Cressida's manga / #❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤(13)

The first couple are simplistic and predictable. The weirdest thing about this author is that they skip vital chunks of the story and go straight into the main couple being in love and committing right away. Seven years go by like it's nothing. It felt like the author did not enjoy writing romantic developments and was only interested in cohabitation dynamics. It's like they're being forced to write romance, but they can't write an exciting start to a relationship; they can only write about couples midway through. This results in a monotonous story devoid of romantic motivation from its characters, something any electrifying romance would need. They continue to inform us that they are happy and that life is good, but we never see any of that excitement. The secondary pairing is much better: middle-aged men who have children get married and are seen as a valid couple.

Basically, the uke spends 15 years of his life suffering thinking his best friend could never like him back. He stays away from him for a long time but finally tries to be his friend again when he needs help with his daughter. He even has a very toxic relationship with a senior just as a way to punish himself. At last, the guy liked him the whole time and even confesses first, everything just works out fine by the end. All that angst was for nothing. When re-reading I would definitely skip the first 2 chapters.

I'll begin talking about our top because he is the backbone of this story and a big part of why it is such a good story. I have read a lot of manga and I can confidently say he is the best man I have read about in years. Due to the trend of hateful, abusive, manipulative men in this type of media you kinda get used to horrible men, you almost think that is the norm, much like real life. He is an older salary man who recently got divorced and tries his best at being a good person, especially when it comes to a romantic partner. He is an extremely considerate and empathetic person and that is why he approaches our uke at first, after seeing him crying after kicking out his cheating boyfriend. Of course, after spending some time together he falls madly in love with this person, even though he never felt this way towards a man before, the writing makes sure to highlight that he never felt this way at all. He begins to realize what was missing from his former relationships were passion and an uncontrollable need to be with that person as much as he possibly can. He starts pursuing the uke with determination and purpose, but also always treats him with respect and allows him time to get over his past relationship.  Now let's talk about our uke, who is also lovely. After being mistreated and disrespected by every man he has ever been with, he is reasonably suspicious of this seemingly perfect man who wants to treasure him to the end of times. For a while, he struggles with his trust issues and pushes him away, but by the time he comes around, he is steady in his resolve.  Anyway, this is volume 2 where you get to enjoy their blissful domestic life and how wonderfully committed they are to each other. Their biggest problem is incompatible work hours getting in the way of their time together, feeling lonely and guilty. Going into this volume, I thought the uke's insecurities would be a huge problem, I was pleasantly surprised by how confident he was. He has finally gotten used to being treated well, treasured, spoiled, and of course, reassured through constant words and actions by a partner who cares. He knows that he is loved and that they can overcome any obstacles and make it work.

This one is a classic to me, also one of the first Yaoi I read back in the day. It is quite a heavy concept, thinking your significant other would be better off without you and fully seizing the opportunity of letting them go against their will. The uke has a lot of anxiety regarding their present and future as a gay couple living in a homophobic society and thinks he shouldn't give up on a "normal life" just for him. Of course, it's wrong to take that decision out of his hands, but we can empathize with someone who knows what being shunned and disowned feels like. "If you say my happiness is important to you, then stay by my side and smile"