@@morganyoung3557 I didn't read the books (I got to page 12 and couldn't deal) but I did see it on Netflix and I could help but go for the second when I saw it came out. At some point it became laughably bad.
Bro if Laura was actually dominant and manipulative, this could have been a story about a young woman with a heart condition who uses her allure and charm to single-handedly overthrow a mob boss who obsessively kidnapped and assaulted her. Could even have some manipulation through the erotic scenes, maybe since she’s so gorgeous she could’ve created her own harem of men willing to betray their boss. Instead we get this, I could truly suspend my disbelief better than trying to believe she would legitimately find anything that massimo does attractive
Bro, erotica books aren't my thing (at least, I assume. I've never actually read one, so idk, lol), but I'd read the sh outta that if it developed the story with as much care as the erotica. Sounds like a fun read just to see her overthrow Massimo (or possibly fail, which are wild stakes). It adds so much tension to every single scene off premise alone.
I'm very annoyed that the book insists that Martin cheated. He was drugged and raped. _THAT'S_ what happened. And I don't want to hear anye xcuse about how it wasn't a rape drug but some magical drunkenness boost. Guess what getting someone drunk in order to coerce sexual acts out of them is? But I guess because he's male, we're dancing around it because people sitll don't want to admit that men can be raped. Oh and even if he wasn't drunk/drugged to the point of not knowing what he was doing, _he was lead to believe that Laura had just dumped him in the most spiteful way_ so as far as he was aware, they weren't even together any more and you really could forgive him for seeking comfort with someone else. But remember, he didn't even do that much because he _was_ drugged.
The author refuses to call it rape because that would make Martin too sympathetic and antaoginze Laura, who is supposed to be an insert for the reader. It's like when obsessive fans of a TV show, book, or other media hate on a character because they "get in the way of their ship". Twilight also does this with Jacob. Meyer realized Jacob was getting more fans than her established OTP so she destroyed his character. It's the same thing here. By framing Martin as a cheater and a '"loser", she's trying to draw her audience to Massimo, even though he's one of the hugest red flags I've ever seen. It's just bad writing. (I hope this makes sense I'm not very good at putting things into words)
Fun fact: There was a person who witnessed 9/11, went to therapy. And became the lead in band called *My Chemical Romance* An author listened to their music and got inspired to write *Twilight* Another author read it and got inspired to wrote *50 Shades Of Grey* Someone else got inspired by that as well as their own personal trip to Sicilly to write a book called *365 Days* I don't remember the names of the people but you get the idea.
Also character: *engages in super strenuous acrobatic activity like pole dancing* Throughout my entire childhood, my mom couldn't climb a flight of stairs without needing to sit down and catch her breath thanks to cardio myopathy, so I heard that part of the synopsis and went, "Wait, what?"
I mean your country is also responsible for the Witcher so all is forgiven Edit I think I accidentally started a bit of a flame war in this thread sooo my bad
Balanced, as all things should be 😆 God help the world if a polish person comes up with something the quality of Lord of the Rings. The Pendulum swing from that would be...cataclysmic.
Don’t apologize. The literary world wouldn’t be what it is now if American media hadn’t gone off the chain and tried to validate a whole bunch of this shit first.
When he first said it i just paused like...? Huh? Did she not pee after? I was so confused and thought I spaced out for a second and missed something 😭
For an erotica novel featuring kidnapping, r*pe and murder, this felt very safe and boring. The author was too afraid to challenge her own characters and also herself to write any development other than fight-make up-fight. Also, marriage and children? What a suburban, cookie-cutter end goal for your edgy, depraved characters 🙄 Oh and a love triangle in the sequels? How daring!
FR, AO3 dead dove writers could run circles around the author with their hands tied around their back. Sure it would be horrifying but Y’know, it will be better
I mean, Blanka Lapinska actually does something kinda out of nowhere in the third book and actually has Laura leave Massimo for Nacho (the Spanish rival) after Massimo tied her up and r*ped her, and it isn't depicted as anything else in the book, that r*pe scene is not sexualized, it's really just a long tenuous scene of Laura getting assaulted by her own husband Like sheesh... good for Laura for picking Nacho over him though
As an Italian, I have some comments for the author: 1. Italians not knowing English: it's not that Italians don't know English, the fact is oftentimes there's a lot of shyness about speaking another language. But especially in the hospitality industry (e.g., Laura's hotel) ability to speak English is very useful, if not necessary to perform well at the job. 2. Being late: this is a bit of a truth, but there are cultural reasons behind it, and people's lateness is relegated mostly to social situations. When you're in the workplace, you try to do your job in a timely manner. If there's anything causing you to go slow, it's probably system-related problems, which is true about anywhere. 3. Laura's drink choices: there are so many wonderful local drinks everywhere in Italy. Such a shame she didn't try any. 4. People aren't rude per se, but if you have an attitude, expect a dose of your same medicine. And Krimson, it's 100% true about the hand language. Another stereotype is that we're loud (I call it "passionate"), but that's necessary when we spend our days jumping on mushrooms as we move between castles in search of our favorite princess
The reason her “heart condition” doesn’t ring true is because she herself never thinks about it. Case in point, when she has the panic attack in the plane, she never expresses fear of a heart attack. I have a pretty serious congenital heart defect, and I’ve had one panic attack on my life. Let me tell ya, in that moment, all I could think about was my heart.
I wear glasses and I keep thinking about them when I have panic attacks. I know that it's not 1 to 1, but I do think it's worth bringing up. I think about the fact that I can only see because of my glasses when I am panicking, so I can only imagine having something like a heart issue and how much I would focus on it. I don't think the author have had a panic attack, simply because its very normal to body check (as in breath, heart, senses) to try to ground oneself
True, I have a sinus arrhythmia (not dangerous but disorienting and scary) and when I have panic attacks there’s no way to convince me I’m not dying. Doesn’t matter how many times the cardiologist shows me my EKGs and explains that my arrhythmia will never hurt me, when it’s happening all I can think is “SHE WAS WRONG! ITS V-FIB! HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT”
I have a close online friend who has a serious congenital heart condition and from the way she has described it to me - and the number of things she has to worry about even in perfectly normal activities - I also 100% called bullshit on the story right away. There's no way someone with a condition that serious would just be, y'know... ignoring it until the moment that it's a handy plot convenience. Not to mention the possibility of a high-risk pregnancy from all the presumably unprotected sex she's suddenly being put through with only questionable consent... I feel like that should be freaking her out too.
This premise would have been so much better if the protagonist was a homebody aroace. "If you don't fall in love with me in 365 days, you're free to go." "So you want me to live in this lavish mansion and not leave for a whole year, and at the end of it if I'm not attracted to you I'm free to go?" "Yes, that's- is that a Nintendo Switch?"
Can the aroace character pull out increasingly ridiculous weapons every time massimo tries to make a move? Like it starts out with just brass knuckles and eventually it’s just a full automatic.
@@thequeenofcringe1585 Alternate take: By ridiculous, they keep pulling out more and more medieval weapons. Massimo: *approaches* Aroace: *pulls out a Morningstar flail* Massimo: ... WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THAT?!
Bein how hard TH-cam crcks monetisation-wise on anything, I'm surprised it is not used more often in triger warnings. Give it another decade of TH-cam decay, I guess?
This story could be salvaged if a third of the way into the book, the writer pulls a 'gone girl' where they switch to the woman's perspective and it turns out she's a calculated psychopath all along, who's only playing along with the guy's twisted fantasy until she can figure out the perfect way to kill him, steal all she can, and get away with all of it.
I love this idea. Or even where the woman starts out rightfully terrified but instead of freaking out the first time she sees a mob-style execution she resolves to do what it takes to survive while trying to keep her own autonomy and moral code. At what point is she killing to survive, or killing because she enjoys it?
So her reaction to discovering that Massimo has forcibly implanted an invasive birth control device into her body without her consent or knowledge is to be grateful that he was being honest with her? Not outrage that he did this to her? Not disgust that he violated her body? Not fear that if he is willing to do this without telling her, then what else has he done to her? Remember, a perfectly good tree died to make this garbage.
it was a laughing stock in Poland back when it was initially released. it doubled when movie came out. when the outside world picked it up, it became an immense source of dread and national shame.
So basically what Dominic Noble is going through reading E L James. I wonder if the Italian ambassador's complained about Lipinska for the slander yet.
I’ll remind you that Poland also gave us four of my favorite characters: Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri and everyone’s favorite Beautiful Bi Disaster, Jaskier. It was clear something was to be created to balance out the karma
Masemo not wanting to force himself on a drunk woman... Kinda makes it worse? Hear me out. He wants the women he assaults be 100% conscious and aware of what is happening. By drawing the line at "They are not sober" he is basically saying he wants the women to know the pain he puts on them. Every bit of it. Yes, it is morally wrong to hurt a drunk person. It is also morally wrong to hurt an innocent person. We know this man have no quams in doing the later.
At least with someone who is sober, they're capable or have the potential to fight back against their assailant. If you're drunk, your options are much more limited, what with your judgement and motor skills severely impaired.
@@Khanmanlol When the guy assaulting them is a young, fit, mob boss, they really can't fight back. He's stronger and faster than they are, and they can't do anything to him societally because he has a literal army of assassins he could call on to kill her if he so wished
@@KhanmanlolConsidering the book has excerpts that confirm Massimo likes it when “they” fight back against him, that makes the statement of him not wanting to do anything while Laura is drunk even more heinous than it seems
People who are drunk cannot consent, unless there was prior consent before they started drinking. But, when Massimo turned down Laura, she did want him. He could have slept with her, and she wouldn't have fought him. But he didn't, and it's soley because he wanted her to fight not back, it's not about consent
Massimo could've been a great, delusional villain with his back and forth between "respecting" Laura and threatening her if the book had treated him as the psychotic creep he is instead of a dark, brooding lead the book desperately wants him to be. As for Martin and Laura's relationship, though....to be honest, the cheating does fit. Laura is a terrible person, and from her perspective, Martin is perfectly happy with her, he's just not interested in sex and he's apparently disinterested in talking to her to an extent--signs that he might be getting his kicks elsewhere. Looks have nothing to do with cheating, but dating a materialistic, alcoholic bitch who puts you down behind your back does. All these characters are assholes, tbh.
I mean he was drugged. That was by all classical definitions rape on the woman's part, though she didn't know that he was drugged the process was the same.
You know I REALLY like how Massimo was like “We did not roofie your boyfriend” and then proceeds to describe how he roofied her boyfriend. I REALLY REALLY ENJOY THAT 😐
Fun fact on the subject of translations: I have read 50 shades in my native language and I could physically feel how the translator desperately tried to make the text just a little better than what it is.
I have a similar experience with the Twilight books. I read them all in my native language and really enjoyed them, especially the writing style. A few years back, I've become familiar with the original for the very first time and I was horrified, for the writing style was so clunky, purple and meh, I'm sure even tween me wouldn't have gotten through first ten pages, had I seen the original first.
@@baseliacaliga now I have to ask myself if the popularity of twilight books was in fact a conspiracy of translators, who just collectively decided that "if this shit is getting published, at least I get some writing practice".
Twilight was such a strange phenomenon. I read the first book because I was going through an angsty teen phase, and Twilight is a great book to teenage angst to. I then got most of the way through New Moon before I was out of the angsty teen phase, which made finishing the book a bit of a chore, as that's the WORST place to have a change of interest from "angsting" to "I want to know what happens to these characters" (almost a literary sunk-cost fallacy). This was maybe six weeks? Maybe less? And then I was like "well, I guess I'll check back in a few years, read the sequels after they come out. I'm sure I won't _completely_ forget about these." And then out of nowhere, twilight mania took over one of my Internet forums about a year later. It was primarily a young adult forum, preteens/teens and college age, so when I put together that, _yes_ Eclipse was a sequel to that weird sparkly vampire book, and _yes_ everyone is loosing their minds over _freaking Twilight_ I was so confused. Yes, I had liked Twilight, but I had liked it as a result of a phase that had waxed and waned over the course of a few months as a teenager (I wasn't unaware of the fact that my reading choices had gotten _very weird_ during that short phase, nor that it was happening while it was happening). It had been a book pointed at a very niche audience. Usually, when you see a book you knew, read, and liked hit sudden viral interest, you are happy that it's getting the publicity it deserves. Not confused as to why there's mass interest in it at all. I also remember that, as roughly a 15/16 year old, preteen girls in my Girl Scout troop were reading it, and I was just floored. I was like "this really isn't acceptable reading material for 11-year-olds, wtf". It was my weird, niche angsty teen drama book, and all the normies came and ruined it. Lol. So, all of this is to say that Twilight mania happened inexplicably around the release of Eclipse, so if you are going to find a conspiracy to suddenly make it viral, you'd have to look there. Freaking normies. reeee.
@@StarWarsomania twilight was an odd thing even before it became wildly popular. i remember carrying the book when i was transfered to a new school (just now realizing the irony) and found friends through them recognizing the book. Then when it blew up everyone that had any attachment to the series suddenly wanted to distance themselves from it. I remember my mother being the one to take my friends and I to the movies and none of us were super excited but we had to see the thing to the end for some reason.
Apparently I got "UTI" and "IUD" mixed up in my head when recording the video. And now you all know why I never got in to medical school. Oh well. Hopefully that was my worst mistake. XD
Well...no, but your worst mistake was having to read this "cock and ball torture" of a book. I hope you recovered after your ordeal and I'm glad you were able to share the pain with all of us. I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about with it but I was glad to have confirmed that is was just as gamey as I thought it was. 💕 Cheers, and glad to see ya back, Krim
Honestly I had to stop and rewind for a second to make sure I heard you right. I wasn't sure if you were one of those dinguses who knows literally nothing about women's health or just a silly banana. I'm glad to know it was the latter. 😅
I had to pause for a moment just to make sure I heard you correctly 🤣. It's all good it happens although it would be a contraceptive implant...well if it wasn't a tracking device. IUD is implanted in the uterus
Please accept our sincere apologies for this thing's existence. We hate it here too. Oh, and the translation actually made this schlock better, it's worse in the original
@@rowanquynn9964 the original book is written like a bad fan-fiction. To be more specific, a bad One Direction romance fan-fiction written by a 13 years old girl, with every writing mistake one can imagine. Most of them are nothing to laugh at, just really, really bad writing but the funny one is that in bad fanfics (mostly written by young girls) they usually refer to male characters by their hair colour. Yep, the "man in black" thing that the dude is called in the english version is translated from just "black" in the original. And it sounds just as bad in the original. There are also some mistakes in the translation that aren't actually it's fault. The weird sentence mentioned in the video ("do you have an idea") was, as far as I remember, also in english in the polish version. It sounds exactly like something someone from Poland would say. Because of how our language is structured we have tones of problems with "a", "an", "the" and how to use those. I wouldn't laugh at it if author's self-insert didn't say english was "like her native tongue" a few pages earlier. Oh, and I have no clue what's up with all that Italian hate. We just have regular stereotypes about Italians (they like pizza, have that exaggerated accent we see in movies, love spaghetti and are into family a lot, and mafia ofc). It must be something that the author thinks herself.
