pretty-mik-97

[pretty-mik-97]

The Misogyny In The Tears on a Withered Flowers Fandom (And the Manhwa Fandom in General) Needs to be Studied

How Hae Soo would realistically react after finding out her supposed fanbase is rooting for her abusive ex husband to abuse his mistress in the worst ways imaginable while explaining in graphic detail why she deserves to be abused.

I don't like TOAWF too much, not a fan of the romanticized stalking and most women's personalities being tailored around a man, but one detail I loved about Hae Soo's character was that she only blamed Mincheol for being a cheater and no one else, she saw Ari and immediately connected the dots that she was a younger woman being manipulated by an older man.

Funny, cause the fanbase reacts to Ari the exact same way Mincheol did, by claiming that she should be old enough to know better even though she really DIDN'T know better because Mincheol NEVER told her he was living with his ex wife.

[pretty-mik-97]

What's so romantic about a traumatised stalker with abandonment issues who was abused and raped by his uncle from a young age and almost got SAed during his military service getting abused, raped and SAed by his even more traumatised man crush, whom he found out was a serial killer with mommy issues who lured women to his crib to brutalise and have them killed to deal with the fact that he got raped by his mother at 17 years old?

Genuinely asking btw.

[pretty-mik-97]

You know,I was gonna continue reading this for the daughter and mother duo trope until this freaking spoilers ruins my mood and interest on wanting to continue this asshat manhwa. Turns out,catherine(the fake daughter who has white hair and purple eyes) gets the worse punishment than the literal adulterers who make fl and fls real daughter heck. Apparently, Catherine ends up getting the worst punishment in her revenge while everyone else(calypso aka trash husband and Alicia the adulterer) gets more or less off the hook(aka receive the harmless punishment). Apparently Catherine is cursed to have her youth taken from her and then locked up and tortured in magic prison for the rest of her life. So,I am still wondering why the heck did the author make the fake daughter who is literally a teen and a freaking child be irredeemable evil while the adulterers gets away with it. And look I get the fake daughter is evil but at least let her be punished to be sent to a darn church than getting cursed

Interesting. I'll have to give it a read when I can.

[pretty-mik-97]

Thank you to everyone who got me to 500 likes! 🥹🥹🥹

[pretty-mik-97]

My thoughts on the ending of K-pop Demon Hunters (With Spoilers)

Jinu's sacrifice was necessary for his character and redemption arc.

Here me out.

His sacrifice was a good payoff and enough redemption for him even though many viewers (including myself) wanted him to stay and be with Rumi.

Even if he pulled a "we switched teams," I feel like a character like Jinu would have still carried the guilt of having helped the Gwi Ma steal human souls and the guilt of having to abandon his family for power and status.

So simply switching teams, wouldn't erase the danger he and his group put the humans through and what he did to his family in the past.

So he redeemed and freed himself the only way he knew how, sacrificing himself.

I feel like that was the only way he could have set himself free from Gwi Ma, his guilt and shame. And that was the only way he could make up for going behind his promise to Rumi.

I feel like his journey was facing the consequences of his actions head-on, accepting and embracing his past without running away or finding an escape from dealing with his guilt and shame.

[pretty-mik-97]

Mira and Zoey had every right to be upset with Rumi

I saw some discourse around Mira and Zoey being fake friends after they found out about Rumi's patterns on TikTok, so let's talk about it.

Imagine finding out that your friend, whom you've known for YEARS, kept a secret so big it makes you question who your friend is and if you really know them at all.

That's basically what was going on with Mira and Zoey. It wasn't that they were upset that Rumi was a half-demon; it was because THEY trusted her with their deepest secrets, but she couldn't do the same for them.

And on top of finding out that their best friend and teammate is a half-demon, they also find out she's been working with the leader of the demon boy band they're fighting against BEHIND THEIR BACKS. And that is NOT a good look on Rumi's part.

Anyone would have reacted the same way Mira and Zoey did.

"But they're friends. Friends don't have to share everything with each other, nor are they obligated to talk about things they don't want to talk about."

And that's a fair point. But that doesn't apply here.

Rumi, Mira, and Zoey aren't just friends who hang out, FaceTime, go to the mall, have sleepovers, and have movie marathons together. They are a TEAM of hunters. A combat unit. They work together. And for them to work and function as a unit, there must be trust within the group.

That means they have to:

Know each other's strengths, weaknesses and limits

Know what each of them is capable of

Know what might cause them to lose control or hesitate in the middle of battles or missions

If they have any skeletons that might end up impacting and affecting the group.

