stressedpenguin's manga / #COMMUNICATION(19)

Uke's entire family died in a tragic accident, and now it's just him and his nephew trying to survive life together. The hot and mysterious guy running a small restaurant in the town they move to takes in interest in them and they start building a relationship. The overall tone is melancholy as all three main characters are suffering from painful experiences, and it's sweet how they fumble through supporting each other in their developing relationships. There's some angst, some drama, and some ghosting, and there's a This story gets two big pluses from me: 1) The kid actually has agency. He's not used as a plot device. The story takes him seriously; it doesn't do that thing where they just call him cute and ignore that he's a real person with real feelings. Still looking for a story where the adults validate even the silly things kids get upset over because... like it's silly to us but very impactful to them and--I'm getting worked up lol. Anyway, this story did the kid justice. 2) The single mom the uke makes friends with is amazing and feels like a real person. For all the degrading the seme did of women, I was worried this would be another BL where everyone woman is shitty. But this mom was incredible and her handling of her son was incredible. I know this is like almost the bare minimum, but I'm happy to see it. Also a plus is the sex is consensual. Aside from the somewhat dubious bit because alcohol, the seme doesn't force the uke into anything sexual. I appreciate it. This is an 8/10. Would be 6/10 but it gets +2 for the kid and mom friend

Well would ya look at that. Character growth and healthy communication my two favorite tropes lol. But seriously, I love that the seme starts out kinda bratty but genuinely makes an effort to change and express his feelings in a healthy way. Same with the uke, who's always been the perfect boyfriend but wont be taken care of himself. But now he's learned to let himself be spoiled just a bit. Is adorable. (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡ so shoutout to that dark haired senpai at the seme's work. She was a boss. 8/10

Two high schoolers explore what it means to be a dom / sub pair. I like that they talk things out and they're careful. They always ask consent before doing anything new. I like this one! 8/10

bigger uke. i don't remember anything. gave it a 6/10 so i guess it just wasn't memorable to me. EDIT: past me was dumb. This is adorable bro. Salaryman uke has mad anxiety about sex and has had his confidence horribly eroded by a previous boss. After he meets the outgoing call boy and starts "practicing sex" hes able to talk to his coworkers for the first time and it's really, really sweet. The seme has a bit of a possessive streak, but hes mostly just supportive and encouraging and sweet. Also shoutout to the scary boss lady for immediately apologizing for being cranky at him for her own mistake. 8/10

Hands down most impressive part is how the story and characters still managed to have fun and be happy despite all the heavy, dark, and often violent lives they had to live. They all hang out and talk to each other about their problems. Everyone gets character development that helps them become happier. They're just one big supportive family in the end and I love them. Update ch 17. Dude this girl fucking sucks. You dont just out people like that and what the hell did she mean by "wants to do that" after watching someone else's nonconsensual sex tape WTH Update ch 34. I genuinely was not expecting to Sohae's character growth. A lot of it obviously happens off screen but I went from hating this girl to being sympathetic to laughing at her dynamic with the new group. I love Yosef being so crassly supportive and just chillin on the couch while they discuss how Jihyun should confess to Yohan. The characters lives and history are so heavy yet they're so fun. I'm scared for season 2. Pls just let them be happy Update ch 54. HELL yeah season 2 is about yosef and daeshik! Bruh yosef is so gentle and massive his hand is as wide as Daeshik's waist Update ch 87. They are a TEAM! They are FRIENDS! They are WORKING together and getting THERAPY and IMPROVING their COMMUNICATION and EXPRESSING THEMSELVES and I'm so fucking happy and why they hell is there still 20 chapters bro I'm scared pls just let them be happy Update ch 113. BRO I LOVW THEM ALL SO MUCH!!! All their silly little antics, the fact that they're all such sweet friends, all of it! Maybe my one complaint is that everyone got paired romantically in the end, and it felt unnecessary. One of these days we'll get aro / ace rep. Also gimme scruffy Yosef back I liked his longer hair 9/10 but seriously debating a 10/10

Absolutely adore this one. I love watching Yukinori struggle to get used to the job and make friends with all his coworkers. I love watching the increasingly protective Maki get attached to him and vice versa. And they communicate! Dude I love this one so much 8/10

Aww they're so cuuuute! I appreciate that the uke's self aware about his communication problems and I'm really happy he was able to overcome them enough at the end. The seme is very sweet and patient with his mess of an uke, and I loved seeing it. There's a little bit of drama, which I live for and fantastic payoff 7/10

Aww!!! They're so precious. I really REALLY appreciated the more realistic, step by step depiction of sex, the mild homophobia of the seme's friends who get over it because they care more about the friendship than being bigoted, and the extremely soft boi energy of both seme and uke. The relationship was built up slowly despite being just one volume, and the character actually communicated. Their one major drama stemmed from an understandable "one character comes to an internal conclusion to match the pace of the other and doesn't see a reason to communicate this directly with words leading to a sudden change in behavior that sets up the other for a bit of miscommunication." That's not a problem because the characters reach a tipping point and c o m m u n I c a t e I really liked this one. The main couple was lovable. The seme's friends were lovable. The uke was loveable and also had friends of their own, just less because they're a less social person. The conflict was the realistic progression of a romance. My soul is cleansed and my skin is clear. Also shout out to the seme's friend specifically for meeting glasses guy in the middle actually considering an environment he'd be comfortable in. I love them. 8/10

Cute lil friends to lovers that starts off with a lil goofy misunderstanding. 6/10