muse ✨'s manga / #tw blood(4)

I read this on Lezhin Comics and loved it. The earth was plunged into a second ice age following a global disaster, and vampires have evolved to become the dominant species, raising humans as livestock. A human called 'One' becomes acquainted with Shell Overlord, son of the owner of the blood bank where One is employed - a rarity among humans. Shell realizes that his vampire pheromones have no effect on One and comes out to him as an "abnormal" - a vampire who wishes to be dominated by humans. One, who despises vampires, finds himself in what amounts to an S&M relationship with Shell, who is actually a tender, kind person, and One's worldview is rocked when he falls in love with him and discovers new information about his own father. But beyond their love story is a plot to destroy a hopeless, hellish existence for humans by eliminating all vampires. Wonderful world-building and absolutely gorgeous art. There are a lot of chapters which are purely pornish, but there's a lot of emotion and some interesting plot stuff too. This author obviously thought out the world and plotted the story before she began creating. I read the story start to finish in about twelve hours. If you can afford the credits, please consider buying it on Lezhin to support the author.

TRIGGER WARNING: This depicts on-page physical assault on a partner. I become deeply upset every time and don't want anyone to go in un-warned. Yumi is in a long-term relationship with a vitriolic and abusive partner when he reconnects with someone he'd loved in high school. I hesitated to read this because it deals with domestic abuse, but it doesn't romanticize it. His partner is aware that his behavior is unforgivable and eventually begs Yumi to leave him. Yumi is the one who walks out the door. The partner's story continues in "Renai-rubi no Tadashii Furikata" and he experiences constant guilt over his past behavior. I read that story before this one. I'm glad, because I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it after reading this. In fact, I'm annoyed he was given a redemption arc, but I am biased; I was on the receiving end of long-term psychological abuse. Yumi's reactions to being abused were genuine to me, as far as my personal experience goes. I had to stop reading a few times to catch my breath - especially when his injuries are shown - but I'm ultimately glad I read this.

A country doctor finds a man with his throat slit, bleeding out in the snow, and takes him home. And then they fall super in love and have a ton of sex! And adopt a kid for a while, meet old friends, make some great food, and grow old. No death, but we see them together many years later. I cried. One character is a former prostitute. He'll use this to his advantage at one point (he sleeps with someone to get something even though he's in a relationship), and we also see flashbacks of him with his former lover. He and his current partner are very happy.

Since childhood, Asato's body has reacted to lingering emotions at accident and crime scenes, causing him to manifest the injuries of the deceased. He's found work with the police, and also someone who believes in him. This first volume is seinen (but there are some nice moments!). The second volume is BL. This is about crime, so there's lots of blood and disturbing content.