Your fav and least fav relationship dynamics in BL/Otome?

[Kyonen]

What's your fav and least fav MC/LI dynamics?

I personally gravitate a lot to childhood or best friends to lovers situations especially if it includes secret long term pining (which it often does lol). I do adore enemies to lovers as well.

My absolutely least fav dynamic is the Oyaji one. Idk if Oyaji technically falls under relationship dynamic or character archetype but it doesn't matter bc they all feel more or less the same to me. It often if not always implies an almost parental dynamic which I personally dislike a lot. Having said that, I almost exclusively play BL games so I'm not sure if it's the same for Otome games.

 

[lovesicknis]

my number one favorite thing ever is age gaps with short younger semes x tall older ukes. i do like when the older uke is motherly towards the younger seme tooi also love childhood friends to lovers, master mc x servant li and obsessed/gachikoi li for both bl and otome

my least favorite would be second choice romances like the li has someone or something else they care about more than the mc and would choose over them

 

[mamegoma]

I don't like BL love triangles where they have to choose only one person. I prefer a polyamorous relationship where all three of them stay together.

 

[marchlion]

I really love storylines involving childhood friends or long-standing crushes. It feels even more poignant when I can sense the familiarity that's built up over time or the memories that only the two of them share. On the other hand, relationships where people just hurt each other immaturely can feel a bit exhausting at times.

 

[luvsubaru]

I don't like BL love triangles where they have to choose only one person. I prefer a polyamorous relationship where all three of them stay together.

I've been feeling like this about Wet Sand lately

I thought I could handle this love triangle, but it turns out that I couldn't at all

 

[nekoky]

My favorite that I never get tired of is probably the "suddenly returned childhood friend" type. What I really dislike is when the relationship is that of victim and perpetrator before any romance develops.But if the scriptwriter handles the emotional transition very naturally, I can accept it too.

 

[Akizuki]

I really like the classic trope of enemies to lovers or rivals to lovers, even if it's one-sided as long as they start with a certain level of animosity between them and the relationship development isn't rushed. Off the top of my head, some of my fav examples from BL games are JJ x Kiryuu (Omerta), Agatsuma x Sonogi (Tokyo 24-ku), and Ivan x Gian (LuckyDog1). I also love when the LI is obsessed with the MC and will lose their cool and be willing to do anything for them aka the yandere, although not exclusively.

I also don't quite like victim x perpetrator dynamic, especially when MC is the victim and is really weak and doesn't fight back and being completely at the LI's mercy. But if it's done well, watching the LI going through their redemption arc can be really satisfying.

 

[Riou1]

Favorite: "Bad boys" types who end up becoming whipped for the protagonist (however they can't hurt the protagonist too much before that happens). Least favorite: Any r*pe dynamics, even if it's the romanticized one where the uke is secretly into it/ends up liking it by the end. (I can tolerate one moment of dubcon but if it gets worse than that/leans too much to non-con I won't like it).

 

[BLFan]

I really like the classic trope of enemies to lovers or rivals to lovers, even if it's one-sided as long as they start with a certain level of animosity between them and the relationship development isn't rushed. Off the top of my head, some of my fav examples from BL games are JJ x Kiryuu (Omerta), Agatsuma x Sonogi (Tokyo 24-ku), and Ivan x Gian (LuckyDog1). I also love when the LI is obsessed with the MC and will lose their cool and be willing to do anything for them aka the yandere, although not exclusively.

I also don't quite like victim x perpetrator dynamic, especially when MC is the victim and is really weak and doesn't fight back and being completely at the LI's mercy. But if it's done well, watching the LI going through their redemption arc can be really satisfying.

Oh yes you named 2 of my favorites I still don't play Tokyo 24-ku yet I'm playing Suito wa hakumei now I add Hozumi x Mahora and although it's not 100% canon Quincy x Kuya I can see that they are rivals but they really love each other

 

[kyoko867578]

I love the Senpai dynamic and older love interests, but I'm not a fan of the Servant-Mistress trope. However, if I really like the character's personality, I can make an exception for that dynamic.

 

[Akizuki]

Oh yes you named 2 of my favorites I still don't play Tokyo 24-ku yet I'm playing Suito wa hakumei now I add Hozumi x Mahora and although it's not 100% canon Quincy x Kuya I can see that they are rivals but they really love each other

Awesome I don't play gacha but I'll be checking Suito wa Hakumei!

