sadslime's manga / #Drama(30)

Tsukushi has finally had enough of his live in boyfriend Toui and he leaves, but cutting ties is harder than he thought. As he reminisces about what went wrong in their relationship, he can’t seem to put Toui behind him, and Toui isn’t ready to give up at all. The depiction of the frustration and heartache of a breakup was really well done and got me right in the heart, and it has a fluffy and sweet ending. Easily a new favorite. Trigger warnings: drunk sex.

Ren's a high school student in love with his best friend, but after waking up with his sister's boyfriend mistakenly entering his bed, he finds himself interacting more with Kazuya, who offers to "help him out" by touching him. As their relationship progresses, Kazuya moves from playing with Ren to feeling guilty for what he's done to him as he realizes he's causing Ren to relive his own trauma. This story is interesting, and I enjoyed it, but at the end of the day, there's no defending Kazuya as a male lead. Trigger warnings: noncon, cheating, rape, statutory rape.

Junichi was drowning his sorrows in a bar after a bad breakup when he happened to run into his childhood friend, Shizuru, seemingly getting forcefully propositioned. Junichi was once a delinquent after being ostracized for his sexuality in his hometown, and Shizuru and his policeman father had saved him, so Junichi wants to pay them back. But after dragging Shizuru home with him, he finds out that the innocent kid he once knew has changed and now has fun with whoever will have him. After some twists and turns that result in them living together, it finally comes out that Shizuru felt abandoned by Junichi, who left before he could become attracted to the still very young Shizuru. But with everything out in the open, where do they go from here, and how will they face the policeman father who saved Junichi and who Shizuru now resents? I know there's a lot in there, but that's because it's a good story! It has a lot of details and interesting characters with believable inner selves that make it really a great read. Trigger warnings: homophobia, bullying, false accusation.

Yukimura's always taken care of his sick younger brother on his own, and it's finally pushed him to sell his body. But just when he thinks he can't go through with it, he's saved by the worst possible person, his former high school teacher, Kurosu, who already saw him getting assaulted once in high school and mistook it for paid sex. But when Yukimura tries to chase him off by asking if he'll be his partner, Kurosu takes him up on that and drags him to his house where they have their first night. After that, Kurosu offers to take Yukimura in as a live-in housekeeper and pay him for sex, provided he not offer his services to anyone else. Yukimura needs the money so he goes for it, but just as he starts to settle into their life together, Kurosu asks him when he's going to leave, and Yukimura realizes that Kurosu may already have someone else. Honestly, the misunderstandings in this plot are stupid, but Yukimura is a really strong and interesting character, even if I can't personally respect the teacher. Trigger warnings: attempted assault, sex work.

Spoiler alert: Hibari does cry. Hibari and Sumi have been living together since the death of Hibari’s brother which resulted in Sumi taking over as Hibari’s guardian. But Hibari’s feelings are obvious to Sumi, and even though he worries that accepting them would be selfish, he’s not sure if he can help it. Trigger warnings: motorcycle accident.

Ono is a dentist being haunted by a ghost (Masaki). But this sweet and childlike ghost just wants to be with his beloved sensei and help him overcome his recent loss. I’ll be honest, this is an amazing and beautiful story, but the “twist” is hard to swallow. I don’t blame any of the characters, but…it’s all very uncomfortable. Still, I really do think it’s worth the read because the characters and emotions are so well done and Masaki is such a pure sweetheart. Trigger warnings: I don’t know what to say?? Read at your own risk!

Sagawa Taiichi is a good-natured but impetuous college student who falls (literally) into the life of Sugihara Kouhei, a law student with a bad reputation due to his hearing disability. They agree to trade note-taking for lunches, and soon they become closer and Taichi gets Kouhei to laugh again, gradually opening him back up. But as they continue through school, jobs, and relationships, it can feel like everything is pulling them apart. A longer but very well written story about a pure love between two boys who seem to complete each other. I think the author went to a lot of effort to develop strong characters and to depict hearing impairment and deafness from multiple perspectives, and it shows. Trigger warning: discrimination.

In post-war Japan, Aoi spends his time working as a translator for the Americans and waiting at the docks for returned soldiers. It's been three years since the end of the war, but without a killed in action notice, he can't help but hold out hope that his best friend, Takahiko, could one day return. But when Takahiko does finally come back, he's his usual, grinning, carefree self with no explanation for the three years without so much as a letter. Aoi is enraged and punches him, but he still lets Takahiko stay at his house in the meantime. Now as Takahiko seeks employment as a screen actor and Aoi tries to figure out his muddled feelings, will they be able to overcome the pain and trauma of the war? Really beautiful and bittersweet story that encapsulates the way war destroys lives, yet life moves on. Trigger warnings: wartime violence, racism.

University student Makise can see ghosts. Fellow student in his research lab, Toono, can erase ghosts. So it seems like a perfect fit for the two of them to work together. Except Makise quickly finds out that Toono had less than pure motives for working with him and also, they get into a lot of ghost trouble together. A rare bl/horror crossover. Some parts were really disturbing, but overall I thought it was good, and I liked the happy ending. Trigger warnings: horror, child abuse/neglect, partner abuse, forced confinement, gore, attempted murder.

Asahi has sworn off alphas after his ex, Masuomi, left him for his fated pair, but when he gets drunk on his birthday, he mistakes a stranger for Masuomi, and they sleep together. The next day he learns the stranger is actually Akiomi, Masuomi's twin brother, who wants Asahi to fake date him to keep the annoying girls from clinging to him. Akiomi helps Asahi overcome his trauma from his breakup with Masuomi, and just when Asahi thinks he can open his heart to Akiomi, the two of them run into Masuomi alongside his fated pair, who it turns out is Akiomi's fated pair, too. The breakup between Asahi and Masuomi is gut-wrenching, and I think they needed to show Masuomi's side more as well as put more blame on him. The rest is cute. ️Trigger warnings: dubcon(heat), cheating.