u/Emocucumber

I (22M) have been dating someone (23M) for about an year and a half now. It was going well until yesterday when I discovered that he had consistently and constantly lied about where he lived...

So we live 1 city apart (i thought like 2 hours distance) and since it's a long time distance, we used to meet every week, after he got a job, we met like twice a month. He always always used to come to my city cuz he didn't want me to exhaust myself travelling, either that or a mutual city nearby us. He was very adamant about it so i gave in and got used to him always coming to my city.

That was until his cat gave birth and I wanted to meet the babies, he didn't refuse and told me to take the subway/train to his city finally. This was my first time going to his place( for context we both live with our families so there's no culture of staying at each other's places a lot, even when he comes over, we go to diff places and not my home), and yes I reached the station finally for his city which took almost two hours, then he came to pick me up and go his home.

Then the travel and distance just kept going on and on and on until I realised that he did NOT live in the city he said he did, but instead quite far away! He lived like 2 cities away and the travel was around 3-4 hours. I met his family and saw the kittens but still I was so shocked, cuz imagine consistently and constantly lying about where he lives for soooo long. I thought we were behind any little secrets. And imagine if I didn't insist on meeting the cats what would happen???

He then confessed that he thought if i knew where he lived I'd be hesitant to get into a relationship as we'd meet less and it'd be considered a long distance relationship, also the city he lives in, M is considered a 'small town' maybe that's why he lied as well, as he kept commenting how it must be my first time in a place like this.

He had told me long back though that M ( the city he lives in) was his 'home town' where he was originally from and he and his family is planning to 'move back' there soon, so I guess that was his plan to explain the city change finally... After like months and then I would never discover his lies.

He also lied to me consistently about the time he reached home every single day, cuz he city I thought he lived in was 2 hours away from me so he usually texted he has reached in 2 hours, but now it's obvious that he just lied about it and actually reached like 3 hours away.

I went back through a cab and since it was intercity it was expensive asf, which made me realise just how much money and time he spent on travelling to my city every single week...

I feel like unless the work is pretty good, I've moved on to Chinese OI novels from Korean/Japanese ones due to a variety of reasons.

Chinese OIs are set in Ancient China itself rather than European Ambience/Medievel Fantasy which makes it all the more 'legitimate' since it's actual historical basis- the world building is Top notch, the politics and palace life is soooo good(If you like Apothecary Diaries then you'll be obsessed)

Most historical chinese dramas are based on these novels as well so you'll get to see your fav works adapted every other day.

Besides that, Chinese media has sso much more diversity in everything- characters, romances, dynamics, plots, everything- the tropes are top notch.

And the best part- Ruthless In depth Revenge and Thrill! 😭 If you think some of these korean OI girls are mean, you guys would hate the Chinese girls, they're vengeful spirits in the purest sense. Korean girlies will bide their time while they're getting abused and then have a 'contract marriage' with some random duke as 'revenge'- and the only revenge is the original family getting bankrupt and no real consequences! Chinese girlies while sometimes do take help from men, their revenge is usually just theirs- and boy they take it 😭 it's eye for an eye.

Lasty, Chinese works are novels and MUCH longer, so overall they feel less shallow compared to korean and Japanese OIs

NOTE- this is not a diss towards korean OIs, mostly an observation after years of reading. Some works like A stepmothers Marchen are reallyyy close to my heart

So yeah, enough said, i feel like i don't see any proper forum space to discuss these Chinese novels, where's my gang at?

Basically your standard yandere fic mostly just has some yandere dialogues and expressions, rape and that's pretty much it... There's not much story to it, just a self insert shallow story. The FL accepts the whole thing almost immediately

If the FL is so willing, how is it even yandere?

True yandere-ism is only visible when the FL/MC is unwilling

Looking for a TRUE-YAN fic which is dark, deep and intense where the FL/MC is already in a relationship or in love with someone else but the ML steals them away 👀👀

Maybe threatening, kidnapping, forced marriage, murdering the other guy, anything

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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!! 😭

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 😭😭😭😭🤏🤏

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 :((

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

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

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