TW- This is a long rant
This is literally so real cuz the fuckery in the manhwa community (and other communities) is actually getting tiring. I feel like it's the fault of the author more than readers cuz they chose to make this stuff. Even if they said they don't condone these actions, they treat real world problems like it's fiction. Cuz literally, when you make a story, or art, or song or whatever, your brain subconsciously ads pieces of your likes and worldview into whatever you are making. So even if they say they don't condone these actions, they honestly do, and what's worse is that they get off to this stuff! For example, Mingwa. Author and story writer for Jinx. It is very well known to be a toxic and abusive story. So when she was asked about her favorite sex scene, she said she thought all of them were hot. Jaekyung (the ML) raped and sexually abused Kim Dan (the MC) for most of those scenes. And also, in KD's past, he was sexually assaulted by a coworker. All the readers hated him. But when Jaekyung does it, it's supposedly "sexy" and "hot." You are right saying fans are hypocritical. Because this is pure hypocrisy. This might also have to do with how handsome the character looks too. That coworker was an old man and nobody liked him, but Jaekyung was a handsome young and ripped boxer. Even if he's "hot" it doesn't mean his actions should be excused?? Seriously, there are no educated fans in this fandom and I am ashamed to say I am a fujoshi alongside those dumbfucks
Exactly. What's even funnier is that sometimes both characters are conventionally attractive, yet people will condemn one character's actions while excusing the other's. At that point, it becomes obvious that the standards aren't consistent.
Assault and consent violations are so common in manhwa that I genuinely don't think some readers understand what those terms actually mean. If it's violent or physically forceful, people immediately recognize it as assault. But when it's coercion, manipulation, pressure, or ignoring someone's boundaries, suddenly the discussion becomes a lot more selective.
Take Hit Me Hard, for example. The ML assaults the MC, yet I've seen people brush it aside because he's shy, cute, and likable. Then you have stories like Dangerous Convenience Store, where there are clear elements of coercion, but because people like the characters or the relationship, those aspects often get overlooked or downplayed.
The inconsistency is honestly funny to watch.
Speaking of Dangerous Convenience Store, this is probably an unpopular opinion, but it's one of the reasons I ended up dropping the story.
During the time skip, the MC gets a boyfriend. Then the ML comes back into the picture, and the MC sleeps with him while still in that relationship. They had not broken up yet. From the spoilers I've seen, the boyfriend apparently wasn't that great, which is another trope that annoys me. I hate when authors make another character look bad just to make the ML seem better or to justify the ML's actions.
What really bothered me was how many readers immediately excused the cheating because it involved the ML and the MC, the couple they were rooting for from the beginning. I don't care if they're the endgame couple. I don't care if the boyfriend turns out to be a terrible partner. It's still cheating.
That's the pattern I keep noticing. People will condemn certain behaviors until their favorite character does them. Then suddenly there are explanations, excuses, and exceptions for everything.
Omg finally someone talks another Hit Me Hard. Literally that first scene WAS sexual assault yet people still love it. I really liked the art style and I liked the dynamics after that but I honestly can't bring myself to enjoy it a lot because of the first scene. Like I was involved in the plot but I was like forcing myself to enjoy the relationship and that doesn't give a good experience. I've never read the Dangerous Convenience Store but I expected something like that. I genuinely hate how side characters only exist solely for the main relationship, and they have no personality other than being good or bad. I wish side characters are shown more because I don't want to see the shitty main leads fuck each other unconsentually
Right!! People condoning it are so strange. It's okay to still read the story and enjoy it but just acknowledge that was rape instead of saying its not.
The leads in dangerous convenience store are not that shitty to be honest. I didnt finish it but I liked the ML and the MC, the reason I dropped it was because the author used the cheating trope. I was rooting for them until that. I dont understand why writers like to romanticize cheating. Its gross.
Yeah that's actually messed up. I also hate it when the MC/ML like dates a girl after a breakup or smth but they still like the MC/ML so they just don't acknowledge the girl anymore and the girls feelings are hurt and the girl is against them. The thing is tho like, the girls feelings are valid and idk why she's so villainized. And if a girl gets between the relationship of the two MCs everyone hates on the girl. It's clearly misogynistic. There was this tiktok I saw with the girl in Codename Anastasia (btw I don't like CA too cuz of the SA) and everyone is hating on the girl saying "oh i don't like women in my bl story" or "I'm allergic to women in stories". It REEKED of misogyny in there . Why cant people have common sense anymore I hate the yaoi fandom so much because of this, even if I love yaoi.
YESSS!! this annoys me so much as well, it's very rare to see a well written female character in a BL manhwa. So true about the misogyny, so gross!
One thing that will never stop fascinating me is how differently some authors and readers treat consent depending on who the character is.
What confuses me is the logic behind it. If a character ignores a clear boundary, why does it suddenly become romantic, sexy, or excusable when it's the ML? Yet when a different character does the exact same thing, it's treated as unacceptable. I genuinely don't understand where the line is supposed to be.
I've seen readers do the same thing. In one manhwa, the MC explicitly tells the ML not to finish inside them, and the ML does it anyway. The amount of people defending it with, "That's just their dynamic," was unreal. What made it even funnier was seeing some of those same people in another comment section condemning a different character for doing essentially the same thing, simply because they didn't like them.
And I already know what some people will say: "But it's the ML. That's who we're supposed to root for." Okay, then just admit your standards change depending on whether you like the character. Don't pretend it's a moral issue when your reaction is based entirely on who's doing it.
What I find equally strange is people who constantly complain about tropes that supposedly go against their morals, yet keep seeking out stories built around those exact tropes. If you know a story contains cheating, assault, toxic relationships, or whatever else you claim to hate, and you keep reading dozens of stories with those themes, then at some point you're choosing to engage with that content.
The hypocrisy is genuinely out of this world. Make it make sense.