#it is sexist to think sims players are girls only

[thebleedingwoodland]

Apparently somebody reported my Tumblr blog account to get me shadow-banned. 

*facepalm*

Because of that person starting argument on my blog, losing argument & cannot accept logical criticism... because of my own personal opinion in my own blog hidden under “Read More”.  Wow... how classy. 

As classy as junior high school kid.. reporting to school principal because of trouble that person cause from the start.

WARNING: THIS IS PERSONAL WRITING ON MY OWN BLOG. 

If you are easily offended person for someone’s diary/personal blog, please get out and block my account.

That person started the argument first after all.... although I wrote warning: 

Do not send ignorant comment. Will be deleted and your account will be blocked.

 Yet that person misunderstood my word which is supposedly EXAMPLE. 

“[that person name] is b****ing on my blog. F***ed off. What do you feel if somebody calling you insulting word, you must be insulted, right?”

As actual insult. 

No, I didn’t intend to insult that person, at all. That is example!

After I left Tumblr for one month due to real life then logged in again, what a surprise. My comments on comment section are removed, messages are gone, cannot reply comment at all. Obvious enough somebody reported my comments as “Spam” or “Offensive” due to “Controversial Post” argument on personal post that Sims community mistaken me a girl. 

Ahahaha no. That person started it first. You started the argument, you should have responsibility of your own comment, but proceed to reporting my comment because you lose argument and cannot accept the criticism, probably you used fake accounts and asked other people to mass-report my account. That is very cowardice, you know?  

Then you started saying that “Men playing the Sims is rare, probably”, No offense, that is kind of insulting, ignorant, and sexist.  You must be never play real hardcore games on Steam, never visit ModTheSims discussion forum, never visit any Sims forum other than Tumblr? You will see how many masculine username playing The Sims. See your own mod folder, how many masculine male name being the modder? Nraas, Ahmad/Bella3lek4/Dramatic-Gamer, Simrods, SimsMatthew, BlooM, Buhudain, TummyZa, M.M.A.A., gamefreak130, Quackgames, Consort, Buzzler, Darkcloudwalker, nikel23, mikey, CyberBob78, Deaderpool (MC Command Center), TURBODRIVER, Lazy Duchess (confessed he is a man and open to any pronouns) 

You see how many modding tool plug in programs are created by men? TSRW (The Sims Workshop for The Sims Resource) creators are men. Milkshape Plug in is Weshowe, obviously a man.  I know many famous dudes on ModTheSIms forum, like AGuyCalledPi, Wojtek, and there are many more but I cannot mention due to privacy and too many.

Imagine the reverse if a man saying, “Women playing GTA, basketball, football, being developer, architect, engineer [insert male-dominated activities & profession] is rare”. I bet I got called as sexist & misogynist man hating woman. Or probably if I send comments such as “Hug” “Sexy Babe”“Pretty Girl” “Kiss” “❤❤❤❤” to female blog accounts I will get my account banned for being pervert. What a double standard. 

Do I hate women? No. I dislike ignorant and rude people in general, no matter what gender. That case is a specific girl/woman, insulted me “Bitching” and “Fucked off” I had reported to Tumblr staff several months ago, because I was kindly reminder her to mention my username because she reposting my Mod without mentioning my username. 

There are ignorant and rude comments I got from (unemployed low class) dude and teenage boyzzzzz as well on Tumblr. In 2018, there’s a dude mistaken “I will find you and I will kill you” meme under my Term of Use as death treat.

 Aahahaha, is that dude never watch Hollywood movies? Don’t know movie Taken? Don’t know meme, never played video games? Why are you minding other people’s writing very much, focusing on negativity instead of giving me support that my CC got monetized (I was the victim)? You must be sad jobless unemployed dude, don’t you think?  

I explained on Private Message that my writing “I will find you and kill you” is a humor. But that dude misunderstood, then proceed to accuse me making death threat, lecturing me I am the bully, and didn’t listen to my explanation that “CC thief will monetize no matter what T.O.U. says” at all. He was accusing my explanation as attacking him. 

???  

There’s no way educated Asian person like me making death threat to people, what kind of baseless accusation is that? Death threat is only said by low class uneducated people. There are people making ignorant and stupid comments, I just blocked them. 

This is as proof there are men on Sims community on Tumblr.  Now that I criticized man as well, I show my proof here that I do not hate targeting specific gender. 

Furthermore, I’m CC creator who had created a lot of CC. How many? 100+ including mods. But it’s kind of ironic that people only focusing on “Controversial” and “Mistaken as negative” as 1% part. The rest of 99% are positive. I usually give compliment, click love, reblog other people’s CC and content. And have given donation to somebody’s mother whose in hospital. 

sims3hasstoppedworking has left the community, so it’s safe to reveal the Private Message. I donated because I was being generous, not because Frankie’s CC or getting attention that I was donated. 

Is that how to repay kindness of CC creator, who had created free of charge CC & Mods, to accuse with harassment and report to get our account being banned? 

Enough with this kind of childishness, alright? Seems like I need to left Tumblr to get some fresh air and I probably back with new CC and mods. If only I will be back. 

Sorry for leaving so sudden after I had promised new CC.  I’m very busy due to real life.

Before I forgot, thank you Tumblr @staff​ for recovering my blog. 

[bellarkefanfiction]

#NoClickbait

written by: Josefine / @selflessbellamy

prompt: This is typical but maybe distracting kiss while playing a video game? Person A is competitive, 100% focused on winning and person B starts to plant kisses, all because of the competition, no one is in love here, it's a cold, calculating strategy. for anonymous 

word count: 2204

Sharing an apartment with a Youtuber has its pros and cons. For instance, her roommate has — on numerous occasions — demanded to film alone in the living room for hours, because “it has much better lighting.” At night, she often hears him groan loud in frustration while editing, which would be funny if she didn’t have to wake up early for class most mornings.

However, the pros outweigh the cons, at least as it is right now. They’ve been living together for almost a year now, and since she told him that she didn’t mind being a part of his videos every once in a while, he has involved her in his creative process. Unlike a lot of YouTube channels, Bellamy Blake’s offers a wide range of different content, such as:

cook with me: grilled chicken breast (with a twist)

vlog: a day at the bookstore + haul

history has left us: queer!Achilles (Pride Month special)

If his subscriber count of 3.2 million is anything to go by, this kind of content is great entertainment for everyone watching. Hell, Clarke even watches his videos despite the fact that she lives with him and could easily just sneak into the living room to watch him film. Still, she attempts to stay away, because Bellamy doesn’t tend to stare over her shoulder as she draws one of her pictures.

