BL Library - Artists / Painters

Manhwa Review | A Painter Behind the Curtain by MUNAMU

Title: A Painter Behind the Curtain

Author(s): MUNAMU

Artist(s): MUNAMU

Ian is a prolific artist, but no one knows it. His artwork is sold for high prices, prized in exhibitions, and hanging on the walls of some of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom. Yet, Ian lives in squalor, starved and frail. He is a prolific artist, but he doesn’t even know it. Ian has had a talent for art since childhood but was forbidden from pursuing his passion due to his family’s low standing and poverty. Unfortunately, his work is noticed by a noble, the head of the Bardi family, a family of prolific artists. Bardi wants Ian and is willing to pay a premium for the child.

Unable to decline his offer, Ian’s family sells him off to the Bardi family; all the while, Ian is being lured with promises of being able to paint to his heart’s content. Ian sees this as a dream come true until the reality of his situation comes crashing down on top of him. Ian has been enslaved. He’s kept in a closet where he is broken and beaten, trained relentlessly in the techniques of painting until he can do so without any reference. Once he’s completed a painting, the second son of the Bardi family, without any talent for the arts, signs his name to the piece, passing it off as one of his own.

Ian can’t even dream of anything beyond this torturous horror he’s trapped in, the only comfort being that he can still paint. That is until a mysterious and eager merchant named Raymond comes by, requesting a portrait from the Bardi family. Raymond’s coin is all the Bardi family cares about, but once Raymond sees Ian, Ian is all Raymond seems to care about.

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Manhwa Review | Love Bite by LAMYO

Title: Love Bite

Author(s): LAMYO

Artist(s): LAMYO

Lee Shinwoo is a kept man. His boyfriend Sebin is well-off and doting, doing everything he can to make Shinwoo happy, though it doesn’t necessarily align with his preferences. Unfortunately, no matter what Sebin does, he can’t satisfy Shinwoo on one particular front: sex. It’s not for lack of trying. Shinwoo just has a particular kink in that he wants harsh and humiliating BDSM. But no matter how much Sebin tries, he just can’t make himself cruel enough to satisfy Shinwoo. Sebin loves Shinwoo, but Shinwoo just needs more than love.

This particular kink didn’t just come out of nowhere. Shinwoo developed this insatiable need for BDSM from a scarring moment in high school. Shinwoo was in love with his best friend at the time, Taesoo. He longed for Taesoo but couldn’t bring himself to confess. Unable to withhold his growing lust but unwilling to wait to be with Taesoo, Shinwoo starts an illicit relationship with his art teacher. Unfortunately, while having oral sex in the classroom, Taesoo ends up walking in on them. Seeing Shinwoo in this comprising situation, Taesoo is disgusted and ends up calling Shinwoo a whore before breaking all ties with Shinwoo.

While Shinwoo was hurt and missed Taesoo, being demeaned like that by his first love awoke this need to be put down and humiliated in bed. Unfortunately, Shinwoo has yet to find a partner to sate these needs until he runs into Taesoo at a school reunion. Shinwoo already has a committed partner, but with his first love in front of him, who also seems willing to give in to Shinwoo’s preferences, Shinwoo struggles to fight against temptation.

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Manga Review | Honey Maple More More Sugar by tsushiko

Title: Honey Maple More More Sugar (Renta!) | Honey, Maple, and More Sugar (MangaPlanet / futekiya)

Author(s): tsushiko

Artist(s): tsushiko

Bee is a bit of a celebrity in the niche crafting community, thanks to his beautiful stuffed creations that he posts online. The online community isn’t just for sharing crafted creations but also a place for gay men to meet up and often have cybersex. Bee, aka Tsumugi, takes full advantage of his popularity, posting his creations and then enjoying some sensual time with his fans. While he has his pick of the litter, Tsumugi’s preferred partner is also his top fan, Chiitan. Chiitan is always the first to leave comments on any of Bee’s posts, and how he dominates in the DMs is right up Tsumugi’s alley. If Tsumugi is going to meet with anyone IRL, it’s going to be Chiitan.

