(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
BL: Tropes bring our tales to life and set up our expectations [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-29
The Boys’ Love series Like in the Movies is a classic Fake-to-Real but it avoided The Stumble in favor of Feed Him and He’s Yours.
What’s that? What do you mean “What the hell are you talking about?” Obviously, I’m speaking plain, good old-fashioned BL-speak, of course.
Oh, i didn’t realize that you don’t understand BL lingo, sorry!
Let’s do something about that. Relax and let me get you caught up on some of the terms and tropes that make our favorite genre so enjoyable.
You will rarely, if ever, hear any of this vocabulary used within a BL drama or comedy, so it’s fine to ignore it all. However, you may check reviews and comments about a series or movie before deciding what to watch and fans do use jargon as a kind of shorthand for discussing a BL quickly and easily.
It’s not that hard. Use this story as a cheat sheet until you get the hang of things and soon you too will be speaking or writing like a BL fangirl or fanboy.
Our mission statement This regime wants to erase LGBQT people from public life and eliminate access to information, resources, and cultural heritage for our youth. Most LGBQT adolescents never see stories about people like themselves enjoying love and romance. In our current reality, watching a Boys’ Love series or movie might be the only means for young people to see models of how their own relationships could start, develop, and successfully grow. It’s also an act of subversion … so watch an episode, share it with others, and resist!
Tropes
A trope is a storytelling device, theme, or stereotype that’s used regularly in cinema and literature such that the viewers recognize its presence and understand its intention in terms of the development of characters or the plot.
Whew, that was a mouthful. How about a practical example?
Among the most ridiculous: it’s a horror movie which means at least one nubile young actress must remove her clothing, except for bra and panties, and then go running around screaming when the monster/killer attacks, giving the audience an extended view of jiggling bits. The trope is terribly sexist, telling us that young women are air-headed and useless in an emergency but can be appreciated solely for their pulchritude.
Or, the bad guys have done something bad (shock!) that involves computers. So the good guys recruit the nearest nerd with a pocket protector to help them out. He stares intently as screen after screen of random numbers and letters flash by; supposedly that would be assembly code, which is literally impossible to read at any speed beyond a few characters per second. But, the trope tells us an expert is hard at work and will soon save the day.
We need only see a moment or two of popular, familiar tropes to know what they signify: a certain course of action will occur or a character will behave in an expected manner.
Premise tropes
There are tons of plots and scenarios in BLs — romantic comedies, historical dramas, crime & detective mysteries, sci-fi thrillers, and more. But they all share something in common: two guys are going to find romance with each other … and if they’re lucky, they’ll hang on to it.
It doesn’t do us any good if two guys are single and available but never meet each other, or meet so fleetingly that no relationship has a chance to occur. Fortunately, standard tropes supply us with the premises for putting our two leading men together and then boys will be boys!
We often see many premise tropes used again and again to get two characters together and spark their romance. Let’s look at the most popular premises, the tropes that create the foundation for the series or movie.
Enemies to Lovers In rom-coms, this is easily the most common premise. Two people first clash in some kind of personal conflict and take an instant dislike to each other. Circumstances force them together — their boss assigns them to collaborate on an important project, for example — and proximity (and perhaps a few unexpected events) lead them to see each other in a new and better light … and romance ensues. This premise is very satisfying to viewers because it validates the belief that “love conquers all.” — as seen in Love in Translation Rivals to Lovers Much the same as above except instead of cooperating they begin competing. Perhaps both are athletes and want to become team captain. In order to do so, they need to practice against each other every day … and they begin to appreciate their former rival as a romantic partner. This trope often involves a theme of sacrifice for one’s beloved. Guy 1 gives up on the idea of becoming the champion because he loves Guy 2 and would rather see him enjoy the victory. Rivals-to-Lovers can be considered the “Noble Premise.” — as seen in 21 Days Theory Friends to Lovers This one is probably the closest to what happens frequently in real life. Someone who has a pleasant but superficial relationship with another — perhaps a co-worker or fellow student — gets into a situation where that person’s best qualities are shown, piquing interest. Then comes the tricky part of turning that friendship into a romance. This premise triggers the fantasies many of us have about true love being right in front of us but we just haven’t recognized it yet. There’s always tomorrow! — as seen in Cherry Magic Fake to Real boyfriends Guy 1, for some odd reason, needs a fake boyfriend and Guy 2 happens to be at hand, or owes Guy 1 a favor, or is the only person suitable for the job. Guy 2 gets persuaded to play his part but as the fake boyfriends spend time together, real romance blossoms. This is sort of a super-category because it can be applied to any of the three premises above, or it can stand alone where two guys previously unknown to each other make such an arrangement. This premise appeals to our hope that applying ourselves diligently to doing something for another’s benefit may transform our own life for the better and lead someone special to recognize our worth. — as seen in 2gether: The Series Brotherly Love This trope can also be mixed with those above. The relationship begins as an obligation, one which often requires patience and sacrifices by both lads. Don’t panic, they’re not real brothers. Two guys get thrown together where they reluctantly live in close proximity like brothers. Perhaps the friend of the parents of Guy 1 is dispatched to work in a foreign location for a couple of months so her son, Guy 2, comes to live with Guy 1’s family during that time. So now the lads are living together, maybe even sharing a room. Familiarity might breed contempt but it also might lead to love and romance as they come to know each other better and share both some mishaps and some joyful times. With this trope, we get the warm fuzzies of discovering that love can grow when we least expect it and that what we assume will be a burden to weigh us down instead gives us the wings to soar. — as seen in Sangmin Dinneaw
Most BL premise tropes are also widely used in Hollywood productions. Considering all of the movies and TV shows ever made, it may surprise you that almost all of them, if they involved the growth of a romantic relationship (rather than a pre-existing romance), use one of these premises.
