The thing that bothers me the most with this is the skin colour change.
Ethan is presented as a brown-skinned man and suddenly becomes pale as a vampire. First, of all, that is not realistic. Vampires exist in folklore around the world. If you were to go on the folklore where they are undead people, why would they all be white? Why would they only have pale skin? You realize black and brown people die too right? Do you think that our melanin just leaves our bodies when we die?
Don't come and talk about it being a manhwa. Ethan has brown skin. Point blank. Plus everyone has Western names, so it's not as if this is set in Korea--where there are more than just pale people. Korean people are diverse just like everyone else. There are Korean people who don't have pale skin.
So, arguments about it being a manhwa or that vampires need to have pale skin are bull shit.
Blood Link is a manhwa with vampires and it manages to maintain the melanin of its brown-skinned vampires. Blade is a story with a black vampire. Even fucking Twilight had a black vampire (although Stephanie Meyer is racist intentionally made the only black main character a villain--she's really gross for so many reasons).
This is whitewashing. If this wasn't a factor, I wouldn't even be writing this huge thing, but people either want to make excuses for the author or don't know what whitewashing is. The author isn't stupid. Why did you even make Ethan have brown skin in the first place?! Brown skin is not a costume or makeup you put on and take off. It's like Ethan is walking around performing a watered-down minstrel show until he takes off his mask to be a stereotypical pale vampire.
THANK YOU I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO WAS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THAT!
I'm tired of seeing trans people being treated as predators. You rarely see them being represented at all, but when you do you get shit like this. I would have been in love with the story had Mei not been included in it. The mangaka is way out of pocket for this. This is so transmisogynistic. Virtually nothing else was wrong with the manga. It could have been a really cute story. Don't do this shit and expect trans people to not get upset!!
the two downvotes on this can go fuck themselves honestly... you said it all
i'm sorry you feel that way but i have a genuine question as to why it's trans misogynistic?
"I'm sorry you feel this way" is not an apology. It puts the blame on the person who was hurt by the action. Unless you wrote this manga, there is nothing for you to apologize for.
I'm going to assume that you have no idea what transmisogyny is. It is one word that describes the sort of discrimination used against trans women. It's deadly and leads to the sexual assaults and deaths of countless trans women around the world. Trans women are demonized and fetishized simultaneously. They are treated as sexual predators, manipulators, deviants, perverts amongst a host of other things. Thing manga contributes to the falsehood that trans women are forcing themselves on others. The way that her trans identity is revealed is so disgusting and objectifying. She embodies everything that cis people try to make trans women out to be and it is beyond aggravating to see.
I am trans myself and barely see any representation in manga of trans people. It's the same with all media in every country. We're virtually invisible made to feel like we don't exist. When we do see ourselves it's as caricatures of ourselves.
The only good thing the mangaka did was not have anyone misgender her, but I've only seen this translation of it. I have no idea what the original text says.
If you are genuinely confused as to how Mei's depiction is transmisogynistic then I suggest that you follow trans women online, read works by trans women and watch trans women on platforms like YouTube. Watch Disclosure on Netflix if you have it and any other informative work that is done about trans representation in the media. Educating yourself is the best thing that you can do.
do you have any recommendations i could read that could help me get more educated on the topic?
I love how you are trying to educate yourself in this (▰˘◡˘▰)
Do you mean, as irl stuff or in mangas?
But this is the second manga that has attempted to normalize women abandoning their children. This is disgusting. Children need parents in order to thrive. There is no excuse for leaving your children. "Oh, I want my mom to be happy." You're not an adult and shouldn't be forced to work in order to survive.
Parents have an obligation to their children. His mother, regardless of how she treated him before, was trash for leaving her son for some man. There is no "other side" to this. What she did was objectively wrong. Fuck her.
Hiroyuki's parents were great though. If they learned to knock, they would be perfect. Gonna have to dock some points because of that, but at least they didn't abandon their son and have him fend for himself.
The way Hiroto's involvement in sex work bothered me too. Do young people get involved in survival sex work? Absolutely. I say survival because it is often done in order to have access to food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and other basic needs. It's not done for shits and giggles. Other reasons are commercial exploitation, drug addiction, trying to support family, etc. It's not Hiroto's fault that he got into sex work. His mother put him in a situation that he should have never put him in.
The fact that one of the teachers was a client just makes it worse. So much of this manga was fucked up and it was just glossed over. Hiroto's clients were clearly adults so every single one was engaging in child rape. Every single one. Including the teacher.
But who cares because the art style is cute are Hiroyuki and Hiroto are so cute, right?! These are very heavy and dark topics that should not be dealt with lightly.
