Rae D.'s manga / #select hot scene(s)(71)

9.45 for the nice concept and execution of it.

Absolutely wonderful in every way. Dumb hot. That threesome scene? 9.6

I am giving this a 9.3 (but more like a 9.29). I can take a good guess as to why it is rated a 9.1 though. There is a specific list of things that the BL readers on this site do not like whatsoever, and one of those things is cheating. It's extremely weird to me and always has been that a group pf people who are okay with/desire things like rape, incest, pedophilia, and you name it.... decide to draw the line at cheating?? Like, why is that their big stance lol. But I mean it's an overwhelming ludicrous amount of them to the point where me saying this is just fact. Anyway, I am glad that I read this despite it being a 9.1, because I 1) I don't have that weird hang up about infidelity and 2) no actual cheating takes place. Even though the MC is just friends with benefits with multiple people none of whom he agreed to be in a monogamous relationship with, the poor babies on here just can't stand the idea of the MC "sleeping around" or basically having sex with anyone other than the dude they are supposed to end up with in the end. smh, kind of immature but I digress, I don't know how old these guys are so I'ma let them be. The beginning was a bit rough but not rough to get through. You know how some things are just hard to get through because you're like "damn I really don't wanna keep reading based off the things I've seen so far". People are acting like it was that kind of situation when it really was not. The beginning was just rough in a regular "I can't call the BL good yet" way. It went from being rough in the early beginning, to being mediocre throughout the entire middle which makes up at least 70% of it and then got kind of good in the last act. By good I more so mean interesting and you know kind of messy hehe. Anyway, in the very very end though, the whole BL comes together to pull off what could probably be called the best ending it could possibly have. That's pretty damn rare I think: for a BL to pull off the best possible ending given it's plot up until that point. They sometimes at best get close but still leave you going "ah, but I still wish so and such thing happened... and also this too", you know? But nah, other than us readers wanting a bit more content (and I do mean a bit- at 1-2 side stories for the lesbian side couple and for me personally one more side story for the main couple), all the other things were wrapped up just as nicely as they could possibly be wrapped up. I liked the way the story line was resolved with the uncle giving back that money, love that the blonde psycho brother went to jail, like that the company went down in flames, and the (insinuation) that the drugging, obsessive dude was also going to turn himself into the cops, and more than anything else, we love that after all this trauma, our lovely MC is both getting therapy and taking medication to heal. Like how often in BL's do the right people go to jail and then on top of that people who need it get therapy and then on top of that medication as well??????? Not often at all, that's when (BIG TIME looking at you "Love on my Terms"). (To be fair, it can and should be argued that the MC is not the only one who needed therapy and that there is no reason in hell why the love interest dude should not also be in therapy, but shhhhhh I'm going to take what I can get here...). Yeah, good ending "wrapping up the plot-wise" and good ending overall meaning-wise it didn't slap or anything, but it prevented itself quite successfully from going down the shit show rabbit hole I have seen more than enough BL of this caliber go down. It subverted expectations in that way and that was refreshing :). Okay, let's see what else... ngl some of this sex was h-o-t hot, mmmmmmmhm. I wasn't particularly attracted to any character at all during this BL at any given time and yet I still got a good handful of sex scenes that turned me on so that's a damn feat for smut am I right? Also, as always, I am all for a horny, open-about-his-sexual-desires bottom MC -- especially in this case when they're a bad bitch with at least mid-bad bitch fashion sense and piercings (double helix baby, woo!!!). Then art wasn't anything to write home about, but it was pretty darn good, a nice bit above average there. Characters not only were not particularly attractive, but also were not particularly enjoyable as people and I think both of those things together are really respectable form a BL. Like, you did not need to make your characters so hot and irresistibly psychically or psychologically to keep my attention and to get me to give a fuck about their stories and what happened to them. That is a crutch that many a BL author relies on (though I don't hate it). All the characters here just felt very real and realistic which was nice. Aside from them not being irresistibly enjoyable personality-wsie, I enjoy the MC even though he is not stereotypically enjoyable. He's ratchet and traumatized and a brat and all-around giving off HUGE Hyesung vibes and y'all know how I adooooore Hyesung :3. Okay, bad things? Small thing: story-telling was choppy enough to land this on the lower-end of the 9.3's instead of the middle. Bigger thing: ugh, the pedo vibes rolling off of this with the whole emphasis on the MC being so small like a child was distracting and upsetting to a certain extent despite me trying to look beyond it. It's not like I feel like they were unreasonable in the Bl, but I don't like the ideals we setting up/feeding into for people irl. Anyway, that's all I've got folks, not much else to say, but this is getting a 9.29.

