Thoughts on BL,boy's love thoughts

[luciasilvereyes]

I've been having a recent thought that came into my mind lately in what makes a good "story" without outright going into smut.I've been digging into the BL part longer than I would like to admit.And just wondering what other people think of a good BL story that is not just softcore porn in itself.Is it better with a solid structure?Like a good story even if it rarely depicts the more intimate side.Or is it acceptable at times to full out go smut?What do you guys think,this sparked my curiosity because I'm writing a plot that barely has the time to show intimacy,but again its something i had been considering.....Although for a genre it's not anything that is different from a heterosexual relationship and therefore every relationship should be about respect but what are y'all's thoughts?

[akemikae]

For years now, my favorite style of BL (or just romance in general) has been slow burns. Stories that show the development of the relationship, gets into why and how they end up loving each other. Perhaps I'm a sap, maybe I need more than some people. I just really enjoy finding out why people like each other.

My current story hasn't really had the chance to show intimacy either, but it's getting closer, and I think the end result will be worth it in the end. Seeing the subtle things that happened to make them get close.

So I think what I'm trying to say is I enjoy it when stories aren't afraid to slow down and take a look on the more realistic side of things. Really breath, and enjoy the ride.

One night stands, or smutty stuff has their time and place. I just personally feel like the next best step for BL as a genre is to slow down and show why they fell in love in the first place.

[SleepingPoppy]

just wondering what other people think of a good BL story that is not just softcore porn in itself.

At the end of the day, the same things that make any romance good. Generally a big part of such stories is about a connection between the characters, and passionate sex is just one way of showing that. You're crafting a story, and you have to consider for your story what specific elements and themes you want to bring out. That will effect what kind of story you tell. The more effectively you express these things, potentially the more impact your romance can have.

Not to mention cross genre stuff. If you're writing an Action Fantasy that happens to have some BL flavor, obviously the focus might not be romantic, but you still what to effectively communicate that aspect of the story. Or in my case, I'm writing an occult fantasy romance, but the romance is still the heart and focus of the story, so I'm balancing those elements accordingly.

Structure is important for any story.

Or is it acceptable at times to full out go smut?

Sure, but it's not allowed on Tapas.

[Kann]

Slow burns all the way. Intimacy is good but if there is too much of it, it just feels like whole story is an excuse for an author to include a lot of sex scenes. I've seen stories, where this was necessary for the plot to progress, but I've also seen ones that barely had any plot besides lots of smut.
(Though I kind of admire someone who can pull of a lot of this, because I personally feel uncomfortable drawing smut. ^^; )

[luciasilvereyes]

Ah yes,thats what I have been trying to focus on which is the development of the relationship,however for the genre it is harder to make room or time for the most part but it is possible.And yes per the rules i obviously can't put smut in there but I feel that perhaps maybe just not giving a "happy ending" at all is interesting and something to consider maybe... O.O but yeah i do agree with you

[luciasilvereyes]

Yes,omg I do agree.I have seen too many stories where its scene after scene of pointless banging.Which is fine and all but for some people its a bit off putting because theres no point to reading other than for the smut where to some people it's enjoyable but not for others who are looking for substance.Thank You for putting in your two cents about this >~<

[SleepingPoppy]

however for the genre it is harder to make room or time for the most part but it is possibl

Why does the genre make it harder to make room for those romantic elements? I'm curious~

.And yes per the rules i obviously can't put smut in there

You are allowed to include sex (within reason) in your story. Tapas is actually more sex positive then a lot of sites! I was interpreting "full out smut" as a story where 100% of the focus was sexual, which is porn and not allowed. You can have highly erotic stories on tapas if you handle them with skill!

[luciasilvereyes]

I really agree with this, its a good focus and it creates something that is in my opinion worth reading.Pointless smut only gets fun for so far until it dies out and readers move on.Which is sad because it could have potential to be a good read.And that's what I like to see being pointed out.Thank you for bringing this up >~< i really appreciate the feedback~

[luciasilvereyes]

Well,you do have a point there,im not sure if this is the genre that im going for but so far the story i am writing it has less downtime so to speak.But im not sure if this is for all fantasy/sci-fi type genre.And i do agree that well handled smut is allowed which actually i am quite pleased and surprised ;o but you are right.Thanks for the clarification ^^'

[hjfsdh2222]

(Not sure if this answers your question)

My favorite BL mangaka is SAKIRA. Most people would say her stuff is “pure porn” but I say otherwise. She does all out smut but the best part about her work is how she has it play into comedy. She also adds to her comedy by juxtaposing classic cute shojo things and chibis with big muscular dudes. This is an example of an artist who uses smut as a tool for their writing.

