I have been looking for some good stories for quite some time. More specifically, I am a sucker for a good romance story, as most readers are. So, as one does I will scroll through the romance and drama section before looking at the other genres. Low and behold over half of these stories are mafia related.
Personally, I cannot stand mafia stories because they other promote toxic relationships, or they are all the same story (just with different characters).
I’ve spoken to several people on the forums/IG, and I’ve even noticed other topics discussing them, but it seems as though most everyone I speak to disposes mafia stories. So my question is why do you think these stories are promoted so much on the episode app?
I hate thinking about this, because as I stated before they promote so much toxic traits in a love interest or best friend (whatever), and none of them really highlight the problem with this behavior. I mean this app has kids that are in their early teens, and when they read this it has the ability to dilute the seriousness of what’s portrayed.
Think about it. If a young kid reads countless stories about a gang leader having total control over a relationship, such as when they ask the main character questions like “where are you?” demanding the main character to share absolutely everything, it puts it in the reader’s head that this is normal. But, in reality it’s not. This kind of behavior marks the beginning of a very toxic relationship. And don’t even get me started on the violence.
I mean these “mafia men” will quite literally hurt people (and yes more often then not, the author has them harm bad people), but ultimately the character has no repercussions for their actions. I mean for example, the gang leader can k!ll someone and simply walk away without getting arrested because they have “power,” or whatever. But, if this is repeated over and over where is the boundary? Your portraying that their are no repercussions for harming someone, let alone not even showing the emotional toll that follows de*th . I mean if I ever write some kind of argument or something, there are always repercussions (either actual worldly repercussions or emotional ones). And the only de*th I would find appropriate would be one in which there is a funeral or some kind of grieving…
Maybe this is all me ranting to get it out of my system, and maybe it’s just me being over dramatic, but I am so sick of this. For once, I just want to scroll through the romance section to find good relationship stories that aren’t toxic. But alas, I don’t think that will happen.
What are your thoughts on the topic?
I want to be clear that this is not a space for arguments at all! So if someone says something you disagree with, state so in a respectful manner!
Also, if you do want to recommend and (non-mafia) stories that you really like I have a thread for that:
What Are Your Favorite Episode Stories?