Bookstagram Should Be NEUTERED

[@Sqwirrel_Bonez]

The scariest part is that there’s STRAIGHT Omegaverse wtf

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@Sqwirrel_Bonez Rosemary is a visionary, what can I say

[@aLiCe-ex4rh]

LITERALLY

[@prunusserrulata7686]

Straight omegaverse is not a new thing tho, I'm talking bout those F alpha x M omega novels

[@beaq6755]

​@@prunusserrulata7686 yeah but those pairings are still a subversion of stereotypical gender roles and exploration of queer identity, especially trans ones. What's the point of making a cishet pairing with a domineering male and submissive spineless female and then call it omegaverse? Just say you want to make a stereotypical fast food contemporary dark romance pairing but want to not look like that

[@sinfulloccultist950]

​@@prunusserrulata7686 those are the only exception

[@Silly-iy8cv]

I hate the way like all “dark romance” is just romanticized sexual assault and domestic abuse

[@tonyx2chopper]

Right like that's not romance that's thriller/ horror😭

[@monbub]

@@tonyx2chopper it ain't even horror bc you're not meant to be scared at it

[@SoloAnima1]

@@monbubif you aren’t meant to be scared of abuse that means you’re meant to fetishise it 😭

[@borekminer]

the alternative dark romance i know is 13 year olds and 30 year olds dating on discord usually found on the platform roblox so dark romance isnt comparable to dark jokes,its just being degenerate

[@SoloAnima1]

@@borekminer I thought when someone meant actual dark romance it was like a gothic thing (the gothic genre is seperate from horror as gothic is romance where the partner of the main character dies, and the story is mainly dark while horror is mainly blood and gore and “ooooh scaawy”

[@looberdoober]

the 16 year old kid getting recommended haunting adelaide gives the vibes of those high school girls that got grommed by their teachers who gave them lolita

[@monbub]

that's...really f*cking sad

[@anettemitchellebejaranovaz4579]

Not on topic but I literally just started reading Lolita today, cookies are scary

[@SiriusPearl]

Don't wanna be that guy but Lolita was never meant to be romance, it's horror but I agree with you, this side of booktok is disguting.

[@looberdoober]

@@SiriusPearl I know. But there's real instances of this happening 🫠 Heck, even my mom knew a girl

[@SiriusPearl]

@@looberdoober Holy shit that's disappointing, I feel bad for the girls and the author, who tried to tell people that it's horror and not to put a little girl on the book covers.

[@saffink]

Fifty shades of grey and the consequences of publishing straigh people wattpad fics as real books have been a disaster for the human race

[@firelordoregano5632]

fiftty shades being twilight fanfiction

[@chilling_koala]

You really had to throw in straight people. Because all the Drarry and yaoi and omegaverse books are sooo normal and consensual

[@firelordoregano5632]

@@chilling_koala are any of those getting published in the mainstream, getting entire displays at the front of book stores, and getting movies made out of them? lmfao

[@chilling_koala]

@@firelordoregano5632 so what? What on Earth made you think "straight people" is an important part of the eqaution. Also yes, some of those also get published

[@firelordoregano5632]

@@chilling_koala 1) op's comment was so unserious and i'm starting to think you're overreacting to a joke. 2) the point, if you want to overanalyze, is that straight romances are the ones that dominate mainstream culture. because gay people are a statistic minority. and straight people are the majority of the population. and most of them aren't into gay fiction. hope this helped!

[@coreofkatya]

the grown women yearn for 2012 mpreg fanfic

[@monbub]

it's kinda sad and pathetic these grown ass women managed to get husbands but they STILL read this shit. how do you fail in life that bad 😭

[@vxnomous8818]

oh, that’s…

[@coreofkatya]

@@vxnomous8818 in the sense that-

[@o0DreamCream0o]

@@vxnomous8818no no let them cook

[@vxnomous8818]

@@o0DreamCream0o i don’t think i will..

[@Midnightlunar10]

Even the fanfiction community is rolling their eyes to the pearly gates with this holy shit

[@RoyalYoung8]

@Midnightlunar10 never been a huge fanfic person but even some of the worst fics genuinely don't seem that bad compared to some of the garbage I saw while researching this vid. Like, some of this stuff is WILD but literally too far for youtube. Not even dead dove atp it's basically dead pterodactyl

[@spinogreen0iq]

@@RoyalYoung8DEAD PTERODACTYL I AM DYING XDDD

[@Eclipso_499]

I’m a fanfic writer myself and not even I stoop this low✋😭 Please booktok, have standards

[@monbub]

@@RoyalYoung8 Fr I feel like booktok tries to be as dark as possible on purpose to get views and money, but fanfics are usually really niche authors writing abt something they're passionate about. And it's not always for the smut, sometimes they're just a genuinely talented gem hiding on AO3. But booktok...there's absolutely no effort involved in writing the shit they regurgitate.

[@calculatortismm]

@@spinogreen0iq just like the pterodactyl

[@lilacfields]

honestly the solution to this problem is 1) guide the horny book girlies to fanfiction so they stop spending their money on what is essentially published fanfic 2) bring back the erotica genre!!! stop shelving these books under romance i beg 3) rename the dark romance genre or just abolish it all together and move it to horror or something 😭 because there is nothing romantic abt the things going on in those books

[@lilacfields]

also who gave the straight people omegaverse omg… omegaverse in published books is crazy

[@GRMA28]

@@lilacfields i completely agree with everything you just said, couldn’t have said it better myself.

