You explained this well, sa being treated as normal is too often for a story trying to show love. You can also get obsessive, morally unwell characters without sa. (Not a bl but like HannibalNBC)
At first you can sympathize with both characters here but all the coercion does make it more cloudy
Yeah, I’m actually really upset. I’ve stuck around for toxic, obsessive stories before not proud of it but at least those were written with some level of awareness. The authors usually acknowledged what was happening or gave proper context backstories, trauma, something that explained the behavior. It didn’t excuse it but it made it make sense. This just feels like straight up excusing sexual assault while blaming the actual victim the bottom. It doesn’t feel like a story at all, just an excuse to push smut without doing the work to build a relationship or a plot. I hate that whole “you know you want it even if you say no” vibe. It’s not romantic it’s disturbing. No is no. Consent matters, always, no matter the situation. What makes it worse is that the top is supposed to love the bottom. He’s not written as unstable or morally conflicted he just “loves” him. So why is he treating someone he loves like an object with no agency, no voice, and no emotions? That’s not love, and the story never seriously questions it. Male SA is real, and it matters. But this kind of writing downplays it as romance. And let’s be honest if the bottom were a woman, people wouldn’t be defending this. They’d call it out immediately for what it is. It also says a lot about the audience. Moments like this make it clear how often gay relationships get fetishized instead of being treated as real, human experiences. It stops being about characters and turns into consumption something people enjoy without questioning the harm behind it. I’m done. This isn’t something I want to keep engaging with. Peace
I’m dropping this. Maybe I’ll come back for the next couple, but the “why are you still reading?” or “just drop it” comments are so stupid. When you’ve invested time in a story, of course you’re going to have opinions and want to talk about them. That’s literally how being a reader works.And honestly, people leave negative comments for a reason. Sometimes it’s because the story is misleading or tries to pass off something harmful as romantic like this. Sometimes it’s frustration watching a character do something clearly wrong and the story refuses to acknowledge it like this. Other times it’s just discomfort like this too. Not everything deserves blind praise. I stuck around for the art, but even that isn’t worth it anymore. This is easily the worst yaoi I’ve ever read and I’ve read a LOT of shitty ones. The romanticizing of everything going on here is actually disturbing, and the comments make it worse. Su Ah is a straight-up creep, and the fact that the story refuses to treat him like one is exactly why I’m done. I’ve never read something where a character is so obviously in the wrong, yet the narrative pushes you to sympathize with them like they’re some kind of tragic lover. And the worst part? It’s working. People are supporting it, acting like this is normal, like this is love. It’s not. It’s disgusting. I genuinely can’t believe this is being framed as a romance. I’ve seen messy stories before, but this takes it to another level. I'm out. I gotta choose me first lol. byeee(づ￣ ³￣)づ