And we already saw how Rumi's secret was affecting the group. We saw Rumi hesitate in battle. We saw Rumi asking to change the lyrics to 'Takedown' just a day before the Idol awards. We saw Mira getting suspicious and sensing that Rumi was keeping something from her and Zoey. We saw firsthand Mira and Zoey start to doubt Rumi and tell Rumi to pick a side to fight against.

And if you see that the team dynamic has shifted to one where they're suspicious and doubting each other, they're COOKED!

And remember, Rumi is the leader of the group. Mira and Zoey trust her with their lives. They look up to her. Rumi's position has a lot of weight and responsibility. She's responsible for the group just like any other leader in a K-pop, and she's responsible for her teammates' safety. And she's doing ALL this while hiding the fact that she's not only a half-demon but ALSO HAVING SECRET MEETINGS WITH THE LEADER OF THE SAJA BOYS AKA THE DEMON BOY GROUP THAT'S STEALING THEIR FANS TO WEAKEN THE HONMOON.

That's not just a personal issue. That's core leadership failure on Rumi's part (Sorry Rujinu shippers, but we have to be realistic here).

These things don’t just affect Rumi. They affect EVERYONE. And Mira and Zoey had no context for her behaviour because Rumi kept them in the dark.

"But they raised weapons at Rumi. Friends don't do that to friends."

Yes, Mira and Zoey raised their weapons. But did they attack or try to kill Rumi on the spot? No, they didn't.

Mira and Zoey could have EASILY pulled out their weapons ON SIGHT and attacked Rumi the moment they saw her patterns without allowing her to explain herself.

The person who should be catching the most heat for all this is Celine. She essentially forced Rumi to conceal her half-demon side from her friends. That scene in the movie when Rumi said, "Maybe they'll understand, right?" was a clear indicator that Rumi DID trust Mira and Zoey and that she didn't want to hide what she is to her friend's. All because that woman wanted to "fix" her and forget that she's half demon.

Instead of encouraging Rumi to embrace both her identities as a hunter and a demon, she chose to erase the other half of Rumi's identity because of the system that trained and groomed her. I really wish the film had explored her relationship with Rumi. It would have been insightful to see how she perceives Rumi and to highlight the flaws in the Hunters' system, rather than simply portraying her as an accessory or just as a former hunter before forming Huntr/x.

Rumi’s entire journey in the film was shaped by isolation. She was groomed and conditioned to not trust that her friends would still love her and stay by her side if they knew of her demon heritage and her patterns. And instead of facing that fear, she carried everything on her own. She was told that they would never understand or accept her for who and what she is. She was shamed by the woman who was her mother figure and was told from a young age that she needed to be fixed. Rumi's shame of what she is, forced her to silence herself and put a wall between her and her friends because she believed she was “protecting them,” but all she did was shut them out.

That hurt them. That hurt her. And that also affected her voice.

So no. Mira and Zoey were not being fake.

The real fake people are Celine and the system that has been training the Hunters.

[pretty-mik-97]

The Other Woman or the Other Victim? (Ari’s Story in Tears on a Withered Flower Revisited)

So I made a post explaining how Ari is a painfully realistic representation of how young women are preyed on by grown men, especially married men, back in February (link here). And with the recent chapters that came out, I would like to revisit this topic coz there's a lot to talk about.

Every time I see Ari with Mincheol, I let out the longest and most exasperated sigh I can muster and just shake my head. Not just because I'm annoyed with her and her naivety, but because it is crystal clear that Mincheol is playing her and does not give a shit about her.

Baby girl is already thinking about marrying this guy and having kids with him. Meanwhile Mincheol is over here wondering when his ex-wife will "stop throwing a tantrum" and come crawling back to him while laying next to his mistress.

And every time Ari even attempts to confront Mincheol and call him out on his bs, he's like: shut up and take this dick. And the sad thing is, it works every time.

@pruneunfair brought up a very valid point that Mincheol basically sexually assaulted Ari in the latest chapter.

"What do you mean, Mincheol sexually assaulted Ari? Ari allowed it to happen. She didn't fight back or say no. So she basically wanted it."

Let me stop you there and tell you a little story from when I was 23-24 years old back in my years in university.

I had a friend. Let's call him V. So me and V met at a bus terminus waiting for the bus to take us to church. I noticed him watching Spy x Family and asked him if he was an anime fan (I'm also an anime fan), and we quickly became friends. Since then, we grew close, taking late night walks around campus and visited each other’s dorms.

