Unpopular opinion: I actually like Mafia stories 🤭

[Misslondon21]

Your story sound great. I’d love to read it. And I 100% agree

[agkhaliq]

same I’ve read a lot of good ones, as long as they don’t glorify abusive relationships

[shaharPie]

Certain fetish oh god

[jellyepi11211]

I’m just gonna share some things with you here.

I’m an author of mafia story, and I totally understand what you mean by this, since the 80% of mafia stories on the app include abusive and really jealous love interests. In my opinion, people hate them because of THAT, they’re all the same; badass MC and badass LI who is extremely jealous and loves to control MC’s life…I think you know what I’m talking about. I personally love reading mafia stories that have unique story lines.

But on the other side, there are some authors out there who’re trying to make a different plot and make the whole story actually interesting. In my opinion, every author of mafia story needs to have a basic knowledge about criminal activities and things that are happening all around the world because of it.

I myself, live in a country where almost every week, 3-5 people die in a war between two biggest clans who used to be allies years ago. They’re involved in drugs, arm trafficking, money laundering and many more. And we all here are tired of seeing the same scenes. Young people die.

The main reason why I started to write my story is because, I want to escape the reality. People who’re leading my country are CRIMINALS, they’re destroying country’s legacy and SELLING IT, they’re arresting innocent people to cover up THEIR CRIMES… the list continues.

I don’t know for others but I personally want to give my story a different frame, so I could avoid the reality, to make something positive out of it. Maybe some people don’t like it but it is what it is. So yes, I know what mafia does and what kind of people they really are in real life, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. However you all write for yourselves, nobody has to like it.

READING IS A WAY TO ESCAPE THE REAL WORLD.
WRITING IS A WAY TO CREATE A NEW ONE.

[EtherealWitch]

@jellyepi11211

However you all write for yourselves, nobody has to like it.

If you wrote for yourself, you wouldn’t need to publish your story. In the moment you make it public, you have to accept the thing other people have to say about it.

[corvus.writes]

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if the mafia boss is your LI, it’s glorified. The fact that so many people just care about these stories for the “romance” shows just how glorified it is, and honestly, it’s really disturbing. I love seeing people saying “I know it’s unrealistic, and I would never want to be in a situation like that. I don’t want that to be my reality”. Guess what? It’s so many people’s actual reality which you choose to romanticize for the sake of your story. People’s suffering isn’t your entertainment, so stop acting like it is.

@BadApple

To portray a toxic relationship that is, throughout the story, identified as such, and therefore fixed by the end.

If you’re portraying it correctly, this has nothing to do with you. Although, if it’s not 110% clear how the relationship is abusive, and how disgusting the mafia is, it’s still being glorified no matter what your intentions are. If the main focus is the toxic relationship rather than the mafia, I still feel it would be inappropriate considering how the mafia would just be thrown in there. Don’t take other’s pain in vain.

@BadApple

What I hate is that I know there are many readers who will not give my story a chance because of all the prejudice against mafia stories.

This is literally the minority of episode lol. Look at the trending section and see how many mafia stories there are. Mafia stories aren’t oppressed nor are the prejudiced against. Saying to not glorify the mafia shouldn’t offend anyone, and if it did, I don’t know what to tell you.

@BadApple

However, I have read sooo many messed up stories and books from a very young age, and I can assure you, I have never wanted to pursue a relationship or a lifestyle similar to the ones I read about.

You don’t speak for all of the impressionable audience, what might not affect you can always affect someone else

@BadApple

most of them are capable of distinguishing between fiction and real life,

Let’s not put that pressure on 12 year old’s when we could be putting it on adults who decide to write these sick fantasies on a children’s app.

@BadApple

It’s completely different if you just don’t like to read mafia stories as a genre.

I would read a mafia story where it’s actually portrayed as disgusting, but you and I both know there’s none of that on the app.

@jellyepi11211

READING IS A WAY TO ESCAPE THE REAL WORLD.

Your “story” is someone else’s reality that can’t be escaped which you chose to romanticize for the sake of escaping your’s.

I’ll put it as simply as I can:

• If the LI is some type of mafia boss who “changes for the MC”, it’s being glorified.
• If the mafia is not being showed as completely disgusting and abusive, it’s being glorified.
• If it wasn’t you intention to glorify is but someone calls your abusive LI “hot”, it’s still being glorified.
  The only time it’s not being glorified is if it’s portraying it correctly and showing how much it affected Italy, and is still affecting Italy today.

Edit: But since so many of you are claiming to know stories where the mafia isn’t being romanticized, feel free to tell me their name. I’m really curious.

[SpookySherry]

@corvus.writes

Your “story” is someone else’s reality that can’t be escaped which you chose to romanticize for the sake of escaping your’s.

