Bromancing the Brother

 Gu Hai and Bai Luo Yin in "Addicted"

One of the most common theme in the BL universe, is that of the Sibling Trope, or in this case, Brother trope: adopted brothers, step brothers, falling in love with each other despite some misgivings. We see that in "Addicted," "Boundary Crossing," "Uncontrolled Love" to name a few. Heck, even  titles abound with similar names for the lack of creativity: "My Bromance" (Thai BL), which is different from "Bromance" (Chinese Non-BL), "The Brother" (Chinese BL), "My Brother" (Vietnamese BL).

What makes this particular trope so popular? Is it the taboo aspect that intrigues many of us, like a "forbidden love story" of sorts? Same-sex love is still frowned upon in reserved and traditional cultures, and is also considered a taboo by many. So is this like the "Double Whammy" of taboos? Gay brothers, usually not related by blood, thinking, "hey we are screwed anyway, so why not make the most of it?"

 Golf and Bank in "My Bromance" (movie)

Kidding aside, I think the "Brother complex" arise typically out of a bond between two people who  might not necessarily have similar interests, but at least have a common goal or desire: either to make an effort to get along (like forming a new alliance), or just simply to make each other's lives miserable (e.g. to see who is the alpha). Furthermore, these brothers usually happen to live or stay in close proximity with each other, which makes it easier for feelings to develop. The "newness" of a relationship that did not begin at birth can also be a factor, and the knowledge that in fact, they are not blood-related probably also gives permission: like saying, it is okay to fall in love with his brother because they are only connected via adoption, or by their parent's union and nothing else.

Zhen Wen and Zhen Wu in "Boundary Crossing"

Mostly in their families' eyes, the brothers'  feelings are simply camaraderie gone wrong. Maybe the brothers mistake their fondness for each other as unreleased tension, marking desire when there's none. And this is usually where the family steps in and arranges the introduction of "appropriate partners" for their own son, with the thought maybe it's because the brothers do not have enough exposure to other people, that they can only rely on each other for emotional comfort and intimate physical contact. In worse situations, the parents force the brothers to separate, barring each to see the other, or sometimes fate does.

So what some of these brothers do is, rather than acknowledging their love for their sibling/lover, they repress their feelings (or one party usually does), in the hopes that by keeping their more-than-brotherly-love a secret, they can keep their relationship going under the guise of chummy brotherhood.

Fake incest or "Faux-cest" has been a common motif in Hetero-Asian dramas, and of course, BL dramas and movies carry these cliches over to be used as plot devices, to move the story along from Bromance to BL. Like their straight Asian counterparts, BL couples engaged in pseudo-incest unfortunately do not get to see their romance blossom out in the open.