What do you guys think about BLs with NO mature scenes and/or content?

[KUUPID]

Hello~ I didn't know where to put this topic in, so I've just decided to put it under questions xD

Like the title suggests, I'm wondering what people think about BL novels/ comics with no mature scenes (ie. NSFW content) and slow-paced plots? I was talking to a few friends about my BL novel and mentioned that I wasn't planning on having mature scenes except for a few implied ones in the later chapters.

I got mixed responses with some wanting such scenes in while others not so much... I'm very keen on such feedback so I'm at a loss if I should add these types of scenes into my story, lol. I'm not the best with writing NSFW scenes and a bit hesitant to venture into it

Of course, I'm sure this is all just personal preference, but I'm still curious about what people on tapas thought about such scenes in BL novels/comics!

[MermaWisdo]

As long as the story is good and the characters have good chemistry, you don't need to have explicit scenes in it. I like the romance and friendship that builds between two guys. Plus, it's your story and you can write it anyway you want it, even if some people complain they want more nsfw stuff.

[euphisa]

Ohh i love those! Those are the kind of BL I love. I was never a fan of explicit scenes, especially because I'm young haha.
The kind of BL i'm into are like china censored kind of BL. Lots of drama, and lovely bromance, and irrelevant girls!!!

[rajillustration]

you do not have to write explicit scenes to write romance (and that includes the full spectrum, honestly, I don't think BL should be at any different standards), and honestly you shouldn't be pressured to do that if you don't feel comfortable with it. It's your story, in the end.

[darthmongoose]

As an actual gay person I can only just look on in puzzled wonder at how anyone needs to ask the question, "is it okay to have a same-sex romance that doesn't feature explicit sex scenes?" and worse that some people you came across answered "no" to that question!?
BL and GL are literally just Romance stories with same-sex/same-gender pairings. If there can be heterosexual Romance stories with no sex in like... you know, Pride and Prejudice and stuff, why on earth wouldn't the same be true for ones featuring two men?

The idea that gay pairings or romance stories about LGBTQ+ are inherently more sexual than cishet ones or a fetish that demands or requires NSFW content objectifies and dehumanises us and is really problematic.

[SeraphicMayin]

I'm always partial to BL that doesn't have explicit scenes. Always have been. Sometimes I want things to be implied and not witnessed xD that's my preference. But I won't rly be turned away unless the entire story is about nsfw moments with plot in-between.

As someone who is making a comic that is largely without nsfw (save for like two scenes that don't actually show anything, cause I do like sensual scenes), and doing rather well, yes, there is an audience for it. There's always an audience for good stories.

Now on the matter of if you should, if you don't personally plan to or want to, then don't. In this case I would be leery of feedback because it has to do with how you're telling your story and that is entirely your choice. You're allowed to disregard all feedback cause it's your story. Yours.

(I'm hammering this point because at one point in my life a precious story of mine got mangled over years of me taking the wrong person's feedback and I'm still smarting a bit from it.)

I'm also extremely hesitant to write and draw nsfw, so I don't. I'll create content that's emotionally mature (in that these are things adults deal with) and like softly nsfw, because that's my current comfort level. Nothing wrong with that.

Readers on Tapas like good stories. They'll take what they can find so I wouldn't worry. Just tell your story.

[mima_sighs]

I find it the same as any other type of book really. Sometimes I'm specifically hunting down R18 content to read/watch or I get surprised by fluffy PG - G stories.

If you don't want it, you shouldn't have to. If your writing, characters, and stories are very enticing and engaging I don't think anyone would really care if it did or didn't have any R18.

[Kann]

I don't see NSFW scenes as something mandatory for the BL plot. If someone doesn't feel comfortable or just simply doesn't feel their plot needs such scenes, they don't have to write those. Just like you don't always have those in straight couples romance.

[Aleksei]

I am doing a BL webcomic with absolutely no NSFW scenes (I am sorry if someone was expecting one). And I don't feel like it should have one. It all goes just as how you want to plan your story.

I think that if you force something, it will just look forced (dah). And that is not a good thing in a relationship xD. Just go as how you feel, and everything will be fine. There is public for every kind of thing, and there is also people who hate the NSFW. I remember to be reading this novel, 'What if it's us'. and the story got to the part where they might have sex, and I was like 'please nothing too graphic, this novel is nice and cute enough to destroy it like that', and the writters solved, first, by making one character panicking, and the other saying like, its fine, another day, and snuggled -very fine; and later in another time there were some sentences of how they started, some nice metaphors, and then we jumped to the next paragraph where they were happy and laughing, and complete. No NSFW material, with a sex scene.

