Hi! Honestly, I wanted to say that I find it curious how there are so many hateful comments insulting readers who do NOT want to read pure romance, healthy relationships, and fluff all the time.
I'm referring to specific readers who, for one reason or another, read psychological horror, dramas, thrillers, toxic relationships, and stories involving abuse of power, whether physical or psychological, simply because they have a neutral preference or personal attachment to these dark tropes and unusual stories.
Getting back to the point ✧ these hateful (and sometimes unfounded) comments come up when someone wants to discuss this kind of manga/manhwa. For example, give it their analisis, a approval, or recommend it. Normal.
Then, Every day I come across people who threaten d3ath, use slurs, or accuse these readers of being r#pe w0rshippers (? or mentally ill, when all they have done is... read. And trying to discuss the work of fiction with others.
As I said, I just find it curious that they think they can dictate what people they don't even know should or shouldn't read. Or seek to argue about it. Or wanting to have x work removed from everywhere and ‘exterminate its fans’.
It makes me laugh a little that they accused me of reading adult content as an adult... and I've always tried to respond calmly, with arguments, but it has become quite tedious.
They're people who reads BL every day too, so it's very hypocritical lol. I could like reading toxic or cute BL, as much as I could like watching horror movies or comedy movies, by the way.
There’s a major difference between dark psychological stories, and then straight up rape porn were the author obviously has a fetish which most be BL readers tend to dick ride like their life depends on it. I don’t agree with sending death, threats, or saying slurs to others, but this happens on both sides. I’ve received many rape and death threats from dark romance readers myself so you’re gonna find crazy people anywhere on the Internet. You can also enjoy and read a genre but also criticize problematic themes within it and hate the community. I don’t know what you guys expect. Sometimes you guys will say the most disgusting vile piece of work is your favorite BL and expect not people to be weirded out. Dark romance is always going to exist, but so will the people who don’t agree with that type of content and not everyone is desensitized towards graphic rape scenes so they’re gonna be rightfully so disgusted.
Yeah, I was referring to dark psychological stories. If someone is sensitive and doesn't want to read it, that's fine, but they shouldn't go around messing with a community that just wants to talk about the work of fiction. Those who read dark content usually won't criticize those who read fluff, because it's basically 'normal reading'. It would be a waste of time. And as I said, there are those who enjoy dark reading as much as fluffy reading. I don't think my point is difficult to understand, even if you want to change the direction of the conversation.
And obviously it contains problematic themes to explore, which is why there is a tag for those who want to read it. Otherwise, it would be like any other story...
I think it's come to a point where people just have to accept there are "good" and "bad" sides of things. Granted not all things belong to strictly to either side (black and white) but universal understanding is also still true.
Assaulting someone is bad. Giving someone a gift is good.
When you're on the side of enjoying the assault, people will naturally think you're weird.
When you're on the side of enjoying the gift giving, people naturally will understand where you're coming from.
This is just the reality. Nobody should get death threats or any other threats. But if people want to call you out for enjoying that stuff, you find that confusing?
You want the luxury of enjoying problematic themes without the repercussions of people thinking you're weird. Now that's just illogical.
The reason why people who read fluff and pure romance don't get hate is because they aren't doing anything weird. You're the one who's weird trying to call people out for calling you out. Make it make sense.
I’ve know you’re talking about that form post and you weren’t referring to psychological reads because low tide in twilight, any of harada works and Sadistic Beauty side story B are just rape porn with a psychological tag on it. It doesn’t explore anything other than porn and target
for peoples fetishes. All of the authors are extremely problematic. The author of statistic beauty made the story based on a real person, her ex-boyfriend and said that he deserved to be murdered and raped. Harada she’s a pedophile and low tide in twilight isn’t even a psychological manhwa she just romanticize rape, and the author is another awful person who sends death threats to minors and made many xenophobic tweets like these are awful people.
