#addicted heroin thailand

[twig-tea]

Saw the director of Addicted Heroin Thailand had posted this on his Facebook account:

This man looked at the show that was the tipping point of the first big anti-gay censorship wave in China in the 2010s, and decided to remake it and intentionally self-censor, just to see if he could attract the "Chinese BL is superior because it doesn't rely on kisses or NC scenes to show the emotions" audience to Thai BL?

I am so mad about this.

[heretherebedork]

Addicted Heroin (Thai Remake)

Well then! @absolutebl And so it comes. Man. Looks dramatic.

[ineffable-opinions]

A Banned BL Series and A Banned BL Sub-genre

GaoGan (High Cadre, 高干) is a sub-genre of danmei, unique to BL from Mainland China. It involves characters who directly hold high position within the Communist Party (be it the political wing or the People’s Liberation Army) or are related to such characters.

Works belonging to this sub-genre was fairly common in the first decade of 2000. Now it's a banned sub-genre and we will get to the specifics of it and how that works.

A little bit about the society in which this sub-genre was created. Back then both Communist party members as well as military members could get away with pretty much anything. Society back then was a little bit more open to such practices and consequences for their actions were very limited. There was very little civilian oversight, so to speak. This meant that not only sons and daughters of high cadre but relatives including extended kin, held positions of power.

Naturally, it became a problem. For the State, I mean.

A lot of leaders now are kids of leaders from the past. They also hold in immense sway in all fields, both business and bureaucracy.

They can bag tenders and participate in those public private partnership projects and reap profits while outsiders would struggle. Laws could be bent and broken and no one could do anything to them. People suffer because of that. But you cannot really go to the police against them. Yeah, pretty messed up.

It is in this context that Addicted (你丫上瘾了) by Chai JiDan (柴鸡蛋) was first serialized. But it is in no way an extreme or a quintessential gaogan danmei. It's basically campus story in the first half with basic coming of age elements, highschoolers falling in love and lot of it is smut too.

But the threat of what their futures hold because of who they are especially Gu Hai, being the only son of his father who is a General, looms large even in first part. This is underplayed in the series compared to the novel.

Gu Hai grew up in that environment of power and reach. A lot of his rough nature is a product of such unbridled power that followed him from the cradle. His father is domineering. He is similarly domineering but with a holier-than-thou “kind” heart. He rebels against his father’s nature. He doesn't want to be the kind of person his father is. He is at the risk of becoming the monster he is fighting. He is extreme in his means, just as his father (and his late mother) and a bunch of other people such as Gu Yang and Gu Hai’s maternal uncle.

It is contrasted with how gentle and amicable Bai LouYin’s father and stepmother are, and how their lives are completely different. They don't really take any extreme steps and always pave path to reconciliation.

While Addicted sort of shows the contrast, it is not the highlight. There are novels which were written in the beginning of the millennium that showed extreme versions – focused on showing how bad it could get - be it of people getting away with that they should not get away with ideally and all sorts of bad things happening to people who have no control over their lives when it comes to people with power.

Corruption, nepotism and exploitation of power is clearly not a good practice at all. Its critique in Addicted is not on the face. It's very subtle. You need to understand what exactly is going on to understand the politics of Addicted. It is not just a random parent being despotic parent. It is because of very specific social setups. Gu Hai can coax, coerce and buy his way into changing public schools in the middle of semester, get Bai LouYin’s father a good job, treat officers on lower rungs as his personal servants and get things to work in his favour all because of the power he holds by just being General Gu’s heir. No one would dare to report his overreach because no one wants to offend General Gu lest he is less favorable to them in their time of need. Bai LouYin can avail benefits of switching schools and such since he is Gu WeiTing’s step-son.

What would give Gu Hai more power than being General’s son? Being a high cadre member himself. But doesn’t want that. From the beginning of the novel, Gu Hai rejects the military environment he grew up in. He doesn’t want to pursue his father’s footsteps.

