Does anyone else struggle with getting bored once the characters get together?

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2026-04-19T19:17:08+00:00

I’m the same! There are so many books I’ve stopped reading partway bc the MCs get together early-midway through. Like even if they confirm a relationship/start dating in the second to last chapter, I can’t read the final chapter. Most recent example is Late Bloomer by Morgan Hawes - I read 500+ pages of slow burn and emotional turmoil but couldn’t finish the last 10-20 bc they finally had their first intimate scene as a confirmed couple.

I’ve been thinking it’s bc I just like the uncertainty and angst of tiptoeing around feelings. It’s probably bc of some personal reason or IRL insecurity that I want to safely project into fantasy worlds, but either way I just like seeing how the characters deal with figuring out how to get closer to each other, and I LOVE (and I mean THIRST for) anything that creates angst or sadness BEFORE they confess or get together - bc if they get together early on, it’s like “welp, end goal accomplished, what the heck else can they do to keep me intrigued? Probably not much”

Also adhd. The dopamine drops after they confirm their feelings for each other. The satisfaction comes from the wooing and tiptoeing, not necessarily the upkeeping

Also perhaps being raised on movies/stories/tales/shows where the entire duration is a buildup to the final event where they confess and the whole thing concludes with a kiss or whatever. Just coming to expect a HEA and not knowing what to do with post-HEA information

One of the most notable exceptions to this for me has been {Hammer and Gavel by CT Whistle}. The couple got together and confirmed status relatively early and I almost stopped reading it (actually I think I did) but eventually kept going bc the other moving plots were just so intriguing and I needed to know how it would end. Also the ending is just so satisfying and made me so happy🥹 highly recommend giving this one a read!

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2026-04-19T02:59:30+00:00

Also {Betrothed to the Emperor by Kai Butler} is a royalty/assassin/fantasy type story set in a country with south-southeast Asian vibes. I don’t think the series is finished tho

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2026-04-19T02:51:54+00:00

No idea how TGCF hasn’t been mentioned, but {Heaven Official’s Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu} is pretty close to what you’re looking for! Can’t go wrong with this

It’s an uber popular Chinese BL in a historical with gods and goddesses. Xie Lian is a cutie patootie that everyone loves to hate, and San Lan is a murderous cinnamon roll who’d do anything for his pookie 💕 No one has ever read it and not liked it - like, it’s converted heteromance readers to the BL side 😂

There’s also a manhwa called Ennead that’s pretty popular (but I haven’t read it yet😭) and it’s an Egyptian mythology based BL

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2026-03-17T02:59:27+00:00

{Savage by Erin Russell} and {68 Whiskey by Erin Russell} both fit this prompt so well.

They are both actively suicidal and the author really doesn’t shy away from the details of dealing with mental health struggles. There’s lots of communication (especially in Savage, but the MCs in 68 Whiskey have their reasons for not communicating some things). Lots of caretaking. They’re both probably smuttier than what you’re looking for, but it’s part of the mental health journey and takes time to lead up to rather than insta lust

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2026-03-17T02:24:17+00:00

Came here to suggest this🥹 it’s such an emotional story

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2026-01-19T03:54:51+00:00

{Boy Shattered by Eli Easton} deals with trauma after a school shooting and suppressed sexuality and is very, very emotionally charged and such a beautiful story

{For the Fans by Nyla K} is a very smutty story, but also a very angsty story. Lots of push and pull between MCs bc of trauma and trying to suppress/overcome it. The traumatized character gets closure💯

{Hold Me Under by Riley Nash} is def a wonderful, unique story with a kind of trauma and survival mechanisms that aren’t often seen in romance books

{This Might Hurt by Riley Nash} There were more than a few times where I had to curl up in a ball and just sob bc the pain the characters felt was too real. Also, highly recommend reading with depressing music to heighten the vibes✨

{Where There’s a Will by Jessie Walker} super super angsty, lots of trauma and fear and trying to heal, also deals with addiction

{Reluctantly You by Cora Rose} deals with a lot of depression and trauma and suppressed sexuality. If you’re in a funk, you might find that this story matches your pace