Sometimes, though, her thriving curiosity gets the better of her. When he first noticed her piqued interest, his dark eyes crinkled at the corners and he told her, “Princess, if you wanna know what I’m doing then you have to be a part of it.”

At first, Clarke had wondered whether having her show up in his videos was just gonna be a cheap clickbait trick, so that he could include her in the thumbnail and write a title called ‘vlog: Santa Monica with my girlfriend’, but he didn’t.

Instead, he turned the camera on her face as they were walking down the peer and said, “Oh, by the way guys. This is my roommate Clarke. She’s tagging along.”

He had probably expected her to not say anything, maybe give a shy little wave in response, because that’s what usually happens when people are camera shy. Clarke’s actual reaction was so far from that. In teasing, she stuck her tongue out at him and retorted, “Oh please, you’re the one who’s tagging along. I need someone to help me decide which Bath Bomb to get.”

That is the start of Clarke’s appearance in Bellamy’s videos, and since then she has only showed up more, for longer periods of time. A couple weeks ago she assisted him while he did the ‘Blindfolded Book Challenge’ by picking various classics and non-fiction works from his bookshelf.

After that video was posted, he told her not to look at the comments, which only made her suspicious, because he’d never advised her to stay away from the comment section of his videos before, and for a moment she thought that his viewers were perhaps making fun of her or something. Despite that the possibilities made her somewhat nervous, she couldn’t hold herself back.

The most popular comment jumped out at her:

[Top Comments - click to show]

Dani Larsson: y’all can’t tell us you’re not dating after this.

781+

Gulping, Clarke clicked on the replies and found the first couple ones to be:

Lydia Marcello: yea, just look at 13:52. That shoulder-lean is the least platonic thing I have seen in the modern era.

123+

Furrowing her brow, Clarke went to the timestamp to see what the girl was referring to — and there right before the end of the video as Bellamy said, “I guess that’s it for the Blindfolded Book Challenge. Thanks for watching!” — he pulled Clarke against his side, making her lean her head against his shoulder for a second, smiling.

After forcing her eyes off the frozen frame, Clarke looked at the comment below Lydia Marcello’s only to find:

 TJ Byrne: Well, if he’s not dating her, I would love to tap that.

2+

While the comment didn’t bother her much, it sure as hell seemed to have bothered Bellamy (and a lot of his loyal viewers), because he had actually responded:

Bellamy Blake: @TJ Byrne: Too bad. Sexist white Internet creeps aren’t her type.

201+

Clarke had to bite back the urge to laugh. Also, it was difficult to ignore the clear voice at the back of her head who kept telling her that men with bronze, freckled skin and lots of sharp edges is her type. Still, she has only ever seen one person who looks like that.

A person, whose laughter could light up the entire world, who places pencils behind his ear and hums while he cooks.

***

One late afternoon she returns, violet and vermillion paint caked beneath her fingernails, to the sight of Bellamy sitting cross-legged on the couch, his trusted laptop in front of him and square glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. As always, he looks up when she enters the living room.

“I’m gonna cook dinner. Chicken Alfredo pasta, does that sound good?”

He beams, most likely with as much surprise as amusement, because she’s rarely the one who prepares meals. Still, she wants to prove to him that she’s learned quite a lot from watching his culinary-themed videos.

“Very,” is his simple comment, though the lone word manages to convey his enthusiasm. When she turns to walk into the kitchen, he suddenly adds, “Hey, Clarke, would you mind being in a video later?”

The curiosity in her mind sparks like colorful fireworks. “What kind of video?” Given the complexity of Bellamy’s content, it’s impossible for her to have the faintest idea… Maybe it’s another challenge video? A casual vlog? One of his informative history sessions?

Then he explains that his viewers would love his nostalgia series to feature a gaming video. “I have Mario Kart for my old PlayStation, so… I thought it’d be more fun if we played it together. You know I love how competitive you are.”

That last bit seems to be coated in fondness, the words soft — a stark contrast to his usual teasing tone, and it has color rising to her cheeks, undoubtedly. In order to hide the blush, Clarke turns away, but not without saying, “Of course. That sounds fun,” over her shoulder.

To her joy, Bellamy eats two large portions of the Chicken Alfredo pasta and praises her for using vegetables and spices that complement the creamy sauce. Hearing him say this makes her heart feel warm.

Together, they do the dishes while listening to ‘Cigarette Daydreams’ from one of Bellamy’s vinyl records. Most of his collection he inherited from his dad, but he adds a newer record once in a while. Afterwards the struggle with setting up the lights in preparation for filming — since the sky has now darkened, they need to improve the lighting in the living room.

Before they can turn on the camera, they have to plan a quick intro. Of course, Bellamy will do the most of the talking, since it’s his channel, but he tells her that he doesn’t want her to hold anything back, especially not during the gameplay itself.

It feels like an eternity has passed. At last, Bellamy clicks record, takes a seat next to Clarke and says, “Welcome back guys! I looked at your requests and quickly had to realize that you all want to see me play a video game,” he runs his fingers through the back of his hair, “As you will probably find out, I suck at gaming. I’ve killed a Sim once, and it was not on purpose.”

Clarke mouths, “He has,” hoping that the teasing it will amuse some of his viewers.   

“Anyway, I dragged the Princess along for this one. She’s gonna crush me as Peach.”

Chuckling, she replies, “Oh, I sure am. No more of that ‘damsel in distress’ Peach. Those days are over, and you’re gonna go down.”

Even though they didn’t plan it for the intro, they look at each other, faces inches from one another to signify the “stand-off” that’s about to happen. However, within a couple seconds, they both crack up.

As it turns out, Bellamy is not actually bad at Mario Kart, which seems to surprise him way more than it does her. Within ten of playing minutes, he’s in 3rd place, but he makes the mistake of gloating, “Now, who’s gonna go down, Princess?”

Maybe they should stop using that expression…

Oh, well. “You still are,” Clarke laughs just as she uses the Starman that she’s had up her sleeve for a couple minutes, and while it does help her overtake a lot of players, she’s only gets to the fourth position, right behind him.

Bellamy does what he can to maintain his lead. Out of the corner of her eye, Clarke sees him lick his lips in concentration, and the sight damn near distracts her. Quickly, she collects herself, and while it’s difficult to keep up with him when she has to stay on the course, she’s tailing him.

When he bumps his shoulder against hers in teasing, moving his controller just to annoy her, an unfamiliar sensation sparks in her ribcage, causing her to lean closer and press her lips to his neck, right below his sharp jawline. At first she feels him freeze. Scared that she has overstepped an invisible boundary, she draws back, but he…

He is smiling. “You think you can distract me?”