Everyone feels that their newfound love is special and unique … but the bottom line is we’ve seen it all before, time and time again. Somehow, though, we never tire of sharing the experience of our stars falling in love and building an enduring romance together, no matter the premise that sparked it all.
Romantic action tropes
It’s said that actions speak louder than words. In BLs, actions often substitute for words, letting a character show interest in or affection for another lad. These things happen a lot. i mean a lot!
Oops! Stumble or fall into his heart If the guys haven’t yet realized that their heart skips a beat when the other is close, a stumble or fall will clue them in. As one takes a tumble, the other either grabs and saves him or falls on top of him. Either way, their faces end up an inch apart, lips nearly touching. Hmm, now that he’s almost got a liplock on you, maybe you’ll notice that this guy is pretty kissable and consider doing something about that. Tending a Wound or minor illness proves He cares What better way to demonstrate your love — and enjoy some skinship (touching) — than gently and devotedly taking care of the other guy when he suffers a minor wound (a skinned elbow, for example)? Carefully clean it without hurting him, lovingly apply a bandage, and then perhaps blow on it or kiss it to make it feel better … well, now he knows you love him and maybe he’ll decide to play “Naughty Nurse” with you eventually. The way to a man’s heart … is through his stomach. BL writers know that so we frequently see a boy bringing his love interest snacks — potato chips, candy, fruit juice, or just about anything edible/drinkable and portable. And it’s often not a small amount, like one single-serving packet; it may be two or three shopping bags full of snacks. The more snacks, the more love is expressed, perhaps? Sometimes he’s even made them himself rather than buying them. Maybe in much of Asia, people are even more junk food addicted than we are … but I suspect it’s product placement rather than cultural norms. Product Placement means more BLs for us As I mentioned above, snacks and drinks are ubiquitous in a majority of BLs. You’ll see the products — for example, an individual bag of Lay’s potato chips — and the characters are holding them perfectly so that the brand and product name are easily read. Although product placement isn’t an action that a character does to directly inspire romantic feelings in his beloved, it’s crucial for making love possible. Most BLs are produced on a fraction of what a similar Hollywood production might cost, so some in-scene paid advertising is often vital for funding the production. Experienced BL watchers are familiar with many, many foreign products that we will never see in real life. But we recognize the brand immediately because it’s been so carefully shown to us in series after series. Feed him and he’ll be yours Continuing with the edibles theme, feeding bits directly to your guy is a way of showing true love and telling others that you have an intimate relationship. A lot of Asian foods, prepared in bite-size pieces, make this easy to do with chopsticks. When you first get to know each other, it might be too forward to feed him directly. So take some of the best pieces and place them in his bowl or on his plate so that he knows you want him to enjoy the best things in life. Now that you’re officially dating, dial it up. Grab a small piece and lift it to his lips. He might seem a bit embarrassed at this overt public display of affection but underneath that he’s glowing because he knows you want to make him happy and that you’re proud to be seen as his lover. If you can’t kiss him, you can at least clean him up All that feeding results in Guy 1 getting a bit of something stuck on his mouth. Guy 2 yearns for that mouth but they’re not yet at the point where he can kiss him. So the next best thing is to at least get his thumb or finger on those luscious lips to remove the speck. Fortunately, Guy 1 never seems to mind. You’d think he might say “Just tell me and I’ll use my napkin” but no, he lets Guy 2 tenderly do it for him. Guy 1 might feel a bit awkward about it but he also notices that he feels kind of tingly and thrilled by Guy 2’s intimate gesture. And occasionally, Guy 2 gets a bit carried away and doesn’t do it with a napkin, as is the case here with Choco and Jungwoo in Choco Milk Shake. Hooked for life by a random act of kindness Guy 1 has probably forgotten all about it but sometime in his past, barely even noticing, he performed some caring act for a stranger — for example, maybe he gave his umbrella to someone who appeared to need it more, someone who was weary and downtrodden and soaking wet. Guy 2 never forgot that. It was a bad time for him and this wonderful person treated him well. How could he not remember that when they meet again and not fall in love with such a kind soul?
You will see these things happen time and time again in BL series. Perhaps some of them seem a bit cheesy or contrived … and perhaps they really are.
But what is more important is that they work. Screenwriters keep using them because they are effective devices for furthering relationships. We can imagine ourselves in these situations, where these actions happen, and we know that yes, if that charming, handsome guy did that for us, we too would fall head over heels for him.
Vive l’amour!
Best wishes, Bain!
BoysLove group congratulates the ever-so-talented Bain, of the K-pop group Just B, for coming out onstage last week during his US tour. Kudos also to his bandmates who supported him and spoke of how proud they are of him.
This is a big deal. K-pop idols — gay or straight — are famously sheltered by their management companies. Generally, nobody knows anything about their private lives and their legions of fans seem to think they neither need nor deserve romantic relationships. Maybe Bain’s declaration will topple the rickety prison of absurd expectations and standards for idols.
Bain performed a beautiful song for the BL series Sing My Crush. I featured it in my first roundup of BL original sound tracks a few weeks ago.
Here he is in a duet with Minseo, another idol, in a riveting performance of River (Bain is in white).
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/29/2319314/-BL-Tropes-bring-our-tales-to-life-and-set-up-our-expectations?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