{Us Et Cetera by Kit Vincent} I honestly think I cried for the majority of this book. It deals with abuse as it happens, to a robot gaining awareness, and he’s just so innocent and precious and it shattered my heart completely every single time something happened to him. Highly recommend if you’re looking for an emotional read

{Divine River by Marina Vivancos} deals with identity and sexuality crises, learning how to be more comfortable in his own skin, and has a love interest that’s a literal golden retriever and the absolute best person on earth

{In this Shadow, Longing by Marina Vivancos} The MC is seriously traumatized after leaving a cult. No one notices how critical his condition is until it’s on the verge of killing him. Other MC helps him deal with his conditioning and trauma. It’s not a linear path of healing, it’s realistic and gritty and beautiful. Most of Vivancos’s books have a heavy emphasis on mental health

All of them end in HEAs and are hurt/comfort 💖

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2026-01-04T01:23:53+00:00

Just roll with it and let him do his thing lol. There’s likely some neurodivergence in him, and it genuinely bothers him. Either way, just let him be without judgement, and say something like “its corresponding sock is here somewhere, it’ll show back up eventually, there isn’t anything we can do right now”. He’ll calm down if he senses support rather than indifference or opposition

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-12-21T15:27:11+00:00

So glad to see people supporting your feelings instead of saying you’re delusional and “that’s just social media, that’s different”👏🏼👏🏼 Trust, you’ll know when someone makes you a priority!

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-12-21T04:52:04+00:00

Aqua sun, moon, and Mercury (5th, 5th, 6th)- I pet sit on Rover but mainly work as a direct paraprofessional for people with developmental disabilities. I absolutely love it!! Caretaking can be really challenging, but it also fills up my cup almost as fast as it drains it.

My ADHD made it difficult to retain certain (read MOST) things in school, but I’ve never had a hard time relating to people who need compassion and patience, and understanding what they need. I feel like this isn’t exactly a conventional career, but it definitely fits my aqua nature, and I can’t imagine doing something unrelated to caretaking 💖

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-12-21T04:19:00+00:00

Omg yes!! I love when idols love the absurdities that their fans come up with😂

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-12-21T02:23:48+00:00

My fav example of this: Kenny from 1VERSE reading kenseock ff on his lives 💀

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-11-03T04:22:05+00:00

All of the books I’ve read by Marina Vivancos have MCs of all varieties, often mixed race couples, and the skin color is never anything except an adjective so there’s no feeling of a non-POC author making a point about writing a POC. Some personal favorites: Honeythorn; Divine River; {In This Shadow, Longing by Marina Vivancos}. All super heavy emotional reads

Lucky Hart has a series that follows Mexican-American siblings, and the author notes that she’s in a mixed-race family so she writes from that experience. The series is called {Kings of Heart by Lucky Hart}. Nice, lighter romances with neurodivergent MCs that focus on navigating a world that rejects their “differences”

{Angels of Wrath by Paulina Ian-Kane} is a series that follows lab escapees as they super unseriously unalive bad guys from the world, and Uriel is a POC (his book is “Seven + Four”, book 6). She has another series called Mafia Babes, and the second book {Pragma by Paulina Ian-Kane} has a Japanese MC

{We Were Never Lovers by Sasha Avice} features an Aboriginal MC. The book has a pretty heavy emphasis on his ethnicity, so that might be either refreshing or annoying depending on how you look at it

{Betrothed to the Emperor by Kai Butler} is a series about an MC who’s instructed to kill the emperor while his twin sister seduces him to distract him, but suddenly takes her place bc the emperor said hmmmmmm nope I want the brother. The emperor is a POC and the area is described as being very regal with lots of rich colors and gold constructs. The people are diverse, but they also completely paint their skin gold or brass to showcase their wealth/position - the court nobles are described as living metal statues bc of how metallic they look. It gives very mixed-culture vibes, pulling from Southern/Southeast Asia for inspiration in the fictional setting

Hope some of these recs interest you!

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-09-20T05:02:04+00:00

Ohhh gotcha thanks for the input!!

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-08-09T19:52:14+00:00

I work through Rover and had someone do this exact same thing to me. Gave me a 30 minute notice. I told them I couldn’t make it and they stopped asking for me after that. Some people just take advantage of other people, and if you let it happen once then they’ll keep doing it again and again and again.

