Western/Non asian gay media which is like BL(Asian gay media)

I'm gonna be real here so please don't judge my preferences, it doens't translate to my views in real life

Here's the vibe I want which is common in BL- Monogamy, lack of cheating, love over lust, deep emotional connection, limited lgbt/pride references

Other than somewhat Heartstopper, I haven't been able to find a western BL which fits this

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u/Emocucumber — 4 days ago

Where to keep my cat? 😭 Any solution?

Future cat*

I'm thinking of adopting irrespective of my parents wish, but i really don't have much space at home.

My room is also the pooja room so cant keep her there

My Grandma has weak eyesight and uses a walker so I don't think it'd be safe to keep her there either

My parents room is also out of the question

My sister is allergic so not in her room either

There's the living room but i wouldn't feel at ease cuz there's too much stuff, also we have an open kitchen

Another option is the backyard but again I'd feel uneasy leaving her there + when she grows up she might run away easily through the wall

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u/Emocucumber — 7 days ago

RHs with low sexual content, good engaging plot and interesting characters

Basically I want less of y/n fic with a plain girl getting 5 random guys who are badly written suddenly sexually obsessed with her and culminate into a corny smut

And more of plot driven works- any genre, where the FMC is a strong, powerful and beautiful character who's on her plot focused journey(the main plot shouldn't be RH, it should just be the plot). Basically like those male centred harems where he's the king and does king stuff and the women are basically side characters there to add glamour + support him. This but FMC version.

I read the novel Princess Weiyang and it's highly revenge and plot focused where the FMC has a long journey and several men become obsessed with her, reading it didn't feel like fetish content self insert, i actually felt a reason why the men liked her because she was so amazing. Although it's monogamous and she ends up with 1 man.

So yeah smth a bit serious

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u/Emocucumber — 11 days ago

Why can't a woman become Holy Roman Empress?

Was researching about Maria Therasa of Austria, she was the heir to her father- the holy Roman emperor but the title went to her husband instead who wasn't even a royal ig

And she seemed to be a very capable ruler

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u/Emocucumber — 11 days ago
▲ 124 r/CDrama

What happened to the Qing Dynasty dramas???

I feel like new drama watchers probably don't even know how much these dramas ruled earlier

Maybe because it's the most 'recent' dynasty, one of the most common settings for historical dramas were Qing Dynasty dramas.

They were my gateway to Cdramas with me starting with Scarlet heart, then proceeding with Yanxi Palace, empresses in the palace and then Ruyi. Also watched The legend of xiao zhuang, dreaming back to the Qing Dynasty, Palace, Xiaozhuang Mishi etc

Most of them were extremely heart wrenching, smth about that era and women...

While the Hairstyles were ugly, I still stayed for the plot(since they were actual well written historical dramas and not webnovel based idol dramas), also the clothing was really good and production value was top-notch

But now it's only those fictional dynasty setting dramas with Douyin make-up and styling for both men and women, and all based on webnovels rather than actual historical figures

I love those as well but i really miss the actual historical dramas

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u/Emocucumber — 19 days ago

Reccs for MC betraying ML angst

So I'm really craving an angst novel with ML having an intense hate love dynamic for the MC, stemming from his belief that the MC betrayed him in some/any way. I absolutely love that angst.

I've read a few about it and the most standout example is Scum Villain duh, but it'd be even better if the MC actually betrayes ML and it's not a misunderstanding or a "I did it to save you" thing, maybe he's evil/selfish, maybe he had to make a hard choice, whatever

Thankss

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u/Emocucumber — 1 month ago
▲ 48 r/CDrama

Manifesting Tiger Sniff the rose getting similar love as Persuit of jade

I'm so so excited for Li yunrui and Meng Ziyi's new drama, Tiger Sniff the rose based on the webnovel Esteemed Princess

