Notice how there's no romance tag? Brace yourselves
damn didn't even notice welp
This was an absolutely heartbreaking story which didn't sugarcoat the effects of abuse, mental and physical. Sexual abuse WASN'T romanticised nor justified, no matter what the translator notes said, which misinterpreted a lot of the scenes. It was so painful and realistic, i barely stomached most scenes. The ending was painfully sad because if you notice the detail of Minho questioning once again what's the meaning of staying alive, it indicates that actually nothing changed and his abuser successfully managed to break his resolve for a better life, he managed to distort his view, making him instead believe that there's nothing there for him. His first successful attempt at breaking Minho was when he beat Minho and canceled his Job opportunity. This job was an incredibly important step for Minho, it was the moment he finally found the courage to pursue something after all that guilt. It wasn't about the money, it was about the mental strength to get back on his feet and he had this utterly crashed. Then add the constant mental and physical abuse, the voice which kept on repeating to him that he doesn't deserve forgiveness and that he's cheap. The gangrape scene and him saying "pay me first" absolutely broke me. Minho didn't return to Wookyung because he forgave him but because he is trauma bonded to him, because he was made to believe that there's nothing but his abuser in store for him. He doesn't love Wookyung, not even in the sexual sense. He's a straight man that was continuously raped, let that sink in. He's not bisexual, he's straight. He's a victim of sexual abuse and nothing more. His coping mechanism of drinking to disassociate or having sex was so realistic it kind of hit close to home.
As for Wookyung, yes he's also a victim of abuse, just like many abusers. This of course doesn't justify his demented actions of abuse. Noticed a certain pattern with him? Even when he felt sorry about something he did, he still repeated the abuse. He didn't stop. He was blind to ANYTHING Minho felt. Yes, abusers can feel sorry about what they do, but only in the moment, because in the end, it's all about them and the dependency they have in their victim. He is mentally ill and unless he gets treatment, he'll never be able to truly love someome. It will constantly be "sorry" then back to selfishness and abuse. The ending symbolised that nor Wookyung nor Minho changed their situation, Wookyung once again chose to be selfish by begging him to come back and Minho is still depressed and purposeless after being broken by Wookyung.
I loved this story because it's fucking realistic, unapologetically showing us the ugliness of abuse. It's NOT a romance story. Personally, i find the 'uWu hEs yAnDeRe' or 'bDsM it's SeXy when Minho cries' takes incredibly shallow regarding this masterpiece. These two aren't meant to be 'shipped', they are characters in a story depicting something very painful and true to everyday life.
WELL WRITTEN!!! i agree 100%
thank you
On the topic regarding Caesar and Leewon's empathy: You can understand someone without excusing his actions. Trauma isn't an excuse for abuse, it just explains how someone is primed to think.
Don't get me wrong, i like the story because i like dark stuff but i still do NOT think that his upbringing should be used as an excuse for his actions. He still had the option to not be a piece of trash, he knows that he IS hurting Leewon, but his selfish need to possess him overpowers this.
A relationship cannot work with selfishness as its foundation.
Lots of people grow unloved, chased, abused and even tortured but still do not become abusers. Now you'll tell me he didn't have the time to actually grow as a person due to the fact that he's in the mafia and therefore constantly in war since his biryh, and i'll tell you sure, you're right. But this still doesn't change the fact that he's a horrible human being and his backstory doesn't and shouldn't earn him forgiveness but only an explanation.
Outside of fiction NO one deserves the torture of being with a person like him.
My point is, no one needs to "remember" his past while witnessing his disgusting actions, rough childhood or not, understanding his insecurity born from his unloving environment or not.
You don't need to remember his 'sad past', when you feel disgust for what he is doing in the 'current' moment. His past doesn't remove the effects of his actions happening at the current moment and thinking it does, is in my opinion an incredibly damaging mindset to have.
Empathy doesn't warranty sympathy, especially when you're the side receiving the abuse. Empathy means you have the ability to understand someone and understanding someone's feelings, motivations and mindset doesn't mean you have to agree or even forgive it if it affects your personal values and wellbeing. I'm really annoyed when people(not in this comment section necessarily, i'm just speaking in general) think that with empathy you automatically forgive and accept everything about the other person. It cannot be explained in such a simplistic way because it's a way more complex process.
This article is the only one i found which explains it in a simplistic yet accurate way: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/social-empathy/202008/empathy- does-not-mean-acceptance. (connect it from where i left a space for the link to work)
Girl this is a book?? Do you need a publisher
You do have the option to scroll away if you're not interested at reading my comment. Simple as that.
I think the person above was saying that that person WROTE a book in the comment section, and asked if they need a personal publisher.
I'm sorry, i'm a bit slow regarding this matter (pulling all nighters doesn't help lol) so could you explain it again? I don't think i have the braincells currently to understand what you mean. What person wrote a book? I perceived it as sarcasm for a too 'long', according to them, comment
Oh wait, you said 'that person' when the person who wrote the comment is me so i got confused for a moment lol Sure, perhaps they said this to be perceived directly as it's read but it's not wrong for me to interpret it as sarcasm unless the comment themselves tell me otherwise.
I know this is purposely written to be dark and all, but i think it's really badly written, to the point i can't enjoy it. Their dialogues are certainly not intelligent, ml who is supposed to be cunning and smart, can actually easily get humbled, it was really frustrating seeing fl getting so easily swing around by him. He's not smart and the things he says can easily be turned against him, to the point i want to scream when fl doesn't take the opportunity. I've read black flag romance before, where fl truly gets cornered by ml, without any opportunities to fight back, so this story is pretty mid to me.
WAIT CAN U GIVE ME SOME RECCS PLS
Give us recsssss
Right hahha
Me tooo, give recs
Recssss pleaseeeee ⁄(⁄ ⁄·⁄ω⁄·⁄ ⁄)⁄
don't be all talk REVEAL THAT "have read before" novels or whatever you're saying cause imma judge if it's real lmao
So far there's only a few smartly written story I've read. One is bl genre then the rest are real historical books lmao
I'm interested so drop the name or link.
btw Bridgerton series is well written as well but seems the adaptation kinda butchering it. It's one of my wildest fantasy to read a book like Bridgerton but darker like literal killer vibes
(๑•ㅂ•)و✧
Blood and gold fanfiction by ObsidianPen
If i can't have you by Deathsdoll (OG book in ao3)
The community by Deathsdoll (OG book in ao3)
Formless bl webtoon and novel (in the novel it's more clear how ml conditions mc to depend on him)
Through a glass, darkly by nenia cambell
And MAAANY more which do not come to mind right now and i don't feel like searching my history. There are countless talented authors in the world which make the dialogues and world building in this story seem like a joke.
Congratulations, you coaxed these out of me (manipulative little shit).
For more, consult the dark romance and yandere male subs on reddit.
Pretty sure there are plenty of smartly written, as you so nicely put it, manhwa as well(even Matthias from cry even better if you beg is smarter than this ml based on the novel). They simply do not come to mind right now, i've read too many things.
Now kindly STOP PESTERING ME AND SEARCH BY YOURSELF.
The end.
Thanks. Now I have reason to lock myself yet again in my room hehe
I feel in love with you i think?
Turns out i have a kink for dirty talk in formal English.I just wish it wasn't straight up rape with a completely inexperienced mc as well. It felt very creepy and uncomfortable.
This post made me remember that there is a manga with a whole chapter in shakespearian English ( it was strange and I almost didn't understand a thing but it fitted very well...?)
I think i know which one you're talking about but i can't remember the title. I've always been a lover of the classics, even if English isn't my first language so i have no problem understanding them! Wish i could remember the damn title
I like the way he was neutral and never screamed but yeah creepy and uncomfortable anyway
in Steel Under Silk there were same elated conversations during s3x scenes
Yes, but not as good as this one. Potn tried to be time appropriate too but i think this one takes the crown lol
https://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/ai_o_ataeru_kemonotachi/ you are welcome
It's not this one unfortunately, but still thanks for the delicious rec
Be prepared because in the book, he blackmails him after planning his friend's execution and forces him to sell his body to him. He calls him a whore (funny when the whore is him) and brutally rapes hi, he doesn't even prepare him and goes in dry, making him bleed. Reading his pov, he enjoys seeing Ruth in pain, beca he's a sadistic psychopath if it wasn't already clear from the glass scene. His thoughts are extremely nauseating, he holds no affection for Ruth he just finds him to be a good toy. The rape chapter is approaching, probably in 4 or 5 webtoon chapters the most. I was really disappointed reading the novel.
F***ing Hell!!! This is awful! I hope he runs away from him and don't get the Stockholm syndrome!
I'm gonna drop it anyway, I'm not into rape.
Wtffff I’m shockedddd I thought this was gonna be sweet yandere romance or something
I'm shockedd I'm totally dropping this i can't handle these kinda manhwas
Yuk.... I'm trully grateful for this comment, I drop this.
what yhe fuck n i was really enjoying this n the art
What the fuckkk thanks for the heads up, I'm probably dropping this. it's so different from what I expected what the hell :(
Did the bottom tried to at least leave?
No, because as i said he was blackmailed not to, for the sake of saving his friend.
They should have left together d@mn
In the first timeline, Aeroc suffered beyond human understanding and was punished by Kloff unfairly. Yes, you read that right, it was unfair. I'm not saying the weigh doesn't fall on Aeroc's shoulders for wanting to 'scare' Rapiel, but getting constantly raped, having his original gender (Alpha) changed with drugs and then having his children (created by rape) taken away while he rots with zero human interactions in a small hut over something he VERY clearly regretted and he didn't even intent (he didn't order for the rape and murder of Rapiel, he was just too naive to trust the scoundrels he hired. We already knew he was naive from his investment choices). He lived in the streets getting assaulted and raped only to be moved, to get through even more hell with Kloff. At one point, Kloff abused him only to try and justify the attraction he felt towards him, since he was in denial for liking the person who was directly involved to his late husband's death. Kloff was so freaking messed up, that he even lacked the emotional understanding that someone can suffer without crying, because WHO THE FUCK wouldn't break and suffer after getting repeatedly raped and isolated? But i guess deep down he knew that, he was just going through cognitive dissonance due to his hatred. Kloff is NO better than the people who killed Rapiel, that's why i was furious when he was calling Aeroc 'Despicable' in his frail state. Kloff did something extremely demented to someone who didn't deserve it, and no one can deny this. Aeroc suffered more than enough and as bad as this may sound, he suffered way more than Rapiel did. His life was hell on earth and his last moments were disgustingly painful too. That's why in the other two timelines Aeroc gets the happiness he deserves. In the second, while having his memories of the past, he gets to live happily and heal while in the third timeline, he doesn't remember the hell he went through while Kloff does, and suffers forever with the knowledge that he'll never be able to apologize and give back the life to the frail Aeroc of the first life.