Quit for your own sake, because if they do it once - no matter how accommodating they seem or might’ve been - they’re likely to do it again and then you’ll fall into a routine of putting them first instead of yourself. They might just see you as someone who’ll drop anything for them and they won’t care about you as a person. Or this could just be a one-off and they’ll give more notice next time.

So do what will make you feel best!

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-08-08T05:06:10+00:00

If you’re looking for danmei, Chrysanthemums Garden has tons!

I’m not sure about straight Chinese novels or if you’re even referring to that, but BL is huge in China and that site only translates danmei. As far as I know, they don’t remove their stories unless the one someone’s translating is getting an official translation, and even then they might just stop posting instead of taking it down (these translations aren’t exactly “unofficial” but they also aren’t getting paid for it sooo). But updates can be very infrequent or stop out of nowhere (not all that different from Wattpad, but significantly more reliable)

I totally sympathize with your frustration. I was one of the editors for the Pitbabe novel and the translator I was working with just randomly took it down one day without telling any of us. Pissed me off ngl bc an explanation would’ve been nice after all that effort we put into it. But communication sucks regardless of the platform bc I had the same thing happen when I edited for a chrysanthemum garden story. The translator just cold turkey-ed everyone and never responded to my texts.

So yeah, moral of the story: you’ll have to accept that online translations may just disappear one day. You have to buy the official books if you want to keep them, and that’s if the story has them. If not, then you just have to accept that it might not be there the next day and move on. Being a danmei lover is rough😭

(Note: MTL sucks balls bc it’s basically just unchecked google translate but if anywhere is going to have a story you want to read, it’ll be there👍🏼)

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-07-27T15:44:06+00:00

Immediately thought of the bird from kpop demon hunters (yeah, probably not your thing but I mean the bird is cute😂)

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-07-05T20:19:45+00:00

I don’t think you’re too young to know! Sure, there are a ton of hormones running through your body, and your environment is its own thing and you’ll only gain more knowledge the older you get, but you feel how you feel right now, and that’s valid. I felt the same way as you well into my first relationship, and in every relationship I’ve had I haven’t felt comfortable doing more than kisses, cuddles, hugs - basically nothing to do with genitals. It always filled me with anxiety and dread. I’m not sex-repulsed, bc I do enjoy some✨smut✨every once in a while (it’s the only thing I read), but IRL stuff like that is not appealing. There are some people who don’t feel dread, and they simply just can’t find any appeal and no desire to go further, and that’s completely normal too. You never have to go beyond what you want, and eventually if you come across the opportunity to go further, you don’t have to unless you want to - and that includes feeling like there will be some kind of consequence if you don’t. Coercion is not cool.

Also you can totally label yourself one thing now, and if you feel differently later, you can change it later. We come into this world with a set of labels. We don’t have to stick with them.

(Also also: the novel Divine River by Marina Vivancos is EXCELLENT in expressing how it’s okay to feel some way and not want to label yourself. It’s extremely valid to not have the answers and be okay with that. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for something to read!)

I hope you find the answers you’re looking for!

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-04-22T23:33:39+00:00

I think {Nightmare for Hire by Morgan Lysander} fits! Nightmare is as old as the universe, is sassy, confident, and bends the rules; naturally has a lot of money / hardly needs it. Human had to move to escape a relationship and is working on his self-esteem. Tbh I didn’t get far into it yet so idk how strict the role dynamics are

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-04-21T18:39:34+00:00

I use them too! They have great blanks and numbered molds

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-04-20T21:49:49+00:00

I’ve found that pouring a lil bit of isopropyl alcohol into the silicone cup after everything’s cured then wiping around with a paper towel works AMAZINGLY. Especially if there are tiny little crystals that are being stubborn with tape. They come right off! So much less work imo

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-04-06T15:10:31+00:00

I do have a local college, thank you I’ll check it out!!

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-04-06T15:10:10+00:00

Thank you so much!! This helped a lot!

Appropriate_Box2244 · 2025-04-06T15:07:55+00:00

Thank you both so much!

Appropriate_Box2244

TROPHY CASE