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[coloredsp3ctrum09]

[BL Review, Part 5]: Turning

"Love that transcends all; regardless of time, regardless of boundaries, regardless of circumstance."

[Images from the webnovel and manhwa respectively]

[Note: I am currently not caught up with the webnovel, but since this is such an engrossing story, I've been itching to make a review of this sooooo HERE WE ARE. Spoiler warnings up to chapter 1224.]

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[Summary]:

Yudrain Aile is a force of nature both commended and highly feared within the Orr Empire; an Omega Awakaner who is the Commander of the Cavalry, leading forces of individuals with special powers under the command of the Emperor.

But when foreboding calamity appears to bring impending doom to the world, Yudrain's efforts to save everyone is met with vitriol and finally, death. Just when he thought he would leave the world in peace, he awakens in a time before he joined the Cavalry. With this miraculous second chance in life, Yudrain, or by his real name Yuder, will stop at nothing to prevent the end of the world. All of this will begin with the most important change of all; keep the former Commander of the Cavalry, Kishiar La Orr, safe and alive.

OKAY SO I DIDNT PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO THE SUMMARY UPON READING THIS.

When I first read Turning, I was curious if I could find a BL omegaverse that won't make me turn up and move on from. So when I opened up the first chapter, I was pleasantly surprised with the tone set for it. Strap in, because this is gonna one hell of a lengthy review.

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Story

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1.) Worldbuilding

Turning establishes a groundwork that keeps the readers afloat in the story; this groundwork is Turning's worldbuilding.

So you got your standard set kingdom or empire the main character will mainly operate in, sprinkle in ducal houses, nobles, the Emperor, mages, and you have yourself a fantasy setting. Turning takes the fantasy elements and uses them HOW it wants to; because of this, I must give props to the author in how they handled the world of Turning cuz it has aspects unique to it.

You're given a world that is both wide and unknown to you as a reader and to our main character, Yuder. Yuder, who once lived in the mountains and lived in his own world before he entered TL2 (timeline 2) is the same, where he doesn't bother with affairs he isn't meant to meddle in and merely does what he's told as the Commander of the Cavalry in TL1 (timeline 1). It's only when he is taken back in time that he does give us the exposition of how this world works.

One interesting note to understand about the inner workings of the world of Turning are the Awakeners themselves.

After a mysterious red stone crashed into the Orr Empire, suddenly a select hundreds or thousands of humans began to exhibit strange powers that is neither divine nor magical in nature; in essence, it's a completely new power introduced into the world. These people are called Awakeners. How people reacted to Awakeners vary, with nobles becoming wary of them, normal people fearing them, and mages disliking them. Needless to say, the vitriol shown towards Awakeners wouldn't change much UNTIL the recruitment of the Cavalry came about.

Oh, the formation of the Cavalry itself isn't what shifted the perception toward Awakeners. Nah nah, the reason was that the Commander of this newly formed Cavalry happened to be the only Awakener among the nobility; Kishiar La Orr, our male lead and other main character (as much as Yuder is our beloved protagonist, Kishiar has much of a big, if not equally important role as Yuder).

Now see, it's this kind of subtle change in perspective in how Awakeners are seen is important in Turning and its world. To everyone, a new and unknown power means many things, it could mean something fearful, or even something to take advantage of. Either way, the emergence of humans who can wield abilities that are neither divine or magical caused a ripple in the status quo. And it's fascinating to see the change affect our main character and the rest of the cast. The reclusive Yuder, who wouldn't have made the decision to leave his home in the mountains, suddenly acquired abilities AND a new unit made entirely of people with those new abilities are being recruited. The world influenced Yuder to make move, even if he had thoughts of exploring the world before.

You gotta pay attention to how Turning's world and societal rules work, unless you miss something crucial. THAT is fascinating to me, since they can be SO subtle that you might not get it until you either deeply think about it or do a reread. To me at least, it's rare for me to want to glean as much information of the lore of Turning in order to understand the direction of the story. Like, Pruelle wouldn't have considered joining the Cavalry if it weren't for Revlin's decision to rebel against his own family and joined the Cavalry, albeit as a temporary member.

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2.) Storytelling

This is a slow burn. It has smut, sure, but it's a slow burn. Seriously, we don't even get a kiss until 200 chapters in the story bruh– (but that's one of the reasons why I love this story)

The majority of Turning is told through the eyes of our main protagonist, Yuder, who – as we all know as I'm assuming the people reading this review are Turning fans – is SUCH an unreliable narrator most of the time that we didn't even know that he had a sexual relationship with Kishiar until PLENTY of chapters ahead. (Like bro, we know you ain't right in the head, but c'mon, you don't think THAT was significant enough to account for when one of your main goals was to get close to Kishiar?)

But the storytelling DOES hinge on Yuder's skewed point of view.

This is because if you're going to tell a story, you need to control what and how the reader gains information and understanding in order to ensure a sense of suspense, unease, or make important points in the story end up satisfying. It wouldn't be a great and satisfying reveal if Yuder had revealed to us from the first chapter that he and Kishiar fucked before; it also wouldn't match Yuder's trait of prioritizing the bigger issue if he had focused so intently on his intimate relationship with Kishiar from the beginning, AND the purpose of the late reveal, from what I could tell, is both to emphasize how much Yuder suppressed his memories and emotions concerning Kishiar in the past and to give the shock of our lives that YES, THEY WERE INDEED FUCKING AND THIS MAN DID NOT THINK OF IT UNTIL THE RED STONE RETRIEVAL ARC. HE IS NOT RIGHT IN THE HEAD.

If your main character is gonna be factual all the time, it's gonna be boring and stale. It's why main protagonists such as Kim Dokja from 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' or Cale Henituse from 'Lout of the Count's Family' are such a blast to follow and read about, because they have SO much going with them that their narration doesn't corroborate some of the things they say or do which leads to important story beats and plot points deliberately being shrouded in mystery with us as readers to pick apart and understand. It's that trope of the unreliable narrator that helps with the story, elevated with the worldbuilding, characters, and the plot itself. Yuder's POV is both marvelous and irritating cuz bro, you are SO loved, you're just too emotionally awkward to realize it until now (affectionate).

Of course, Turning doesn't only concern Yuder's point of view, it also shows us Kishiar's as well. His POV is a lot more objective and factual than Yuder's but he's been established as a character who is ESSENTIAL to Yuder's goal of saving the world and changing things for the better.

We were given this perspective of Kishiar as the male lead who the main protagonist killed off in his previous life and now resolved to protect him – the thing is, we're just getting to learn who Kishiar is as a person as much as Yuder is, which enables change in Yuder's perception of Kishiar as well as ours. Kishiar went from the male lead who Yuder needs to protect to save the world, to the man who is so deeply complex and tragic that his end would have been a painful and slow death to his spirit and himself until Yuder put a stop to that, albeit inadvertently. So even if Kishiar's POV is not as unreliable as Yuder's, his character is so deeply dimensional and fascinating that it's interesting to see his thought process, especially when it concerns Yuder.