I have no problem with dark psychological stories, exploring problematic themes, but it shouldn’t be reduced to someone’s fetish because rape is a sensitive topic and something that millions of people go through and it should not be sexualized which a lot of authors do they don’t explore what it’s like being violated or the effects of it. They use it as a plot device to move a couple together that’s it. Even if it’s fictional, it is something real people have to experience and for it to be reduced to a taboo, subject or exotic genre is disrespectful towards victims. This is not me saying people who read a few trashy rape porn stories are like the worst person on earth but if you’re gonna freely talk about a problematic manhwa like anything problematic you’re going to receive backlash. I also wanted to point out that it’s a huge lie that dark romance readers don’t shit on fluffy reads. I’ve seen countless comments of people saying our sunny days is boring because it has no conflict and refuse to read Shounen Ai as well as call it boring because it doesn’t have smut and constantly complain about it.
I fully agree I don’t understand why people feel the need to tell you that what you like is wrong. Also me_for_president comment is just pushing the idea that people who like fluff are better than those who like dark romance. No one should face hate for what fiction they want to read. People like horror movies doesn’t mean they romanticize murder. it’s the same baseless argument that video games cause violence. Most people who read dark romance are able to distinguish between reality and fiction. This definitely isn’t true for everyone but the people who perpetuate issues depicted in these stories aren’t the people reading on this site. Can we allow people to read what they want and enjoy what they like with saying it’s “the most disgusting vile piece of work”. You’re allowed to not like something but putting others down for your opinion is just creating more hate. There are respectful ways to express concern or criticism but most of what I see is more harmful than the media they are criticizing.
OP is specifically referring to dark psychological work, not rape fetish work. u are just regurgitating the same past criticism towards the latter, and conflating both separate story types readers as the same "side" (despite claiming a major difference) by assuming OP as one of those people who claim some rape porn is their favorite story (even tho they never mentioned that) to diminish their criticism of this community who indiscriminately attack people who read the former as the same as people who read the latter. although the distinctions are blurry bc the former usually contains smut like the latter, the difference between the two is conveyed by how the smut is utilized to demonstrate unequal power dynamics or whatever. it's not that hard to differentiate once u get the author's intents and purposes. so why bring up rape porn nonsense when OP didnt even mention it? if these readers can substantiate why they enjoyed the work with a thorough neutral analysis on how it executed the themes, like OP said, who cares? how is that grounds for moral self-righteous judgment? are indiscriminate criticisms on people who read dark media justified, regardless of whether it's dark psychological or rape porn, just bc they are deemed as "the same"? unless they are diminishing certain problematic aspects and advocating it as some perfect story due to their biases, who really cares?
Reading about a man getting brutally raped, beaten and degraded to no end and then ending up with that abuser as well as showing the most graphic disturbing rape scenes ever imaginable, and you want me to say it in a nice way???? no I don’t have a problem if you read toxic stories in fact, I don’t really give a shit, but if you’re reading fetishized rape porn, why do you think that’s normal? I never insult OP I even in fact, said that I don’t agree with people saying slurs or attacking anyone.
The OP is referring to shitty rapeslop yaois, because they only made this post due to a forum thread where people were naming Low Tide In Twilight, ass Harada mangas and, this one was posted by the OP btw, Sadistic Beauty BL Side Story as their favourite yaoi mangas and manhwas, and they were defending anyone who loves this crap from the people who commented "that's kinda weird" to those posts.
Also name one dark psychological work on this site that isn't just a rape or pedo-infested fetish work. BL or otherwise.
A Cruel God Reigns. deals with the trauma of CSA.
My Broken Mariko. deals with grief of losing a best friend. not particularly dark imo
Takopii's original sin. deals with bullying and abuse.
Requiem for the Rose King. inspired by a piece of history, and mc is intersex and deals with that. gay-ish.
Monster. investigative seinen storyline.
Boy's abyss. there is an instance of rape but it's not smut. just twisted folks.
Hibari no asa. girl deals with bullying/abuse and ostracization.
Save Me. bullied kid meets and is saved by mysterious guy.
