so i've been falling down the danmei productions (chinese censored productions of BL novels) rabbit hole and i've figured out the basic BL starter pack:
1. BANTER. the two protagonists need to make a ton of thinly veiled jokes at each other about being in love. because censors! so in order to get any of it aired it's all gotta be nudge nudge wink wink. let me insert an episode where everyone suddenly acts out of character due to magic! or let me make the shameless one dress as a woman for an episode! they will find any and every way to let the two leads f l i r t and make us all wonder: why don't these two just get married already?
2. YEARNING. because if one half of our main couple has not waited at least 10 years for the other to either show up in their life or resurrect from the dead, are they really in love?
3. OPPOSITES ATTRACT. we need the flirty one! endlessly grinning and touching and teasing the silent one! and the cold quiet one is only soft for the sunshine one! how else can we know that their love is true!
4. SUFFERING. and i mean SUFFERING. dead parents. entire families annihilated. torture. tragic backstories abound. these men have never known happiness until they've met their other half. and then all they want to do is watch the world burn together. (and can we really blame them for that?)
5. ACTS OF ("brotherly") LOVE. they were brothers, historians would say, but they're almost always nearly dying for each other, and longing after each other, and siding with each other against the entire world.
5.1 OH BUT THEY WERE IN LOVE IN LOVE. there's gotta be at least one scene somewhere when our two main protagonists speculate about their possible future together. especially if it's just before some incredibly terrifyingly intense climax of the story (where one of our leads may *gasps* die) they talk about running a noodle shop together, or roaming the world together, or travelling from town to town fighting crime together.
5.2 AND THEY WERE SOULMATES. the word soulmates comes up somewhere. it technically translates to confidant (or person who knows me) but. if the translators decide to subtitle it as soulmate who am i to tell them otherwise.
6. FOUND FAMILY. they also have to adopt a kid who's gonna follow them through their adventures. sometimes it's two kids, sometimes it's a whole baseball team of children (of all ages and genders, they are incredibly inclusive on this point in this way). these kids are going to represent every single viewer, watching the main leads flirt while wondering, why don't i have two dads? why must one always go away and leave me behind? why is it always the rich dad that's gotta go? please come back and feed me and my poor papa we are starving rich dad.
i could keep going but these are the main requirements in our basic chinese BL novel adaptation starter packs. oh also most of the budget goes into hiring the two most attractive main leads possible and you get to watch as the cgi gets worse episode after episode as the show loses funding through its run. but it doesn't matter because these two men are clearly in love and i'm still 100% here for it.
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Fists raised, swords ready, it's time to fight-
Oh hold on. What's that delicious smell?
Can we call a meal break?
The contestants of this poll could probably open a restaurant. A couple of them have, before the plot dragged them back in. All I know is that watching them cook make me very hungry.
*a web novel with an English translation here. I recommend it wholeheartedly especially if you enjoy Guardian. (Modern with superpowers, danmei)
**the web novel that took over my life for the past few weeks. An English translation can be found here. I also recommend it wholeheartedly, excellent worldbuilding, plotting, and characters. (Xianxia, danmei)
Propaganda, examples, and write-ins absolutely welcome!
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Somebody please suggest me some good dual male lead investigation, mystery, psychological, thrillers there's a drought and I'm suffering from it. I don't care what language it is in as long as it is good.
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Shows/Fandoms I'm interested in or have seen
The Spirealm
Killer and Healer
SCI Mystery
Evil Minds 1 and 2
Winter Begonia
Original Sin
Guardian
The Untamed
A League of Nobleman
Dr Qin (2016)
HIStory 3 Trapped
0713 Reformed Boy Group
Advance Bravely
Beloved Enemy
Yin Yang Master Dream of Eternity
Desire Catcher
DMBJ Series (Mystic Nine, Tomb of the Sea, Reunion)
Tientsin Mystic season 1 (Replacing Li Xian was a bad move)
L.O.R.D. Critical World
The Devil Judge (Not finished)
Might have forgotten some but this is the bulk of it. So feel free to ask me stuff about them and I'll be happy to provide answers
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EP. 17 | Lan Jue and Zhang Ping visiting their cat children separately while still in divorce mode
The way Lan Jue puts HIS food over the food he knows Zhang Ping gave pettily as if saying “don’t be bought over by your other dad I’m the dad now”
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