Other aspects of Turning's storytelling is its incorporation and handling of lore. The lore of Turning is amazing, it's fascinating! It has lore concerning the four ducal houses whose ties date back to the first Emperor of the Empire, Messenger Ohre who represent the Sun God, the major religion in Turning, or the progenitor of magic itself, Archmage Luma – all of these have a role to play in Turning, which is bonkers, especially when they have ties to the Awakeners. But we don't get any of this information solely from our two main characters, most of them originate from other characters within the story. Two examples are that we didn't know initially that Luma was interested in reversing time until Enon brought it up, or that the first Duke of Tain was a mage was information revealed by Pruelle or his other family members. By itself, small lore drops by other characters don't do much, but the direction of the story proves the information valuable, as well as the characters expositing on it.

Another thing I like about Turning's storytelling is how they incorporate Yuder's past into TL2 cuz TL1 is an important part of Yuder's motivation to change the devastations that occured then as well as a huge chunk of information that even Kishiar normally wouldn't have had that will serve to benefit them and the betterment of the world. But it also gives us a glimpse of the Yuder and Kishiar of before, in addition to everything else ranging from the inception and development of the Cavalry, the rise and fall of Katchian as Emperor, the calamities the Orr Empire endured, and many others including the events leading up to Yuder's death. Funny thing is, most of these flashbacks involve Kishiar. You'd seldom see Yuder remembering a memory as detailed as his memories of Kishiar, it's insane lol. Goes to show that as much as his feelings and opinions toward Kishiar are so hard to understand for him, his bond with the man is strong enough for him to remember him.

But the thing I'm impressed about the storytelling? The fact that it doesn't focus on one genre. Turning is a BL fantasy omegaverse, but it's also mystery, political intrigue, drama, and even tragedy if we're referring to TL1.

Romance is an important part to Turning, but so does the rest of the story, such as Yuder's goal to save the world, Kishiar overturning the nobility, or uncovering the mysteries of the era before the Great Destruction. The worldbuilding sold us on an intriguing history of this world that immerses you in an empire that has more to it than meets the eye, from important figures like Archmage Luma or the First Emperor, to important events that occured before the main story like how the Imperial family became as fragile as they are now or the underground magic research that Luma and Blake Van Tain had been working on. The love story between Yuder and Kishiar is undoubtedly the centerpiece, but they are not the only important parts of the plot, thus it's such a great read since we're learning so many interesting things about the Orr Empire and the characters we meet.

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3.) Omegaverse

Of course, this isn't gonna be a Turning review if I didn't tackle the omegaverse aspect of it. I must say, I'm DEEPLY impressed.

For starters, the omegaverse in question is NEW to everybody in Turning. Which means concepts that are common knowledge about omegaverse such as second genders like Alphas and Omegas, scents, bonding, heats and ruts – all of that is unknown to the characters in Turning until now, which is something I personally have not seen done. I'm sure there are other pieces of fiction out there that has done it before, but it's rare, I must say.

The newly introduced second genders that comes alongside with being Awakened is met with mixed views, which led to various misunderstandings and prejudices against them, especially in TL1. Yuder in particular, as an Omega Commander with no scent, he's ripe for the picking. This, along with simply vowing to pursue better equality for Omegas, advised Kishiar to set better rules for second gendered Awakeners and even opening up a medical bay. This proves helpful when Jimmy showed signs of manifesting into an Alpha, as well as Pruelle later on.

I have to admit, my jaw dropped at the plot points of them making heat suppressants and scent blockers cuz OMG I've read enough omegaverse for it to feel normal to me when these characters only just started to feel the brunt of heat and rut cycles. Seeing how two fundamental aspects of omegaverse emerge as the story unfolds was genuinely the experience of all time lol, I was genuinely shocked but pleasantly so.

Can I also say I LOVE the female Alpha-male Omega couple? Ever and Pruelle pull it off so nicely and because they're great characters individually, they're able to have sufficient relevance to plot points and are likable for a lot of readers.

But as a final piece for this part of Turning, the omegaverse is both part of the story and IS the story. It is an integral component of Turning yet is mostly subdued compared to other BL omegaverse stories. It's relevant in the way that it changes the world in a fundamental level and with how a deeper connection between Kishiar and Yuder formed because of them having mated – yet the aspects of omegaverse isn't blatantly told as if it were the centermost piece of the story, as it's one of many parts of Turning.

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4.) Characters

This section won't be including our two main leads as they will be getting their own separate column lol.

The characters in Turning are amazing, not just because they're an intriguing and amusing bunch to read, but also because of how important they are to the story and to Yuder and Kishiar. All of them could fall into your typical tropes, like the smurfette trope for Kanna with her trio of Gakane and Yuder, or Nathan being the loyal and stoic attendant. But tropey as those are, it doesn't undermine how lovable they are. Kanna is a genuinely kind person who cherishes her friendship with Gakane and Yuder, Nathan's loyalty to Kishiar started when they were children and their friendship grew from there – these characters could have stayed one-note, but there is an added layer of complexity to them. Like Gakane who fits the thorny rose-like character who has a lot to hide but has grew a resolve to defend and protect those he loves and cherishes, or even our resident clown Kiolle, who despite his haughty behavior and pride for his family holds a deeper desire to be a knight and a hero to the Empire.

Speaking of Kiolle, can I say for most people that nobody expected to like him as time goes on? Lol at first Nahan was quite interesting, but damn for Kiolle to steal the show simply because he's such a dumbass is priceless. I swear, every time he shows up in a chapter, I know something funny is gonna happen. Yes, even in that tense situation between the Sage, Duke Diarca, and Ever and her squad. Everybody says forced character development and I agree. It's not the biggest character development, but he's getting there lol, and he seems to value Yuder's advise more than anyone else at the moment.

The antagonists are also thoughtfully written with a lot of intrigue, especially when it works in tandem with how Turning's world works. Nahan is a great example. The worse aspects of society deeply affected him, giving him a skewed view on 'family' and driving him to the point of insanity and suicide. Seeing the scene of him killing his biological father was both horrifying to read as well as satisfying. Nahan as a character overall is mired in tragedy, and unlike Kishiar who at least has people he could trust, Nahan literally only had Hosanna, and even then he came to distrust him. He's been used and brainwashed by someone he already didn't trust, was led on to believe that the Star of Nagran would leave the Empire to start anew, only to face the ugly truth that his 'paradise' is built on lies and pain. He's also a pretty good foil to both Yuder and Kishiar.

Like Kishiar, they suffered so much wrongdoings at the hands of nobles and even nearly died because of them (Kishiar being assassinated a lot, Nahan being trapped in a burning building alive as punishment). But unlike Kishiar, who used everything in his power to establish an organization of marginalized people in the name of peace, Nahan's own group, the Star of Nagran, is wrought with distrust against each other and everyone is constantly on guard and wary. Despite Nahan's efforts, the methods that he personally employs to keep the Star of Nagran intact as an organization falls short compared to the Cavalry's strong sense of comraderie and deeper relations with their higher-ups of Kishiar and Yuder. He uses intimidation meant to strike fear when it comes to dealing with anyone, be it enemy or ally, whereas Kishiar is encouraging and thoughtful, always willing to lend an ear to his subordinates who he extends his trust to.

