History YMMV / Teahouse

* UnfortunateImplications: There were never any non-white characters in Teahouse. When this was pointed out, the creators attempted to explain this away by claiming that a black maid in the background was accompanied by an Asian servant. [[http://cry-some-more.demon-sushi.com/?attachment_id=1137 Naturally, it did not go over well.]]

* UncannyValley: Linneus sinks into this sometimes. He ends up positively frightening in some [[http://images.teahousecomic.com/comic/img/comic/140.jpg pages]].

** For a character who, until page fifty, didn't have a ''single line of dialogue'', Mercutio is wildly popular. Which is hardly surprising, [[RomeoAndJuliet considering who he's named after.]]

* DevelopmentHell: The comic ended abruptly in November 2014, after surviving a number of low activity periods.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Most characters have these. For details, see BaseBreaker entries below.
** Often seen in the MoodWhiplash alt texts. For instance, when [[http://www.teahousecomic.com/comic/?id=149 Rhys is about to leave his home while his father lies dying]]: does he really want to escape the atmosphere or is he simply feeling horny? See the YMMV tab for external interpretations.
* BaseBreaker: The fandom, not to mention the audience in general, is very very broken. Much of it stems directly from AlternateCharacterInterpretation, and a great majority of the rest from taking the comic seriously. Of course, the fandom is far from agreeing on whether the comic is lighthearted entertainment, albeit highly dramatic and with dark and difficult themes, or a more serious work, albeit at times comical and unapologetically sprinkled with erotica and fanservice, and how it "should" be read.

** For that matter, the whole main plot, Xanthe/Linneus, is a major base breaker, much due to the individual character interpretations, but also as and of itself. Run-of-the-mill forbidden love cliche? Or highly complex, tragic situation?
** Or the other main couple: Rhys, TroubledButCute MagnificentBastard who one loves to hate or hates to love, or an utterly selfish, inconsiderate JerkAss who likes to manipulate underlings into sex and rape straight male prostitutes? Axis, victim-of-circumstances sex slave who's forced fo accepti a moneyed client he does not want, and who beats and rapes him, or a closeted {{Gayngst}}er who secretly enjoys his volatile one-up-ridden thing with the blue bastard? Word Of God confirms that Axis [[spoiler:has the hots for Rhys and doesn't mind having him nearly as much as he lets on.]]
** Yvette also. Many hate her simply [[DieForOurShip for being Xanthe's wife]], many for the fact she openly manipulates him, the rest give her the benefit of doubt or at least think she's too childish to be conscious of all the effects of her actions.
* BrokenBase: Pretty much everything in ''Teahouse'' is more or less universally appreciated or at least tolerated by ''fans''. The fandom specifically can be divided in two: those who like or are interested in the Linneus/Xanthe arc, and those who find it boring or love to hate it.

*** This is also true when people question the setting or voice concerns about the ethics of the Teahouse. Fans and even moderators will tell them to stop forcing 'real life' standards onto the comic because fantasy stories are allowed to play by the creator's rules, not anyone else's.

* DevelopmentHell: The comic ended abruptly in November.

* UnfortunateImplications: Let's just say the webcomic isn't very "kind" to female characters, neither is it to the kinky and the mentally ill. Also, the brothel setting may come with its own can of worms.

* UnfortunateImplications: Let's just say the webcomic isn't very "kind" to characters that female, are kinky, or have mental illness. Also, the brothel setting may come with its own can of worms.

* UnfortunateImplications: Let's just say the webcomic isn't very "kind" to female characters and the mentally disturbed. Also, the brothel setting may come with its own can of worms.

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Xanthe's adding of two sugar cubes to Linneus' tea made for a very heartwarming scene on its own, but its heartwarming level was upped after a later childhood flashback scene between the two, where Xanthe lightly chastises a young Linneus for putting sugar in his tea at all.

** Remy is not only blamed for Axis flirting with her and teasing Rory, she's also accused of sexually abusing her own brother. The "proof" is Rory not being happy to see her ''in a brothel'', masturbating thinking about her, and headcanon about all of the courtesans choosing to be slaves.