It was a pretty innocent friendship until it wasn't and the lines between friendship started to blur and what started as a friendship became a physical situationship.

I didn't mind it at first. I enjoyed it until it started to become a routine. I'd go to his dorm. V would come to my dorm. Not even five minutes, he's already all over me. We couldn't even watch a movie without him initiating intimacy with me even when I wasn't in the mood.

Even when I tried to put a boundary and push him away, he would gaslight me into giving into him. It felt like I had no control over my body and autonomy and I HATED feeling powerless. I felt like a prostitute.

So what's the point of my story?

If I tried putting a boundary and resisting V, but failed because he kept insisting and insisting until I gave in, what makes you think that Ari—who’s younger, more sheltered, and emotionally entangled—is capable of fending off a grown man like Mincheol, who knows exactly how to manipulate her?

That’s the point. It’s not just about saying “no.” It’s about power. It’s about pressure. It’s about how coercion doesn’t always look like force—it often looks like persistence wrapped in affection, guilt-tripping, or “you know you want this” gaslighting.

And Mincheol is not going to leave her. Like why would he want to leave his disposable pocket coochie that he can easily control, manipulate and stroke his fragile ego?

Ari should have known better than to take Mincheol back after finding out that he lied about his relationship with Haesoo. She's not innocent or a saint. BUT we have to remember, Ari is IN LOVE with Mincheol. She WANTS to marry him and have kids with him. And that's the sad thing about her situation: being in love with someone who doesn't love or respect you as a human being.

Mincheol KNOWS that Ari loves him, that's why he manipulates her the way he does coz he KNOWS that she won't leave him and will do anything for him.

[pretty-mik-97]

Hello, I saw your post about Matthias and wanted to share some general thoughts on a few related points.

Why exactly can’t we criticize or talk negatively about characters in dark genres? I don’t understand how just saying something is “dark genre” should make us automatically accept a character’s actions. The most common argument I hear is, “It’s dark, so it will have abuse, etc.” Okay, but why can’t I say that abuse is bad? Or that a character is bad because they abused others?

Some people say it’s about trauma bonding or understanding the character’s perspective, and that’s fine. But if that’s true, wouldn’t you want others to understand how certain actions are harmful and shouldn’t be done in real life?

I just don’t get it. It feels like they’re treating this like a magical world genre where someone asks, “Why is there magic in it?” No — I’m criticizing Matthias because, honestly, he’s a bad character. So what’s the problem with me saying that?

I’m glad Tumblr has accounts that talk about this because the subreddit has lost its mind for some reason. I muted it 😭 I just can’t deal with people sometimes.

Hi and thank you from bring me out of my indefinite hiatus from post on here looool.

But I do have an answer to your question and it all comes down to this:

Readers taking it as a personal attack on them that people criticise what they love and enjoy reading.

From what I've seen from reading comment sections and the Tumblr and Reddit posts, a lot of these people take it as if critics are shaming them for liking dark romance or dark genres when that's not what's happening.

You can still like reading dark genres and enjoy them. No one is going to stop you. But just because YOU like it, doesn't mean EVERYONE else is going to like it.

And it also doesn't mean that your favourite book/movie/TV show is 100% perfect. It's obviously going to have flaws. Believe it or not, I enjoyed reading Cry or Better Yet Beg. I loved reading Layla's journey after being abused and neglected by almost everyone in her family, she managed to find a loving father figure in Bill, who despite wasn't ready to take on the responsibility, stepped up and loved her as his own daughter. I loved seeing her work hard to be a teacher and be independent.

What ruined it for me was how the story and narrative was mishandling Matthias' role as the "love interest" coz why should I root for a man who revels in seeing the person he's supposed to love beg and cry. Why should I root for a man who sexually assaulted and raped the woman he's supposed to love and believe that he has "trouble expressing himself and his feeling" when I read his thoughts talking about how he wants to put the woman he loves in a cage and make her cry and beg.

He's not morally grey. He's morally bankrupt.

I personally would have respected Cry or Better Yet Beg a lot more if it was a psychological thriller than a dark romance. And I would have respect Cry or Better Yet Beg if it was a story about a young bright girl who lost her spark at the hands of an abusive aristocrat. Matthias has the key ingredients of being the perfect antagonist.

He's a well written character as a villain. Not as a Love Interest.

And if you really want him to be a love interest and to be redeemed, let there be consequences to his actions and let him reflect and change.

