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The second installment of the BLBL Interviews is here!! This time, it is not so much thematic (not short story relevant even though the author has a short story anthology on SH!)—but because this author's book is coming to an end (actually, already finished—but the epilogues and extras are still coming out!).
Completing a long story is an incredible feat and we want to commemorate when that happens on Scribbly! With parties and fanfares! Congrats to all the authors who managed to do this! We are all proud of you!
All comments and further questions to the authors are welcome because while we did try to ask the questions we felt the readers might want to know most, we probably missed something. So that's where you come in—the actual Readers of BL on ScribbleHub!
Please do not be shy, and if you happen to be, you can send us questions by PMs and we will ask them discreetly in the comment section ourselves \(^v^)/.
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Today, our interviewee is Owl whom you probably know form the BL ranking list because her book, The Grandmaster's Weird Disciple, is on the #1 spot ^^. Incidentally, that is the book in question because it recently ended and we congratulate Owl with such a huge achievement!
Please go and check her book out in case you haven't already and give it love it deserves!
But before you do—or because you have already seen and read it lol—check out the interview to find out about Owl's tastes and thoughts around BL as a genre!!
BLBL Interviews
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How did you get into writing BL?
Fanfictions. I guess it was while I was a teenager; a friend of mine wrote BL fanfictions and I kind of joined. I really, really got into writing BL much later though because I love writing and prefer to write male chars... so it was kind of nicer to write BxB romance?
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Among your own stories, do you have a favorite? Why? Why not if you can't pick one?
I have favourites. Not one favourite, but certainly favourites. They're my little babies and I get very protective about them, to be honest. I think that the stories I love the most are those where I take a lot of time to establish the characters and the world in my head. Often these details don't even make it into the written story, but they're in my head, and the more time I spend creating them, the more alive they feel to me. Relationships, habits... I like details. They often evolve, so I tend to forget some, but that's what it's like for my most precious. It's also a reason why I have issues actually writing down my most precious stories (they're all still in my head except for 3...)
I can't really choose a "one" favourite exactly because of that - they're all my little babies and you don't like one child more than another!
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What do you like most about BL?
Relationship dynamics. Just like GL and BG have certain dynamics, so has BL. That's my favourite thing. I won't say I like BL better than BG, it's more that I like the different dynamics.
Also, I get annoyed by most female MCs.... So, male MC but still a cool male lead? Twice the happiness!
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What's your favorite BL sub-genre/trope/element?
Horror. Survival. If you give me scary and tense survival games with a strong couple, I'm going to cry you a river. I loooooooove survival stories!!!
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What's your favorite type of BL character?
Casually OP characters and the house-husbands. Not the "overbearing CEO" OP type, but rather the ones that are so focused on doting on their beloved that they forget they're supposed to, I dunno, kill a demon king, take care of their kingdom, whatever. It's funny when they don't show their strength unless necessary but prefer to do smol things that make their beloved happy.
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Do you have recurring motifs or themes in your BL stories? Something you're obsessed with or in general want to explore more?
sobs I have too many things I do all the time. First off, I prefer writing top/gong/seme MCs. Then I obsess over strong bottoms, even more so if they're stronger than the top. I love having the top follow after their rampaging bottom and going "Look at him. He's lovely." (cue corpses everywhere with a bottom covered in blood)I'm also obsessed with making my characters suffer. I didn't do that with my first stories because I wasn't sure what SH would think, but now I'm getting into that corner. My next story is going to be pretty dark because I'm letting loose (although it has my usual happy ending). I like the relief at the end of the story, when they finally achieve their peace and happiness.
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If you had to choose a dream medium in which your story would be adapted (but it can be only one!)—which would it be?
Animated, I guess??? I'd love games and manga too, but I think seeing the chars move on screen would be.... Awesome. Hearing them talk. Seeing them drawn. It would make me a proud Mom. I doubt it would ever happen, but a nice thought.
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Have your interests in BL changed through the years? Have you ever had pet peeves and changed your opinions later? Or something you were once obsessed with that now you no longer find all that appealing to you?
Age gaps with a minor. I think as a teenager I wasn't as aware what an age difference means when one char is an adult and the other a teenager, now that changed a lot.
In general I'd say my interests did change - I like reading about adult characters now and I prefer more violent stories cough
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Make a tiny character theater here where the MC and ML of your main (or most favorite) story meet with you, the Author, for the very first time. What would they tell you if they knew what you did to them throughout the book! ( ノ ¬ Д¬)ノ
Me "That.... would be my current story then?"
Xie Yi1The Main character of The Grandmaster's Weird Disciple -- The Grandmaster’s weird disciple [BL] Glossary | Scribble Hub "..."
