
Gabster:

jazme:
doesn't a love triangle refer to a liking b, b liking c, and c liking a?
Yes, but when do you actually ever see that in dramas and BLs? It's always A having to choose between B and C because they both like A. Regardless of that, most people and MDL still put it as a love triangle.
Although you both have good points in terms of the strict semantics, I think most people understand "love triangle" in the traditional literary sense, which is a "V" of two people competing for a third. After all, in the traditionally 100% straight literature, there aren't too many other possible geometries. Thus, most people already have an established idea of what "love triangle" means.
"A liking B, B liking C, and C liking A" certainly happens plenty in the real gay/lesbian world (been there, done that), but unless someone changes who they like, it doesn't lead to a satisfying dramatic conclusion. I think maybe I've seen this among supporting characters in one or more BLs, but I'm scratching my head to specifically remember where. In any case, this doesn't easily work in a BL drama.
For "A liking B and C, B liking A and C, and C liking A and B", I'd call this a "throuble" or "threesome" for clarity, rather than a "triangle" (even though "triangle" is semantically defensible). Someone mentioned "Night Dream" a few pages back, and although this series was somewhat flawed, especially in the later episodes, it was notable for featuring a throuple. ("Unforgotten Night" likewise had a throuple, but it was only tangential.)
The BL audience seems to want HEA couples, not throuples or polyamory, but these certainly exist in today's real world. I know a few.
I don't normally wander far beyond the boundaries of BL, but I've also watched the bisexual polyamorous Japanese series "Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend" which, although it drags in the middle and is unevenly executed, is quite an interesting and intelligent treatment of the real, practical problems of polyamory and how it's different from "cheating". The two male leads are the familiar actors from "Kamisama no Ekihiiki" and "Jack O'Frost", which is mainly why I watched it. I would call it underrated and thought-provoking (for those who want to be thought-provoked).