Suddenly: Yuri

[Koneko_Nyaa]

Here's a bit of a niche recommendation request...

Yuri stories tend to start out as yuri stories with the female protagonist pursuing a female love interest from the start.
I want to read one that starts out like a generic reverse harem, but the female protagonist or female lead cock-blocks all the male leads and runs away with the other girl.

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TL;DR: You can skip this part if you're too lazy to read it.

Background:
I read manga/manhwa from all genres, for all demographics. I have noticed some trends:

• Isekai seems to be all the rage these days:
  
  • Male protagonists tend to end up in a game or game-like world.
    
    • The plot tends to be focused on action/adventure.
    • There may be a harem, with the protagonist caring for all the girls - often because he's indecisive.
  • Female protagonists tend to end up in a romance novel.
    
    • The plot tends to be focused on romance/business.
    • Frequently a reverse harem, but the most popular guy will win.
    • Sometimes, even the female lead(s) will like the protagonist, but she'll end up with a guy.

That last point is the problem!
I want to read one of these female protagonist stories where the FL unexpectedly captures the protagonist in the middle of the story and successfully derails it into the yuri ending.

When I read Beware the Villainess! I was a bit disappointed at the wasted opportunity. She set out to sabotage all the trashy MLs to save the innocent FL from them. Despite clearly winning over the FL as well, she ended up with a new ML. This was the perfect set-up for unexpected yuri, and they threw it all away!
Then there's Revenge on the Real One, where the protagonist's friend and sister both clearly have greater affection for her, but she only has eyes for the ML.
I have read several others where they tease us with a female character that is clearly interested in the protagonist, only to go with the "safe" option and pair her with a ML - just like every other story of its kind. How boring!

It would be much more interesting if there were a story like this where the guys pursue the female protagonist, but the girl snatches her away in the end.
If anything like that exists, please share it here. If it doesn't exist, someone needs to make it - there's a gap in the market that needs to be filled.

/rant

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I realize that my rant in the middle of the post may get a little too specific. I'm just pointing out how isekais and harems seem popular right now and they often throw out some yuri bait but never follow through. It gets boring when every harem ends in the predictable way.

So I'll broaden the scope to any story with a plot twist into a yuri ending that wasn't originally on the menu.

 

[undeed]

I want to read one of these female protagonist stories where the FL unexpectedly captures the protagonist in the middle of the story and successfully derails it into the yuri ending.

Wouldn't that piss off a lot of the readers? I mean if it is really unexpected
Unless there's some kind of obvious hint that there's a chance that it'll be yuri in the mix, at least since the beginning

so it'll still be "will they won't they" situation with an extra "will it be him or her" choice
like Pinky Candy Kiss or Even Though We're Adults
and if we put reverse harem in the mix, believe it or not.... Gundam Witch from Mercury?

So it's not like "ha, plot twist, sike, it's yuri all along".

And also, if it is a plot twist, wouldn't mentioned that here spoil that twist?
I mean, I can think of one, but there's also a plot twist to that plot twist that I don't think you're gonna like 😬

 

[Manko-sensei]

Just to be sure, it has to be fantasy/isekai + reverse harem + fruitful yuri? Or one of the three points can be missing so it can be some other genre, the protagonist starts with a male but ditches him or the yuri remains ambiguous for the most part of the story?

 

[panzerkampfwagyu]

Bad idea, this is what I call a rugpull and it just pisses off all readers.
The harem fans are gonna hate it for obvious reasons
The Yuri fans would have been unlikely to read the story before

In the end, the one making it is just a prick to the readers, similarly to the ones that add rape to a vanilla story or defang an edgefest with suddenly vanilla. It's not clever, it's just unpleasant unless properly communicated, which excludes "suddenly"

 

[Koneko_Nyaa]

Just to be sure, it has to be fantasy/isekai + reverse harem + fruitful yuri? Or one of the three points can be missing so it can be some other genre, the protagonist starts with a male but ditches him or the yuri remains ambiguous for the most part of the story?

No. It doesn't have to be that specific. I just thought a plot twist into yuri that wasn't originally on the menu would be interesting.

Of course I wouldn't mind seeing some harems get derailed. It would be fun to see a female protagonist's reverse harem get subverted by another girl. I'd also be interested in seeing members of a male protagonist's harem decide they've had enough of him and they're going to pursue each other instead.

Bad idea, this is what I call a rugpull and it just pisses off all readers.
The harem fans are gonna hate it for obvious reasons
The Yuri fans would have been unlikely to read the story before

In the end, the one making it is just a prick to the readers, similarly to the ones that add rape to a vanilla story or defang an edgefest with suddenly vanilla. It's not clever, it's just unpleasant unless properly communicated, which excludes "suddenly"

What you call rugpull, I call plot twist. I have read several stories that twist the plot in ways that will piss off some of the readers. It makes the story interesting in an unexpected way and certainly earns more appreciation from those it doesn't alienate. I want something by one of these brave authors that turns into unexpected yuri.
There's enough general dislike for harems that there'll be interest from people wanting to see a harem get crushed.

It's just disappointing to so many throw the bait just for the sake of throwing the bait, and then proceed to ignore it.

It's like a male protagonist harem that has the obligatory childhood friend, sister, and loli characters just to tease the readers who are there for that, but it will always be the popular girl who wins. Why not have one where the childhood friend gets unfriendzoned or the protagonist pursues a girl from one of the more controversial categories? It'll be different - and different is interesting. Most authors write for the masses and choose the "safe" option rather than stirring the pot. That also means that they fail to differentiate their story from others on this point - making it more generic and boring.
... but that's a subject for another post.

I realize that my example in the rant may have been a bit extreme, but I would at least like to read a story that didn't start as a yuri story but, as a result of a plot twist, ends as one. It doesn't have to be instantaneous, but should be unexpected going by the earlier chapters. What I mean by "suddenly" is that it picks up a new genre that it didn't have at the start.