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absolutebl · 2 years ago

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BLs where sunshine baby goes from shy to enthusiastically GAY

So this dynamic specifically eliminates tsundere characters (probubly the most popular archetype in BL) and focuses in on cinnamon rolls who reveal their soft squishy centers through the course of the narrative going belly up for gayness/sex. (Okay my analogy got away from me, but you’ll see what I mean.) Since a lot of BL is still somewhat sex negative, partly as a result of the seme uke dynamic my temptation was to lean entirely on Taiwan for this, but surprisingly Korea, Japan, and Thailand also had examples.

Cinnamon Rolls who (eventually) Go All in for Their Boy

TAIWAN

HIStory 4: Close To You - Muren is a tiny bit more confused and tsundere than shy, but he is definitely a sweetheart won over by his absurd himbo in the end. This is a character arc Taiwan loves, the himbo who discovers he is bisexual and just carries his clumsy excitement for life into gayness. Himbos are, however, by their nature NOT SHY so they don’t qualify themselves for this.

HIStory 3: the BL that shall not be named - Oh this is a pitch perfect execution of this trope, and another shy sweetie/himbo pairing. But the end of this show is ALL pain. Watch at your own risk. There is no HEA. Stop THE MOMENT they move in together or be prepared to suffer.

HIStory 3: Trapped - the side couple probubly qualifies. Sunshine bad ass mercenary assassin pursues shy (okay more horny and repressed) nerdy cop. They are a fantastic couple and, eventually, very mutually enthusiastic... shall we say?

HIStory 2: Right or Wrong - an oft neglected one in the franchise but our adorable baby boy Fei Sheng Zhe is kinda shy but more just does not like his boss/teacher/tsundere seme (eventual lover). However, once sex is on the table it is ON THE TABLE... literally.

DNA Says Love You - I adore this BL and Amber is shy and careful and luminous and perfect, but when he’s convinced Le loves him, he is super game and they have lovely final sequence together.

See You After Quarantine? - their is a shy admiration that comes from an age and culture gap, and our sunshine baby Bo Chun is also coming out. But with a confident gay for the seme this dynamic is executed perfectly. And yes they clearly want each other once they finally meet. And yes, you get to see it but mostly in the credit sequence. This is a SHORT show.

THAILAND

Love Sick - is Noh shy or just oblivious or just a very confused teenager? Whatever the case, he actually fits the criteria perfectly. He is both a sunshine and a cinnamon roll and he fucking adores Phun but really struggles to show it. That’s Phun’s fault, though. This is a long hard fought messy series and the chemistry is weak, but when they finally end up together it is clear that they are TOGETHER.

Love By Chance - OF COURSE. How could I forget them? BEST BOYS!!!! Pete is the ultimate shy boy, painfully injured lonely out-gay and Ae sweeps in and adopts him. Ae is clearly demi and has to figure himself out, but Pete is never once not willing to stick by him, and when they finally get together Pete is completely willing, just still shy about it. The side couples are a problem and the ending is not good, but AePete remain one of my favorite Thai pairs of all time.

Brothers - this is a terrible show and I can’t in good faith suggest anyone actually watch it, except for KhunKaow. Kaow is absolutely a shy cinnamon roll (baker) who comes around to his insistent younger med student boyfriend. Kaow is older than Khun, and they fulfill my favorite “young gay identifies elder gay as MINE” trope. But they are very much a side couple and even though I adore them, it’s probubly not worth watching this terrible show just for them.

Love Stage!! (Thai version) - Anda is basically a shy introvert, he goes from reluctant to tsundere to all tf in for his celebrity boyfriend, including high heat.

Secret Crush On You - this is not my favorite BL and I have many quibbles and very mixed feels, but I Toh def starts shy (about a relationship) and then goes all in. Like very high heat and very clear these two really want to bone... like ALL THE TIME. Although I think of Toh as a more a creep than a sunshine or cinnamon roll. You could probubly put side character Jao (def cinnamon) into this category too. And this show is nothing if not sex positive.

Others I contemplated: NueaSyn side couple in Cutie Pie, WinTops in Ingredients, RamKing in My Engineer, IttPai in My Gear and Your Gown, TeeFuse in Make it Right, SoloGui in Oxygen, KluenDao in Star in My Mind, ChampDoc (both, poor things) in TharnType 2, the main couple in My Ride.

KOREA

Cherry Blossoms After Winter - it’s Korea so they left out the good bits but Haebom absolutely goes from total shy sweetheart to literally jumping into his very tall boyfriend’s arms, also defending their relationship to their mother (who’s against it). Look this is the stepbrothers trope, Haebom is a foster brother. I love this show, it’s VERY old school yaoi, but it’s also classic Korea so a little too short, a bit sex negative, and confusing in what they choose not to show. But it meets the criteria.

First Love Again - Jeong Ha Yeon is just a sweetheart, earnest and hopeful, and a bit of a fanboy. His other half is a total asshole but for very understandable reasons (what if the great love of your life, who you remember perfectly and have lost multiple times already, suddenly turned up in the body of the “wrong” gender?) Don’t worry they both get over it, but this is Korea, so it’s all paced odd and fast. Good kisses tho.

Wish You: Your Melody in My Heart - Sang Yi is gone on In Soo the moment they meet, but he is so painfully shy, he is also kinda acting the part of the seme in this narrative but constantly thwarted by his own shyness. Thus the second he is given a green light he is all in, but it might not be quite the right arc for this dynamic. Still he remains one of my all time favorite BL characters because of this painful shyness - he is heart-wrenchingly sweet.

Others: Some More (Strongberry short), Behind Cut, Love Class.

JAPAN

Seven Days - Seriyo probubly qualifies, although he is a confident poised person he’s very shy and cautious about Yuzuru because he likes him so much so quickly and unexpectedly. The moment Yuzuru confesses you can see the relief and joy in him. This is Japan so it’s all quite reserved but great about it and a touch kinky.

My Beautiful Man - this is a whipping boy dynamic, but Hira is shy (or maybe just worshipful and reluctant to embrace reality). This one is very kinky but might, kinda qualify? I adore this CLASSIC live action yaoi, but I am warped. And oh yeah are they both VERY into each other by the end.

His the movie - Shun is not just shy and a cinnamon roll but bitter and rejected and alone. This is a complicated gay drama, not really a BL, but so very good. Of course he crumbles, because he has crumbled before, but it is hard fought, as it should be.

Old Fashion Cupcake - it only comes RIGHT at the end, but at least the implication is entirely there (they they are into each other physically). I would call Nozue a cinnamon roll, although not necessarily sunshine or shy, more repressed and reluctant. Still it’s one of my favorite 2022 BLs. Worth watching no matter what.

The Philippines and Vietnam don’t seem to like this dynamic.