Lastly, that bitch whose name I can't remember--she basically blamed Hiroto for his own rape, which was gross. I'm not going to get into all of my beef with rape in the Omegaverse, but that should've been explored more.
You can't have underage survival sex work, child abandonment, child rape, sexual assault, child exploitation AND have a fluffy cute romance AT THE SAME TIME! It doesn't work!!
Yez preach it ╥﹏╥
Try getting fucked by a giant pencil then you can start complaining!" ... or something like that.
I thought corn would be the weirdest thing I'd see shoved in someone anus. Nope! It is a giant pencil being shoved in a shrunken man's ass who's in a dress. Such a weird scenario. The only people I could see this satisfying are the people with a fetish for giants/huge size differences. This series is trying to tap into multiple kinks. What's next?? Vore?!
[PLEASE READ TILL THE END TO HAVE A MEANINGFUL DISCUSSION]
This didn't portray BDSM correctly at all! BDSM is built on consent. Remember this acronym dear children: FRIES
Freely Given
Reversible
Informed
Enthusiastic
Specific
1. Freely Given
This means that there was no coercion involved. No substances were forced on the individual such as alcohol to get them to a state where they would say something that they don't actually mean. In the manga, Akihito is drunk when he says that he is willing to have Shizuru do anything to him. Meaning that he is unable to give consent as he is not in his right mind. Shizuru had nothing to do with Akihito's alcohol intake prior to their meeting, but he could certainly take advantage of the situation and use it to his advantage. The fact that Akihito woke up with no initial memory of what happen only further proves that the "decision" he made was not a legitimate one and was not to be taken as actual consent.
2. Reversible
Most yaoi fail miserably at this. The seme says, "Even if you say 'no' later on I won't stop," or some iteration of that. This is not consent. You have the right to revoke your consent at anytime and for any reason. If you don't want to do it five minutes later, that is your right. If you get hungry, sleepy, feel sick, or whatever--it's your body and your right to say when you want to stop. This is especially important in a scene (BDSM lingo). You need a safe word to signal to the other that you want to stop. All parties need one. This is not only for the sub, but also for the dom/me and any other participants as well.
3. Informed
This manga does this terribly. You need to know what you are consenting to. You can NOT spring shit up randomly. If you're doing a scene with your dom/me and they start paddling you when you two never agreed upon this, then that is a break of consent. Most people write up a contract and make sure that everything is confirmed before engaging in the scene. This very important. It is not up to one party to decide what happens. That is going against individual autonomy and highly unethical. Shizuru telling Akihito that he was just going to have to do whatever he says in the playroom is absolutely fucking ridiculous. Akihito has no fucking clue what Shizuru could do. He could fucking electrocute him or do blood play with him or put him in a body bag. BDSM gets very fucking dark and gets very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. You have the right to know what is happening to your body. How the hell can you give consent when you don't know what it is that you're consenting to.
I know my shit when it comes to BDSM. Akihito did not. He needed to be taught way before even trying anything. He obviously never dabbled in the lifestyle before (for many people it is a 24/7 thing). So he needed to be educated and not just thrown in. Informed consent requires all parties to be informed. Why the hell do I need to say this?!
4. Enthusiastic
This is really obvious. You need to be very sure that you want to do something. If you are taking forever to respond, then you don't need to do it. If you are on the fence, then you don't need to do it. Stop try to please the other party. You need to be selfish and think about yourself. This is your body. So you have every right to say no.
Akihito was very unsure in many situations because he felt torn between his feelings for Shizuru and his unfamiliarity and discomfort with Shizuru's lifestyle. "I can only love you like this." That's some bullshit right there. Yes, there are people who center BDSM as a very important and almost integral part of their life, but it is not impossible to love someone outside of your lifestyle. Sure, for some people BDSM is more of a hobby or somewhere in between. However, Shizuru gives off the 25/8 dom/master who needs to feel in control. He totally took advantage of Akihito's feelings for him in order to get him to comply with his demands.
5. Specific
This goes hand-in-hand with "Informed"
This is what I am consenting to. You need to be specific about what is being discussed. If you agreed upon a scene where there is breath play but instead are suspended and subjected to sensory deprivation then that is a violation of consent. You consented to breath play NOT sensory deprivation and suspension. "That's not what I ordered!" This manga really didn't go into specifics with their scenes which they didn't even call "scenes" because the manga posited Shizuru as the sole person able to make decisions about their play, which is goes against everything that consent is about.
In BDSM, I'm sure you've all heave of Safe Sane and Consensual (SSC). Now there has been a lot of talk over the years about how problematic this is and how it could be improved upon. The acronym RACK was created to mean "Risk Aware Consensual Kink". This essentially means that you are aware of the all of the potential risks involved in whatever type of play you are going to be engaging in and are giving your full consent (refer to FRIES). Need I remind you that another pillar of BDSM is after play. This can take numerous forms and means something different to each person who is in the BDSM community. The are general things that people can do but there are also very specific "rituals" that people will follow after they play and these can be very specific to the parties involved and their individual needs. Communication is key in this because needs can and will change so after care will look differently as a result.