* UnfortunateImplications: As par the course of a story set in a brothel, the issue of consent and personal agency comes into play. Although the terms of it are ambiguous, the comic itself and the [[http://www.formspring.me/teahouseaxis Axis formspring]] confirms that the courtesans are actual sex slaves that are owned like property by the brothel. They have titles that can be bought and sold, they are branded on the feet, are generally not allowed to refuse a client, can have their rooms and possessions taken at any time, and need permission to leave the Teahouse. This essentially means that they are all incapable of consent, since they can't say no to sex, which puts all of the relationships and shipping in a very morally grey area, and while some of them (namely, Axis) ''have'' chosen the career for themselves and desire little else, there are bound to be many more with few other opportunities or even the benefit of a superficial ability to choose another path. The comic has yet to further address this moral complication except to add tension between Xanthe and Linneus.
** As the story goes so far, some of the female characters seem to be filling the typical role of a woman being an obstacle between two men that's common in yaoi stories. So far Lilith, Gloria, and Yvette exist to fulfil these roles, even though they actually want to be with the men in question, are betrothed/married to them, or are carrying their child. And despite the fact that these women are nice people or have justifiable reasons to be hostile to the gay pairings, the fandom still likes to call them evil, manipulative bitches. And since some of the pairings have been confirmed by WordOfGod, this means that these women will be either heartbroken or screwed over by the men they care about or have to associate with.
** The former description of Linneus on the cast page said "He's practically a woman. He wants to have millions of Atros' babies".
** Reed's OCD being treated as a character quirk that makes him seem snobby, instead of a crippling mental disorder. Alternatively, calling a highly perfectionist personality and some degree of germophobia OCD.
** Mercutio was formerly described on the cast as "gross", and then "''really'' gross". The most he is is ''kinky'', which is implied to be the reason for that description. His kinkiness is also used as a threat to keep Axis in line.
** Linneus and Atros' relationship: Linneus was owned by Atros' family and is in every aspect a sex slave; Atros treats him like an object when not treating him like dirt: Linneus still harbours some sort of affection towards him. This mess is played as romantic, and sympathy is spinned for both Atros (who, as said, is being a dick towards Linneus, and also sleeping with whores who aren't able to turn him down due to a) slavery and b) nowhere else to go, behind the back of his pregnant wife) and Linneus (who raises little protest for how Atros treats him and still seems to love him, despite everything).
** After people pointed out the MonochromeCasting, the writers put in a black background character who was also a servant. Then people pointed ''that'' out; so the authors realised a [[http://cry-some-more.demon-sushi.com/?attachment_id=1137 "we're not racist, the Teahouse world just doesn't have that many black people"]] blog post, which also included a "there's also an Asian servant" for added effect...
** Once more with the BaseBreaker flavour, does Axis and Rhys' relationship, a major storyline, consist of little else than [[DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale Rhys raping Axis and mocking him about it]]? Or is Axis, the [[WordOfGod WOG-confirmed]] insatiable by-his-choice sex worker, refusing to admit that he's crushing hard over the snide bastard?
*** The artists make it very clear in their FAQ that no rape or domestic abuse feature in Teahouse, which begs the question if Axis shouting that he doesn't want to have Rhys as Rhys forces him to, attempts to fight him back and is overpowered, tied down, forced to have sex with Rhys against his will and Rhys mocks him about having an orgasm after isn't rape - what is it and is this really a stable relationship?

** When Remy sneaks into Rory's room at night the AltText is "PUNCH HER IN THE TITS". Remember it's okay to sexually assault your sister when she wants to visit you when she's new to a strange place. Especially since you know the writers wouldn't have put in such a comment had a man broken into Rory's room because sexual assault is okay when it's male on male (see Rhys and Axis' "totally healthy" relationship).
** The fact that it seems like the main {{OTP}}s of the comic can only exist or even start because of the courtesan's status as slaves and/or their inability to deny clients. If they could deny clients as free workers, Axis would have told Rhys to 'piss off' right from the moment they met, and Rory might not be with someone who outright intimidates him and might not work at the Teahouse ''at all''. Linneus is a special case because Xanthe isn't a client and he thinks of the Teahouse as his home, but he would never have lived there if he wasn't sold into service as a servant and could actually threaten to leave if Xanthe kept mistreating him. Not exactly a healthy foundations for so-called 'romances'.

** On one hand, there is a bunch of fans who love Linneus for being cute, dainty, sweet and a LoveMartyr - an ever popular character type among Yaoi fans; on the other hand, you have the ones that can't stand him for being far too effeminate, gutless and weak, even for an {{Uke}}, and perhaps stupid for lingering on a love that cannot be fulfilled. Likewise, is Xanthe acting like a major asshole because he is a dick or because he's a thoroughly broken man? Futhermore, should Emirain be "allowed" to have one Uke stereotype character along the ranks of less stereotyped bottoms, or is Linneus' ultra-uke-ness opposable in and of itself?

* The fact that it seems like the main OTPs of the comic can only exist or even start because of the courtesan's status as slaves and/or their inability to deny clients. If they could deny clients as free workers, Axis would have told Rhys to 'piss off' right from the moment they met, and Rory might not be with someone who outright intimidates him and might not work at the Teahouse ''at all''. Linneus is a special case because Xanthe isn't a client and he thinks of the Teahouse as his home, but he would never have lived there if he wasn't sold into service as a servant and could actually threaten to leave if Xanthe kept mistreating him. Not exactly a healthy foundations for so-called 'romances'.

** No one will argue you if you say that Prince Rhys is a fully-fledged bastard. But is he a [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent]] one?

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: most characters have these. For details, see BaseBreaker entries below.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Despite the authors {{lampshading}} this on the website's character descriptions and dropping a Bridget in-universe, some people still confuse Linneus' sex. You can't really blame them, though.