Bai LouYin learns this when he pries into what Gu Hai wants to do with his life. Gu Hai makes it clear that he wants to pursue business. Bai LouYin dedicates his life to make that possible for Gu Hai. He does so by means joining PLA and thereby becoming his step-father’s protégé. In exchange, Gu Hai is free to live a free life. When he sets up his own manufacturing business, it is directly linked to supplying to the military and thus the exploitation of his connections that gives him a definite edge over his competitors from less privileged backgrounds continue – now as Bai LouYin’s brother too. So, he actually gets to become a rich man at a young age in his own right. It's not just Gu Hai whose business flourishes thanks at least in part to influence. Gu Yang and Gu Hai’s uncle (who seems to be powerful in his own right) too benefits from their connections.

It's something that Chai JiDan explores in a lot of her other works too, even though Counterattack and Advanced Bravely live action adaptations removed gaogan elements from turning characters into civilians.

That brings us to the de facto ban on gaogan. State doesn't want to encourage such kind of practices. It totally doesn't want it to be an aesthetic or a glorified romantic trope, especially in danmei.

Danmei actually have a mixed history with the State. Chinese government is notorious for crackdowns, jailing authors, shutting down websites, forcing self-censorship and purges that throttled danmei production and distribution.

Lesser known is the part where State benefited from it. There was the shipping of real-life high cadre politicians.

There were also the Little Pinks - groups of presumably young women who are nationalistic verging on jingoism, who would endorse Chinese government and its policies on various platforms. They are called so because their brand of rhetoric first started in the danmei forum of JJWXC, a popular web-publishing platform. Little Pinks started out on this platform, scolding authors and readers who wrote what they didn’t agree with. They have pervaded other social media sites and are compared to the Little Reds of Cultural Revolution. Little Pinks captured public attention. They became quite an eyesore for the general public and other BL fans. But State machinery especially its media have showered them with praise on occasions.

State of things have changed over the years and there have been understandable public anger against the sort of behaviors high cadre politicians and their kin engaged in as well as the unfair advantage they enjoyed. The State had to curb nepotism and accumulation of power in the hands of those from political families. Exploitation of power couldn't explicitly depict or endorsed on media.  

The new rules are imposed through censors, self-censorship and editorial overreach and what not. Compared to earlier days of danmei, today’s BL production space looks very difference since sites have disappear. There used to be revolutionary potential, not just in terms of furthering the rights of the queer community but also in many other aspects of society. It has disappeared over the years through purging and authors growing tired. Popularization and commercialization of danmei actually did not benefit the way one would imagine. As BL fans’ grip over what they could say disappeared, a lot of new authors came in who from the very beginning were willing to adjust to these demands from the State and were writing to accommodate, if not outright support, what the State willed.

So, before the ban on gaogan, there was period where fics were written praising the high cadre and highlighting their goodness, generosity and patriotism while being perfect gentlemen, paragons of virtue, upright citizen who valiantly fought enemies of the State, both internal and external.

When it aired, Addicted was fairly popular. By his own admission, Andy Lau was watching it. While exact reason for the ban is not known, there is a lot of speculation. One of the most cited reasons is simply its popularity and how that attracting attention to queer people (through the pairing of a very masculine men who were unlike the stereotypical “sissies”) and queer rights.

Another was the substance abuse related words in title and ship name such as shangyin and hailouyin which is another topic that State scrutinizes. But then A Round Trip to Love had multiple criminal elements including spiking, confinement and sexual abuse that aired.

It's not like gaogan genre just died. Authors went interstellar on their stories. So now when you open Addicted in LCRead you will be greeted by an intro page which claims that the story is not set on Earth and is set in another galaxy blah blah blah. Lot of later authors actually decided to pursue the safe, sci-fi route and decided to stick to lanes that would let them tell these stories without actually irritating the State.

This work around method will last while it can.