Interview with a murderer. twisted gay people meet.
blood on the tracks. twisted relationship with mom.
total eclipse of the eternal heart. contains a gay pedo but not fetishized. just twisted relationship
who is the prey. fmc is abused by an obsessive ml. she hates him and he is not endgame.
chasing tails. creepy murder mystery.
etc
i dont plan to read low tide in twilight so i cant speak on that matter. admittedly, if i name more psychological dark bls, there is usually an element of rape/SA, but they are not necessarily fetishized. that said, the fact is that the gay factor in dark stories increases the chances of sexual assault being in the work. why is rape so prevalent in these types of BL works? so these writers can explore crazy psychological dark stuff in a safe space, like OP said, with a sense of distance. it strips away the heteronormative gender roles lens that influences how we view these stories and allows us to better dissect the author's intentions. and if in the right hands, sex and the act of rape is simply another plot device to convey their ideas. so it's not that people read these stories for porn, but are reading in spite of it bc they want to explore the other taboo stuff. obviously, if the author is unable to write it well, and it turns into a smut fest, then that's that. their works should be rightfully criticized. But like i said, if people are able to substantiate why they enjoy certain dark works with analysis/reasons that aren't porn related, then they are mature enough to read these works, and applying broad criticism to them as though they are the same as the people who read rape porn simply for porn, is pathetic. idk what OP said, but if they properly explained why that particular work resonated with them, then i dont see the reason for judgement
90% of the time it is fetishized want to know why because why else are they always making the bottom look like he enjoys it? Why are they making them end up with their abuser? Why else are they writing and drawing the most disgusting graphic rape scenes ever imaginable? It’s for peoples fetishes and for intended audience. I’m sure there’s works where it does explore the effects of rape, but it’s always reduced to a taboo exotic genre to explore as if people don’t go through this in real life, just for it to be reduced to a taboo subject for people to jerk off to. It doesn’t matter if it’s fictional because it mirrors reality and such a sensitive object shouldn’t be an exotic genre. Also, just because it’s two men, doesn’t mean you can escape heteronormativity, and general roles because BL has to be one of the most misogynistic genres to ever exist. The bottoms or anyone on the receiving end is always treated like absolute shit, dehumanized, and degraded by someone who is much more masculine and stronger. The omega versus genre, reeks of gender, norms, and heteronormativity, where once again the feminine more smaller person is getting raped and abused. You cannot escape, misogyny, and heteronormativity because it’s everywhere. I don’t know why you guys act like yaoi is like a groundbreaking genre and out here breaking gender, norms, and heteronormativity when all it does is reinforce it.
Again, u are regurgitating common, shallow criticism against BL, which practically everybody here already knows. People who are already reading this stuff have already come to the same conclusions as you, and it's not gonna flip a switch in their head just bc people keep barking about it. on an illegal website, no less. It's frankly irrelevant bc i am specifically talking about the dark stories that OP described, not straight-up porn. i doubt u have any basis for that 90% either. Again, u apply the same broad surface-level criticism to people who read such works, irregardless if they are reading to explore taboo subjects out of morbid curiosity/interest, to process trauma, or for porn. i dont know what kind of shit YOU are reading if u find all dark works to be 90% fetish, but if u cant be bothered to look for stuff that doesn't fetishize, then that's a YOU problem. If all u gleamed from this type of story is that it romanticizes/glorifies whatever problematic aspect bc of similar story beats, then that's a reading comprehension problem on YOUR part. It only reveals that u have never actually read a dark psychological bl, have u-- considering u said "I'm sure there's works...", yet u simultaneously still reduce them all to fetish content if it happens to have sex. u claim there is a major difference between dark psychological works and rape porn, but all u did was rant about the latter as if they comprise the entirety of BL. Literally, the first story i listed is a shounen ai that explores the trauma of child sexual assault. Although it contains a rape scene by a pedophile, it's not particularly explicit and uses imagery to focus more on the victim's vulnerability and terror. A lot of dark psychological works delve into the psyche of characters, not revolve around the act of rape, which, as I said, in the right hands, facilitates the themes. If you find every graphic sex scene, even those that are explicitly depicted as an uncomfortable violent experience, as simply for getting people off, then that's a YOU problem.
The authors have no obligation to cater to random hormonal teenagers who are illegally reading their work. They can put whatever mature 18+ story they want on the internet, as long as it's legal, for their intended demographic, who are adults with money and able to recognize it's just fantasy. How they consume that is none of my or your business. Why do they need to cater to teens who are susceptible to internalizing the contents from obviously unrealistic bl? These stories are also usually properly tagged and behind a paywall, so victims wouldn't stumble upon them accidentally. And since when did exploring a piece of trauma become exclusive only to people whove experienced it? As long as authors don't sweep the abuse under the rug, then i dont see the issue. Unless these stories are causing actual direct harm to victims, then who cares? A lot of people don't have the same experiences as the victims; they're not gonna get triggered, bc to them, it's just entertainment to pass the time. Unless they are mentally ill, they're obviously not gonna be "i love rape hehe" irl or harassing victims. And even if some people do that, the fault does not lie on the author, bc these people were always predisposed to act in this manner and would inevitably do similar things, regardless of whether influenced by BL or not.