Chiitan hesitantly agrees, and Tsumugi couldn’t be more excited (and nervous). Bee has attempted to meet a couple of people from the community, only to be disappointed as the people end up being creepy or not what Tsumugi expected. Thanks to Chiitan’s interactions online, Tsumugi has set himself up to be disappointed once again, imagining a cutesy and soft man. Chiitan ends up being anything but. Chiitan, aka Mikio, is a tall, angry-looking man, more befitting the mafia than a crafting community. Thankfully, he is still attractive, and though Tsumugi is terrified of Mikio, they end up eating together and kissing. Mikio even gives Tsumugi a stuffed animal he made himself named Honey. It’s a really nice time overall.

Tsumugi, as much as he loves his interactions with Chiitan, is too nervous to continue with Mikio, but no matter how he tries to find a new cybersex partner, none are like Chiitan. Can Tsumugi see beyond Mikio’s tough exterior?

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Novel Review | Limerence by Jiang Zi Bei

Title: Limerence

Author(s): Jiang Zi Bei

Pei Ran and Luo Qingshan have been together since high school, three years and counting. Luo Qingshan is extroverted and overly affectionate, while Pei Ran is the opposite, more shy and reserved, and has mysophobia, making him averse to most of Luo Qingshan’s affections. This often leads to them disagreeing or Luo Qingshan pleading and begging Pei Ran to relent, but they are otherwise comfortable. However, Pei Ran will give in as much as possible when Luo Qingshan’s birthday comes around.

As much as he hates it, he goes out to a karaoke place with Luo Qingshan, along with a group of his friends. Everyone is drinking and smoking, two things Pei Ran has trouble being around. Another person who happens to be there is Su Nian, Luo Qingshan’s close friend, who is more forward and affectionate with Luo Qingshan than Pei Ran would like. After a lot of drinking, Luo Qingshan heads to the bathroom. After a while, Pei Ran checks on him, only to find him and Su Nian kissing outside the bathroom.

Stunned, Pei Ran isn’t sure what to do until Luo Qingshan’s roommate Yan Zhun comes by and gets Pei Ran out of there. Comforted by Yan Zhun, Pei Ran spares no time to gather all of Luo Qingshan’s things and break up with him the next time they meet. Luo Qingshan isn’t ready to give up just yet, going out of his way to get close to Pei Ran and beg for his forgiveness. Pei Ran holds firm, thanks in part to the friendship he’s found in Yan Zhun, but it isn’t long before Yan Zhun makes it clear: he likes Pei Ran more than a friend.

Fresh out of a painful breakup, with an ex still hot on his heels and a love rival in Su Nian who bad-mouthes him any chance he gets, can Pei Ran find it in himself to fall for someone else? Or has the well of love been poisoned for good?

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Manga Review | A Home Far Away by Teki Yatsuda

Title: A Home Far Away

Author(s): Teki Yatsuda

Artist(s): Teki Yatsuda

Alan never feels more uncomfortable than he does when he is at home. His parents are intensely religious to the point that they are stunted into praying their lives away at home, blaming even the most slight inconvenience on sin and the devil. This would be bad enough, but Alan suffers from a chronic disease that his parents blame on some sin he has committed and believes that prayer and repentance will heal him. Alan’s life is suffocating, but he has nowhere else to go.

One evening, having stayed out past curfew, Alan refuses to go home, though he knows he will be punished when he gets home. Instead, he hangs out on the front steps of a restaurant. While sitting there, he’s approached by one of the workers, Hayden, who offers to let him out of the cold after his nose starts bleeding, which is a common symptom of his disease. The two share a deep conversation that continues daily, where Hayden reveals that he’s a drifter and will be moving on soon. Alan is heartbroken, but what can he do?

