Discussion [BL] What novel settings are you in the mood for? What aren't you in the mood for? Any exceptions?

Mainly because broken/damaged = angsty angsty angst like the JP novel that I mentioned. I don't know! I've OD'ed on angst and that's how I think, lol.

 

Gods you know what. I’m currently working on such a story. So when it has actual good chapters and ready. I’ll send you a direct link. SHEESH SUCH A DYNAMIC CAN BE REALLY CUTE.

 

My favorite is still The Reader and Protagonist Definitely Have to Be in True Love.

Regarding my recent reads, I recommend A Guide to Raising Your Natural Enemy. The MC is a hamster. The Male Lead is a snake.

Glad you like it.

 

I can't wait to get into The Founder of Diabolism! I've been holding it off since I've been kind of busy. I want to just be able to sit down and enjoy it (because let's face it, it's so good, it deserves all the attention it can get).

As for what I've been reading, one of the novels is Game Loading. At first my plan was to read only a few chapters... but I ended up just reading all of it and now I'm on the latest chapter. I love the MC and ML's relationship, and dang the comedy is just amazing. Never laughed so hard while reading BL.

The other one I've happened to stumble upon is Rebirth of a Movie Star, which I consider a hidden gem. I know some readers were angry the ML had a kid already, but he's so adorable, who cares LMAO. It's possibly one of the more realistic BLs, as MC is not magically the best #1 actor and can still improve. Yet somehow the story is so fluffy and pure with the whole family dynamic.

As for the tropes I'm not into, it's tragedy, harem, and mpreg. I have nothing against mpreg, but I just don't like how a lot of the mpreg stories end up feminizing the MC. I prefer strong, independent MCs who can defend themselves.

 

You are in such a treat when you finally read The Founder of Diabolism! I read it while it was releasing, and I sometimes consider re-reading just to experience it all in one go.

Would you say your current mood leans mostly towards fluff and comedy?

I rarely ever find myself in the mood for tragedy. I think the only thing that can convince me to read tragedy is if I really love the author. A friend would have to play a long con game to get me hooked on an author's other works if they want me to read tragedy. If MXTX ever writes tragedy, I will cry but I will read it anyway.

 

Hm, I guess my current mood is really leaning towards fluff and comedy! I attribute it mostly due to reading Trash of the Count's Family... I just really love stories in which the MC has touching and meaningful connections with other characters, and basically life is all good and everyone's happy lmao.

And I totally agree on the tragedy thing. I'd only be able to read it if the author was really really good, or if having a happy ending would feel forced and gimmicky. I'd cry my heart out, but at least I'd know it was an ending which suited the story the best.

 

I've been having trouble getting myself into the mood to read anything, but I have been writing/playing a lot. It's not really a setting, but I seem to be really into cohabiting, mutually supportive m/m pairings with an easygoing atmosphere between them right now. Especially those that don't conform to the seme/uke dynamic.

Spoiler: Information on the game pairings for those interested

The two pairs I'm really into right now are from two different games. One is from the setting I referenced in this thread - a kind of British dystopia where criminals/undesirables are turned into catgirls/cat"girls" and basically sold/given out as slaves. We have a rebellious and pretty masculine 19 year-old catboy with a 30-something recent divorcee who works for the military... The catboy still has trouble with the dystopian police since he's a catboy, and the divorcee has trauma from a run-in with them when he was younger, so they're sort of on the same page and mutually protective of each other. They're also both tops who respect each other and don't try to force the other to be bottom.
They have a nice daily routine where one will go to work and the other to "catgirl daycare" (basically a culture of delinquent cat gangs), then the divorcee will pick the catboy up and they'll drive home just gently discussing the day and what they should have for dinner... Then when they get home they cook and watch a film.

The second one is from a game that's a crossover with other media we enjoy. The main pair are two 19 year-olds from different worlds who travel from world to world, gaining the approval of the world's guardians so that they can save it from collapsing and receive a copy of their powers for the final fight. One of them is the designated "hero" who was sent on the quest and the other is his travelling companion/husband from his last life, reincarnated just to meet him and help him succeed. The husband has known this since he was a child, so he's always been training and building up supplies to go support him when he arrives.
They're not even at the stage of dating or showing much of an interest in each other yet, but the husband set out from the beginning to support the "hero" and the "hero" is very appreciative of him, so they have a mutually supportive friendship. Plus, even though they don't really have a home and go about in tents or from hotel to hotel, the husband deliberately sets up a comfortable and familiar camping routine.
So whether they're in Neo Tokyo or Middle Earth, they're able to create the feeling of a harmonious and stable home just by being together.

I recently read "Everyday Life of a Dom Boyfriend" and it was almost right. Unfortunately the main couple are dysfunctional and quite distant from each other, so the domestic parts that I do like feel quite shallow.

I'd also really like to read a good mpreg. All the novels I've seen seem like they just use surprise/inconvenient pregnancy as a way to force characters together or for some fluff while the black-bellied seme chases after the uke...

 

Oh, domesticity! I went through a spell where I read all the wholesome single parent/guardian BL manga that I could find. I would love to find something similar in a novel!

I love the dynamics that you described in your games. Communication, compromise, just being supportive of each other, yes please~

Do you have a particular idea for what kind of mpreg you'd like to read? Sometimes I'm torn between whether I want to read more about the child care aspects or the pregnancy aspects. A lot of mpreg that I've read seem to focus on one side and not the other.

 

Thank you~!

I think I slightly prefer the pregnancy over the actual children, but I'd rather see it happening within a happy and established couple rather than as a plot point for a new romance, unless it's particularly well done.

