muse ✨'s manga / #tw dubcon(60)

Six years after his best friend disappeared, Sei meets an older man in the hospital who wants to give him his inheritance. And the older man's grandson, who has refused his money, is a very changed version of Sei's friend from six years earlier. There is a dubcon scene (I think it's fair to say it's noncon) between the two main characters, although it works within the context of the story, since the goal was to frighten Sei into leaving him alone. He was trying to be cruel.

1) After his parents' business goes bankrupt, a young man turns to crime after they're forced to leave their family home. Years later and estranged from his parents, he returns to the house under the pretense of visiting his former butler with the real motive of robbery. But the butler has no intention of letting him leave. 2) Shuu actively ignores his roommate Chitose, an insatiable playboy famous for his habit of sleeping with any woman on campus named Aki. Only Shuu understands the cruel reason: it was Chitose's nickname for him, a misreading of his name, but Shuu forbid him from saying it after they slept together and quietly suffers jealousy. This is no "how to" guide for how to land a boyfriend, but it's an entertaining read.

After being turned down by a childhood friend, Rei falls for a senior employee at his parents' store. Be advised there is on-page dubcon (I read it as noncon, to be perfectly honest) twice.

This has a happy ending, but don't...don't have sex with your drunk friends while they're sleeping, even if they wake up partway and say it feels good.

A collection of oneshots: the student president (who has a thing for cats) is regularly saved by his friend, a guy in love with his otaku friend (my favorite of the bunch), a man who had forced his friend to have sex gets a second chance (kinda iffy). Quick paces and little build, but it's nice as something to read over coffee.

At 39, Ei is a successful researcher and still being pursued by 32yo Gin, a boy he met when they were 15 and 8. They are occasional sex partners, but Ei, who is terrified that his reputation of being openly gay could harm Gin in any way, refuses to acknowledge Gin as his lover and repeatedly tries to push him out of his life. Ei has horribly internalized self-loathing and hurts Gin thinking he's doing him a favor. He'll frustrate some readers, but I really related to him and understood his decisions. He knew first-hand what could happen to someone once they bear a particular label, and it was his unceasing love for Gin that kept him from being selfish and agreeing to date Gin long ago. I'm sure he thought Gin would eventually tire of it, find a wife, and settle down. Ei hates himself so much that he can't fathom someone actually loving him, despite how many times Gin has repeated it. And to admit he loves Gin in return would be to spoil the one pure thing he has, so he chooses to keep it locked away so that it's never taken from him. Frustrating, yes, but very human.

A guy overhears another man's headphones on the train and gets turned on by the porn he's watching. Final chapter: a bartender in love with the hot Russian guy who worked with them for a while chains him up the night before he leaves. Not a healthy relationship exactly but a fun twist. TW for apparent dubcon final chapter.

While he recovers from heartbreak (Minori no Te), Tatsuyuki travels to Fukuoka where he falls into one of Rogi's schemes to see Akitora again, and also reencounters someone from his past -- a traumatized boy he'd comforted. When I first read this, I didn't know Rogi's past and had little feelings for him until the final extra. Knowing his history, this is much sadder to read. Scarlet did a wonderful job of weaving in his heartbreak. I believe the kimono with leaves he wears in one scene is actually the one from Jealousy. He may be twisted, but I feel sorry for him. I raised this a star on 3rd reread.

A man has a rare sleeping disorder that causes him to be sexually active during the night without being aware of it, and he repeatedly takes advantage of his business partner and friend, who has been desperately in love with him for years. A little too PWP for me, but I think this is the sort of oneshot most people will love! I made the mistake of reading it after Scarlet Beriko, whose intimate scenes are so loving and passionate, everything else pretty much pales.