Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #Bittersweet(13)

A well written story with characters that stir your empathy, especially the 2 fathers. Their long lasting love is beautifully sad because they live a life where their own heart is denied in favour of duty and familial expectations. Their sons story was great but felt like it fell short of being complete. There was no mutual love, only a one sided one that was left feeling it was doomed to fail.

This was a story of two neighbours who slowly fall for each other. “Old Man” (Aoi-San) owns a house with an overgrown garden and a menagerie of pets. He gets melancholy in the rain. “Techno” is the much younger neighbour who has moved to attend University. A child of high rise apartments, he has never seen vegetables grow or tended the soil. The pair of MCs are an unlikely duo, especially when we realise that Old Man is grieving for his lover who passed on. But Techno has a knack of saying the right things and supporting Old Man in ways that make you know he will be a wonderful lifelong partner. I loved how upfront he was, and his mix of pure innocence and pervert was sweet. This is a slow burn story with some heartache moments.

This story broke my heart in so many places, but the live between Souichirou and Kaname was absolutely beautiful. First year student Souichirou has the most scarily serious face and has never really made friends as his intensity plus his face tends to scare others. However he is a wonderful artist and a kind, sweet soul who wants to make friends and make his grandma proud. When he meets the hauntingly beautiful 3rd year student Kaname he is compelled to draw the delicate boy and begs him to be a model. And so, these two spend time together and it doesn’t take long for Souichirou to learn why his senpai has such sad eyes at times. Thankfully, these 2 are so good to and for each other and the story is beautiful.

There was an overall sad feeling with this story. The two MCs are a little broken and the history of the uke is heartbreaking. However, they find something special in each other and the ending is sweet. The side characters were interesting too and the artwork excellent.

An Omegaverse pairing of Levi (alpha) and Eren (omega) where ED plays a devastating role. If an omega’s worth if determined by their having a baby, is love enough for this pair? For a oneshot with such a heavy topic, a lot of feeling was packed in these pages.

A beautiful story that highlights the pain of denying love and how wonderful it can be to embrace it even if it comes with challenges.

Very sweet and full of yearning, this story grabbed my emotions and scattered them in a mess that had me in tears yet happy at the same time. Each meeting in heaven between the shepherd and the hero was precious, coming at the cost of life for the hero yet savoured and uniquely theirs. I loved the emotional intensity that came with the simplicity of the story, and the genuine feelings of love between the MCs. Fluffy, feel good, beautiful but with a touch of loneliness.

Trigger Warning: Incest (uncle x nephew) Kurebe Tooru is orphaned as a child and is taken in by his maternal grandfather. Living with his grandfather and uncle (mother’s younger brother) gave Tooru some stability but over time he developed feelings for his uncle that were forbidden. Little did he know that his uncle was tormented by forbidden feelings of his own. This story follows the uncle and nephew over years and through other relationships. I felt a bit sorry for sensei (Tooru’s lover at college) because he loved Tooru. Usually, if someone loves somebody else I would hate them being in another relationship, but when your love is so forbidden you can understand why they do everything other than pursue it. What will it take for this pair to realise their love for each other is reciprocated? This story will take you through the twists and turns of a love that won’t be ignored.

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.

An apathetic 24yo woman travels back to her 14yo self and discovers the reason she becomes so disconnected in the future. Some real tearjerker moments unfold in this story but overall it’s a special tale of rediscovery and embracing your true self.