But I'd say Nahan is a much direct foil to Yuder than to Kishiar. Yuder also suffered under the scrutiny and machinations of the nobility, and not just from them, but from his comrades in TL1. When Nahan confronted Yuder on this, on why he doesn't seek revenge on everyone who wronged him compared to Nahan's desire to exact revenge himself, Yuder's response greatly contrasts and even challenges Nahan's point of view. Yuder's desire for peace and the betterment of his and everyone else's lives ultimately outweighs the want for revenge. This purer view on such a heavy topic even left Nahan speechless. But with their differences, of course there's also their similarities. Both are self-sacrifical, not bothering with self-preservation if it means fulfilling their goals. They also care greatly for their organizations and do everything they can to ensure their safety. And if Yuder was free to do so, he would have personally given a good beating to any nobles who wronged Kishiar (has he even thought to beat up a noble because they slighted him? Nah, said beating has better chances of happening if the one being slandered here was Kishiar lol), and we see from the two of them that they especially despise dealing with nobles, although for two completely different reasons from each other.

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Main Characters

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1.) Yuder Aile

Aaaah, Yuder, Yuder, Yuder.

SO. On a previous post, I mentioned that I will be HEAVILY glazing the hell out of the characters – in particular, Yuder, as well as Kishiar cuz let's be real, they're the stars of Turning. But I wouldn't have loved the characters if they aren't the most flawed motherfuckers ever. To start this off, we got our lovely main protagonist and emotionally constipated assistant, Yuder Aile!

I have to say, he's a main protagonist who wouldn't strike you as unique in personality from the get-go, especially with how he's presented at first. The first chapter of the manhwa tells us that he is this omega who rose up in fame (for worse, to be truthful) as the Commander of the Cavalry and are then informed of his desire to save the world from some kind of apocalypse just bound to happen.

AND THEN WE SEE HIS TRIAL AND EXECUTION.

Now, to put things in perspective, so far his introduction went from 0 to 100 real quick, starting with his fucking death. Then of course, Yuder regressed to an earlier point in time, some time before he applied for the Cavalry. But the thing I want to point out here is that his introduction, death, and subsequent regression overshadowed his personality until later on in the story. So we don't know Yuder completely as a person as a result, all we know is that he has a goal of preventing the world from plundering to its doom and is attempting to change many aspects of his previous life in this one to achieve that. This caused us to focus a lot on the variables that would affect the timeline, from Gakane's introduction to Kanna's, and at this point Yuder has resolved to improve these two people's chances in life, especially Kanna. But it's not until Yuder encounters Kishiar again in this life that we get a better glimpse into Yuder as a person.

As we all know, Yuder is not just a tight-lipped person, he outright refuses to give in to pressure that proves detrimental to what he either believes is right or compromises his duties. Bro would literally go through excruciating torture and he still wouldn't budge – this, of course, is also due to his numbness to all manners of pain but we'll get to that, I promise. This trait of not divulging into information that doesn't seem to apply to an important situation to Yuder doesn't only mean that it prevents others from knowing what he's thinking, he himself is also susceptible to this trait of his. This trait not only prevented him from forming connections with his fellow Cavalry members in his previous life, it also made him easy to use by Katchian when he became Emperor, among other things that went wrong that could have been easily prevented if Yuder had formed meaningful connections with others. Of course, it wouldn't be Yuder if he wasn't so obsessed with getting stronger, so that is what he focuses on the most before he became the Commander.

He also has nigh zero self-preservation. It would take an entire squad of the Cavalry, and EVEN MORE members to convince Yuder to take a break, rest, maybe eat – even Emperor Keilusa jumped into the fray forcing bro the take two weeks of vacation on top of a month break. This man only knows work and training, he's insane. You know what's more insane though? His tolerance to ANY AND ALL SORTS OF PAIN. Brother... Yuder, you're not well in the head my guy, maybe Kishiar should put you on mandatory bed rest during the weekends or something cuz this is crazy.

Speaking of that crazy pain tolerance, this can be attributed to many things. One of them being his immunity to all manners of poison, which he manifested when he became an Awakener. It's pretty useful when some idiot (cough cough, Baron Durmand, cough cough) would try to poison him as a form of humiliation, which predictably didn't work cuz of Yuder's immunity to most poisons, but of course you'd need to have some kind of weakness for an OP character, that weakness being monsters and any by-product from them.

SO. So with that information of, y'know, Yuder being weak to monsters and all, what did Yuder do in his previous life with this information? Get absolutely plastered. I mean I get that not being able to get drunk sucks for you, but according to Kishiar, it only gives Yuder the sensation of drunkenness, it's not actually making him drunk 💀 If I gotta compare it to something, I'd compare it to Koalas and their 'very brilliant' diet of solely eucalyptus leaves – which are highly toxic btw – and they filter those toxins out by sleeping. TELL ME THAT AINT SIMILAR. The only different is that Yuder doesn't have a smooth brain and he doesn't have to sleep off the poison for nearly a whole day lol

Anyway, moving on.

Yuder's character development comes through as he attempts to change the tragedies that occured in his previous life, to getting to know his allies better, changing his enemies for the better, or simply preparing for the disasters to come. As a result, he's come to see something worth fighting and protecting for – his Cavalry comrades, his allies from different places like the Southern Army or the Emperor and the Empress. As time goes on, Yuder began to understand what exactly he'll be losing/never have if he doesn't change the direction of his past tragedies. This opened his eyes to a more beautiful world where people could be free and where Yuder himself can truly open up and be free with them.

If my love for Yuder isn't apparent enough, nearly everyone in Turning has a soft spot for Yuder, especially Kishiar (get you a man who bought you a shit ton of flowers it nearly filled up your whole dorm room).

Yuder didn't appreciate kindness or the comraderie between his fellow Cavalry members before in his previous life, but he slowly begins to learn how to trust and form meaningful relationships with them – He and Ever before weren't close and at best were the dutiful Commander and Deputy Commander respectively, but now Ever can go up to Yuder without much issue and even taught him precise control over his abilities. When we first met him, he was a cold and calculated person whose decisions in the beginning stemmed from a desire to avoid an impending disaster in the future (he didn't even consider how his complicated relationship with Kishiar would affect his relationship with the current Kishiar, bro was that emotionally constipated 😭).

Yuder is a straightforward person who prefers to do things upfront. If he wants to intimidate someone, he would rather use his powers instead of clever words to put his point across. When he, Kishiar, and Nathan went to the south for the second Cavalry recruitment, he was thinking about what to do about the protestors (or was it the spies sent to recruitment, I can't remember) and his solution was violence or just physical force 💀. He's also quite simplistic that extends to his approach to life, usually letting things happen without being proactive. He's still willful and makes decisions that lead to changes, but most of the time he prefers to stay in the background. In a perfect world, he'd just be busy training in the training grounds and spend time with Kishiar lol.

Anyway time for positively charged gushing.

Bro's so awkward in private social circles, especially when it comes to being casual. He's not the type to take things literally, but his replies are honest and stiff-sounding. It's not even because he's trying to think of the right thing to say most of the time, Yuder's just being bluntly honest. To him, there's no point in holding back his thoughts but because of his delivery, a lot of people think he's emotionally unfeeling. Thankfully some people know he's a good person deep down and that's just how he is.

