Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #Plot twist(2)

This was a well written story, executed very cleverly by the mangaka. Watanabe and Hazuki’s story did not go in a direction I anticipated, given that I didn’t read the reader reviews. Warning: my review will have spoilers. Hazuki: At the start he was difficult to like as he was a bit of an Ebenezer Scrooge; not in denying Christmas but his surly attitude towards lovers and happy people. But his character slowly gets defined as we see snippets of him being helpful and hard working and honest. And lonely. His ‘bah humbag’ ways become relatable as he becomes close to Watanabe and the reader finds out he has always been gay but believed he would never find happiness or a loving partner. Watanabe is the opposite of Hazuki. Tall, good looking, seemingly popular, he started working at the same time as Hazuki and has now been transferred to the same department. This beautiful man slowly romances Hazuki and they enter into a committed relationship that lasts over a year. He is the seme who has an apparent glasses fetish, preferring his partner wear them even in bed. In their year as a couple, the MCs seem increasingly close . Until we see a hint of Watanabe’s secret. At that time I flipped back pages wondering if I missed something. Surely Watanabe wasn’t having sex with other men?! Wth did I skip? Alas, it isn’t too long until Hazuki overhears a conversation that makes him realise he has been horribly manipulated and used by Watanabe as a substitute for a lost (glasses wearing) love. Hearing the extent of the lies, realising Watanabe was sleeping with others absolutely crushed Hazuki. There was a confrontation where Hazuki let Watanabe know (in no uncertain terms) that he was absolute scum for treating him (who did nothing wrong) so cruelly. My respect for Hazuki was 100/10, I loved how he handled himself through the breakup as his heart shattered. My loathing for Watanabe was also 100/10. I loved that the mangaka wrote Hazuki so strong, even to the point he wasn’t spiteful at work but professional (and a little broken..so sad). I loved that over a year passed as Watanabe hit rock bottom and realised what he lost and had to face his loathesome self for some hard truths. To be honest, I would have been fine leaving the story with Watanabe trying to get Hazuki back and confessing while Hazuki said thanks...and then went soaring off with a new seme who treated him with value, love and respect. It took time, but these two do end up together. I can sort of be ok with that because of how long it took for that to happen, but personally I would have kept the relationship professional. So, final thoughts, this was well written, it tugged at my emotions but I would prefer no getting back together. Hazuki was a good guy, Watanabe was (and remains IMO) a douchebag ヾ(`ヘ´)ﾉﾞ

Content Warning: Incest themes (brother x brother) The only story that I really liked in this was Admonition From An Elder Brother (chapters 1 & 6). In this story, Tsuzuki (22yo) was a womanising delinquent thug who provided protection for his friends prostitutes. He hadn’t seen his older brother Hajime (now 34yo) in over 10 years when they suddenly crossed paths. Hajime wants to put Tsuzuki back on the straight and narrow path, but the younger sibling is resistant at first. Events arise that force some cooperation from Tsuzuki and the brothers relationship gets surprisingly close. I enjoyed the loyalty and devotion that was reestablished between siblings, and that it was between guys who were tough in every aspect of their lives, except for the hint of vulnerability with family.