Dark Heaven
dont know what to say except that it's a story with a lot of depth, exploring oppression specifically re homophobia and racism. the struggles that the couple surmount is beautifully depicted. without a doubt my otp lol its so nice to see the depths of their loves and despite their 6 month breakup, they came back stronger than ever. mature and well-written characters
Gift (ICHINOSE Yuma)
OKAY REREAD THE WHOLE THING DEC 22 AND HOOOOOOOOOOLY SHIT. WHAT THE FUCK. THIS SHIT IS BUCK WILD. yutaka is a closeted and thus cowardly gay who wants to protect his image at all cost, and we see in the beginning that his relationship with a man is rocky and in the middle too, where this man mentions that yutaka says "i dont dislike you" so we see a selfish dude. he accepted this man who needed to understand that this was strictly a relationship to be kept under wraps, hidden away. man is unsatisfied and presumably this is why they break up, but its not said explictly (probably because their relationship was never that good or important to begin with). enter kei, yutaka's breath is taken away by his beauty. enamoured, and also by the strength he displays. he takes him into his boxing gym, and kei accepts simply bc he needs a place to stay and this is very pragmatically safe (no $ or checks, free rent and food, wtvr). unfortunately starts off with r4pe but yutaka ends up falling in love with kei and kei reciprocates. the misundertandings between them is realistic - kei means everyting he says (he has cptsd for sure, flashbacks are done really well, and i'd say on the spectrum too) and concludes that he cannot afford to lose or else yutaka will throw him out, since yutaka prioritizes kei's career as a boxer and wants to not put any pressure on kei. y also assumes k doesn't or cannot reciprocate his love, but how much is that y deciding to abandon so that he cant be abandoned lol? kei's condition worsens as he understands that his livelihood and access to kei depends on his victory. he just needs to be told what to do and deliver. he starts throwing up whenever he's alone (mental illness!) and yutaka finally understands why his form and cardio has been so bad. they attempt to have passionate sex but are caught by tomoya, someone who has been egged on by evil colleague to doubt yxk. dude thinks k is raping y and rightfully berates him and tells him to gtfo - so k does for the sake of y, and is then caught up in a cult/gang making waves. his brother is involved and oh boy you're not ready. so kou his brother killed their father, and ended up desiring his brother bc of what he saw their father doing to him. choi (cult leader) only brought in kei because he wants kou to remain by his side, but kous head is filled with his brother. yutaka grows immensely as k goes missing, coming out to tomoya and clearing up the misunderstanding and asserting himself! tomoya accepts them, and helps y search. randomly ykx happen on each other and have makeup sex but bc was told theres a wiretap (theres actually more) kei is like no i gtg meet again here next week. however the cult concocts a plan to fuck the gym over and kei does research to unmask that its a phony thing. this is exactly what they wanted, to demonstrate that keis betrayal is complete and actually offer kei the chance to go back to yutaka if he stabs himself w a 8 inch dagger - whether he lives or dies is luck. kei doesnt hesitate, and the chp ends by his emo child self declaring exuberantly that he wants to "give his everything to yutaka" whom he is supposed to meet later ............ bruh. i swear if this isnt a happy ending ................. wow, top tier story. characterization is immaculate; kei is completely dissociate due to selling himself at such a young age and growing up in an abusive environment (mother abandoned family, alcoholic father (who assaulted him?) and older brother who sold him) and we get to see what goes on inside hid mind -- his different selves that are all kids, understandably so, and the emotional, warped reasonings are perfectly portrayed. trainer was struggling with his feelings of love for kei; he felt alone thinking kei would not understand his feelings of love. realistic, impeccably done. kei leaves the gym and dorm because his peer happened upon he and yutaka having sex -- which aligns with what he believed -- and gets roped up in a crime family through his brother ...
Lies like Lies
NOT A HAPPY READ - serial murder who is in the forensics team and partner with ml - also love interest but i think it was the kid from his childhood whom he failed to help (child abuse)
Never Good Enough
theo develops a complex for nick because their father only pays attention to nick and labels theo as never good enough; and theo believes that if he becomes like nick his father will love him too. when he meets nick's ex louis, theo is intrigued about the person he was. louis, heartbroken that their 7 yr relationship ended so easily on nicks terms, lies and tells theo he was the one who broke things off. theo is interested to know more and the two get involved physically. its theos first and hes hooked but he also seems to have his reasons ('i think i know why nick wanted to be with you') my personal opinion is that its how validating and loving louis is in contrast to their father. in fact, nick really did love louis, but broke it off because of his fathers conditions (theos fucked so you gotta be a perfect son - and obvi for father homosexuality is a no no) really well-written and self-aware character; the emotional depth is refreshing and im excited to see how this tense triangle unfolds!
Summer Solstice Point
really strong story; characters are realistic, flawed and their depths are explored well. fl gets involved with her part-timer who joined bc he had a crush on her; he treats her well and she worries she is getting in his future/life, lets him go as her ex-husband comes slinking back around trying to win her back (he still wears his ring) finally paying attention to her as opposed to when they were together, he'd take her for granted SOO WELL-WRITTEN AND REALISTIC IN HOW THEY PORTRAY THE CHARACTERS AND HOW THEY DEAL WITH THEIR EMOTIONS UGH
The Beast Must Die
best plot--psychological love--and breath-taking art
The Pawn's Revenge
jeoh sells himself, and he dreams of someone intervening - a god. one day, after being driven to/from a regular client, red shows up and shoots the driver in the head. jeoh was there i believe, but not sure how he got out of that? iin any case, red hides at jeohs place and blond client arrives first. he waits for jeoh, and kind of forces his way onto him. red intervenes and kidnaps the both of them. red sympathizes with jeoh, and lets him sleep in the same room when jeoh mentions he is afraid of the client. he is somewhat trusted by red, or rather, red doesnt see him as a threat. he has no intention of killing them, and we know this because he's following the orders of his 'chess' teacher. she is in a difficult position, claiming that her husband is abusing her (i think he actually is abusive iirc) and she can't escape this situation. enter red head who does her dirty work, but he's awaiting his orders on what to do with the two captives. new detective is on her tail, and she kind of ghosts red and he gets agitated. she really just is using him it seems like. jeoh toys a lot with red beyond having sex with him, messes with his stuff and releases the client so that he beats red up only then to knock him out w ethanol lol. red isnt amused == so, turns out, chess teacher was also a sex worker (like jeoh) which explains why red sympathizes. in fact, she got married to her husband because she saw that as a way out. she didn't love him and was in fact very afraid. (red knows her bc he went to her district/work place when he was still completing his service and came back for her - though he was visibly disinterested in sex he was hooked onto her) he noticed how frightened and trapped she was, having no choice, and vowed to free her by killing the mfers (we love a vigilante) in chp 16, we see him having nightmare and crying - which is right after the flashbacks so i guess it has to do with the fucked up situation he found himself in bc of his love. he also gets a HARD ON when he kills (?) blondie so maybe he's a psycho/sociopath???? anyways jeoh's all in lol
VENTHAM