“I can’t?” Turning her attention back to the television, Clarke smirks as her heart flips itself over and over.

Now she thinks she notices the faint pink tint in his freckled cheeks, but it might be her eyes playing a trick on her. With much confidence, Bellamy says, “You gotta keep trying…”

Right now, they’re doing the final lap around the course, still tailing each other, brushing each other like they are in real life. It seems as though he just gave her another challenge — one, which she is even more determined to win. Therefore, she giggles slightly, kisses his throat again, a little lower this time, then his shoulder and the back of his ear.

He releases a strange sound that must be somewhere between a groan and a chuckle. Unsuccessful, he tries to brush her off, but she can feel the heat that’s rising to his skin by the second.

Just when she leans in for the sixth kiss, he groans, tossing his controller to the side. She doesn’t recognize the emotion flashing in his earthy eyes, but she is not afraid of it. Bellamy murmurs intelligibly before giving her a gentle push to the floor — out of the camera frame — on her back, she watches his face move closer to hers than it ever has until she can almost sense the amazing warmth that pours from his features. Taking a slow breath, he nuzzles her, which has her entire chest feeling like jelly.

When their lips meet, it’s as if the living room is filled with light, though it must be nearing midnight. The happiness bubbles in her stomach, runs through her veins to mix with her bloodstream. Burying her fingers in the dark, soft curls of his hair, Clarke deepens the kiss a little, causing him to smile against her lips.

“I’m gonna have to edit this out.”

She laughs at that statement. “The video is useless now, Bellamy. We’ve both fallen off the course before the finish line.”

“Well, it was worth it.”

As opposed to sleeping that night, they sit on the bed in his room eating dry Coco Puffs while talking about where to go from there.

What they end up doing is reshooting the Mario Kart video the next day (Bellamy wins, much to her dismay), then spend the next eight months trying to hide their relationship from his online following, which is easy when she can simply not be present in his videos.

His viewers, however, are far from stupid. The first video that she appears in after the Mario Kart one is a casual writing vlog, where she brings him a cup of black coffee after his all-nighter. And it’s one tiny detail that Bellamy missed in editing that effectively exposes them:

[Top Comments - click to show]

Christine Hollinger: oh my god, he murmurs ‘thanks, babe’ at 8:46 asdjffikoxxkak… Y’ALL

863+

theo lewis: *platonically calls my roommate ‘babe’*

219+

After that, they have to come to terms with the fact that their secret is out, and because Bellamy doesn’t want to trick his followers, he decides to make the announcement (albeit casually) in his next video, which is a brief daily vlog. Bellamy turns the camera towards the balcony, on which she is standing, looking at the sinking sun.

“Isn’t she beautiful? I’m so lucky.”

No forced, half-assed video of them explaining how they got together, no cheesy girlfriend tag — just a simple yet revealing comment. Their relationship is not clickbait; it’s not something that he’s going to use to gain more followers. It’s too important for that.

[knotty-hottie]

@alycat919 So, we haven’t talked before, but your post in the Ouran High School Host Club tag reminded me of my final paper for my Gender/Women Studies and I thought I’d share it. I promise I’m not tagging for drama, but just because I wanted to thank you for reminding me. It was a lot of fun to write a research paper about my first anime, and, despite the negativity I talk about in the paper, it’s still a personal fave of mine. You’re free to scroll past this if you aren’t interested, or to engage if you are. I just want to share the work I’ve done with the fandom I’ve explored. 😁

Ouran High School Host Club: Rich in Benevolent Sexism and Rape Culture

He pinned her against the bed, looming above her like a wild beast. Her chocolate brown eyes were wide, her nightgown bunched, her breath caught in her chest. The two stared at each other, like predator and prey, for a split second that felt like an eternity. He opened his mouth, and spoke, surely, calmly.

“You should fix that, ‘being a guy or girl doesn’t matter’ naivety of yours. It’s your fault for being too defenceless.”

It may sound like something from a badly written smut piece, or the rape fantasy of a young person, but in Ouran High School Host Club, this is the reality of our heroine, Haruhi Fujioka. She is a ‘commoner’ (lower middle class) student at a school for Japan’s most elite, having gotten in on a scholarship. After an incident involving her stumbling into an occupied music room in search of a study place, a vase worth ¥8,000,000 (equal to approximately $73,000 in today’s United States dollars), and some classic anime tropes, she ends up as a member of the school’s host club. The series itself describes the host club as “[The place] where the school’s handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands. Just think of it as Ouran’s elegant playground for the super rich and beautiful.” The series is one of the most famous of all time in the anime community, coming in at spot 20 out of the top 50 most popular anime of all time on the Anime News Network. On SBS, Ouran came in at spot 40 on a fan-voted poll for best anime of all time. On Funimation (the anime’s publisher site) and Crunchyroll (one of the most popular anime streaming sites of today’s day and age) Ouran comes in at 5 stars. It’s a well known, well liked piece of media, that has earned itself an anime adaptation from its manga origin, a dating simulator from its anime adaptation, and a live action reboot based on all three of the previous iterations. Yet, somehow, underneath all of the things to like, there’s a dark underbelly that many willfully ignore or are just plain unaware of. The series perpetuates gender roles, rape culture, and some not-so-subtle homophobia. The way that it gets away with these things is by portraying them through the lens of benevolent sexism, which catches readers, watchers, and players alike off-guard.

Benevolent sexism falls under the larger umbrella of ambivalent sexism, which is divided into two main categories. The first category is hostile sexism, which is what most people think of when they try and imagine sexism. It is described by Dictionary.com as, “[sexism] reflecting negative views of women who challenge traditional gender roles.” It is the toxic, hypermasculinized form of sexism that many are taught to look for. It is the comments of, “You aren’t a real woman if your hair is short like that,” and, “Women are dumber than men.” On the other end of the spectrum, there’s the idea of benevolent sexism. Rather than comments of, “Women are weaker than men, making them inferior,” we hear the benevolent sexist say, “Men should protect women, as it’s the right thing to do.” It’s those moments where women are told they look better when they smile, or are in dresses, or have children in arm. The words are complementary and polite, but they hold the same message as those negative comments of the hostile sexist. Ouran works carefully to craft its message so that it doesn’t insult its main fan base (young women), while still getting its message across. For example, there’s the character of Renge Houshakuji.

