GigglySnickerDoodle

"It could be worse" doesn't cut it. Tolerating erasure will pave the way for more erasure down the line

The people accusing us of "heterophobia" are uncomfortable with things not always revolving around straight identifying people. They might want to take a look at their homophobia first

"... but I assume the producers were trying to reach a wider audience"

Producers make the mistake of pleasing everyone. Pleasing everyone is an impossible task that results in no one being pleased

Contrary to popular belief, straight relationships aren't perfect or immune to miscommunication, jealousy, and difficulties with maintaining commitment. As with any relationship, straight relationships need time to develop. Media doesn't want to depict that reality

90% identifies as straight, so what? Art isn't a math problem and census report to reflect real-world demographics and statistics, or else 90% of entertainment would've been people sitting in traffic, avoiding eye contact at work, microwaving leftovers, brushing, and forgetting their passwords

In art, anything is possible. The frequency of something in the real world doesn't dictate its presence in art. I can imagine fictional worlds where homosexual relationships, superhuman capabilities, or otherworldly phenomena (e.g., vampirism) are commonplace among the majority of the population. The limits are those of humanity's creativity and imagination. Humanity, in its predilection for heteronormativity, displays a negative reaction towards media that diverges from its traditional notions of sexuality and limits itself to straight content

Inclusivity that doesn’t include or welcome gay-only stories isn’t inclusivity, it's homophobia and selective tolerance

A little honesty goes a long way. They should’ve called it "Not Just Hee Su’s Story Anymore" or something

Straight identifying people have 95+% of all media to themselves. When will they stop milking the victim card and forcing their ways into the non-straight section of media?

While a kiss would've been a delightful addition, I'll acknowledge that it's not always a requirement for it to exist to validate the genuine connection between a gay couple

I'm thankful for the care you took in elaborating your viewpoints

"Are you heterophobes?"

Are you heterophobe-phobic? I'm starting to feel the weight of society’s growing hostility toward those of us who don’t vibe with or pledge blind allegiance to the straight agenda. The oppression is real

“The writers are free to do whatever they want with the work"

The producers are at liberty to do as they wish, and we, the audience, are at liberty to respond or react as we wish. That's the essence of freedom

If creative decisions were exempt from criticism, there wouldn’t be a place for ratings, reviews, or fan conversations. You can’t champion freedom of expression and then try to censor us and our disappointment. That’s not how it works

Everyone’s relationships "developed gradually?" Tell that to the rushed straight story, it went from "who are you?" to "we’re the main couple" in 4 episodes

"... or even make everyone in the class gay"

Fiction has the power to transport us to worlds that differ from our own. Why not imagine a class filled with gay characters? It'd give us the opportunity to investigate interactions that deviate from the everyday lives we live

Hee Su and Seung Won's story suffered from underdevelopment as a consequence of the episode count and the disproportionate attention given to the straight story. The straight story was unnecessary, forgettable, and good at wasting time. Without it, the drama might've gone somewhere

"Also, I don't think that a kiss scene is necessary at all for this drama ... since the entire vibe of the drama is so youthful and innocent"

Is kissing an exclusive sport for the elderly/senior citizens?

A first relationship is a time of exploration and new experiences. The kiss could've been a natural and realistic part of that journey. It wouldn't have been sexual or inappropriate if they:

1) Kept the camera angles and framing of the kiss non-sexualized
2) Kept the male characters' reactions to the kiss appropriate and showed shyness or nervousness instead of lust

At the rate things have been moving, we’ll be lucky to get a confession. So of course, a kiss is out of the question

The drama is ashamed to show its face

The other commenter is being nasty and heterophobe-phobic

You believe you're high and mighty with your heterophobe-phobic attitude?

Displaying intolerance and hatred towards "heterophobes" undermines your position against hatred. You're hating the haters and perpetuating the cycle of hatred. You're no better than us

"They literally said 'fuck any realism' and they make all friends gay, all siblings gay, all main and even side characters gay, lol"

Fiction has the ability to break free from heteronormativity. There's no limit to the number of gay characters in fiction. And there's always room for more

You're going to nitpick about realism, why not start with your favorite Marvel stories? I can hear Deadpool chuckling at you riled up over unrealistic fiction and breaking the fourth wall to say, "come on! let them have their gay-exclusive safe spaces and rainbow-filled wonderlands in fiction!"

"And for straight couples, Yiwha and Cho from TWM were so great"

No "straight couple" can be great, they're the worst

They're like, "why aren't we discussing the two episodes?"

Meanwhile, they're doing everything but discussing the episodes

Are you "straight-phobe-phobic" or what?

Forcing heteronormativity into gay stories under the guise of inclusivity excludes the gay stories that are exclusively gay. True inclusivity respects the boundaries of gay stories and refrains from invading or colonizing them with "straight" themes

Your or society's version of an "inclusive" future is a paradoxical nightmare, it excludes anything gay-centric that doesn't conform or fit into its narrow definition of inclusivity

One of my favorite moments from episode 2 was Seung Won playfully prying into Hee Su's other passions, asking him what he likes and wondering, "is there more to you than carrot juice?"

"... honestly they are really cute together"

I can't see it. Ji Yu would have more chemistry with a potted plant than with Chan Yeong

"If that's not your guys' cup of tea, that sounds like a you problem"

My stance on "straight" stories in BLs is simple: get outta here

If that offends you, that's a "you" problem

"There's more pressing matters going on irl than a character change in a drama"

Why not lead by example and dedicate your time and energy to the "more pressing matters" you mentioned, rather than fueling this virtual conversation?

You wrote mini-novels to express your outrage over our dislike of "straight" stories

Word of advice. Don't bother defending most "straight" identifying people. They’ll drop you faster than a hot potato once they've used you/are done with you

Let them play "victim" among themselves

"But if a gay couple showed up in a straight show, that wouldn't be jarring"

Most people would call it forced, jarring, and unnecessary. That's their opinion

My opinion? It's forced, jarring, and unnecessary that "straight" couples show up in gay stories

Being tired of "straight" media doesn't make me "heterophobic" any more than being tired of chocolate makes me "chocolatephobic"

"Two wrongs don't make a right"

It's not wrong to have preferences

"You don't seem to understand what 'straightwashed' would mean. The MAIN couple would have to have been hetero-swapped for this show to be straightwashed"

Would you claim it's not whitewashing to replace one of two people of color with a white person? One of the two gay couples survived straightwashing, the other didn't. Erasing gay relationships and replacing them with "straight" ones, even if partially, is straightwashing

It offends *your* delicate sensibilities that we're calling it straightwashing. You dismiss straightwashing by uttering the words, "it's not straightwashing, I said so!"

I'm going to return the favor. Discomfort with the "straight" lifestyle isn't "heterophobic," and that's according to the irrefutable authority of me and my words. "It's not heterophobic, I said so!"

"Just say you don't understand how a discussion forum works"

You're missing the point of discussions. Engagement with media/content, liked or disliked, is a part of a productive discussion, a principle that's lost on you

I'll take the blessing, thank you

Sending another blessing right back at you