Firstly, beyond the fact that I love the actors, I also am a huge fan of the original novel. The plot follows a powerful widowed princess trying to find her footing in the treacherous waters of the imperial court where she's established as a mere pawn with no power as leverage of her own! That is until she meets the ML, who's then yet a lowborn scholar. Their romance is very unique in the sense that she's the "dominant and powerful" one and is initially >!only interested in a sexual relationship with him lol. !<The ml also initially only sees her as a tool to get power as does she, but grows to be extremely devoted to her. The ML is gentle, virtuous (at least outwardly), self righteous, intelligent, devoted and cunning while the FL is spoilt, bitter, shameless, calculating, selfish all while possessing an unparalleled face! What a deadly combo

Beyond the CP dynamics, i love the intricate court politics. Considering the FL is a widowed woman, >!she's likely not a virgin. !<This feels a bit refreshing and mature beyond the usually fresh and pure pairing.

Seeing the trailer, it feels that they didn't change much and kept the intricacies intact so I'm hoping for the best.

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u/Emocucumber — 1 month ago

MC who makes use of the yandere's feelings to achieve her/his goals/revenge?

Idk but as someone who enjoys his plot with porn, I'd love to see a selfish, cold and calculating MC who promptly makes use of the yandere's intense devotion for their own personal benefit- revenge/ambition or whatever.

I'd love the whole "you will be my knife" dynamic with the MC having a mad dog at their side who can do anything for them

Even better if somewhere down the line, the yandere breaks out of the leash and maybe purposefully sabotages the MCs plan so that they're all broken/aggrieved and the yandere's in control and can confine them/trap

This trope is very uncommon in yandere works and only barely done with villains

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u/Emocucumber — 2 months ago

Cdrama fans assemble- reccs for novels with the same dynamic as these two (My Journey to you)

I watched this show( My journey to you) about 2 years ago but still a HUGE fan of their dynamics/ship, I've never been a fanfic person so couldn't get into it either :(

The way the older brother(left) is sooo aloof, out of reach, immortal like (as they describe)- always serious and calm but also an air of mystery/seduction

The younger bro (right) is even more interesting- downright crazy, extremely devoted to his gege but not in that typical mysterious yandere way but in a much more open way, more bratty, more open, more brash but also like I said extremely devoted so much so that he's on his gege's back and call wanting to do anything to help him

I absolutely love their dynamic, would especially love it if the ML is the younger bro and the MC is the older bro

u/Emocucumber — 2 months ago

Historical Danmei without male wife/consort plot

I know that it's much more comfortable to write stories in a world where being gay/queer is acceptable and not have to deal with homophobia in fiction

But while gay love did exist in ancient china, with even emperors having male concubines on numerous occasions, homosexuality was still a taboo.

Looking for novels with the same mindset as in proper historical (or at least close to it) where being gay is taboo, although not necessarily extremely die if you get caught kind, just smth shocking/scandalous where the MC/ML have a threat of

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u/Emocucumber — 2 months ago
▲ 114 r/CDrama

Idol drama audience vs mature drama audience?

Heyy, so first off, this is by no means an attack to certain fans, just wanted to have this discussion based on my observation as a cdrama fan

There's a huge difference between the dramas aired before 2020-22 and after, it feels like this was the time when cdramas truly went international like kdramas and thus became bigger and more "manufactured", everything seems carefully crafted and as per the strict censorship laws cut down on tropes which were staple earlier.

Earlier historical dramas were pretty much based on historical figures, were all often 50+ episodes long and had very mature themes with romance being a focal point of the story but not the main driver. The female led dramas were based on her journey rather than her romantic journey. I'm talking dramas like Zhen Huan, Ruyi, yanxi palace, legend of hao lan, legend of xiao chuo, legend of mi yue, Scarlet heart, schemes of a beauty, promise of chang an etc etc

A LOT of these dramas usually have the male lead dying somewhere in between( duh it's historical basis) and then the female lead still continues to live her life, maybe even have a second romance. Some even have very sad endings!

When did we as an audience started hating stories with " sad endings" , firstly i hate sad endings being referred to as bad endings, there's a difference. If it does justice to the characters then it's not bad despite being sad.

