gloomy seme x sunny uke's Topics (24)

I may not have liked how long the drama and the sex scenes went on with the second couple, but I did enjoy a lot of what this series provided, even though what I did enjoy would be considered shallow.

I never go for love triangle stories where you can't really tell who the true love interest is for a character, but I have to admit, I kept reading Norman's story to make sure the one I was rooting for succeeded.

And speaking of Norman, I'm pretty sure he's the true protagonist of the series even though he wasn't in the first couple. I believe it's the reason why his story went on for so long, and it's also why we see start off the story from his perspective.

The sex scenes were also super messy, and for some reason I liked it even though I'm typically not a fan of messily handled sex, but there were a few that I skipped mostly because I wasn't a fan of seeing sex between the pairings I wasn't rooting for.

End of non-spoiler section.

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Spoiler for positions and pairings:

Even though the tops were all varying degrees of the "tough-looking to crybaby" pipeline, I also really liked the how the bottoms varied, from the assertive beefy Suyeon, the small and indecisive Norman, and finally the charismatic and tall Chuljin (with his delightful inverted nipples).

Lastly, it might just be me, but I think the banter between the couples really improved over time, since it was what really sold me on making the Minwoo/Chuljin pairing my favourite so far.

I finally caught up, and I really like how Siu and Seohan's stories serve as foils for one another.

In the original timeline, even though both were on the same show, neither of them made it on to the final team, and family members that told them not to pursue being an idol. In Seohan's case, Seojun had the best intentions in mind for Seohan, while in Siu's case, his family only have their own well-beings in mind. I can't imagine what it would have been like for Siu after being eliminated.

It's not much for contrast, but considering how much of an immense impact Seohan had on Siu and how Siu's struggles are still ongoing, I really like how it was him that checked on Seohan at this point of the story.

I'm at chapter 43, and I'm really loving what sets this series apart from Debut or Die even though it's a similar premise. (Be aware that I love both series despite the following comparison.)

With Moondae, he is forced to become an idol, has an active system, is an unreliable narrator, and eventually comes to love what he does. But with Seohan, he gets the opportunity to redo a certain time of his life again, everything was his choice and within his abilities all the way through.

Another thing I find interesting about this series, although, it might have been tackled by other idol stories (time rewind or transmigration or not) is Seohan's relationship with his brother, and how he wants him to pursue other options and how he knows that it's not over even if he doesn't succeed. I'm a big fan of being able to see how characters' previous life experiences shape who they are in their current life (not unique to this story I know, it's just something I appreciate in general).

Note, that these differences between this story and Debut or Die, are not to criticise either story, but rather to highlight how fascinating these stories are at using a seemingly similar premise but executing it in vastly different ways.

Just a thought about the series overall, but I think it's interesting how Ah-seong has moments of being vulnerable, with or without Jeonsu around, of which I find to be rare with tops of his demeanour (and I love reserved/grumpy tops).

We get tops that "break down" because of the main character/love interest, but not often ones that already have their own ongoing issues independent from them and have moments of weakness because of it.

Anyway, Ah-seong is such a charming and refreshing top, and I love what Jeonsu brings to his life. This is probably another series I'll support outside of this site.

God, there have been times where I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief, but I'll always be a sucker for sincerity. Even though Wooyeon reveals his secret to manipulate Inseob, or so he claims, it puts him in such a state of vulnerability and what puts the cherry on top for me is how he conveys that he may not understand what others enjoy, but he will look to Inseob and hope that he at least enjoys it too.

Ough my heart...

Hehe, I'm enjoying how they're both a bit twisted. I like how the MC (Won-woo) entertained the idea of the ML (Taeshin) being covered in bruises, it kind of balances out the ML's (half) joking comments about ruining him.

We now know that the ML talks about "ruining" the MC because his upbringing distorted what love and hatred meant to him, but for the MC's case, my theory is that his financial situation + upbringing stopped him from pursuing things for himself, but with the ML's presence in his life, he has more opportunities to access these desires, and one of those desires could very well be a sadistic side.

Anyway, I could just be reading too much into it, it's just fun to think about.

I love the concept, but god, I think this story needs some padding. Like where's the foreshadowing and build up. It feels like we're constantly moving from one thing to the next. Despite this, I think I'll still keep tabs on this story.

Considering the theme of this story is about finding the one you love rather than continuing the bloodline, I feel like Kinosaki is a great thematic choice. If Gero chooses Kinosaki, then it would really feel like it was a decision made out of love rather than compliance.

I get that anyone Gero chooses will 100% be his own will at the end of the story, but considering how his clan wants an heir, it feels like he'll be doing what they want at the end of the day, and ngl, it feels bad when a family that would have forced their daughter who loves women to bear a child with a man she's not attracted to "wins".

I feel like the story will go down the direction of Gero taking down his bloodline regardless because of how disgusting they are in general, but with Kinosaki by his side, at least in my opinion, it would serve as another motivator for Gero to create a change. The story started with Kinosaki, so it would be nice if the story ended with Kinosaki too.

Visually, I love Kaede (I'm a big fan of cute and loyal characters, puppy bottom fan here as well as I love "capture targets" that were introduced first, ex. Yakumo from nu:carnival), but personally, Natsuhi would be my favourite pick for Akira. I'm a fan of how much he developed because of Akira and his role in the story as Miyuki and Natsuhi were designed for Akira in the second season.

Not to mention, the moment where Natsuhi saves Akira from the bad end and that bonus during the school festival where Akira was dressed as a maid and Natsuhi as a butler were great too, at least imo.

I think the Hiiragi route won't bother me once it comes out since Akira still has his past life memories, but I guess what makes it weird is that Hiiragi doesn't know that.

After the route with the school president (since his is the fourth known key), I wonder if there will be a secret route unlocked? I guess the only one left would be Miyuki, the only other "new" character in "season 2" unless Shirousa really was successful in blocking out his route, which is really unfortunate because the grown-up ikemen gekokujo tease was so good.

Although, now that I think about it, it would kinda be like two women getting together because Miyuki is Shirousa's little sister reincarnated.

I wonder if Miharuta will ever learn that Shinonome was the prisoner he chatted about his novels with.