While there is a ton of rape porn galore BLs, claiming BL is one of the most misogynistic genres, instead of shounen, harems, hentai for men, or even shoujosei, makes me question if you've actually read BL before, and makes me certain you've never branched out to other genres. hetero romance is no less misogynistic than BL, since they also have elements of rape, and romanticization of psychopaths and unequal power dynamics. porn for men, sometimes even shounen, always treat the female characters as a sex doll, but gee, guess that's less misogynistic than BL? Obviously, if it's a female author, then no matter how grounded they want the bl story, it's inevitable that heteronoramtive standards and their perspective as women would influence their works. but like i said, for BL readers, they could evaluate the story with a sense of distance; they won't self-project into the mc so easily, they won't interpret every action or behavior based on "is this how a girl would act?" and judge them harshly for being too "soft" or "masculine". Or get excessively triggered if the male mc is suffering. with bl, you cut thru that nonsense and evaluate the themes as is, including but not limited to heteronormative gender politics. at it's core, it's not reinforcing misogynistic ideas, it's dissecting it in a way that's not possible with hetero stories. for example, omegaverse? if all u grasp from the subgenre is that it's all an excuse for rape, not another way to examine traditional gender roles in a patriarchy (which is a very common analysis of this worldbuilding), then that's on YOU. BL is still somewhat taboo to write about/read, and a lot of female BL author live in a society that expects them to be demure and innocent and shames them for exploring their sexuality, so it's not surprising that BL becomes a liberating outlet for their more unconventional interests or discussing difficult themes, much more than hetero romance.
It's more productive to think about why dark subjects are so prevalent in east asian BL, why it is magnified in BL, but i suppose u dont have the mental capacity or your head is just so far up your ass with ur shallow self-righteousness, despite reading on an illegal website, that u dont even bother to think about it. i repeat, if all you're finding are stories that espouse problematic ideology, which im sure have already been criticized, but u for some reason, act as if they dont exist, then that's a YOU problem.
It’s already been explained to you by the other users that OP is not specifically talking about dark psychological stories, I dead ass had an argument with them already on the post where we were talking about low tide in twilight which is not a psychological manhwa being straight up a shitty rape porn manhwa. Like I said, I have no fucking issue with dark psychological thrillers if it’s done well and it doesn’t turn into like some sort of fetish content. I have read good psychological manhwas like lost in the cloud, black mirror and a few other others, but I’m not gonna sit here and lie that I don’t actively look for it because it’s not really my interest but at the same time, I have no problem if people are. Also, since when has rape been sex??? The act of sex is consensual. Rape is not sex, but an active violence. I don’t have a problem with smut manhwas. What I do have a problem with is graphic RAPE scenes for an intended audience. I have read my fair share of BL and I do in fact, enjoy the genre. I’ve explored it and I am well aware that there is well written emotional stories, but I’m not gonna sit here and act like it doesn’t have issues like every other genre. That’s my point. I said it’s one of the most misogynistic genres because it’s true just because a female character isn’t depicted being violated, doesn’t make it any less misogynistic because hating femininity and writing it like it’s lower than masculinity is misogynistic. I’m well aware of that other genres have the same issue like straight romance but I also believe that BL has similar issues and I think it’s fucking bullshit that women explore their sexuality through gay men to escape the patriarchy. When all they do is apply the same type of storylines and dynamics in their stories but they’re just gay. It’s the same as a misogynistic straight manhwa but it’s just two men. If they’re exploring their sexuality, why do they choose gay men a minority group that’s also heavily affected in their country by the patriarchy to fetishize??? because they live in a patriarchal society we’re going to see it in their work no matter if it’s BL or not since most women, especially in Korea are pretty conservative and homophobic. This is not me claiming all of them are before you twist my words. Also, the omega verse is misogynistic because the way they portray the omega as a small petite and woman like and the greatest example of this is love is an illusion the plot is basically about the omega, getting raped and having to forcefully keep the baby same thing women experience every day in real life. Again, I’m well aware that not all BL is like this but it is a huge issue and normalized. Applying gender roles, heteronormativity, and misogyny doesn’t only apply to straight manhwas. We’re gonna agree to disagree because this conversation is absolutely going nowhere. You have your opinions and I have mine.
