if you haven’t read Define The Relationship yet, you definitely should (Alpha x Alpha). I relate so much with the MC (Karlyle); especially his thoughts on dating someone new while struggling with low self-esteem and the pressure of external expectations. And the way a fated moment can change everything 🤧 The ML's (Ash) carefree personality also evolves for the better, and it’s so amazing to see the progress!

My favourite moment was probably the knotting; it happened completely out of their control, which really highlights how their bodies and instincts recognize each other as lifelong mates. It wouldn’t have happened otherwise... And even though Karlyle was the one who fell in love first, it’s Ash who did the knotting first, which says so much 🥹💖 !

😢 I gonna miss them ( Ash x Karlyle) Lovely final at 11 Side Story.

My fave couple of this Omegaverse genre ✨

Thanks to the authors (Flona & Haeyun) for writing this story 🥺 also thanks to Chada for Ilustrating this one again.

Both are endearing characters, I'm going to miss, especially the Beautiful Karlyle 🥰😘

The good news is they gonna take part in a collaboration Caffe of Lezhin y bomtoon📰👍

LI is pretty manipulative in common ways, reframing abuse to make it seem like the MC wanted it. While It's seemingly intended to be written as the MC not really knowing what he wants/needing to be pushed into wanting it, it is written in a way where we consistently see the MC being uncomfortable, doubting if the LI loves him, etc.

Last ~15 chapters get dubious (LI does stuff while MC is on phone, making communicating consent an issue etc.) to rape (LI’s rut).

During the rut scene,

the MC is crying, begging for it to stop, saying no, etc. and indicating that he is in pain repeatedly. The LI also knots him while he is screaming in pain and begs him to stop, and is depicted as fainting during sex multiple times.

LI acts like he isn’t in control during his rut, but after his rut demonstrates that he was in control of his thoughts and actions (which is unusual for portrayals of a rut in BL). When the MC asks if he really meant the degradation talk that upset the MC, he says he only meant some of it, then itted that he meant all of it. When asked, he also says that he intended to knot MC and didn't regret it. The fact that he was aware of what he was saying and doing implies that he would have been well aware that the MC was begging him to stop and in pain.

Additionally, the LI gives him a really meaningful gift immediately following them discussing the rut and the things the LI did to the MC. While definitely unintentional, it is reminiscent of the stages of the cycle of abuse, where after the ab does something horrible they will lovebomb to try to make it up to their partner.

Additionally, in the side stories at the end (sides 7-9), there is bad BDSM etiquette: Punishment play where the MC is not comfortable with what he is being 'punished' for. There is a safe word, but the LI picks it, (which is already bad etiquette), and it's a word that MC does not feel comfortable saying, meaning they effectively do not have a safe word. He is being "punished" for hiding a secret from the LI,

that he wants to propose,

and the LI says that if he does not tell him the secret, he will continue the scene. It's already bad etiquette to intentionally push a sub into a scenario where they might feel forced to safe word, but considering the MC does not feel comfortable using the safe word, it's extra bad.

This is pretty fluffy so it was a non-issue, but the ML came off as manipulative to me and I didn't care for him. EDIT: The side stories really cemented my dislike of Ash.

a lovely alpha/alpha story that showed relationship development, with delicious smutty scenes and sweet moments.

Well when you've read so many omegaverse stories which have issues like heat that forces the main characters into a situation to have sex (or rape and stuff unfortunately), it feels pretty refreshing to have a story that centres more on characters that consciously make a choice to engage in it, and see them fall in love.

Love the story, especially since the characters drawn are so pretty. The plot isn't the strongest draw of the story, but it's engaging enough for me to enjoy it overall.

Ash is generally a green flag throughout the series and is rather ive of Karlyle, and they generally do talk in the series to solve their problems, well except for the last few chapters where Ash suddenly feels a bit more manipulative and yandere. But well, still liked the series overall!

Post

Video

I think it’s a good story. It’s pretty well written, has good pacing, and the art is pretty. But for some reason I just really didn’t like Ash. I can’t even explain why?? Something about him just felt so fake to me. Even by the end I still didn’t really like him. So, that kind of ruined it for me.

Since that’s more of a personal issue I can objectively look at this story and say it’s pretty good. Not the best thing I’ve ever read but not bad. I was hoping for more though, seeing how popular it is. I think it’s difficult to translate a novel into a manhwa, since lots of stuff gets skipped over.

None of the side characters got any development, it really only focuses on the main two. That’s not a huge issue, but because of that, some aspects became confusing. There were several times I didn’t understand how they knew certain people or why people behaved a certain way.

Overall, it’s good, I’d recommend it. But nothing really special.

Chapter 53 is my favourite. Gorgeous art. Sexual renditions are well-executed and intimate. Formal and straightforward dialogue that has an elegant touch. Anticlimactic resolution. ionate and heart wrenching character interactions. Rough themes that bring out character development. Yields arousal and yearning. Recommended for those hoping to be swept away by visual stimulates.

Since the main couple was alpha/alpha, the story avoided most of the things about omegaverse that may be unappealing to some people. In fact, the same story probably could have been written without any omegaverse stuff. It was only used to bring the 2 main characters together and then to add marriage drama later on.

Overall I liked it, but Ash was definitely not a great guy before falling in love. I can tell he is sincere about their relationship, but he was very selfish towards partners. I feel bad for them. I don't think he suddenly turned into a better person, he's the same kinda fake guy, just now he's in love.