Well said. And I totally agree!! It's so sad that RAPE is normalized these days in literature and people don't seem to mind it. Yes, I do believe that these incidents have a place for stories or whatever type of literature as long as the author makes their intention about it CLEAR ENOUGH. Respect to you. Okay bye uwu
Ty for the comment cause I honestly feel so surprised when I see so many comments saying that this isn't SA or that we should've expected and accepted it because a character was already shown to have forceful tendencies. Like???
First of all, identifying something to be rape or abuse doesn't mean that the whole story is bad or as a reader you shouldn't be enjoying/reading it, but the criteria (even considering the nuance of fiction and the specific circumstances) is clear and not up for debate. Just admit you still like the story despite SA, it's ok (as long as you recognize it and it stays in the fictional realm). T_T
Second, the whole point of good writing is that characters have depth, they're not just "perfectly good and wholesome" or "potential rapists". Which is why it's a poor argument and a disservice to authors to say that this was the ONLY development for Aaron under such circumstances. There are many other fitting ways that would have an even bigger impact showing how they navigate these heavy themes and feelings.
This author made a choice that sets this story onto a specific path of then having to forgive/downplay one of the worst acts a person can make, let alone to their supposed loved one that they'll end up with, so it's a valid reaction from many of us to be disappointed.
thanks for commenting this. you can't be more clear than this explanation. if we're talking about romance, even if it starts a bit problematic, you expect a certain development that makes it believable that they end up together. if you force the plot to give you a scene with ravishing fetish, the quality of your storytelling will take a hit
"Red flag this, green flag that". You can't categorize characters based on such limiting and generalizing labels and claim that they encompass and explain their behaviours. What do you mean "Aaron has always been a red flag though". My dude!! Having a character like Aaron who does get pushy and uses alot of resources in his power to get what he wants and goes CONSENSUALLY rough during sex, while STILL being considerate of and respecting most of Yujin's hard boundaries (he did that SO MANY times in the past seasons), IS NOT THE SAME AS HIM CHAINING YUJIN AND FORCING HIM INTO SEX THE MOMENT HE GAINS CONSCIOUSCNESS AND IS STILL DISORIENTED AFTER BEING UNCONSCIOUS AND SLEEPING FOR 3 DAYS FROM BEING ATTACKED AND ALMOST GANG-RAPED, ALSO HAVING NOT SEEN HIM IN MORE THAN A YEAR!!!
That's what MOST readers are commenting on that feels completely unnecessarily violent and find the writing to be sub-par. The same goes for Yujin's character choosing to antagonize him as he wakes up and finds himself in that position with all the "sleeping around" talk, noticing how on edge and extreme Aaron is being.
Again, even if the author wanted to portray that Yujin ultimately run away because he is scared of commitment and he does't believe he deserves to be loved from his childhood trauma and that he chooses to repeat that traumatic cycle, including using rough and superficial sexual encounters for it, as well as self-isolation, THIS WOULD LEAVE A DEEP, PERMANENT MARK OF VIOLENCE AND DISTRUST IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP, worse than even him running away.
So why did the author choose that way to depict the "seriousness and heavy angst" in the development of their relationship and these characters while knowing that down the line they WILL end up together? There's a MULTITUDE of other methods and plot routes to create and express their outer and inner conflicts without resorting to this type of abuse and YES, RAPE. Cause anyone claiming this to be "dubcon", you're downplaying and excusing it to fit whatever narrative makes it easier for you to process this. This is objectively, by definition sexual abuse and rape. You can use your subjective viewpoint to form an opinion as to whether you find it good writing as part of this story, but not to dismiss what it is.
It's not like these incidents don't have a place in stories, of course they do, whether it's addressed realistically or it's explicitely used as a porn fetish, just as long as the author makes their intention about it clear enough. In this story, even if somewhat exaggerated as they're fictional after all, the events, the characters, the rules of society, feelings and emotions are approached on the realistic side and that's how most readers have been interpreting and processing them. Which is why apart from the shock factor of the violence and the SA itself, we are questioning HOW the heck do they even come back from this?? I personally have lost interest in the 3rd season so far because of the author's choices, even though I have no issue with dark themes in stories, but it's the way it's done here. At least the first 2 seasons are better.