beta
trials of a cop and a yakuza very much heads over heels in love for each other
domesticity. kids. relationship negotiation. kink negotiation. a well-matched couple with equal power. a rare, rare jewel of the genre, which seems to have an adverse relationship with keeping the tone serious.
for a spin-off to be superior to its near-flawless source material is an astonishing feat. there's much to love here - how onoda remains an object for deguchi's unrequited love for half the story, so we as readers have the privilege of learning WHO they are by following their dynamics as friends and their interactions with the supporting cast, as well as onoda's gradual path to reciprocation. this is a story with emotion written into its marrow, and revelation in its margins.
acerbic wit finds himself drawn to gentle giant - aka every fic i want to read, ever
behold, the therapeutic power of hugs! and an understanding that love should be patient and considerate.
don't be fooled, this is like 1 sec of drama followed by a parsec of fluff, kink, erotica. pwp, basically, but hey, there's safe, sane, and enthusiastically consensual sex!!!!!
"i swear when I grow up, i won't just buy you a rose / i will buy the flower shop, and you will never be lonely"
of florists and architects
100% consensual up to chpt. 3, then a little rule-breaking but still pretty much in the spirit of this list
how do you compete with a ghost or a memory? kaname's living arrangement is dependent on one odd request: that he treat his benefactor shinobu as a brother, and never dig too deep into the reasons. "how deep is too deep?" our protagonist muses, to my utter amusement.
kaname really makes this story for me. willful, playful, but also ready to stand up for himself and for principles he believes in, he is comfortable in his sexuality, and natori is a great counterpoint - serious, good, unofficious, and most importantly, always cognizant of the power dynamics of the student-teacher relationships and the lines that a teacher should never cross. this is a student-teacher manga i can wholeheartedly endorse.
there's accidental stimulation in chpt. 2, but that's it.
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hey anyone who reads this, just a quick note b/c i'm not sure i made it clear:
what i'm aiming for here isn't just a list of yaoi without noncon and dubcon. there are several existing lists for that i can refer you to - compiled by lovely users who have expended far more time and loving consideration in their curation.
so i guess what i'm trying to clarify is: ENTHUSIASTIC consent. see: "Only Yes Means Yes" (also known as "Yes Means Yes" - an ancillary to the more common and popular "No Means No").
in this list safe sex is a must, and i'm actually looking for verbal cues that confirm the enthusiastic engagement of all parties involved. and it's not just sex that needs to pass the cut here. gestures of affection. touches. kisses. all consensual. all freely, enthusiastically given. so please, point out if i missed anything, or messed up on any of these entries. i'm not a perfect reviewer and sometimes i get too permissive and let my guard down. also, i try to notate in every review if a work breaches one small rule but still sticks to the concept of enthusiastic consent as a whole.
enthusiastic consent is a narrow field. day by day it feels narrower - vising like a boa constrictor - but that's exhaustion speaking.
fighting for this feels like a pedantic or spartan task sometimes, but if no one else does it, who will? will we consign ourselves to moving goalposts? we can and should enjoy in women-created work without compromising certain principles. we can and should critically engage
(DISCLAIMER: i DO consume and enjoy works featuring rape as motif - this list does NOT exist to shame those who do, which would make me a terrible hypocrite. but everything needs a counterweight.)
4. Negotiated, safe, sane BDSM is righteous. Remember the aftercare, to keep it holy and sexy.
5. Thou and thy partner(s) shall not be under the influence of drugs, alcohol, sex pollen, heat, or in an otherwise inhibited state.
6. The holy trinity of "no", "stop", and "wait" hath been decreed by MOSES to suspend any sexual contact or congress. All parties shall herewith abide by their most manifest sanctity.
7. No coercion, nay, no manipulative tendencies nor blackmail may be permitted in the realm of MOSES.
8. Thou shalt not practice unprotected sex without explicit, informed consent of all partners.
9. Thou shalt not covet thee any sex other than consensual sex (other than as fantasy).
10. Ye shall erect these stones which I command thee upon Mount Gay.