Shi Yue2The Male Lead of the Grandmaster's Weird Disciple -- The Grandmaster’s weird disciple [BL] Glossary | Scribble Hub "..."
Xie Yi "She's kinda small."
Shi Yue "Shush! That's God!"
Xie Yi "So she sent me back in time? You created my husband? And MingMing? And the kids? Hey, hey! Why did you do that?"
Shi Yue "Ah Yi! Stop bothering God! We don't question the meaning of life here!"
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Thanks, Owl!
Can't wait to take a look at your next story and see how you wrap everything up in your current one (already not current?? =_= What do we call it now...? 
). We wish you good luck with it and to give us more first-rate stories to promote and expand the BL presence on the site!
Ganbatte!
And thank you everyone for reading this interview! Check out Owl's other stories too, please—because they are all wonderful and deserve recognition. And the best part about them? Perfectly bingeable since they are all completed ^^.
Bye and see you in another Interview in a few days!
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Also, I get annoyed by most female MCs.... So, male MC but still a cool male lead? Twice the happiness!
Elaborate, please -- as such discussions are important for us since our genre is almost entirely MC-based.
I am unsure if there even can be a BL with a Female Main Character.
To anyone who reads this -- do you know of any?
@BL_Palace I can't remember any BL like this, but I do know a GL that has a male MC. In that case, it's a little boy who's semi-unknowingly helping his sister get together with the girl she likes. It works because the focus is the relationship.
@Moonpearl
Ah, that is an interesting way to do that! Can you share the title or link because I am sure our audience is crossed with GL audience in many ways )).
The only thing that came up to my head was a premise like this one...
https://mydramalist.com/34090-fujoshi-ukkari-gei-ni-kokuru
Which, unfortunately, is not so much a BL as it is a prelude to a BL. It is not a straightening-up story either, and is more about friendship and the road to BL, so to speak. But then, I think the MC is still considered to be the male one (and not the girl, even though they are both main characters), with the FC being mainly the drive that helps him find his BL passions and love. This, in turn, makes me wonder if she can be considered his BL-ly Manic Pixie Dream Girl?
Nonetheless, I have no other ideas whatsoever, so...
@BL_Palace It took a bit of digging, since I didn't save it, but it's "I'll Cheer On My Yuri Onee-chan" by Aoto Hibiki. It can be read here: https://dynasty-scans.com/series/ill_cheer_on_my_yuri_onee_chan
I've also remembered "
I'm an Opportunistic Princess in Charge of Solving Things" (found here: https://mangadex.org/title/43484/i-m-an-opportunistic-princess-in-charge-of-solving-things). This is tagged for BL, but I think it doesn't have quite enough focus for that. It does have a lot of potential, though. It's a shoujo manga where the MC is reincaranted into a woman-hating BL world and has to fight for her right not to be a breeding slave, really. (But pretty light-hearted.)
There's also "My Son is Probably Gay" (https://mangadex.org/title/41114/my-son-is-probably-gay), which isn't technically BL, but definitely serves as an example of what can be done. This is a slice of life manga about a mother who's 99% sure that her eldest son is gay. She supports him, but wants to wait until he's ready to tell her, so she's doing her best to learn about him and give him her full support from the shadows. There are strong hints about the son's crushes and potential romances.
And there was also a GL novel about a fujoshi who was reincarnated into a hentai otome game. She wanted to activate the secret BL route for the capture targets, so she distracted the MC, not realising that there was a yuri route that she'd trigger that way. The BL was just there for comic relief, but the idea could be repurposed. The original (never to be completed) novel is here: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/city-of-slumber/
I think there are probably a lot of ways you could make a BL with a female MC. For example, you could have them play the same role as Nick in the Great Gatsby, where they're not what the book is "about" but they're still the important narrator/MC. You could have a system where the female MC is tasked with helping incomplete BL novels reach a happy end. You could also have one where a teacher or a friend is trying to help two boys/men resolve their romantic troubles.
@BL_Palace I have one here on SH but had to stop my story because I could only see death in the MC's path
Now I suddenly regret not killing her 
@Moonpearl Thank you so much for these suggestions!
Makes me wonder if we can put them somewhere in the BL Recommendations List on the forum...
. These would kinda get lost in here... 
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And I am really into Great Gatsby way of storytelling for a premise about a BL couple who are not MCs, especially after seeing the Gay Gatsby banner in one of the SHF-er signatures on the forum, lol )).
The teacher is an amazing premise, too! Thank you so much for your ideas!
@MyLadyQueen
Why do you look so happy about it, though!!
Cruel author >_<.