Me personally, I like smut to the max but used in a clever way to that adds to the story:3

[luciasilvereyes]

OWO ohhhhh,interesting.I do agree,it can be done without losing the reader's interest.I might check out this artist,it's interesting considering it brings to mind one story that i had read that started out very interesting until midway it kind of melted into just scene after scene of sex which is alright in some cases but it was something that i wish could have been done better.Again,interesting point.Thank you for bringing that up ^~^

[joannekwan]

I mean, sometimes I prefer straight up smut yaoi over a fluffy BL romance that hits all the typical notes with cookie-cutter characters. I'm not the biggest fan of romance because a lot of it is so generic, I'd rather just be titillated by a sex scene than snore through another shy uke meets tough guy seme and gets him to soften up plot.
My favorite BL authors are Est Em and Natsume Ono. They write their work how I like to see all romances, they focus on the characterization of the leads individually, and then together.
I appreciate this because I admire real life couples where they keep their own individuality, they don't make themselves all about their partner or their kids.

[luciasilvereyes]

Interesting,OWO true,to each their own.I do admit that I enjoy a nice complete scene of "fun time' from time to time.So i can see why its very appealing.And i am with you on the whole cliche shy uke meets tough guy seme which is getting old tbh at least to me so its very refreshing to see the formula be broken at times and maybe some people [me sometimes] just skip the story and go straight to the steamy scenes.Either way you do have a point.

[silverraven0]

For me, BL is not just smut. Even if the story have a whole load of banging, if its devoid of story and character development, I will just skim the stories quickly without even admiring the art.

If the story doesn't have any sexy time, sometimes there's a disappointment because we've been reading or following this series for a good long years and the hope for some action because of the author teasing has become unbearable (lol), but even if it ended without any sexy time, as long as its story in itself is good, I'm fine with that (and actually many was like that too).

A solid story and character development is a must if you want to gather a 'real reader' that enjoyed the comic not because it has smut in it, but because the love for the story and the characters themself.

Smut or softcore sex is not a must, but story, plot, character development and pace is the key in my opinion.

[luciasilvereyes]

Yes,indeed that is a great point! although i do enjoy the scenes of smex at it's prime.What sets a good story apart from the others is what the plot and chemistry between the characters are about.So that is essentially a great point to make for authors out there.~^^(something i'm trying to do as well qwq)

[silverraven0]

That's what all of us tried to achieve too. We'll get on that stage one day.

[luciasilvereyes]

yup ^~^ hope we all get there qwq......(it would take awhile for me though XDDD)

[Kura]

I really enjoy chemistry and slow burn between characters, I'm not against smexy times but I'm not gonna be enjoying them if I don't give a crap about the characters and the chemistry between them. (a scary amount of BL I have read starts out with basically just character profiles before the comic, with the opening scene of the comic being fking, or the comic will start out with a REALLY short boy meets boy get to know each other for 5 - 10 pages and then get to the fking) Its just not interesting, it's not fun, and I feel like my time (as little time as it took to get to that point) has been wasted.

Though I think the thing I like the most is when it's BL added to a bigger story, where it's treated as character romance in a plot and not the main focus of the plot. That always been how I've liked my romance presented to me, as a important side plot and not the main focus. This even more true with relationships that are LGBT+ such as BL, as it makes me really happy to see it being treated as just a normal romance instead of some big thing, the focus or a fetish.

[luciasilvereyes]

Preach it!Thats what i have been noticing as much as i enjoy the steams theres times where I think that i wouldn't be reacting the same if it was otherwise.Which leads me to believe the best way to go about it is to write such relationship like any other relationship.It really shouldn't be focused just on the smex and tbh that doesn't make it different than the constant stream of other yaoi which focuses basically on the characters screwing and yes there is plot,.It's not to say all of yaoi is this,but from most of what I had read unfortunately it is that.Perhaps maybe my search wasn't broad but a good story can be done with the best of both worlds and really BL,is like any other relationship and should be respected as such.

[BTS]

I like slow burn ones to be honest, it just seems a bit more realistic to me (probably because I'm still single irl haha).
But not the fluffy types, because I kind of lack patience lol. It's like c'mon get a move on.
But if it's straight up hardcore with good art, then I'm in.

I had to kind of juggle for my comic, since I know there are a lot of people who likes smut straight away. But I want to stick to my plot as well, I might lose readers but I always wanted to make a comic that has a mixture of both.