pluviophiliac's manga / #sweeter than poison(511)

oooh, smutty goodness. <33 edit: wow. that was one fucked up story, i won’t lie. i genuinely don’t even know what to make of it... on one hand, it was RIDICULOUSLY toxic. hwan was a manipulative piece of trash (and a PREDATOR, too!!!) with a seriously terrifying personality once you go below the surface. i can’t believe he got away with his schemes for so long, omfg. sigh… nonetheless, i found the ending to be… well, surprisingly sweet and very wholesome. it’s kinda strange, though... i actually quite like the fact that hwan got a real chance to both do and be better. REDEMPTION WINS this time, yay!!! i mean, it really sucks that the old chiwoo was completely erased from the first timeline and that hwan’s the only one to remember 20+ years of memories—good or bad… but in the end, chiwoo’s “new” life ended up being a whole lot better in each and every way, and at least hwan recognizes that. now, they’ve got a chance to build a relationship together that’s actually HEALTHY and stable. and from scratch, at that—a completely clean slate!!! no more codependency, no more regrets… it doesn’t yet exist in this reality for them. as a reader who really struggled to accept their unhealthy relationship dynamics up ‘til a certain point, i’m so relieved to know that they (hwan in particular) got a re-do. …but ohh, man. hwan of the OG reality was a real piece of work, i won’t lie. talk about having issues… and that’s putting it lightly! he got what he deserved for a time, he really did, but like i said—i’m glad he didn't have to spend the rest of his life in misery, full of regrets. he got the opportunity to become a person deserving of chiwoo—someone he could be proud of… and he now fully realizes exactly what NOT to do. so yeah, all’s well that ends well! these newer “versions” of hwan and chiwoo seem to be doing so much better than they ever did before. with that in mind, i’m excited for their sake! i just hope it stays that way, and that hwan doesn’t let his insecurities take over again and ruin this now-healthy dynamic they’ve got going. this has been an interesting read, that’s for sure! definitely not something i’d read again (for MULTIPLE reasons), but oh well, lol.

man, there’s nothing i don’t admire about this. such original and interesting characters, really!!! this is a dynamic i haven’t come across before. don’t think i’ve ever had a female lead like this, either. man, she’s so suave... i love the fact that she’s not shy or scared of physical intimacy. that’s a fresh take for this genre, i feel like! very often, we’ll get a female lead with the exact opposite problem—as in issues with emotional intimacy. ugh, i love it!!!

damn, the MLs’ desperation is WILD in this one… borderline insane, not gonna lie. what did this woman ever do to deserve such unconditional devotion from literally every single person she meets and speaks to, seriously?! i’ve read 84 chapters of this (i’m fully up-to-date), yet i still don’t get it. everyone’s just obsessed with her, basically just for existing. oof. all the male leads are kinda off, too… and the romantic chemistry isn’t particularly enticing with either of the candidates, but at least the elf hottie has them looks, + them obsessive (and dangerous) yandere vibes i happen to be quite weak to. i’d 100% run for my life if i ever met someone like him in real life, though—don’t get me wrong! but damn, hot fictional yandere men are just… *MWAH* except for the lovely art, pretty much every other aspect of this story deserves about a 3.5 star rating in my opinion, idk, it’s a little weird. despite these people’s actions giving me whiplash every five minutes, i still wanna keep reading! they’re kinda growing on me as of late. ;p

ohhh, nooo… ;_; we started out semi-wholesome (at least very lovey-dover if nothing else), but shit got dark reaaaal quick. fucking hell, there’s so much violence and SA here!!! i’m amazed that our two main boys have remained untainted (?) so far. holy shiiit. please, just let them end up happy and in one piece… is that really too much to ask for, author? ;_;

lmao, these oddballs

jesus! that was a wild one, haha. i quite enjoyed it, though! would’ve liked it more if the translation was better, for sure, but oh well. it probably wouldn’t be worthy of 5/5 star rating by the rest of the population (for VERY valid reasons), but since i rate everything based on my personal “engagement” with a story and its characters, here we are. ;p P.S. as in, i don’t necessarily consider the writing style &/or artistic quality while reviewing overall—i mostly go by how excited &/or engaged i feel while reading something. i tend to put genres & tropes aside most of the time. i mean, obviously, this is CLEARLY not a 5/5 story, lol. i simply looked forward to the updates throughout—therefore, a high rating! anyway, i would’ve given it a 4.5/5 rating if i could, just ‘cause the translation put me off. :p