What do you think of BL Harem?

[Deleted member 40682]

So, taking my first step into scribble hub forum community. Actually, it's my first time starting any kind of forum thread.

But as a newbie author on scribble hub I am really curious what everyone thinks on the genre of BL harem. From my brief scroll of the threads and discussions here I've seen some very active yuri and het harem discussions and they seem to be most popular among scribble hub readers? I mean, I have only seen one thread on BL and none on BL harem. And the popularity of yuri and het harem on scribble hub is only something I can admire and envy.

By BL harem, I'm going to be really picky. It must have:
1. 2 or more love interests whom the MC will end up with at the end of the story.
2. A strong MC who is in control of the harem and gives love equally. Of course, his character should also be developed.
3. Harem members must have unique characters with a fleshed out background and multiple layers in personality.
4. Harem members can not like each other but are still willing to coexist for the MC's sake. It would be even better if they develop a camaraderie and friendship.
5. World building and a plot outside of the harem dynamic.


Just wanted to know if there's anyone here who share my same genre interests. And to shamelessly promote my story (〃艸〃)
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/195929/the-karmic-consequences-of-love-debts/

 

[K5Rakitan]

It's not my cup of tea personally since I'm a woman and I like imagining myself in the protagonist's shoes, but the overall concept sounds sweet. Write what you love, and your passion will shine through.

 

[Deleted member 40682]

It's not my cup of tea personally since I'm a woman and I like imagining myself in the protagonist's shoes, but the overall concept sounds sweet. Write what you love, and your passion will shine through.

Thanks for the honest and encouraging comment <3

 

[Moonpearl]

The ones I've read in the past have always bored me, to be honest. They tended to go the mindless fetish route, with the love interests (and often even the MC) having no personality and no obvious reason to like each other.
Then they'd go and get rid of everyone but the one most boring love interest...

Theoretically, I quite like multi-relationship BL, but I avoid it like the plague.

 

[minacia]

*subscribes to thread*

 

[Deleted member 40682]

The ones I've read in the past have always bored me, to be honest. They tended to go the mindless fetish route, with the love interests (and often even the MC) having no personality and no obvious reason to like each other.
Then they'd go and get rid of everyone but the one most boring love interest...

Theoretically, I quite like multi-relationship BL, but I avoid it like the plague.

Personally, I don't think of BL novels (and even het novels) where there are multiple love interests but the MC only ends up with one in the end as true harem. I came across a comment in the Harem tag thread by TachimeSan that literally spoke my heart: "As long as the MC either bonks them all or bonks none of them then I'm good with the harem. I hate the kind where the Author introduces a bunch of S tier waifus, only to have the MC choose one at the end and break the other waifu's hearts. BONK THEM ALL OR NONE AT ALL."

I can see why you would end up avoiding them if they had such endings. I myself avoid it too, it's either only one from start to finish or everyone.

 

[tiaf]

I hate love triangles. I hate it when one love interest ends up alone, especially when he was my favorite! I also hate the moral conflict I go through when I read love triangles. I can't handle this agony, so I'm all for harem in this case (Yes, I'm a fan of everyone is in love with everyone in the relationship but can 3P already be called harem?). Sadly, most really have some weird dub-con or are really dark (at least the ones I came across). Like, can't there be a fluffy BL harem story? Guess that's too boring for most people...

Question is also the amount. The dynamic between every member and the chemistry has to fit! I think characterization is the hardest to write in a harem and to not forget a harem member after a new one is introduced.

I was a hard believer of the only one true love faction until I came across the manga 'Choco Strawberry Vanilla' which is kind of twisted, but somewhat made a 3P-relationship work and opened the eyes for me. I've never read a BL with 4P or 5P before, cause well, never heard of one with wholesome relationships.

 

[Sahara]

Personally? Not really. I find them boring (especially since they're more prone to love triangles, or squares, or hexagons, or pentagons?) and I was never a fan of the "Manga" and "Anime" genre for books. However, they seem to be popular (there's probably a Harem on the top 10 trending list right now) and nobody seems to mind them as I do.

 

[bananapink]

Err no. It makes me think of that one phrase a character said in a QT novel:
"Does he have a blackhole down there?"
Damn I nearly bust a gut laughing!

 

[Sabruness]

I came across a comment in the Harem tag thread by TachimeSan that literally spoke my heart: "As long as the MC either bonks them all or bonks none of them then I'm good with the harem. I hate the kind where the Author introduces a bunch of S tier waifus, only to have the MC choose one at the end and break the other waifu's hearts. BONK THEM ALL OR NONE AT ALL."

My perspective is: they must bonk them all (or show similar sorts of affection to all) for it to be a true harem. doing nothing is just being a dense beta. having a harem but only picking one is also stupid and baiting for shipping wars and RAEG

on BL:

 

[FanFicFun]

Well. I read a couple of BL harem stories and most of them I didn't like because of the characters or the plot or that most of them (I don't know why) have angst and not because of the concept of BL harem... actually I love the concept.
An exemple to a book that did good for the genre is where the mc has a lover, its QT, and in one arc the ml spil to two and I don't know if that count as a harem but it did prtray a good exemple to how to write a BL harem (sorry, I dont remember the name).

 

[CL]

Is it still a BL harem if the MC is het but none of the lovers respect that (non-con harem?)?

 

[Deleted member 29316]

BL and GL (harem included) are both not my cup of tea, but I keep an open mind about those genres.

So yeah, just write what you want to write.