[@yanderetachi]

​@@lilacfieldsstraight relationships (female alpha x male omega )have been a thing in omegaverse. but i do agree that these don't need to be published 😂😂😂😂😂

[@lilacfields]

@@yanderetachi yeah but tbh omegaverse was made and is mainly used so they can get male characters pregnant 😭😭 i kinda like ones that subvert omegaverse norms though like omega x omega and alpha x alpha stories

[@blackrosejinx5563]

IT DOES HAVE A NAME. EROTIC THRILLER OR EROTIC HORROR. Lord please just guide these people to Wattpad or AO3 I BEG. LET THEM SEE THE LIGHT

[@vll3yy]

im gatekeeping hockey, why is it ALWAYS HOCKEY

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@vll3yy genuinely no idea tbh

[@C_0_N]

Because they fight 💀

[@Lina18027]

@valwillcommitars0n @RoyalYoung8 I thought so too!!! And I'm guessing it's because of that* one overselled book 😅, like the editors just KNOW how famous got on the internet and to try to get the attention of that population of ppl, they just put "hockey" in the title 😭 they use it as if it were a trope nowadays 🤣🤣🤣

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@Lina18027 icebreaker moment fr

[@Soggycheeseee]

⁠@@RoyalYoung8some kid brought icebreaker to school in the 6th grade and someone else brought that one book about the princess and the bodyguard and the cover had a blue hue. Plus they started sharing the book to other students which made other students buy them- had a smut addiction back then for a bit. All good now I’m sane dw

[@chronicallykait]

I read smut, but I also acknowledge that it is literal... "corn". Also, as a smut reader, I am disgusted by a majority of things that are labeled as "romance" when it should, in fact, be labeled as horror.

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@chronicallykait I agree with this take Sergeant Smut 🫡

[@chronicallykait]

@@RoyalYoung8 Sergeant Smut, I’m laughing so hard 😂😂😂

[@_Kuma_]

As someone who reads and wrote it, it’s concerning how much I’m praised for there always being consent in my stories… 😬 That should be a given.

[@kunikuSUSHI420]

what i dont understand is how authors write figure skater x hockey player. ANY sane figure skater wouldn't go 10 meters near a hockey player. the stench... the rotten, odorous, unholy, demonic, awful, treacherous, evil, gravity defying, nostril curling, brain rotting, flower withering, even worse than axe body spray, the stabby nose assaulting smell that nearly all figure skaters have come to despise. trust me. ive had to share a change room with a hockey team once. never again. maybe it's just the hockey skater figure skater beef but oh well.

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@kunikuSUSHI420 very descriptive

[@TotesAnon]

can I turn this into a copypasta😊

[@kunikuSUSHI420]

@@TotesAnon go ahead lol

[@TotesAnon]

@@kunikuSUSHI420 yayyyy *claps*

[@Hakashama]

Imma be honest. As a writer, this feels like a good plot idea. Worry not, I mostly incline towards A. Christie-ish stories. But I think a romance story where A figure skater and a hockey player encounter each other despite the skater constantly disliking the hockey player features you just mentioned. 😂

[@aLiCe-ex4rh]

so many of these ppl just need to read fanfiction tbh like i guarantee you that you will find better written stuff on ao3 than in any of these books

[@theojjuiceisloose]

But you cant hold it up next to your face as a physical copy for your tiktok reviews!! You cant decorate your rooms with shelves of books you read once (or didnt even read at all, just have them because theyre more for the ✨aesthetic✨) and show off how intelligent you are!!!1!1! Its so much more fun to hold a poorly written fanfic that somehow got published in your two hands than just staring at a screen!!!-!!1!!1!1!1!

[@dancewithmesoweontcry]

*cough* all the young dudes *cough*

[@KaffeineKittie]

This is so true. And the fact that so many popular "romance" books are based on fanfics just reinforces it. Just read the originals and stop publishing them as these weird tropey smut books, just embrace the fanfic because it has *everything*

[@_Kuma_]

Some ff authors are like next level talented. So much better than these.

[@kermitthefrog5446]

ao3 is full of worse shit than this. i think it should be shut down tbh

[@godofsoup8627]

My bookworm friend started reading trashier and trashier "YA" (in her words, "it only has eight dirty scenes!"). Once she started recommending me it I asked her where she was finding them and she's like "bookstagram!" And I just stared at her for a second and she followed it up with "its not as bad as booktok." I should add that she has no awareness when it comes to what is quality and what is just damaging. If something has a fanbase, she will fangirl, even if the book has lines like "her bowels turned watery." 😭

[@RoyalYoung8]

@godofsoup8627 as someone who has stalked both groups for a considerable amount of time, I can confidently say that bookstagram is genuinely worse

[@godofsoup8627]

​@@RoyalYoung8both of them scare me a bit...

[@Lampey22]

I had a yaoi fan friend at highschool, i share your pain

[@theflyingspaget]

​@@Lampey22i was going to say "imagine if teen boys were this enthusiastic about the porn they consume" and then i remembered I've actually met a guy like that who actually would weeb out over borderline hentai... But it is strange that I've only met one boy like that but there's countless girls. And they're not judged as harshly for it.

[@Lampey22]

@@theflyingspaget it’s a double standard sadly

[@Ihavetoomanyhobbies115]

I have screen shots of insta where a harmless video was promoting smut free books (for teens and people not intrested in that stuff) and a bunch of grown women where saying very smut heavy books were "smut free" even though they are arguably the smutest books currently out there. It felt so gross to me becuse there were kids in the comment sections asking for recommendations of other smut free books. It felt soooooo gross and i only saw like two comments about it.

[@RoyalYoung8]

That's the worst part ab this community, all this insane stuff happens yet like you said, you only find a few comments calling it out

[@moonshine6304]

Thats fucking grooming

[@Wagonman-h1k]

​@@RoyalYoung8 I... I think that can count as grooming

[@hithedragon7842]

oh good lord that's awful. Let the kids avoid sexual stuff if they want to, jeez.

[@stargirl_sy]

youre telling me... lauren has a HUSBAND and still writes those books ☹☹

[@RoyalYoung8]

Lauren tweakin fr

[@galaxyglow5187]

I wonder if her husband reads the books in secret

[@RoyalYoung8]

@galaxyglow5187 I believe he helps her but I could be wrong.