First of all, let’s be clear again: I was talking specifically about psychological horror, not fetishistic works. My curiosity about this topic started because I saw the 'moral police' jumping down the throat of a user who simply admitted to reading Low Tide in Twilight. They weren't 'worshipping abuse'; they were asking a question. Surely engaging with a story where, like in any dark novel, the reader actually feels the protagonist's weight and suffering.
I’ve been reading psychological horror for years. I don't need my fiction to be a safe space. When I was asked why I liked Sadistic Beauty, I gave sensible, structured reasons. But of course, it’s easier for people to act like a cheap broken record, repeating 'don't normalize' or 'don't romanticize' instead of actually having a conversation.
These stories are supposed to make you feel uncomfortable, sad, or even sick—that’s the point of the genre. If you can’t look at a work like The Horizon or the darker psychological layers of Sadistic Beauty and see anything beyond the surface, that’s a lack of media literacy on your part. I’m not 'romanticizing' anything; I’m analyzing power dynamics and human trauma in a fictional setting. I respect your point, but I’m not changing my opinion either.
What I have a problem with are the people who can't just scroll past and instead choose to waste their time attacking readers and authors, claiming that anything unconventional shouldn't even exist. It’s as ridiculous as trying to ban horror movies just because they're scary. I thought I was stating the obvious here.
Dark fantasy plots, survival scenarios (zombies/apocalypse), or perhaps gritty realism that includes tragic endings, painful time travel, or social conflicts like homophobia and arranged marriages. Any of these are fine (￣∇￣")
hounds of sisyphus is pretty good!
Apocalyptic ones;
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/undead_tsuyuhisa_fumi/
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/a_room_without_space_side_story_1/
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/believe_my_sign/
Little mushroom
Rainbow city
Tragic and/or sad with happy ending:
December rain
Murderer Llewellyn's enchanting dinner invitation
Tragic and sad NO happy ending:
10 years where I loved you the most
Lucky letter
Haruka Tooki Le(Home far away just under diff title)
Perle(sad and historical)
Thank you! <3
Thank you so much!
Np!
stay alive is still ongoing and has a novel that goes into better detail but if you like an outbreak story? this one is great since at one point the fucking korean government itself basically says over a tv boardcast that we’re all fucked gang! so get your ass to a certain part of korea so we can safely gtfo since we agreed with the un itself to missile strike the shit out of korea in a month lmao
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/let_s_meet_alive/
dreadful night is also ongoing but on a hiatus I think..? but tldr is that mc is stuck in a slasher horror video game time loop with several other boys
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/dreadful_night/
no prob^^
That sounds super interesting! I love it when these of manhwa plots make me feel like I'm watching a movie. Thank you, I've already added them to my reading list <3
Haiii !! I recommend reading the 11th school trip!
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/the_11th_school_trip/
It's currently ongoing and updates every week! It also has a novel, if you want to read it you can go check out on :
https://cherrymist.cafe/chapter/est-ch-9/
also read dead man's switch!
Omg peak mentioned !!
The way the lou2 is matching the question is frying me
Ooh I found gold there. Thank you so much <3
LOL. An average day in Ellie's life: zombies and doomed wlw.
also two more recs:
dear door is fucking great in the art department since it’s all about demons among other things, but it’s heavy on the smut later on, and the ending kinda feels abrupt per say depending on who you ask
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/dear_door/
https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/madk/
madk.. honestly? this is an optional rec since genuine tw if you can’t handle heavy gore among other sensitive topics since it’s infamous and popular for a reason but right from chapter 1 is uh.. oof is what I can say best
if you can stomach it? the ending is a subtle masterpiece once you realize what it means
tldr: madk is the equivalent of watching smile hd (iykyk) for the first time, aka oh.. this is fine, it’s cute and— oh shit wait what? did she just— what the fuck is going on