These days, it's easy to take a fantasy setting to say "I'm hurt because my trauma happened and this fantasy story coming from the mind of someone that asked nothing from me triggers me the most". I've been a yaoi reader for 16 years and I tend to avoid the holier-than-thou people gathered in this website.
Oh yeah, Been there, done that. It's part of my "darkhistory" hehe. Because, I must admit I used to be one of those who got "horrified" and went off "preaching", lmao. That was before I: 1) realized I was barking at the wrong tree; 2) discovered Korean Yaoi, that unlike Japanese manga yaoi was a lot more "reader-friendly" (thanks to its age ratings that Japanese manga way too often lacked, its trigger warnings and generally more "balanced", much less "romanticized" takes on some subjects...; and 3) I kind of outgrew it? ...BUT, IMO I can take some pride in the fact that, even though I would definitely "preach," sometimes, I wouldn't patronize specific people, not at least until THEY themselves started patronizing me...
I also realized that old "reality versus fiction" debate doesn't really have an established answer: a convicted infamous American Serial killer once famously tried to blame "pornography" for the crimes he had commited, ...and was later on was recorded admitting to someone that porn had not caused it, that he'd done what he did because he wanted, and he had just been bullshitting about porn being the cause because he was running out of options and out of time to get enough people to pity him and get him out of death row...
That scenario irritates me the most, too lol
I've got c-PTSD from some vile shit that happened to me between the age of 5 to 10. I've been in and out of therapy since I was about 13, I think? I definitely have some triggers, and it has made certain things in my life unbearably difficult, but I don't use it as a weapon to attack other people. It's crazy, too, 'cause the people who do weaponize their's tend to think they get to pick and choose which survivors "deserve" to use said trauma as an excuse for whatever.
They even make it a dick measuring contest against me when I try to tell them "hey, just 'cause you went through some shit that doesn't mean you get to be vile towards someone who has done no wrong towards you."
They wanna be seen as perpetual victims so they can use it as a get outta jail free card to harass people for being chill with what they are not. They also like to "revoke victim cards" if you're against them lol gotta be the perfect victim with only the flaws they approve of apparently. It's sickening.
Oh yeah, most manhwa and manhua back then were definitely more tame due to censorship laws back in the day lol the first one I ever read tho wasn't even bl/yaoi, it was a sci-fi action horror series called Jack Frost I think? I just remember there was a character that couldn't technically die so they ended up getting decapitated and were just a talking head. This was like... 15 years ago? I can't remember lol my first job as a teen was at a bookstore so I read a LOT of manga/hua/hwa back then.
And not to say that I don't have things I dislike when it comes to bl/yaoi, I just don't treat those dislikes like an excuse to act like a jackass towards people just trying to read lol
And yeah, there have been instances of people trying to use the media they consumed as an excuse to commit crimes, but any doctor worth their salt would know it's only in specific cases where this could be true. Most of the time these people already had the idea or willingness to commit said crime before they got into whatever it is they claimed to make them do it. There are instances, tho, where mentally unwell individuals with either some form of extreme psychosis or just fell a lil short in the intelligence department *were* influenced by the media they consumed. This isn't the fault of the media in the slightest tho and the responsibility falls on the ones that raised the person or the mental health system that failed them.
I also hate when people conflate propaganda with fiction lol one is created with the intent and purpose of basically brainwashing and controlling the general public while the other is created for different forms of entertainment.
Tbh I don't have any beef with this story since it's myth inspired but I would'nt tolerate child porn even if it's fiction, I would shot guns at that point
I know this is not very related but recently ive seen sm hate for this manhwa and its quite sad because when did people become so sensitive? Like damn back in the day no one gaf and now its all people playing the facades of being pure innocents who think they have the right to police others around about what fiction is “okay” to read and what fiction is “wrong bc blah blah” Sorry for ruining the mood i just feel that it used to be so much more laid back and now fandoms feel like a prison. Anyways have a good day!