9.5 for me... -The first couple and second couple should have gotten sepereate BL’s instead of separate seasons in the same Bl (first couple alone would’ve gotten a 9.6 maybe even 9.7 out of me, but because of second couple the whole thing gets a 9.5) -I love hwa gok -Not fond of Lee bin -Even less fond of hwa Lee -Did not like seolhyun at all at first but they made him physically and personality cuter so I warmed up to him and started liking him more than hwa Lee but DEF never as much a hwa gok -I was ROBBED of getting to see hwa gok and his baby while hwa Lee was young

At first I was going to give this a 9.6 because of my objective viewpoint, but I’m ultimately giving it a 9.7 for two reasons: 1) it brought me to near sweet tears and 2) it NAILED its ending— which so many BL’s struggle with that this makes it rare. Gigi things? Remarkable art. Delightful storytelling and plot. the love interest (YD) is one million percent MY type (long silver haired supernatural simp). Sex scenes that aren’t phenomenal but that do manage to always get the job done and then some. Lovely characters. And more. What’s bad? I’ve legit got nothing to complain about for real. I can’t say anything was bad, all I could say is things that could’ve been better, but there’s no need for that. All in all this was just soooooooooooooooooo perfect to me

cannot overstate that tag lollll..... this getting a 9.4 for me fap material game on 10

So.... this has more or less the same plot as Maku ga Oritara Bokura wa Tsugai. However there are some differences. Two things that Maku ga Oritara Bokura wa Tsugai did better? 1) Maku ga Oritara Bokura wa Tsugai came first and therefore had the element of surprise and 2) Maku ga Oritara Bokura wa Tsugai was more nuanced when it came to the theme on an intellectual level. What did this BL do better than Maku ga Oritara Bokura wa Tsugai? 1) it had much better sex scenes, 2) it had more fully fleshed out characters, 3) this couple dynamic is cuter and more shop worthy, 3) the top is much more simp-worthy, 4) the top is less questionable/problematic, and 5) overall the vibes were just more quality here lol. So yeah, while this wasn’t ass fluffy and it was also a bit too short (or at least felt that way at the end/the it ended abruptly) and it didn’t make me impressed by the execution of its theme..... it was still just a slightly higher quality BL. It gets a score on the higher end of the 9.3’s. So let’s call it a 9.35.