[@sleeppotionsXD]

I ment the writing smut NOT what she writes that was written poortly

[@ca_lcium]

Dead bedroom

[@kyslawl]

I have a younger 14 year old cousin who showed me that she bought haunting adeline and twisted games. I told her that haunting adeline was bad and did she even research before buying it and she was like nah i only bought it for the smut. she also has read countless bl manhwas like killing stalking and bj alex which have bullying, obsession, stalking, BDSM, violence, physical and sexual abuse, child neglect, drugging, psychological abuse, kidnapping, grape. my other older cousin who is 23-24 had it ends with us lying on her desk and I told her that it's a book that many people hate because of the romanticizing of domestic abuse and she's like no people only hate it because it has a heartbreaking ending. bruh that argument makes no sense. by that logic, The Kite Runner is a way more sad heartbreaking book it should receive the same hate. it's so stupid how they'll do anything but admit the facts. these books are so problematic and the people who enjoy reading them are corn addicts. they try to cover it up by saying "oh it's reading so it's actually a hobby that's good for me" like..... you can't tell me a book about such toxic behaviors is peak literature stfu

[@PaperLoser-gv4wb]

Unfortunately minors tend to have unlimited access to the internet. It’s super easy to find any type manga, like, insanely easy. That sucks ur teen cousin could probably have a corn addiction :/ Hopefully it doesn’t cause issues in the future

[@kyslawl]

@@PaperLoser-gv4wb im a teen too and im really worried for her because her family conditions aren't good either it's overall a really toxic environment for her her sibling and her have some behavioral issues but i blame it all on their parents they neglect their kids for their own needs it's terrible

[@PaperLoser-gv4wb]

@@kyslawl that’s horrible. I hope things can get better, even if they won’t. I’m sorry bout that man :/

[@kyslawl]

@@PaperLoser-gv4wb thank you so much 🤍🤍

[@PaperLoser-gv4wb]

@@kyslawl ofc man

[@isabelc609]

"the bills are never that high" i wish more of these authors realized that jeez

[@axelrose8481]

People using the omegaverse for straight people is wild cuz the ov was literally created as an excuse for M-preg likeee 😭😭😭

[@Frostingsalad]

Complaining about mpreg in omegaverse is wild

[@heroketchup7504]

why cant dark romance be like. normal romance in a dark setting?? like idk dangerous partners in crime who have a consensual and loving relationship?? if it HAS to be 'broken man x innocent girl' cant they make the story revolve around healing and the importance of having a good support system instead of the cycle of abuse?? its not that hard to just think for three seconds 'how can i make this an interesting book WITHOUT using shock value or appealing to something taboo in order to get my book read'

[@teetheatersanonymous]

Or even two people who are evil and fucked up and constantly fighting each other before learning how to get along … WITHOUT sexual assault

[@jyjaeskz]

Because that's just romance

[@GummyDinosaursify]

And this is why I dread leaving the YA genre when I read books. I have to do actual research into each adult book I read to make sure i'm not jump scared half way through by incest, grape, abuse or just 6 chapters of full on smut. Some publishers have started putting trigger warning at the beginning of their books and publishers like Harlequin separate the spice levels under different labels, but for the most part, it's the wild west out here. Cute story about a girl adopting dogs? Just kidding, 8 chapters of explicit sex scenes on a vet table with the vet while the dogs watch. I want to vomit.

[@emmyrose233]

"While the dogs watch" oh my god😂😂

[@vernascray5587]

I can’t venture outside of old fantasy/ sci-fi books for this exact reason!! I got RECOMMENDED ACOTAR by my HIGHSCHOOL LIBRARIAN cause I guess it’s technically high fantasy?? Was jump scared INCREDIBLY hard

[@boofy1347]

​@@vernascray5587 what happens in acotar

[@vernascray5587]

@@boofy1347 straight up porn, and apparently it’s worse the in other books.

[@teetheatersanonymous]

@@vernascray5587THATS HONESTLY PREDATORY OF THEM.. HOW DO YOU MESS UP LIKE THAT

[@sweetlevi4061]

The omegaverse was a way to have mpreg in fics and explore gender and gender roles via the alpha omega beta roles. The straight versions of it keep me up at night. Btw making nests is common. Its something you do during heat to cope with it, its kinda like curling up in bed with a hot water botle whilst on your period. I dont know when straight ppl suddenly dragged in weird ass tropes but i assume its based off marking where an alpha would bite an omega so that other alphas leave them alone so they arent hit on anymore as they are taken.

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@sweetlevi4061 much appreciated officer omegaverse 🫡

[@sweetlevi4061]

@@RoyalYoung8 you're very welcome I love the omegaverse when it's used to explore gender in strange ways so I'm well versed (pun intended).

[@RoyalYoung8]

@sweetlevi4061 I'm glad some ppl are here to help me understand it better, I still do knot have a good grasp on it

[@T0KY0_M4NJ1]

Yeah straight omegaverse feels so weird…omegaverse was made for gay ppl to have babies together since men can’t get pregnant naturally and women can’t exactly make babies together.. So it feels so weird to have straight omegaverse

[@diamondshard88]

​@@RoyalYoung8is that a pun or a typo?

[@elephorofonius]

"which i will KNOT be getting into" i am crying wpls

[@mintyyfreshh_]

booktok meets showertok deodoranttok laundrytok goingoutsidetok perfumetok socializingtok beinganormalhumanbeingtok cleaningtok disinfectingtok cloroxtok detergenttok collab when 😔

[@darkcrydotmrihavetoomanyst1440]

I hate the ammont of smut romance novels that are put with the YA books. It gives kids the impression that romance and s3x are the same thing.

[@NaddleSchidaddle]

So true. Of course, sex is part of the love life for many people, but romance is not just sex. But for some reason these kinds of books need to sexualize anything. Of course teens want to find out about sex and explore the subject, but life isn't just sex. Love isn't just sex. The unhealthy views you can get from these books man 😭

[@subekyuuke]

​@@NaddleSchidaddleunrelates but HIBIKI KOTO PFP OMGGG

[@mic6412]

You were so right about the addiction aspect of “freaky” books. Just because it’s books and does not involve real people doesn’t mean it can’t be damaging to the person consuming the media. While real corn is damaging not only to the addicts but the industry and the people that are abused in it , literature corn affects the addicts just as much ! Something being legal doesn’t make it moral

[@realcharliechaplinfrfr]

right like, i went to a catholic high school and even they understood this (bc we had to do religion courses up to grade 12, which involves human sexuality every time). bc they’d say that porn does not properly portray genuine consent and normal human interaction, which is the same for most of these books; it only portrays robotic commodified interactions that don’t happen in real life, often non-consensual, so the more someone consumes it the more warped their perception of sexual interactions becomes. and sure there might be some that portray consent properly, but the non-consensual stuff and robotic interactions is what dominates the genre and is driving a lot of the craze on both instagram and booktok, making it as harmful to the consumer as visual porn is.