He's also not as stoic as he initially passes himself off. It's been remarked multiple times in the story that if Yuder truly was 20 years old, he would have let insults and petty emotions get to him. It's only through age, experience, and tolerance to that type of bullshit that we have the stoic Yuder we have now. Deep down, he's action-oriented, reckless, and somewhat impulsive. It's why in TL1 he's prone to getting into fights with his fellow Cavalry members, or why he has premature thoughts about Kishiar's character (not helped by the fact that Kishiar put in the extra effort of keeping up that image).

Also can I say how cute his conversations with the Emperor and Empress are? To Yuder, on one hand they're the rulers of the Empire who should be treated closer to that of a God, but on the other they're Kishiar's beloved family. He's not even married to Kishiar and he's already being treated like he's Keilusa's brother-in-law, it's adorable.

Tldr; Yuder is both simple yet complex. He's someone who would be quick to jump into the fray and ask questions later, but is riddled with age down to his very soul. His experiences sharpened his simplistic nature and added to it a ruthless side and maturity he originally didn't have. His mask of stoicness, intense self-worth and lack of the need of social interaction ostracized others from him, as well as ostracized Yuder from forming meaning connections with people who could have easily been allies or friends with. Before, he could only ever see the awful sides of everyone he knew – from Kishiar, to his fellow Cavalry members, and even Enon. Yuder's whole life in TL1 was a 'too little, too late' from my point of view due to his narrow mindset that ultimately led to disasters and his demise, yet his soul is withered from tragedies that came before.

Yuder's desire to simply improve his skills and abilities as a regular Cavalry member was sidelined the moment he and Kishiar met eyes in the training grounds. Yuder's future in TL1 was frankly heading toward rock bottom when he met Kishiar, many of his current problems could be traced back to his actions and to the previous Kishiar. Yuder's emotions and feelings toward the man who is both his physically intimate partner, commander, mentor, and the one he despises the most is so complex because he couldn't understand such complexity, he just couldn't get why Kishiar did the things he did or said the things he said.

But the same straightforwardness that led to his downfall and his wrecked view of Kishiar in TL1 both helped him truly see through his skewed memories of who Kishiar truly is and change for the betterment of himself and everyone he cares for in TL2. He understood where he went wrong and now in the main story, he's done big strides to make changes. Kishiar is that steady rock Yuder needed, but ultimately Yuder is the one who had to make that leap. The thing is, he was already making those leaps the moment he regressed. This, by itself, makes him compelling because he casted aside petty revenge or easy living to chase for a better future that only he could change. The first big change he did? It's his decision to save Kishiar, the person who by all means Yuder could have easily not helped or even bothered to talk to.

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2.) Kishiar La Orr

SPEAKING OF WHICH.

Our walking sunshine mastermind everyone! Who's also a simp to the apparently unassuming but expressionless assistant, we love to see it.

Kishiar is one of the most well-written and compelling characters I've read, mostly because of the tragedies he's suffered in both TL1 and TL2, but especially because of the efforts he did to achieve his goals for the well-being of those he cares about.

If we're talking how good he is as a BL male lead, he's more than good. But if someone were to ask me if he's a green flag, or if his relationship with our main lead is healthy, or any of that stuff that pertains to his moral standing as a character, I THROW THAT ALL THE WINDOW. WHY???

Because it's difficult to evaluate and appreciate Kishiar's character if I limit myself to stuff like "OH IS HE A GREEN FLAG?!?!". What I'm writing here Kishiar as a character, not if he's a green flag BL male lead. Go read Jinx or smth. We're here to appreciate Kishiar La Orr, not downgrade him to questions of how good of a male lead he is.

ANYWAY WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY.

Kishiar is a man who is as noble as you can get, and this is a person who suffered greatly as a child.

As much as he had positive moments in his childhood, most of it is wrought with health issues, succession problems that normally wouldn't be a big deal, then his 'exile' from the Imperial Family by being delegated the title of Duke Peletta and given a nigh desolate land to rule over. Not only that, he had to face countless enemies from the noble faction led by the four ducal houses, primarily the Diarcas. Did I mention he had to go through most of this with dead parents and an older brother whose hands are tied in trying to help him because of pressure from the nobles? Dude, I'm surprised he didn't become terrible growing up. Instead, he embraced kindness and trust and cultivated this among his subordinates, starting from the Imperial Palace with the librarian and even the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Mage Office to his people in Peletta and now with our Cavalry.

Anyway, among the mountain of problems Kishiar had to endure, one of them is the matter of his powers. Out of the four of them, Awakener power, mana, Aura as a swordsmaster, and divine power – three of them contributed to the cracking of Kishiar's vessel, making him dangerous to be around when those powers overflow in him. Dude tried to commit suicide when it was at it's worse. But when he awakened, the power of an Awakener from the Red Stone essentially served as a stabilizer, saving Kishiar and making him feel better than before. Then of course, we find out he deteriorated in TL1 when he got pierced by the Red Stone's power and was inadvertently saved from this fate in TL2 when Yuder took the hit instead. Man when finding out all of that, it makes me infinitely glad that Kishiar didn't get hit because it really was a close call.

With all of this suffering, all these problems he has to endure, one of Kishiar's strengths that helped him overcome this is his cunning, a trait he shares with his brother Keilusa. The two of them know how to analyze a situation and make plans accordingly – where Keilusa is a mental mastermind, Kishiar is more of a tactical genius in a battlefield, whether that battlefield is in actual combat or in the political scene.

He's incredibly adept at tactical games, having beaten Yuder more than once from both TL1 and TL2, and even then the times that Yuder had won was because Kishiar let him win. That's how much a genius tactician Kishiar is when he, who couldn't hold a candle to Yuder in terms of experience in being a Commander, won against the man who has been a Commander longer than he has. And he uses those smarts to manipulate the battlefield of politics and aristocratic intrigue among the nobility. We see this even further with how he elevates the Cavalry's importance and reputation across the Empire and even from abroad, as Prince Ejain plans to make a Cavalry of his own in Nelarn.

That said, despite his brilliance and achievements throughout the story, Kishiar is still someone who has doubts. Sometimes he thinks he's reaching too much, or his plan might not be foolproof enough. Honestly, he doesn't view himself quite highly, quick to cite his own flaws much more seriously than his positive traits. This flawed self-esteem is something that surprises me cuz bro, I share Yuder's sentiment that everything just goes well as long as Kishiar is around. Whenever he beats himself down, I'm like 'BRO YOURE DOING SO WELL, YOURE OKAY'. That said, his insecurity encompasses his feelings for Yuder as well, seeing them as too much and restrains himself for Yuder's sake. It's not even an isolated incident.

Kishiar, like Yuder, neglects his well-being for the sake of others, as much as he says so otherwise. We see this in TL1, getting a better understanding of it as the story goes on. In particular, Kishiar's relationship with his people in Peletta is a good example. In both timelines, he prioritized their safety over himself; in TL2 for instance, we learn that the day he awakened, as he was deteriorating, he ordered for everyone to evacuate the castle. It even shook Nathan, who's usually unflappable.

