i asked my friends if they've read it by describing it in the most uncannily clear, accurate way as possible. "hey guys can you help remember the manga which is basically barron trump x performing arts major" and they were like "you found a fanfic of.....barron trump?" and viola one of them came through with the name.
I remember this insane wave of shonen-ai centric plots in shoujo mangas emerging around 2018s. Faded first love was one of them and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It is surprisingly ahead of its time? or maybe the time was just right for it? I love how the author deals with this subject with such grace, thoughtfulness and sensitivity. I don't typically see that in mangas especially the ones centered around a gay relationship. Most of them are so obnoxiously, in-your-face, stereotypical. I read kamisama no ekohiiki (same genre) around the same time as faded first love, and the former was vastly inferior in retrospect.
ekohiiki and other mangas/hwas have shit like 'wow im super into woman but i also like you but im repulsed by men' and the whole time they just go 'how does kissing between two guys work?? we cant go on dates cause that would look weird' like the drama.....that's just a man not a nuclear reactor-- you can kiss him normally lmao. these questions aren't at all harmful! they're absolutely valid if written correctly, for the purpose of exploring sexuality/orientation/romantic feelings. but bl authors make it so perfunctory; it is what it is-- who cares lets have sex. it's so steeped in stereotypes that it becomes indirectly discriminatory.
I appreciate Faded First love a lot more because it never delved into any of that bullshit. It was really just teenagers questioning and navigating their feelings. Sure the story is a little idealistic (glad they called out the homophobe though) but hey the heart was in the right place; i'd love nothing more than for the author to write more extras in the near future because this story feels like a warm embrace
i super agree with the person below me. this plot is insanely unmatched. i remember making a diagram to understand their relationships on my ipad when chapter 1 came out lmao.
time to review the characterization
horus: it honestly pains me to see how little self-respect he has for himself when it comes to Seth-- half of the time im yelling STAND UP FOR YOURSELF; DONT BE A PUSHOVER. im not asking him to hold a grudge like isis which is understandable considering his reverence for Seth-- someone he exalts as a savior but he honors his mother very little like there's barely any trace of loyalty despite witnessing what she had to endure for decades (could he at least waver or show some remorse when it comes to siding with his savior-- his mother's abuser?) his devotion to seth is unhealthy and frankly obsessive which just butchers his character, reducing him to just some subservient git. he has great potential like he's astute and observant (we've seen so during the riddles) i hope the author doesn't push the yandere trope till the very end. i want horus's haracterization to have more depth (hope is awakening gives him the agency he oh so needs)
seth: contender for most traumatized character in BL history. dude has suffered through and through. he was betrayed by his own family-- the ones he cherished the most; assaulted multiple times by his own brother, made to believe his wife betrayed him, was fed lies that anubis was his son and consequently losing him, ridiculed and had a curse laid upon him by isis; i pity him greatly. HOWEVER, it doesn't change the fact he still willingly committed a massacre in egypt-- plundering, trafficking, slaughtering women and children in cold blood was a daily occurrence under his rule. i don't have a soft spot for seth that much. what happened to him was grim and horrible but that doesn't give him an excuse to wreck havoc in egypt and severely brutalize anubis in front of his mother. when i see commentators saying 'protect seth!! uwu he did nothing wrong' it baffles me like, this is his chance of atonement and redemption (and he's making good progress, realizing his mistakes and helping those in need). i honestly think the author tries too hard to make seth come off as the most sympathetic character especially more so now that he gives up his life and is forced to reside in duat at osiris's disposal whenever. the author needs to tone down the sympathy by a notch (it's getting glaringly obvious that he's their favorite character-- there should be balance plus the atrocities he instigated are still there) (not saying authors aren't allowed to have favorite characters or give someone more attention than the other but for me, i notice the author's bias (the sympathy and everyone gushing about his beauty or to covet him) this lowk ruins the immersion for me cause i like the narrative to be fair)
isis: isis single handedly mogs everyone in the characterization department. one of the best actually. she’s awful for hiding the fact that osiris was the culprit. bro jealousy makes you do some of the most inhumane things but that's what makes her so complex? she knows she's done wrong and it kills her everyday for doing that to seth. she cares deeply for him even now despite her resentment and frustration (she cares for everyone-- for neph, for anubis, for seth) yet she also feels irrevocably wronged and knows her anger is misdirected. seth did in fact drove her into a corner but she knows osiris is the one who was behind seth's undoing. she needs vengeance-- she needs her dignity back as the ruler. her genuine care and protection for anubis and her priestesses (the women of egypt) was so touching.