(not in proper timeline order) so ummmmm..... no one could ever know I was into this....... this was.... very messed up and hard to stomach at times.... it was also immensely hot..... Okay so basically most of the time I’m reading smut it’s BL. Most of the time I’m reading smutty BL, I am self-inserting as the bottom. But lately, I’ve been reading smut BL and self-inserting as the top. Not because I want to top really bad or dominate, but because the bottom is wildly enticing and I want him beneath me. This BL was basically created for any women who self-inserts as the top in the BL they read. It’s the only time I have ever encountered this: a story written like a BL (with all the usual BL tropes) but it’s not a BL because the couple is heterosexual.... how? And no, I do t mean a woman who is a top and a man who is a bottom. I truly mean a man who is a top and a woman who is a bottom and the woman is not even dominant/a power bottom or anything like that, she’s just a regular woman bottom but the man? Well he’s not exactly what I would call a submissive top in bed but....... ahhhh his personality and demeanor all in all in general is screeeeeeeaming “submissive and breedable”. Except he is also at times screaming “shoujo romcom love interest you got wet for”. I have never said the phrase “this awakened something in me” and meant it as much as I did after reading this. I want a Noah waaaaaaaaay more than I wish I did; I hurts how much I want him. He is a perfect mix of everything I love in my fav BL tops and everything I would love in a bottom if I were a BL top. And by that I don’t in any way mean he’s a mix like he’s in the middle or like, a switch. No. Not in the middle. He is both all and none but nothing in between. Nothing lukewarm ever, at all times he is either the perfect top, the perfect bottom, or both at once. It’s incredible to me. Now, let’s talk about where and why this submissive part of him is problematic. Not much to explain: it's clearly due to him being abused ever since he hit puberty (and then some before when he was a child and live with his first foster family). Ugh, I barely want to go into detail about this part because it makes me so uncomfy how hot I find the part of him that seemingly could only exist because he is a victim of extreme sexual abuse. The only way to make things better is for me to accept the idea that a man can exist with the same aspects of Noah that I love about him, without having to have the same trauma he has and well...... I struggle to convince myself of that fully. Anyway, seeing him be sexually abused makes me sad and turns me on. I am not turned on by the idea of him being abused or in pain. I am turned on by the idea of him being forced to experience pleasure and show vulnerable parts of himself in ways that men never ever do irl. That's partially the appeal of BL in the first place for me. Anyway..... one day I will revisit this and flesh out that last paragraph and the thoughts I have pertaining to that subject (hence the "let's unpack" label"). But for now let's move onto other things I like about this and/or was impressed by. 1) I liked the main character being able to be a woman who harbor extreme sexual urges and desires, but she most of the main characters find that a good like-able trait in her and not a bad slutty one. I especially like the way Noah and his sister describe her sexual tastes as being "down to earth" and like, natural? It was incredibly nice to hear. Refreshing as fuck and I don't see that often. While that was impressive, what was even moooooore impressive was 2) how poly-accepting/promoting this way! The main two couples swapped partners and had sex with each other at one point and 3 out of the 4 people involved were cool with it. Realistically enough, one of them still thought it was weird and got super jealous, but not in a destructive or problematic manner. Just in a, he is not 100% of the same sexually liberated mind as the rest of them yet. I think without being all "I'm making a point", and just being really natural with it, the author did a phenominal job of showing that different people meet different needs for you at times and as long as the two of you are cool with it, there's nothing wrong with being open about your relationship. Nayeon tells the dude who is not super on board with everything something like "I love Noah and no matter who else I have sex with , he is always the one I will come back to. The same goes for him." Well- I mean it sounded better than that and a bit more nuanced, but you get the vibe. It was so spectacular and made me happy. 3) The way that the story seems to be leaning toward 3 of the main side characters being in a poly relationship with each other (they are lowkey already there for real it's just not official) makes me happy too. I love it. 3.5) on that note, I like the S/M relationship and how it's portrayed between two of those characters as well. It was a nice addition to the story. 4) The last impressive thing in this were the sex scenes. When I say the sex scenes are impressive, I don't mean as impressive as the first three things I said were impressive and not in the same "I've never seen this before"/"this is so rare" way. Nah, they were just soooooooooooo frickin hot to me and really turned me on. (This has a lot to do with all the stuff I said about the different sides of Noah). I don't think I have this many bookmarks on anything I've read thus far. "6") What could have been impressive but fell short of being impressive? The trans representation. I love that character, but the way they handled/described them was just not on point in a way that I forgive because it makes it clear that the author themselves just doesn't seem to be all clear and caught up on terminology for said things. However, their heart was in the right place I think. :) I'll