Daybreak Review

By Nic Daniels

Hello, audacious readers!

The weather is finally cooling down (a little bit) and it is time to wrap up Hot Love Summer. Last month, we watched six conversations grow into a once-in-a-lifetime connection in Alone With You In the Ether by Olivie Blake. This month, we're savoring the simplicity of romance in the slice-of-life web comic Daybreak by Moosopp.

Marcus (he/him) and Cog (he/they) are two high school students who have always known of each other but never were quite friends. However, that quickly changes when a compliment from Cog makes Marcus quickly develops on him. From there, the two begin to hang out, their budding romantic feelings increasing each time they see each other. For Marcus, it’s an increasingly endearing relationship while Cog has never experienced these kinds of feelings before. And though he wants to take the next step with Marcus, he doesn’t want to lose their new but fulfilling friendship either.

In this LGBTQ+, will-they-won’t-they romance, we go back to the basics of having a crush and what it’s like to first connect with someone as more than a friend. These two will bring back memories of butterflies and fireworks as you slowly watch them fall in love in their own way.

So, when I first came across this comic, I needed an easy-going romance. Listen, I read great love stories all the time, but many—especially ones with adule main characters—include a lot of hard-hitting scenarios and sometimes, I don’t understand why the relationships are always so complicated. What are the couples fighting for when so much of their relationship revolves are pain and struggle?

In a lot of ways, Daybreak was not only a queer-friendly escape, it was the answer.

When the story starts, Cog appears to be a stoic, effortlessly cool guy but we find out that he’s artistic and a little weird (in a good way). Marcus at first seems like an eternal optimist but is actually hard working and quite chill behind the scenes. And we find out these parts of their personalities because they show those sides to each other. Marcus bringing out a liveness from Cog that people rarely see and accepts Cog’s quirks. Cog constantly affirms to Marcus and let’s Marcus take the lead with their relationship, something he doesn’t seem experience often.

From the way these two light up when spend time together to the jealousy they feel over someone knowing the other longer, they show the best part of young love: Everything matters.

When reading, I was excited by every development itheir relationship had, from when they started texting to when they finally confessed their feelings for each other. Everything felt like an occasion that needed to be celebrated. Every conversation, every time they decided to let the other into their world, was something to savor.

I feel like adults often lose and replace it with a checlist of expectations, which takes a lot of the fun of learning about someone new. Instead of every moment being cherished, we’re worried about the next step and what it could mean for our future. It’s “Yes, we held hands and had a good date but are we together now? Yes, we’re together but when are we getting married, or do they even want marriage? Yes, we’re engaged but how long until we have kids?” And so and so on, until it becomes less something to appreciate and more of a means to an end of our vision of the future. But instead of rushing this, Daybreak forces the reader to slow down.

Marcus and Cog’s story reminds us that the best part of love is its simplicicty. Its the conversations you have with the person you love. Its how your friends tease you because the thought of that person made you blush. Its watching the sunrise together or the ketchain they got you just because they wanted to match with you. And while there will be obstacles, love doesn’t have to be complicated to be right.

I hope you enjoyed Daybreak. I'll be sharing all my thoughts on the upcoming IG live with founder, Jessica Wise. Feel free to comment your thoughts below and stay tuned for September’s book of the month. Until next time, don’t forget to read audaciously!