sottovoce's answer page 4 (124)

I never finished it, so my view is limited. but at the time it was blowing up, it seemed to me that there was a lot of talk about the appropriateness of it being labeled "bl". because most people interpret bl as having a focus on romance, when technically all that is needed is featuring relationships between men and implying or showing emotional an......   3 reply

you got any definitions for the terms in question here? what does "woke" mean to you? otherwise, people make their own assumptions about what they mean, which often turn out to be all over the place, which is intentional by the people who use them with a negative spin. being woke and staying woke was originally about being aware and informed of sy......   reply

no disagreements with the complaints here. in fact, you could extend them to other genres beyond just bl. it's a consequence of the low-investment, click/profit-driven webtoon/web publication market and the lack of other avenues to develop, support, and promote a greater variety of things beyond these same-y, derivative stories just meant to pump o......   reply

hard out here for people who want more thrills and action than slice-of-life but don't find the threat or spectacle of sexual violence all that compelling. nothing but stock characters, dynamics, and plots...   reply

it's not gonna ruin my day or damage my mental state to read something with rape/SA in it, but I'm always going to question its inclusion in ostensibly "romantic" stories, even if it's about criminals and villains because the grand majority of the time, rape/SA is included in BL for cheap thrills, titillation and as a relationship catalyst or short......   reply

I'm aware of BL's shoujo roots, so the pretty boys came with the genre, and I don't have a problem with men being pretty or soft or beautiful instead of handsome. I do have a problem with the very narrow range of appearances that they're given. men have a range of appearances and body types, too. feminine men and twinks exist, and that's not an iss......   reply

not to the intensity of broken bones (which is too far for me) but both of these keep a sadomasochistic relationship throughout the story https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/yoru_wa_tomodachi/ this one starts out dodgy, but there is development https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/sneaky_red/ edit: I had links on here before, idk why this cut off weir......   2 reply

figure out your comedy routine and be the change you want to see.   reply

going off of what I was aware of back when the manga was getting more popular in English speaking spaces some years back, syundei is a victim of false advertising from the people hyping "go for it, nakamura-kun" at the time. it was being hyped as a wholesome rom-com type of thing, and a break from the super-dramatic, rape-y stuff out there. I had r......   1 reply

by all means, let's push back against things that normalize sexualizing children, so this isn't to say that you shouldn't criticize the release of anime/manga featuring loli/shota content. I'm in full agreement with that sentiment. that said, the birth rate issue is more a consequence of lack of support for mothers/families, work culture, economic ......   1 reply

writing is just the vehicle for ideas, so while the ideas are important for substance, personal interest and enjoyment, in the end, identifying something as "well-written" is based on the execution of the narrative. something could have great ideas even to the point of memorability and still be poorly written, lacking in execution. there's baselin......   reply

I pay for the stuff I like because I have the means to do that, and I want to support the creator to make more of it. but definitely with bl and other things, I'll take every opportunity to try before I buy. if the prevalence of certain tropes and themes is partly caused by market demand for them, I'll be sure to ensure that I'm not contributing to......   reply

a flag is a communication tool. a basic and common function is signalling if a path is clear (green) or obstructed/hazardous (red). imo, many people are using "flags" weirdly because it makes more sense to apply it to behaviors and attitudes rather than to a person or character as whole. that's how I saw the concept used, initially, anyways. it ove......   1 reply

https://m.tapas.io/series/Ride-or-Die/info https://linktr.ee/pasteliaent don't know the background of this creator, but it appears to be a more self-aware historical piece https://x.com/MeanFujoLesbian/status/2069623166113112319   reply

I feel you. it's not just that other people don't wanna think about anything critically or use their brains in general, they get mad at you for daring to use yours! I'm gonna keep writing my essays regardless.   reply

from Ghana, but functionally american   1 reply

no, because I don't have any experience with intimate relationships. (that's up to my own orientation though) those stories (and fiction in general) aren't likely to have a direct effect on what people do in the form of imitation, especially when they're not children anymore. but they do influence how people think and talk about stuff and how they ......   reply

like perfection, it's an unnattainable goal to know everything, but it's one of those things where there's virtue and value in the undertaking. journey over destination, so to speak. take your learning opportunities where they come with an open, inquisitive, and curious mind(set). I'm all about reading, reading, reading. books, articles, etc. someo......   1 reply

any to be hero x fans out there?   2 reply