Sure, it is problematic, but this is still fiction. A comment said that "a lot of BLs and yaois are written to cater to fantasies and fetishes," and it is unfortunately true. However, if you claim that young people read this, then it is their problem, not the author's. Why would young people read this in the first place when it is clearly explicit? Plus, the readers are not dumb. They won't apply these kinds of things into their life when its common sense not to.
Happy reading tho xx
Fantasies and fetishes come from story like this which romanticize illegal behavior and make it "romantic" or "proof of love".
It's the author's problem to write this kind of story. It's the author's problem to make illegal behavior looking normal and "not a big deal". Young people, reading this, will internalized that this is ok. It's author responsibility to put AT LEAST warning about it putting you in jail in real life.
When I talk about young people I don't talk about those who shouldn't be reading this in the first place because it's +18 (even if it's way more problematic to instill normality in illegal behavior to children who are still learning life). I talk about those who are the right age but too young to have enough critical thinking and legal knowledge to distinguish between good and bad, and even more so when it's normalized like here. At this age I thought SO MUCH things were normal because everybody, primarily grown adults, were acting like that, talking about this normally and SAID it was ok. It's common sense when you're an adult like the author.
Like, beauty and the beast. "It's so romantic! She make him go back to human!" NO. The beast is a predator. You don't want your daughter (even at 35yo) to be with someone like that. You would go crazy if she was coming to you saying her bf/husband act like this. Why would you instill in her mind it's romantic because it's fiction ?
If fiction depict fantasies and fetishes, it means it depict reality. We are not talking about flying horses, alien or superpower.
Whould you be ok with story about r*ping child ? Mass k*lling black people ? Exterm*nating disabled people ? Where is the problem? It's fiction! Your father fantasizing about having s*x with a 8yo child is ok because it's in his head? Your partner fetishising about r*ping you is ok because it's in their head? Your neighbor dreaming about stalking you, following you and menacing people around you because they're not ok with you talking to them is ok because it's in their head?
People making comment like you did are part of the problem. Those fetishes wouldn't exist if people weren't making it normal. Something being common doesn't make it ok. At some point it was ok to r*pe your wife, to k*ll poc, to beat your child. But we have grow up. We learnt. People stood up to make everyone understand it's was not normal, even if they had thought it was for so long.
Fiction doesn't excuse anything and will never.
Main story was already problematic. I read it for the art.
But side stories are just unacceptable. Young people read this! You can't romanticize an illegal behavior in front off young people.
I know it's so normalized we forget, but everyone should remember : it's reprehensible behavior. You go to jail for that.
I'm done. Don't want to know the end anymore.