An aspect I appreciate about Kishiar is his casualness when it comes to social classes. He personally doesn't concern himself over it. He'd go out in the streets in disguise to eat in diners, drink at taverns, and even chat with people who are leagues below him in status. All this to say it's because he doesn't raise himself above others just off of who he is and what his status means. In the end, he treats everyone as a normal human being, it makes him an excellent judge of character. So far, Kishiar is the only one who ever clocked in Yuder's straightforward and simplistic nature. Describing it both in TL1 and TL2 that Yuder doesn't let outside factors disrupt his way of thinking and keeps his eye on the prize. People judge Yuder mostly because of his expressions, which is expressionless almost all the time, but not Kishiar. He managed to understand something fundamental about Yuder after meeting a couple of times.

Heavy stuff aside, he's also quite cheeky. Facade or not, cheekiness gives way to willfulness and a carefree nature. Kishiar likes to go all out or just do whatever he wants, he doesn't like being bounded. This was something that's been a part of him since he was a child, and sure, one could argue that children grow out of it but Kishiar still feels that frustration of not being able to unleash his true power or reveal who he truly is as a person. But because of the things he has to endure and the adversaries he has to go up against, Kishiar had to learn self-control, which cultivated his cheery, almost sunny persona in order to both hide his capabilities and control himself in any situation. Like Yuder, however, Kishiar likes to go all-out.

Long story short, Kishiar's story and character tells of someone who values patience, steadfastness, and self-control to aim for a future that is within reach. Circumstances depend so deeply on his actions for that future seeing as there's a sharp difference between TL1 and TL2. That said, it's still Kishiar at the end of the day – the man who is humble, mischievous, cunning, and overall well-meaning who is gunning for a future that he envisioned with his brother since he cares for the people of the Empire and understands his duty perfectly well.

His journey with Yuder further reveals parts of himself that is deeply and utterly human, from his previous self in TL1 to his imperfections he desperately wanted to hide from Yuder in TL2 – to save the one he loves the trouble of concerning over something Kishiar viewed as trivial. It's through learning together with Yuder that he comes to understand that losing control – especially with someone he trusts to catch him when he falls is a lesson that Kishiar couldn't possibly come to understand unless he's truly being honest with himself, which we all know he'd much rather belittle and undersell his well-being and worth than truly say that he deserves to let go of himself once in a while.

All this to say that Kishiar is what happens when the most brilliant man you could possibly think of could so easily fall apart with just the wrong move or circumstance. He's quite literally fragile and he's in a role where he is both in power to make big changes as well as vulnerable to the machinations of the people who have been hurting him for a long time. It's why he views his allies and loved ones as more important than himself since they're the ones who he believes are worth more, as they are keeping him afloat with what power they have such as the Emperor, his brother, as well as holding a place in the future he wants to make. He's a selfish man to his core who wants to make a world where everyone he cares about could be free, yet is selfless that he couldn't possibly blame anyone for his failures and tragedies but himself. But hey, he's making strides in trying to change that, since for his loved ones and the people who believe in him, there's no future without Kishiar La Orr.

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Romance

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This is a whole ass column dedicated to reviewing (and just gushing) over the romance. It's just MWAH. CHEFS KISS

The romance between Yuder and Kishiar started off on the wrong foot. And I mean WAY WRONG. TL1 shows us a relationship that's filled with strife, misunderstandings and pain built on an underlying attraction to each other. This, as well as Kishiar's actions of subtly pushing him away gave Yuder the wrong impression of Kishiar being a confusing, frustrating person to work with who seems too uncaring and nonchalant toward Yuder despite the truth being the complete opposite. This confusing dichotomy that Kishiar has shown him just downright frustrated Yuder a lot, and yet despite it all, he held a deep emotional connection with Kishiar, something so complex that he can't even quite pin down how he felt about Kishiar of TL1. The glimpses we get of them in TL1 is just hammer in that in this lifetime, they were doomed the moment they met, it's a tragic love story that couldn't be salvaged (potentially not so since we now know Yuder wants to save White Gloves/TL1 Kishiar).

TL2, the main story, is different in which circumstances has changed, leading to a much more different experience with Kishiar for Yuder that he previously didn't know or didn't remember. He already understood that Kishiar is an excellent leader and makes better decisions for the Cavalry than Yuder, but throughout the beginning chapters he sees Kishiar as a confusing and overly complicated man. This greatly contrasts Yuder's simplistic and straightforward personality.

Their romance is built through patience and faith, something that Yuder never experienced in outright during TL1 due to unforseen circumstances, as we're witnessing who Kishiar La Orr truly is as a person alongside Yuder. We see him first as a handsome, cunning, albeit slightly suspicious man who can' be easily trusted, not helped with the fact that at first it seemed as if Yuder's personal experience with Kishiar isn't pleasant at all.

But then we get to see more of who Kishiar is and what makes up his character, making us realize that Yuder's preconceptions of Kishiar from his past life isn't enough to measure the person he (as well as us, the readers) sees now. An act that one upholds till the very end is nearly foolproof, especially for a master actor like Kishiar. It's why the slow build-up of trust, faith, steadiness and small actions led to a completely different perspective for Yuder on Kishiar, a complete turnaround from before in his previous life. It's a satisfying journey to say the least. Ultimately, Yuder acknowledged that he cared about Kishiar in a way he never could have realized if he had stuck to pushing the current Kishiar away and let his preconceptions about the man take over his reasoning, which thankfully wasn't the case.

Where Yuder hesitates when it comes to Kishiar, Kishiar waited for Yuder and held his ground, becoming that steady rock for Yuder whenever the person he loves is ready – this is evident in how he was patient in waiting for Yuder to reveal the truth of why he's so mature, why he knows the things he does. That patience, as we see, pays off when Yuder abandons his need for evidence, an almost unnecessary decision to prove that Kishiar's patience isn't for naught and just goes for it. He, for once, took a leap of faith cuz Kishiar is steadfast in his trust in Yuder; that no matter what, the things that Yuder chose to show and his genuine feelings and concerns for Kishiar and what he stands for are enough to convince Kishiar that Yuder is worth believing in. That in of itself is so, SO heartwarming and beautiful cuz Yuder couldn't afford to show this level of trust in anyone until Kishiar showed him that it was alright, that he's here to support and believe in him.

It's not even just how the romance developed, it's also how they spend their time together that makes them so cute. In later chapters, Yuder and Kishiar spent a long time (in bed lol) just discussing fighting tactics and battling. This shared interest was hinted during the arc where they were 'pretending' to be lovers in the west, when Yuder offhandedly remarked Kishiar practicing his swordsmanship as well as his own, then being referenced again later on. There's also them playing strategy games, in which Yuder is not overly fond of but learned how to play through Kishiar, and so they use the game to talk intimately with each other or discuss important matters.

These similarities don't stop at their interests, as some parts of their behavior are the same, like their self-sacrifical tendencies or habit of shouldering burdens on their own to spare their loved ones from the pain of doing so. They also overly worry over others without accounting for their own well-being, preferring to focus on anyone but themselves. These similarities make it obvious that these two, when their worries are directed at each other, are very much alike. It takes someone who knows you well and cares about you to give you a wake-up call that you're pushing yourself too far.

