muse ✨'s manga / #tw underage(3)

A multi-generational story of a family cursed to use a power that causes them physical harm, and the paper dolls - kami - who take on their pain. In good yaoi fashion, that means having a lot of sex. Also the puppets are made from human remains (for future generations, the remains of their own family.) Isn't yaoi fun. Among the stories, there were three I liked best: Genma and Himi (beware dub and noncon in their early days), Waki and Magane (because of the emotional challenge of being in love with someone who is bound to someone else), and Shoui and Asari. Theirs was, hands down, the best of the stories. The twins are awful. I skipped them on re-read. ETA: Considering I can't get this out of my head, adding it to the top 100 list. 4/25/20 - Still think about this a lot. Added a star. Skipped the twins again. They serve zero purpose and ruin so many poignant moments.

A shy young man accidentally goes to a boys-only sex club and falls for Sakura, who is struggling to accept his own past. Content warning & spoilers: Sakura's father had sold him to a teacher as a toy when he was underage. Sakura had believed that the teacher loved him and comforted him after his father's abuse, but in fact was sending money home with him as "school reports" daily.

I love Misaki. I've dealt with many of the issues he goes through in this story. There is so much dub-con in this series it makes me squirm, but I love him and I want to know how things work out for him. Also, Akihiko really is growing as a person as the series goes on. I'm glad Misaki calls him out on his behavior, and that he legitimately listens. He's controlling and has jealousy issues, but he does work on them, which I am glad to see. I love their story, even though it had a horrible beginning. June 2022 update: Ijuin-sensei and Yuu getting together made me CRY. So happy for them