You just need to find your way to get where you want to go, without betraying yourself.

[DNoble]

I'm personally not into BL in the slightest, but I am a massive fan of romance in general, and in my experience, NSFW content isn't even remotely necessary to make it work. As a matter of fact, there are lots of writers out there who use sex appeal or outright pornographic content as a crutch to make up for the fact that they can't actually write interesting or engaging scenes without it.
Not that I'm against the NSFW content in its entirety (my day job is drawing hardcore porn, after all), and when used well, explicit sexuality can be a massive boon to a story. It explores an extremely intimate and delicate part of the human psyche, helps develop relationships between characters in a way other types of scenes can't do, and is just plain fun to experience as the reader, so I don't think you should avoid it on principle, nor should you include it out of obligation: you should use the scenes and content that tell YOUR story the best way it can be told, no matter what that entails.

That is, of course, unless you're under the legal age of consent in your location... That could end up with a lot of people in a lot of hot water. But as long as that's not a factor, then it's entirely up to what serves your story the best.

[BOMB]

I don't think it matters that it's BL. If you don't want to write it then don't write it. That being said, there's nothing wrong with going "there." Gay people have sex too, it's a part of being in a relationship. Sure, some couples get down more than others, but sex comes into play at some point or another. You shouldn't feel afraid to include it anymore than you might be afraid to exclude it. It's just another part of the relationship. And that goes for straight, gay, bi, or whatever kind of couples you're writing into your story.

[Oto_Kouda]

Honestly, the explicit and mature scenes are what turn me off from the genre.

Heck, I'd read one if it were just a cute slice of life with the same energy as (the first season of) Clannad. Just two people falling in love.

[vapidink]

I write BL, and I've written het romance and GL in the past without any explicit scenes. The weird thing is, the people reading BL are always more likely to complain, which is sad and just shows how much people overly sexualize this particular genre. If you don't want to write sex scenes, don't do it. If you can tell the story without those scenes and nothing changes, then why bother?

Personally, I prefer stories without sex scenes, just because they're usually gratuitous and really add nothing, then I'm stuck reading a chapter where nothing really happens. Sometimes, I do get readers demanding these scenes, and I ignore them. If anyone's gonna quit reading a story because there's no sex in it, then that's a petty ass reason and I don't need people like that telling me what to write, lol.

[Kura]

I love them so much.

Not a fan of (but also not against sex scenes, they're just most of the time not my thing), but I like actually getting into enjoy the buildup the romance was leading up to instead of quickly skimming through the build up the romance was leading up to because I just don't likey the smexy smut sessions.

And yeah as mentioned before, queer romances don't HAVE to have sex scenes for them to fit in the BL/GL/queer genre.

[foxnflames]

I usually only have NSFW seems when I deemed them necessary or want a little “extra” intimacy between characters, but I don’t really look for them in BL (or any romance). It’s obvious when creators drive the plot to sex because think it’ll get them views/subs and they typically come off stilted and cringy. But I love soft and fluff filled romances

[KUUPID]

This is my first time writing a BL novel so, I have a ton of insecurities when writing my story. I know it's not any different from writing a het. romance story, but there's still a lot for me to learn about the LGBTQ+ community and the BL genre in general. Hence, my hesitation when it comes to writing explicit/ NSFW content...

There was no intention on my part to be offensive with this question and if I did inadvertently offend you or anyone with this question, I'd really like to apologize! I was in a negative headspace after talking with my friends and wanted some confirmation that explicit scenes were not needed! So, thank you for this reply! I really needed it!

[KUUPID]

This thread has literally made my day! I was really doubting my plans for my story since a quite a few of my friends were egging me on in adding explicit scenes... Which, frankly, I'm not good at or comfortable with. So, thank you so so much for everyone who told me to write something I want to... ;___; It feels nice to have the support that I need~!!

[indagold]

I thought that's not BL, It's called shōnen-ai. I mean its a direct translation but BL is associated with yaoi.

[Insanebaker92]

Trust me, I would like to have a couple with a very good chemistry bond than having them being forced into smut with NO love.

[shfra13]

I love slow burn, and I don't really care about whether there is NSFW or not. Personally, I have a BL series which I think is unnecessarily slow burn that has no explicitly NSFW scenes. I think it does pretty decently. I had also joked about not having any mature scene and my subscribers told me that it was alright, and they liked the story anyway. So, why not! :3 There are still a good amount of readers who love to read simple and fluffy stories without forcing NSFW in the plot. BL shouldn't need a mature scene to be recognized, just like het romance doesn't require a mature scene. They both are still romance, after all.