Lauvil's manga / #Webtoon(659)

The MC's are childhood friends, going back to Elementary school. The seme is a cliché cold hearted guy, who is good at everything except sympathizing with others. He doesn't get along with other people, except for the Uke. The uke is a charismatic, friendly air-headed guy, who managed to befriend the seme exactly bc of said personality. The uke has had a crush on his friend for years (and most likely vise versa) but has hidden it well, so far (maybe). They live together and suddenly begin a BDSM relationship bc of the most trivial reason: A misdelivered package. It's really random how they all of a sudden begin doing BDSM stuff together just bc the uke found a pair of handcuffs that were supposed to be delivered to the seme. They have supposedly hidden their feelings for each other for years, yet that's all it takes for them to step over that boundary. I read it for the smut and BDSM, though. So while it's unrealistic and silly, I try to overlook it and just enjoy the parts I came to read.

Restart

Kyla is the eldest child of the noble Vesta family. However, in actuality she was an ordinary Korean woman, reincarnated into a BL novel she once read. Her brother is the protagonist of the story, who throughout it is pursued and abused by several men. Thanks to the obsessive love interests, his family is killed and his house brought to ruins. So, to prevent that, Kyla's first objective is to bring him home from the knight academy, get his sword-power transferred to her, and then take his place as the family's knight and successor. She's much more suited for it anyway, and her brother would rather become a scholar than a knight. So, this way she can protect both him and her family. ———————————— It looks promising so far. The FL is a actually a strong and independent woman, not just someone who poses as one. Strong mentality, strong physicality, knows swordsmanship, takes the reigns of her own life, protects her brother. I also like the added layer of guilt she holds towards her younger brother from a previous life, which we've only just glimpsed in one of the characters. It holds the promise of character and relationship development. Reincarnation novels have become abundant, and many of the plots have been seen before, but I hold the hope that this one will be different. Even if just slightly. The genre of the novel she was reincarnated into, is different at least. The strong character of the FL, also promises a different kind of story, than those about noble ladies who have to rely on a fiancée to survive and thrive.

Paused ch. 23

Oh man, it started out so well... I really liked Roman in the beginning. He was so sweet and puppy-like and treated Lucy so gently and kind. But BOY, did it take a toxic turn. First, he totally overreacted when Lucy told him she was moving. Then he avoids her, ignores her messages and stands her up multiple times. Then, suddenly, he transfers to her school, gives no proper explanation for his previous behaviour, and just acts like nothing happened. But not only that, now he's also gaslighting her. Her low self-esteem makes it easy to manipulate her into thinking she's in the wrong, feel guilty and inadequate, and Roman is taking FULL advantage of it. I know his behaviour is probably going to be explained by the Baskerville "love curse", but that doesn't make it less toxic. I hope he's going to be taught a HARD lesson about his current behaviour. I also hope Lucy can develop enough self-confidence to be able to stand up to him and his toxic behaviour. But I guess we'll have to see... -------- Oh boy... We are sinking deeper and deeper into toxicity-land with every chapter. Roman is gaslighting Lucy, full steam ahead. Making her believe what she experiences isn't real, what her friends say is false, that her friends will leave her, etc. He is kind, then cold, then kind again. He tells Lucy she's his only friend and he needs her, but he clearly has plenty of people to hang out with. There's even hints that he's deliberately sabotaging and/or hurting her, to get her to rely on him... ------------------------------------------------------ So, it turns out that it wasn't Roman's idea to gaslight and isolate Lucy, but his brother's. The moment Lucy confesses (sort of) the truth comes to light and the two are able to clear up their misunderstanding. For now, it seems he's back to his puppy-like self. I guess Roman is young and impressionable, so his behaviour is somewhat excused. But he better treat Lucy right from now on! His behaviour from the first confession to the second was TRASH, and I'm honestly worried for his brother's fiancée. But for now, I'll see how things work out...