nephthys: i was so livid because of her indecisive ass (turns out the actual nephthys was inside the mirror so she was technically incarcerated which explains why she couldn't do anything) plus she never betrayed seth ever-- the revelation scene was so wonderfully done and it broke my heart seeing them so truly in love with one another in the flashbacks). she redeemed herself more by FINALLY STEPPING UP AS A MOTHER. WE LOVE TO SEE IT (it's true they can't go back to how they were in the past after witnessing her son's + egypt's affliction)
osiris: didnt ask + didnt care + curse of RA.
if only I had your level of deduction and understanding college would've been easy for meeeee.....
I still have a v basic question. What was the curse isis placed on herself— that’s the only part i don’t get
That's the curse she gave to her sibling and herself:
Osiris will not have Seth
Seth will not have the love of his family
Nephtys will not die
And herself will not have Osiris
She basically circumverted her own curse because girl forgot that Osiris doesn't want any of her p***y...
Sorry, I had to censor myself because I was beginning to rant. That doesn't make any kind od sense...
Not just that she wouldn't have Osiris, but that she wouldn't get anything she wanted while bent on revenge: she told Seth that since she had cursed herself to not get what she wanted, that's why Horus had to become king in her place, because she couldn't get the throne herself due to the curse, and in chapter 57, it was her own curse on herself that prevented Isis from completing her attempt to flood Egypt (which she tried when she thought Seth had killed Horus), and in chapter 64 Thoth explained to Isis that it was also Isis' curse on herself that made it so easy for him and Maat to discover her secret Plan B with the foreign god, and for them to ruin it by intercepting this foreign god the minute he arrived, making him sign a treaty not to interfere with Egypt's business.
Thank you both for the detailed explanation! that clears everything up; just one question
"because she couldn't get the throne herself due to the curse"
but isnt she the ruler of egypt rn though?
Only through Horus (she Tella Seth about this in chapter 39), he delegated it on her after he won black the throne (which he did after he won the 3 matches against Seth).
Ignore the typos, darn auto correct
You're right, I forgot about that. Basically their wishes can't be true because of the curse.
I remerbered only the parts where she was reciting what each sibling and herself desired the most at the moment she was casting the curse.
I'm banking on that that the green glob doesn't get Seth, but very sad Seth can't be with the love of his fam. But Horus is enough for him, in manifesting it (づ￣ ³￣)づ
people rlly think shiraishi and kondou have romantic chemistry? never was it implied or interpreted that way....he's literally a guardian to her-- the only responsible adult she can rely on
this was so preposterous, i felt a vein burst, jesus.
i just realized that they're actually gonna open a school so the title is even more fitting
WHO SAID THAT?! she’s literally a child help
"omg romantic chemistry" they said as kondou getting plowed in the ass by another dude
thats crazy considering he said he lowkey dgaf in one of the earlier chapters, just that he felt responsible for her like a normal adult
i need similar recommendations please. yaoi, yuri, hetero, shoujo ai, shonen ai, josei anything works i need it
This is a little similar but more mature. Also grey consent and more drama.
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/paid_fujoking/
why was the armor removing scene so oddly sensual
All I can say is the mangaka knows what she's doing
Iykyk
dude i miss the time the author went all out on chika's sex appeal but now he looks rlly generic. omgod we get it natsuki's cute but please whore out chika more raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa