#shaoyou

Like being disappointed ur fav cp is not getting enough screen time is one thing... But hating the 1st cp is a completely different thing!

And they have a lot to say about the acting when Eliot & Qiu did soo well

Another is hating the NJ sisters.. Like they wrote the book with a specific couple in mind coz that's what they liked

I've analyzed, criticized, and explained why the relationship between Hua Yong and Shao You in ABO Desire is fundamentally broken. But today, I want to approach it from a different angle. My problem was never just with the couple, the writer, or even the Omegaverse — it's with the act of romanticizing the toxicity.

Here’s the core of it: you’re allowed to like toxic pairings. The problem begins when you start believing that kind of dynamic isn’t just compelling, but actually romantic.

Let me use myself as an example: I love characters with pathological jealousy. That chaotic, obsessive, possessive dynamic? It absolutely enthralls me. But the key is, I see it for what it is — toxic behavior. I enjoy it consciously, without ever pretending it’s a blueprint for a healthy relationship.

To illustrate this crucial difference, let’s take a more dramatic example — Queen Mantis. Both main suspects were saved by the same serial killer, who liberated them from abusive situations. Both admire her as a mother figure. But here’s where they diverge radically:

Suspect A (The Admirer): He reveres her, even building altars with her crime scene photos. He became a private detective — a morally gray profession, but one that still stays within the bounds of the law. He’s also the childhood friend of the killer’s biological son, who despises his mother, creating a stark moral contrast. Despite his devotion, he knows she’s a murderer and has never crossed that line himself.

Suspect B (The Disciple): He didn’t just admire her; he internalized her worldview. After being freed by her, he adopted her ideology entirely — changing his identity, mirroring her crimes, and killing anyone who stood in his way. What began as admiration became imitation.

See the difference?

One understands the darkness from a critical distance. The other embodies it. That’s the same line that exists in fandom.

You can be thrilled by a toxic dynamic — whether it’s in ABO Desire or anywhere else — while being fully aware that it’s wrong, destructive, and not something to idealize. Enjoying darkness in fiction shouldn’t make you feel guilty; fiction is a safe space to explore, confront, and process what would be unacceptable in real life.

The danger lies in doing what Suspect B did: blurring the line until toxicity becomes normalized, justified, or — worse — romanticized.