[@moonoftheblood]

Exactly, not having real people doesn't mean anything. Lots of people are addicted to drawn porn/hentai, it doesn't have real people, but it's still porn, it can still be fucked up, it still does harmful shit like objectifying women, etc. Same applies to books.

[@millo7295]

"videogames cause violence" That's what Mic said

[@mic6412]

@@millo7295 I in fact did not say that, games can definitely cause addiction too tho! Gaming addiction is also a thing :D

[@millo7295]

@@mic6412 I have no words for you I also have a superiority complex so uhm You're trash

[@dapondboi]

0:03 wasn't that what happened in steven universe or something similar

[@calldio]

Yes 🫠

[@thiagoleonardo2484]

Omg you brought back some memories

[@EndercakeTheMessenger]

Im rewatching steven universe and yeah, pretty much, never on someones thigh, unless you count Greg’s leg that one time

[@Mediocre_Pip]

All I wanna do is see you turn into A giant woman A giant woman‼️

[@thesandguardianofthesand]

Yeah, but the difference is that Steven licks his hand and gives your injury a headpat. The smut person will definitely just fucking lick it.

[@JohnnyCashesAwesomeFan]

IM SO GLAD BOOKSTAGRAM IS BEING TALKED ABOUT. I CANT EVEN SEE A NORMAL BOOKGRAM VIDEO WITHOUT IT HAVING CORN LIKE BOOKTOK SUCKS BUT BOOKSTAGRAM 😭

[@chimmymanda]

my jaw just kept dropping lower and lower, and I fear that traumance is going straight into my vocabulary. i just found ur channel and this video is gnarly i just know ur gonna grow so quick i subscribed gl bro

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@chimmymanda traumance is a hilarious word, Lauren Biel is a trailblazer fr W pfp btw

[@Sfxsa]

Hi! So I’m a little embarrassed to say this, but I’m 14 years old and had struggled with dark romance for a while now- I’m talking like when I was 13-12. I’m pretty sure this is due to my past trauma and my mental health. It’s gotten to a point where I have ended up in adult spaces that were not safe for me. But as of late, the more dark romance books I’ve read the more uncomfortable I’ve become. I think it’s because me mental health is improving and I’m becoming wiser as a person, so Im beginning to notice the weird and unhinged topics in dark romance. And as of right now, I have dropped dark romance as a whole and have gotten into SFW sweet romance books and like them a whole lot more! This is even worse is because I’ve always been religious (✝️) and always felt horrible about what I was reading but couldn’t stop. Thankfully, I’m doing better in my religious duties and my consumption of dark romance and smut has stopped altogether. I’m super proud of myself and I feel so much happier now that I’ve FINALLY realized how odd and unhealthy dark “romance” is.😊

[@HeyItsCaz]

Very proud of you!!

[@Sfxsa]

@@HeyItsCaz thank you!❤️‍🩹

[@tokaroyr]

so happy for you girl!!

[@daamazingfireman5566]

Proud of you, dude.

[@Lemonne-]

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU OMFG I'M ALSO 14 AND I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE GOING THROUGH WHAT YOU'VE GONE THROUGH YOU ARE AN INCREDIBLE PERSON

[@koelvr]

i hate how booktok's recs are becoming basically ao3 smut and not dostoyevsky or literally ANY other author ☹☹

[@akutagawas.husband]

fr its annoying, it's basically just Wattpad fanfiction atp

[@zitreja]

If you like Dostoyevsky, I'd recommend you "Dark avenues/alleys" compilation of short stories by Ivan Bunin. We used to read it in school, and I think it has the same vibe, although a little more bitter than Dostoyevsky goes for usually. The short story by the same name is my favorite, and others in that cycle deserve attention too. If you want to read something not as popular from FD, go for "The Beggar Boy at Christ's Christmas Tree", it's a really short story, but it grasps you by the heart perfectly. I cried 💔

[@zitreja]

You can also go for Alexander Kuprin, his shorts such as "Lilac bush" and "The Wonderful Doctor" were in our curriculum too, these two are light, nice and full of love and hope.

[@akutagawas.husband]

@@zitreja you are an amazing human being I hope you have a wonderful day/night

[@frog-gj8vv]

4:26 can we talk about the use of narcissist as an insult... NPD is a personality disorder and those who deal with it are often extremely traumatized themselves. narcissist does not equal abuser!!! abusers are abusers, NPD or not having a disorder doesn't make you inherently abusive and calling someone who is abusive a narcissist adds to stigma around the disorder :( (this is @ the author, not you but i still wanted to address that because it was said very casually on the post

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@frog-gj8vv great point

[@samuelericci3959]

I get what you mean. But many times there may be a correlation. Especially if it’s not identified before it becomes a real problem. Just speaking from experience. This is most because mental health was not a focus even in the near past. Nowadays, tough, it should really stop being a problem and be just another fact of life.

[@drowsyspook3455]

womp womp

[@joywagner979]

If someone is clinically diagnosed as a narcissist and commits abuse, they have committed narcissistic abuse. Having trauma doesn't make it okay to abuse others. Being clinically diagnosed as a narcissist means you are inclined to take absolutely everything as a personal attack, and will freak out because "combining the words 'narcissist' and 'abuse' in the same sentence is a threat to my ego!" So clinical narcissists should probably avoid any discussion of narcissistic abuse, for the sake of everyone's mental health. That being said, the word "narcissist" is overused today.

[@RoyalYoung8]

I should clarify my wording a bit: when I say corn "addiction" I'm referring to purposeful behaviors of overuse, not a literal chemical addiction that has a physical basis, so addiction is probably the wrong word to use because it's a dopamine compulsion rather than smthn like a nicotine addiction. I just used it because that's typically what corn overuse is referred to as colloquially so that's why I referred to it that way. I'll be more careful with wording in that regard in the future so as not to be misunderstood or muddy the water about this topic.

[@Dordolec_]

Nah, mate, I think addiction is a very correct word of choice. After reading too much smut is just the same as watching too much corn, and it is addicting thanks to the dopamine rush. Basically everything including high dopamine strikes is a good addiction starter; tick tok, gambling, tremendous amount sugars, corn etc. Smut too!

