Absolute 200

Yet another novel butchered, gdi. They were doing so well until they reached, probably, the last ten and then they sped-run through very important moments. Anyways, this was a unique plot, considering that it's a fantasy, historical-esque setting without regression or transmigration. I also enjoyed the progression of gong and su's relationship--it was a wild ride from beginning to end, and one I'd absolutely get on again.

Yesssssssss. Yet another FWB to regret to begging to be lovers. More complicated than Muhyeok & Naui, but more to the point than Can’t Think Straight. Gong is a rude as heck, gay playboy who makes a bet with his friends that he can’t get innocent su to sleep with him. After a lot of drama between the two, gong pretty much makes himself into a sad kitty that su will take pity on and date. It’s so dumb and great.

Ohhhh my goosh, this was a surprising win haha. Su starts off as a really prickly gaming programmer, mistaking gong as a loud-ass playboy. Gong is actually a free-spirited tattoo artist and ropes su into being his FWB. He quickly regrets this as he falls for su, who is at first determined not to fall in love back. But we know how that ends and what awaits is a beautiful relationship of jealousy, physicality, and devotion.

Ahjussi is absolutely one of my fave tops. He's the guy that gets a late-life sexuality awakening and takes it in a stride, being all "yeah, turns out I'm gay, makes sense". Like. It is rare for an author to make that move and I utterly enjoy it. It is frustrating how fkkn little gong communicates though, so su is just the epitome of patience and beauty inside + out, cuz gahdang. But I can forgive gong because of how much he loves su, who deserves every bit of that love.

This was a super interesting premise. Author-nim took the known term of doppelganger and made it her own very creatively. I loved how she added the roles of demons and angels and how there's an entire bureaucratic process that ties all the worlds together. The fate that binds gong and su together was also just heartbreaking and the way author-nim made things right between them was just beautiful. This would've been rated higher if it wasn't for the rape between the side couple.

This is the only friends to lovers trope that I liked where one friend held an unrequited love for the first several years of their friendship. Seriously. I'm usually unsatisfied because the moment when they get together doesn't feel like it's worth the suffering the fallen-first had to deal with. But here, when the Uke and Seme were finally on the same page, it was cathartic as HECK.

Holy crap, I usually am 'ok cool' with vampire themes, but this one was gooooood. The background on how vampires fit into society is a good touch of plot and I especially enjoyed the addition of the biological mechanisms. Uke and seme are both great characters too. Uke is a not-annoying journalist who genuinely values truth, as much as he values seme. Seme loves uke and every action he takes is to not only protect uke, but uke's right to choose. Chef's kiss, man.

Eyyyyy, sequel just as wonderfully written as the manga right before this one! A bit more world-building in this one too. Focuses more on uke's unique constitution. I absolutely love a strong uke that proactively tries to do right for, both, himself and his seme. He knows his seme so well too. Who, btw, deals with his guilt for overturning uke's life in this installment. As if he can ever make uke do anything uke doesn't want.

Seriously love the playboy Seme trope making Uke is only one. Seme has a trashy attitude tho. But what makes up for it is the author's...intuitive way of writing. There are moments here where you kind of have to see from the perspective of the character to get why this scene is going the way it is. I was impressed.

Sequel to manga right before this one. I had to add this separately because I liked this even more than the first volume. Shy, passive uke starts to grow more into his personality and cool, detached seme grows more attached than he ever thought possible to uke. They don't love each other the same way, but it's still as intense and sincere as the other's. It's beautiful.