sadslime's manga / #Special abilities(9)

Akane’s(omega) unique ability to see pheromones as crystals has been nothing but trouble, but it does help him recognize his former school nurse, Mikase, on the street by his distinctly clear crystals. After the two are reunited, Akane feels his first love coming back, but Mikase keeps a careful distance as he still sees Akane as a student and has some secrets of his own. A very cute omega x beta story with lovely art. Trigger warning: mention of attempted rape

Satori is a barista with a crush on his regular customer Hosho who seems to have a different girl every day. But when he finally gets a chance to be closer to Hosho, Satori learns that Hosho eats people's feelings through kissing and that the one he kissed will forget everything about him. Hosho doesn't mind because he doesn't trust love anyway, but Satori absolutely doesn't want to forget his love. No trigger warnings.

Geologist and professor Bent meets a young boy, Iris, who eats gemstones to survive, and the two begin traveling together. But Bent knows more about Iris than he lets on, and Iris has been targeted for his ability in the past and may be again. This story was fine as a slice of life, but not especially compelling to me. Trigger warnings: genocide, kidnapping, trafficking, lying.

Ch.1-2, 6.5 - 5 Seconds - Hayato has special eyes that have been passed down in his family. For him, this means that when he meets eyes with someone for five seconds he can copy their "sensuality," so he uses his friends to help him jerk off. The one person he won't use is his childhood friend, Tsukasa, who he's tried to avoid since he realized his ability, but Tsukasa is too sharp not to notice, and when Hayato accidentally copies some eyes he shouldn't have and goes into heat, only Tsukasa can help him. A kind of random and unexpected setup, but I liked the characters well enough. Trigger warning: dubcon(heat). Ch.3 - The Way to Nurture Love - Keiichirou is a normal working man who got dragged to a gay bar and told to pick his type, so he randomly pointed to a worker, but when they turned around he saw it was actually his long lost twin brother, Yuuichirou. Yuu seems to be living life as a woman now, and Kei isn't sure he approves, but he can't help but worry, so he invites Yuu to live with him. But the longer they live together, the more the feelings from their past that forced Yuu to leave seem to reemerge. I liked it, but it is an incest story, so don't read if that's not your thing. Note: I don't think Yuu identifies as a woman, so if you're looking for trans characters, he won't really fit the bill. Trigger warnings: incest, transphobia(?). Ch.4 - Too - An unnamed protagonist (Nameless-kun) lives an ordinary college life, except for the fact that he has a stalker following him every day, buying and wearing all the same clothes as him, and putting not-so-secret cameras in his apartment, which is especially weird since he's a nobody and his stalker, Kudou, is quite popular. Nameless-kun doesn't see it as causing any harm though, so he lets it go until one day Kudou seems to stop dressing like him, causing Nameless-kun to wonder if his affections have changed, and that's when he realizes just how much he's been watching Kudou in turn. I'm not really into stalker romances, but this one was fine for what it was. Trigger warning: stalking. Ch.5 - Itai no, Itai no - Rei spends every day at high school breaking up fights between his childhood friends, Takuma, and Shinobu, who are at each other's throats over everything but insist on spending time together because of Rei. But Rei knows that secretly, the two are in a physical relationship fueled by their shared masochism. Rei has trauma to do with pain that has caused him to develop a masochistic streak too, so he wants in on this. Not my thing. Trigger warnings: masochism, suicide, voyuerism, violence, violent sex. Ch.6 - Mushuusei no Ohisama - Aki and Asahi were friends in high school when Asahi said he'd become the best actor ever and Aki promised to be the one to shoot it on film. Now, years later, Asahi seems to have given up on his dream and only works in the porn industry, but Aki is still determined to capture the best of him. But when they fight, Aki decides to rape Asahi on camera to show him all the faces he hasn't seen yet. Or something. I wasn't really paying attention because I don't like rape stories. Trigger warnings: sex work, rape.

Inusaki is just a self-proclaimed detective who's really working as more of a fix-it who happens to have the ability to talk to birds. One day, he ends up talking to a cool crow he nicknames Kuro, and before he knows it, he's fallen for a crow! When the crow rejects him, his landlady' son, Mitsuru, ends up checking on him, and soon his feelings shift to the cute high schooler Mitsuru who he's sure has a girlfriend already. But Mitsuru has a secret of his own. Cute. No trigger warnings.

Kazunori has the ability to read people's "inner voices," and he uses this skill to make a name for himself as a shrewd businessman. When a possible marriage comes up to a mute noblewoman that would further his business, Kazunori is eager to go through with it, especially since he'll be able to read her mind anyway. But when he meets his arranged marriage partner, Nana, not only is she not what he expected, he can't read her mind! When he realizes she's abused, he gets her out of there, but he determines that if he can't find a way to help her speak and read her mind within a year, they can't get married since he can't fully trust her. But meanwhile, Nana has a secret of her own: she's able to read people's inner voices as text! The only problem is, she's illiterate, but now it's time for her to learn. I like this story and find the characters interesting, but it does feel like it maybe went on too long when it should have ended. Trigger warnings: abuse, child abuse, violence, psychological manipulation.

Agatsuma has the strange ability to see how many times a person has lied in their life, so he's amazed when he meets someone with the number 0 for the first time. That person is Misono, a student at his school in charge of the botany club, who has few friends due to his overly direct personality. Agatsuma really wants to get close to Misono, and even ends up sharing the secret of his ability, but Misono can't help but worry Agatsuma loves him for his special number, not who he is. Interesting premise. Trigger warnings: kidnapping, attempted rape.

A sequel to Count 0, Agatsuma and Misono are now an established couple. Misono is in college while Agatsuma has recently passed the police exam, but Misono worries that his ability will put too much pressure on him in this situation. Through all this, Agatsuma meets Misono's teacher and finds he's yet another person with a rare ability. I was happy to see more Agatsuma and Misono, but the teacher subplot and the information about abilities didn't really answer any questions so it ended up just kind of being in the way. Trigger warning: violence.

Kyousuke is a former mercenary who just returned to Japan and immediately ran into, Lune, a CEO who he recognized as his wife in a former life. Kyousuke wants to brush off this connection between them, but Lune is adamant that he's not giving up on Kyousuke and he wants him to become his bodyguard. I like the idea of reincarnation stories, but this one didn't stick out to me. Trigger warning: violence, mention of death/suicide.