Mythological entities that you want to see more in fiction

[CheertheSecond]

Can be monster, gods, lore etc.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Realistic harem.

 

[CheertheSecond]

Realistic harem.

What is a realistic harem though?

 

[Agentt]

bull!

 

[Lloyd]

What is a realistic harem though?

No harem

 

[RepresentingWrath]

What is a realistic harem though?

The one where harem members don't automatically get along. The one where they actually scheme against each other, form factions(alliances), serve an actual role or harem(bear a lot of children), and so on. The one that can bring the drama when a child dies. The one where a child can be born with the wrong sex while other harem members scheme to kill others' children, grown-up children help mothers\fathers. The one where not every harem member actually loves MC. The one where people can actually become a harem member while having selfish goals, and MC doesn't know it from the get-go. And obviously, the one where sincere love still exists despite all the crap.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Good writers?

Maybe actually using the mythology instead of Marvel-ing it and only mashing the most popular stuff to get a few quick likes for including popular carp. (I'm now using carp instead of crap to start a stupid trend)

The one where harem members don't automatically get along. The one where they actually scheme against each other, form factions(alliances), serve an actual role or harem(bear a lot of children), and so on. The one that can bring the drama when a child dies. The one where a child can be born with the wrong sex while other harem members scheme to kill others' children, grown-up children help mothers\fathers. The one where not every harem member actually loves MC. The one where people can actually become a harem member while having selfish goals, and MC doesn't know it from the get-go. And obviously, the one where sincere love still exists despite all the crap.

Agree on most parts but going by popular western tropes then the true love part doesn't happen with Harem Owning Entity (henceforth Hoe) and harem member but with harem member and an entity outside of the harem complex that may or may not fill the role of (partial) protagonist or side character for a while or longer. The Hoe may actually love a member and they may love them back, but despite both parties being sincere politics and bureaucracy would prevent both sides from actually showing those feelings in the open.

Q.E.D. : a realistic harem would be Game Of Thrones but in a confined space where the armies get produced at a 9+ month rate per soldier.

bull!

The red kind or the one without axes? And if the one with axes, then the actual mythologically correct kind or just the fantasy kind? Maybe even the "may-or-may-not-be-Zeus" kind that fucks people into continents? ...There's actually a lot of bulls in mythology now that I think about it.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Agree on most parts but going by popular western tropes then the true love part doesn't happen with Harem Owning Entity (henceforth Hoe) and harem member but with harem member and an entity outside of the harem complex that may or may not fill the role of (partial) protagonist or side character for a while or longer. The Hoe may actually love a member and they may love them back, but despite both parties being sincere politics and bureaucracy would prevent both sides from actually showing those feelings in the open.

Q.E.D. : a realistic harem would be Game Of Thrones but in a confined space where the armies get produced at a 9+ month rate per soldier.

I would say it depends on the setting, worldbuilding, and how an author writes this. Sure, if we go with standard western tropes, an actual love between a harem member and HOE sounds somewhat unrealistic.

But what if we talk about the cultivation story? HOE might be more powerful than everybody else and even more powerful than an army. Why can't someone with selfish motives join the harem in such a scenario? Well, apart from the usual catering to the audiences, where only good boys and girls can be a harem members. A person can enter the harem and ensnare HOE with fake love; and milk HOE for cultivation materials and other benefits. And what if, later down the track, they fall in love? A marriage of convenience might develop into sincere love. Or the infamous damsel in distress can appear, and you get your true love from a different harem member.

Or, for example, a fantasy tribal setting. Where once again, a HOE can be stronger than a small group\army. Same here, true love can happen.
You can adjust and mix everything, and you will get a ton of potential from a harem.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

Realistic harem.

Read the history of the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Read the history of the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

 

[ElijahRyne]

Can be monster, gods, lore etc.

More of the absurd creatures from the mid evil era and/or original creations. Less slimes, goblins, golems, dragons, etc.

For gods they should follow the alchemical model of being/controlling a contradiction/paradox, the more they encompass the more powerful they are. An example would be a fire that freezes and creates, or a being that is simultaneously both human/mortal and divine. Less of the whole, gods are beings of faith thing, it was fun for a while but now it is practically all you can find.

For lore, less of the good gods vs the evil ones, or any other variation on that. As for what it should be instead, that is up to the author.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

Dragons.
I can never get enough dragons.

 

[CheertheSecond]

More of the absurd creatures from the mid evil era and/or original creations. Less slimes, goblins, golems, dragons, etc.

For gods they should follow the alchemical model of being/controlling a contradiction/paradox, the more they encompass the more powerful they are. An example would be a fire that freezes and creates, or a being that is simultaneously both human/mortal and divine. Less of the whole, gods are beings of faith thing, it was fun for a while but now it is practically all you can find.

For lore, less of the good gods vs the evil ones, or any other variation on that. As for what it should be instead, that is up to the author.

Yup, I know the popular ones. The reason I make this topic is for people to point out specifically the underrated one. Those are just too general.

 

[Erysion]

The one where harem members don't automatically get along. The one where they actually scheme against each other, form factions(alliances), serve an actual role or harem(bear a lot of children), and so on. The one that can bring the drama when a child dies. The one where a child can be born with the wrong sex while other harem members scheme to kill others' children, grown-up children help mothers\fathers. The one where not every harem member actually loves MC. The one where people can actually become a harem member while having selfish goals, and MC doesn't know it from the get-go. And obviously, the one where sincere love still exists despite all the crap.

You should read most Josei "Transmigrated wife earns her proper place in the harem" story. It's told in the perspective of a harem member and the Sultans aren't the MC, but not every harem member actually loves the Sultans. The palace intrigues, rivalries, and dramas are important part of the plot as well.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Another, more serious answer is, scorpion man\woman, beholder. Dracolich that is not a necromancer\lich second form, and not a simple bone dragon.

 

[Agentt]

The red kind or the one without axes? And if the one with axes, then the actual mythologically correct kind or just the fantasy kind? Maybe even the "may-or-may-not-be-Zeus" kind that fucks people into continents? ...There's actually a lot of bulls in mythology now that I think about it.

A bull which carries the entire world on its horns and when it shakes them earthquakes happen!

 

[RepresentingWrath]

You should read most Josei "Transmigrated wife earns her proper place in the harem" story. It's told in the perspective of a harem member and the Sultans aren't the MC, but not every harem member actually loves the Sultans. The palace intrigues, rivalries, and dramas are important part of the plot as well.

I've read Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, a manga about an herbalist that ended up in a Korean\Chinese harem as a servant\maid, not an isekai. It was fun and interesting, but it's not what I'm talking about\looking for.

 

[Erysion]

I've read Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, a manga about an herbalist that ended up in a Korean\Chinese harem as a servant\maid, not an isekai. It was fun and interesting, but it's not what I'm talking about\looking for.

Oke oke. It's hard to find a Harem owner MC stories with actual plot and conflict these days. Maybe I should start one? With passive-agressive harem members trying to one up each other and stuff? And then have the MC like the one not competing and not doing anything better because she is the only sane one but she is only a part of the MC's harem because her family forced her to it?

 

[AiLovesToGrow]

I am a fan of truly eldritch characters. Bonus if there’s some hive breeding going on. And, as always: good world building with a comprehensive well thought out plot.

 

[OP1000]

scorpion man\woman

Are you referring to half man, half scorpions or is it another type of creature(scorpion with the face of a man/ woman)?