As a Polish writer, I'm so fucking ashamed that this... THING is going to be associated with our culture for years to come. It couldn't have been Pilipiuk, or Tokarczuk, or the Szeptucha trilogy. It had to be 365 days 😩
The heart condition could have been turned into an anxiety or panic disorder and served the same purpose while also making more narrative sense. She drinks heavily because it quells her anxiety. She takes a tranquilizer when she feels her anxiety becomes unmanageable. It would also explain the intermittent aspects and correlation to the heart.
And you can't drink with a heart transplant. Ppl don't seem to know how dangerous just having one is. It buys you on average 5-7 years. You have to take meds daily to not reject it. And alcohol messes with the meds. You can't do drugs, you can't to to strenuous of things. You can't have kids. I could go on. It is wild how media treats it. And a basic Google search would teach you all of this. Appallingly lazy.
"Nothing builds loyalty like constant trauma" is surprisingly true. Lets see, hazing, indoctrination, dangerous rites of initiation, toxic relationship addictions, and Stockholm Syndrome.
My alignment is whenever an author portrays this as a surprise tool that will come in handy later and not because they’re an abuser, but because it’s like oh I just I’m looking out for you ily that’s why I keep controlling and hurting you That’s an enemy on sight. My opinion of that creator is now “fight me no really I’m ready to go” and they’re gonna have to actively work to get that changed.
@@quma2590 The original style is lets call it simple and repetitive. The German translation tries to have a more variated and farie tale style- But to be fair, I only know that second hand, so how much its noticable, i dont know
I'm sorry, but the waiter that despite being Sicilian is also Italian is such a beautiful paradox I'm going to cry all over my Italian pizza. It's like saying that despite being Texan, a guy is aso an American citizen.
Ok wait when you say it like that i get it. Its like saying "oh this guys a new yorker (a people known for acting in a way that sets them apart from other parts of their country,) but he acts like a regular american" i guess
The reason why it is said that way… It’s because a lot of Sicilians do not consider themselves, Italians. Even though technically they are. Even though they speak the same language, and share the same history and cultural background, for the most part… Sicilians are very pretentious because they live on the island that Italy is literally kicking with its foot.
@halfstarlight i originally designed and wrote it in a game, and I'm still working on adapting it, so a tldr will have to do It takes place in a city where slavery is legal, but HEAVILY regulated, with slaves actually being a step higher than being free, but broke. It works more like indentured servitude, you essentially sell yourself (or your child), and are expected to do whatever you're purchased for until the contract ends. Slaves are protected by the city, however, so while you give up your personal freedoms, you're required to get proper nutrition, time to rest, and, shall we say 'personal' bodily autonomy. Anyone found violating these rules not only have to pay your contract off AGAIN, effectively paying twice, but are often fined again on top of it. Often winding up with them selling themselves into slavery themselves to escape the debt. In the center of this town is an arena. The owner of which runs it on slave labor. Including the fighters. His star fighter, Ruxi, is a woman who he's had for a long time. She damn near came with the arena. She's earned herself out of her contracts multiple times over, but she loves her master like a father, and refuses to leave, citing she has all she wants right there. And the master takes care of her, and truely treasures her as a person, being the one trying to get her to leave without kicking her out. Moral of the town was that just because something seems evil on its face doesn't mean it is. What seems abhorrent to you, might be the only life someone could ever want.
One might argue that unworthiness of analysis is in and of itself something that makes it worth examining. 'Low art' is still art, even if it is crude or disgusting or unappealing or even an abject failure of intent.
What I find to be a running theme in stories like this is that any woman who is not the mc, is objectified or belittled or villainized and this is portrayed as acceptable or deserved. but when it is the mc, suddenly a crime has taken place even if she completely loves what is happening, unlike the women who came before her.
Well, obviously, every other woman is a rival for the hunky Alpha Male Love Interest (tm) therefore they need to be ripped apart and destroyed because only the super special self-insert MC deserves to experience happiness.
As a romance reader, I can say this happened a lot. It is the “ not like other girl “ syndrome, when the side character is better or more interesting but for some reason the FML alway that special girl for the man for no fucking reason. She is the best and brightest and other is just stupid to be in her way
@@thuhuong8838 Ah, the Zade syndrome. "All other girls are shallow, envious and materialistic... I just love shopping and hate when other girls talk to MY boy. See? Totally different!!".
My grandparents got married ONE WEEK after meeting each other, and were together until my grandmother died three years ago. Instant love CAN work, but only in rare cases. And this case is just... eesh.
Massimo had to work so HARD and SURVIVE growing up in a rich Mafia family that has a ton of political & social power, truly a warrior of persistence 😭. It's really justifies him being an abusive man child. Ps I'm being sarcastic
But you don’t understand how much he had suffered. I mean, those people he killed and abuse had it easy compared to his harsh life of being born in an absolute privileged family.
In similar vein to Krim saying “stop idolizing stalkers,” we need “stop idolizing kidnappers.” I never thought Holiday in Handcuffs would look better by comparison. Even that kidnapping book Caleb Joseph looked at had the better idea, because it had the decency to realize that the kidnapper would be a terrible person.
I always felt that Holiday in Handcuffs was so over-the-top and silly that it clearly wasn't meant to be taken all that seriously. And I first saw it as a 15-year-old. And even within that setting, the narrative clearly is that kidnapping is bad. The movie starts with the MC asking if "doing one crazy thing makes you a crazy person", in reference to kidnapping Mario Lopez. It shows us what is supposed to be a mental breakdown of the MC that finally results in her reaching a point for an ordinary person to do something like the weird, poorly-thought-out kidnapping. The police arrest everyone, and it is clear in the narrative that the kidnapping was not ok. The family is only let out because Mario Lopez came to like the family and doesn't press charges because he doesn't want to ruin their lives. Both characters go on with their lives, realizing they aren't getting what they want out of life and making large changes. I feel that this is not in the same category as these weird, kinky, rape-fantasy stories. Or even bad, really.
@@StarWarsomania Even though I feel like the movie excuses her actions to an extent in Holiday in Handcuffs, I do agree with you that it does frame kidnapping as wrong, and is too silly, tame and low-stakes to be taken seriously.
I have a conspiracy theory that Laura actually doesn’t have any heart condition, she is just addicted to ketamine because she has been secretly drugged so many times 😅
Laura: You pushed the resistance leader into a giant fan! Massimo: He was a traitor and a scoundrel. Laura: He was trying to stop you from pushing other people into a giant fan!
About the alcohol consumption in this book - I think Lipińska based that on polish drinking culture which mostly revolves around getting hammered on strong spirits. While I agree it's weird that Laura's heart condition never manifested while drinking, at the same time it reminds me of a polish uncle/grandpa stereotype that has an abundance of health conditions but god forbid something gets in a way of his vodka.
It reminds me of Москва слезам не верит, where one of the running jokes is people constantly peer pressuring a teetotaler to drink, until he eventually gives in and becomes an alcoholic
I’m honored that you think that. Thanks a lot, and maybe I’ll be able to send a shot of the book throne for a bookcase roast (once I tidy it up a touch).
As an avid fanfictions reader who is constantly on AO3, I wouldn't touch this book with a bargepole. Despite the undesirable reputations the fanfictions have garnered (especially from Wattpad in recent years), there are genuinely amazing works. And even the worse of its are on the side of 'so bad, it's almost enjoyable to see how absurd it could get'. And at the end of the day, those fanfictions writers aren't charging people money to read their boring cliché self inserts.
@@crusadr_4966 hey! I write fanfiction and I try my very best to write good, entertaining stories. Unfortunately, people always seem to like the sh*t more than the actually good stuff.
@@everlastingdragon4520 Hello! I made that comment as a fellow fanfiction writer and reader. Fanfiction definitely has its highs and lows and I'd just love to see him rip into our space some day (and honestly just tear into some of the worst most kudos'd/favorited fics out there)
As a reader of dark romance and someone who enjoys the genre, I will say that the reasons why someone might like dark romance are similar to the reasons for enjoying horror. The main character is put into a situation that you wouldn't want to be in real life, but it's thrilling to read about in fiction. Some people enjoy darker sexual dynamics, and just as someone who enjoys violent shooters or slasher films isn't automatically assumed to want to do or experience those things in real life, the same goes for people who enjoy captor/captive romance or other similar power dynamic stories. Reading a book gives you the ultimate safe word- you can stop reading, and while you may be left shaken from what you read, it will stop then and there. While there are certainly real people who have gone through horrific trauma that may resemble what exists within some romance novels (and I wish those people nothing but peace and healing), I think it's notable that the genre of dark romance is largely written by women for women. The big thing to me when it comes to dark romance is that it needs to be written with intention, specifically in regard to the darker elements. Plenty of mainstream romances *cough* 50 shades *cough* have their love interests do very questionable things, but those elements are not treated as something darkly thrilling but rather as totally normal things for someone to do to their lover. You cannot write dark romance accidentally. Then it isn't dark romance, but rather romanticizing and normalizing toxic and abusive romantic dynamics. Which I suppose is something that people say about dark romance, but oh well.
@@Dreigonix Yeah, a lot of my favorite dark romance novels actually start with a content warning and list of possibly triggering content, and will often have that in the description of the book on Amazon or the author's website. Dark romance definitely isn't a genre I'd want anyone to stumble on accidentally.
Yes. This, exactly this. For the best dark romance work, it’s done in a way that the reader knows very specifically that what’s going on is bad and wrong, especially if it’s shown in the novel itself. Having things happen like the main character trying to get away. The main character being well aware that what’s going on is wrong, but what else are they supposed to do? They have no choice but to comply. The best dark romances in my opinion are written in a style where the characters degradation of their mental state is progressive and clear- they very slowly lose whatever willpower they have, the captor has a lot of influence over their thoughts. Basically the main character has to be incredibly different at the end of the book than at the beginning. It’s disturbing, and as you said, more akin to horror than romance.
Fear kinkster here! ✌️ So, for the fear kink to actually work, all the parties involved have to be on board. Otherwise, you're just scaring the sh!t out of someone for sport. Or, you live in constant fear and it reflects on you as meekness. I, like I mentioned in the title, have a fear kink; I get excited while being afraid simultaneously (of course I do get excited by other kinks but that's a story for another time) while the Dom/Top, gets off on CONSENSUALLY scare the bottom and in turn the bottom gets off on being afraid, only within each other's limits, they both enjoy it and after thoroughly taking about it. Why? Because there is implement of feeling safely helpless. Trust the person completely for this kind of kink to work, same factors go for cnc for example, might go over that spectrum. Fear kink go hand in hand most times and IT'S NOT FOR EVERYBODY. This book is poorly represented and it makes me wanna claw my eyes out. Kinks are supposed to be fun and exciting and pleasurable, but most importantly SANE, SAFE AND CONSENSUAL.
So~ I love coming up with alternatives to these bad stories and I finally figured out a good alternative for kidnapping Laura without the r4p3y aspect. First chapter starts with Laura on holiday with her boyfriend, some backstory to their relationship, the end of the chapter has Laura storming out of dinner without her boyfriend, she takes a wrong turn and witnesses Massimo murdering someone, so Massimo's brother is forced to chase her down before she reports the murder. The brother wants to kill Laura but Massimo argues to keep her alive and he'll just have to keep her captive until he knows she won't go to the police-but how could he ever know, hm? This introduces Massimo as a mysterious and dangerous character, who is also merciful in sparing Laura on a whim. It also affords Laura some power over Massimo, but when she sincerely threatens to go to the police, he has opportunity to be very threatening back to her. (If the writer was *determined* to include a s3xu4lly aggressive scene, this would be ample opportunity for Massimo to be physically rough with Laura, without it going further than Massimo pinning her to a wall and whispering in her ear that he'll kill her before he allows her to report him to the police.) This would not be in a s3xu4l context for Massimo, but Laura's mind would be able to think about how she unexpectedly felt aroused by him grabbing her and whispering in her ear. Laura has the conflict of knowing Massimo is a killer, but capable of sparing people, then later on, when Massimo is about to kill someone else, Laura could step in and argue with him, making him spare another life, which upsets the rest of the mafia family. Perhaps Massimo's brother takes issue with Laura, he sees her as controlling Massimo, weakening the family, so he has motive to get rid of her. That would allow for endless conflict between Massimo, Laura and Dominico(?). Lots of drama and high stakes available with this story. Massimo could be a playboy and Laura criticises this (whilst secretly being jealous of what she overhears Massimo and these women getting up to) and Massimo could pry about her relationship and point out how passionless it is. Laura could privately concede Massimo is correct, but she tries to convince Massimo and herself that she is happy. Laura's boyfriend being a cheater shouldn't be a plot line, it makes the decision to fall for Massimo so obvious. She could mull over the drawbacks of her boyfriend and Massimo, it presents some competition. A passionate killer or a loving, safe, reliable but boring boyfriend-who will she choose in the end~ There is still opportunity to write erotica scenes, Massimo would still be a sl_t but with other women, and Laura could overhear and fantasise about Massimo sleeping with her, whilst also feeling shame/guilt over these feelings, afterall, she has a boyfriend and Massimo is a killer, keeping her against her will, until eventually Massimo gives her permission to leave but she finds herself wanting to stay. Not saying I've fixed the story since it is supposed to be pure smut, but I think I have erased the "problematic" (overused term but very appropriate here) aspects.
I think the heart issues were inserted to only give the male lead a chance to take care of her in a, "moment of weakness." It is a trope that happens a lot in fanfiction and I've noticed it made its way into published works. A strong, capable character is injured/falls ill and the love interest tends to them and it's to give the strong character a moment of vulnerability and the love interest gets a chance to show their soft side. Hilariously enough, the male lead in this story is so awful that he can't even look semi-good taking care of her when her heart is about to explode.
