Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #tragedy(8)

Heartbreaking...

Trigger Warning: All the dark themes including rape, murder, animal cruelty A brilliant piece of work that transcends the average BL, mostly because the relationship between Lee Gi-Rin and Kang Mu will never be loving and sweet but it is incredibly intense and in its own way, devoted. A psychological dark romance style with much care and consideration into what would make a decent, regular guy stay with and care for a calculating and dangerous psychopath. I also loved that Lee Gi-Rin was able to dominate and hold his own at times. He was no weak pushover blind to his situation. That gave a pleasing power balance to the relationship that made you really want them to stay together. I really recommend this to those who like their hero a little dark and twisted.

Contrary to many recent commenters, I enjoyed this story very much and did not see the FL as being weak or the MC as not having genuine feelings. Ellzay Thyase starts out as the reincarnated form of a young Korean girl who was drawn to the tragic destiny of the boy who yearned for love but surrendered to darkness, Azef Randall, from the novel ‘The Crest of God’. ‘Zay’ and ‘Asef’ are more closely tied together than you would think at first. For Zay, there is a desperation to spare the much abused Asef the loneliness and abuse of his existence that always corrupts his very soul and makes him the doomed villain. She seems so delicate because she has a gentle heart and cries for the villains fate. But given the severity and amount of abuse and neglect suffered by Asef over his life, and the joy that many seemed to take in being cruel to him, I think a strong (in the way of leaping in and taking charge) FL could not appeal. Consider how much of the violence done unto him was perpetrated by a woman who was meant to care for him. He needed a seemingly vulnerable and delicate woman who saw the good in him to stir any remnants of protective feelings he may have had. Someone who loved him for all he could and should have been, who saw through his lies and understood him anyway. The more you read the story and understand how deep their ties to each other are, the more you realise how strong the FL is. Always willing to sacrifice herself to ensure his happiness. The sad part though, is that you realise without Zay being in his life, Asef was unable to find happiness. He stays bound by the demons of his childhood. I won’t add any more spoilers to show why these two are so special together, or why you can trust Asef to treasure Zay before himself, but if you see him through her eyes as the story unfolds and understand that she will always do anything to try save him from loneliness, you will begin to understand the strength of her sacrifice and the depth of their love for each other.

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.

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

A gritty and painful story. A life in the Yakuza is stained in blood and this story was drenched in rape, loss and death. It was very well done, but it sucked.

An extremely dark and disturbing story but it sweeps you in with the overwhelming obsession that is between these 2 twisted men. Which one is more insane? Crime boss’s son and rising gangster in his own right, Kanghyun Seo first noticed the beautiful son of a famous chef, Lee Dojun when he was in his sophomore year. When they got separated Kanghyun kept looking for his senpai even in his random sexual encounters. And when he found Dojun brutally murdering a man in the back alley streets, he couldn’t have been more delighted. The story then follows their budding relationship and you can’t help but find yourself wishing these highly emotionally disturbed men sone happiness together. Spoiler alert: It’s not too hard to realise pretty early that the author will not be giving our crazy pair the happiness you wish for. It’s much easier to go the tragic route and sure enough the things you anticipate from the characters you suspect unfolds. It’s promises kept and a warm reunion in a better place that bring out the heart hurting bittersweet tears for our dark heroes of the story. I would have given 5 stars if the author made things work for them, I have read stories where MCs like this make their own place in the world. But really, it was still a great story of perfectly imperfect men.