Quite frankly, Addicted couldn't have been made in other countries with its very specific political setting. Its essence lies in Bai LouYin joining PLA to help Gu Hai forsake the path laid out for him and Gu Hai repaying with devotion while alternatively sinking and floating in high cadre life as son, brother and husband. This won’t work in countries with mandatory military service or where military and politics interweave in a dangerous manner.

Honestly, I am not knowledgeable about Thailand to interpret what it means for Hero to walk out of ror dor (army cadet) exam (thank you @pharawee for the explanation). Also, Thai government is fully dedicated to their plan of using BL as a soft power tool. I am not sure how to feel about the Thai adaptation, Heroin the series, given the production chose to situate the beginning of the story in 2018* (four years after 2014 coup d'état). Addicted becoming a propaganda tool in favor of military at the hands of any State is a disturbing scenario to say the least.

*There is a eight year break in the relationship between the main couple in the original novel.

Seems like second season isn't happening. Makes me wonder...

-

Link to novel translations.

[guzhufuren]

do you know where we can watch the other uncensored danmeis?

here is a list, but they are all on various platforms:

1. Meet You At The Blossom

2. My Stand-In (thai adaptation)

3. Unknown (taiwanese adaptation)

4. The On1y One (taiwanese adaptation)

5. Stay With Me (slow burn)

6. Battle of the Writers (thai adaptation)

7. Addicted

8. Addicted Heroin (thai adaptation)

9. Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (not fully released)

10. In Your Heart

shows that i never tried watching: Yandai Byway No.10, Like Love, Falling in Love with a Rival

upcoming:

1. Uncle Unknown

2. Secret Love (thai adaptation)

3. The Young Gangster (from taiwanese danmei)

4. The General's Son, note: it's not an adaptation, it's an original script, and i have no information on whether it will be censored, but i really want it not to be, and the poster of two wuxia dudes getting married really doesn't seem to be a censored thing, so i will add it here

i started typing response to your ask with "what uncensored danmei adaptations??" but look at that turns there are actually a bunch of them, bun. isn't the world beautiful

[pharawee]

Jinloe dropped the teaser for their Thai adaptation of Addicted Heroin... and as someone who's neither read the novel nor watched any of the other adaptations* I actually think it's surprisingly good? I'm keeping an open mind and I'll at least check it out.

*well ok, I watched the first adaptation but it didn't really leave much of an impression.

[babyangelsky]

Tiger's mom offered to be Pop's stand-in mom for the Mother's Day event because his grandma was sick and was willing to do the same for Only (whose mom had to work) and Hero (who is motherless) so now she's my favorite character.

This is the energy I want from BL mamas!

[pointlesscandies]

Hero’s dad thinks he’s threatening him into compliance by taking away his credit cards meanwhile Hero is already vibrating with excitement just thinking about the coworkers to lovers fic he’s going to manifest at his new part time job

[poetry-protest-pornography]

Wait, I thought no season 2?

[gemistar-888]

Addicted Heroin (2024)

August Vachiravit, Mac Nattapat, Jur Vasin, Newyear Nawaphat

[outofthemouthsof]

Kinda ironic to take the last uncensored Chinese show and censor it.

[gay-meowmeow]

if i had a nickle and all that jazz

[heretherebedork]

I love Poppy's dad. What good, sweet advice to a son who really needed the help.

And he knows what his son really needs which is to be less isolated and let people in and Hero is the one doing the best job of that.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Addicted Heroin. Here we go again.

Ok so, I wasn't really planning on watching this one. Mostly because I have so many shows to watch and haven't been in a high-school thai bl mood lately. Also I watched the two Chinese versions of this story and I have a weird thing about remakes.

But ultimately, curiosity, and @pharawee's posts, made me want to see it for myself. And since it's on yt, it was easy enough. (although eventually I tracked down the uncut version because I needed to see what I missed, and even tho I won't write down all the differences, a big one is the start of the show where in the uncut version it starts in the future before we go back into the present, which I thought was a weird choice but not necessarily a bad one).