still give the effort points because most of the time trans people are not present at all. Okay, so now let's talk about the rest of the bad things, and wrap this review up. I already mentioned how problematic and messed up the whole "Noah being hot steaming from Noah's past of being abused" thing is as well as the "scenes with Noah's continued abuse are also super hot". Yes, that is not good. However, what I also need to say is just how far the author is taking this shit. Like, that's why people don't like it and said it became unreadable. She just makes things so incredibly bad for Noah from the start and then continues to make things worse and worse as we continue with no reprieve. Noah is obvi a sympathetic character and we love and care about him as readers so its so horrible to have to continue to watch the suffering ramp up in a way that makes it seem like the author doesn't care how sick it is. Yeah, it's fucked and if I could bring myself to stop reading it, I would for this reason alone. :( I'll probably revisit and revise this whole review when the series is finally over. So for now, I am going to give this a 9.2 and keep it pushing. Even with a 9.2 rating though, this here manga is as honorable as honorable mentions go on my list. Just, going to keep the fact that I read this and even more so the fact that I enjoyed it, hidden in the depths of my soul. SIDE NOTE: People in the comments keep villanizing the main character and I just will always think it is very sick and twisted the ways that women (and people in general) are socialized to tear women down the moment said woman steps out of the box of conventionality. Like, truly sick. You dumb fujoshis keep trying to argue about why Noah should be with Doye and it's annoying. You only want them together so it could be like a BL. I'm not going to say y'all are fetishizing gay men cuz I don't know y'all like that but you probs are. Doye is obvi in love or at least romantically obsessed with Noah. That's a given/But Noah was never really in love with that man the way y'all are trying to make it seem like he was. Noah said himself he was just looking for someone to help him cope with his abuse and give him hope of having a family that loves him one day. He was using him, and Doye was alright with that. Nothing was wrong with their relationship, but it wasn't mutual romantic love like that. Noah being able to experience sexual attraction to Doye just means Noah is attracted to men as well as other genders. Noah caring about Doye comes from the fact that Doye was his literal first friend which was made even more special by the fact that Noah was from an abusive household. "Nayeon and Noah feel nothing other than psychical attraction to one another!", they cry. First of all, this is false. Noah is not just attracted to Nayoen psychically/to her body. He is also attracted to her vibes and honest lifestyle and liberal thoughts about sex. That's why he's repeatedly bringing up how "down to earth" he thinks she is and has thought she was since first seeing her. Second of all, even if it was just psychical attraction....okay? is that a fucking crime? Nayeon met a dude she thought was attractive and wanted to bang. She then found out he had some trauma and wounds and was in a bad place and proceeded to feel sorry for him. She doesn't want to take advantage of him though and if he did not clearly pursue her and express his attraction towards he from that point further, nothing would exist between the two of them. Their relationship is respectful and relaxing, and gratifying for them both. Who cares if they aren't in love. They are simply doing what they want to do bro. Should one of them meet someone else who they truly fall in love with I guess they'll cross that bridge when they get there, but not everybody you have meaningful relationships with or care about will be someone you are "in true love with". Niggas need to grow tf up. *rme* As long as Nayeon does not cross into a place where she is fetishizing his trauma, or his sexual fluidity and desires (which in part stem from his trauma), or the state of emotional helplessness/dependency he is in as a result of his trauma, I think everything is fine with this ADULT, CONSENSUAL relationship. Now, if someone wanted to argue that Nayeon has already crossed said line I speak of or at least is beginning to cross it, I wouldn't hold them back because that can def be argued and could have been for some time now. Especially with the latest shit with her going through pretending to be his mother....

Ngl, I didn’t want to give this a 9.5, but I have to. It is slimy 9.5 material. I wanted to walk away saying it wasn’t worth it but I can’t. It was just too much of a completed work of art, to the point where it looks 1000% ready for its own anime adaptation. Granted we not gonna act like the influence of Fruits Basket didn’t help make it so. But it doesn’t matter this was very full and has charisma and is just so fluffy and makes me smile this silly little couple. Smiling despite myself fr, lol. Also, Masakata’s propensity to speak about sex in such an incredibly detailed way was both amusing as fuck and hot ask fuck. Eeeek, it made me blush on Kota’s behalf! The sex scenes themselves were also pretty damn great for a BL of his fluff level. Ohh, and of course also the zodiacs were pretty dang on hot (especially the Tiger ). Lastly it was extremely nice to me to see a BL bottom who is shy and doesn’t like PDA in a deadass way and I loved seeing him draw boundaries in their relationship around that value of his and seeing him reinforce those boundaries wit punishment when they aren’t broken. I could have used even more of this tbh, but this was so much more than other BL’s ever tend to do. I really hate it when the bottom is never listened to and let’s the top get away with whatever.