[@rilmar2137]

The term addiction is not incorrect - it's a behavioral addiction (as opposed to physiological one)

[@marcusmelander8055]

Pretty sure the term addiction is medically correct. Not really different than something like a gambling addiction, or arguably even something like an amphetamine addiction (which is addictive due to a dopamine release).

[@monbub]

I think porn can definitely become an addiction. Many people with this addiction experience very similar symptoms to drug addiction, but without the physical harm that drugs cause. It can still mentally f*ck someone up and ruin their life. It should be treated as something that requires professional help, at least in my opinion.

[@joywagner979]

If you really really wanted to be diplomatic, you could probably say "compulsive *corn consumption" ... though people will probably still complain about semantics if they're inclined to complain in the first place.

[@Asmartcockroach]

Technically, putting the book in YA if it has corn, its a crime to show kids corn, so people could take her to court for it 🕴

[@RoyalYoung8]

New video idea just dropped

[@blackrosejinx5563]

Need people to understand there’s nothing wrong with consuming erotica or even dark fiction!!! The problem is that it isn’t being done SAFELY. With things like fanfic you get trigger warning so you know immediately what you’ll get into. As well as these books being labeled as romance when it’s either erotica or an erotic thriller. My main critiques are to get a better marketing strategy (bc these posts were ALL THE WAY outta pocket) and label your fucking books correctly so some poor teen doesn’t find it and thinks it’s perfectly fine

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@blackrosejinx5563 real. Hate how they're labeled as romance

[@drowsyspook3455]

There is something wrong if you spend money on porn u got an addiction

[@blackrosejinx5563]

@@drowsyspook3455 you do not know what a porn addiction is, i can tell you that right now. There's nothing wrong with wanting to read something spicy. so long as it isn't affecting your outward life and interactions with other people then it's fine. You shaming other people for DARING to have something like... SEXUAL URGES 😨😨 isn't the based take you think it is. Sex shaming is a very slippery slope into things like slut-shaming and the whole "she was asking for it" excuse. Wanting to read smut in the safety of your home isn't a crime, stop labeling a normal ass activity as a "porn addiction" you sound like a moron.

[@blackrosejinx5563]

@@drowsyspook3455 YT deleted my comment but to keep it short, you don't know what a porn addiction is and the sentiment that women are degenerates for wanting to read something with sex in it is misogyny.

[@blackrosejinx5563]

@@drowsyspook3455 no

[@finnfriedmann]

bookstagram got me tweaking fr

[@RoyalYoung8]

Me too. So much insane stuff I couldn't even put in the video, Siggy Shade's account gave me an aneurysm

[@zarahdit]

I was genuinely shocked when I saw ur subscriber count at not even 150 I fully assumed you were an established creator with a at least 50k. It seems so professional?? Anyways what I wanted to say was these girlies would LOVE „I love atsushi“

[@ExPrEsSoDePrEsSo77]

Getting ptsd from that fic. I didn’t even finish the first chapter😭😭😭

[@blowingmybrainsoutxx]

they'd also like "Mori is the best"

[@naevigate]

I keep seeing the bsd fandom talk about it what is it about 😭

[@Chuuyas_Petrus1989]

Oml it's fucking wild 😭

[@early_riser4776]

I just looked it up 😨😨 what

[@ghostcrackers]

Every time I worry no one will read my books because they are clean YA romance/adventure, I watch videos like this and am reassured. ^^

[@dapondboi]

3:30 this is a horrible decision

[@甜金]

I feel that dark literature in general should ALWAYS have warnings in the front and not be a "read to find out" situation. I love messed up and dark fiction, but will always stand on trigger warnings being CLEARLY shown. Not only that, but if it's a physically made book, it MUST be regulated and ONLY 18+ can purchase. Having this shit be aired out to social media where there are a ton of minors is just scummy. This is why I always appreciated AO3, even if it's controversial, the fact that there are warnings, tags, a "there's pr0n here, are you sure you wanna read?" and pretty much the general rule of thumb to warn and warn makes it a much better area to read dark fictional material. I look into writings that I relate to heavily, as I've experienced a ton of fucked up things, and reading through these stories honestly help me analyze things better and heal. (And yes I've been to therapy, and they know I've gotten much better when the topic of what I've been through is brought up.) Of course there are going to be people who romanticize the shit out of it, which, if you're that kind of person, go to therapy or the damn psyche ward cause that's unhealthy as shit. I will still stand by though that fiction is fiction, and everyone should be free to write their heart out even if it's fucked up, but don't involve real life people. It ONLY becomes a problem when said reader or writer lets it control and take over their day to day life.

[@jessummlee8866]

I'm studying a masters in writing and literature. I took a YA elective for this semester. I am more a literary fic girlie, so haven't really been staying up to date with YA but, due to booktok and bookstagram and just... commentary videos on those things, I honestly thought that the genre must have changed because so much smut is now being shoved into YA. While there still isn't a formal, universally accepted definition of YA... none of the accepted literary definitions encompass the new wave of books that are being genre'd as YA. BUT I went and looked at the YA section of a bookshop and it does include these books... along side ones that are actually aimed at 13 year olds. When people were complaining about the cutesy cover art of romance books, while I understood the concern, I did think it was a bit of an over-reaction because I figured it would be in a completely separate section to books aimed at young-mid teens. But they aren't! They are literally along side those books. Obviously I think parents have a responsibility to look at the books they're young teens are reading. But when a book with a cute cover is sitting next to Wolf Girl and Harry Potter, I can understand why they might not assume that it's a dark romance smut novel.

[@RoyalYoung8]

@jessummlee8866 I rarely read anymore but I read a ton of YA back when I was like 12 and can't remember a single instance of actual "spice," usually it was just implied or not gone into detail, so it's rly worrying to see this content ACTUALLY be put into YA novels, not to mention like you said, many books are INDISTINGUISHABLE from YA in both covers and store placement. I was at Barnes and Noble the other day, and Colleen Hoover was right next to the manga section and I'm just like... bruh

[@lilacfields]

this is why i’m so behind the formation of the NA (new adult) genre. pls get this stuff out of YA! people are forgetting the target audience is teenagers!

