WAHHHHHH OMFG. This story was so light and sweet. Two very gentle souls who fell in love. Yes, a part of me was low-key bummed there was no hanky panky But the MCs were so pure that it wasn't needed. The slow warm burn was so refreshing.
I love how grounded both in who they were. the seme respected the ukes desire to stay home and uke encouraging the seme and wanting to see the world through his photos.
This is so wholesome. I greatly adore this story. I love how Narumi describes the concept of his photos and how Haruki adapted to it. They're so sweet and cute. Haruki is so precious and the way they show their affection for eo through their photos is just so adorable.
"I love the world as you capture it, Narumi. So no matter where you go, I'll be rooting for you. But whenever you need to rest your wings... Promise me you'll come back here."
This is one of the rare, special stories that make you cry not because it's sad—though it definitely has an indubitable sense of melancholy—but rather because it's just . . . So fucking cute. This story shot such a sharp arrow straight through my heart.
It's a relatively simple, straightforward story. After noticing a car buried in snow and seemingly abandoned, Haruki briefly looks over the area to see if the person that it belongs to is still around. He then finds Narumi, a wildlife photographer who came from Tokyo, hunting to capture "Snow Faries" on camera. Upon finding out he currently has nowhere to go, Haruki offers Narumi to stay with him until he has to return back to the city. And from there, a cute love story starts.
Initially there's a pretty fun, awkwardly cute type of dynamic between these two guys as they're kind of polar opposites. Narumi is a very lively, expressive person. Haruki on the other hand is rather reserved and quiet, at least at the beginning. And then throughout the story, that dynamic is kind of played with—Narumi, who was once so expressive and open, is now suddenly hesitant and nervous. Haruki though really opens up again due to Narumi and really softens his edges.
Photography is, needless to say, a huge theme in this story. It is channeled as a conduit for numerous things—a reoccurring theme is the love that can be expressed through a photo. Narumi's mantra is that if you love someone, or love something, that will show through the photo you take. A photo is an expression of your feelings. Earlier in the story, he would show his photos to Haruki all the time, but the longer he stayed, the more photos of Haruki he'd take, and this is where the aforementioned sudden nervousness and hesitance come into play. As love is shown through all his photography, he's worried that Haruki will see the photos and see the love Narumi feels for him. And I just think that's really fucking cute.
Haruki is a little more of a complex character, as his arc is about opening up again after the death of his parents. What I really liked about this is that it's very subtle. While his parents' deaths are brought up explicitly, the story doesn't beat you over the head repeatedly saying "Look at how sad he is," "Look at how sad he is," I thought it was handled in a really . . . I won't say "realistic" way, as it is realistic to be wrecked over the death of your parents, but rather subdued way that I really liked. His grief is somehow understated and yet so incredibly thick in the air. There was a moment near the end when Narumi went away for a day or possibly even just a few hours for his photography, and during that time, Haruki realized that he wasn't used to being alone anymore like he used to be. Now that he has Narumi, he doesn't want to be alone anymore. And I just . . . That moment wrecked me. It was so sweet, yet it also felt so sad. I loved it.
The one thing I didn't like was the conflict near the end. It just felt a bit . . . Self-pitying, I guess? Narumi especially spoke of it as deeper than it is and I don't really understand why. Narumi says verbatim, "I wanted to get emotionally closer to Haruki, but found myself projecting my old self on him." And it's just . . . Not what happened? Like, at all? Narumi realized Haruki wasn't sharing his photos anymore and that upset him, so when Haruki invited him to come along for like a day / two-day trip, Narumi turned it down. That's it. He wasn't "projecting [his] old self on him" at all lol
reading this felt like tearing apart my heart and soul and exposing it to such an untainted purified love that it made me tear up. what a beautiful story and artwork about love. aaaaaaa i love when men love men n they’re in love and aaaaaaaaaa love :(((((
Super cute. But what was that synopsis? I thought I was gonna read a story about an animal photographer and a dog-boy. "Small animal boy" is inaccurate.
I love how grounded both in who they were. the seme respected the ukes desire to stay home and uke encouraging the seme and wanting to see the world through his photos.