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2019-10-12 09:07 marked
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There is rape involved in the storyline early on, but it is used in a meaningful way in the plot, so take that as you will.
Also of interest - Kaoru is a flat arc character, and the only one whose ideals never change throughout the story. With a character like this as one of the leads, you kind of get an idea of how the story will turn out by the end. Also, I had no idea the story was going to give the second arc to Taiga; I'd thought he was just gonna be an arc 1 villain. But, I can appreciate a good redemption arc, and Taiga had a lot of room to grow from what a trash person he was in arc 1. I really appreciate the effort the author went to to get him into an end state where the reader no longer had to hate him anymore.
That said... Yuka's arc 2 plot needed a little more screen time to really sell his changed perspective. But it was still overall pretty good. I am satisfied with the ending, and am definitely on board with everyone else wanting to see the babisessesessseseses.
(spoilers)
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I'd just like to comment on a couple of things.
1) I'm not totally sure that Taiga was Yuka's fated partner. Some of the characters seemed to believe this to be true, but I found it to be ambiguous given the information provided. (just because characters in the setting think something is true doesn't mean it's actually true) Yuka may've gone into a premature heat, but Kaoru also went into Rut mode whenever Yuka was around even when Yuka wasn't in heat. Rather than Taiga being Yuka's fated partner which was causing him to go into heat early, it may've been Kaoru's Rut pheremones forcing Yuka into heat, even though they're not fated partners. Because Taiga never reacted back then to Yuka's heat by going into Rut (like Kaoru did), it makes me think that Taiga and Yuka are not really fated partners at all either. Honestly it's hard to tell, and I think the author intended it to be ambiguous since the moral of the story is to make your own fate.
2) I do think Rin was Kaoru's fated partner; enough context was provided by the story for this to be pretty much confirmed.
So, that said, I do think that Kaoru was the correct partner for Yuka despite not being Yuka's fated partner. Yuka was on a quick path to suicide even if he hadn't been assaulted on the roof of the school, and likely would've killed himself before the year was out regardless. He was having severe 'gender' dysphoria after discovering he was an omega -- the complete opposite of what he'd always thought he was -- and seemed to have no one willing to support him through it. Even Kaoru, who certainly would've if he could've, was avoiding him because he was having Rut issues around Yuka and didn't want to hurt him.
Furthermore, even if Taiga was actually Yuka's fated partner, he was far too immature and selfish at the time to take on the responsibility for helping a suicidal lover through his ordeal. The reality of the omegaverse fated pairing is that you aren't guaranteed to get someone who is a good person as your fated partner, and depending on the situation, the whole thing may end up being worse for you than no fated pairing at all.
Anyway, because Kaoru's pretty much loved Yuka since adolescence, and was by far the most mature and considerate and thoughtful of all the characters, he was really what Yuka needed beside him to get him through those rough times, even if they hadn't been forced to pair-bond in such a rushed and haphazard way. Fortunately, Kaoru was such a great person that Yuka effectively got everything he needed, even if he wasn't really that attracted (?) to Kaoru in a romantic way. The unwavering and unconditional support and devotion provided by Kaoru allowed Yuka to survive adolescence.
Following the incident in middle school that ended up with Yuka being bonded to Kaoru, the three of Yuka, Kaoru, and Taiga ended up in kind of a stasis that none of them could break out of. Yuka was reaping the benefits of Kaoru's magnanimous-ness for years, just living his life however he wanted without really understanding just how damn lucky he was to have Kaoru supporting him unconditionally. Kaoru was making good on his promise to take care of Yuka forever even though he gained nothing from the relationship but Yuka's body only when it was convenient for Yuka because Yuka just wasn't interested in him beyond keeping his heats under control. How sad.
Meanwhile Taiga remained adrift, looking for a fated partner that was never going to materialize - either because he didn't have one, couldn't meet them because maybe they lived in Iceland, or because his fated partner was already bonded to another Alpha. (Keep in mind that 20% of the population are Alphas and only 10% are Omegas, meaning there's a huge chunk of Alphas who won't have fated partners).
Rin was thrown into the story to be the catalyst to break all these characters out of their holding patterns. He may've been vaguely annoying, but his specific personality and presence was necessary for the two immature characters, Yuka and Taiga, to finally realize how wrong they'd been and shameful they'd been acting for the past howevermany years.
Anyway, when Taiga met Rin, he probably felt bad for him because he saw himself reflected in Rin -- they were two people who were desperately looking for their fated partners so they could have a relationship they felt guaranteed them stability and happiness without realizing that the fated pairing was no guarantee of either. They were both letting life pass them by in the process, never moving forward, never changing, never taking any action on their own behalves.
So, when it turned out that Rin's fated partner was Kaoru, for Taiga, it was like holding a mirror to what happened b/w Taiga and Yuka in middle school, and ripped open all those old wounds, which is why Taiga pushed Rin away so hard when Rin started pursuing Kaoru relentlessly while simultaneously pulling away from Taiga. Taiga started to realize his own wrong-headed thinking about fated pairings, about how they were no guarantee of anything, and that if he wanted a real, meaningful relationship, he'd have to put in the time and effort with someone who he was compatible with, just like Kaoru had. Rin hadn't gone through all these experiences yet that Taiga had, and so couldn't see how completely screwed he was being a fated pair with someone who would never accept him. Taiga finally decided to step up and act like an adult, which, as it turned out, was what he'd needed to do to get everything he'd ever wanted in life.
2019-08-07 05:53 marked
2018-11-22 16:44 marked
Could anyone suggest me a fluffy yaoi with some smexy times? I dont want any drama in my life right now so i prefer my yaoi to be a ball of sunshine -can be manhwa too- thanks already byeeヾ(❀╹◡╹)ノ~
2018-01-17 21:37 marked
pls help can anyone recommend a good Yaoi..... but it's already completed....
2018-01-08 15:22 marked
I like the alternative route this takes