 

[Aerith]

I love childhood friends/best friends to lovers. I despise love triangles in everything (games, series, movies, visual novels). I can still read them, but they hurt me when they're well written and annoy me when they're not.

 

[801_9ma]

I'm going to speak very generally instead of focusing only on games, but I love childhood friends/best friends to lovers dynamics in general no matter the genre, with extra points going to childhood friends for the slow yearning potential. I just love the idea of puppy crushes slowly developing into full-fledged romantic feelings, it's genuinely one of my guilty pleasures.

I also enjoy rivals to lovers, which I prefer to enemies to lovers simply because to me it makes the eventual attraction and affection part seem more natural in my experience. I kinda have a pet peeve with enemies to lovers where writers jump way too fast into the attraction part for my liking, so the relationship lacks in animosity. I want hostility between the characters and want them to curse themselves for being kinda attracted to each other before they start thinking of each other as a potential date.

When it comes to BL stuff specifically, I'm a simple man. I love younger top/older bottom stuff. Bonus points if the older guy has a bigger build. I also like boss/employee dynamics if the boss is submissive in private since I enjoy role reversal in general! Mutually unhealthy relationships and walking red flags are also something I tend to like, simply because I tend to be morbidly intrigued by them.

As for least favorite dynamics... I'd say the main offenders for me would be siscon/brocon stuff and student/teacher with high school students, it's really not my cup of tea.

 

[kaloh]

(Speaking mostly about otome games here since I have much less BL game experience) My preferred MC/LI relationship going solely off tropes alone would have to be the LI being a cool/slightly out of reach/more popular senpai. I like a dynamic that lacks the immediate familiarity of something like a childhood friend or best friend, which can be hit or miss for me, while also does not have the kind of animosity an enemies/rivals to lovers framing can have, which I do like but can be more difficult to reliably execute. These types of dynamics often give the MC something to aspire towards and often come with a sense of mystery, which I particularly enjoy.

Do note that this is mostly for more realistic/slice-of-life-ish plots, as I find it easier to categorize tropes there compared to more fantastical things.

As for my least favorite trope, I generally dislike it when a LI is excessively avoidant or abrasive to the MC (and really, avoidant is the real issue to me). I guess I'd classify them under the harsher side of tsunderes, where the "dere" never really ends up matching the intensity of the "tsun", or there's no satisfying justification for why they were acting like that in the first place.

Ultimately, however, there have been nasty tsunderes I adore and charming mysterious upperclassmen that have failed to capture me, so ultimately any trope is only as good as its execution to me.

 

[failedwebsite]

Least fav:
-childhood friends to lovers (it's safe and bland)
-a large (15+) age gap
-badly-written tsundere (it's not so easy to make the tsundere shine and not appear as a coddled asshole)
-chauvinist LI who comments all the time about what women should and shouldn't do

Most fav:
-yandere (even when the LI is too crazy or possessive, it's always entertaining to read through)
-kuudere and stoic characters
-LIs who adore the MC (even to an unhealthy extent)
-the LI was hired to guard/protect the MC
-enemies-to-lovers
-edgelord LIs
-I-can-fix-him scenarios
-alien/monster LI

 

[tete]

I don't really like older semes X-< feels kind of predictable to me. I also dislike love triangles for personal reasons. I don't like childhood friends to lovers because I find it boring.

I love love love unrequited love (^^)b yanderes, lovers to enemies, soulmates, and power imbalances.

 

[fr4pp3cinn]

My preferences are pretty common. There's not much stuff I dislike, to be honest! Haha

Here's a list of dynamics/tropes I like in both otoge and BL:

• Yandere (even more when they've known the MC for a long time, and they don't know/remember)
• Unrequited love (I prefer when the LI is the one in unrequited love!)
• Gloomy x gloomy pairings (or gloomy x cheerful, lol)
• Awkward/otaku/hikikomori LIs with a more outgoing MC (I just really loved Kouta and Saki in Sweet Fuse, haha) but also the opposite!
• Childhood friends, a classic but pretty cute when well done
• Quirky/odd LIs x confused MC lol

As for stuff I dislike, mostly tsundere (but I do like well written ones) and megane characters (just personal preference). I also mostly dislike oblivious LIs, it gets irritating pretty fast for me :b