Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #Dangerous seme(2)

So good! So very, very good! Dr Uzuki stumbles upon wounded Yakuza boss Nonami on his way home from hospital. He helps patch the gunshot wound and leaves the intimidating man, not realising that the next day would have Nonomi entrench himself at his hospital in search of the beautiful ‘woman’ who helped him. So begins the hunt. This beautiful story was full of hints of the mystical, symbolism, humour and the darkness of the crime world. The tiger tattoo on Nonomi’s back seemed to have a predators instinct that guided Nonomi. They saw Doc Uzuki as a timid rabbit to chase and eventually love and protect. Doc was a petite and fragile looking man who took some time to stop being afraid and start being intrigued by “Yakuza-san”. They were in every way opposites and their romance was challenging (even for the author apparently) but it worked and I loved every bit of the story, even the more disturbing parts were authentic for the characters.

CW: Violence, dub con, abuse, degradation This was a surprisingly good story. Misaki and Haru’s story spans roughly 8 years and shows a lot of growth in both the characters and (imo) the mangaka’s approach to and understanding of, a relationship with someone who is strongly masochistic. When we first meet the MCs Misaki was just discovering his affinity for pain, how he was able to make it become intense pleasure and the unhealthy ways he fulfilled this need. Haru was not a sadist so much as inherently short fused and reactively violent. Their relationship began with violence because giving and receiving it met different needs in each other but it was a very unhealthy relationship. Over time, it evolved and changed into something that suited them. For Haru, having someone who was in his corner seemed to bring out his “lovey dovey” side and he became aware that he didn’t want to hurt the one he cared for, but the one he cared for needed that. And, tbh, at times Haru did too. I really liked that each looked into what real S&M was about, healthier ways to satisfy those deep needs and seemed to really prioritise their partners needs. I also liked the hints that other random Ms out there seemed to instinctively recognise the S in Haru. He had a strong presence as he matured. They weren’t perfect (not even close lol) but they grew into an unexpectedly stable pair and they went from mutually toxic to a loving pair.