fell off?

Comments

[sarcoline]

ohhh maybe i did clock the tonal shift between s1 and s2(?) and dropped it after losing interest...

i read the entirety of kmiyc prequel manhwa (kiss me liar?) and figured it would be more of the same so idk why i'm even surprised at this point. and that was so makjang ott omegaverse tropes bingo bl that was containing so much uke abuse it was making me literally feel like i need to stand up for omega rights. as a known enjoyer of un-subversive traditional a/b/o dynamics. so you know it was bad. i suppose kmiyc feels like a launch in the other extreme where it's now subverting weepy omega trope with bamf dom omega. and you know how i feel about that too 😂 but alas chase is saurr beautiful blond purple seme to me and also reminded me i forgot to add backlight to this list lmfao. seoin seme visuals of all time.. <3

re: 11th school trip OK I WILL... like it actually looks engaging i hope i find the will to pick it up soon i just love to have guaranteed cockenbahls but its ok. its ok plot will be worth it. and beautiful art.

[ittnse]

it's s2->s3 i think but it's also on hiatus due to author burnout rn so actually maybe leave it on the wayside more LOL while they take their time to recover...

kiss me liar is actually the perfect prequel manhwa because i feel like it prepares the audience so much for what the author's writing style is like. makjang ott omegaverse tropes bingo like you said... the bl manhwa version of penthouse kdrama for sure

i actually have not read backlight despite reading like almost every other title on here including hits like mr. a's farm (which reminds me of the jimin cow hybrid tweet every time i think about it) and a tree without roots etc but i really should because everyone ever is posting about it and i need to be there or else the fomo

please enjoy 11th school trip <3 and if you ever make non-bl manhwa q1 review post i will also be there...