muse ✨'s manga / #feels like starlight(159)

An instant favorite. Ayumu has been in love with a sempai at his company for a long time. They're so close and Toujou is so affectionate with him that coworkers joke they're married, but Ayumu has no intention of confessing his feelings and only wishes for Toujou's happiness. I dislike labeling people by the way they have sex, but this author flipped a lot of traits I see in other stories. Toujou, who plays the role of the seme, is bubbly, affectionate, straightforward, cheerful, laughs, and rolls around thinking about buying a dog. When Ayamo apologized for being unable to bear children, Toujou turned around and apologized too - to everyone's shock, including mine. So often, the gay character is the one who harbors regret for leading the straight or bi character down a "wrong path." This author went the other way. Toujou stressed that they're both unable to have kids, they're equals, and they're choosing to be together because the love each other. The end. I'd read a hundred pages about their silly domestic mishaps.

A conversation over coffee (with the power to make you cry).

Mark me down as a fan of Scarlet Beriko! Best friends wander into murky territory when Masayuki discovers that Kei's legs look good in pantyhose. Their mutual friend Katsumi is in a relationship with the school doctor (lookalike to the tailor in my favorite story by this same author). Scarlet has a way of drawing you into the character's emotions. Her work is wonderfully sensual and moving, and the relationships feel genuine and deep. I laughed out loud and scared the dogs when Katsumi sent a picture of sensei post-sex. Scarlet reverses the genre's stereotypes about who plays what role in the bedroom and I love it. If she ever goes team switch, I'll die.

Another commenter mentioned that this has a lot of cliches but was a great read, and I agree - it's absolutely charming and the feelings between the characters seem to jump off of the page. There's wonderful emotional buildup, as well as some heartache, even in the final chapter, which is a one-shot and unrelated to the rest. A young man, Hanamura, is conned into designing for the company where he works by the boss he adores, who takes credit for his work under the veil of kindness - in order to leave Hanamura out of the spotlight. When it's announced his boss is engaged to a woman, Hanamura cries in the break room and is discovered by Takase, a well-known designer from another company, who recognizes Hanamura's talent and sleeps with him. Hanamura, realizing he's been taken advantage of by his current boss, quits his job and comes to work at Takase's company. But he's left wondering if what they had was a one-night stand and if he'll suffer another one-sided love. TEN POINTS for Hanamura's ABSOLUTE LOVE of having sex. It says a lot for this genre that that detail stood out to me, but so often it's "no, don't, stop" - as though an unwilling or hesitant partner is romantic. Hanamura begs for sex, says what he wants, and is not ashamed that he's gay. In fact, none of the characters in this story were dealing with internalized homophobia. What a fun read! The final story is about childhood friends who begin to live together.

A salaryman leading an ordinary life stumbles across an AV set and meets the love of his life.

A man unlucky in love falls for the boss of a flower shop. Something about two students that ends with the suggestion of team switch!!! but I've forgotten the rest. The straight son of a 'mama' who works at his dad's pub is confessed to by coworker and he has to deal with his own prejudice.

The luckiest man in the world is assigned to the God of Disaster, whose job is to haunt him and restore balance. Except the God begins to love him.

When he realizes his strange attraction to his best friend's throat, Kashiwaya worries he might be a vampire. Funny, charming, sweet, and romantic. This is a delight.

A series of light and quick love stories. The most developed is between a calligraphy teacher and one of his students that has gone away to college. No heartache!