Renge first appears in the manga in ‘Episode 3’ and in episode 4 of the anime adaptation. She is what is known as an otaku, which, in modern culture, refers to someone obsessed with some aspect of pop culture (whether that be video games, anime, movies, etc.) to the point that their social life suffers. In Japan, the word has become a word similar to our ‘nerd’ or ‘geek’. In American culture, the word is considered derogatory, and usually falls in line with words like ‘weeaboo’ and ‘wapanese’. Renge wholeheartedly accepts her otaku status, locking herself in her room to do what she enjoys most; playing dating sims. After a turn of events, she ends up at the Host Club, believing that she is in love with Kyouya Ootori, a host who looks identical to one of her favorite characters. After she reveals that this is why she likes Kyouya, she is bashed for her hobbies and considered crazy. The moment her hobbies come to light, they are painted as wrong and she is vilified, even though her male counterparts are considered just and right in there own hobbies. When Hani, one of the hosts, is depicted as morally correct for acknowledging that he is allowed to like the color pink and cute things rather than martial arts. Renge is one of the few female characters in the show that is depicted as having personality traits outside of, “infatuated with handsome boys” and “ultra feminine”, yet she is considered “crazy” for expressing those outside traits. It isn’t that she isn’t traditionally feminine, but that she has more to her character than that, much to the dismay of her male counterparts. She has her own hobbies and ideas. She knows exactly what she wants and goes for it. Even if her methods are questionable and a bit on the stereotypically crazy side, she still goes after her aspirations.

When Tamaki, one of the main characters of the show, greets and flirtily welcomes Renge to the club, she flinches away at his nonconsensual touch. She seems shell-shocked, blushing in what seems like embarrassment. After she comes to terms with him touching her face without permission, she slaps him, calling him a phony (among other insults), and leaving him emotionally beaten before going to Kyouya, the one she really wants. She decides to reinvent the Host Club’s characters in order to help Kyouya make more money, which should, she believes, make him fall in love with her the way she loves him. She is shown to get her ‘comeuppance,’ in a sense, when everything she goes for backfires. Kyouya reveals that he does not like her, she nearly ends up hurt, and she is told that she must take her time and learn about others in order to have a good relationship of any kind. When you come into relationships expecting someone to act a certain way, you are harming your chances of a healthy relationship. The message is good, but Renge’s fate is not quite as nice. She becomes a frequent background character, used for exposition, cheap plot device, and/or the voice of the fawning fan girls. The closest we get to her personal hobbies is the fact that she sometimes cosplays and, if we’re lucky, hear her talk about them for five or so seconds.

Another example of women in the show comes in the form of Benio Amakusa and the rest of the Zuka Club. In the third book of the series, specifically in ‘Episode 10’, we are introduced to Benio. She is dressed in the men’s uniform, has short hair, and is openly flirtatious with Haruhi, acknowledging Haruhi’s sex publicly to the Host Club’s dismay. Once Benio and company reveal to the hosts that they are, in fact, women, Tamaki labels them all as lesbians. All three do end up showing attraction of some sort to women, but the fact that he labels them all as such simply because one is shown to enjoy dressing in the men’s uniform and having short hair is a disturbing thought in and of itself. Tamaki sees that one is a lesbian, and begins making assumptions about their collective character based on that assumption. He goes so far as to pass out in shock at the presence of lesbians, and, once he awakens, says the following to the three Lobelia Woman’s Academy members; “You girls are all wrong!! What can come from a woman loving a woman!? Why did God create Adam and Eve, if not--!” He’s cut off before he can finish the thought, much to the LGBT+ community’s pleasure. Much to the community’s displeasure, however, is the imagery used in the anime to depict lesbians as nazis, having them do the nazi salute to a flag labeled “women”. Back to the plot, once he believes that he might lose Haruhi to this all-girl’s academy, he has some of his fellow hosts dress in exaggerated womanly clothing and wigs so that she can have ‘the best of both worlds,’ so to speak. The hosts think that, if they act ‘womanly’ enough, they will be a satisfactory replacement. Haruhi proceeds to explain that she had never even considered going with the girls, as her home was with the hosts. The Lobelia girls promise their revenge in a seemingly silly and typical manner.

In the only other episode that the Lobelia girls show themselves in, we get to see them kidnap Haruhi and, under the guise of needing Haruhi to perform, trick her into a situation that would lead to a non-consensual kiss in front of a large crowd, if not do more to her. When you watch the show, there doesn’t seem to be much going on aside from a silly and ridiculous plan that some rich lesbians are pulling to get revenge on the ‘noble and correct’ Host Club. When you really think about what’s happening though, it’s scary. They kidnap someone. They nearly sexually assault someone. What does it say that there only true gay representation resorts to these tactics when they are previously thwarted? The girls are basically degraded to recurring villains with silly beliefs, antics, and existences. Why is that?

In volume 5 of the manga, ‘Episode 17,’ we get exposed to Ayame Jonouchi, who is entirely skipped over in the anime. She makes a return in the live action series, however, holding her own arc in the third episode of the series. She’s incredibly intelligent, notably attractive, and, according to the hosts, a monotone speaker. They even go so far as to call her, “Miss Morse” and “Morse Code Lady” at one point. She is described as scholarly looking and strait-laced, and holds a major grades complex. The last of those points explains why she has always been in the top two of her classes grading system, holding the second place position hostage directly under the Host Club’s Kyouya Ootori. Once Tamaki transfers to Ouran, however, she gets knocked down to third, much to her displeasure. She becomes a foil for Tamaki in a sense, showing that her struggle and constant practice to gain knowledge will never be enough to beat the natural tendencies of her male counterparts. After checking the traditional genders of all of the names listed on the sheet for her class, I discovered that there was only one other girl on the page. Her position? Seventh place.

Ayame’s tale’s conclusion is a little bit painful to watch, as it is near a cliche at this point. It turns out that she actually loved Tamaki for a certain comment he made about her straight hair during their first meeting. Her hair is naturally wavy, leading to her having self-image issues in the face of her crush that lead her grades to drop just enough for Tamaki to take her spot. Her wavy hair being exposed by the rain, a breakdown of frustration, and a few compliments from Tamaki later, she discovers that she is beautiful no matter how she looks on the outside, and becomes a regular customer of Tamaki’s. She is petite, cisgender, heterosexual, and pale. The only reason we know that she continues attending the Host Club is because it is literally written into the final panels of the chapter. We never actually see her again in either rendition of the story.

