period
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Moved to Episode Fan Community since this is about Episode stories. Make sure to check out our Forum Tutorial for more info about creating topics, and feel free to PM me if youāve got questions. 
I may or may not be publishing a mafia story soon and I want to know your doās and donāts when it comes to mafia based storiesā¦ every opinion matters! What do you think?
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A mafia story is alright IF you donāt sexualize or romanticize them
Gangs killed hundreds of innocent lives and ruined many
Iād just do you research on how they work
Some helpful threads:
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Thank you so much! This was very helpful and Iām not saying that you were implying that I glorified the mafia but just to put it out there lol my story is based on escaping the mafia and the characters learning and bettering themselves. Thanks again for the other threads and for replying <3
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I love mafia stories, itās always fun to read them 
And write for yourself donāt let people decide what you have to write 
Iām lowkey getting annoyed at people who keep on saying you shouldnāt write mafia stories because thatās giving false info and making 13 year olds believe thats how the mafia works. Itās just a story and when I was 13 I knew that its just a fiction and it isnāt real 
But then again everyone has their own opinion.
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I used to like them but I honestly donāt bother with them anymore due to the stereotypical plot ect
The one I enjoyed the most was Wicked Sins.
That was my all time fave.
Now Iām into vampire stories.
I think that even if it seems obvious that it is fiction, it is important to put a trigger warning and clarify that it something really serious in real life.
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You are right. Some people are just spreading hate wherever they are going for the sake of 13 year olds. They donāt think the 13 yr old they are worrying so much about arenāt on Wattpad reading worse or watching movies/TV shows which are more realistic. This is not an excuse but young teens have access to way more problematic things if their parents arenāt there to supervise them.
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As long as you portray the mafia properly and do your research then I donāt see a problem. But be careful about the content because it could be insensitive to some people. Donāt romanticise the mafia leader because they are anything but romantic and should not be portrayed in a positive light. Good luck with your storyš
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Thank you!
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I think mafia stories are okay to write and read as long as you portrayed it correctly like what the others said
I think Mafia stories, if written correctly can be powerful and have a great plotline that actually engages the readers and leaves them wanting more, Iāve read very few like this but a some are executed well such as Mafia Doll, Are all monsters evil?, Dirty Lovers, Without you, Criminal Desires and La Contiās: Youāre mine. I also think there should be plot twists within these stories; a lot of them are based around the same thing or have the same ending, villains and plots. I also think the reasoning behind some villains/ characters/ backstories all this are very similar throughout certain stories. My personal opinion is probably the same as a lot of others, but I donāt think ALL mafia stories are the same, a lot of them have amazing plot twists, ideas and have been beautifully written and directed. I also think some people romanticize the violence and chaos too much and show it in a good way. yes it doesnāt happen much anymore, yes itās died down, but that doesnāt make it okay to romanticize it. You need to give a disclaimer or show it is not okay and even inappropriate. But other than this Mafia stories can be amazing!
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I agree on this part.
Itās okay if you like mafia stories, as I cannot control what stories you prefer to read. But I do think that there are still a lot of stories that do not show the raw and ill-truth of what itās like to be in a mafia, the truth of it, and how ugly it is. People get raped as young as minors, little kids and adults die just for being tied to a mafia as young as 3, and there are so many other traumatizing experiences that people in mafias face. These stories donāt show that. Iāve never read the stories youāve listed other than a few episodes of Without You. And Without You May have good directing from what Iāve seen in the edits on IG, and even good dialogue, but it still makes gangs (which are different from mafias) seem like the tragic idea love story that everyone wants.
I can see where youāre coming from. But indont think that itās a good thing to represent mafias and gangs like this on a platform with little kids. Better off with a more mature platform where itās made for adults who understand right from wrong
But it doesnāt mean you shouldnāt do research. When writing a topic like this with a lot of back history, you need to do research to write one
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And by not doing research, and making mafia stories seem ābeautifulā or ideal, you would be belittling the heavy traumas and experiences that people face in mafias.
You will never understand what itās like unless you are in a mafia. Which is why people are angry. Which is also why people of Italy are mad that this is misrepresented. Theyāre not supposed to be ideal or beautiful. Theyāre ugly and these stories only show a love story that seems like a fairytale everyone wants when it comes to love
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I honestly donāt read mafia stories but if a story is written well and doesnāt romanticize harmful things, then I think a mafiah story is good
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Just donāt romanticize it or make it look fun.