The day Hayden is set to leave, after a desperate and emotional confession from Alan, Hayden offers him a chance to escape with him. Of course, there’s a chance, even if they run, that Alan will never find happiness, but at least it would be his choice. So the two escape together, trying to find any small moments of joy they can cultivate for themselves while their dark pasts loom over them.

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Manhwa Review | Unintentional Love Story by PIBI

Title: Unintentional Love Story

Author(s): PIBI

Artist(s): PIBI

Wonyoung’s successful career is put on hold after his superior gets caught in a scandal. The company, Taepyung Group, is unsure if Wonyoung played a role in the scandal, so to hedge their bets, they fire him. Needless to say, Wonyoung is heartbroken. His parents were beyond proud of him for getting a job at such a prolific company, so he can’t bring himself to tell them about his situation. Rather than finding a new job, he desperately wants to get back into Taepyung Group. To gather his thoughts and wait out the ensuing investigation, with little hope that he’ll be brought back, Wonyoung leaves Seoul for the countryside, where he tries to relax.

While checking out the area, Wonyoung happens upon a pottery studio and store where a potter sells all manner of bowls, cups, and the like. It just so happens that the man who owns this store is none other than Yoon Taejun, the chairman of Taepyung’s favorite potter who has been missing for a long time. However, he isn’t going by Taejun anymore. Instead, the name he answers to is Joohun. Is this the same guy? There’s no question in Wonyoung’s mind that it is, but why is he hiding out in the countryside?

Seeing this as an opportunity to win back favor with the chairman and get his job back, Wonyoung relays Taejun’s location to his former coworker, who talks Wonyoung into getting close to Taejun in hopes of winning an exclusive contract with Taepyung. While Wonyoung feels this is unethical, his desperation pushes him forward.

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Manhwa Review | Behind the Desks by Day7

Title: Behind the Desks

Author(s): Day7

Artist(s): Evy

Lee Taesung just got a job at his former high school. Naturally, he’s a bit nervous about returning to a place after so long, but he’s also nostalgic as he walks through its familiar gates. One key memory that still brings him joy is when he was in the infirmary, slacking off and napping. He woke up briefly to find a stranger sitting by his bedside. The stranger covered Taesung’s eyes, keeping his identity somewhat vague and prompting Taesung to fall back asleep. From then on, Taesung was in love with this stranger, and even today longs to reunite with him.

To his surprise, while trying to find the main office for his first day, he runs into someone who looks very similar to his first love. He’s not totally sure it’s him, but he can’t help but feel drawn to this fellow teacher because of their similarities. The teacher’s name is Seo Sunny, also part of the science faculty (Taesung is the physics instructor, and Sunny is the chemistry instructor). Whether or not Sunny is the man Taesung has longed for all this time doesn’t matter in the end. Taesung wants Sunny and will do what he can to get close to him.

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Manhwa Review | All About Lust by TIRANO KIM

Title: All About Lust

Author(s): TIRANO KIM

Artist(s): TIRANO KIM

Wooseung is an art student who has never dated anyone. He never wanted to date anyone until he saw his upperclassman Sunjin’s art. Without even meeting the artist, Wooseung feels drawn to Sunjin. Wooseung has never felt this way about anyone before, and he’s determined to get closer to Sunjin, no matter what it takes. In his mission to get closer to Sunjin, Wooseung realizes that what he feels may be more than simple admiration but true love.

He doesn’t have much hope that his beloved Sunjin could feel the same about him, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. He randomly confesses to Sunjin on a bench in front of their college. To Wooseung’s surprise, Sunjin admits that he has feelings for Wooseung. However, what Sunjin feels isn’t innocent love. Sunjin wants nothing more than to get down and dirty with Wooseung. Can these two stick it out even though their way of loving each other is so different?