Coz like I've said in my post about Matthias, stories like Cry or Better Yet Beg are harmful and an insult to real life victims of DV, SA and abuse when you reward abusers with happy ending with no consequences or accountability.

And finally, people are allowed to not like certain characters even if said characters are the main characters and main love interests.

I don't like Matthias because he's an abusive narcissist. I also don't like Sihwa from In Between because he's a manipulative narcissist and a horrible friend to his best friend. I have mixed feelings about Taeha from Tears on a Withered Flower because I don't understand his feelings and intentions towards Haesoo.

I think while you can enjoy problematic stories and characters, you have to acknowledge and understand that people are not going to like those problematic stories and characters and it wouldn't be fair to silence voices that share concerns on how writers and authors explore dark topics in the stories.

Coz believe it or not, fictional stories are a reflection of real life. That's why it is important to do research.

[pretty-mik-97]

PSA To The "Digital/Concept Artists and Graphic Designers": I Am Not Interested In Having My Work Adapted Into Comics.

I had been receiving the offers since November of last year. I was flattered at the idea of my stories being so good that I have artists reaching out to me to want to adapt them into comics or make concept art for my stories at first. And I would have loved to support them if I was in the position to do so financially.

But as soon as I started to pick on the pattern in their messages, I started to realise something:

These people may not ACTUALLY be digital/concept artists and are preying on and scamming writers on Fanfiction.Net and Wattpad into monetising our work for their own benefit and greed.

These people don't care about our stories. They want our money and reap the benefits of our work without us benefitting from it.

I have been receiving these messages non-stop it's become harassment at this point.

And I am truly and utterly disgusted that these people are tainting and misrepresenting real digital/concept artists just because they're desperate for money.

If you're a writer and if you've been receiving messages like this: don't fall for it.

And if possible, share this to as many people as possible.

[pretty-mik-97]

And with the most recent chapters... yeah I don't know if I really want to root for Taeha and Haesoo to stay together fr.

Like their whole relationship is built on codependency. Taeha came into Haesoo's life while she was in the middle of her divorce and caught her husband deep sea diving in another woman's kitty and you think it's a good idea to start a relationship with her while she's in the middle of this mess AND trying to pay back her debt?

And what is up with these men and intentionally hurting Haesoo just to get a reaction out of her?

Is Ari annoying. Yes. She is.

Should she be held accountable for getting with a married man even after she found out the truth. Yes. Oh absolutely.

But y'all do realise that Mincheol is treating her like his person pocket coochie right?

Y'all do realise that he doubled down on his situation with Haesoo to win her back right?

Y'all do realise she's being played and has no idea that the man she thinks she's going to marry is going to dump her real soon right? (It hasn't happened yet but I can already see that coming)

Like think people think. 👉🏼🤨👈🏼

"But Ari still chose to get back with Mincheol after she found out he was married! She knows better and deserves what's coming to her!"

Yall acting like you weren't infantalizing the hell out of a 33 year old woman

33 year old woman who while being married to a guy who smoked, somehow didn't know how to use a lighter, 33 year old woman whose personality has been degraded into a revenge tool for Tae Ha to use, 33 year old woman who you all are hoping will get fucked on display by Tae Ha in front of Mincheol thinking it will be the ultimate revenge.

33 year old woman you are all hoping will be impregnated as soon as possible by Tae Ha when she is still in fucking debt.

Try telling me how you are a feminist again when you also believe women deserve to be abused if they aren't like your wittle self insert.

[pretty-mik-97]

My Thoughts on In Between Chapter 39 (With Minor Spoilors)

The scream that I scrumpted when someone FINALLY speaks on what the readers have been thinking and feeling since chapter 1.

I have never felt so vindicated until I read those glorious two panels.

I'm honestly curious what Sihwa. But I have a feeling that Sihwa's gonna be like, "Do you like her or something?" And if Hyeon's response is no he'll probably hit him with a "It's none of your business."

I'm still pissed at the fact that Sihwa is only starting to want to ask Eunseo out just coz he saw her talking to other mofos.

LIKE SIR! WHERE WAS THIS ENERGY WHEN OTHER MOFOS WEREN'T LOOKING OR TALKING TO HER?!

He has no problem talking to other girls, even at Eunseo's expense. But when Eunseo starts entertaining other guys, he suddenly feels like he's got competition? Boi bye 👋🏻 🙄.

This is yet another manipulative tactic of his. He's only asking her out and hinting that they have a thing going on so he could mark Eunseo as his territory with no real intention of actually being with her. He wants her attention and affection with him really returning it.