This was not to bash this manga, but I cannot stand when harmful messages about BDSM are pushed in any media and more often than not the representation in the media is very misinformed which is why there are so many people praising this manga. They have absolutely no idea how inaccurate the manga was.
"But it would be boring if it was." No it wouldn't. Why do you think there are real people in BDSM?? The creator can create an interesting and accurate portrayal of BDSM. Plus you all could learn something. It's the creator who can make or break something. I've read stories about things I had no prior interest in and was sucked into it because the author wrote about it in such a way, while still being accurate to the real thing, that I was hooked and wanted to just keep learning more. Mangaka are fully capable of researching BDSM and making a well-researched and well-written story where the characters all have full agency and are enjoying themselves as a result. Akihito never got to voice what he wanted. He even had a little side thought at one point. "This seems unfair." I believe that was the approximate phrasing. Yes! It was unfair. What about his pleasure? What if Akihito wanted to try something? What if he wanted to discontinue something? Shizuru made it seem like it was his way or the highway. That is how he came across. He made it seem like a "no" to what he wanted was a "no" to their entire relationship. That was not right.
It was still entertaining and I did like it, but I don't feel right now bringing up all of those issues that were so pervasive. This manga was not long t all. If it was at least a few volumes long if not longer and was well fleshed out. Shit! I would be praising it on all of my platforms. They said five years passed. Shit, show us those five years please. Those years were material for more story goddamn it! More volumes = more money. Whatever. That's all I wanted to say.
i get it, little to no BDSM representation in manga (at least as far as i’ve seen) are ever proper portrayals. especially in yaoi, and that’s mainly because this is a genre that already regularly revolves around taboo themes like rape, incest, dubious consent, abuse, among other things. it’s unfortunate, because a lot of people don’t have any real prior knowledge of BDSM and end up taking what they see in these manga at face value.
so unfortunately, when authors use BDSM in yaoi (and straight manga too sometimes but i haven’t read many of those) it’s just in addition to already taboo and harmful themes and practices, which incriminates BDSM as something bad or abusive. it sucks :/
You're talking to someone who's been reading yaoi for since 2008. I am very aware of its faults. So much of yaoi has the potential to be great! I get angry because I see stories that have the potential to do well but are ruined by rape, incest, abusive relations, etc. There's yaoi manga that's rushed and has little to no substance to it. People like to say that it's just porn, but this is just ridiculous. Porn has very little plot. It has some exposition to set up the scene, but then it gets to the sex and ends. Yaoi has chapters and chapters developing characters and establishing backstories. That is not porn. If a reader is reading yaoi for the sex, they will be bored most of the time. You would have to stick to one-shots or manga that comprise mostly of sex scenes.
I believe mangaka are fully capable of creating yaoi that is doesn't have rape or incest in it, is not vague at all about consent and is erotic and entertaining. I can't be the only one who would rather see characters enjoying sex than see them crying and screaming for it to stop, right? BDSM is misrepresented in some many movies, books, etc. outside of manga. So it's not just in yaoi that this is seen which is unfortunate. People in the BDSM community are never listened to when it comes to this and they are treated like abusers when this kind of work is put out. Mangaka carry responsibility for their work. Most people do not know a lot about BDSM. That is fine. It is irresponsible for authors to continuously depict BDSM in a harmful light. If they are ignorant then they need to do their own research. I hope that people do their own research into BDSM as well instead of thinking that this is an accurate representation. It is a shame, this could have been amazing.
Speaking of "taking things at face value", I have seen people say that they thought that men's buttholes are self-lubricating. This goes to show how impressionable the readers are to the content that they are consuming. I'm sure there are readers who think that gay people really behave like they do in yaoi. Most people start off young to yaoi. I was 13 when I started. They are ignorant about sex in general much less gay sex. So this stuff is going to influence their perceptions of reality, of gay people, of gay relationships, etc. I'm just hoping that they get more exposure to real gay people and educate themselves on the LGBTQIA+ community to get a better understanding of what reality actually is.
