Read it on Renta!: Pain, Sweet Pain by Fuyu Touji
Japanese title:
スウィート・ペイン・セラピー
Sweet Pain Therapy
Links:
pixiv
ChilChil page
It’s not like I have a particular preference for omegaverse. I don’t really go out of my way to find it. It finds me. That’s how I’ve come to review omegaverse works twice on our sweet BLog. So, I guess, why not also tackle one of its many offshoots, the Dom/Sub-verse? I mean, as an afficionado of the darker stories that romance has to offer, clear-cut dom/sub dynamics aren’t just music to my ears, but the additional element of mind-control is the cherry on top of the fucked-up yet oh-so-delicious cake that this trope could be.
So, considering that I recently discovered Fuyu Touji’s “My Bias is a God!?” (coming on English Renta! soon) I decided to explore the Dom/Sub-verse through their previous work, “Pain, Sweet Pain” which has been in my reading list forever. Just as the title implies, this story is both sweet and painful, so join me if you’re down for that.
Dom/Sub-verse 101
First off, what’s this Dom/Sub-verse I keep bringing up? Take everything you know about Omegaverse, switch the names around, remove biological components such as heat or impregnation (do I dare say KNOTTING???), add a form of puppeteering mind-control instead, spice it up with kink space terminology, and you’ve got this new AU that, as far as I was able to find, originated in Japan.
Instead of the “verses” as A/B/O types are erroneously often called in Japan, here we’ve got “dynamics” as secondary sexual traits. The majority of the population is comprised of “normals,” and then, there are Doms and Subs. Doms have a natural craving to control, as well as to pamper and protect, while Subs have a need to obey, to serve, and to be praised. Without satisfying those needs, Doms and Subs deteriorate mentally and physically, which is why it’s integral to their survival for them to pair up with one another, not as romantic partners per se, but as associates bound by an agreement to keep each other alive.
Needless to say, for those knowledgeable in or curious about the subject, don’t expect realistic demonstrations of BDSM play here, as this is fantasy that turns BDSM into a biological, medical element. At the same time, the community helping Dom/Sub flourish into a trope of its own has certainly included a lot of concepts from actual BDSM, such as safe words, subspace, or depictions of meticulous aftercare. Curiously though, you might not see other concepts such as subdrop, topspace, or, do I dare say, the thorough discussions of hard and soft limits during a scene (which would happen, I imagine, over wine, while seated at an elongated table, surroundings illuminated in lurid, warm tones 📜🍷🖋).
Of course, each mangaka definitely puts their own spin on every trope, just like with Omegaverse, so I bet there’s a lot more to see. My next picks to read are definitely Memo Nijyo’s “Subservient Pet” series and Atono Matsuri’s “Learning to Love at Your Feet.” Click on any of the covers below to discover more BL on Renta! that are set in the Dom/Sub verse.
“Pain, Sweet Pain”
Sweet and painful as the title implies, “Pain, Sweet Pain” is a gem that follows sociable and handsome Yuma, who, confident personality be damned, is a Sub who’s desperate to find a Dom partner and wean himself off suppressants. What’s keeping such a charming guy from finding a Dom? The fact that he doesn’t want the control of such a pairing, but pain. Ever since a classmate bit him during graduation, not only did his latent Sub dynamic awaken in him, but also a craving to have pain inflicted on him, just like that time. But no Dom is willing to go that far. So Yuma’s doctor pairs him up with a dynamics researcher named Mao as a last resort… and Yuma realizes it’s the very same person that started this mess.
While Yuma begs Mao to help him by becoming his Dom, Mao doesn’t seem as eager—a walking mess of guilt, Mao doesn’t want to cause Yuma any more pain. He tentatively agrees to the pairing just for the span of three months, just so he can train Yuma to satisfy his Sub urges without the need for pain. As those three months go, however, Mao can’t resist his dominant need to possess the one he loves, and Yuma can’t ignore his own dark insecurities.
The two main leads are about to discover that pain goes beyond the physical, as they proceed to hurt each other just by virtue of their different perspectives. Yuma doesn’t want to lose his self-reliance, Mao doesn’t want to succumb to his darkest instincts and destroy what he loves most, and human drama that goes beyond the Dom/Sub-verse elements ensues.
Fuyu Touji’s cute-looking art drives the juxtaposition that slaps you in the feels on the right time. Also, having read “My Bias Is a God!?” as well as finding out that they have multiple Dom/Sub works on their ChilChil page, I can’t help but wonder if they have a fascination with mind-control when it comes to the action (ahem). After all, the angst that comes from a Dom’s commands and a specific scene of safe-word usage that runs your feels over with a truck is a key aspect of the story. Then again, the heaps of aftercare and fluffy cuddling that lace 70% of the story kinda balance it out.
If you enjoy “Pain, Sweet Pain” (heh) then, besides sharing any thoughts and opinions with our BL community, you might also want to give “My Bias Is A God!?” a read when it comes to Renta! soon. I know I’ll HAVE to write something about it when it does, just to get it out of my system and finally free my colleagues from my non-stop rambling😇
rentaBLog 