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If you were me, what would you do? I'm feeling really down.

khatruong1804

khatruong1804

Member
Jul 26, 2026
130
14
I know this topic can be a bit controversial, but I want to share my own experience. I've been following a BL manhwa author (I won't mention their name) for almost four years. I always looked forward to every new post and tried to support them by interacting whenever I could. Then one day, they got into an argument with some international fans and openly said they only wanted domestic fans, and that international fans should just leave.

It honestly felt like I was excited for something I'd been looking forward to, only to have it all come crashing down in an instant. Like a meteor somehow landed right on me. 💔
 
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I think you have a bit of a parasocial thing going on, who cares what the author thinks? I think you should just continue to enjoy their work regardless of what they think. There's quite a bit of stuff I enjoy wherein I later found out the creator is a terrible person but it never really affected my enjoyment of the work itself. Just separate the art from the artist.
 
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ehh its not like they can control who reads their stuff. if you really feel down about this, i think you can just not interact with them? as in, dont reply to them, dont mention that you read their manhwa, stuff like that. that way, they wont even know you read their manhwa, therefore they will have no reason to be angry at you. of course, this will make discussing the manhwa with your fellow fans a bit hard (that is, if you even engage with them at all), but if you want to respect author's wishes while still reading their works, i feel like thats the best option available..?
 
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I agree with the other's responses. If you still enjoy their work then I would continue reading it as usual. Whether you want to continue supporting the author otherwise is up to you. Lots of Japanese works have creators who openly block or are rude to foreign fans, it's up to you whether you take that personally or say fuck it and continue consuming that content anyway.

I can understand being sad that your favorite author doesn't want "your" engagement, but at the end of the day they don't know you, they weren't upset with you directly, and they probably only really mean that they don't want antagonistic fans complaining about things based upon western standards in their comments section. I doubt they mind you liking and silently supporting them.
 
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If you like it, keep reading!
It doesn't matter what others say, even if it's that work's author.

That author probably meant the haters and not their fans like you.
Dealing with haters is hard no matter how old or cold-blooded you are.
That reply wasn't very professional of them though.

If their words hurt you and your enjoyment got tainted then distancing yourself from the author would be best.
I'd just read the story and forget about the author existing if they've actually meant what they said and were talking about even fans. That's not cool.
 
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Actually, the author doesn't even know you personally, does he?

I don't really care about this kind of thing… After all, you're not the one the author had a run-in with, and the author certainly isn't targeting you.

You really don't need to worry about it too much.
 
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For long-time fans, this situation is heartbreaking and distressing.

I will first investigate the dispute between the author and overseas fans to try and find the reasons: Why did the author say such hurtful things and abandon overseas fans? Was there a misunderstanding? Could it have been said in anger, and will the author change their mind after calming down? I will try to ask the author, expressing my love and support for her work, and not wanting this case to affect other loyal fans.
 
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If it were me, I'd stop supporting that author altogether.
What's the point of supporting someone who can't even respect the individual readers who are literally the ones keeping them afloat?
And I think I can guess which author you're talking about—there have only been a handful of BL manhwa authors who've been involved in this kind of drama.
 
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Consider spending some time away from the author and their work then see how you feel after. And yes, it's like being grouped together with a rotten apple (or several) when the author reacted that way.

You can always enjoy their work even without the interactions and quietly supporting them may be easier on the author that way:) Also agree with @ninnikuryona and @Meringue !
 
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I can understand your feeling but it's not like the author can actually like remove or make their content unavailable to foreigners can they? But in your place i would have stopped supporting an author who dont care abt their international fans cuz its disrespectful and unfair..
 
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I am someone that cannot separate the art from the artist, so I would stop consuming their work, but I tend not to get attached to anything on the internet. If it is something that is deeply affecting you, I would suggest that at least you take a break, see if other stuff catches your attention, then, you can come back once you feel better and try to see the situation with a clearer mind.
 
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My advice is that if you still like the work, then still consume it; you don't have to stop enjoying it just because they said so (if you feel a way about it, then maybe pirate it?). If you want to be nuanced, I'd say try to understand where the author is coming from. Maybe there was more to that conversation than you saw, which led them to say they just wanted domestic fans consuming their work, but honestly, it depends on how strongly you feel. If you're really hurt, just drop it; but if you want to continue reading the work, don't interact with anything outside the work itself.
 
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If it were me, I think I would try to separate the creator from the work to some extent. So if there were still works by that creator that I genuinely loved, I would probably continue enjoying them.

That being said, I can only imagine how shocking and painful it must have been to hear hurtful words from someone you've supported for so many years. If your feelings are still unsettled right now, it might be a good idea to take a little distance from the creator or their work until you've had time to process everything.
At the same time, those words were not directed at you personally, were they? That's why I don't think you need to feel as though this situation has completely erased the joy you've found in the work or invalidated all the precious time you've spent with it.
You don't have to decide right now whether you want to continue supporting them or not. Give yourself some time and space to reflect on how you truly feel, and allow yourself the freedom to come to that decision at your own pace.
 
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I would stop consuming that author's work! I'm not the type of person to just take that kind of thing lying down; I'd tell the author to go screw themselves (mentally) and stop engaging with anything related to them.

I don't know if I'm just too emotional, but whenever I see an author criticizing their international fans – saying they only want domestic or Asian fans in the fandom –, I get incredibly angry and block everything related to them. Your presence is unwanted by them; they are clearly a xenophobic, racist author who would treat you terribly in real life, so why keep consuming the work of someone like that?

If they only want domestic fans, let them have their domestic fans and walk away! Because if you keep consuming their work, sooner or later, that author is going to spout more xenophobic, prejudiced nonsense about international fans... Someone who doesn't respect all fans equally doesn't deserve your attention, your hurt feelings, or your sadness! Why keep supporting someone who has no respect for international fans?
 
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I would also feel very hurt if I was faced with the same situation, but I hope you don't take it too personally and feel hurt because like everyone here is saying it's not directed at you. You can be free to make the choice to continue to consume the work or not at your own pace.
 
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That was a shocking event😢
I think I felt sad even in your position.
I don't know who the author is, but I don't think it's a word I said to a pure fan like you.
The author is also a human being, so if you get hurt a lot, you may act differently than usual, and you may make mistakes😖 (as a premise that it is not good as an author who is presenting his work)

Please distance yourself from what you feel is painful now, and cherish the joy and fun you received from your work.
 
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I just don't really pay much mind to that stuff, or try not to anyway. I can understand both sides. (hell, there have been a LOT of issues with really awful international "fans"/trolls/etc, especially since xitter added the translate for Japanese users) and people can say really extreme/upsetting things if they're feeling hurt or cornered. If it were me, I would probably consider leaving them a message about how it made me feel and then probably just back off of interactions at that point.
 
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