I'm going to say it - I feel more sorry for Martin than Laura. I'm not surprised he spent more time with friends than with her if everything she says about him is negative, especially because she says it to her friends who might tell their partners and, in turn, those partners might tell Martin. She's incredibly ungrateful for a trip to Sicily, which is a beautiful part of the world even if for whatever bizarre reason you don't like the people in it, and seems to have spent the entire time complaining and being rude to him. His long term partner abruply left him alone while on a night out and I don't know what actually happened that night because the horror if this book just blurs together after a while, but it seems to me depending on the actual order of events he only 'cheated' after finding the note in their hotel room that said Laura was leaving him (could be wrong though), only for her to show up months later as the girlfriend of a Mafia boss.
Very late but it’s actually worse than that. Martin was drugged and then r worded and THATS how mob boss dude (cannot remember his name) got “evidence” that Martin was a cheater. And he of course is the one that arranged drugging his drinks, the woman to r word him, the person to take the photos etc. And even once that’s revealed to Laura she doesn’t see Martin as a victim of anything and in the end is all like I love you to the mob boss dude. And then gets surprised that he tries to baby trap her in the second book!
Martin did nothing wrong and then got raped and almost killed by an Italian drug kingpin. Martin and his journey to healing from these traumas could be a way better story than what we got.
oh how happy I am that this book has been translated to other languages (and was even made into a netflix movie!) and now the rest of the world can suffer through it too
You mentioned Ouran's Host club and reminded me of an anime I watched around the time called Kaicho wa Maid Sama. It features the strong willed female lead who had to work part time in a maid cafe, this is deeply embarrassing for her and a guy she hates happens to find out about it. Usui, whilst sometimes a Gary Stu, protects her from blackmail and at the same time encourages her to embrace and accept all aspects of her life, which I think should be more common than Edward Cullen knockoffs.
I really liked Usui’s character cause it did the power dynamic right. He always seemed to have an advantage over her in their banter simply because hes not the type to get embarrassed easily while Misaki is, and they can have the cinderella moments with her cause he is much better off them her. HOWEVER, he never lords his wealth over her head and most of the time just uses it to find new ways to tease her, and never forces his help on her unless its literally threatening her life, he explicitly only helps her when she asks so he never threatens her autonomy or makes her feel like a damsel in distress at every turn like some of these kinds of characters do
In the animated Beauty and the Beast, it's more the Beast who change after Belle thanked him for saving her. The Beast didn't become mean after that; he changed and brought out his kindness through Belle.
Exactly - totally agree. Another thing people forget about is that she couldn't be in love until she was allowed to leave and came back of her own free will. People seem to miss that part, but whilst Belle may have grown incredibly affectionate towards him during that time she was in the castle, it wasn't and arguably couldn't be counted as true love until she was given the chance to *choose* him herself.
That is pretty much why I never bought it when someone tried to claim that Disney’s Beauty and the Beast promotes Stockholm Syndrome or abusive relationships. Belle never sets off to try to change the Beast (Adam since that is his real name), in fact the Beast is the one who realizes that his anger is the thing that drives a wedge between him and Belle pretty quickly and he is the one who strives to make himself change for the better so he can be worthy of Belle’s love. It helps that there is Gaston who acts as a dark opposite to the Beast since he is the one who feels entitled to Belle’s love and thinks that he is perfect which is why it is great that Belle sees right through Gaston and constantly rejects his advances. In fact I sometimes wonder if the people who makes those accusations against the movie get the Beast and Gaston mixed up since some of those people think that Gaston is the true hero of the movie when he is the misogynistic villain.
I’ve been in a production of the musical of Beauty and the Beast recently and I’ve been thinking something similar. Belle being held prisoner is portrayed as a bad thing, that the Beast was wrong to do it. It’s only after he starts showing kindness to her that she actually falls for him.
WE HAVE THE SAME HAIRCUT, NICE!! Also, I highly recommend the book '50 Shades of Earl Grey'. It's a parody of 50 Shades, and Anna has to get past his fifty shames, one of which is BDSM (Batman, Dungeons & Dragons, Sorcery, and Magick). Here's a quote: "I gaze into his gazing eyes gazingly like a gazelle gazing into another gazelle's gazing gaze.” Not really recommending it for the channel, just thought you should know it exists if you want a break and a laugh sometime :D
I feel like these dark romance stories do more for the writer than for the reader. If you’re into romance/porn about really dubious consent, it probably only feels “hot” because it’s all in your head and you’re essentially controlling both characters. It’s the sexy version of smashing two action figures together.
Ehhh, I'd disagree. I write dark dubcon with body injuries, mindbreak, and a lot of hate-fueled humiliation-domination, and half of the thrill for me is to get into the absolutely fucked up headspace that my villain protagonists are in and watching them spiral each other down in a race to rock-bottom revenge depravity. But my beta readers (both asexual, one of them aromantic) enjoy the domination-threat thing that my protags pull off in their sadistic revenge spiral, so the dubious thing that dark romance readers enjoy seems to be almost exclusively centered on the dominance aspect, instead of the reluctance of the victim. The one who's a fellow writer specifically singled out that it's the force and dominating presence that was the titillating component, not the victim, so I think a lot of people assume the reader is there for the victim being dubcon'd when they seem to latch onto the one DOING the action.
It's like Marvel's Spiderman. Venom is the evil version of Spiderman and Carnage is the evil version of Venom. In this case, 50 shades is the evil version of Twilight and 365 days is the evil version of 50 shades.
The part about him saying her being wet was consent really hit home with me. My rapist took me into his car, carved his initials into my back with a knife, then sexually assaulted me. For the same reason in the book, he claimed I liked it. I was screaming and crying the whole time, and I hadn’t even stopped bleeding. I don’t care if this is meant to be a fantasy. I don’t care that this book is a work of fiction. These things happen to people, scar people, and are absolutely sickening. Fuck this author and fuck this book. I’m sorry, but I don’t know if I can continue watching from this point. Thank you for your warnings, I enjoy the humor you use to lessen the sickening blow of what happens in this book. I really like your videos and am probably gonna jump straight to another one. I don’t really know how to end this comment, so I hope you’re having a good one. And to anyone who has experienced what I have, please report it and get help. There are people who care about you, and there are ways to get out and live a better life.
@@beriasims1869 I'm in a much better place, thank you. And thanks for the warning about the rest of the book, it may be hard to continue from where I stopped. I appreciate it!
No worries. My next review will be much more lighthearted. I'm real sorry something that monstrous happened to you, and I hope everything is getting continuously better for you.
@@estelle5798 well fuck that’s just awful I hope the man in question was at the very least caught and charged.and while I know nothing I can say lessens the blow of what happened to you I at least hope your rapist gets the death penalty.
Just once, I would love it if one of these "dark romances where the rich guy tries to coerce and domineer a woman" climaxed (pun intended) with the guy literally losing all of his wealth due to some poor financial decisions, and the exploring ensuing fallout in the relationship as a result.
Also: - Dark romance but the rich guy is actually not that into this; he did this as a terrible manifestation of toxic masculinity and needs to learn healthy productive masculinity, the kind that doesn't make him harm a woman to prove to the world that he's a man. - Dark romance but the heroine doesn't fall for this shit; she _is_ a submissive who enjoys power fantasy but this is Too Much. She is teaching this man the meaning of consent if it kills her and then she is _leaving._
@@starpilot15 I mean, if it was a romance aimed at this kind of audience who just wants to fantasise about a rich guy sweeping them off their feet, yeah, that'd lose its appeal. Kind of sounds more like an interpersonal drama though - one which could be very interesting.
On the topic of the implant: she already has a serious medical condition. How does he know that her body wouldn't have a negative reaction? Not all women can use all types of contraception, just because it's convenient doesn't mean it couldn't kill her 🙄
There are women out there who think that the only use for birth control is to prevent pregnancy. The author somehow knows less about birth control than those women. I’d be impressed if this was actually a good book.
@@ryokiritani4187 cramps, acne, ovarian cancers, serious infections in the uterus, iron deficiency, and ectopic pregnancies, to name a few. It depends on what type of birth control you’re using, but there’s a surprising amount of health benefits to taking birth control.
My mother had periods that went on for so long, she had to use birth control just to regulate them as a teen. And that's just the one I'm most familiar with.
This is something I've noticed when it comes to my fellow women. I can't remember her name but there was an author who wrote a book about Jeffrey Dahmer (I think?) and the purpose behind the book was to explain how a person can end up being as evil as he was and how we as a society can pick up on signs of said behaviors in the future. HOWEVER, it had the opposite effect and she ended up getting tons of letters from women saying things like "if only I was in his life, then he wouldn't have turned out that way". The same thing happened after the Columbine Shooting and that there were fans-- I repeat: FANS of the shooters and even had a whole tumblr following. Then we have this whole twilight rabbit hole. Ladies. It's not worth it. Stop normalizing trying to save psychopaths in the name of "love"!
I've seen this with guys too, but in more sexual way than romantic way. Ex: Man that girl is so hot though. I wish I was stabbed to death by her 😩 I think it's just the case of people not distinguishing fiction and reality. Trust me the amount of times I've seen people defending and sometimes idolizing murder because, "there SO cute!" is more than I like to admit.
Yeah it’s a hard nuance for some to understand. Like there’s that famous picture of Hitler holding hands with his niece as a child and it’s like… oh people loved him, he had relationships and was a human. The point is not that evil people deserve to be understood and redeemed. It’s that evil people are your neighbors, your siblings, your parents. Just because you love someone doesn’t mean they aren’t evil. Just because you understand someone doesn’t mean they deserve forgiveness. We need to be aware that all of us are capable of evil and we shouldn’t rationalize anyone’s actions out of love. (I’m Jewish btw which is why I reached for that comparison. No one has less tolerance for all of *that* than me, don’t worry)
... it’s cool it has a nonbinary protagonist but the absolute hell it unleashed with all the incest and yaoi was really deeply unhelpful being a closeted gay kid when it was popular Coulda done without that.
Actually the twilight pipeline starts with 9.11, which lead to the founding of the alternative rockband My Chemical Romance, which in turn inspired Stephanie Meyer to write a vampire novel 😃
In regard to creating faces in your dreams, I think it really varies. There's something called vividness of mental imagery: basically, it attempts to measure how clearly an individual can visualize objects in his mind. Some people have a very high resolution imagination, others, like myself, can only imagine fuzzy shapes. Some people can't imagine at all, which is called aphantasia. I don't believe that people can't, generally speaking, create new faces in their dreams; however, I would guess that these "new" faces are probably composite images based off of other people you have seen before. Of course, some people can't imagine those things well by default.
Also, a second comment to say… if you want that guy to be protective and possessive, and say that the woman likes that… Commit to it. A female character does not have to be strong and independent - you can write a character who genuinely wants to be protected. It might not be “feminist”, but it’s still valid. (Speaking as a woman who came from a really rough background, a protective love interest absolutely works for me.) But if the character swings between enjoying the protection, and throwing a fit over it, then you’re not even trying to maintain character consistency. You’re just trying to hit a bunch of romance novel cliches without actually understanding how these aspects are supposed to work and for together. Granted, a lot of romance novels get this wrong anyway…
I mean why should it need to be “feminist” ? Not every woman is a feminist, and even some feminist want a man who’s taller and bigger than them (aka more protective man)
On the other hand, though, you don’t want to go too far in the other direction and depict them as always-helpless damsels in distress. That definitely isn’t accurate either. One of the books most accused of toxic patriarchy even has an account about one woman lobbing an upper millstone at a man’s skull from a tower and scoring a direct hit- not just dropping it, CASTING it.
The fact that there can exist an 'evil' version of a story like 50 Shades, where the mental and physical abuse runs deep and its quality is non-existent is an example of just how bad both stories really are
I’m Polish and we’re so embarrassed about this “book.” I haven’t checked out the English version yet, but I hope it got edited to the point of being legible. Because let me tell you, you can barely get through EVEN ONE chapter of the original one thanks to Blanka’s terrible writing. Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way’s writing is better. There’s not a single logically-written sentence in this. Edit: I recall my favorite moments being: 1. Laura’s friends randomly returning to Poland, completely ignoring the fact she just left the hotel one day and didn’t come back LMAO 2. Laura visiting her mother. Having all these expensive clothes and driving there up in a freaking Lamborghini. Her mother is like “Oh! So you got promoted!” Then she’s like “But wait, excuse me, I don’t believe you. Who earns this much working at a hotel?” AND THEN she’s like “But whatever, you’ll eventually tell me the truth if you feel like it.” Yeah, because all people in Laura’s life have this kind of attitude - “It’s okay, you’ll tell me the truth when you feel like it. It’s not like the whole thing looks suspicious af, like you were being held captive by someone, you’ll tell me if you want to!”
When Krim said that Laura had a contraceptive implant in her arm against her will, I immediately thought “oh what’s next, he’s got a tracker chip in her??” Imagine my shock minutes later.
As a Pole, I offer apologies for the existance of this and also a 'cheer-up' though that it's NOT EVEN THE WORST 50SOG knock-off made in our country...
@@KrimsonRogue There is author named Katarzyna Michalak, who wrote a few 'new 50 shades' books - FOUR of them. I to this day remeber a scene describing a servant washing main character - a pre-school age girl - and the servaing goading her to open her legs more so she can wash that lil 'kitty' reeeally well. [I found the quote - from "Black Prince" by Michalak. To translate, it says: - Shh, quiet, little girl, calm now. Annie will wash the teeny tiny cunt. Annie will make the little girl feel good. Spread those tiny thighs, lovely, let Annie in, we'll was the little girl... - Ciii, cicho, dziecinko, spokojnie. Anka umyje maleńką cipusię. Anka zrobi dziecince dobrze. Rozewrzyj udka, kochana, wpuść Ankę, umyjemy dziewczynkę... ] She also wrote 'Gra o Ferrin', in which MC is so hot even her magic talking horse has hots for her. She also writes 'typical' romance in which among other things she wrote: - a teacher molesting her studend which is cool, but with gender reverse version being icky and awful; - a veterinarian who is susprised a snake isn't just empty tupe inside; - a father who, after wife's death, neglecs his children to the point that a pre-school daughter has to COOK for her younger brother - all ending in Big Evil System trying to take the kids away and of course not able to do it cause 'gosh darn, the daddy is just trying to hard'; 365 is just bad porn for me - Michalak writes book that legitimately makes you want to vomit from messages they spread. BUT for bad porn there is also Wszystkie Odcienie Czerni (All Shades of Black) which has ironically nothing to do with the 50 shades of Gray, just riding the coattails of that book.
Why the hell do so many writers think that being abusive towards each other is just totally fine? Or do they just go "No, he's hot and she's hot so they're meant for each other no matter what happens between them!"