The two of them have very notable parallels and contrasts with each other too. To name a few, there's their designs and color schemes, Kishiar's usual design using warm or bright colors and clothing that is eye-catching and is made to draw your attention to, while Yuder's design consist of mostly black with a bit of purple and gold (his golden eye being a stark contrast to his color scheme) – literally they embody the sun x moon with their designs, this including with their personalities.

As I kept reading, honest to God I did not expect some jealousy going on because the story is sooo dense in plot that I forget that this is a live story lmao. Kishiar's subtle hints of jealousy toward Ejain's apparent closeness with Yuder is made apparent because of the set-up, but I certainly didn't expect it when it came to Enon and Gakane. Gakane, sure, yeah I get, but Enon? Ofc not to mention Mr. White Gloves...

What's even crazier is that Yuder himself has a scene of subtle jealousy (no stoic can escape jealousy when you're in a romance story, especially in a bl) with Lady Justin, who has been referenced WAY BACK (can't remember which chapter, this novel's big, sue me) when Yuder smelled her perfume from Kishiar. Man imagine being jealous of a woman stealing your man but had no clue said man had been cautiously jealous of several guys hanging around you. To be fair, Yuder is surrounded by pretty looking dudes, Kishiar isn't wrong to see them as potential competition (especially since Yuder is an Omega, that makes it two potential Alphas who might gun for him).

Before they really started getting serious about their relationship though, or even after they began their relationship, it's the small acts of service or love that helped the build-up to their romance. I mean, we didn't even know for sure that Yuder liked sweets until you read in-between the lines of Yuder's inner dialogue and Kishiar's own observations that Yuder LOVES sweets. Not only that, it's the subtle displays of trust from Kishiar that Yuder begins to see the man in a different light, as well as beginning to trust him to. We know Yuder doesn't have much qualms hiding minute hints that there's more to him than he lets on, but the fact that Kishiar puts his faith into Yuder's information and conjectures purely because he trusts in Yuder's character means a lot to a man who had been ostracized and distrusted by so many people when all he wanted was to save them. All of that started from those small acts of trust, love, and service that made what their relationship and dynamic what it is now.

Overall, Kishiyu is a play on the sunshine x stoic and is given so much depth that makes them feel alive. Both are not perfect beings and their start was just as worse as the end in their first life. But as we see, inherently they are kind people who are not cruel for the sake of cruelty, and the start to their tumultuous relationship in TL1 proves that since Kishiar distanced himself from Yuder to protect him and the Cavalry, while Yuder, deep down truly did care about Kishiar despite his hatred toward his commander/situationship. That kindness and love would both ruin them and elevate them. TL1 is something Yuder never wants to repeat ever – in the process, he began to see Kishiar in a different light. After a culmination of respect, trust, and affection, the two of them began to want each other for the sake of love.

Let's be honest, these two make us sick but we love them for that cuz UGH, where have they been all my life...

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Personal Thoughts

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This section will primarily have random thoughts of mine about Turning! Feel free to skip this one, just wanna give my two cents on this story.

Believe it or not, this is the first ever original BL omegaverse I've ever read in full (somewhat, I say in full because the other omegaverse I read, I half-assed it since the plot wasn't interesting to me), or the first omegaverse I've ever liked and kept reading.

As much as I love mlm stories, I don't actually read that much BL. It's cuz I'm always bored from plots I find too generic, or tropes that are either used badly or not executed in an interesting way. At best I've read and fairly liked 'Smyrna and Capri', something I considered the only interesting omegaverse story. Turning though actively made me interested in ways that I like – such as worldbuilding, storytelling, a unique take on omegaverse, and more. (Don't get me wrong though, Smyrna and Capri did incredibly well with its own story. I just personally believe that Turning turned it up to 11 and has a more intricate story).

I found Yuder as an interesting protagonist since he appeared incredibly selfless yet never loses sight of the important matter at hand, or someone who's lauded and feared by everyone around him but turns out he's quite the simplistic man who doesn't beat around the bush. He's not overcomplicated and doesn't aim to make himself to be a mysterious, suave, or cool person.

Yuder is just straightforward and simple. In my opinion, I find that fascinating since 'straightforward and simple' is a trait mostly seen in shounen protagonists or characters with shounen-like characteristics to them. But Yuder is different in the way in that where he lives in a world where nobles wreak havoc on ordinary people's lives or just being in a formal setting would make commoners go weak on the knees, Yuder doesn't buckle down because he doesn't see the significance of the things or people higher that him, it's because he sees far beyond what the nobility or the royalty are. Like I said previously, he is just someone who doesn't let anything cloud his decision on what he finds important. It's this part of himself that got him executed in TL1. He disregards societal pretenses and roles in favor of looking ahead to achieve a goal far more important than the pride of haughty nobles or ignorant bystanders.

The same goes for Kishiar, I find him rather interesting as a love interest and as a BL male lead. As many have said before, he's the greenest flag ever, but his positive traits shouldn't overshadow his many flaws. But in the end, everything he ever did was to protect the people he cared about.

For better or worse, you could say he succeeded with those goals, considering in TL1 Yuder did indeed win Katchian's favor and prevented the dissolvement of the Cavalry with his death. Not only that, he fulfilled his promise to Yuder to separate the connection that bound them together. Even if those efforts were all in vain, it doesn't change two facts – his goals did indeed keep Yuder and everyone he cares for safe, and that he did it out of love and responsibility. It's a noble thing for someone to do, and coming from a BL male lead? Exceedingly rare lol. By all means, he's the greenest flag ML I've ever read from a BL, and that's considering his flaws, most of which are directed towards himself rather than Yuder.

Anyway, that aside, so far my favorite characters are as follows:

1.) Yuder

2.) Kishiar

3.) Enon

4.) Nathan

5.) Kanna

My favorite villain has to be Nahan. He is a great multilayered villain/antagonist that not only has a complex past and relationship toward nobles and even the people he should have seen as his allies, but has deep parallels with not only Yuder, but also Kishiar, our two main characters. So far in the story I haven't seen what he'll do in the precarious situation he's in right now, but I am interested what will happen to him moving forward.

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Conclusion

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Basically an omegaverse fantasy with a unique take on the omegaverse genre. It has a deep and interesting plot, worldbuilding that immerses you in the Empire of Orr, a great cast of characters with varying personalities and motivations, and overall, a romance that encompasses hope, faith, and a whirlwind love between two different yet similar people.

Yuder is a great protagonist who doesn't follow conventional tropes of a character he appears to be (the stoic, no nonsense character who is overpowered) and shows complex depth to his characterization and personal story. Kishiar too is a male lead who is both a mystery intriguing enough to keep an eye on in the first couple of chapters and is as green of a flag as you can get from a ML. Personally saying that seeing him in the capacity of a main character shows immense complexity to him that shows us a man who, even if he's in pain or can't find himself standing up, never once stopped to save and protect the people he loves.

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Rating: 10/10

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[coloredsp3ctrum09]

BL Review, Part 2: How to Train Your Healer

"When a high-strung guild master Alchemist is in need of a partner healer and God answers his prayers by introducing a newbie prodigy."

