100% agree
Ok but for some aspd is indeed inborn, ML clearly is a case of a psychopath, who only acts in the interest of himself. They don’t have empathy and don’t understand emotion, that’s why they don’t feel guilty for any wrong thing they do, not even to the MC, because in their mind, as long as they get what they want, they don’t care how bad it is. You need to understand that a psychopath is wired differently than someone who is not a psychopath,their brain chemistry is different, they are not the same as those cliche toxic seme in many bls.
your respond is exactly the mentality of condemnation i was speaking of. it is not as simple as people with aspd cant understanding emotions so they act in disregard of it. people with aspd do struggle to identify emotions but that doesnt mean they are ill adept in social cognition (collecting, processing and storing information regarding others) (thats why a criteria of aspd is deceit, some are very good at it because they know everything about you that is manipulatable information). which is to say that its not that they dont know that its wrong, nor do they like wooyeon fail to feel that its wrong, its more accurately that they are so impulsive they do not consider the consequences of their actions or that when they do, they cannot properly gauge how severe those consequences may be because what is normal for them is not in line with what is normal for society at large. this leads to my second point.
aspd is not inborn. there are associated genetic/biochemical factors with aspd eg MAO-A (MAOA-L/H variant specifically) and 5-HT metabolism. however! these genes do not activate randomly, they are triggered by negative environmental interactions like emotional/physical/psychological/sexual abuse. hence the statistically significant association that family members of those with aspd are born predisposed to developing the condition. there is an association between neuro-structural differences and antisocial behaviour but that is a blanket statement that fails to acknowledge how 1) not all antisocial behaviours qualifies an individual for aspd as neurodivergence also have categories of antisocial behaviours in their diagnosis (antisocial behaviour ≠ antisocial personality disorder), 2) traumatic experience in cognitive development (which is all the way until your brain matures at 25 btw) can literally rewire your biochemistry which increases your likelihood of triggering genetic predisposition or exacerbating existing biochemical factors leading to the development of antisocial behaviour, 3) it is current UNKNOWN whether the visible behavioural, biochemical and neurological difference identified in a remarkably small number of studies are caused by aspd or caused by the lifestyle (dysfunctional household/poor parenting/violent socialisation/etc) and life events (assault/grooming/threatening incidents like bullying/etc) that also triggered aspd. people must show persistent lack of remorse and empathy as well as impulsivity, irresponsibility, aggression, reckless disregard and failure to conform to lawful behaviours since childhood well into adulthood to be diagnosed with aspd. you can name me practically any bl seme and i can identify to you the six criteria which according to the diagnostic and statistical manual would mean bitch got aspd.
why do you think people obsess over these stories so easily and come back again and again for the same microwaved bag of nachos if not for the miracle that a guy unwilling and sometimes unable to value others above himself suddenly cling onto another desperately (a power they earned likely by enduring countless violations) as though a man reborn? its a fairytale between two men that comes from the fairytale of women doing enough emotional labour at the expense of their personhood for long enough to make a monster a man. that would categorically make these untreated undiagnosed unaccommodated men with aspd monsters. and they do consider them monsters which is why instead of treating them as mentally ill people who need helping and can be helped they call them inborn psychopaths and leave a woman or a bottom with zero self worth nor self-esteem to die on the altar.
Imma follow u, person with brains, thank you for the extremely rare display of common sense. (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
thank you for having the extremely rare common sense to recognise how hard i cling onto sanity lol
i hope you have a great day ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
i resent the portrayal of aspd here. the way narrative alludes to aspd as something one is born with - instead of something one develops after repeated exposure to violence (both as victim and witness) - plays into the dehumanising condemnations of mentally ill people in general but those with personality disorders specifically. the mentality of it is intrinsic to who they are thus they are irredeemable therefore there is no helping them (by providing behavioural therapy/coping strategies) because they are monsters (not people) is a dangerous pipeline. a specific kind of dehumanisation i see alot is when people excuse/justify the harm created by mentally ill people. especially because we both know that wooyeon did not try his best nor desired to do his best for anyone, he toyed with people as if they were worth nothing and garnered animosity in return, for which inseob repeatedly paid the price and is continously assaulted and violated by wooyeon for it. wooyeon is not incapable of understanding like some kind of puppy and he does not deserve the leniency shown to children who are not yet able to understand when they do harmful/irresponsible things. he knows what he did because he knows what “no” and “stop” and “i dont want to” means in two seperate languages. and maybe he doesnt feel that it was wrong in his soul but we dont judge people by their souls we hold them accountable in accordance with social standards of ethics and morality. wooyeon like many bl leads are exempt in the big year of our lord 2026 and thats not sympathy for the mentally ill thats holding them to a lower standard because they are considered as lesser than.
inseob’s character is very typical. his most interesting aspect is his guilt. not because i think his feelings were really ‘betraying jennie’. i think its more of a disguise for his internalised homophobia. it better explains his crash out and subsequent guilt in the flashback because she said it first even if she said without intention. i also think that his guilt coloured his delusions, in the sense that he thinks himself a trouble and burden to everyone so being hurt and disrespected like this is the kind of treatment he deserves (that tweet thats like “i pity the fool so deprived of love he finds it in violence”). also in the sense that his guilt isolated him even further. his one friend is dead and his supportive family he refuse to turn to because of undeservingness so he is left lonely beyond recompense. if he had a single true friend to hear half the shit he was innermonologuing about to express genuine worry over his wellbeing and be like gworl what are you on right now i dont think he would have gritted his teeth through half the things he did.
ultimately i despised the sprinkle of sinophobia, the lack of depth in all supporting characters because they were all plot trigger or a resource, the author’s lack of real world understanding visible in the worldbuilding’s lack of dimensions, and most importantly, the fact that 90% of mature scences between them were coercive and frankly fucking disgustingヽ(`Д´)ﾉ !
slow burn? i guess. but more accurately, trash heap on fire presented gift wrapped with pretty bowtie