[@jessummlee8866]

@lilacfields I totally agree! I kind of thought NA existed, and even when things were being promoted as YA, I kind of thought it was a mis speak, especially after starting my elective and it was clear they didn't fit into the YA genre. But I've now checked multiple book shops and none of them have NY section.

[@lilacfields]

@@jessummlee8866 yes new adult is kinda a thing that started online but hasn’t really reached the market yet. i really hope it catches on bcs it’s the perfect category for stories set from 18 to early 20s. it can be weird going from certain YA stories that are set in like 10th grade to others that are after high school then to adult books that follow characters in their 30s. the leap between YA and adult can be huge. also in YA i feel that a huge issue is that among younger people there’s a greater difference between ages. as someone who is sort of between the YA and adult categories i feel a connection to neither! the 16 year old YA heroines are too young and don’t represent the life stage i’m in while i don’t necessarily consider myself an adult either lol. there’s a lot of learning that goes on between 18 and 25. our brains aren’t fully developed! there is such an obvious gap waiting to be filled. maybe they’ll make it a new thing just like they did with the “romantasy” genre (and hopefully with more success)

[@_Not_an_author_]

This BookTok thing is getting completely out of hand because in 8TH GRADE a girl in my class brought in Icebreaker to read. Luckily my English teacher at the time caught her and confiscated the book, but just the fact that minors are being marketed these sort of books is absolutely disgusting. Just the other day I was browsing the Y/A section in my local library and the sheer amount of just straight up smut bait with poor plots was baffling. The fact that these grown women are now dictating the books that are popularized and marketed inadvertently towards children who don’t know any better is just heartbreaking. As someone who at a young age had access to things like Wattpad I regret the many things I was lead into reading and the things I wrote as well, however I’m just happy it all featured themes like consent and an actually loving couple, whereas children nowadays are just picking up whatever book they see on TikTok and Instagram.

[@bctdakokomi]

10:20 uri/nal pronouns go so hard

[@AdmiralOfMapping]

Ngl bookstagram just makes me sad. Like brah I’m a minor and its okay to post pages of literal cornography on the internet. That’s like posting naked images of yourself with small censor bars.

[@RoyalYoung8]

That's the worst part imo. Like, tiktok and instagram are literal platforms full of minors it's insane how this is allowed

[@H34RTS4CHUUYA]

This is so real omg

[@pink_sky_morning4842]

agreed, im a minor as well and im SURROUNDED by people who would read these books (they’re unbearable but i also feel bad for them), practically brainwashed into thinking its good

[@one_oddsock]

Man it took me till like halfway through your video to realise you werent ultra famous, im glad someone is talking about this because as someone who really dislikes dark romance, its very annoying to see how booktok and bookgram are flooded with these instead of other well deserving books that I originally thought were going to be on there

[@pinkangelblood]

THE "CRY FOR ME" IM DEAD

[@pinkangelblood]

also, MAKE MORE LONG FORM VIDEOS !!!!

[@Realconveniencestore]

10:43 IM SORRY WDYM ‘being alive when doing it’ LIKE ARE YOU SAYING ONE OF THEM IS DEAD WHEN THEY DO IT??????

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@Realconveniencestore one of them is pretending to be afaik, but I think there are instances of actual dead people in her other books, I didn't cover the absolute worst of it

[@Realconveniencestore]

Oh my days

[@tin9181]

That "mental flashbang" literally made my headphones diconnect 😭😭😭😭

[@dumdummcgee4058]

I know this isn't the point of the video but i would like to share a fun fact related to the weird first post: Saliva is basically just filtered blood, and carries white blood cells, so technically, saliva does have healing properties! it's why wounds in your mouth heal faster. it's also why people have a habit of putting small wounds in their mouth. The thing is, though, that its only helpful when used on yourself. Licking another person's wound would actually increase it's chances of infection, while also just in general being super gross.

[@RoyalYoung8]

@dumdummcgee4058 thank you for sharing that's actually good to know. Boutta go lick myself fr 🗣🗣🗣

[@IdkLmao-vp5ss]

I’m guessing because whatever bacteria are in your mouth are already in your system anyways or are benevolent/non harmful, while your immune system doesn’t know wtf kind of shit is in someone else’s mouth?

[@colognesipper67]

straight female alpha x male omega MANHWAS are actual jumpscares

[@ghost-mn5qq]

less than 5 minutes in and ive already had a stroke. multiple times. instant subscribe keep up the good work

[@abbywilkes6035]

The intimacy investigator 😭😭and the pleasure police got me😭

[@avah8775]

This is my first video of yours and I thought it was really entertaining and funny! I can see this channel going far so good luck dude!

[@sethnightman6651]

Freakygram

[@inactivedonotinteract]

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂gram

[@s4ltenj0y3r]

that’s a bit 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂👅

[@lizzie3748]

1:31 MY IMMORTAL😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@colbyreader]

It’s the same as sensationalized crime. Pretty sure South Park has an episode about it

[@user-gp4bl4st3v]

This video is rlly good dude your channels gonna grow quick

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@user-gp4bl4st3v baller

[@Hakashama]

The concept of Dark Romance is literally Morticia and Gomez from The Addams Family. That's it. A *healthy relationship* between two individuals who share love for disturbing activities that may or may not involve deadly interactions towards others, often without harmful intentions. Whatever 70% of booktok authors are calling "Dark Romance"... It's not it.

[@avanikrishnan9678]

The speed at which my finger clicked on the subscribe button as soon as you said H.D Carlton was your mortal enemy is insane 🙏

[@RoyalYoung8]

@avanikrishnan9678 the speed at which I replied to this comment after seeing you subscribed is insane

[@Solar_Axis]

THANK YOU!!! Thank you SO MUCH for calling it what it is! I have hypersexuality disorder from being exposed to porn too young and I fell down the rabbit hole of "dark romance" fics online because of it. But I KNOW it's not okay. I KNOW there should be a line to draw. But whenever I try to tell literally any corner of the internet that, I get called ***fascist???*** For what, expecting humanity at large to stop for a second and consider whether or not the girl who writes nothing but incest is a wacko??? I don't feel like that's a big expectation, but Yeah! The bar is in hell! Also whenever people try to pull the "SA victims use DR to cope" I just cite how 90% of this genre's audience AREN'T coping, they're just casually consuming weirdos, and how I, again, have a disorder myself. Watching them backpedal is HILARIOUS and will never get old lmao

