Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #rape(96)

Bleh...boys falling in "love" with their abusers and rapists.

A selection of intertwined stories based around 'heavenly' Japanese swords imbued with spirits. There is a rape scene (not done by the love interest).

This was long and mostly enjoyable with a focus on boys boarding school life as well as the relationship between the main characters. I found it let down by the rape like first time between the 2 (though it was explained as an attempt to drive the uke away). Also, it seemed that Jou was the relentless pursuer, and to be honest, he didn't get enough from Azuma to make it worth it. Too much imbalance. Then too, Azuma was in a relationship with a woman while having sex with Jou, and that was not resolved as having ended by the end of the story.

First two were the best.

It can be irritating to have the stories separated by non related one shots and this book was like that. There was a real unfinished feeling to most of the stories and others had good concepts but lacked depth in the stories.

The "kind intentioned rapist" ... ugh

I enjoyed the story of the two otaku, there was no power imbalance or huge age gap to make things disturbing. The last story is another matter, from the public rape to later being ok with the rapist. Life isn't that naively simple for victims of sexual assault, especially when you're young. These kind of stories are ones I hate, even more so when the reconciliation is so darned easy.

Half brothers Yuki and Hayato have an awful childhood background of parental neglect and abandonment. Living on their own, they only have each other to rely on and each puts all that love and desperate need to be loved in the other. That is, until Yuki scares himself with new sexual feelings for his younger brother. Afraid of his siblings reaction and hating himself, Yuki abruptly distaances himself from his brother, leaving the young Hayato confused, hurt and desperate; abandoned once again. This background sets the scene for a twisted psychopathic relationship between the brothers. Yuki becomes hyper sexual, even going so far as to sleep with older men for money. Hayato commences a relentless campaign of ownership over his older brother, ranging from restraining his brother to blackmailing and intimidating every one of his ex lovers to forced sexual submission. Reading this story, despite Hayato showing sociopathic tendencies, I couldn't help but feel sorry for this vulnerable boy desperately trying to cling to the only person he has left. Abandonment has lefft deep scars on the boy and he was a difficult to like seme. This was an uncomfortable read, but I appreciated the complexity of the characters.

The story in the blurb that sounded interesting was ruined by the ukes choices after their confrontation. Nothing says “I love you” like the need for testing.. First story I didn’t like at all. Student x sensei; sensei gets raped by the seme who fantasises he is screwing his own brother. But the uke is obviously a kenage uke because being raped seemed meaningless to him and he fell in love with this guy who is yandere for his brother. The guy tries to end his life when his romances don’t go his way, and is an unapologetic rapist. I suppose it will take a doormat of a guy to want him. Oh wait..seems they are perfect for each other after all... The final story was actually a good one with an overly protective brother. This was a toshi-ue uke and toshi-shita seme story that was sweet and definitely worth a read.