The most famous ‘woman’ in all renditions of Ouran High School Host Club is Haruhi Fujioka. She is a first semester high school student. She is of the lower middle class. She lives with her father that, in every rendition of the story, is called a ‘tranny’ who works at the local ‘tranny bar’ (rather than addressing him as a drag queen at a drag bar). Her mother was a lawyer before her passing. She is attending Ouran Academy on a scholarship. Her hair is short, she needs glasses, and she can’t afford a uniform. She wears her father’s hand-me-down clothes and her grandfather’s hand-me-down glasses to save money. She’s blunt, book smart, and open minded. She’s a lot of things, but, somehow, she gets some of the worst treatment of the series. She is the reader’s insight into the author’s world; the character being exposed for expositional purposes, so to speak. For the sake of brevity, let’s walk through some key episodes of the anime (which is the story’s most well-known adaptation) and talk about what goes wrong in each one.

In the first episode of the series, “Starting Today, You Are a Host!”, we are introduced to Haruhi Fujioka, the protagonist of the story, who is simply looking for a quiet place to study, and, by mistake, stumbles across a club room in use by Ouran Academy’s Host Club. The members (specifically Tamaki, the series’ largest offender) proceed to insult Haruhi on monetary grounds, insert themselves into her personal space, and assume her gender identity and sexuality. After Haruhi drops an 8 million yen vase, the hosts (again, primarily Tamaki) begin to call Haruhi a dog and basically use her as a servant/errand runner. At one point, Tamaki calls Haruhi a ‘piglet’ in reference to her poor ‘servant’ status putting her beneath him. Later in the episode, Haruhi is revealed to be conventionally attractive, her wants are ignored as the hosts makeover her. Her hair is cut, a uniform is bought, and contacts are put in to make her fit the traditionally beauty standards of manhood (as, for the moment, some of the hosts are under the ruse that she is, in fact, biologically male and cisgender). Once this happens, all who attend the host club seem to treat Haruhi better. She is talked to by girls (which, many argue, is understandable, as she is now a host. My counter-argument is that the girls had to request Haruhi in the first place, something they likely would not have done before Haruhi’s involuntary makeover) and the hosts begin paying her real attention. Tamaki begins claiming Haruhi as ‘his own’ to other people, signalling that, to him, attractiveness is the primary trait that is needed to be on the same level as him, personality be damned. He also proceeds to invade her personal space without consent, which leads to her calling on Mori (another host) for assistance.

Once we hit the final moments of the episode, we find that Haruhi has gone to a changing room as her uniform has been soaked in the events of the episode’s climax. Tamaki, yet again invading personal space without consent, walks in with little to no warning on Haruhi changing, discovering her sex is female. He is shocked and embarrassed, reacting in a seemingly cute way to the discovery. Kyouya eventually comments on the predicament, laying out on the table the true message of the episode. “Could this possibly be the beginnings of love?” he asks the viewer, turning to the camera. He wipes over all of the harassment Tamaki has done to Haruhi, ignores what she really wants in the moment, and waters her character down to ‘love interest’. She is the pretty, feminine foil to Tamaki’s handsome, ‘persistent’ (read as; incessant harassment) personality. They are clearly ‘meant to be together,’ and the show makes it clear in that moment that they will be together whether she wants to be or not as the men in her life see it that way.

In the eighth episode, “The Sun, The Sea, and The Host Club!”, we find the most controversial scene of the series. Before we can get to that, however, we need to walk through the circumstances that lead us to it. The Host Club is on a trip to the beach (after all the men in Haruhi’s life argue about which swimsuit she should wear, of course), and the male hosts decide to figure out what Haruhi is afraid of via a game. The game is that whoever finds out what Haruhi is most afraid of gets pictures (taken and supplied by Haruhi’s father) of Haruhi in middle school (the more I rewatch these episodes, the more creepy things I realize are in them). After a long day with no results, Haruhi gets called up upon an overlook by some of the Host Club’s guests. As she makes her way up to spend time with them, some drunk men beat her there and begin harassing the guests. They grab the girls, asking them if it’s dull without any boys around and ignoring the girls’ pleas to stop. Haruhi, arriving upon the scene, throws a bucket of shells at one of the offenders, calmly asking them to go away. She stands her ground when one of them attacks back, allowing for one of the girls they were harassing to get away at her own expense. After some verbal abuse, Haruhi is thrown off the overlook into the water below, where Tamaki immediately goes in after her. The other hosts handle the assaulters, and, once Haruhi is proven to be safe, the berating begins. “Are you one of those?” asks Tamaki. “Actually a martial arts master, like Honey-senpai?” He grabs her, and goes on. “How could you think that you, a girl, by yourself, could do anything about those boys?!” After Haruhi explains that her actions were a split second decision and she didn’t have time to think, he yells at her, “Well, think about it, you idiot! You are a girl!”

Tamaki and the rest of the male hosts seem to be on the same page, insisting that Haruhi needs to apologize for her actions. Haruhi, on the other hand, does not see any wrong in what she did, which leads to some friction between herself and Tamaki. The two refuse to speak to each other until one apologizes to the other. At dinner, to avoid talking, Haruhi overeats to the point of making herself sick, which she notices only after being chastised again by the hosts sans Tamaki and Kyouya for her actions. After they request an apology from her, she finds that she needs to empty her stomach’s contents and runs to the nearest bedroom. She finds out that the room is, in fact, Kyouya’s, and that the two of them are now alone, prompting the series’s most controversial scene. Fans sometimes call it, “The Scene in the Dark.”

Haruhi apologizes to Kyouya on multiple grounds as he takes the time to lay out all the hassle she has caused him. When Haruhi offers to pay him back, he points out that he has far more money than her and that she is already in debt. He turns down the lights as he lays out her dilemma and brings up a new solution as he leers at her; why doesn’t she pay him back using her body? While she stands there, attempting to process what he’s said, Kyouya takes action. He grabs her arm. He throws her upon the bed. He straddles her, pins her to the bed, and tells her, bluntly, “You should rethink your own gullibility, that things have nothing to do with a person being a guy or a girl. You’ve made a mistake in leaving yourself so open.” He looks her in the eye and, in simple terms, lays out that he could take her. He has more money, more power, and, most prominently, a penis. Haruhi says that he is bluffing, and, luckily, he was. He gets off of her, and she comments that he is “nicer than she thought” for the experience he’s provided. Bisco Hatori, the creator of Ouran, drives home her message bluntly. Women are weak and should be protected by the men in their lives. They should be passive and, if they fail to be such, should immediately apologize. If a man decides to not sexually assault or rape you, he is nice. You should be thankful that he has the courtesy to not sexually abuse you. It’s legitimately terrifying that this is the message that is being sent out.