@itbelikethat I meant to send this as a reply. Whoops!
it’s okay i still got the notification from the thread anyway! yeah the self lubricating thing is ridiculous, but it just goes to show how some people will just take any media they consume for its word, without any questioning or further research. although i’ve only recently gotten into yaoi manga/manhwa, i have been seeing the other side of this coin for years: fan-fiction. so i’ve seen/read a lot in the last few years. just like in manga, some have good representations of these relationships (lgbtq+, BDSM, etc.) and others are very obviously not.
fan-fiction is what got me to doing my own research into BDSM (i’m by no means an expert or anything, i’m just very curious and interested for the future), but it’s pretty obvious others won’t. either because it won’t interest them or they just believe how it’s depicted in things like this.
it’s sucks because i’ve seen these depictions scare people off in a lot of comment sections with the misrepresentation and misinformation.
and you’re right, i feel like at this point authors and mangakas have a responsibility to start accurately portraying BDSM and for goodness sake some healthy relationships. these are real communities affected by their portrayals in media.
This is new. I'm actually disagreeing with a content warning. It said there was non-con/rape in the chapter and I didn't see any. Isaac asked if they were done, Felix said no and they kept it going. Isaac never showed any signs that he wanted to stop. There was one point where he said "stop" but I think that had to do with him nearing climax rather than wanting everything to stop altogether.
No, there was no rape in this chapter. It was just the continuation of a really erotic sex scene. It was done well and you could actually feel something from Felix and Isaac.
That's why I don't get a lot of rape fantasies (I'm not gonna lie, I
Not finished. My dove keeps landing on my head and he made me submit this unfinished mess.
I wish you could edit comments. This is bullshit.
Anyway!
That's why I don't get a lot of rape fantasies (I'm not gonna lie, I had them for a short period in middle school because I was trying to rationalize being molested in elementary school). I have some other weird fantasies but I'm not gonna even get into those.
My point is that this chapter highlights why consensual sex is THE way to go. Why the hell would you want someone screaming "No! Stop!" and trying to push you off them or have them freeze up and basically dissociate in front of you? Unless you're fucked in the head, usually people want to have sex with willing partners.
I swear to god! Chubbles (my dove) is nesting on my head and he gives zero fucks about what I'm doing right now. Making it so hard to comment.
Yes, I dont think it was nonconsent/rape. I mean, he did say he can 'do' him on Monday and that's binding (per the transaction). At least he wasnt hitting or hurting him. Also he had the realization that he is an omega and loves sex All and all, they are definitely enjoying.
I cant help but LOL at Chubbles. He sounds cute!
Yep, I agree! Definitely a refreshing thing to see.
He is very cute, but he's also a little rascal.
off-topic:
but you can edit comments btw. just click on "Ummm..." part and it should take to where you can edit it. use these same steps for any other comments you make and want to edit too. the catch is, all replies under the comment will disappear once it's edited.
Oh! Thank you! I somehow managed to be on this site for how many years and still haven't figured out the most basic things.
I try and give fujoshi and fundashi the benefit of the doubt most of the time, but time and time again I am disappointed. It's not like this is even the first time that i've seen a case of blaming the victim.
You all want to say it's fiction, but what does that say about you? That you can look a fictional scenario and fail so miserably at basic human compassion. It's always the same fucking formula.
1) Slut-shaming (slut, whore, etc.)
2) Ableist insults (ex. stupid, dumb, etc.)
3) "Well if he/she/they only...."
4) Bringing up past choices (ex. drinking, wearing revealing clothing, hanging out with certain people. etc.)
5) Misogynistic insults (bitch is most often used)
Why didn't he know?
Most victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)/Domestic Violence (DV) are manipulated and specifically chosen because they are vulnerable and weak-minded. Abusers know what they are doing when they pick out partners. They use charm and charisma to get to their victims and lure them in.
Why didn't he see the red flags?
Because they aren't always obvious and are usually framed to be romantic and/or sweet. Do you really think that an abuser would go out of their way to make these things obvious. To repeat my last point, abusers go after vulnerable and easily manipulated people. People who have a history of childhood trauma and/or have had previous abusive relationships are more likely to be revictimized. For a lot of victims the "red flags" are normal because that is all they know.
Potential rape/sexual assault coming up and you're already blaming the victim. You can complain about the way the character was written, but as soon as you start insinuating that a victim is to blame for their own assault you start telling on yourself and how you view real victims. Otherwise why in the hell would that be your mindset??
I'm really convinced that most people here have no clue about abusive relationships, assault, and trauma because you spout the most ridiculous things.
Again, you can complain about the writing because ultimately the characters are doing what the author/artist wants them to do. Complain about that. Your comments on victims goes beyond fiction and makes you seem like a real asshole.
I completely agree with you. At first I didn’t know why u commented this but then I read some of the comments and was disappointed lol.
Felix, why the fuck didn't you take off your shoes when you came in?! You degenerate animal!!
Anyways, the rest of the chapter was nice.
omg i was saying the same thing!
...meanwhile, I'm here trying to figure out how the hell Sunny learned about rope bondage and was able to execute it perfectly.
I like gorgeous hwan