The first thing I noticed, and was expecting to be different, was the overall visual. It looks like your standard thai bl. No point in comparing with the 2016 version, because the feel of it is very different. The original has a darker feel to it, and this one looks like a more light-hearted version.

Even with that and the fact that it's a different country, the characters are basically the same, they even kept the fact that Hero has bad penmanship. The first episode has a lot in common with the beginning of the 2016 version. The pranks, the presents, the underwear...

I think the pacing is different for sure, we're moving quite fast through the 'enemy' fase of the relationship and into flirting territory. I think since we have a side couple here and with all the future drama, it had to be this way.

Speaking of side couple, I'm curious to see Newyear and Jur again, after Hit Bite Love, which, although the show was a bit of a mess, I thought they were cute together.

With all that said, there's nothing outstanding here. If I forget about the adaptation, this is a very average thai bl with a twist on the stepbrothers trope.

I don't know if I'll keep watching, it will depend greatly on my overall mood and curiosity, and although it's not one of the best things airing right now, it's also not one of the worst.

Also, I found this amusing.

[pharawee]

So. Addicted Heroin Thailand.

A small disclaimer first: I have neither watched any of the Chinese adaptations of Addicted Heroin nor did I read the novel. No wait, that's not true. I watched a few eps of the first series years ago but I barely remember anything about it (just global pandemic things, I guess).

Also, I only watched the tv-version of the first ep, which is apparently a whole 10 minutes shorter than the uncut version (and whatever they decided to cut, it's probably not spicy - unless it involves som tam or something) but ... I really like it so far? The cheap cash-grab argument that I've seen on MDL (🙄) doesn't hold up at all because they clearly put a lot of thought into this to turn it into an adaptation that (to me as an interfan at least) feels genuinely Thai - from ror dor to the public school backdrop to Pop reciting a poem by Sunthorn Phu (fun fact: it's the same poem that was prominently used in I Feel You Linger in the Air).

I also really like the production quality. It feels light and soft, kind of nostalgic actually - and while that's not how you'd describe the tone of the original novel (which is at least somewhat dark and toxic, I believe?) I don't think it necessarily has to since it's an adaptation and not a remake.

This is only the first episode of course and if you're hesitant about how this show will navigate around the age gap of the actors in light of the mature source material I'd hold back on watching for at least a few more eps.

That being said, I'm reasonably sure that Addicted Heroin Thailand will be a lot more soft and lighthearted than the original(s) - not unlike Jinloe's last show Hit Bite Love that had the younger cast in a separate, much more fluffy storyline.

Unfortunately, some people seem to expect or even want the show to be as dark and explicit as the novel, and there's of course nothing wrong with that, except that's not really a possibility with a cast that young. Going by what I've seen of the show so far, Jinloe are aware of this and have adapted the source material accordingly.

Granted, they could have chosen another, more lighthearted novel to adapt, but personally I don't think that an adaptation needs to be 100% screen-accurate (or is it novel-accurate?) to be an entertaining watch. There's plenty of themes to focus on, after all. Afaik, Stay With Me (the second Chinese adaptation) was well-received and the main characters didn't even kiss, so why single out this production as exploitative and unsafe* before it's even aired?

*Oh, and I've also seen people explicitly bash the show for its Thai-ness which is another matter entirely.

With the way things are right now (and I say this in good faith - don't go where I can't follow, Jinloe! 🙏) I don't really see how this show could ever live up to the controversy. Right now at least, it's got gmmtv-levels of toxicity (so, uh... about none).

tl;dr: The first episode of Addicted Heroin Thailand was cute and well done. That's about it.

[babyangelsky]

*CHOKES*

[pointlesscandies]

If I had a nickel for every time there was a currently airing bl about two high school aged (almost) step brothers who meet after one transfers to a new school and they are forced to sit next to each other in their classes and they start out hating each other but eventually their feelings change and one of them has noticeably bad handwriting that the teacher comments on. I’d have two nickels.