As salt in the wound, the very next scene is with Tamaki and Haruhi, with the latter cast as a scared little girl in the damsel in distress trope. She hides herself in the closet, curled in a ball, as the audience and Tamaki discover that Haruhi is scared of thunderstorms! She explains that she has always had to rely on herself as her mother is dead and her dad is constantly working. In response, Tamaki promises to take care of her from now on, she seems to come to a silent agreement to lean on the men in her life more, and the two have an emotional make up moment. Haruhi gets love and support from her friends again once she begins to lean on the men in her life and accept the help. I’ve seen other people argue that the message of the episode is that everyone needs to rely on others sometimes, which is a fair argument, but I can’t bring myself to agree the more I look at it. If it’s just about relying on others, why is there the scared little girl imagery? Why do they even emphasize Haruhi’s sex at all in this scenario if it’s not about that? Hatori knew what she was writing, and the message she sent out. She had a plethora of other ways to explore this theme, and she wouldn’t have written it this way unless she meant for it to be taken in a gender-biased manner.

I could go on, but I feel that I’ve explained my stance on the matter. Ouran High School Host Club is a classic anime in the anime community. A lot of people I know and that I’ve heard from in my life grew up with the show, and some still seek a romantic partner like one of the hosts. In all of the series’s adaptations, we find that certain themes remain prevalent. Women are meant to be pretty, submissive things that are interested in their male counterparts at all times. If you have your own interests, you are obsessive and crazy. If you like the same sex, you are against men. If you take a leadership position, you’re a nag. If you stand for what you think is right, you are a bother to the men around you. It’s scarily similar to what I’ve seen on social media. If you talk about sex too much, you’re a slut. If you talk about sex too little, you’re a prude. If you are too skinny, you’re on drugs, too fat, you have no impulse control. It seems that there is no ‘right’ woman to possibly be, in the fantasy that is Ouran or in the reality we face daily. We can only hope that, someday in the future, we can look back at Ouran and unanimously see it for what it is; a romanticized sexist daydream disguised as a teenage anime romantic comedy.

Works Cited

2400 (2011). Thoughts: The Merit Scene in Ouran. [online] Midnight Express. Available at: https://2400express.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/merit-scene-ouran/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Adler, J. (2015). ‘Ouran High School Host Club’: Haruhi, Heteronormativity, and the Gender Binary | Bitch Flicks. [online] Btchflcks.com. Available at: http://www.btchflcks.com/2015/03/ouran-high-school-host-club-haruhi-heteronormativity-and-the-gender-binary.html#.W6qeFGhKjrc

Darlington, T. (2009). The Queering of Haruhi Fujioka: Cross-Dressing, Camp, and Commoner Culture in <cite> Ouran High School Host Club </cite>. [online] English.ufl.edu. Available at: http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/archives/v4_3/darlington/

F. Innes IV, K. (n.d.). Benio Amakusa. [online] Absolute Anime. Available at: https://www.absoluteanime.com/ouran_high_school_host_club/benio [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Hatori, B., RyoRca., Werry, J. and Caltsoudas, G. (2002). Ouran High School Host Club. Hakusensha, p.All.

Hurford, Emily. "Gender and Sexuality in Shoujo Manga: Undoing Heteronormative Expectations in Utena, Pet Shop of Horrors, and Angel Sanctuary." Electronic Thesis or Dissertation. Bowling Green State University, 2009. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. 04 Oct 2018.

Lark, M. (2015). Gender roles in Ouran. [online] Themorninglark.tumblr.com. Available at: http://themorninglark.tumblr.com/post/100669214865/gender-roles-in-ouran-hey-guys-sorry-your [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Lark, M. (2015). Kyouya and that scene in the dark. [online] Themorninglark.tumblr.com. Available at: http://themorninglark.tumblr.com/post/100783759195/kyoya-and-that-scene-in-the-dark [Accessed 5 Oct. 2018].

Ogi, F. (2003). Female Subjectivity and Shoujo (Girls) Manga (Japanese Comics): Shoujo in Ladies' Comics and Young Ladies' Comics. The Journal of Popular Culture, 36(4), pp.780-803.

Ouran High School Host Club. (2006). [video] Directed by B. Hatori, T. Igarashi and Y. Enokido. Japan: Bones.

Ouran High School Host Club. (2011). [video] Directed by C. Han, Y. Tachibana and I. Natsuko. Japan: TBS.

SBS PopAsia HQ (2018). Votes are in: The top 100 greatest anime of all-time (as voted by you). [online] SBS PopAsia. Available at: https://www.sbs.com.au/popasia/blog/2017/10/12/votes-are-top-100-greatest-anime-all-time-voted-you [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

SJ Party (2017). [online] Random Media Analysis Thoughts On OHSHC. Available at: http://thesjtparty.com/post/162171016890/random-media-analysis-thoughts-on-ouran-high [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Unknown (n.d.). Ambivalent sexism. [online] En.wikipedia.org. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambivalent_sexism [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Unknown (n.d.). Anime Top 50 Most Popular - Anime News Network:W. [online] Animenewsnetwork.com. Available at: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/ratings-anime.php?top50=popular [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Unknown (2018). the definition of benevolent sexism. [online] www.dictionary.com. Available at: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/benevolent-sexism [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Unknown (2018). Otaku. [online] En.wikipedia.org. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaku [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Unknown (2018). Ouran High School Host Club on Crunchyroll!. [online] Crunchyroll. Available at: https://www.crunchyroll.com/ouran-high-school-host-club [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Unknown (n.d.). Renge Houshakuji. [online] Ouran High School Host Club Wiki. Available at: http://ouran.wikia.com/wiki/Renge_Houshakuji [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Unknown (2018). Stream & Watch Ouran High School Host Club Online - Sub & Dub. [online] Funimation.com. Available at: https://www.funimation.com/shows/ouran-high-school-host-club/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Wings, S. (2018). Ouran High School Host Club’s Infamous Episode 8: A Study on Rape Culture. [online] Pixels and Panels [ A Game x Manga Blog]. Available at: https://soaringwingsblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/04/ouran-high-school-host-clubs-infamous-episode-8-a-study-on-rape-culture/ [Accessed 4 Oct. 2018]

[96percentdone]

Hey hey, out of curiosity, how do you feel about Kaede's FTEs and her love hotel scene (And I guess Saim//atsu in general?)? I'm not sure if it's just me but it felt... incredibly forced, like Kodaka was intentionally setting Kaede to be the generic romantic interest for the hero™.

Alright, I’m going to put this under a read more because this is going to be me being very salty and hateful so uh y’all were warned. I have nothing nice to say from this point going forth. If you like sai//matsu, and have no interest in being critical of the things you like (or being pissed at me), do not read this. This is your only warning. 

