Gay for the Gay God's manga / #Trauma(143)

Oh man, Haru is so precious. I love him.

I'm not sure how this will go, but I really want to know. Edit: THEY DIDN'T PREP HIM BEFORE SEX? I'M - Y'ALL!!!!

Man, the story was interesting.

Oh, hey, accurate psych info! And grounding techniques! That's actually how one deals with a panic attack! Good job!

Oh man I can't wait to see where this goes. Edit: I found out where it goes, and I am not here for tragedy so kthxbye.

This is one of those manga that has that weird snowfall feeling, like everything is quiet and it's just you and your feelings. As a survivor of abuse, I applaud how that relationship is not romanticized. It's fucked up, but both members in an abusive relationship are people, and we tend to forget that because it's more comforting if we separate ourselves from abusers.

That scene where Aoi keeps checking to see if Shouta is alive when they're sleeping so Shouta wakes up earlier than him always makes me cry. This story is beautiful and sad and somehow pure. It's just perfect, and oddly realistic.

Shiro apparently gets a new name (Sora) in the extra, which I like: he leaves behind his past life completely, name included. Tora is a good man. And Sora? I empathize with him. A lot of times, it's hard to figure out how to trust someone, especially after abuse. One of my favorite things is seeing people like Sora struggle with putting themselves back together, because I understand it. And I love partners like Tora, who challenge their partners' perception of themselves. I wonder if it's because I've survived so much abuse that I read manga like these, where a person who is so much like me gets "saved". I think I wanna get saved, too.

Okay, the second story hits my checklist in name so I was like "lit" but then I read it and... No, for a few reasons. One: you can't regulate breathing by kissing someone. That's not how the world works. One-point-Five: If Takashi was panicking after being raped, being kissed would not have helped. Two: Luke says that he won't touch Takashi without his consent BECAUSE Takashi had been raped... But he shouldn't have touched Takashi without consent no matter what! Three: Yes, phobias are treated with exposure therapy, but not in that way! It's a slow buildup, yeah? Four: I'm still not over how Luke implied that it was okay to sexually assault someone as long as they hadn't been raped before.

Okay, good on the mangaka for not having Hashimoto's trauma suddenly disappearing with sex (okay, it did that partially, but still, they recognized that it was still an issue). Those noses, though.