niko

im sitting here, after simon wakes up, sobbing uncontrollably. tears falling so hard they're going to leave a permanent indent in my cheeks. unstable breaths, barely alive from the harrowing and bittersweet sorrow that had taken over my soul. and then boom, the last two chapters were sex and smiles. SEX AND SMILES. my heart was broken into a million pieces and the ending attempted to fix it with a small piece of scotch tape





on to the real review, it was so fucking good. so good. my heart was captured by the first chapter and wasn't released until the last. i can still feel the imprints of it on my heart, i don't know if ill ever be able to recover from this one. the author did a masterful job at developing the characters. the racism, sexual abuse, and homophobia was depicted in a brutally honest light. the author didn't sugar coat it, and never justified any of the horrific acts.

the dog <3

connor and simons relationship was developed beautifully. they were the epitome of right person, wrong time. but then they found their right time, and they were finally able to love and i think thats so goddamn beautiful.

to be honest though, i did find a flaw in veronicas character development. i wish there was at least a tiny hint of foreshadowing, so that this drastic character turn didnt come out of nowhere. and also, even though veronica was a cause of so many problems and a lot of trauma for simon and conner, they would still have had to deal with attacks like that. i dont want the attack that connor had to face to be totally at fault of a crazed lover. hes a poc, and hes gay. he would have had to face that either way.

i dont think is a story i would reread. its similar to Stigma, in my mind at least. too traumatizing to put yourself through again. but i don't think ill have to worry about forgetting the story. this raw and beautiful work of art will stay with me for a while.

if you read this all the way, love you. please treasure this story for what it truly is. its not a bl, or just another manhwa youve stumbled upon. its a gorgeously crafted story that shows the naked beauty and complications in human relationships of all kinds, and a glimpse into what minorities have had to face for many years in the past and many more to come. as soon as i am able to financially, i plan on paying for this story on the official website, so i can contribute money to the talented human beings who worked on this. you should do the same.

SILENCE ISNT CONSENT

please don't believe that. im sure the author didn't mean any harm but i don't want any victims to feel invalid after reading a line like that