If you want inspo on gang stories, I recommend Fruits Basket 2019 episode 16-17
Iāve started to read a handful of them (mostly because like every other story on Episode right now appears to be a mafia/gang story). Iāve finished some of them too. I get the romanticization concerns, especially given the QUANTITY of stories with the whole ābroken girl meets intense/overprotective/rude mafia leader then they fall in loveā premise, but I donāt inherently hate the idea of mafia/gang stories, I guess? I mean, they are people too, so they have stories that can be told. I think Iām more annoyed with the overkill of the premise I mentioned above. Would be interesting to see more stories about reluctant members or members who want to leave or something.
Also, someone mentioned Are All Monsters Evil, and Iāve finally finished it (like literally just now), and I found it more frustrating in terms of the female MC than in terms of the mafia stuff itself. I donāt think it romanticized the mafia, necessarily, because it did show/discuss the killing and stuff. Unless the idea of falling in love with a mafia in and of itself is considered the romanticizationā¦ In which case, thatās every story on the app that involves mafia/gang members lol. Also figured Iād note, in case anyone saw it mentioned and is thinking about reading it, that Iām pretty sure itās a choice-less story. I canāt remember if thatās 100% true because itās 40+ chapters, but in these last 5 or so chapters, thereās not a single choice, which I started to find more frustrating as the female MC started to develop certain viewpoints/hard stances that really just likeā¦ clash with my own. But thatās a personal thing.
TLDR: Thereās WAY too many of them on the app and idk why so many people are writing them, especially when the premises are pretty much the same for the vast majority Iāve seen; however, I still read some of them because what else Iāma do during this covid mess?!
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Ok so I got the inspo to make this from this 
Discussion: Toxic and Abusive MCs
You should check it out lol
Anyways, I wanted to know your guysā thought on Mafia. Iām personally writing a story about the mafia so this might sound really hypocritical but whatever
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Mafia stories on episode heavily misrepresent the mafia. Mafia leaders arenāt hot (which Iāll admit that Iām guilty of making them like that)
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Mafia leaders arenāt going to fall in love with their hostages
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Mafia leaders donāt have morals
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Mafia leaders arenāt afraid to kill a child
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Mafia leaders donāt care if youāre a woman or not, theyāll kill you without a second thought
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These kind of stories can offend people that have had an experience from these people
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Killing people isnāt āhotā and anyone who writes these kind of stories (myself included) should write it like it is, immoral. Thereās absolutely no point into making something like that āhotā, āsexyā, or āsensualā. The only āreasonā there would be a need for these kind of things would be for the sake of a romantic aspect
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Romance isnāt everything. There doesnāt have to be romance in every single story, especially if the only way you can do that is to glorify something that is responsible for so many horrible things that happen in the world
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Also if you want to write a mafia story donāt romanticize or glorify that kind of lifestyle thereās many ways to avoid all those things.
I also want to talk about MCās in these kind of stories. Usually mafia stories revolve around how the MC accidentally saw something she shouldnāt have and then got kidnapped but instead of the MC being scared for her life she checks the LI out. I donāt know if itās just me but Iād be scared if someone was trying to kidnap me but ig MCās in episode are just built different 
Iām not trying to bash these stories in any kind of way and I know that this is episode and theyāre all fiction but I just wanted to say these things because some kids on this app donāt understand these things and these stories are way too normalized
Let me know your thoughts on this Cuz Iām lowkey curious
Also donāt know if thereās already a thread made abt this
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I feel like it all depends, to be honest. Mafia people are still human too. Iāve seen a few interviews of real life Mafia Capos or people linked. Some of the leaders are quite attractive, actually, though most are on the older side. And some are on the younger side as well, the youngest being 26 (Joseph Bonnano).
A lot of Mafia people do have morals, and a lot consider themselves close with their families simply because of culture. But of course, this isnāt all.
Many crime lords have openly done what theyāve done for their familyās actually. Take El Chappo for instance: Notorious criminal, drug lord, killer, but absolutely adored his children more than anyone.
Mafia leaders are of courseā¦ Mafia Leaders. Theyāre criminals, but just because someone is a criminal, doesnāt mean they have no morals. They may differ in many senses, or things that are more important to lawful people are less important to those who arenāt.
So making your mafia character attractive isnāt unrealistic at all, nor is making them fairly young. Making your mafia character have morals isnāt unrealistic either. Overall, itās still realistic fiction.
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