This is emotional breadcrumbing at its finest.

[pretty-mik-97]

My Thoughts on Ro (With Minor Spoilors)

Ro is a prime example of people who only love and care for you at your best but leave you when you're at your worst.

Sure, he made the argument that at the time, he was emotionally immature and couldn't have done anything to help Bonnie when she was grieving Francisco coz he was 15.

But like Lucia said: keeping Bonnie was MORE than enough. He didn't have to do anything or say anything. Coz some times in the midst of grief, words are just words. Words don't always fix or help. But ACTIONS do.

Him being around, spending time with her, taking her places, or paying her a visit while also giving her space was MORE than enough. His presence would have made a difference at that time for Bonnie.

He was her friend. He's known her since they were kids. So you'd think that this guy who claims that he loves and cares for his friend would be there for her even in her lowest and darkest moments.

But NOOOOOO! He CHOSE to distance himself from her because he was "too emotionally immature." Boy, stop lying! You distanced yourself because you didn't want to have the responsibility of being the emotional support for your friend.

And like you twin said: you abandoned her when she couldn't give you the attention YOU wanted.

And now that Bonnie is back to being her cheerful self, you suddenly want to walk back into her life and pick up where you left off just like that?

And can we just applaud Lucia for reading Ro to filth, dropping bars, and spitting facts about in chapter 63?

And don't get me started with the whole thing with Elina.

I honestly don't get what Elina sees in Ro. I mean sure, he's a good looking guy (wish I could say the same about his stank, two faced, fake ass personality). Her friends tell her that Ro is shady AF. Even her mama told her that Ro is shady AF.

Hell, she's SEEN how Ro treats Ian. But God bless her heart. She still wanted to be close to him and continued seeing him as this great and charming guy.

But that image she has on him does stay long and the cracks start showing in chapter 67.

I really love how the author mirrored Elina's interaction with Ro with her parents marriage and she asks herself: why am I suddenly remembering that bad memory of my parents.

I'd like to think whether Elina realises or not that she's familiar with Ro's behaviour because she's seen it with her parents and she saw how unhappy it made her mother being constantly verbally abused by her dad.

And now she's forced to confront the reality that Ro isn't the charming guy he portrays himself to be.

And I think it's good that Elina got to see Ro's true colours way before she could have gotten into a relationship with him, cause she would have ended up having a relationship similar to her parents and would have to constantly endure being verbally abused by Ro the same way her dad verbally abused her mom.

[pretty-mik-97]

Serenade - The Liquor In Which Good and Evil Coexist.

[pretty-mik-97]

I always feel like it's a bad thing they amplify and overexaggerate bad behavior in characters in fiction just to get ragebait attention, it's the same strategy used to keep the viewers watching and staying cuz you prefer the seemingly cooler main characters compared to the assholes, but this is not written well since at times, it does feel even the main characters are assholes too but since they're worse assholes, they're automatically the better option to root for

I mean I can see this working in some works but not all, there's a Manga that's basically revenge porn where besides the Protagonist who's the worst, there are also arguably worse people, it works well because this Manga is trying to justify basically no one, it's just a revenge porn and it's honest about that, which I think it's why ppl enjoy it more than other revenge porns cuz it's basically taking objectively bad things to the max and actually stay true to that, so yeah having cartoonish villains is okay but not all the times, it's just a cheap way to gain views I don't get how some are so holier than thou about it like it's good writing while it's really not when overused

I see your point and I understand your frustration. And that's how I felt about Aisha from Divorcing My Tyrant Husband.

I haven't finished reading Divorcing My Tyrant Husband (I dropped it the moment I started seeing Robellia becoming boring) but she didn't have that much substance or anything to offer. And I feel like the author just made her a dumb villainess/mean girl to make Robellia look good and smarter than her.

I could argue thar it's also the same with Sumin from Marry My Husband but at least she had more backstory and motivation as to why she's the way she is.

Yes, having a cartoonish villain/villainess is good. But there has to be a purpose and point to them. Otherwise they're just boring.

[pretty-mik-97]

Solche's name is tied to it? Of course WHAT THE F DID I EXPECT

I heard it's another angst porn or something like that, don't don't have too much good expectations

Yeah pretty much. It's another work by Solche. Did a bit of some digging and found this.

[pretty-mik-97]

There's something wrong about the quote I can't put my brain around it

Yeah I'm going to have read this manhwa to get proper context. But the moment I saw Solche's name attached to it....

This was my reaction: