Midarana Omega wa Koi wo Shinai
Sakushima Nanao is an omega whom enrols to a boarding school. In order to earn some money to afford his heat suppressants, he joins a 'circle' that sells the members' bodies to elite alphas within their school. One day, Ashiya Souji, an alpha transfer-student, bothers Nanao under the pretense that he fell in love with the latter at first sight. ----------- It wasn't good. Just your average thing. Everything was predictable from the beginning to the end, nothing made me like any of the characters in particular except for Souji (main Alpha). I usually like the childhood friends to lovers trope, but this one felt lacking. There's nothing much to say about this, it was pretty shallow in all aspects. I did appreciate the depictions of the psychological dilemmas of both Nanao & Souji. The way it was handled wasn't too bad, especially towards the end. It also ended on a sweet note which is always nice.
Escape Journey
Now in College, Naoto has an unexpected reunion with ex-boyfriend Taichi who he broke up with for denouncing him as "sexual gratification". Naoto had been firmly influenced by his hatred of this past incident but, little by little his heart is starting to forgive Taichi who has really grown when compared to their time in high school.. ---------- This story is mixed with quite a bit of realism. The way the two MCs fall back in love, really moved me. I loved how the coming-outs were handled, and the character developments we were provided with. My heart skipped a few beats as I read this one, and I can't say I hated it. I'm quite frustrated that the abuse issue was never resolved tho. It feels like it just got brushed off as "ill fate" and doesn't sit right with me. The art is also quite beautiful, and every character introduced plays its role in one way or another, but I can't condone everything about it just for it's few positive points. It is a good read tho. But be aware that it'll be a triggering one.
Royal Servant
Kyon, a young man is informed of a job opportunity as a servant for a Royal Blood/Aristocrat (people born with a core & mystic powers. They have longer lifespans and are physically stronger than normal humans. If their core grows corrupt, either due to severe mental shock or a poison called 'VS Solution', they turn into a 'Zero') named Lucaon. Curious about the opportunity, Kyon starts working there, only to find out that his new Master loathes servants. As the two slowly learn more about one another, what secrets could Lucaon possibly hold..? ---------- So... I have quite a lot on my mind about this one. First of all, amazingly unique and dramatic plot. But hella rapey and toxic. Not only is the pacing of the story off at first, you could still follow and understand what was happening, but the flow of the story was poorly handled, and details were left out here and there. At least, the story progressed, that one issue slowly resolved itself. The characters were kind of all over the place as well, some of them I found bland and outright uninteresting, whilst others I found myself fascinated by. The two main characters are unlikeable, and the potential that the plot had soon went to nothingness. I did like the questions that this story raised at the end tho. But I don't buy that they were in love as soon as the author tried to sell it. Sorry not sorry hun'. Ya were just a horny boi. It's not love. It's dependence, if anything at all.
Killing Stalking