God Sai//matsu is the absolute worst. It is the ONLY Saihara ship that makes me fucking pissed off on sight, and it’s entirely for reasons you have stated and more. Sai//matsu exists because Kodaka is a sexist mother fucker who didn’t want to write Akamatsu as her own character versus a cute device for Saihara’s manpain//a waifu for the lonely otaku fuckboys playing the game. Akamatsu is the victim of the fucking worst writing I have ever seen, and it’s genuinely insulting.

For all the bad writing for Akamatsu, while you actually play as her, she’s a pretty interesting character. She’s different from the protagonists before her, in that she’s confident and a leader, with a take-charge attitude, desperately needed in this situation. Furthermore, you can see signs of her not actually handling stress well, and being a surprisingly paranoid character for someone who’s so trust-oriented. It makes her pretty complex, and believable as a protagonist.

Unfortunately, this is all a fucking ruse on Kodaka’s part. Because it all goes to shit for her right here:

This god damn scene. Now, when you first play it, you might think to yourself “ah, here’s the start of the heterosexual romance of the game.” Maybe you’re exasperated, maybe you think it has interesting potential, but the first time through it’s pretty harmless. Unfortunately, once you look back on it with the knowledge of what they do with Akamatsu, you realize just how fucking shitty it is. 

In this scene you have Akamatsu reassuring Saihara with his insecurities, and she tells him she understands and feels similarly. Right now she’s scared, with Saihara she feels the confidence she needs to do what she has to do, which it turns out is trying to murder the mastermind. This as a scene works strongly if this was the start of a future romance. 

Except, Akamatsu is later killed and her status as the protagonist is replaced by Saihara. Saihara is the new protagonist, and he has to reveal her as the culprit and get her killed, much as he doesn’t want to. It becomes apparent that this scene existed not to show the start of a relationship between two characters that develop throughout the game, but it existed as a moment for Saihara to become ridiculously attached to her, so when they kill her, he can develop. It (and scenes like the elevator scene after it) exist to just make Saihara get attached so he can suffer.

This scene is the start of every problem with Akamatsu’s writing and treatment from here on out. The reason Akamatsu ends up so badly written is because her characterization is sacrificed for Saihara’s. The only thing Akamatsu as a character accomplishes before she dies, is she inspires and motivates Saihara with a couple of speeches that were solely for him. She does this and dies, and this is what kickstarts Saihara’s character arc as a protagonist.

And unfortunately for Akamatsu, it doesn’t end here. Because not only did she only exist for Saihara’s pain, but even after she dies she’s not treated with any kind of respect. Once she’s dead, no one even acknowledges she (to their knowledge) killed someone. They all only ever talk about her wish. It’s as if she never did anything wrong. And the icing on the cake is the big reveal in ch6 where it turns out no! She didn’t even do the murder! Shirogane did! And in the ch6 trial, no one really acknowledges she attempted murder on someone’s life; it’s entirely about how Shirogane framed her. The game goes out of its way to paint Akamatsu, once she’s dead, as completely innocent, even though she’s not.

This serves two purposes, and they’re tied into each other. The first is to further Saihara’s manpain. Revealing that she didn’t even do it when Saihara falsely convicted her would just make him suffer. Once again she only exists for Saihara’s character development. And the other reason is so she’s perfect waifu material like Nanami. If she never did anything wrong as the game wants you to believe, then she can be your super cute gf. 

And that’s exactly what her free time events and love hotel are for. Akamatsu’s free time events are the worst fucking things I have ever seen. In her events, we learn nothing about her except in event one. The ONE job of free time events is for you to learn more about the character you spend time with, and excluding free time event 1, we learn jack shit about her. Aside from the first event, which is the only good one, we basically just go on dates with her.

The duet shit that starts in the second one is super egregious. Why is this what they’re doing? Is it to further her character? No! It’s to have a scene where she holds Saihara’s hand so he gets all flustered and embarrassed about it. That is the ENTIRE reason why it exists. You learn NOTHING about her at all. 

The third event would be alright if at the end it wasn’t suddenly “Oh no you made me blurt out my secret I’m all embarrassed!” which is bullshit. First of all Akamatsu in the game was pretty confident and not shy about talking about how she feels and what her dreams were, and now she’s doing this? Yeah sounds fake. No the real reason this exists is the set up for event four.

And event four is probably the worst because event four it becomes abundantly clear that they don’t even care about Saihara either in these. In event four, Akamatsu arbitrarily turns the tables on Saihara about himself! Convenient excuse so we don’t learn anything about her, huh? Also conveniently lets you force sai//matsu. But it’s really bad because you get choices TWICE where you literally choose Saihara’s answers to her questions. So it’s not even Saihara we’re instead learning about, it’s you.

This is the event that perfectly illustrates exactly what these free time events, no all of sai//matsu is for: it’s for lonely otakus to pretend a cute girl is into them. Cute girl reassures you! Cute girl asks you a bunch of questions about yourself! Cute girl holds your hands! The reason we don’t learn much of anything about her is because she’s just meant to be a cute girl for the lonely straight male players. In these free time events, not even Saihara gets to exist as himself; he is merely a vehicle for the player to be with cute girl Akamatsu. 

And the final event is just the icing on the cake of this rushed romance. Because these free time events aren’t truly free time events. They’re a five scene dating sim with a cute girl, and event five is just the final moment where you truly bond and “become one.” Akamatsu has her practical confession, and it’s just…it’s terrible. These free time events are terrible.

And the love hotel? Is just more of that. Because of how the love hotel works, Saihara has to play the ideal partner for Akamatsu, which for her is conveniently a long-term relationship. Sai//matsu shippers might think it’s proof she’s really into him, but it’s not. Because just like in the free time events, Saihara isn’t himself he’s just the faceless dating sim protagonist for the lonely otakus to project on. In everything outside of the main game, Saihara’s interactions with Akamatsu crush his characterization into something blank slate and generic, and it’s for the lonely fuckboys to be able to easily project themselves on him. This love hotel just fulfills their fantasy of really dating the cute anime girl and being able to sleep with her. 

So sai//matsu exists in the main game solely for Saihara’s manpain development, and in the bonus modes solely to give the lonely otaku fuckboys another waifu. Akamatsu’s characterization does not matter, as Akamatsu herself doesn’t matter, and to an extent, Saihara doesn’t even matter either. It’s just a shitty ship based in sexist nonsense and pandering. It’s bad. That’s all there is to it. 

[betterbemeta]

hierophanie replied to your chat “smart people: go to bed on time me, a buffoon: watches a playthrough...”

Short heads up: this game includes heavy triggers for a lot of things. Stay save!