It's the curse of straight relationships. Even more so if the author is not from a country where the ideas of consent and ethical sexual practices are widespread and broadly accepted.
I have no idea. This happens with shipping too; two characters merely ACKNOWLEDGING EACH OTHER'S EXISTENCE is enough to start, and sometimes it takes even less than that.
I feel like they start with "enemies to lovers" trope but try to make it MORE in all aspects and just fall over the line. It's a fantasy and a kink. Rarely done without diving into toxic relationships
As a Polish native speaker I want to say, that it sounds like certain sentences been translated too close to the original language, without acknowledging that in English this stuff is not a thing. For example: Purpling. This is direct translation of purpurowieje, which is a word in Polish and means becoming purple colour, but translating it as a "purpling" it's just incorrect
Purpling is correct in english, but we use it in very specific circumstances (namely, when someone is asphixiating or deoxygenated). So when "purpling" is described it's either describing hypothermia (where purpling lips and nailbeds are a symptom) or it's describing someone running out of oxygen either because they're being strangled in a nonsexy way, or they're so angry with rage that they've gone past red to turning purple with rage. Either way it's gross in context, not sexy, and it has a very "it's grotesque and that person is choking" meaning attacked to it. In this case you'd want "reddened" if you want the spanking, or "bruising" if you want purple ass bruises.
You know, I actually have a story where a dude kidnaps a woman he saw in his dreams, takes her to a lavish penthouse to trap her there and showers her with riches. Difference is he’s coocoo for cocoa puffs and it’s an escape story... Also a psychological thriller, not a romance
forever pissed off at how BDSM and power dynamics are always associated with "dark romance" and shit like kidnapping and dubious (at best) consent god forbid two people enter a consensual power exchange relationship and find joy within that but nooooo we NEED to have one part (usually the woman) be forced into the dynamic by the brooding man who could not give less of a shit about the woman's thoughts and feelings anyways watch Love and Leashes y'all
@@someone-you-do-not-know8522 And from what I have seen, it is also *very* well drawn. Like, if it wasn't erotic, I could totally see it on someone's Bookshelf.
There's nothing wrong with dark romance. Just bad writing. 'Asking For It,' by Lilah Pace does exactly that. Also deals with how people can use BDSM to heal from trauma. It's also a dark romance. Hell, Deadpool encourages his taxi driver to murder his cousin and kidnap his love interest and it's just played for laughs. Plus, even '365 Days,' has Laura ending-up with another guy because Massimo actually IS the villain. Still bad writing though.
@@deadmanreading3152 Deadpool is supposed to be an unhinged psychopath. That's why it's played for laughs. Not because he's giving Dopinder good advice. It's perfectly in line with the character to say something like that, and it's funny because it's wrong
@@filmandfirearms Deadpool isn't just an unhinged psycho. He clearly loves his girlfriend and has something of a moral code. He's a killer but he's hardly Dahmer. The only point was darker main characters are well-received in any genre. Comedy is actually a good example, plenty of people don't like dark comedy others find it cathartic. Same thing in romance, fantasy, sci-fi what have you. I just get irritated at the whole 'romanticizing abuse,' argument toward certain romances. Reminds me of the whole 'video games cause violence in real life,' myth that was prominent in the 90's.
You know, whenever I worry about my own ability to write chemistry or romantic subplots in my story, I'll think of this book and remind myself, "You haven't even so much as touched the bottom of the barrel."
"You are an hour too early for lunch. You have to wait, you fuzzball." this is the content I am here for. That, and the in depth analysis, someone going crazy over a book, and trying to gleam what I can to further my own writing.
I'm reminded of when Steven Spielberg was reading the original Jaws novel and apparently the characters were all so consistently reprehensible that he hoped the shark would eat them all. I'm wondering when Jason Vorhees is gonna start killing everybody.
Fun fact, it's not just the story people laugh about but also how at some point Blanka Lipińska would do a lot of interviews (some you mention) and compares herself to Olga Tokarczuk. And said her books were better cause people read them, unlike Tokarczuk's poems. She also implied all woman would want romance like this, no matter if that was abusive. But to be fair, this woman just seems to enjoy attention.
I really need to start self publishing. If that kinda stuff can make their authors some coin then my bullcrap should to. Even if it isn't good at least I'll be able to make ppl laugh w/how crap it is.
As someone who is very much used to reading translations: A translator would have to purposely do their worst to royally fuck up a good writing style. When someone is good at writing, it comes through even in translation
As someone with an interest in translating, I wholeheartedly agree. Good writing styles are fun to translate, whereas bad ones like this are just a slog. Good writing is always more engaging than bad writing, translation or otherwise.
These book summaries are always a treat to listen to; but the cat popping in randomly for attention and pets makes the experience all the more enjoyable. XD
When someone pitched this book to me as: "The main female charecter gets kidnapped by a mob boss, is given a year to fall in love with him." I was honestly under the impression it was a horror book, and the MC kills the mob boss at the end. Now I fear humanity more, because we as a species allowed this to happen.
Remember this was traditionally published, so if you feel like your less problematic, wholesome book that’s well written can’t get traditionally published, you’re probably right.
Never expected Ouran High School Host Club to be brought up, but I do agree with your recommendation. The dub is good too, and to add to to comedy, the VAs for Tamaki and Haruhi also did the voices for Ed and Winry from FMA. Seriously, watch it. It's great.
The way you describe the Twilight Pipeline honestly reminds me of a quote I heard about ancient people translating the Bible from one language to another: The Hebrews drink from the source, the Greeks drink from the stream that immediately flows from it, the Romans drink from the downstream pool, and so forth.
At the point he says "Massimo's only redeeming quality is that he won't force himself on her" is so messed up, because to this point, Massimo has ONLY forced himself on her. The one time it was offered with dubious consent is the one time he says no. Like, yeah. I guess? He only gets off on the violence of forcing himself on someone, so he won't drug them (for sex). Good job, Massimo? I guess?
Thats not even a redeeming quality, that's just such... A basic thing everyone should do. I guess in the shit standards of Massimo, it's like "Uh... you did it I guess?"
I'm so grateful for Krim's reviews. They've helped me so much in advancing my own writing, knowing tropes and errors and etc. to avoid. Thank you, you're a gem!
As someone who has read their share of fanfiction, I feel the "and then" narrative beat is incredibly prevalent in these types of stories, as well as in obvious self-insert stories because they just want to play out the fantasy of characters being in certain kind of situations, as opposed to furthering a plot. You can see this in fifty shades from them just doing things together like vacationing, shopping and fighting, that have no purpose to the overall plot (what little plot there is). Love your channel. Love what your doing. One day I hope to have a book throne as epic as yours.
I have a theory: The author originally wanted to make Laura afraid of flying instead of claustrophobic, but changed it last-minute because it wouldn’t make sense for a person who is afraid of airplanes to be on a flight to Sicily. That’s why her claustrophobia is almost never brought up instead of when it comes to planes.
![[안방1열 직캠4K] 베이비몬스터 치키타 'DRIP' (BABYMONSTER CHIQUITA FanCam) @SBS Inkigayo 241110](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tnlxo79cAqY/mqdefault.jpg)
It's a dark romance because it's weak to fighting romance, but has resistance to psychic romance.
It also weak to the fairy romance
And would fold to bug romance.
@@tyrantking9000 I don’t think dark is weak to bug but I haven’t played in a long one
@@hand13932 Surprisingly it actually is
And is super-effective against light romance.
"This is a story about Christian Grey's evil brother." Who's going to tell him the 2nd book features Massimo's evil twin?
Wait, this book series has someone that is more evil than Massimo, how is that possible?
@@morganyoung3557 I didn't read the books (I got to page 12 and couldn't deal) but I did see it on Netflix and I could help but go for the second when I saw it came out. At some point it became laughably bad.
@@bridgetdowney7941 of course this is on Netflix…
… triplets ?
🤣
Bro if Laura was actually dominant and manipulative, this could have been a story about a young woman with a heart condition who uses her allure and charm to single-handedly overthrow a mob boss who obsessively kidnapped and assaulted her.
Could even have some manipulation through the erotic scenes, maybe since she’s so gorgeous she could’ve created her own harem of men willing to betray their boss.
Instead we get this, I could truly suspend my disbelief better than trying to believe she would legitimately find anything that massimo does attractive
Built up a superior story with better characters in one comment!
Lol wut
Would read that
Bro, erotica books aren't my thing (at least, I assume. I've never actually read one, so idk, lol), but I'd read the sh outta that if it developed the story with as much care as the erotica. Sounds like a fun read just to see her overthrow Massimo (or possibly fail, which are wild stakes). It adds so much tension to every single scene off premise alone.
Seams like a Daenerys story xD
I'm very annoyed that the book insists that Martin cheated. He was drugged and raped. _THAT'S_ what happened. And I don't want to hear anye xcuse about how it wasn't a rape drug but some magical drunkenness boost. Guess what getting someone drunk in order to coerce sexual acts out of them is? But I guess because he's male, we're dancing around it because people sitll don't want to admit that men can be raped.
Oh and even if he wasn't drunk/drugged to the point of not knowing what he was doing, _he was lead to believe that Laura had just dumped him in the most spiteful way_ so as far as he was aware, they weren't even together any more and you really could forgive him for seeking comfort with someone else. But remember, he didn't even do that much because he _was_ drugged.
Just add it to the pile of things the author doesn't understand about the real world.
Thank you.
So sexism again 🤦♀️
The author refuses to call it rape because that would make Martin too sympathetic and antaoginze Laura, who is supposed to be an insert for the reader. It's like when obsessive fans of a TV show, book, or other media hate on a character because they "get in the way of their ship". Twilight also does this with Jacob. Meyer realized Jacob was getting more fans than her established OTP so she destroyed his character. It's the same thing here. By framing Martin as a cheater and a '"loser", she's trying to draw her audience to Massimo, even though he's one of the hugest red flags I've ever seen. It's just bad writing.
(I hope this makes sense I'm not very good at putting things into words)
I WAS THINKING THAT THE MOMENT IT WAS MENTIONED. The other person was clearly sober so he was taken advantage of. It's a gross thing.
Fun fact:
There was a person who witnessed 9/11, went to therapy. And became the lead in band called *My Chemical Romance*
An author listened to their music and got inspired to write *Twilight*
Another author read it and got inspired to wrote *50 Shades Of Grey*
Someone else got inspired by that as well as their own personal trip to Sicilly to write a book called *365 Days*
I don't remember the names of the people but you get the idea.
bush did 365 days
@@battlefox7614 ty
Man, it's a shame My Chemical Romance indirectly inspired this garbage... I like some of their music, oh well still good music.
More reason to curse bush for, hes the reason my mom likes these type of books.
The ramifications of 911 have surely been harsh
Character: *has heart condition that actually requires medication*
Also Character: *drinks alcohol without a problem*
Also character: *engages in super strenuous acrobatic activity like pole dancing*
Throughout my entire childhood, my mom couldn't climb a flight of stairs without needing to sit down and catch her breath thanks to cardio myopathy, so I heard that part of the synopsis and went, "Wait, what?"
@@katthawthorne1027 yeah. Most people don’t realize how hard pole dancing is.
I think he just wants the excuse to drug her over and over.
To be fair, if I were a character in that book, I’d be drinking too.
@@winfieldwinfield5450 LMAO
What's terrifying is that 50 Shades is ALREADY the evil 50 Shades, so the fact that this exists and is somehow *worse* is nightmarish.
YEAH,
I was gonna comment the same thing.
50 Shades: Lawful Evil
365 Days: Chaotic Evil?
Apparently we haven't found the bottom of the well/rabbit hole yet
@@Galaxia7 Ferb? I know what we're doing today.
As a Polish person, I would like to formally apologize for what my country has unleashed on the world.
I mean your country is also responsible for the Witcher so all is forgiven
Edit I think I accidentally started a bit of a flame war in this thread sooo my bad
Balanced, as all things should be 😆
God help the world if a polish person comes up with something the quality of Lord of the Rings. The Pendulum swing from that would be...cataclysmic.
You have now given us a three-hour review of our favourite Rogue. It is forgiven, my friend. We thank you.
y'all gave us bagels, you are forgiven
Don’t apologize. The literary world wouldn’t be what it is now if American media hadn’t gone off the chain and tried to validate a whole bunch of this shit first.
The fact that you called it a UTI instead of an IUD (which it isn't even an IUD because it's in her arm not her uterus) is absolutely HILARIOUS to me.
When he first said it i just paused like...? Huh? Did she not pee after? I was so confused and thought I spaced out for a second and missed something 😭
Everytime he says it I fuckin cackle
To be fair, he probably did give her a UTI as well.
😂😂😂
bro SAME lol
For an erotica novel featuring kidnapping, r*pe and murder, this felt very safe and boring. The author was too afraid to challenge her own characters and also herself to write any development other than fight-make up-fight. Also, marriage and children? What a suburban, cookie-cutter end goal for your edgy, depraved characters 🙄
Oh and a love triangle in the sequels? How daring!
With assassin from the other mob family, who has actually a surfing hobby and a heart of gold?
XP
FR, AO3 dead dove writers could run circles around the author with their hands tied around their back. Sure it would be horrifying but Y’know, it will be better
I mean, Blanka Lapinska actually does something kinda out of nowhere in the third book and actually has Laura leave Massimo for Nacho (the Spanish rival) after Massimo tied her up and r*ped her, and it isn't depicted as anything else in the book, that r*pe scene is not sexualized, it's really just a long tenuous scene of Laura getting assaulted by her own husband
Like sheesh... good for Laura for picking Nacho over him though
@@aquaabouttogetfunkythat's a funny mental image
@@aquaabouttogetfunky As an AO3 dead dove writer, absolutely. Sign me up.
As an Italian, I have some comments for the author:
1. Italians not knowing English: it's not that Italians don't know English, the fact is oftentimes there's a lot of shyness about speaking another language. But especially in the hospitality industry (e.g., Laura's hotel) ability to speak English is very useful, if not necessary to perform well at the job.
2. Being late: this is a bit of a truth, but there are cultural reasons behind it, and people's lateness is relegated mostly to social situations. When you're in the workplace, you try to do your job in a timely manner. If there's anything causing you to go slow, it's probably system-related problems, which is true about anywhere.
3. Laura's drink choices: there are so many wonderful local drinks everywhere in Italy. Such a shame she didn't try any.
4. People aren't rude per se, but if you have an attitude, expect a dose of your same medicine.
And Krimson, it's 100% true about the hand language. Another stereotype is that we're loud (I call it "passionate"), but that's necessary when we spend our days jumping on mushrooms as we move between castles in search of our favorite princess
Cool stuff. Thanks for the info!