What chapter in 3rd life in novel? Please tell me?
This is why I can't forgive Kloff. Sure, Aeroc did something really, really stupid that resulted to horrible things. But the mere fact that he suffered from it a hundred folds is just so painfully excruciating to read. I will never forgive Kloff for what he did. Not in their second life, not in their third, and definitely not even in their 100th.
Thankyou for the spoilees I was suffering unknowingly and thought the process was gonna repeat itself but knowing that in the 3rd life kloff is gonna know all the past if making me happy and satisfied cause bitch he gonna suffer af
The third timeline's plot is not enough, i need to see Kloff physically, mentally, and emotionally suffering
Do you happen to know what chapter in the novel?
Sorry, no. I just read the spoilers from the comment section
Thank you for the reply
A crazy stalker ordering a hit on the near and dear ones of the person they are pathologically obsessed with, resulting in someone being sexually assaulted and killed
is apparently just a stupid mistake and not an unforgivable crime in the eyes of some twisted people. Kloff, in the first arc, is guilty of vigilantism, nothing else. But he is guilty of vigilantism not only in what he does to the ringleader that killed his spouse and child, but also in what he did to the henchmen. If you aren't whining about him killing the guys that the MC sent to assault his love rival or the guys that assault the MC near the end of the arc, then don't be an obvious hypocrite and whine about him putting that pos MC through the things he does. I agree that he should have let law and order to deal with that sorry excuse of a human and his accomplices. But, his emotions, his anger, his hatred and his desire to make that stalker-murderer that killed someone important to him because of unhinged jealousy suffer is very understandable.
It's not that simple though. The details are very important regarding this case. It was vigilantism towards Aeroc ONLY at the start, the rest had to do with his self denial and hatred due to his attraction towards Aeroc. In the novel, it is even set clear that he had this attraction even when he was with Rapiel, but pushed it away since he had a family. No doubt his feelings such as anger and hatred are justified, especially at the start BUT what he did after his first revenge was considerably different than plain vigilantism (like what he did to the rapists). He knew that Aeroc paid for his crimes and even if at the start he believed that Aeroc was indifferent, he came to understand that he actually wasn't, not much later in the story, but chose to ignore it because he was undeniably attracted to Aeroc and didn't want to let him go. While i do not take the weight of Aerocs actions away from him, i certainly consider Kloff's actions more demented for the plain reason that what Aeroc did wasn't what he strived for. Once again, i completely understand Kloff's anger but i do not justify his further actions and i do believe that trauma or not, he turned into that same monster he was striving to punish while Aeroc grew into a better person through genuine repentance. I do think that Kloff's actions made him into a horrible person, worse than Aeroc at the start of the timeline, that's why i think it's very fitting that the rest of the timelines are about his own repentance. And yes, Aeroc was a piece of shit at the start of the first timeline (just in case this point wasn't clear enough since i focus on Kloff right now)
This is truthfully really painful and tests the limits of forgiveness and acceptance. On one hand i can understand the anger of Kloff towards Aeroc in the og life but on the other i cannot justify the continuous torture towards someone that showed clear regret, and not only that. It was actually proven that he never gave an order for 'rape', it was done so against his orders. There's no justification for the further torture that no human deserves to go through towards him. After all these nightmarish events, the reader is called to accept Kloff as a 'new' person and not who he was in the previous life, which is frankly speaking hard, incredibly hard since the ugly part of him was made known to us. I find it hard to accept that Aeroc is still open to him, despite the trauma he went through because of him. But i can also understand that the main reason he's so accepting towards Kloff is because of the guilt that never really left him. He believes that what he went through was something he deserved, so he sees nothing wrong with it. Kloff may be 'new' but Aeroc isn't. He's still the same, unfairly tortured person of the previous life. Aeroc will only be 'new' on their last life, with Kloff being the person he was on their first life and getting forced to develop into a better person, giving him a chance to treat Aeroc right. I honestly believe it depends on the reader on whether they can accept this or not. There's no right point of view when it comes to this. Personally i find it hard to forgive.
Ah yes, you said sorry for one of the countless disgusting things you've done. What now? Want a cookie for it?
Still better than nothing at least. Also Taeui is HORRIBLE at explaining. I think he most likely confused Ilay even more with that half assed explanation about how emotions work.