Kakumei no α
#Uke is beta #Seme is alpha #Seme is scared of falling prey to heat-induced rape/sex #Chooses beta #Incestuous themes #Uke and seme are adopted brothers #No clue if they met as infants, kids, or teens #Sexual assault #Beta tries to do what he thinks is best for alpha #Omega tries to coerce alpha out of desperation #Alpha convinces them there's a better way #A beta an alpha and an omega light the way to a revolution *impressed whistle* Okay. This is arguably my fave ABO story. Wish this was made into a full-length story cuz DANG this was a great read and delivered its message in a believable way without being preachy. I love this manga and, as such, would like to share two thoughts lol: 1) If 20% are alphas and 10% are omegas, that leaves 10% of alphas w/o a fated pair. So, I mean. Assuming fated pairs exist and all 10% of omegas have one, that gives 10% of alphas the opportunity to CHOOSE THEIR OWN mate from 70% of the world's betas. Beta!Seme and alpha!Uke prove that chosen pairs are JUST AS beautiful as fated pairs (note: 'pairs' needn't be taken literally as love comes in more than 1 or 2 forms lol). 2) God lights the way through reason. Excluding any argument of theism vs atheism & gnosticism vs agnosticism, I'd like to ammend that by adding "reason and values". Cuz w/o reason, values lack application and purpose. But w/o values, reason can be used to excuse anything.
Biting the tiger - Side Stories
#Two ukes and two semes go on a trip #Then main uke and seme go on another trip together #Smut is soooo good holy yes #Those shadows of their bodies was a goddamn beautiful touch #Includes uke as incubus #And seme as demon These were really cute stories. I enjoyed it more than the main storyline actually lol, which is typical of me when it comes to long manhwas such as these. I dunno, sometimes the stories can be too drawn out, so the side stories just gets down to the couples and characters in their new life since we surpassed all the story-building, dramatic moments, and conflict.
Biting the Tiger
#Slice of life #Supernatural #Fantasy #Celestial spirits #Uke is a singer #Seme is a tiger god #Uke has PTSD from losing family in car crash #Seme helps dead souls pass into the afterlife #Reincarnation #Uke is reincarnated #Uke and and Seme met in a past life This was a little boring for me and I'm...torn towards the characters (goddamn though, the Seme is unfairly hot lsjgoirejgioer;joie;jgioer), where I love how warm-hearted they can be but then there are times where they somehow manage to fall flat yet be overdramatic. BUT. BUT THAT TWIST. OH MY GOD. I FKKN DIED WHEN I GOT TO THE PART WHERE WE FIND OUT WHO UKE WAS IN A PAST LIFE. I LOST IT. I LAUGHED SO HARD FOR LIKE. A GOOD 5 MINUTES. I DON'T EVEN WANT TO GIVE IT AWAY, MAN, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS JUST FOR THAT MOMENT WHERE YOU'RE LIKE "Ohhh. OhhhhHHHH. OHHHHHHHH." BECAUSE. REALLY. *WHEEZE*
Blood Link
#Supernatural #Dubcon #Assault #Vampire/Human #Human later becomes a vampire #Uke and Seme give birth to a boy #Who then grows up to later have his own love story #Then that Seme with his Uke also have a child #Then they grow up to attend a wedding between a vampire and human #So multiple generations in one story #Which is highly entertaining #The son and his uke were my fave couple #They were the second Seme and Uke #The drama hit me different #As in it made me scream internally What stands out to me the most about this story is how immortality is treated in different ways. Couple A has Uke who is scared to be immortal but doesn't want to leave Seme alone and eventually overcomes his fears to become a vampire with Seme. Couple B...I'm pretty sure doesn't feel the need for immortality? They're my fave couple in this story and yet I don't remember some details lol. Couple C, on the other hand, has a vampire who is more or less stable with the werewolf Uke saying he will never be immortal, and the vampire Seme still promises to live the rest of Uke's life with him. Either way, the portrayal of what it's like to be immortal is realistic and impactful, making me have a lot of feels for each of the couples who have to deal with it. I fucking died though, whenever the Semes told their Ukes "I want to live the rest of your life with you and then spend the rest of mine guarding your grave". I was just. Kill me. Kill me. Kill me and take my feels away because it would hurt less. jeezus fkkn christ.