[edit: picture above is the cover for the novel, not the webtoon; the novel cover's artstyle is not the same as the webtoon]

[Heavy Spoiler Warning]

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Summary: How to Train Your Healer features Sung Chahyun, a college student who plays MMORPGs; he is what you'd call a hardcore gamer. As someone who puts his all into everything, including the game Asta Chronicles, Chahyun expects nothing less from his guild members and to their guild Haste.

But one day, when the game is due a new patch featuring a new raid coming in a few months, Chahyun's partner healer is unable to participate because of his military draft. Enraged (as usual) and pissed (also as usual), he attempts to find a new partner healer with little to no luck – until he sets his eyes on the new guild member Healteaser, who might just be the healer Chayun needs as long as he trains him to fit his ridiculously high standards.

1.) The main characters

SO! The main protagonist is a riot to read; he is by all means dedicated to gaming and stops at nothing to remain at the top. He's quick to anger when people piss him off, but also indifferent to anything he doesn't find worth his time. Chahyun is a one-track minded person and prioritizes anything he deems important to be the focus of his attention. It's actually surprising to know that he's diligent in his schoolwork despite its setbacks to him playing Asta Chronicles.

But where his nasty attitude turns a lot of people off, once someone gets to know him, he isn't at all that bad to hang out with. He lets people enjoy their fun and doesn't think to ruin it, genuinely enjoys having fun playing with his guild members and even hangs out with them irl when they can, and even started Haste because of his original friend group that grew in size as Haste started getting traction as the top guild. Plus, the guild members acknowledges Chahyun to be a skilled player that they can't fault him for his skills and him pushing them to get better. The banter he shares with his guild is also endearing to read.

He's also a very introspective person, as expected of someone who strives for perfection. When he starts to realize his feelings for Healteaser, he tackles it head on just how he usually does. Reading him ask himself questions that probe into his feelings toward our male lead is such a blast to see, and him just FUMING at the raid rules saying 'no dating allowed'? As the guild master, fine, but as someone who genuinely does want to date Healteaser despite him saying otherwise? I cackled at him nearly crashing out, he literally crashes out the most and it's so funny to read.

(the only thing I can't forgive Chahyun for is him being a lore skipper /j)

But since this is a bl, this obviously has our other lead character! Also known as Healteaser.

Healteaser, or rather Choi Soobin, is a pretty mysterious character so far. It's undeniable that he's a kind and sort of innocent player in Asta Chronicles compared to the rest of Haste, but he's already endeared himself to them. You'd think that he might have a sinister agenda; turns out he just wanted to endear himself specifically to JJA (Chahyun's ID). Considering that he is no newbie despite his level, gear, and stats, it makes sense that he's played MMORPGs before but damn did it shock me that he played Asta Chronicles specifically in the past and more importantly has met JJA multiple times before. (More on this later!)

I'm actually surprised that the other main lead isn't the type you'd call dashingly handsome like most bls, so it was such a breath of fresh air to see a doe-eyed, innocent-like male lead alongside the prickly Chahyun. Speaking of, it's undeniable that he likes Chahyun to a great extent (which makes sense if you've caught up in the manhwa and novel) that he cares greatly about his opinion and likes being in his company. Despite early readers thinking he's up to no good, it's clear as you continue to read that he doesn't have any ulterior motives at all and simply wants to be with Chahyun.

He, like Chahyun is very perceptive, but on top of that is able to clock in someone's personality since he's able to deduce the type of person Chahyun is. It's almost scarily accurate despite him never meeting Chahyun irl until later on. This makes Soobin a great judge of character and observant, very fitting for someone like him who's the right amount of polite and still being able to get what he wants.

2.) Story

If you're here purely for the romance, your luck just got shitty cuz this manhwa teeters toward the MMORPG aspects than the romance. It makes sense in a timeline sense since they'd want you to get to know the other guild members first (honestly good choice cuz gods I love them to bits), but for the romance it's a slow burn. YEP you heard that right; this manhwa is a slow burn romance in favor of elevating the main characters individual personalities and story roles. For me, I'm all for it cuz it feels like these two have a life outside of each other. For others, it might not be your cup of tea.

Once the romance does happen, it's SO CUTE. The moments between the two of them aren't what you'd say seamless but it's clear that they do enjoy each other's presence and company as they continue to hang out and get to know each other better. Seeing as Chahyun's usual walls are down because of him wanting to train Healteaser/Soobin to be the best partner healer, he's more inclined to be more friendly or agree to do things he doesn't usually do like tackling old raids or hanging out with Soobin irl more. And it becomes less about endearing Soobin to him and more of them genuinely hanging out for the sake of the other and themselves.

BUT! THE PLOT, OMG THE PLOT! I must say, how the story handles certain plot points is impressive, at least for me, cuz it doesn't treat the reader's reading comprehension as subpar and is actively making sure you know what's up. One key example is Soobin's 'true identity'. Early in the story we're introduced to the Boss guild, the rival guild to Haste and is infamous for issues within the game like monopolizing hunting grounds and spreading false information, making them a guild to avoid and generally disliked. As a result of one player's efforts in exposing them for those deeds, the majority of the guild members were suspended from the game for two months, but in the process the player who exposed them got themselves banned.

If you've read the source material, this player is Soobin, once known as the assassin named 'Hope' who's one of, if not the rank #1 assassin in Asta Chronicles. And Chahyun is very much familiar with Hope to the point that he could even sus out an impostor from the real deal. Hope's ban is one of the reaons Chahyun went through that phase of 'Human Thresher'. Anyone who speaks ill of Hope meets his wrath. This was how Chahyun and Soobin originally met in the game. Before Hope's ban, him and JJA/Chahyun would often fight with or against each other during PvP matches or raids. Skilled players as they are, they both acknowledge each other's skills and constantly try to one up the other, something that brings them both great delight considering they made up a routine thing of whispering 'hehe' to each other during PvP matches.

This is what cemented to me as to why they are such a good bl couple. The fact that Chahyun would kill players who diss Hope, Soobin loving being around Chahyun both in-game and irl regardless of what they're doing and vice versa, and their dynamic within the game. It's a slow burn and it burns well with the entertaining gameplay and their fellow guild members serving as a great cast of characters.

3.) Personal thoughts

I've been on the hunt for bl MMORPGs for a while now after reading The Guild Member Next Door and when I found this one, I knew I shouldn't be expecting for the romance to take center stage. More likely than not, MMORPG-based storylines like to focus a lot on the game, the players within in, and if possible, the guild the main character is in. I don't mind this at all compared to other readers because I find this aspect so fun to read since I get to see more interactions with other characters besides the main leads.

What I love the most from these types of bl is the gameplay! It's the most fun thing to read for me, it's like watching commentary let's plays on YT but with an actual story, AND IT'S BL SO SIGN ME UP! So far I love comedy in these types of bl because it adds a sense of whimsy to the story and to the characters, especially the main male leads.

Chahyun is an entertaining main protagonist because he's such a hardcore gamer. He's not afraid to tell you exactly what he thinks about you, worked hard to get where is in Asta Chronicles through sheer need to achieve, and became one of the best players in the game. He'd cuss out anyone who gets on his nerves, even his own guildmates that it becomes one of the comedic aspects within the story lmao. That unrestrained and unfiltered attitude of his makes me smile every time he rages or crashes out, bro does not wanna deal with bullshit ppl keep getting themselves in.

