Hey friends. <3
I was about to open a new topic for my question, but then the search spit out this one here, and I remembered it's perfect for my little problem.
So, my novel is set in the fantasy genre (with steampunk and dystopian elements). While the theme of the story is mostly driven by family, trauma, and choosing your own path against all odds, it does feature a m/m romanceâso I tagged it, among the other relevant tags, "bl" as well as "mxm".
But here's the thing. While the m/m romance will be one driving force behind the story (the protagonists grow thanks to the other person, enabling them to tackle the problems before them), the characters are far from being "boys". They're both in their 30s, so the story isn't YA, and its questions of morality and how to handle old traumas while trying to save a whole city are, uh, dark. xD
I wonder what the tapas audience expects here and if I shouldn't settle for the "mxm" tag. Or should I keep the "bl" tag and hope that what I'm doing can add to the genre a bit?
Then there's my completely personal discontent over the fact that queer people are put into genre categories the SECOND our stories just feature someone who isn't straight... I understand that these tags (or genres) are a nice help so others in the community can find stories easier, but I also kinda don't want to just be "reduced" to being "that writer with queer love in her stories". As if that's the only thing our stories are about.
You feel me?
(That being said, I did tag it "lgbt" with conviction because the world just doesn't know the concept of homophobia, and everyone can live and love how they want lol)
Eh, well. I went off on a tangent again, thanks for reading so far, haha;;
For reference, I'll ad a link to Mirai's Tears.
You'll see that the first protagonist is a kiiinda self-absorbed scientist/researcher/vulture under the Guard Captain's thumb, which moves him outside the usual BL-section already as far as I'm concerned. But maybe it's easier than I think, and someone can dissolve my confusion. xD