 

Omg I adore the founder of diabolism!! ❤️ And pretty much everything MXTX writes. I'm anticipating the release of the second season of the anime. Oh have you read a seductive gentleman? It's pretty good as well and has a similar tone as FOD.
I think generally I like those fantasy/cultivation novels or a inner palace kind of novel (whether the ML is the emperor or not) kinda like the rich and powerful chang an. I agree with you about tragedy novels. I avoid them if I can... Unless I overlook the tags and get so hooked on a novel like I did with the blind concubine. That was a real tearjerker

 

I like A Seductive Gentleman a lot! The shamelessness of the MC does remind me of WWX, lol.

Yes, the fantasy/cultivation/palace novels are what I'm seeking out in my reading too. Part of it is because I've read so much JP BL and Western Slash (both modern and historical) that the ancient Chinese setting feels very fresh for me. The imperial palace aspect is just pure indulgence that satisfies my id, lol. I essentially read tf out of historical or modern royalty stories.

Ahhh, walking into tragedy without realizing it! I do read a lot of angst that makes me cry ugly tears, but I need that happy ending to make it all better.

 

Omg yes I'm the same!! I read a lot of Japanese and Western BL too that the Chinese ones made for a nice change. Am currently reading Rebirth of the supreme celestial being it's pretty good so far

As for angst, I like a good dose of them (especially when it comes to those imperial setting stories) but I am definitely a HE kind of girl too!

 

those are all in my reading list and also my fav

 

Recently been a mood for some fluffy bl with the MC or ML being a fluffy animal. Currently, Im reading being a hamster for 233 days.


Also Im in love with quick transmigration setting, and apocalypse. Currently trying to find some apocalypse genre that have completely translated chapters. I've read Earth is Online and Thrive in Catastrope. That two was the BEST. Especially Earth is Online . Although the smexy scene in Earth is Online was really disappointing but the plot was .


As for the books that Im currently not in the mood for is historical and Xianxia novels. Since almost all of the novels that I've first read here were Xianxia and I grew tired of the almost the same plot. You can say the exception for that were MXTX novels.

 

I've always like historical novels, especially BL (whoops)! I don't really like romance stories/dramas/manhua but BL is probably the only romance I can read lmao. (BL IS LAIFU). Comedy, Xianxia, Xuanhuan are all fine. I don't mind historical romance as well as long as I like it (the last I read was 凤囚凰). Not really too keen on modern stories especially school settings, like bro, I really don't want to think about school or work.

Hmmm, if I have to put it in order for romance, it'd probably be Historical BL > Historical Romance > Modern BL (BL IS LAIFU)

 

I'm currently reading a bunch of interstellar + cooking + live streaming novels. Basically the concept is that Earth was destroyed so humanity was forced to explore space to find habitable planets. But on the process, they had to prioritize other important things or that there was a long war for survival so delicious food become secondary to efficient nutrient solutions. Then here comes MC from modern era who revives the food culture through live streaming. There's black tech with the way viewers can taste the food through holographic simulation so if you're too sensitive about stuff like this maybe it's a turn-off. They're not yet in NU so I'm hoping some groups would pick them up >_< Most of them I've dropped immediately but there are some that are good, too~

Here are novels I've finished reading (rough translations)

影帝天天直播做饭［星际］(Film Emperor's Daily Live Cooking Broadcast)
There is a live stream of delicious food on the StarNet. Only a pair of hands can be seen through the lenses but every time the food comes out, the fragrance is earth-shattering and the voice of the anchor is so good! As the anchor became more and more popular, several gourmet programs held out olive branches to him and the anchor stepped onto the screen. Sure enough, the host was so handsome that he incurred the wrath of both men and god. The fans licked the screen crazily, but after a while, they discovered that...
Fans:... Wait a minute. Isn't that our idol who's hovering at death's door?!
Little Gong: Throw out these damn nutrient solution for me! Get me that live streamer cook!

帝国男神复婚记 (Imperial Male God's Re-engagement)
Chu Nan, a popular internet celebrity, was born again.
When he came to the strange interstellar world, the first news he got when he opened his eyes was that...
His engagement got annulled and he became an abandoned husband!
And he has become a study idiot that's totally hopeless!
So surprising it's not surprising! (///meme)
Chu Nan: *cursing* (rough translation)
But... What about being an abandoned husband and study idiot? In this interstellar world where Chinese cuisine has been lost, Chu Nan can still make waves!
Become a scholar, cook delicious food, play games, go to military academy, buy mecha! Chu Nan can't live too comfortably with his popular (abandoned husband) life~
It's just...
Why does the legendary ex-fiance who hates him keep asking him to restore their engagement? QAQ
Ex-fiance who looks cold on the outside but passionate inside: Darling, let's get engaged again~
Chu Nan: I refuse!
Ex-fiance (feeling wronged QAQ): Meow Meow Meow~
(not really a spoiler

Spoiler

he becomes MC's cat

)

 

All the fluff, yes! There's been a quite a number of people into apocalypse stories in this thread.

I've been pretty selective about my historical novels, so I haven't been reading the same plots over and over luckily, but I have recognized a lot of similarities in the summaries that I've steered cleared from so far. One day my mood will change, but for now my mood is what it is~

I get you on the not wanting to think about school or work in my stories! That's probably I've gravitated towards Historical BL novels, even though I'm currently translating a Modern BL novel. *headdesk* I love it too much tho, so worth.

Wow, that setting is quite detailed, but also fascinating! It's interesting to see the forces at work that shape our needs vs. wants culturally, and how it might play out as the forces ebb and flow. But I imagine all the food descriptions must make people hungry reading it. Also I'd like smell-o-vision too please.