I needed that laugh. Thanks 😁
You mama have made my day thank you I needed that laugh
@@MamaMOB no problem at all. Am available for a lighthearted laugh any time 😅
I mean - to be fair - despite the stereotype of Italians "being loud" I've actually heard the stereotype of Americans being loud wayyyy more often.
These books are like the Habsburg family tree - exceptionally imbred and progressively worse with each generation.
or the book equivalent of human centipede...
Don't give them ideas. Please.
With one neat trick, this family ruled large swaths of Europe and drove their male line to extinction
That's the best analogy....spot on!
Well that means sooner or later these books will go extinct.
The Twilight Pipeline is the literary equivalent of a game of broken telephone.
Except it's being filtered through raw sewage.
It’s like a game of broken telephone, but only the worst aspects get carried over and multiplied by a factor of 39
Telephone, but each player is hornier than the last.
You have to wonder what wretched property is going to come next.
The reason her “heart condition” doesn’t ring true is because she herself never thinks about it. Case in point, when she has the panic attack in the plane, she never expresses fear of a heart attack. I have a pretty serious congenital heart defect, and I’ve had one panic attack on my life. Let me tell ya, in that moment, all I could think about was my heart.
I have no heart problems but I’ve had plenty of panic attacks and each time I’m hyper focused on my heart.
I was born with a heart condition. It's now fixed, but I still worry about my heart whenever I have panic attacks too.
I wear glasses and I keep thinking about them when I have panic attacks. I know that it's not 1 to 1, but I do think it's worth bringing up.
I think about the fact that I can only see because of my glasses when I am panicking, so I can only imagine having something like a heart issue and how much I would focus on it.
I don't think the author have had a panic attack, simply because its very normal to body check (as in breath, heart, senses) to try to ground oneself
True, I have a sinus arrhythmia (not dangerous but disorienting and scary) and when I have panic attacks there’s no way to convince me I’m not dying. Doesn’t matter how many times the cardiologist shows me my EKGs and explains that my arrhythmia will never hurt me, when it’s happening all I can think is “SHE WAS WRONG! ITS V-FIB! HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT”
I have a close online friend who has a serious congenital heart condition and from the way she has described it to me - and the number of things she has to worry about even in perfectly normal activities - I also 100% called bullshit on the story right away. There's no way someone with a condition that serious would just be, y'know... ignoring it until the moment that it's a handy plot convenience. Not to mention the possibility of a high-risk pregnancy from all the presumably unprotected sex she's suddenly being put through with only questionable consent... I feel like that should be freaking her out too.
This premise would have been so much better if the protagonist was a homebody aroace.
"If you don't fall in love with me in 365 days, you're free to go."
"So you want me to live in this lavish mansion and not leave for a whole year, and at the end of it if I'm not attracted to you I'm free to go?"
"Yes, that's- is that a Nintendo Switch?"
Oh god, that would genuinely make a great story, maybe even a proper comedy if handled right. I want to read that!
Can the aroace character pull out increasingly ridiculous weapons every time massimo tries to make a move? Like it starts out with just brass knuckles and eventually it’s just a full automatic.
@@thequeenofcringe1585 Alternate take: By ridiculous, they keep pulling out more and more medieval weapons.
Massimo: *approaches*
Aroace: *pulls out a Morningstar flail*
Massimo: ... WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THAT?!
@@TheHiddenDirector that is also an absolutely fantastic take
I'm demi now and I wanna write this lol
Krim deserves to have good books given to him for free.
I wouldn’t say no to that!
@@KrimsonRogue I'll send House of Leaves if you don't have it
Counter argument give him bad books for free more content that way
@@m1lkweed Honestly I think he should review House of Leaves
I would give you my book but I'm still trying to edit it. I love to have Krim give his constructive criticism.
"One-sided consent scene" is certainly an inventive way to describe it, never heard that before when people try to dodge the more explicit word lol
Bein how hard TH-cam crcks monetisation-wise on anything, I'm surprised it is not used more often in triger warnings. Give it another decade of TH-cam decay, I guess?
I blame youtube censorship
youtube will destroy you if you say certain words
In fanfic we use dubcon
@@AlSidre It'd be non-con tho here
"This is a story about Christian Grey's evil brother" y'all better not tell this poor man anything about the sequels 😭
as that one jerk in the beauty and the beast live action remake said
"isn't one enough?"
This story could be salvaged if a third of the way into the book, the writer pulls a 'gone girl' where they switch to the woman's perspective and it turns out she's a calculated psychopath all along, who's only playing along with the guy's twisted fantasy until she can figure out the perfect way to kill him, steal all she can, and get away with all of it.
Write the fucking book!
@@alaaraad1936 Alright, Let me start making drafts.
@@MadameTamma finally: a good edition to the Twilight pipeline!
Yes! A conniving gold digger doing her best to frame her husband as a mob boss and inherit his vast wealth!
I love this idea. Or even where the woman starts out rightfully terrified but instead of freaking out the first time she sees a mob-style execution she resolves to do what it takes to survive while trying to keep her own autonomy and moral code. At what point is she killing to survive, or killing because she enjoys it?
365 Days was truly a story. The plot was there. The characters were written. The scenes were in chapters. I rate it 365 Days
So her reaction to discovering that Massimo has forcibly implanted an invasive birth control device into her body without her consent or knowledge is to be grateful that he was being honest with her? Not outrage that he did this to her? Not disgust that he violated her body? Not fear that if he is willing to do this without telling her, then what else has he done to her?
Remember, a perfectly good tree died to make this garbage.
A bed of trees mean since there are more copies.
And a waste of electricity and data to copy this digitally as well.
I’m a dude, and this is up there as the most mortifying thing I have ever read.
Wtf you know it's bad when erp I have written is better than this
Well now I’m sad for the tree man 🌳
And suddenly rape doesn’t sound like the worst thing you can do to someone anymore…
it was a laughing stock in Poland back when it was initially released. it doubled when movie came out. when the outside world picked it up, it became an immense source of dread and national shame.
So basically what Dominic Noble is going through reading E L James. I wonder if the Italian ambassador's complained about Lipinska for the slander yet.
yup +100
No wonder the Polish are leaving in droves
365 days. The SECOND worst thing to happen to Poland.
I’ll remind you that Poland also gave us four of my favorite characters: Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri and everyone’s favorite Beautiful Bi Disaster, Jaskier.
It was clear something was to be created to balance out the karma
Masemo not wanting to force himself on a drunk woman... Kinda makes it worse?
Hear me out.
He wants the women he assaults be 100% conscious and aware of what is happening. By drawing the line at "They are not sober" he is basically saying he wants the women to know the pain he puts on them. Every bit of it.
Yes, it is morally wrong to hurt a drunk person. It is also morally wrong to hurt an innocent person. We know this man have no quams in doing the later.
Good point
At least with someone who is sober, they're capable or have the potential to fight back against their assailant. If you're drunk, your options are much more limited, what with your judgement and motor skills severely impaired.
@@Khanmanlol When the guy assaulting them is a young, fit, mob boss, they really can't fight back. He's stronger and faster than they are, and they can't do anything to him societally because he has a literal army of assassins he could call on to kill her if he so wished
@@KhanmanlolConsidering the book has excerpts that confirm Massimo likes it when “they” fight back against him, that makes the statement of him not wanting to do anything while Laura is drunk even more heinous than it seems
People who are drunk cannot consent, unless there was prior consent before they started drinking. But, when Massimo turned down Laura, she did want him. He could have slept with her, and she wouldn't have fought him. But he didn't, and it's soley because he wanted her to fight not back, it's not about consent
Massimo could've been a great, delusional villain with his back and forth between "respecting" Laura and threatening her if the book had treated him as the psychotic creep he is instead of a dark, brooding lead the book desperately wants him to be. As for Martin and Laura's relationship, though....to be honest, the cheating does fit. Laura is a terrible person, and from her perspective, Martin is perfectly happy with her, he's just not interested in sex and he's apparently disinterested in talking to her to an extent--signs that he might be getting his kicks elsewhere. Looks have nothing to do with cheating, but dating a materialistic, alcoholic bitch who puts you down behind your back does.
All these characters are assholes, tbh.
I mean he was drugged. That was by all classical definitions rape on the woman's part, though she didn't know that he was drugged the process was the same.
Yeah, I wrote my original comment before I got to that part djsbwnjs
Didn't he believe she dumped him at the time?
He is. The story ends with her getting with another guy. It's still badly written, though. The author said it was a 'cautionary tale.' Yeah.
Saying it's a "cautionary tale" honestly feels like the author's trying to do damage control...and not doing it well.
You know I REALLY like how Massimo was like “We did not roofie your boyfriend” and then proceeds to describe how he roofied her boyfriend. I REALLY REALLY ENJOY THAT 😐
Fun fact on the subject of translations: I have read 50 shades in my native language and I could physically feel how the translator desperately tried to make the text just a little better than what it is.
Translators are the real MVPs sometimes
I have a similar experience with the Twilight books. I read them all in my native language and really enjoyed them, especially the writing style. A few years back, I've become familiar with the original for the very first time and I was horrified, for the writing style was so clunky, purple and meh, I'm sure even tween me wouldn't have gotten through first ten pages, had I seen the original first.
@@baseliacaliga now I have to ask myself if the popularity of twilight books was in fact a conspiracy of translators, who just collectively decided that "if this shit is getting published, at least I get some writing practice".
Twilight was such a strange phenomenon. I read the first book because I was going through an angsty teen phase, and Twilight is a great book to teenage angst to. I then got most of the way through New Moon before I was out of the angsty teen phase, which made finishing the book a bit of a chore, as that's the WORST place to have a change of interest from "angsting" to "I want to know what happens to these characters" (almost a literary sunk-cost fallacy). This was maybe six weeks? Maybe less?
And then I was like "well, I guess I'll check back in a few years, read the sequels after they come out. I'm sure I won't _completely_ forget about these."
And then out of nowhere, twilight mania took over one of my Internet forums about a year later. It was primarily a young adult forum, preteens/teens and college age, so when I put together that, _yes_ Eclipse was a sequel to that weird sparkly vampire book, and _yes_ everyone is loosing their minds over _freaking Twilight_ I was so confused.
Yes, I had liked Twilight, but I had liked it as a result of a phase that had waxed and waned over the course of a few months as a teenager (I wasn't unaware of the fact that my reading choices had gotten _very weird_ during that short phase, nor that it was happening while it was happening). It had been a book pointed at a very niche audience.
Usually, when you see a book you knew, read, and liked hit sudden viral interest, you are happy that it's getting the publicity it deserves. Not confused as to why there's mass interest in it at all.
I also remember that, as roughly a 15/16 year old, preteen girls in my Girl Scout troop were reading it, and I was just floored. I was like "this really isn't acceptable reading material for 11-year-olds, wtf".
It was my weird, niche angsty teen drama book, and all the normies came and ruined it. Lol.
So, all of this is to say that Twilight mania happened inexplicably around the release of Eclipse, so if you are going to find a conspiracy to suddenly make it viral, you'd have to look there.
Freaking normies. reeee.
@@StarWarsomania twilight was an odd thing even before it became wildly popular. i remember carrying the book when i was transfered to a new school (just now realizing the irony) and found friends through them recognizing the book.
Then when it blew up everyone that had any attachment to the series suddenly wanted to distance themselves from it. I remember my mother being the one to take my friends and I to the movies and none of us were super excited but we had to see the thing to the end for some reason.
Apparently I got "UTI" and "IUD" mixed up in my head when recording the video.
And now you all know why I never got in to medical school.
Oh well. Hopefully that was my worst mistake. XD
Thank god I honestly stopped the video and was like, "I don't know what it's called, but I know UTI isn't correct."
Well...no, but your worst mistake was having to read this "cock and ball torture" of a book. I hope you recovered after your ordeal and I'm glad you were able to share the pain with all of us. I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about with it but I was glad to have confirmed that is was just as gamey as I thought it was. 💕 Cheers, and glad to see ya back, Krim
Honestly I had to stop and rewind for a second to make sure I heard you right. I wasn't sure if you were one of those dinguses who knows literally nothing about women's health or just a silly banana. I'm glad to know it was the latter. 😅
That was funny 😁
I had to pause for a moment just to make sure I heard you correctly 🤣. It's all good it happens although it would be a contraceptive implant...well if it wasn't a tracking device. IUD is implanted in the uterus
Please accept our sincere apologies for this thing's existence. We hate it here too. Oh, and the translation actually made this schlock better, it's worse in the original
I was looking for a comment that answered this question. I'm disturbed by the answer
@@rowanquynn9964 the original book is written like a bad fan-fiction. To be more specific, a bad One Direction romance fan-fiction written by a 13 years old girl, with every writing mistake one can imagine. Most of them are nothing to laugh at, just really, really bad writing but the funny one is that in bad fanfics (mostly written by young girls) they usually refer to male characters by their hair colour. Yep, the "man in black" thing that the dude is called in the english version is translated from just "black" in the original. And it sounds just as bad in the original.
There are also some mistakes in the translation that aren't actually it's fault. The weird sentence mentioned in the video ("do you have an idea") was, as far as I remember, also in english in the polish version. It sounds exactly like something someone from Poland would say. Because of how our language is structured we have tones of problems with "a", "an", "the" and how to use those. I wouldn't laugh at it if author's self-insert didn't say english was "like her native tongue" a few pages earlier.
Oh, and I have no clue what's up with all that Italian hate. We just have regular stereotypes about Italians (they like pizza, have that exaggerated accent we see in movies, love spaghetti and are into family a lot, and mafia ofc). It must be something that the author thinks herself.
I can imagine. I hope the translator was paid well.
As a Polish writer, I'm so fucking ashamed that this... THING is going to be associated with our culture for years to come. It couldn't have been Pilipiuk, or Tokarczuk, or the Szeptucha trilogy. It had to be 365 days 😩
@@BooksandBuns i don't think this is going to overshadow the Witcher, if it helps
Every time the author describes Massimo as "the man in black" I think "oh good, Johnny Cash is here, he won't put up with this shit".
Somebody write this!
The heart condition could have been turned into an anxiety or panic disorder and served the same purpose while also making more narrative sense. She drinks heavily because it quells her anxiety. She takes a tranquilizer when she feels her anxiety becomes unmanageable. It would also explain the intermittent aspects and correlation to the heart.
