Can ukes please be a little mature?
I am sick of the bl trope tbh, if the uke isn't a literal child (or a tragic, super self sacrificing drama queen with no sense of self preservation), they are written as extremely petulant, cantankerous and tetchy. They have no sense of humor, and act like they are 12 even if they are 30. It's almost like the authors have never met an adult gay man. A gay man navigating in a conservative society (korean, japanese), forced to live in the shadows, being careful about how they come across to people is bound to develop a sense of humor to combat the prejudice, it only makes sense. For example, the uke from mint candy love, he comes off as believable and is fun to read. There's a whole stereotype about gay men having an advanced sense of sarcastic humour and the mentality to be more inclusive and mature. And at least with the gay men in my circles, it seems to be true for the most part. I honestly don't know a single mature gay man who is that reactive and immature, even though I also live in a conservative society. Sure, there might be outliers and exceptions but they aren't the rule. This type of uke character trope is so popular in BLs even though it feels so insincere and chosen for just convenient writing, not to mention writing that feels essentially misogynistic. It's almost like the author has no talent, or is inexperienced or just projecting on the uke's character. No wonder yaoi is considered a fetishized genre, or that it's written for straight women instead of actual gay men. Well it's literally in the term, fujoshi ie. But still, I wish the trope dies down and we can get to read more nuanced, smart, fun and self composed ukes with depth.
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I want more maturity in general. for stories that are supposed to be adult-oriented, so many have such shallow conflicts and characterization because it's assumed their only appeal is the smut (which then ,doesn't even hit because everything else is so shallow). or when there is potential for a more complex or interesting story that goes absolutely nowhere.
I'd happily take a longer release schedule if the extra time yielded stories worth the effort it took the creator to draw.
Agreed. I mentioned the ukes in particular because semes are generally portrayed as take charge, composed, confident and funny, even if it's mostly surface level at best. But I agree that the whole genre needs an upward writing shift. It really bugs me when the author takes the reader to be a fool, when they deliberately pick themes that are essentially serious but give it the most shallow treatment. I mean the stock readers in this genre are usually satisfied with it (borne of Tiktok and kpop/kdrama) so I guess the effort is commensurate with the stakes (the bar is in hell fr). And I am sure the publication houses demand a strict releasing schedule from authors. However I would also.prefer a longer wait if it means a good reading experience.
I fear that market forces and financial incentives are not on our side (longer payoff windows + greater investment into creators + potentially/likely smaller audience = horror for risk-averse platforms that want the quickest, cheapest buck they can make). maybe if we pray and make offerings to the spirit of adam smith, we can spin a miracle with proof that capitalism can still breed innovation and get a platform/publisher/service that caters to our demands lmao
Heheh..sigh..i am not a long time yaoi reader so i am not sure how based the earlier works were, if they read sincere and well thought out, but it seems lately the quality of media has gotten worse all over, be it films, series, in hollywood and elsewhere. Otp platforms have a big hand in making it this bad (heave ho capitalism!), the moment something becomes a hit, they come up with ten other shows just like it. Everything looks the same, feels the same, copy paste, and everything is run by propaganda much more openly as compared. I am sure if the script of Sopranos or The Wire were submitted today, it would end up in the producer's trash bin. I am just hoping that yaoi genre gets more visibility and hence budget, since the audience has become more visible as well, and more mainstream producers are starting to invest in it (ie heated rivalry). That show is qualitatively mid at best but got significant footage despite the theme. If it gets more mainstream, it's possible they might notch up the quality too.