When did we stop tuning in for long dramas where we could just drown ourselves in and immerse ourselves in world building.

When did we crave the romance to consume everything in the story and overlook women in power, women achieving things and living their lives irrespective of men

And much more

I think this trend started, like I said again when cdramas went international, that's when everything started getting "manufactured" and with the newly found censorship laws in place, the new idol dramas must never diverge! All have fairly predictable storylines and all are adapted from simple webnovels online who again are pretty similar in plots to each other.

Due to idk censorship or lack of budget/efforts they don't use real historical figures anymore and instead just random people

Even the episodes were restricted now, 40 is still fine but some are even pushing to 24!

Ashes to crown had a pretty big novel, to fit it into 24 eps they removed and cut like half the story, in the end they could've properly adapt it and had loose ends, people couldnt fully tune into this weak script and the drama is pretty negatively reviewed :(

I can't help but lament on this

Will we ever get another zhen huan or yanxi? Will we ever have more dramas on powerful women who ruled countries? Considering that most fans seem too focused on romance, it's so annoying when i check the comments of a plot focused drama page and the comments are asking if there's a love triangle or when do the leads end up together!! 😭

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u/Emocucumber — 2 months ago
▲ 43 r/CDrama

A Yandere case study- Xie Yanfang(Ashes to crown)

Yes, as one of the two people who watched that drama, I'm so enraptured by the deliciously unsettling Xie Yanfang who's nothing short of an evil , manipulative, God complex demon, but the way he managed to fall in love with our FL in his own unhealthy way was so so interesting to witness.

Is it just cuz he's evil? Because there are a lot of dramas with "bad" MLs ( although they're not actually evil and often just misunderstood, Lord please give us more actually malicious MLs)

No, it's not just because of him being evil.

Him specifically having a creepy yandere obsession with the FL, the way it's so deep in details the way his noble self knelt down to touch our FLs feet, the FL shuddering in response was actually the cherry on top because a creepy(but enchanting) guy paired with a woman who hates his guts is peak fiction, I want more, I demand more

The way he's not afraid to actually harm the FL and the people around her and people in general in order to control her messed up but in a 1% cute way

Maybe, I'm messed up. But i LOVE their dynamics so much. An enchanting powerful guy who's actually depicted as unsettling and even creepy paired with a woman who wants nothing to do with him. I'm healed, just give me that 😭😭😭😭🤏🤏

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u/Emocucumber — 2 months ago

Is a 1 year experience (12-13 months) at your first job concerning?

I (21M) was hired last year at an entry level basic role at my current company, they had a social media manager who was leaving and since I was pretty much free most of the time, I was given this work as how hard is it to make some reels and i also was Canva savvy.

Anyways, at some point even tho my role was completely different they didn't hire any other social media manager as I was doing all the work related to it. I became pretty decent in content writing, writing copies, ideating, designing, promoting, video editing and designing. Besides that, I was also the internal magazine writer and the "creative director" as they also made me ideate, script and shoot the company induction video.

After 6 months, I had to beg them to change my role to "social media executive" and increase my salary. Although I must mention that at that point my manager didn't like me and wanted to hire someone more qualified for that position, but since the HR liked me, she convinced him to promote me. I even rejected a very good offer for this hike/promotion.

Now fast forward 6 more months, my HR friend informed me that my manager wants to hire my replacement giving some bogus reasons. So now idk what to do, I'm considering giving my resignation soon before he can proceed with it. But at the same time this just completely demotivates me. I regard this as a lala company which I was too good for but still I'm gonna get laid off. It feels so shitty and idk how I'll carry the fact that I was pretty much laid off from my first job all my life.

Since I have completed one year here, I hope having an experience of 12-13 months won't look odd and i won't be questioned regarding this.

Somewhere, I'm hoping my manager changes his mind and gives me another chance :((

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u/Emocucumber — 2 months ago
▲ 111 r/CDrama

Ashes of disappointment 😔

I'm a huge fan of the original qork- the novel which is LONG- a proper intriguing slow burn

But they pretty much changed everything and cut half the story to fit 24 eps

Idky...

The most famous and engaging historical dramas are 50-60+ eps for a reason, people are willing to engage in high reward drama which actually emotionally draws you in

This feels emotionally hollow, like a mini drama

I do like chen duling's look and the aesthetics tho, that's pretty much the only redeemable part

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u/Emocucumber — 3 months ago

Profile review + reality check needed ?

My_Quals: 86/88/69.97 , CAT 2026, aspirant, 2025 graduate, GNEM with about 12 months of work experience

About my profile technically it's 8/8/6 but it's Obv much closer to 9/9/7 😭 , so is it like absolute? As in they only look at the 10s digit when evaluating your score or it does matter whether my score is 69.97 or 60?

Secondly, i have work experience in marketing/Branding and wanna do MBA in marketing only so that also narrows it down further

Can anyone please tell me my safe options and what to target, also what are the best colleges for mba in marketing?

u/Emocucumber — 3 months ago

Are DFS/DSE that bad? Need honest advice on what to aim for

my_quals: CAT 2026 Aspirant, GNEM, 88/86/69.7, 12 months work ex in marketing

firstly, off topic but do they only see the tens digits of your score of 10/12/UG? 😭 cuz mine is legit much closer to 9/9/7 than 8/8/6 as you can see, got unlucky

anyways, I have always been bad at studying and never once in my life have I actually given my 100% and scored perfect :(

ever since I have been working, I think I have even lost my remaining will to study

But yeah, doing an MBA is non negotiable as I'm currently stuck at a low paying job at a lala company and I need to have something GOOD which sets me apart( Unless there's another degree just as good for marketing?)

my profile already hampers my cause and my lack of will to study is another predicament

what stresses me out the most though is the monetory aspect of it all! I don't think I have the guts to take loans of 20-30 lakhs

I have started considering colleges like DFS/DSE due to their low fees, it feels like a better deal than private colleges

Ps- I have cat 2025 without studying and got 85%ile but everyone I know who also gave it without studying are getting 99iles 🙄 so yeah idk where I stand

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u/Emocucumber — 3 months ago

The way Yogesh proved he's the Main character AGAIN 😭🤏🤏

pics ko dekh ke everyone only had one question- WHERE IS YOGESH????

BUT THEN HE CAME UP FASHIONABLY LATE LIKE TJE MAIN CHARACTER HE IS

EVEN HATERS CAN'T DENY THE HYPE

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u/Emocucumber — 3 months ago

It doens't matter who wins but these 2 will always always have my LOVE and Support

from day 1, they were just the one for me 😭😭

not as a couple but individually, although they'd be unstoppable together

both feel much much real to me- they have potential, they make mistakes, they become underdogs at times but are always BEASTS, no amount of sympathy, clout chasing or mass cult support (ahem ahem) can undo their vibe

they're both 🤏🤏👑👑👑

u/Emocucumber — 3 months ago

Has anyone noticed that Sad-af always gets her karma??

first she bullied Anushka and was violent towards her- she fucked up in the water based task and almost drowned

next she betrayed himanshu in the ticket to finale- betrayed by Tayne

next she betrayed himanshu again in the semi finale vote out- got embarrassingly hurt in the task

let's not forget the audience's well deserved hate towards her

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u/Emocucumber — 3 months ago

so I'll be really really REAL about this so only for non judgemental folks

Me(21M) and my boyfriend (21M) have been dating for an year now and i can't help want to show off our relationship to the world. Currently it's just my CF audience on Instagram 😭🥹

I feel like in the queer community, relationships are the best ways to get reach online. i want to build a whole community centering it.

I'm semi decent looking and my bf is HOT + masculine so I feel like our dynamics would be attractive for a LOT of people, but I'm hesitant about just directly starting posting reels online as I'm still in the closet at large( only out with my friends).

people who are experienced in this or have any idea, please helppp 💙

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u/Emocucumber — 4 months ago