And you can't drink with a heart transplant. Ppl don't seem to know how dangerous just having one is. It buys you on average 5-7 years. You have to take meds daily to not reject it. And alcohol messes with the meds. You can't do drugs, you can't to to strenuous of things. You can't have kids. I could go on. It is wild how media treats it. And a basic Google search would teach you all of this. Appallingly lazy.
"Nothing builds loyalty like constant trauma" is surprisingly true. Lets see, hazing, indoctrination, dangerous rites of initiation, toxic relationship addictions, and Stockholm Syndrome.
My alignment is whenever an author portrays this as a surprise tool that will come in handy later and not because they’re an abuser, but because it’s like oh I just I’m looking out for you ily that’s why I keep controlling and hurting you
That’s an enemy on sight. My opinion of that creator is now “fight me no really I’m ready to go” and they’re gonna have to actively work to get that changed.
But he's tall, rich and handsome so it's all fine.
@@ALIEN-DUDE Yep 😒
Hell, even on the 'positive' side, how many romances are built around 'we went through harrowing advantures and/or almost died, I love you!'
Based on this list, the final form of dark romance might take place in the Vatican
Can you blame the translator for being sloppy with this. They wanted get through it, as fast as Krimson wanted
Believe me, the translation makes this "book" way better than the original.
@@shirotako6249 So like the German version of A court of thorns and roses then XD
@@raikaschieck1634 oh ok THAT I do understand 😅
@@raikaschieck1634
Can you elaborate on that?
@@quma2590 The original style is lets call it simple and repetitive. The German translation tries to have a more variated and farie tale style- But to be fair, I only know that second hand, so how much its noticable, i dont know
The famous phrase “Are you lost, baby girl” is not in the book 😞
Don't you worry, he calls her baby girl many times anyway
🤮
Where is the whole 'disappearing like Batman' thing?
That made him sound like Gru.
Baby gorl
Don’t worry, they made sure to plaster it all throughout the movie🤢
I'm sorry, but the waiter that despite being Sicilian is also Italian is such a beautiful paradox I'm going to cry all over my Italian pizza. It's like saying that despite being Texan, a guy is aso an American citizen.
Ok wait when you say it like that i get it. Its like saying "oh this guys a new yorker (a people known for acting in a way that sets them apart from other parts of their country,) but he acts like a regular american" i guess
The reason why it is said that way… It’s because a lot of Sicilians do not consider themselves, Italians.
Even though technically they are. Even though they speak the same language, and share the same history and cultural background, for the most part…
Sicilians are very pretentious because they live on the island that Italy is literally kicking with its foot.
@@kellynantonacci7885 I mean the same can be said to Texans.......
I seriously can't believe that I've read fanfiction with slavery that had more consensual sex
Please😭😭
Fuck, I've written original stories around slaves that had more legitimate love and care between the male and female leads than this.
@@TheDapperDragon link perhaps?
@halfstarlight i originally designed and wrote it in a game, and I'm still working on adapting it, so a tldr will have to do
It takes place in a city where slavery is legal, but HEAVILY regulated, with slaves actually being a step higher than being free, but broke.
It works more like indentured servitude, you essentially sell yourself (or your child), and are expected to do whatever you're purchased for until the contract ends. Slaves are protected by the city, however, so while you give up your personal freedoms, you're required to get proper nutrition, time to rest, and, shall we say 'personal' bodily autonomy. Anyone found violating these rules not only have to pay your contract off AGAIN, effectively paying twice, but are often fined again on top of it. Often winding up with them selling themselves into slavery themselves to escape the debt.
In the center of this town is an arena. The owner of which runs it on slave labor. Including the fighters. His star fighter, Ruxi, is a woman who he's had for a long time. She damn near came with the arena.
She's earned herself out of her contracts multiple times over, but she loves her master like a father, and refuses to leave, citing she has all she wants right there.
And the master takes care of her, and truely treasures her as a person, being the one trying to get her to leave without kicking her out.
Moral of the town was that just because something seems evil on its face doesn't mean it is. What seems abhorrent to you, might be the only life someone could ever want.
the dialogue on this whole book is unironically the "how's your sex life?" quote from The Room
If only did Laura tear him apart...
At least the Room didnt include any morally reprehensible actions as ideal
@@xaldrortenderofthevats8948 And on top of that it’s actually funny
This is the Godfather of book reviews, almost 3 hours of pure content of Krimson losing his mind for a book not even worthy too much of being analyzed
Nah mate, The Empress Teresa is a real Godfather of book reviews.
"365 Days" made me wish I was watching "The Godfather" 😂
One might argue that unworthiness of analysis is in and of itself something that makes it worth examining. 'Low art' is still art, even if it is crude or disgusting or unappealing or even an abject failure of intent.
@@nik0kirin212 The Empress Teresa reviews are Krimson's Lord of the Rings Extended edition of reviews
What I find to be a running theme in stories like this is that any woman who is not the mc, is objectified or belittled or villainized and this is portrayed as acceptable or deserved. but when it is the mc, suddenly a crime has taken place even if she completely loves what is happening, unlike the women who came before her.
Pick me misogyny is some bleak violent shit
Well, obviously, every other woman is a rival for the hunky Alpha Male Love Interest (tm) therefore they need to be ripped apart and destroyed because only the super special self-insert MC deserves to experience happiness.
@@samuelalexandermarkovnikov891 I read this in the voice of the guy from Terrible Writing Advice, lol!
As a romance reader, I can say this happened a lot. It is the “ not like other girl “ syndrome, when the side character is better or more interesting but for some reason the FML alway that special girl for the man for no fucking reason. She is the best and brightest and other is just stupid to be in her way
@@thuhuong8838 Ah, the Zade syndrome. "All other girls are shallow, envious and materialistic... I just love shopping and hate when other girls talk to MY boy. See? Totally different!!".
My grandparents got married ONE WEEK after meeting each other, and were together until my grandmother died three years ago. Instant love CAN work, but only in rare cases.
And this case is just... eesh.
Massimo had to work so HARD and SURVIVE growing up in a rich Mafia family that has a ton of political & social power, truly a warrior of persistence 😭. It's really justifies him being an abusive man child.
Ps I'm being sarcastic
But you don’t understand how much he had suffered. I mean, those people he killed and abuse had it easy compared to his harsh life of being born in an absolute privileged family.
> MC dislikes italians
as an italian i am completely understanding and sympathetic
In similar vein to Krim saying “stop idolizing stalkers,” we need “stop idolizing kidnappers.”
I never thought Holiday in Handcuffs would look better by comparison. Even that kidnapping book Caleb Joseph looked at had the better idea, because it had the decency to realize that the kidnapper would be a terrible person.
I always felt that Holiday in Handcuffs was so over-the-top and silly that it clearly wasn't meant to be taken all that seriously. And I first saw it as a 15-year-old.
And even within that setting, the narrative clearly is that kidnapping is bad. The movie starts with the MC asking if "doing one crazy thing makes you a crazy person", in reference to kidnapping Mario Lopez. It shows us what is supposed to be a mental breakdown of the MC that finally results in her reaching a point for an ordinary person to do something like the weird, poorly-thought-out kidnapping.
The police arrest everyone, and it is clear in the narrative that the kidnapping was not ok.
The family is only let out because Mario Lopez came to like the family and doesn't press charges because he doesn't want to ruin their lives.
Both characters go on with their lives, realizing they aren't getting what they want out of life and making large changes.
I feel that this is not in the same category as these weird, kinky, rape-fantasy stories.
Or even bad, really.
@@StarWarsomania
Even though I feel like the movie excuses her actions to an extent in Holiday in Handcuffs, I do agree with you that it does frame kidnapping as wrong, and is too silly, tame and low-stakes to be taken seriously.
Thats what i say un regards to Yuno Gasai…
I love that KrimsonRogue is just two misspellings of red. (Crimson, Rouge)
You’re not wrong, lol
Red Squared.
Wait Rogue was supposed to be rouge?? Lmaooo
Also means "red" in French
I have a conspiracy theory that Laura actually doesn’t have any heart condition, she is just addicted to ketamine because she has been secretly drugged so many times 😅
thats so fucking funny
That would explain the UTI...
Massimo: I shot off both his hands
Laura: 0_0
Massimo: I had a hunger... that only hands could satisfy
Laura: MAAASSSSIIIMOOO
Laura: You pushed the resistance leader into a giant fan!
Massimo: He was a traitor and a scoundrel.
Laura: He was trying to stop you from pushing other people into a giant fan!
Massimo: So I stabbed him 27 times in the chest
Laura: MASSIMO THAT KILLS PEOPLE
I didn’t know Yoshikage Kira was in 365 days
I haven't laughed that hard in awhile. Thank you!
About the alcohol consumption in this book - I think Lipińska based that on polish drinking culture which mostly revolves around getting hammered on strong spirits. While I agree it's weird that Laura's heart condition never manifested while drinking, at the same time it reminds me of a polish uncle/grandpa stereotype that has an abundance of health conditions but god forbid something gets in a way of his vodka.
It reminds me of Москва слезам не верит, where one of the running jokes is people constantly peer pressuring a teetotaler to drink, until he eventually gives in and becomes an alcoholic
I’m so happy to see this channel doing well. You’re a gem!
I’m honored that you think that. Thanks a lot, and maybe I’ll be able to send a shot of the book throne for a bookcase roast (once I tidy it up a touch).
@@KrimsonRogue Remember to include Ash and Leia in the picture for bonus points.
@@KrimsonRogue I assume you're not going to look at the movie adaptation that came out not long ago. Correct me if I'm wrong
@@KrimsonRogue you two need to do a co-review. Not even joking.
Oh nice to meet you Daniel👋🙂
Oh boy, 3 hours of a man spiralling into madness trying to analyze an overglorified Wattpad fanfic! My favorite kind of content!
Can't wait for him to review an ACTUAL fanfic some day. I can imagine that some hair would be falling off of their roots
Fat mood
As an avid fanfictions reader who is constantly on AO3, I wouldn't touch this book with a bargepole. Despite the undesirable reputations the fanfictions have garnered (especially from Wattpad in recent years), there are genuinely amazing works. And even the worse of its are on the side of 'so bad, it's almost enjoyable to see how absurd it could get'. And at the end of the day, those fanfictions writers aren't charging people money to read their boring cliché self inserts.
@@crusadr_4966 hey! I write fanfiction and I try my very best to write good, entertaining stories. Unfortunately, people always seem to like the sh*t more than the actually good stuff.
@@everlastingdragon4520 Hello! I made that comment as a fellow fanfiction writer and reader. Fanfiction definitely has its highs and lows and I'd just love to see him rip into our space some day (and honestly just tear into some of the worst most kudos'd/favorited fics out there)
As a reader of dark romance and someone who enjoys the genre, I will say that the reasons why someone might like dark romance are similar to the reasons for enjoying horror. The main character is put into a situation that you wouldn't want to be in real life, but it's thrilling to read about in fiction. Some people enjoy darker sexual dynamics, and just as someone who enjoys violent shooters or slasher films isn't automatically assumed to want to do or experience those things in real life, the same goes for people who enjoy captor/captive romance or other similar power dynamic stories. Reading a book gives you the ultimate safe word- you can stop reading, and while you may be left shaken from what you read, it will stop then and there.
While there are certainly real people who have gone through horrific trauma that may resemble what exists within some romance novels (and I wish those people nothing but peace and healing), I think it's notable that the genre of dark romance is largely written by women for women. The big thing to me when it comes to dark romance is that it needs to be written with intention, specifically in regard to the darker elements. Plenty of mainstream romances *cough* 50 shades *cough* have their love interests do very questionable things, but those elements are not treated as something darkly thrilling but rather as totally normal things for someone to do to their lover. You cannot write dark romance accidentally. Then it isn't dark romance, but rather romanticizing and normalizing toxic and abusive romantic dynamics. Which I suppose is something that people say about dark romance, but oh well.
I believe you can write anything in fiction as long as you TAG YOUR SHIT. Unfortunately it’s not as easy to do that in real books as it is on AO3…
@@Dreigonix Yeah, a lot of my favorite dark romance novels actually start with a content warning and list of possibly triggering content, and will often have that in the description of the book on Amazon or the author's website. Dark romance definitely isn't a genre I'd want anyone to stumble on accidentally.
Yes. This, exactly this.
For the best dark romance work, it’s done in a way that the reader knows very specifically that what’s going on is bad and wrong, especially if it’s shown in the novel itself.
Having things happen like the main character trying to get away. The main character being well aware that what’s going on is wrong, but what else are they supposed to do? They have no choice but to comply.
The best dark romances in my opinion are written in a style where the characters degradation of their mental state is progressive and clear- they very slowly lose whatever willpower they have, the captor has a lot of influence over their thoughts. Basically the main character has to be incredibly different at the end of the book than at the beginning. It’s disturbing, and as you said, more akin to horror than romance.
Fear kinkster here! ✌️
So, for the fear kink to actually work, all the parties involved have to be on board. Otherwise, you're just scaring the sh!t out of someone for sport. Or, you live in constant fear and it reflects on you as meekness. I, like I mentioned in the title, have a fear kink; I get excited while being afraid simultaneously (of course I do get excited by other kinks but that's a story for another time) while the Dom/Top, gets off on CONSENSUALLY scare the bottom and in turn the bottom gets off on being afraid, only within each other's limits, they both enjoy it and after thoroughly taking about it. Why? Because there is implement of feeling safely helpless. Trust the person completely for this kind of kink to work, same factors go for cnc for example, might go over that spectrum. Fear kink go hand in hand most times and IT'S NOT FOR EVERYBODY. This book is poorly represented and it makes me wanna claw my eyes out.
Kinks are supposed to be fun and exciting and pleasurable, but most importantly SANE, SAFE AND CONSENSUAL.
In the famous words of Knuckles the echidna…
*”Oh no.”*
For that Ouran reference, I raise to you my proverbial cup of commoners' coffee. ☕️
So~ I love coming up with alternatives to these bad stories and I finally figured out a good alternative for kidnapping Laura without the r4p3y aspect.
First chapter starts with Laura on holiday with her boyfriend, some backstory to their relationship, the end of the chapter has Laura storming out of dinner without her boyfriend, she takes a wrong turn and witnesses Massimo murdering someone, so Massimo's brother is forced to chase her down before she reports the murder. The brother wants to kill Laura but Massimo argues to keep her alive and he'll just have to keep her captive until he knows she won't go to the police-but how could he ever know, hm?
This introduces Massimo as a mysterious and dangerous character, who is also merciful in sparing Laura on a whim.
It also affords Laura some power over Massimo, but when she sincerely threatens to go to the police, he has opportunity to be very threatening back to her.
