Low Class Sub Intrigues Famous Model Dom
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Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Brat Tamer / King. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to classism, chronic illness, self-deprecation, gossiping, prejudice, dubcon, BDSM, mentions of bullying, commentary on body size, and sexual harassment, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
In a world where people manifest with secondary sexes known as dynamics, Shino is at the bottom of the pyramid, but not because of his secondary sex. On the contrary, subs, doms, and switches are seen as equals. It’s the intensity of their pheromones and the power they exude that determines where they fall in the class system. Unfortunately for Shino, despite being a sub, his tests have come back inconclusive, making it impossible for him to be appropriately matched with a dom. Essentially, he experiences all the struggles and needs of a sub, but without any way to get a dom to remedy them.
So, he ends up on heavy medications. That is, until he’s sent off to a photo shoot for work. There, he meets Aoha. Aoha is not only a famous model, but he’s a high-class dom, and unfortunately for Shino, a single glare from Aoha is enough to make him pass out. When he wakes up, he’s thoroughly embarrassed, both as a representative of his company and as a sub. He’s ready to accept any consequences that follow, only for Aoha to make a wild offer instead: how about they become partners?
How can a lowly sub like Shino possibly satisfy a famous dom like Aoha? And why is someone like Aoha so interested in him to begin with?
Review:
When I saw the cover, I was already sold. I love how open their expressions are, and I’m a sucker for cool-toned blues and purples. Of course, the interior is black and white, but knowing that my boys are cool-toned colors gives me joy. And to my surprise, the cover art is actually a fairly decent representation of the style inside. It isn’t consistent or perfect by any means, but I have to admit, I adore it all the same. I’m a sucker for longer hair on men, which Aoha has, and unlike Sweet or Bitter Love, where the fangs are full-on vampire fangs (with no vampires, mind you), Aoha’s fangs are much more in line with my preferences. Plus, Shino is such a little cutie. Visually, this is a big win.
And on the smut front? An even bigger win. With these dom/sub-verse titles, or even titles that are just regular BDSM, penetrative sex is almost always the immediate first step (except my fave Learning to Love at Your Feet, of course). Sure, these two get super intimate, but there is zero penetration until much later in this series. I’m a degenerate, but I love that choice for this story. It’s a boundary that Shino set up, and the fact that Aoha honors it, yet still gives Shino as much pleasure as possible, is so romantic and sexy. It’s also just refreshing in general. Now, that’s not to say this is all green flag, consensual time – Shino also didn’t want to get naked initially, which Aoha promptly pushes past during their first play session, but overall, it’s a very sweet and sexy time, which I adored.
I also think their dynamics are interesting. If you’ve been here for a while, you know I’m a sucker for fated mates tropes. While this isn’t heavy-handed on that front, I almost like it more because of its subtlety. The two are attracted to each other so intensely in an unexplainable way, and gradually over time, more and more of Shino’s sub qualities begin to come out until he is tested and found to be a special sub type EX, one that only appears when they meet their fated partner. Is it corny? Sure, but I can’t help but love it. Plus, this means not only is Aoha a special type of a dom (a triple S), but Shino is special, too. It puts them on equal footing, and I love that.
While, for me, there was a ton to love in this title, one thing I long for from this is more information on the throuple between the twin subs and Aoha’s manager. There is a set of twins who work at a dynamics bar, and the twins turn out to be partners with a single dom. I can’t tell you how badly I wanted to see what this dynamic was like in a side story, extra, or something. Unfortunately, we get none of that and are left with the barest of bones when it comes to seeing them all interact together. I can only hope that their introduction was a way to introduce them to us for a possible spin-off or something else where they are featured, because I would love to see that. It made me crave more in the best way, but I can imagine that some people might feel like it is just a painful tease, so be warned.
Results:
Admittedly, I’m biased when it comes to these biokink titles because it’s such a fun concept (I mean, I wrote my own in it). But I’ve got to be real: I love this. It’s a short, intimate little morsel of BDSM BL that just hit me in all the right spots (that was an impact play joke, I’m sorry). If you’re looking for hardcore BDSM, this is not that (but I do recommend Aporia, if that is what you’re looking for). But for a soft and intensely intimate BDSM title in a world where people are born as subs, doms, etc., this is a winner. It’s a fave, and I recommend it.
Have you read Brat Tamer / King? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