Period

[SpookySherry]

Okay, so you understand that they’re criminals and have seen it in real life, but why choose to give a false depiction and narrative of a mafia who rapes innocent people, murder adults and children as young as 3, and paint them to be this “good” or “cool” idea?
It’s not about “escaping reality” because you can do the Escaping with research. There are people in this community who I’ve met who HAVE faced trauma and have been offended by the romanticized themes. When you romanticize it’s, you BELITTLE those who have suffered and give the idea to 13 year olds that this stuff is cool.
Just because you are not directly affected by it does not mean nobody else will be, especially those who have been hurt by it.

@jellyepi11211

However you all write for yourselves, nobody has to like it.

The app is made for 13 year olds but I’ve met people as young as 11 here on the forums. I’m case you didn’t know, they’re minors because they’re not cognitively mature enough to make decisions on their own and they don’t fully understand right from wrong. They are also influenced very easily. And for someone to simply not like it or not read it, well what about the other kids who already DO like it and DO want that fantasy, and are clearly oblivious to your harmful theme?
Just because YOURE smart enough to avoid it doesn’t mean a 13 year old will be.

Don’t speak for those who are influenced or have faced the trauma

[mistye]

Guys, I think you’re being too rash. I actually enjoy mafia stories! I absolutely love them! Yes it took me a while to like them, but the more I read, the more my interest grew. Here are some reasons why you should stop hating on mafia stories and actually play them before judging:

Reasons!

Okay, now that I have your attention. I’d just like to say. I don’t care if a story is suppose to be fictional. The problem is, so many innocent Italians have lost their lives to this group, and promoting and glorifying it is literally a slap on the face to the victims.

Say, if I made a story about a terrorist being in love with the MC, is it still okay because the MC “cHaNgEd HiM”? No, it isn’t. Because so many Muslims are racially profiled, discriminated, and are constantly shunned from society because the media constantly portrays the Muslim community, as a group filled with terrorists, which is NOT the case. I’m not muslim, but let me tell you this, they are NOT truly Muslim. The Muslim community is full of love, and I’m quite disgusted. It’s still offensive, and this is a common problem with mafia stories. What these authors don’t realise is that what they call “fantasy”, is someone else’s nightmare, someone’s trauma.
I’m so glad I didn’t get episode when I was younger, because, let me tell you, I would’ve thought this was okay.
But oh well, because it’s fictional, it’s okay!
I hope this made sense, and the opening sentences were sarcasm, just in case someone took it seriously.

[SpookySherry]

You fooled me for a sec I was about to pop off

[mistye]

LMAO, I was afraid of that happening.

[Volleynika]

One of the first stories that I read and fell in love with was the Chain Reaction series. lmao I just loved it because it was one of my firsts.

[BadApple]

I really appreciate your reasons and I respect them. Although I agree with you on some points, I think others are too extreme. I won’t go into details. I just wanted to let you know, I have taken some of your points into consideration as they do provide a different perspective than my own. Luckily, I am still in the beginning of my story and I can learn from this thread, and take the opportunity to spin it into a slightly different direction. I am half-Italian with Sicilian ancestors, and as such, I know the painful situation in Italy. However, since the story is based in America, it never really occurred to me to inform the readers of the actual history, which I now see was a mistake. So I am grateful for your input. Although we have some conflicting opinions on the topic, I could still draw useful conclusion from it.

[SamsonsKryptonite]

By looking at this thread, I’m kind of divided. As someone who’s not a huge fan of this genre, I don’t particularly have any interest in it however, I don’t believe someone should be condemned for simply enjoying a specific genre or character.

For instance, someone can like a villainous character due to their compelling nature or their relevancy to the plot but wouldn’t condone their actions or encourage that kind of behavior. With that being said, I believe, that’s it’s thoughtful for an author of a series to have a warning regarding their stories knowing that it contains sensitive material because it shows that their considerate of their audience’s feelings and interpretations.

If a specific scenario or character reminds you of your own experience that you don’t wish to revisit, it’s best to not continue reading the story for the sake of your mental health. I also don’t believe it’s wise to immediately demonize an author unless the topic is something a lot of people continue to face and you’re not just reacting from personal experience since they don’t know your life story.

[atsukowrites]

I love mafia stories, some people dislike the glamourizing part of it but unfortunately, the guidelines don’t allow to show the bad side of that lifestyle.

I live in a country where Narcos (aka mob bosses) are glorified and people love them, this sadly happens in all Latin America (except some countries). The thing is that we should be able to discern fiction from real life, most of the stories on the App aren’t realistic and I guess that’s part of the magic and charm of this platform

I know that young people shouldn’t aim to have a mob boss as a romantic partner, but that’s their problem (or their parent’s problem if they are minors). I know women who want to be with a thug and love that lifestyle because of telenovelas or the music industry, but the problem there is their way of reasoning, not the entertainment.

[Adorablxheron]

Fax!

[atsukowrites]

Entertainment shouldn’t educate us and show us moral guidelines. This is part of education, religion, and the family. People who are easily influenced are the problem here, maybe they shouldn’t consume certain things because they won’t be able to say “the LI of this toxic mafia story may be hot but I won’t be with a mafia boss in real life because most of them are nasty old men who do horrible things for money”