(If the writer was *determined* to include a s3xu4lly aggressive scene, this would be ample opportunity for Massimo to be physically rough with Laura, without it going further than Massimo pinning her to a wall and whispering in her ear that he'll kill her before he allows her to report him to the police.) This would not be in a s3xu4l context for Massimo, but Laura's mind would be able to think about how she unexpectedly felt aroused by him grabbing her and whispering in her ear.
Laura has the conflict of knowing Massimo is a killer, but capable of sparing people, then later on, when Massimo is about to kill someone else, Laura could step in and argue with him, making him spare another life, which upsets the rest of the mafia family.
Perhaps Massimo's brother takes issue with Laura, he sees her as controlling Massimo, weakening the family, so he has motive to get rid of her.
That would allow for endless conflict between Massimo, Laura and Dominico(?). Lots of drama and high stakes available with this story.
Massimo could be a playboy and Laura criticises this (whilst secretly being jealous of what she overhears Massimo and these women getting up to) and Massimo could pry about her relationship and point out how passionless it is.
Laura could privately concede Massimo is correct, but she tries to convince Massimo and herself that she is happy.
Laura's boyfriend being a cheater shouldn't be a plot line, it makes the decision to fall for Massimo so obvious. She could mull over the drawbacks of her boyfriend and Massimo, it presents some competition.
A passionate killer or a loving, safe, reliable but boring boyfriend-who will she choose in the end~
There is still opportunity to write erotica scenes, Massimo would still be a sl_t but with other women, and Laura could overhear and fantasise about Massimo sleeping with her, whilst also feeling shame/guilt over these feelings, afterall, she has a boyfriend and Massimo is a killer, keeping her against her will, until eventually Massimo gives her permission to leave but she finds herself wanting to stay.
Not saying I've fixed the story since it is supposed to be pure smut, but I think I have erased the "problematic" (overused term but very appropriate here) aspects.
A few good solutions there. Those ideas would have saved a significant portion of the story.
@@KrimsonRogue But I'm glad it's the train wreck that it is, because I love these videos so much.
I think the heart issues were inserted to only give the male lead a chance to take care of her in a, "moment of weakness." It is a trope that happens a lot in fanfiction and I've noticed it made its way into published works. A strong, capable character is injured/falls ill and the love interest tends to them and it's to give the strong character a moment of vulnerability and the love interest gets a chance to show their soft side. Hilariously enough, the male lead in this story is so awful that he can't even look semi-good taking care of her when her heart is about to explode.
I'm going to say it - I feel more sorry for Martin than Laura. I'm not surprised he spent more time with friends than with her if everything she says about him is negative, especially because she says it to her friends who might tell their partners and, in turn, those partners might tell Martin. She's incredibly ungrateful for a trip to Sicily, which is a beautiful part of the world even if for whatever bizarre reason you don't like the people in it, and seems to have spent the entire time complaining and being rude to him. His long term partner abruply left him alone while on a night out and I don't know what actually happened that night because the horror if this book just blurs together after a while, but it seems to me depending on the actual order of events he only 'cheated' after finding the note in their hotel room that said Laura was leaving him (could be wrong though), only for her to show up months later as the girlfriend of a Mafia boss.
Very late but it’s actually worse than that. Martin was drugged and then r worded and THATS how mob boss dude (cannot remember his name) got “evidence” that Martin was a cheater. And he of course is the one that arranged drugging his drinks, the woman to r word him, the person to take the photos etc. And even once that’s revealed to Laura she doesn’t see Martin as a victim of anything and in the end is all like I love you to the mob boss dude. And then gets surprised that he tries to baby trap her in the second book!
@@ladytopaz6358 Fucking hell that's so much worse than I thought it was! Poor Martin.
Martin did nothing wrong and then got raped and almost killed by an Italian drug kingpin.
Martin and his journey to healing from these traumas could be a way better story than what we got.
oh how happy I am that this book has been translated to other languages (and was even made into a netflix movie!) and now the rest of the world can suffer through it too
The togetherness of suffering and struggling I guess
Oof
No......just.....NO! 🤣🤮
I’m aware of the Netflix movie😅
You mentioned Ouran's Host club and reminded me of an anime I watched around the time called Kaicho wa Maid Sama.
It features the strong willed female lead who had to work part time in a maid cafe, this is deeply embarrassing for her and a guy she hates happens to find out about it. Usui, whilst sometimes a Gary Stu, protects her from blackmail and at the same time encourages her to embrace and accept all aspects of her life, which I think should be more common than Edward Cullen knockoffs.
I love Kaichou wa Maid-Sama! One of the few believable love stories in shoujo
Loved that Manga. And the Anime did very good, too, from what I've seen. I really want to know what he thinks about it.
I really liked Usui’s character cause it did the power dynamic right. He always seemed to have an advantage over her in their banter simply because hes not the type to get embarrassed easily while Misaki is, and they can have the cinderella moments with her cause he is much better off them her. HOWEVER, he never lords his wealth over her head and most of the time just uses it to find new ways to tease her, and never forces his help on her unless its literally threatening her life, he explicitly only helps her when she asks so he never threatens her autonomy or makes her feel like a damsel in distress at every turn like some of these kinds of characters do
@@RainbowAnimeCupcake Usui and Misaki were my FOUNDATION growing up. Maid Sama is one of the few things that formed my really young self.
In the animated Beauty and the Beast, it's more the Beast who change after Belle thanked him for saving her. The Beast didn't become mean after that; he changed and brought out his kindness through Belle.
Exactly - totally agree. Another thing people forget about is that she couldn't be in love until she was allowed to leave and came back of her own free will. People seem to miss that part, but whilst Belle may have grown incredibly affectionate towards him during that time she was in the castle, it wasn't and arguably couldn't be counted as true love until she was given the chance to *choose* him herself.
@@gokuxsephiroth4505Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 😊
That is pretty much why I never bought it when someone tried to claim that Disney’s Beauty and the Beast promotes Stockholm Syndrome or abusive relationships. Belle never sets off to try to change the Beast (Adam since that is his real name), in fact the Beast is the one who realizes that his anger is the thing that drives a wedge between him and Belle pretty quickly and he is the one who strives to make himself change for the better so he can be worthy of Belle’s love. It helps that there is Gaston who acts as a dark opposite to the Beast since he is the one who feels entitled to Belle’s love and thinks that he is perfect which is why it is great that Belle sees right through Gaston and constantly rejects his advances. In fact I sometimes wonder if the people who makes those accusations against the movie get the Beast and Gaston mixed up since some of those people think that Gaston is the true hero of the movie when he is the misogynistic villain.
@@morganyoung3557 yeah. Some really misunderstand the Disney version 😅
I’ve been in a production of the musical of Beauty and the Beast recently and I’ve been thinking something similar. Belle being held prisoner is portrayed as a bad thing, that the Beast was wrong to do it. It’s only after he starts showing kindness to her that she actually falls for him.
WE HAVE THE SAME HAIRCUT, NICE!! Also, I highly recommend the book '50 Shades of Earl Grey'. It's a parody of 50 Shades, and Anna has to get past his fifty shames, one of which is BDSM (Batman, Dungeons & Dragons, Sorcery, and Magick).
Here's a quote: "I gaze into his gazing eyes gazingly like a gazelle gazing into another gazelle's gazing gaze.”
Not really recommending it for the channel, just thought you should know it exists if you want a break and a laugh sometime :D
I feel like these dark romance stories do more for the writer than for the reader.
If you’re into romance/porn about really dubious consent, it probably only feels “hot” because it’s all in your head and you’re essentially controlling both characters.
It’s the sexy version of smashing two action figures together.
Ehhh, I'd disagree. I write dark dubcon with body injuries, mindbreak, and a lot of hate-fueled humiliation-domination, and half of the thrill for me is to get into the absolutely fucked up headspace that my villain protagonists are in and watching them spiral each other down in a race to rock-bottom revenge depravity.
But my beta readers (both asexual, one of them aromantic) enjoy the domination-threat thing that my protags pull off in their sadistic revenge spiral, so the dubious thing that dark romance readers enjoy seems to be almost exclusively centered on the dominance aspect, instead of the reluctance of the victim.
The one who's a fellow writer specifically singled out that it's the force and dominating presence that was the titillating component, not the victim, so I think a lot of people assume the reader is there for the victim being dubcon'd when they seem to latch onto the one DOING the action.
@@neoqwertybro what 😭
50 Shades wasn’t the evil version?
50 Shades was the good one?!
50 Shades was evil Twilight
365 Days is evil 50 Shades
That's exactly why I clicked. I was trying to work out how you can be more evil than 50SOG.
I mean, that’s evil. But this is EVIL. IN ALL CAPS.
It's like Marvel's Spiderman.
Venom is the evil version of Spiderman and Carnage is the evil version of Venom.
In this case, 50 shades is the evil version of Twilight and 365 days is the evil version of 50 shades.
The part about him saying her being wet was consent really hit home with me. My rapist took me into his car, carved his initials into my back with a knife, then sexually assaulted me. For the same reason in the book, he claimed I liked it. I was screaming and crying the whole time, and I hadn’t even stopped bleeding.
I don’t care if this is meant to be a fantasy. I don’t care that this book is a work of fiction. These things happen to people, scar people, and are absolutely sickening.
Fuck this author and fuck this book. I’m sorry, but I don’t know if I can continue watching from this point. Thank you for your warnings, I enjoy the humor you use to lessen the sickening blow of what happens in this book. I really like your videos and am probably gonna jump straight to another one. I don’t really know how to end this comment, so I hope you’re having a good one. And to anyone who has experienced what I have, please report it and get help. There are people who care about you, and there are ways to get out and live a better life.
I hope you're okay right now. Btw, the book gets way way worse than that. You got out very early thankfully.
@@beriasims1869 I'm in a much better place, thank you. And thanks for the warning about the rest of the book, it may be hard to continue from where I stopped. I appreciate it!
No worries. My next review will be much more lighthearted.
I'm real sorry something that monstrous happened to you, and I hope everything is getting continuously better for you.
Fuck, I'm so sorry that happened.
@@estelle5798 well fuck that’s just awful I hope the man in question was at the very least caught and charged.and while I know nothing I can say lessens the blow of what happened to you I at least hope your rapist gets the death penalty.
Just once, I would love it if one of these "dark romances where the rich guy tries to coerce and domineer a woman" climaxed (pun intended) with the guy literally losing all of his wealth due to some poor financial decisions, and the exploring ensuing fallout in the relationship as a result.
I mean... let's be real here.If the guy loses his money the book also loses its appeal.
Also:
- Dark romance but the rich guy is actually not that into this; he did this as a terrible manifestation of toxic masculinity and needs to learn healthy productive masculinity, the kind that doesn't make him harm a woman to prove to the world that he's a man.
- Dark romance but the heroine doesn't fall for this shit; she _is_ a submissive who enjoys power fantasy but this is Too Much. She is teaching this man the meaning of consent if it kills her and then she is _leaving._
so what im hearing is the guy invests in nfts and loses everything..? that would be fucking hilarious ngl
@@starpilot15 I mean, if it was a romance aimed at this kind of audience who just wants to fantasise about a rich guy sweeping them off their feet, yeah, that'd lose its appeal.
Kind of sounds more like an interpersonal drama though - one which could be very interesting.
@@gokuxsephiroth4505 It might well work for those people that get horny for introspection. 😄
On the topic of the implant: she already has a serious medical condition. How does he know that her body wouldn't have a negative reaction? Not all women can use all types of contraception, just because it's convenient doesn't mean it couldn't kill her 🙄
There are women out there who think that the only use for birth control is to prevent pregnancy. The author somehow knows less about birth control than those women. I’d be impressed if this was actually a good book.
@@thequeenofcringe1585 wait, what else does birth control prevent? I know condoms help with diseases, but that's about all I know. Help.
@@ryokiritani4187 cramps, acne, ovarian cancers, serious infections in the uterus, iron deficiency, and ectopic pregnancies, to name a few. It depends on what type of birth control you’re using, but there’s a surprising amount of health benefits to taking birth control.
My mother had periods that went on for so long, she had to use birth control just to regulate them as a teen. And that's just the one I'm most familiar with.
@@ryokiritani4187 I have PCOS and take birth control to manage that
This is something I've noticed when it comes to my fellow women.
I can't remember her name but there was an author who wrote a book about Jeffrey Dahmer (I think?) and the purpose behind the book was to explain how a person can end up being as evil as he was and how we as a society can pick up on signs of said behaviors in the future. HOWEVER, it had the opposite effect and she ended up getting tons of letters from women saying things like "if only I was in his life, then he wouldn't have turned out that way".
The same thing happened after the Columbine Shooting and that there were fans-- I repeat: FANS of the shooters and even had a whole tumblr following.
Then we have this whole twilight rabbit hole.
Ladies. It's not worth it. Stop normalizing trying to save psychopaths in the name of "love"!
I've seen this with guys too, but in more sexual way than romantic way.
Ex: Man that girl is so hot though. I wish I was stabbed to death by her 😩
I think it's just the case of people not distinguishing fiction and reality. Trust me the amount of times I've seen people defending and sometimes idolizing murder because, "there SO cute!" is more than I like to admit.
I haven't read it but I think I saw a graphic novel version. My friend damher? I avoided it so I'm not sure.
Yeah it’s a hard nuance for some to understand. Like there’s that famous picture of Hitler holding hands with his niece as a child and it’s like… oh people loved him, he had relationships and was a human. The point is not that evil people deserve to be understood and redeemed. It’s that evil people are your neighbors, your siblings, your parents. Just because you love someone doesn’t mean they aren’t evil. Just because you understand someone doesn’t mean they deserve forgiveness. We need to be aware that all of us are capable of evil and we shouldn’t rationalize anyone’s actions out of love.
(I’m Jewish btw which is why I reached for that comparison. No one has less tolerance for all of *that* than me, don’t worry)
Was not expecting Ouran Host Club to be mentioned during this lol. Such a good manga/anime
I was legit expecting Beauty and the Beast and he called me out for it
... it’s cool it has a nonbinary protagonist but the absolute hell it unleashed with all the incest and yaoi was really deeply unhelpful being a closeted gay kid when it was popular
Coulda done without that.
Wait, when? When was it mentioned?
@@Nixahma around 5:25
@@Lucifersfursona Nonbinary...
50 Shades is the bad version of Twilight
365 Days is the bad version of 50 Shades
How much worse does it get from here
Please don't ask questions the world isn't ready to answer.
Lipińska did write a sequel. And I'd said we're in the running to get a bad version of this series as well.