Mother's Spirit
#Native/Aboriginal character #Seme is from a tribe in this small island #Uke is japanese and works in a university #Clashing of cultures #Exploration of a different culture #Respecting different cultures #Learning a new language #Coworkers bully poor uke into making him take care of a stranger lol #Volume 1: seme explores uke's world #Volume 2: uke explores seme's world #Fucking soul exchanging via tradition #I'm dead #Uke and seme marry yeeeeee So, I am kinda torn on one thing. Obv, the only way for Lutah to succeed in medicine and technology immediately is to have help of an outsider. I'm glad Enzou-san balanced that by having Seme, successor of tribe's leader, be the one to bring change to his tribe. The foreigner gives resources, the native learns and uses them to make new resources. However, there's that whole aspect where the Lutah is only filled w/beautiful and intelligent people, which...has that whole vibe of 'superheroes have to be good-looking to be compelling'. And that's all types of bullshit. BUUUT no story is perfect, so putting that aside-- --I. Freaking. Love. This manga. So much. Oh my god. I can't even say which part here was my fave. Poor Uke having to deal with a stranger in his house who can't even speak his language (which made me LOL so hard)? Seme learning what a kiss is and stubbornly wanting to do that with Uke? Seme and Uke 'exchanging souls' which, for the love of fuck, almost made me cry from how BEAUTIFUL that was? Seme and Uke getting married on the first time Uke steps onto Seme's homeland, which was like...fjae;ogijoigjreo;igjers;iogjoe GFDI. THIS MANGA GAVE ME SO MANY FEELS. But the one I probably appreciate the most is in v02c04. Since the Lutah are gorgeous and smart, it's easy to put their ppl on a pedestal, which doesn't do anyone favors. Uke does this and it leads to him being indecisive about how to move forward with Seme, because Seme is pushing Uke away due to fears and own insecurities. But Uke realizes that he doesn't love Seme because he is perfect--Uke loves Seme because everything about him, right down to the flaws, is beautiful. THEN WE GET THAT ICONIC [bleeped due to not wanting to give it away] SCENE YESSSSSSSSSSSSS.
No. 6
A manga that deserves its own tag. xD Not because it has all the trigger warnings possible like Killing Stalking, but because its story has all the best truths that comes with science-abusing dystopias wrapped in spiritual fantasy (Elyurias is a forest god in the form of a wasp, think Princess Mononoke) with a dash of LGBT (Shion's def gay and Inukashi has trans/agender/genderfluid vibes). There's a lot packed in this story and the novel has a LOOOOT more to it, so please read it here: http://9th-ave.blogspot.com/p/no-6.html I read this years ago and this manga has a special place in my heart. Not really because of the BL--but as an enby pancake (get it getit geddit), having the main characters lie on a sexuality/gender spectrum rather than binary means a lot to me--but because of the dystopian setting. It's not just a regular dystopia either, since it masquerades as a utopia, as captured perfectly by Shion's words: "Here, you can gain everything but have nothing." These are one of the stories in which I don't want to give too much away, but one thing to mention: while there are BL elements in this story, it is not a BL story. The BL is part of the story, to remind us that there is more to Inukashi, Karan, Shion, Nezumi, and Safu (heck, even Rikiga) than just the tragedies in their realities. As for Shion and Nezumi's relationship, what they have is much more intangible and complex than attraction and affection. Shion is able to experience personal growth through his connection with Nezumi and Nezumi's world expands just beyond his deep-rooted perceptions due to the hope Shion gives him. Their individual abilities coming together is what drives the story forward, but their love for each other--whatever form it takes--is the reason why the story exists in the first place. And this story doesn't have a purely happy ending, as is appropriate to the message that Asano-sensei wants to impart. She created this story in response to her experiences with people who survived poverty and WW2. The most she can give us are open bittersweet endings, where the loose ends of the past are tied, only to make room for the loose ends of the present and future.
A Painter Behind the Curtain