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Manhwa Review | Wolves Behind Bars by Joy

Title: Wolves Behind Bars

Author(s): Joy

Artist(s): SolWoo Lee

Kiyo is an omega and a struggling artist with an intense hatred for alphas due to his father. His father, a crime lord alpha, treated Kiyo and his mother as nothing more than commodities to earn money. Thankfully, Kiyo has escaped most of his father’s influence and has been surviving on commissions from people while he holds up in his small apartment. Unfortunately, after taking a gory commission from an anonymous client where he painted various murder scenes and posted them online under a series known as The Game of Darkness per the client’s instructions, Kiyo is arrested for the murder of various high-profile alphas, which were all depicted in his paintings with details that the police had never released.

Unfortunately, the client was using an untraceable online presence, and the payments all originated from the accounts of dead people, so Kiyo is the only one in the crosshairs for these crimes. He is arrested and taken to prison until his trial and possible sentencing are complete. Due to a clerical error, though, Kiyo is placed in an alpha-only institution. The head of the prison wants to avoid any complaints or scandals, so he quietly brushes the error under the rug while pushing for a transfer as soon as possible. In the meantime, Kiyo is forced to room with an alpha named Iri, placed there by the warden to protect Kiyo until he can be transferred out.

Iri doesn’t seem good or bad, which in a prison teeming with alphas that want nothing more than to break Kiyo is better than nothing. Even so, it is impossible to tell if Iri is truly Kiyo’s ally or his enemy, as there are plenty of people gunning for Kiyo both because he is an omega and because of his father. With no one else to turn to, Kiyo relies on Iri emotionally, but over time, he soon begins to rely on him physically. As Kiyo and Iri start a physical relationship, Kiyo does everything he can to fight against the overwhelming lust and love he begins to feel for Iri because what is more important is survival. Will Kiyo be able to survive prison? Even if he does, will he be able to prove his innocence? And what are Iri’s true intentions for Kiyo?

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Manga Review | Perfect World by Rie Aruga

Title: Perfect World

Author(s): Rie Aruga

Artist(s): Rie Aruga

Tsugumi has been in love with Itsuki since high school. They were never in the same class, but they would often share moments in the library or the hallways, and in these innocent times between friends, Tsugumi’s love for Itsuki blossomed. Itsuki was an active and popular kid, ready to take on the world. He dreamed of becoming an architect, and Tsugumi was prepared to support him. However, just as Tsugumi was working up the courage to confess to Itsuki, he gets a confession from someone else and begins dating her. Heartbroken, Tsugumi fades into the background of Itsuki’s life, and the two naturally grow apart.

Now, Tsugumi is a grown woman working at a job she loves as an interior designer. Deep down, though, she can’t shake the torch that still burns for Itsuki even after all these years. One evening, she is invited to a small reunion with her classmates, and Itsuki happens to be there. They hit it off immediately, which only fans the flames of Tsugumi’s dormant crush. Feeling like this might be destiny, she begins working up the courage to pursue him again, but as everyone begins to leave, Itsuki asks for his chair. He has a spinal cord injury from a car accident and is now wheelchair-bound.

This shocks Tsugumi, and she’s unsure if she can handle dating someone in a wheelchair, but as time goes on and she finds herself actively seeking out Itsuki, the fact that Itsuki is in a wheelchair begins to matter less and less. However, Tsugumi’s acceptance of the new Itsuki isn’t the only problem. Since his accident, Itsuki has sworn off love. Can Tsugumi break down the walls Itsuki has put up around himself? Or are they destined to forever orbit around each other?

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Artists / Painters

Manga Review | Honey Maple More More Sugar by tsushiko

Novel Review | Limerence by Jiang Zi Bei

Manga Review | A Home Far Away by Teki Yatsuda

Manhwa Review | Behind the Desks by Day7

Manhwa Review | All About Lust by TIRANO KIM

Manhwa Review | Wolves Behind Bars by Joy

Manga Review | Perfect World by Rie Aruga

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