Fanfiction of 365 Days? Lol
@@rachael1090 Couldn't get more meta if it
tried.
How much worse does it get from here?
Well, it’s about a thing the came “After”.
Finally. Something to watch while I’m doing chores. this laundry will be legendary!!!
I have to put a fence up today. This will make the process slightly less tedious!
so glad im not the only one 😵💫 i love falling down krimsons super long videos
It's like a self aware audiobook.
The VA reads the story but sometimes does a "wtf am I reading" bits.
Actually the twilight pipeline starts with 9.11, which lead to the founding of the alternative rockband My Chemical Romance, which in turn inspired Stephanie Meyer to write a vampire novel 😃
The new haircut is giving Brendan Fraser in the first Mummy vibes and I'm living for it.
We love 90s curtain bangs also known as “Don Bluth” hair lol
In regard to creating faces in your dreams, I think it really varies. There's something called vividness of mental imagery: basically, it attempts to measure how clearly an individual can visualize objects in his mind. Some people have a very high resolution imagination, others, like myself, can only imagine fuzzy shapes. Some people can't imagine at all, which is called aphantasia. I don't believe that people can't, generally speaking, create new faces in their dreams; however, I would guess that these "new" faces are probably composite images based off of other people you have seen before. Of course, some people can't imagine those things well by default.
Also, a second comment to say… if you want that guy to be protective and possessive, and say that the woman likes that… Commit to it.
A female character does not have to be strong and independent - you can write a character who genuinely wants to be protected. It might not be “feminist”, but it’s still valid. (Speaking as a woman who came from a really rough background, a protective love interest absolutely works for me.)
But if the character swings between enjoying the protection, and throwing a fit over it, then you’re not even trying to maintain character consistency. You’re just trying to hit a bunch of romance novel cliches without actually understanding how these aspects are supposed to work and for together. Granted, a lot of romance novels get this wrong anyway…
I mean why should it need to be “feminist” ? Not every woman is a feminist, and even some feminist want a man who’s taller and bigger than them (aka more protective man)
On the other hand, though, you don’t want to go too far in the other direction and depict them as always-helpless damsels in distress. That definitely isn’t accurate either. One of the books most accused of toxic patriarchy even has an account about one woman lobbing an upper millstone at a man’s skull from a tower and scoring a direct hit- not just dropping it, CASTING it.
Plus you can make it feminist by adding other details. Or make the character want protection and all that but also, make her a feminist.
@@justadudewholikestotalk it doesn’t. She’s saying her idea isn’t feminist but it doesn’t have to be
The fact that there can exist an 'evil' version of a story like 50 Shades, where the mental and physical abuse runs deep and its quality is non-existent is an example of just how bad both stories really are
I’m Polish and we’re so embarrassed about this “book.” I haven’t checked out the English version yet, but I hope it got edited to the point of being legible. Because let me tell you, you can barely get through EVEN ONE chapter of the original one thanks to Blanka’s terrible writing. Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way’s writing is better. There’s not a single logically-written sentence in this.
Edit: I recall my favorite moments being:
1. Laura’s friends randomly returning to Poland, completely ignoring the fact she just left the hotel one day and didn’t come back LMAO
2. Laura visiting her mother. Having all these expensive clothes and driving there up in a freaking Lamborghini. Her mother is like “Oh! So you got promoted!” Then she’s like “But wait, excuse me, I don’t believe you. Who earns this much working at a hotel?” AND THEN she’s like “But whatever, you’ll eventually tell me the truth if you feel like it.”
Yeah, because all people in Laura’s life have this kind of attitude - “It’s okay, you’ll tell me the truth when you feel like it. It’s not like the whole thing looks suspicious af, like you were being held captive by someone, you’ll tell me if you want to!”
When Krim said that Laura had a contraceptive implant in her arm against her will, I immediately thought “oh what’s next, he’s got a tracker chip in her??” Imagine my shock minutes later.
As a Pole, I offer apologies for the existance of this and also a 'cheer-up' though that it's NOT EVEN THE WORST 50SOG knock-off made in our country...
Alright, you have my attention. I’m gonna need that title. How does it get worse than this?
Cmon m80 spill it
You can’t say you know where the holy grail of r/menwritingwomen written by a woman paperback porn is and then just leave 😂
Spit it out! We all want to know.
@@KrimsonRogue There is author named Katarzyna Michalak, who wrote a few 'new 50 shades' books - FOUR of them.
I to this day remeber a scene describing a servant washing main character - a pre-school age girl - and the servaing goading her to open her legs more so she can wash that lil 'kitty' reeeally well.
[I found the quote - from "Black Prince" by Michalak.
To translate, it says:
- Shh, quiet, little girl, calm now. Annie will wash the teeny tiny cunt. Annie will make the little girl feel good. Spread those tiny thighs, lovely, let Annie in, we'll was the little girl...
- Ciii, cicho, dziecinko, spokojnie. Anka umyje maleńką cipusię. Anka zrobi dziecince dobrze. Rozewrzyj udka, kochana, wpuść Ankę, umyjemy dziewczynkę... ]
She also wrote 'Gra o Ferrin', in which MC is so hot even her magic talking horse has hots for her.
She also writes 'typical' romance in which among other things she wrote:
- a teacher molesting her studend which is cool, but with gender reverse version being icky and awful;
- a veterinarian who is susprised a snake isn't just empty tupe inside;
- a father who, after wife's death, neglecs his children to the point that a pre-school daughter has to COOK for her younger brother - all ending in Big Evil System trying to take the kids away and of course not able to do it cause 'gosh darn, the daddy is just trying to hard';
365 is just bad porn for me - Michalak writes book that legitimately makes you want to vomit from messages they spread.
BUT for bad porn there is also Wszystkie Odcienie Czerni (All Shades of Black) which has ironically nothing to do with the 50 shades of Gray, just riding the coattails of that book.
Why the hell do so many writers think that being abusive towards each other is just totally fine? Or do they just go "No, he's hot and she's hot so they're meant for each other no matter what happens between them!"
It's the curse of straight relationships. Even more so if the author is not from a country where the ideas of consent and ethical sexual practices are widespread and broadly accepted.
I have no idea. This happens with shipping too; two characters merely ACKNOWLEDGING EACH OTHER'S EXISTENCE is enough to start, and sometimes it takes even less than that.
@@everlastingdragon4520 looking at you genshin
Answer; it’s a fetish.
I feel like they start with "enemies to lovers" trope but try to make it MORE in all aspects and just fall over the line. It's a fantasy and a kink. Rarely done without diving into toxic relationships
As a Polish native speaker I want to say, that it sounds like certain sentences been translated too close to the original language, without acknowledging that in English this stuff is not a thing. For example: Purpling. This is direct translation of purpurowieje, which is a word in Polish and means becoming purple colour, but translating it as a "purpling" it's just incorrect
I would actually disagree. I’ve heard purpling here and there in reference to someone’s complexion. But it’s uh, definitely not super sexy sounding
Purpling is correct in english, but we use it in very specific circumstances (namely, when someone is asphixiating or deoxygenated). So when "purpling" is described it's either describing hypothermia (where purpling lips and nailbeds are a symptom) or it's describing someone running out of oxygen either because they're being strangled in a nonsexy way, or they're so angry with rage that they've gone past red to turning purple with rage.
Either way it's gross in context, not sexy, and it has a very "it's grotesque and that person is choking" meaning attacked to it.
In this case you'd want "reddened" if you want the spanking, or "bruising" if you want purple ass bruises.
„She wakes up and it happens very often”. Finally, something relatable.
You know, I actually have a story where a dude kidnaps a woman he saw in his dreams, takes her to a lavish penthouse to trap her there and showers her with riches.
Difference is he’s coocoo for cocoa puffs and it’s an escape story... Also a psychological thriller, not a romance
And you've already written a better story than this
I would absolutely read that if it’s posted anywhere. It sounds interesting.
@@hernehaugen6878 Ah, thank ye kindly!
@@KatieTheKraken You know, I'm thinking self-publishing might be the route I take, so someday, hopefully! :)
I feel like even the worst”reincarnated I’ll change the villain” mahawa does this better than 365 does.
forever pissed off at how BDSM and power dynamics are always associated with "dark romance" and shit like kidnapping and dubious (at best) consent
god forbid two people enter a consensual power exchange relationship and find joy within that
but nooooo we NEED to have one part (usually the woman) be forced into the dynamic by the brooding man who could not give less of a shit about the woman's thoughts and feelings
anyways watch Love and Leashes y'all
Like Krim suggests, go read sunstone. It’s bdsm without the toxic crap, and is very much not a dark romance.
@@someone-you-do-not-know8522 And from what I have seen, it is also *very* well drawn.
Like, if it wasn't erotic, I could totally see it on someone's Bookshelf.
There's nothing wrong with dark romance. Just bad writing. 'Asking For It,' by Lilah Pace does exactly that. Also deals with how people can use BDSM to heal from trauma. It's also a dark romance. Hell, Deadpool encourages his taxi driver to murder his cousin and kidnap his love interest and it's just played for laughs. Plus, even '365 Days,' has Laura ending-up with another guy because Massimo actually IS the villain. Still bad writing though.
@@deadmanreading3152 Deadpool is supposed to be an unhinged psychopath. That's why it's played for laughs. Not because he's giving Dopinder good advice. It's perfectly in line with the character to say something like that, and it's funny because it's wrong
@@filmandfirearms Deadpool isn't just an unhinged psycho. He clearly loves his girlfriend and has something of a moral code. He's a killer but he's hardly Dahmer. The only point was darker main characters are well-received in any genre. Comedy is actually a good example, plenty of people don't like dark comedy others find it cathartic. Same thing in romance, fantasy, sci-fi what have you.
I just get irritated at the whole 'romanticizing abuse,' argument toward certain romances. Reminds me of the whole 'video games cause violence in real life,' myth that was prominent in the 90's.
You know, whenever I worry about my own ability to write chemistry or romantic subplots in my story, I'll think of this book and remind myself, "You haven't even so much as touched the bottom of the barrel."
"You are an hour too early for lunch. You have to wait, you fuzzball."
this is the content I am here for. That, and the in depth analysis, someone going crazy over a book, and trying to gleam what I can to further my own writing.
I'm reminded of when Steven Spielberg was reading the original Jaws novel and apparently the characters were all so consistently reprehensible that he hoped the shark would eat them all. I'm wondering when Jason Vorhees is gonna start killing everybody.
Fun fact, it's not just the story people laugh about but also how at some point Blanka Lipińska would do a lot of interviews (some you mention) and compares herself to Olga Tokarczuk. And said her books were better cause people read them, unlike Tokarczuk's poems. She also implied all woman would want romance like this, no matter if that was abusive. But to be fair, this woman just seems to enjoy attention.
Either she enjoys attention or she genuinely thinks that shit. I honestly don’t know which is worse.
I really need to start self publishing. If that kinda stuff can make their authors some coin then my bullcrap should to. Even if it isn't good at least I'll be able to make ppl laugh w/how crap it is.
The only thing stopping me from going to an official publisher is that I can't use my own illustrations if I do that.
As a writer this stuff is excellent for your confidence, I gotta say.
Your comment is strangely motivating 🤔
Every time I start to feel bad about my own writing, I pull up a KR video.
This comment is motivational, thanks lol
As someone who is very much used to reading translations: A translator would have to purposely do their worst to royally fuck up a good writing style. When someone is good at writing, it comes through even in translation
As someone with an interest in translating, I wholeheartedly agree. Good writing styles are fun to translate, whereas bad ones like this are just a slog. Good writing is always more engaging than bad writing, translation or otherwise.
Also if she was six weeks pregnant at the time of the drugging that child's gonna be most certainly messed up from all the alcohol
Well, don't worry because it's basically a red hearing and doesn't make it in the second book for different reasons.
These book summaries are always a treat to listen to; but the cat popping in randomly for attention and pets makes the experience all the more enjoyable. XD
When someone pitched this book to me as: "The main female charecter gets kidnapped by a mob boss, is given a year to fall in love with him." I was honestly under the impression it was a horror book, and the MC kills the mob boss at the end. Now I fear humanity more, because we as a species allowed this to happen.
To be fair, we allowed 120 days of s***m
Remember this was traditionally published, so if you feel like your less problematic, wholesome book that’s well written can’t get traditionally published, you’re probably right.
Never expected Ouran High School Host Club to be brought up, but I do agree with your recommendation. The dub is good too, and to add to to comedy, the VAs for Tamaki and Haruhi also did the voices for Ed and Winry from FMA. Seriously, watch it. It's great.
The way you describe the Twilight Pipeline honestly reminds me of a quote I heard about ancient people translating the Bible from one language to another: The Hebrews drink from the source, the Greeks drink from the stream that immediately flows from it, the Romans drink from the downstream pool, and so forth.
At the point he says "Massimo's only redeeming quality is that he won't force himself on her" is so messed up, because to this point, Massimo has ONLY forced himself on her. The one time it was offered with dubious consent is the one time he says no. Like, yeah. I guess? He only gets off on the violence of forcing himself on someone, so he won't drug them (for sex). Good job, Massimo? I guess?
Thats not even a redeeming quality, that's just such... A basic thing everyone should do. I guess in the shit standards of Massimo, it's like
"Uh... you did it I guess?"
As someone who read this in original: no, it's not translation's fault. Trust me.
I'm so grateful for Krim's reviews. They've helped me so much in advancing my own writing, knowing tropes and errors and etc. to avoid. Thank you, you're a gem!
Same
Let's all just pretend Massimo was eventually killed by Giorno when he took over Passione.
This is the only ending I will accept, thank you for this comment!
Not just killed by Giorno, Massimo was infinitely killed by Giorno.
Massimo: Raises whip
Also Massimo: Wait! Why do I hear boss music?
@@orderofdusk2382 That's even better
is this a mofuckin jojo reference (i had to sorry)
As someone who has read their share of fanfiction, I feel the "and then" narrative beat is incredibly prevalent in these types of stories, as well as in obvious self-insert stories because they just want to play out the fantasy of characters being in certain kind of situations, as opposed to furthering a plot. You can see this in fifty shades from them just doing things together like vacationing, shopping and fighting, that have no purpose to the overall plot (what little plot there is).
Love your channel. Love what your doing. One day I hope to have a book throne as epic as yours.
I have a theory: The author originally wanted to make Laura afraid of flying instead of claustrophobic, but changed it last-minute because it wouldn’t make sense for a person who is afraid of airplanes to be on a flight to Sicily. That’s why her claustrophobia is almost never brought up instead of when it comes to planes.