Right now I've only read the manhwa and caught up to it (unfortunately I'm still looking for a link to the novel itself) so I'm excited to keep reading this!

4.) Negative thoughts

Don't have any major negative thoughts or criticism tbh, I just love the story so much lol. Again, I'm not here mainly for the bl, I'm also here because of the MMORPG gameplay. If I have to give one, it's that I really want to find a website where I could read the novel 😭😭 PLS WHATEVER GOD OUT THERE PLS LET ME FIND ONE

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[Rating]: 9.5/10

[coloredsp3ctrum09]

[BL Review, Part 1: The Guild Member Next Door]

"A romcom with more emphasis to the comedy part; a love story for the funny and cute."

[Spoiler warning]

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Making a new series of bl reviews. Not the most consistent in terms of uploads since the bls I've read before haven't been reread in a long time and I'm only recently coming back to reading bls so this is not gonna be frequent. ANYWAY this spiel isn't what ppl r here for so I'll just jump straight into it.

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So The Guild Member Next Door, aka Virtual Strangers aka TGMND is a romcom story that follows Lee Yeowoon, a 27-year old office worker who plays MMORPGs as a hobby. When his previous game hit rock bottom, he moved onto a new game, Illusion, where he quickly meets the rude and annoying Ji9star when he attempts to join the guild 'Poseidon'. But as he plays Illusion and continues meeting Ji9star in-game, IRL he begins having frequent encounters with a prickly university student who also happens to be his new neighbor, who ALSO ALSO happens to be Ji9star in Illusion. Small world indeed.

Already an interesting premise lol.

Lee Yeowoon is an interesting main character right off the bat with how assertive he is. He doesn't take shit from someone being an outright jerk and he reserves judgement until he could make a decision or when assessing someone's character. He's very mature and thinks rationally while also quick to flip you off. This puts him in great contrast to Ji9star, or rather, Yoon Jigu, the second lead and our other main character.

Yoon Jigu is a private and emotional person. Despite his character design matching the description mostly attributed to hypermasculine men, Jigu wears his emotions on his sleeve. This reflects his personality when playing games, where he lets his true self go as a hyperactive and sociable guy. He's quite impulsive too, quick on letting his imagination fill in the blanks in missing context and flusters easily.

Individually, they're great characters from the get-go. Together? Oh man, they're a riot and the physical embodiment of second-hand embarassment.

One thing that always stuck out to me about this manhwa is this: it is a romcom, no doubt about it. It's built its comedy on hilarious misunderstandings, missing context clues on both main characters's perspective on things (ex. Jigu thinking Yeowoon is into BDSM when he isn't, all cuz he heard Yeowoon's friend call him 'Master', which he just says in his normal speech), and of course, the main characters themselves. These two are perfect characters for a romcom, emphasis on comedy. They bounce off each other really well and the comedy in-game and in real life is well-balanced.

Speaking of misunderstandings, many of them are built on the fact that Yeowoon and Jigu don't know each other irl from the beginning of the story, so as Yeowoon starts to build his life in Jigu's neighborhood and their encounters began to increase, Jigu thought Yeowoon was stalking him (more on that later) and Yeowoon wanted to get along with his neighbor. Another one is Yeowoon thinking Jigu is into dating sims by mistake (which I found personally hilarious). Needless ty say, the majority of these misunderstandings lead to second-hand embarassment, for both characters and us readers (god the amount of times I went "Omg that did not just happen aaaaaaaaaaa"). But I liked it a lot. I don't get a lot of these types of bls nowadays and the awkwardness from the scenes makes me pause just to get a laugh out there.

Serious conflicts are short-lived but are nonetheless important to the story and Yeowoon and Jigu specifically. One such conflict was of Jigu's issue with his neighbor (not knowing it's Neuta, Yeowoon's identity within Illusion), thinking he's a stalker. This stems from two incidents:

Jigu's past experience with an actual stalker, where his report card would get leaked, someone harassing him on social media, and even vandalizing his family home, forcing him to move out. The second incident, as the first one was occuring, is that his guild in Illusion 'Poseidon' was dealing with users accusing them of hacking. It had gotten bad to the point that players would deliberately join their guild and harass them on the hacking allegations, leading to the guild master putting down restrictions for new players who want to join the guild. This, incidentally, was the reason Jigu, as Ji9star, was being an asshole to Yeowoon for joining their guild without meeting the requirements; basically thinking he's one of the players who were harassing him and his guild.

How Yeowoon responds to that made me appreciate him as a character and his relationship with Ji9star (at this point in time not knowing he's Jigu), where he truly lets his empathy shine in seeking to connect and empathize with Ji9star despite their early animosity. And Jigu predictably got flustered over this lmao, it never gets old. But he also starts to appreciate Neuta more too, where he has fun playing with him and voice calling him whenever they play Illusion.

I will admit, I did expect Jigu to find out the connection between Neuta and Yeowoon first; from the two of them, Jigu is surprisingly clever considering he's the first to figure shit out whereas Yeowoon admits later on that he never could have thought that Jigu and Ji9star were the same person. But once Jigu found out? His imagination did the work for the author really into making this story longer and more entertaining lololol.

Okay but I wanna talk more about the romance this time.

Yeowoon and Jigu started off on the wrong foot, both in-game and in real life (can't get any more cooked than that lol). But they do end up getting along as time goes on, finding each others company fun and comforting, with witty banter between them as they play in Illusion and sweet and funny moments when they hang out irl. Again, they just bounce off each other so well that they're basically a comedy duo who happen to be a couple.

Before they got together officially, we get more insight into Yeowoon's thoughts. By this point, Jigu had already internalized his feelings for Yeowoon (and hilariously thought Yeowoon is into him. I mean he isn't wrong but Yeowoon hasn't figured that out yet lol) and is waiting for the other to confess to him. But Yeowoon wasn't planning on doing so, and was already thinking of a way to turn Jigu down. But as their mutual but also unknowing plans of trying to get the other to confess goes on, Yeowoon slowly does start to realize how much of an impact Jigu's had in his life (took u long enough bro lol).

This is what I think makes this such a good bl for me; it's that internalization for both characters. A trait they both share is being in-tune with their emotions and feelings, not being afraid to feel them but just having difficulty in expressing them (Jigu) or not understanding them until later on (Yeowoon). But they don't let that stop them from making a move, in doing something with their feelings. It makes them more proactive in the decisions of their budding romance that it really is two people falling in love.

Everything was spot-on for me as a romcom ngl. And honestly? The MMORPG core theme is absolutely important considering that these two are gamers lol and they couldn't have formed a better connection with each other without knowing each other's different personas compared to real life. Jigu really started becoming invested in forming a friendship with Neuta and Yeowoon was fond of Ji9star whether he knew it or not.

[Rating]: 10/10. Comedy was spot-on, romance was adorable and fittingly embarassing to read, and story was really good with likable characters and Jigu. I swear Jigu is my favorite character not bc he's hot but because he's such a loser with a hot face, you love to see it.