 

[Moonpearl]

Personally, I don't think of BL novels (and even het novels) where there are multiple love interests but the MC only ends up with one in the end as true harem. I came across a comment in the Harem tag thread by TachimeSan that literally spoke my heart: "As long as the MC either bonks them all or bonks none of them then I'm good with the harem. I hate the kind where the Author introduces a bunch of S tier waifus, only to have the MC choose one at the end and break the other waifu's hearts. BONK THEM ALL OR NONE AT ALL."

I can see why you would end up avoiding them if they had such endings. I myself avoid it too, it's either only one from start to finish or everyone.

It's not the lack of true harem that ruins it for me, though. It's the author's poor taste in men and inability to write a relationship with any romantic tension.

In all honesty, I pretty much never like any of the options presented - but the author picks the worst of the bunch, making the story go downhill from its already sea level standard.

Even 3P, which ought to be extremely good, is ruined by authors writing the love interests with no personality beyond "I want to ride the MC".

 

[mystearicah]

Mostly because it’s not their cup of tea. But for those who love exploring other genres, they might find it interesting. Something new is intriguing, you know.

If you’re writing one, go on and let that imagination run wild

 

[cravingsoul]

So, taking my first step into scribble hub forum community. Actually, it's my first time starting any kind of forum thread.

But as a newbie author on scribble hub I am really curious what everyone thinks on the genre of BL harem. From my brief scroll of the threads and discussions here I've seen some very active yuri and het harem discussions and they seem to be most popular among scribble hub readers? I mean, I have only seen one thread on BL and none on BL harem. And the popularity of yuri and het harem on scribble hub is only something I can admire and envy.

Just wanted to know if there's anyone here who share my same genre interests. And to shamelessly promote my story (〃艸〃)
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/195929/the-karmic-consequences-of-love-debts/
View attachment 4977

I myself write the stuff, so I understand you, dear friend. Many times I halt and contemplate about writing other genres and I tried writing but ultimately I realized that writing BL was something I enjoyed. And you should also feel the same. Not everyone is gonna like everything and everybody has a different taste. So, don't stop and keep exercising your fingers on the keyboard.
Check out my work, although it is not a harem but I hope you enjoy it.

Finally found you(BL)

I searched for you everywhere. But I don't trust you. It's ok, now that I have finally found you I am ready to wait until you are ready. The Alpha Hier of a multinational company encounters the love of his life finally, a cute and charming Omega who is the...

www.scribblehub.com

 

[Maple-Leaf]

Well I had this one idea in my head, that's like, a harem (actually it's more of a love dodecahedron) on the surface, but it's totally a scam and the main character already has a boyfriend. I've never liked love triangles, they stress me out, so I thought of making one that totally isn't one.

As someone who was raised around monogamy, I have a little trouble with my reflexive reaction to harems, and I only find myself enjoying them under a specific set of circumstances. You could say I'm picky when it comes to harems, I guess. So to not only find something I'd like in the regular harems, but to narrow it down by making it gay, is far too troublesome when I could just look for other things I like more. To put it one way, the rest of the story is what I look for, while the harems are just the add-ons.

If there was a well done BL harem, it certainly wouldn't put me off from a story if I like the rest of it.

 

[Deleted member 40682]

I hate love triangles. I hate it when one love interest ends up alone, especially when he was my favorite! I also hate the moral conflict I go through when I read love triangles. I can't handle this agony, so I'm all for harem in this case (Yes, I'm a fan of everyone is in love with everyone in the relationship but can 3P already be called harem?). Sadly, most really have some weird dub-con or are really dark (at least the ones I came across). Like, can't there be a fluffy BL harem story? Guess that's too boring for most people...

Question is also the amount. The dynamic between every member and the chemistry has to fit! I think characterization is the hardest to write in a harem and to not forget a harem member after a new one is introduced.

I was a hard believer of the only one true love faction until I came across the manga 'Choco Strawberry Vanilla' which is kind of twisted, but somewhat made a 3P-relationship work and opened the eyes for me. I've never read a BL with 4P or 5P before, cause well, never heard of one with wholesome relationships.

Omg, I agree with everything you said. Harem is a difficult genre to write, even 3p which you would think would be easier with less love interests but even then there's a strange sort of dub-con underneath and the MC is 'forced' into having a harem otherwise the authors seem to think he would come across as a slag. Why can't there be a strong MC who has control and is consenting and honest with himself and his lovers about sharing?

I checked out your manga selection and it was quite strange but the dynamic worked better than most harem stories out there. I also have a recommendation for all those who have yet to encounter a harem done right. It's a English translation of a Chinese BL harem that first sucked me into BL and BL harem. The MC is no weak uke and the 3 semes all have their unique characterization.
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/true-star/

 

[Deleted member 40682]

Personally? Not really. I find them boring (especially since they're more prone to love triangles, or squares, or hexagons, or pentagons?) and I was never a fan of the "Manga" and "Anime" genre for books. However, they seem to be popular (there's probably a Harem on the top 10 trending list right now) and nobody seems to mind them as I do.

You must not have come across a harem done right. I personally avoid manga and anime harem, the BL harems that I read are Chinese webnovels and there are some that are quite interesting. If you have the time and interest check out True Star: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/true-star/

 

[Deleted member 40682]

My perspective is: they must bonk them all (or show similar sorts of affection to all) for it to be a true harem. doing nothing is just being a dense beta. having a harem but only picking one is also stupid and baiting for shipping wars and RAEG

on BL:

*gasp* a lost little yuri lover? But yes on your perspective on harem.