GigglySnickerDoodle

"I could perhaps understand that if there were no other series with only gay couples, but there are now enough of them"

Straight stories are everywhere. We’ve seen enough already. It's redundant, unnecessary, and preposterous to rewrite gay stories in order to fit in more straight ones

“The creators of the series and the actors are not your servants"

And we’re not peasants. We won’t humiliate ourselves by kneeling in gratitude for the scraps they toss our way

Rewriting gay stories to accommodate the heteronormative/homophobic sensibilities of mainstream audiences doesn't constitute a creative decision, it's a political act that demands thorough analysis and criticism

My intolerance of straight identifying people's intolerance toward non-straight stories is clashing with your intolerance of my intolerance. It's a never-ending loop of "intolerance." What do you call that? A propaganda?

I’m not swallowing the straight propaganda/heteronormative Kool-Aid they’re pouring down our throats in every story. The beverage I’ll be sipping and enjoying is one full of non-straight content. And that's not propaganda. It’s me exercising my right to better content

"Those who support the ship have mostly just called out disrespectful behavior—not everyone in general. Yet some people responding are being unnecessarily aggressive and outright rude"

Letting the disrespectful comments slide will give them a free pass to be rude and disrespectful without consequences. We can't do that

Everyone's a self-proclaimed expert on the "different types of love" right up to the point a couple's gay. They forget about the romantic type of love and replace it with "brotherhood" or "sisterhood" and intense gazes no siblings should be sharing

Would a wedding cake convince them the male characters are in love?

They rage-typed their personality and hit backspace on all of it

The manhwa is my trusty comfort read that gets everything right. The love stories of both gay couples progress with style and sophistication. Each moment's charged with emotion, each silence louder than words, each glance infused with a chemistry that sings of the heart's desires. The adaptation interrupted the flow with a straight story that felt forced and out of place

"I think is watchable but if u skip and watch the end u can say u didnt felt like u lost anything important"

Ten episodes and 400 minutes in, and the main gay plot decided to make an appearance in the last ten minutes. They set a new standard for wasting time

"You’ll never see people going into BL or GL shows and saying “wish they were straight”"

People do leave negative comments or ask why the characters can't be "just friends." Here's an example (names redacted): https://imgur.com/GV3Y907

The fallout that occurred following a movie's inclusion of a side gay character (names redacted): https://imgur.com/480izpm

Their sense of threat upon seeing side gay characters in media suggests that they're unlikely to refrain from commenting negatively on BLs or GLs, on MDL or elsewhere

"No,because it’s fictional and that version didn’t air as the official ending"

Using "it’s fictional" to discredit the director exposes how little you understand fiction. The entire world is fictional, every version of it. The one that aired, and the one that didn't

"Suppose someone gives you attention, affection, and so on but only to further their own agenda and sees you as a tool. Is that truly a friend?"

Do they have good or bad intentions? In a healthy friendship/relationship, both parties are clear about their needs, wants, and expectations. If one party hides their true intentions, it's not a fair exchange. It's a one-sided manipulation

"And some societies, especially, repress emotional expression, particularly among male friendships"

Cultural contexts that value platonic connections over romantic ones establish the same stifling atmosphere and suppress the open expression of romantic feelings. People of the same sex would deny that their connection runs deeper than that of friends

"In fact, real romance is an extension of friendship and chosen family"

I agree that friendship and romance are founded on comparable qualities of support and understanding. Friendships have the potential to blossom into romantic relationships, elevating the intimacy experienced by the partners

"Friendships, by transcending lust and physical desire, reach a kind of clarity and purity that romance often cannot"

Do you believe that physical desire taints or sullies a connection? I believe it's a profound expression of "love" and "trust" between partners

AI fumbles 99% of the time. This one moment? It accidentally slayed

"When so called "friendships" are built primarily on these needs, on transactions, they end up hurting both people"

So do friendships/relationships built on unrealistic expectations of selflessness

Suppose your friend or partner is never around in your hour of need, doesn't return your gestures of love, and exhausts your emotional resources. Would it be a healthy non-transactional relationship? What distinguishes a healthy relationship from an unhealthy one is the presence of a balanced give-and-take

"And yet, despite all this, people still rush to brand the core dynamic as romance. But why?"

The obsession, life-altering decisions, jealousy, betrayal, and codependence mirror patterns people associate with romance. Tragedy has been the most romantic trope of all

Society permits and encourages the open expression of strong feelings in romantic contexts, dismissing or poking fun at those feelings between "just friends." Strong feelings read romantic since romance is the primary model we have for understanding such depth of emotion

"But it's not just fiction, it has happens every day, where people stick with others, even when they're a danger to themselves or other"

It's common for people to stay in friendships/relationships for reasons related to trauma bonding, codependency, guilt, or fear of loneliness. Are these unhealthy attachments examples of selflessness? Or do you believe there's something else in there?

“Romance can be branded as even much more give or take, the same as friendships, or even more, since there's element of direct underlying desire"

I use the term "friendship/relationship" to refer to the broad range of interpersonal connections that people form. Desires or needs create transactional dynamics in platonic and non-platonic connections. The services exchanged, attention, loyalty, "sex," energy, time, trust, or validation, aren't remunerated in money but in needs fulfilled by each party. They're the currencies

In every relationship, there's an unwritten rule of equality. Every party's expected to invest equal amounts of effort and care. "Love" is given with the expectation of obedience and emotional support in return

They imagine the West to be this land of tolerance where two men or two women holding hands gets them a free coffee and a high-five from the mayor

I wish I could say otherwise, but the West is no less homophobic than other places

Fiction paints a rosy picture of friendships/relationships

In reality, the motivation behind establishing friendships/relationships is based on the advantages they bring. If the friendship/relationship begins to demand too much effort, and the person senses an imbalance in the give-and-take dynamic, they'll find excuses to pull away and disengage

Pardon my bleak outlook, that's how I see things. You’re welcome to see them differently

Most friendships/relationships are superficial. People enjoy each other’s company until it stops being fun, convenient, or useful

Recognizing romance in a story that follows a romantic framework isn't a misunderstanding or delusion, it's a natural response to the story's design

I'm from Asia, and I can tell you our continent isn't a fragile entity that shatters in the face of gay ships. Asia is home to billions of people, and not everyone shares the same opinions. I personally don't subscribe to the homophobic beliefs of my culture that relegate same-sex relationships to the status of mere friendships

Imagine thinking fan theories are offensive and unsolicited lectures about fictional relationships are polite conversation. Cringe

It walks like a romance, talks like a romance, and hurts like a breakup, it’s probably not a friendship bracelet

It’s written, acted, and filmed like a romance, because it is one. It's romance in everything but name

Friendship or romance, it's up to personal interpretation. And both interpretations are valid

They’re so delusional and deep in the friendzone they can't see romance if it hit them with a bouquet of roses