Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #Angst(9)

Two guys trapped by expectations. I loved the story, it had the right amount of angst that let you know they were hurting and the warmth that they bought each other was beautiful. I loved the little ending extra, seeing them look so happy together. Stories like this make my day.

Trigger Warning: Incest, abuse A really good group of stories. The main one with Futaba and his older brother Kazuyuki was a little difficult to like at first. Futaba was such a vulnerable and lost child thanks to being neglected by his father. That made it hard to accept the actions of Kazuyuki because Futaba was already such a victim. However, the dad screwed that son over too, and there was a part of me that understood Kazuyuki was also a damaged child. Poor broken boys finally find happiness together.

Multiple stories with imperfect characters. From cheaters to crazily possessive lovers, these guys somehow make things work with their special someone.

A very well told story that takes you into the lives of 3 broken guys. The depiction of drug use was dark and isolating and there was an overlaying sadness to the story that was inescapable. Read this if you want something special and different.

A bunch of dark and even depressing stories. Twisted relationships and imperfect endings, these were interesting but not something I would read again

Two couples who are friends have their own stories in this volume. The couples are very different with only obsession and intensity their similarities. The first has childhood friends now in a committed relationship but there is no peace between these two. The seme is negative in his outlook. He doesn’t like people, tends to flare up when teased by his lover. And he is totally, irrevocably obsessed and in love with the man who took his hand when they were boys. It’s not an easy story to read, and not because the seme seems so abrasive. I was bothered more that the uke kept him in the palm of his hand and wouldn’t even say that he loved him. The second story I liked more. Again, these 2 knew each other when young and had a master/ slave step brother like relationship. The seme seems like a total jerk but he is actually quite complex and very much in need of his slave on a deep, emotional level. These two had more honestly in their relationship and I really loved the obsessively intense passion between them both.

Trigger warning: Rape Ouji no Hakoniwa: This was quite a dark story and the mangaka really did well sharing the pain felt by the broken Yuzuru. No longer the young master, Yuzuru was used to doing what it takes to get by. He was so tough yet fragile, I really felt for him and absolutely hated Iwase when he raped him too. All that TLC, ruined. Definitely a psychological aspect to the story with a Stockholm style relationship though the extra chapter lightened it a bit. Dannetsu Senjou no Kodou: Two roommates sharing a dorm with a line down the middle. This was a story where the seme bought girls to his room and made out right in front of the one he liked. He was deliberately cruel, though the uke would just put his headphones on and ignore him. I would have preferred the uke move to a different room and get away from that toxic relationship, but he was one of those “But I want to be near him” guys which just makes me roll my eyes when I see nothing likeable about a character. A weak uke, weak in character. Not my favourite type to read about. If he stood up for himself just a little and wasn’t such a doormat I would like it, but as it stands, it irritated me.

Read first Self Portrait Trigger Warning: Rape Track team member Kashiwagi Ayumu has unrequited feelings for his friend, Shinohara Takahito. Knowing that they won’t be reciprocated he tries to focus on track and school. When cold and taciturn 3rd year Sawatari Atsushi realizes Ayumu’s feelings he cruelly blackmails his kouhai into sexual factors for silence, saying that it alleviated his boredom. When he took things too far, the frightened Ayumu avoided his senpai and both quit their sports. Now both guys are unhappy and when Ayumu learns something that puts a new spin on some of what’s happened, he has some decisions to make. This story won’t be for everyone with all the forced sex to falling in love trope, but the mangaka did have the senpai dealing with some negative consequences and remorse which did help the story feel better as a romance. More suffering would make me happier, but there are only so many chapters for the author lol. Follow with April 4th (Side Story)

Trigger Warning: Rape This wasn’t the easiest story to read with multiple rapings over time of the MC along with a concerted effort to humiliate him and break his spirit. On the positive side, Masamune Tatsumi was beautifully protective and gentle with Matsunaga Kai, who was the proprietor of a little flower shop. Tatsumi and Kai got off on the wrong foot but soon Kai yearned to be able to lean on the older actor. The only mention I will make of Yagami Shirou is that I am not interested in a redemption arc for him. A good looking guy doesn’t stay that way when their actions are so vile.