[@RoyalYoung8]

@Solar_Axis is there a source for the 90 percent claim or is that a generalization? It seems correct I just want to be able to actually cite something in an argument lol, cuz that's quite damning if true Also what groups are calling u a fascist for that? That's wild

[@Solar_Axis]

@@RoyalYoung8 Technically this is a generalization. After reading enough of this crap though, it's become apparent what the difference in writing between glamourized abuse and venting is. Glamourized abuse puts big emphasis on how attractive the aggressor is, taking opportunities to make them look "good" later in the book/fic/whatever, characters around the female lead completely discounting the problematic aspects of her relationship, and a complete lack of any of the mental side effects that comes after being abused. It's the flattest writing imaginable with characters and plot so thin you could poke a hole in them with a clothespin. Venting, on the other hand, has a much stronger emphasis on emotion, the pain, the trauma, whether or not the victim gets over it, and the aknowledgement of that trauma by the cast around them. That's just my two bits as a fanfic writer/consumer, but I remember seeing actual studies done on this stuff once so they do exist. Also it's the tumblr gooners calling me a fascist. I told one of them that they probably shouldn't ship this one character with the two kidnapped children he RAISED _who are officially recognized by the source material as his SONS, mind you, and they said criticizing it was on par with BOOK BURNINGS and LGBTQ+ erasure. Sure, bud.

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@Solar_Axis great writeup

[@3leafcloverr]

the way omegaverse has been taken over by cishet women is so interesting as someone who grew up with it basically just being an excuse for mlm mpreg

[@gracokartyt]

“dance for me omega😈” 💀💀💀

[@valleybeary]

This led me down a rabbit hole, thank you for showing up on my reccomened. Great job vid 10/10

[@bibbitybooper6437]

jesus its so refreshing to hear a man say people in porn might be exploited. so many men defend it for no fuckin reason. great video, very entertaining and informative for someone who wouldn't go anyway near these types of books lol.

[@nautival]

the one piece flag in the back is so based

[@mushroom6998]

like they wouldn’t go near someone who did that to them in real life it’s so unrealistic

[@Arak_art]

I read something that its a good example of what i consider dark romance. Basically a girl falls in love with a guy online, only to realize that hthat guy is in prision (the book gave me chills, its more interesting than it sounds. If you want spoilers just let me know)

[@RoyalYoung8]

No fr that's more of what I imagine, like a morally grey plot/world but not because the MMC is abusive, but bc of other things like that.

[@rowan404]

G. M. Fairy specializes in meme-based satirical novels. They also wrote one based on Shrek. In fact, “G. M. Fairy” is likely a play on “Fairy Godmother” as a reference to Shrek 2.

[@eatasock4134]

I hate the mislabeling of these books. Half of the corn books are considered YA or called “dark romance.” These books could literally be considered worse than the “You” series, but that would NEVER be put in YA sections

[@Charl3y3]

Dude, you're underrated as hell. I love coming across new commentary youtubers to watch while I eat food lmfao. ❤

[@peanut9633]

It's quite the opposite for a lot of us. I read and wrote the most glorified obscene things known to man as a kid. Then as I grew I became wiser and more conservative and became far less tolerant as a law abiding citizen. You can even see in the forums and comments people waking up and getting mad that they practically brainwashed us.

[@GRMA28]

My sister reads very sexual books infront of me and my mom and has even gotten my mom to read “My Dark Vanessa”. She is an adult but it’s all she reads, and if she reads anything else she says it’s boring. I’m starting to worry about her bc she is constantly reading these novels

[@lilacfields]

there’s nothing wrong with my dark vanessa! it’s a great book but very dark and sad. not smutty, just deals with big topics. what other books does you sister read?

[@GRMA28]

@@lilacfieldsI didn’t know that, I heard it was pretty sexual from someone else online. She reads a lot of Colleen Hoover, Icebreaker, 50 shades of grey, A Court of Roses and Thorns and she’s bought Tender is The Flesh to read but hasn’t yet read it. She started by reading Colleen Hoover and Emily Green and she’s just started to read more of it and it’s was read around me and my mother and I know what she’s reading but my mom doesn’t. I know that she is an adult and she can do what she wants but it makes me uncomfortable but with my age I can’t just be like “I know that you read porn so please don’t read infront of me.” With out my parents I watch pornography. Sorry, I just need to tell some because I find it a little gross

[@lilacfields]

@@GRMA28 that’s valid! idk it sounds to me like she’s reading some better books though! did she just start out with colleen and the like or does she still like those types of books? asking bcs they might be her gateway to some new (frankly, better) authors

[@GRMA28]

@@lilacfields she started with Colleen Hoover and she has since strayed away from Colleen’s novels. I don’t know exactly what she has read as I only see her once every week or two.

[@lilacfields]

@@GRMA28 ahhh that’s honestly nice to hear then. to me it sounds like she’s slowly shedding the smutty novels honestly. tender is the flesh is another great choice i have heard good things about! if you want, maybe reccomend her station eleven by emily mandel! it’s another dystopian novel (like tender is the flesh) and is very good 👍🏽 and my fav book of this year Beartown by Fredrik Backman bcs i think anyone would like this novel honestly. very great

[@ratumakae]

I cannot wait to see ur channel grow

[@RoyalYoung8]

I also cannot wait

[@RandomPianistt]

I was shocked when I saw that you only had 6.5K subscribers! I was expecting 100K-200K at least; this is insanely good quality. Keep it up! This video is very informative, engaging, and is one of the most entertaining commentary videos I’ve watched. You have my subscribe!

[@ema-yd4zh]

yes please read the books and review them i bet it would be hilarious😭

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@ema-yd4zh bet, which one

[@ema-yd4zh]

@@RoyalYoung8 100% the carrot one xd

[@eriny2k]

“authors are marketing books like fan fiction” YESSS this is so true, and they attracting people who read fan fiction. i used to be in the bookish community online, wayyy before booktok was a thing. i eventually left the community bc almost every corner of the online space was being taken over by people who read books like the ones you are describing. i used to go to a romance book club in my area and eventually stopped attending bc they just started reading booktok books. it seems like anything gets popular nowadays, even if it reads like a wattpad fanfic written by a 12 year old who has unrestricted internet access. as long as there’s gratuitous sex it will become popular in the community. just so frustrating that good writing and character chemistry is being tossed out the window in favor of these dumpster fires.

