Lady_Kexing

I do agree that people are completely allowed to criticize certain scenes or feel uncomfortable with them. My point was never “you can’t react negatively to this because it’s dark romance.”

What I was trying to say is that explaining why those scenes exist or why they are written that way is not the same as justifying them. A lot of these stories are intentionally built to be disturbing, emotionally intense, toxic or morally uncomfortable. The discomfort is often part of the point.

So when people say “this is dark romance,” they are not necessarily saying “there is nothing wrong with this scene” they are explaining that these dynamics are being intentionally explored as part of the genre itself, not accidentally inserted into an otherwise healthy romance.

That doesn’t mean viewers have to like it, excuse it or stop criticizing it. It just means the presence of disturbing dynamics is usually deliberate, not contradictory to what the story is trying to be.

You are trying way too hard to turn rape into a “well technically” debate and it’s honestly disturbing.

The entire argument of “he didn’t resist enough, therefore he was somewhat willing” is exactly the kind of rhetoric that has been used for years to invalidate victims — especially male victims and victims assaulted by partners or people they trusted.
A huge amount of assault happens within relationships, between people who love each other, are attracted to each other, or have emotional history together. That does not magically make coercion, intimidation, pressure or lack of consent disappear.

People freeze. People panic. People comply out of fear, shock, confusion, emotional pressure or survival instinct. None of that equals consent.

What becomes genuinely harmful is when people get so defensive over a character that they start repeating real-life victim-blaming rhetoric like “he didn’t resist enough,” “he must have wanted it a little,” or “men can’t really be raped.” At that point the discussion is no longer about fiction. it is about spreading dangerous misinformation that has been used against real survivors for years.

Depiction is not endorsement. But refusing to recognize assault because you like the character committing it is not media literacy either.

This is actually an incredibly dangerous and harmful thing to say.

Male rape is absolutely real, and the idea that a man “must have wanted it to some extent” because of anatomy or physical strength is not only false, it’s one of the exact myths that has been used for years to dismiss male victims of SA.

People can be overpowered, coerced, threatened, frozen in fear, manipulated, intoxicated, traumatized or unable to physically resist regardless of gender. Consent is not determined by whether someone “managed to fight back enough.” Consent is determined by whether someone freely wanted and agreed to it.

And saying “it’s hard to rape a man so he was probably willing” is genuinely disturbing logic. That’s victim blaming, plain and simple.

You can discuss dark fiction without spreading harmful misinformation about real-life sexual assault.

First of all please point out where exactly I said rape or SA is okay. Quickly.
Because all I did was explain what dark romance as a genre commonly contains. Dark romance is literally built around toxic, obsessive, morally unhealthy and taboo dynamics. Non/dub-con, manipulation, violence, power imbalance and psychological messiness are extremely common themes in it, whether people like it or not.

That is quite literally the point of dark romance.

The genre exists to explore extreme emotions, dangerous dynamics and darker aspects of human psychology IN FICTION.

And this is the part some of you seriously need to understand: exploring something in fiction does NOT equal supporting it in real life. Depiction does NOT equal endorsement. Those are two completely different things.

By that logic, anyone who enjoys horror supports murder, anyone who watches psychological thrillers supports kidnapping, and anyone who writes villains secretly agrees with abuse and manipulation. That argument falls apart instantly because people are capable of separating fiction from morality.

What’s actually concerning is how comfortable some of you are with implying that people who read or write dark romance automatically support rape or abuse. That’s an insane accusation to make just because someone understands the genre and its tropes.
Depiction does not equal endorsement, no matter how badly some of you want to blur the two.

I don’t think anyone is trying to justify Lu Feng’s actions. it’s clear as day what he has done.
The thing people are trying to make a point about is that this is a very dark story and it will get worse.
Dark romance is a genre (a vastly liked one) and it has a common pattern. usually is non/dub con and other things.
It’s really not the same as omegaverse. Dark romance was created to be this cruel and dark.

Every time a black flag shows up I compare him to Mo Ran (which I love with my whole heart and he’s my favorite character of all times) and for now no one was as toxic as him during his Taxian Jun era 😂😂

That’s not remotely true. Lu Feng wasn’t a monster in the past. They were just in love.
Yi Chen junior was being homophobic just like their parents. And he’s still lying about hiding the messages btw.
Lu Feng is a toxic person. And NOW he’s in the wrong. But his current actions has nothing to do with Yi Chen junior being a liar who asked his brother if he could be “cured” from being gay.
That’s a very different thing.

Yi Chen junior is a little shit and NOTHING will ever make me like him.
If Lu Feng get his revenge on him I will not be sorry for him. Not even in the slightest

FR!!! As if he hadn’t been beaten with a bat by his own father and shipped off to America 🙄🙄 He’s definitely toxic and absolutely going to lose his mind, but that doesn’t mean he should be blamed for things that aren’t his fault to begin with.

I believe that Lu Feng will completely loose his shit after Yi Chen’s wedding. Maybe he will get a little more intense until then but I believe the wedding will be his breaking point

yup

I totally understand you because he was such a piece of shit when he found out about Yi Chen’s relationship and now he can have one easily as that? Hell no bro. I do NOT forgive and forget.

Yeah, growing up with a father like that must have wired his brain into thinking that using force is natural. I do believe he doesn’t know better and that he feels sorry, but it’s easier for him to impose himself even when he shouldn’t 😭😭

yeah definitely 😂 also they should understand that he is fluffy when he wants to. But that doesn’t erase the other part of his personality 😂😂

I believe that Lu Feng will target him as well during his revenge era, but I don’t think I will be sorry for him 😂
He’s a little shit and he still acts like one. Telling Lu Feng that their relationship was wrong and it ruined his brother was such a shitty thing to say. Like aren’t you gay too bro?

unfortunately I believe here it will be way worse. They will hate Lu Feng more than they hated Fan Xiao and they will come here with their unasked opinion stating that everything is toxic, that it should end badly and that Lu Feng doesn’t deserve a single day of happiness in his life and many other unnecessary things 🙄🙄

he’s unbelievable 🙄

it was a nightmare entering in the comments section 🙃😭

I basically live for those kind of Chinese series 😂 but it’s gonna be a long journey, not everyone understands that the triggers exist for a reason and that if they cannot understand a dark romance they shouldn’t watch it 🥲🥲

unfortunately (and I speak for experience because it was like being in the trenches with abo desire and to my shore) they won’t listen to you and they will throw shit at the series. Even when it was clear from the very first trailer that it was going to be a heavy series with a very dark romance and very morally black characters 🫠