A genuinely sweet and mature vers BL couple romance, with healthy communication and conflicts over things that can't immediately be solved by someone opening their freaking mouth. The author certifiably has been in an adult relationship that didn't immediately implode, and I can believe they've had sex at least once in their life. We did it guys. It was such a low bar to clear, but a BL finally did it, and this one vaulted over in style. It's breathtaking, no sarcasm, like spotting an actual unicorn in the wild.Neko x Neko has a lot of smut, but that's because the story is about sex, and sexual maturity, with some gender contemplations mixed in. And while that's happening on page, it does such a good job of breaking down so many basically inescapable BL stereotypes of gay men in one volume that I am in awe of it, just a little. It took the 'only gay for you bro' trope, which I despise, and rebuilt its meaning into something beautiful, while simultaneously rejecting the kind of toxic jealousy that's lionized as masculine and sexy in romance lit. Fitting, for a story that's also sorta about buildings, and the tradesmen who put them together. The characters are solid and multifaceted for as little time as we get with them, and it somehow finds time for them to settle multiple minor conflicts in four chapters while doing the above. For the smut, we get lube, sex toys, prep (multiple times), a versatile couple who both have time to have sex with each other multiple times, and so on. Really tightly written, two thumbs up.If I had to fault it on anything, it would be the throwback art style for something written in 2018. It's very reminiscent of late 00s BL in that regard, with the really weird lips that were emblematic of the time. We also get the same familiar lightsaber censorship, which I can't say was missed. Thankfully we have no yaoi hands, but it's a near thing. Both of them are super lanky, and while their hands look big because skinny arms, I'd say they're in proportion. What I do have a mild bone to pick with is the sameface. They... kinda just got the same face. Not great in that regard. What I will praise, art wise, is the delicate balance of making the men super expressive, while also understanding the context in which people socialized as men would make those expressions. They're not 'uwu smol beans so precious must protecc my babies', but they're also not stonefaced, cold 'rational man who takes what he wants' types who never show vulnerability, and the art does back up those character elements really well.I just can't recommend this series enough if you're as tired as I am of seeing the same ancient, tropey bodice ripper stories dressed up as M/M.