[@Sherbish]

Very informative and engaging video essay, keep it up! Can’t wait to check out your channel now!

[@cynikov]

2:25 as a former figure skater, this made me want to die…it’s also a thing at my rink where all the figure skaters hate the hockey boys for being loud, annoying, and taking up sessions 😭

[@crimsoncurseamv1045]

They thought the only way to make ppl read books is by making them freaky. There is little to no appreciation for well written and plot driven literature. Now you'd only need a morally grey dom edgy male lead, non-con and helpless female lead and you're good to go.

[@Boovaski]

It sucks that I can’t go on book related anything anymore because it’s over run with books that only have intros smut and nothing else.

[@JustASillyGuyYk]

Hey, off topic from the video, you're a really good creator! I honestly expected you to have over 50k, even 100k. The format of the video is really professional, and actually kept me for the whole video. You deserve more subscribers, man. Hope you succeed. Anyways, back to topic, what the heck is booktok, and bookstagram seems like just straight hell. I'm so glad I haven't come across any of these type of videos yet when scrolling through 😭these type of people who make that scare me so bad like how are you a functioning member, or even adult, in society

[@RoyalYoung8]

@JustASillyGuyYk appreciate it a ton, I only started 2 weeks ago and I've gotten a ton of comments like this alr, so I hope yall are right that I'll get there soon. Imma be real, i keep getting insane booktok vids on my fyp even though I have zero interest so ur very lucky in that regard. TBF THO i do interact with them whenever I decide to do these vids so maybe that's why I am subject to this horror

[@LouChat-i6n]

I WILL KNOT GET INTO MADE ME SPIT MY WATER FROM MY NOSE. 😭

[@SuperInconspicuous]

I was just in the book store and they had a whole section called “Booktok” and I laughed so hard while a women that was IN THAT SECTION stared at me. That being said, I had no idea the “Haunting Adeline” was a smut book and almost got it cause I thought it was a ghost book. I have been deceived before and noticed the overview/words on the back to describe the book were oddly vague so I put that back and got a book full of poems about ghost by poets like Edgar Allen Poe. I also got suspicious cause it was right next to Callen Hoover (or how ever you spell her name) and honestly I was not trynna be reading smut on accident again.

[@georgiakapela1627]

While 'Dark Romance' offers a fun escape from day-to-day reality, these books are best left to read by an older audience because they can create false expectations of what a health relationship can be.

[@softmilk9447]

these type of books feel like repackaged smut from the dollar general book carousel 😭 its actually so funny

[@Random.Girl.]

I can’t believe this is how I found out one of my underclassmen friends was bringing smut (Haunting Adeline) to school and *leaving it in plain sight* . Like, I only knew about the book existing because she left it under her chair during band class. Also, I cannot believe that straight omegaverse content with stereotypical gender roles exists.

[@addi6458]

6:34 I love kids Charlie!! I LOVE KIDS!!!!

[@Valeriee3058]

Theres NOTHING normal on either booktok and bookstagram its litteraly all smut

[@shi8837]

It’s so crazy how normalized it is to read smut and “spicy” books it’s so incredibly weird to me. To each their own ig ☠️

[@RoyalYoung8]

@shi8837 I'm not gonna judge too hard tbh, like u said, to each their own, it's just weird how public it is, esp with the problematic content. Like dawg I haven't read a word of fiction in like 5 years why am I on freakygram on a public platform full of minors, why are y'all posting this stuff 😭😭😭

[@shi8837]

@@RoyalYoung8 yeah i completely agree, it’s literally 🌽. men are always looked down upon for their own addictions to 🌽but everyone else who reads doesn’t get questioned it’s just like…oh okay🤨 freakygram and booktok need to go fr😭😭😭😭

[@alexabaxter6658]

​@@shi8837 You haven't been in conservative women's spaces, I see. You're lucky.

[@Nekoszowa]

We're not living in the 40s where people(mainly women.) were shamed for se xual fantasies

[@Ghostnelius]

The first author for SURE made OHSC fic and then just made it that

[@Chuuyas_Petrus1989]

Ouran high school host club?

[@Sealinaroom1540]

This is random, but i expected you to be way more poplar, honestly i love your takes and comentary its amazing for background noise, thank you for making it keep up the good work :D

[@RoyalYoung8]

@Sealinaroom1540 appreciate it a ton, tbf this channel is only 2 weeks old so we shall see where it goes

[@Sealinaroom1540]

​@@RoyalYoung8 I hope it goes well, you truely deserve it

[@Oliverrr-hm4fq]

I’m not kidding at my school there is a Booktok station….a Fr book collection…

[@user-fe5nv2bq2v]

Ya'll think THIS is bad? Try forcing yourself to read 120 days. I have flown too close to the sun. (really don't read that god forsaken book, i am begging you, don't do it)

[@bananamangocombo]

I have a friend that reads these type of books but atleast they doesn’t shove it up our throats and it’s not a whole blown addiction. It becomes a problem when it’s the only thing that entertains you and makes involves real people (like cmon bru). Of course there are more things that apply to what makes this type of stuff problematic but there is also so much to consider. Also can’t wait to see more content ‼️

[@RoyalYoung8]

@@bananamangocombo more content indeed coming soon

[@JudoDean]

I swear wattpad stories are better then booktok

[@perseflora]

hugely agree w how dooming this feels for the traditional publishing house industry; looking into querying has suddenly become relying on the quantity, not quality, of porn scenes and marketable tropes rather than, in most cases ive experienced, the uniqueness of the story itself

[@someescapedalien5699]

the first author you covered has been an inside joke with me and my fellow writing friends for months 😭

[@jayboyvr1164]

Congrats on surpassing 420 almost 2 times over!

[@pouterpigeon]

saw this in my recommended, watched the first 5 seconds, felt the aura and instantly subscribed.

[@Oddity2994]

Straight "romance" books scare me

[@deathlygamingreal]

Father, when does stone ocean get good

[@monbub]

You make a lot of good points and I appreciate this! Glad to see people finding this shit absolutely deranged.