Oh, for sure. I didn't start it without being pretty forewarned about the kind of content within and I watched it all in one go when I was sure that I was OK to watch that kind of stuff.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS, tw for depression, gaslighting, interpersonal manipulation, disturbing content mentions

I was actually really touched (?) by how accurate the depiction of depressive crisis style thoughts was portrayed, how many of them are built on this "undefeatable premise" of worthlessness and are recursive and self-reinforcing. That thoughtstyle can even pro-actively work to invalidate others' attempts to support the person who is suffering them, and can hurt someone's sense of personality over time ("This isn't like you" -> "I've always been like this but I have been hiding it." In reality, the episodes may have been mild and only recently have worsened but depression can change your perception of yourself in the past) I have had experience with that kind of crisis thought pattern and that actually made the horror of how it was inflicted pretty profound to me.

Not all of the "problems" introduced into other characters are so realistic, because all of them have been artificially heightened, exaggerated, or induced by someone purposefully trying to get you to see what is ‘unlikeable’ about each character and abandon them. But I think that all of it deconstructs the dating sim genre-- some of the main complaints about it is that the characters are flat archetypes and boring when not your object of interest. That it's often perverted and sexist, a way to simulate attaining a selfish desire at the expense of others, and creepily focused on inputting the correct commands to manipulate your chosen target. But no matter how Monica tried to flip the roles upon you and take action to make herself your chosen option, adding shocking elements to all of the other girls invoked a player's empathy and sympathy. Which to her frustration only makes the player spend more time with them, even when she tries to punish that choice by heightening the level of disturbing development in each girl.

After a certain point I think that it is inevitable that the player breaks their roleplaying of the "main character", begins to act altruistically rather than selfishly, and changes their actions to try and protect these girls who are obviously being influenced by an evil force.

[syao]

Neji Plays an Otome Game - Finale

Read Time: 7 mins | Random | Prompt: Competition

RECAP: With Rock Lee’s inspired intervention, Hyuuga Neji was moved by his flowing feelings of a man to play an otome game for his bedridden comrade, Tenten.

“What flowing feelings?” interjected Neji wanly. “And what is Gai doing here?”

Maito Gai emerged from out of nowhere, cracking up. “Ohohoho, count on Neji-kun to sense his beloved sensei’s chakra, even when he’s disguised as a narrator!”

Neji scowled. “I’d really prefer that you refrain from breaking the fourth wall.”

Gai pumped his fist. “You’re right. Why break just the fourth wall when I can do MUCH BETTER than that! The fifth, sixth, seventh, nay, EIGHTH wall awaits!”

Rock Lee’s eyes glistened with tears of pride. “Wohooo! Gai-sensei, so coooool!”

“Won’t you come in, Gai-sensei?” Tenten called from inside the room. “You’re all scaring the tenants.”

“Woooo!!!”

“And don’t break any of my walls on the way in, okay?”

“Woooo!!!”

“NEJI--”

“I’ve got this. Go back to bed.”

Unlikely Kindred Spirit

“Ah, so you’re playing Dokidoki Tutorial’s handheld release,” said Gai, nodding to himself solemnly as he watched Neji navigate through the dialogues. “It’s been many years since I’ve seen these...”

“YOU’VE PLAYED THIS?!” Neji and Tenten exclaimed in unison.

Gai grinned. “Don’t sound too impressed, disciples of mine! Kakashi and I have fought in many, many battles in the game’s original arcade release to test each other’s true strengths. It was a fierce competition to see who gets the Good Ending for all the boys first.”

KAKASHI-SENSEI PLAYED THIS, TOO?! Both faces darkened as they imagined the Copy Ninja calmly and impassively answering all the dokidoki decision points without missing a beat.

“No wonder he grew up to be such a remorseless, feared shinobi,” muttered Neji.

Life’s Philosophy

"So really, you can consult me about the choices and I’ll be happy to enlighten you, Neji.” Gai offered him a fatherly smile, as if reassuring him that of his reliability.

“Very well.” Neji pressed the Start button on the handheld and started to go play back the opening scenes.

Tenten’s forehead creased. “Neji, haven’t you read through those screens before? You can just press Skip to quickly move past those parts, you know.”

“I prefer not to,” he answered curtly. “In real life, we can’t skip out the parts of life we find tedious or those we don’t like. It’s what makes us stronger and more resilient, fallible human beings as we are.”

“Well-said, Neji-kun!” Lee and Gai applauded him enthusiastically.

Tenten’s eyes narrowed. You just didn’t know about the Skip option, did you?

How Women Do It

Tenten forced herself to sit up on the bed. “Well at least use the Load function!” She grabbed the device and demonstrated how to bring up the full menu. “Save the decision parts so it’ll be easier to go back to them in the future!” 

Lee and Neji both gaped at Tenten as she repeatedly tapped on Next to get past filled pages with various dates, game times, and chapters. Finally, she found a blank slot at page 35 to save.

“How long have you been playing this, Tenten?” asked Neji.

“I probably started a week ago.”

Lee held out his fingers to count. “15 slots per page, then multiply it by 34...”

Neji had long computed the answer in his mind, based on the strange look he was suddenly giving at her.

Gai rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So that’s how women remember all of a man’s past mistakes in life. No wonder these can be easily brought up during arguments.”

“THAT’S SEXIST!!!”

It’s Perfectly Normal

Tenten puffed her cheeks in annoyance. “Look, it’s not just the choice screens you can save. It’s normal to save certain points of the game that you really enjoyed.”

Gai nodded along. “That’s true. There are certain conversations that are always fun to go back to, but they’re not selected to be part of the Clips Gallery.”

The kunoichi nodded gratefully to her sensei for his back-up. “Right! It’s perfectly normal! For example, I saved the moment from Hattori’s route when he finally understood that the female MC was more than just a childhood friend to him. You’ll see that on Page 16, Slot#3.”

Lee and Neji’s face darkened. That random yet accurate memory is definitely NOT normal!

Mission Completion Rate

Neji firmly pushed the coughing Tenten back to her bed. “Get some rest. You’re straining yourself out too much.” 

Lee nodded. “Yeah, Tenten! Leave this game to us.”

“B-But..”

The Hyuuga’s forehead creased. “Are you still holding a grudge against me for turning that guy into a Yandere? I told you, he had some issues right from the start. He had a double personality. He wasn’t a healthy choice for the MC at all. Also, I saw that the bad ending unlocked one picture for the CG gallery, improving your completion rate.”

Tenten sweatdropped. Count on Neji to find mission completion as the most attractive part of the game.

The Essence of Choices

Prince looks like he’s about to cry.

<< You hug him. >>

<< You stroke his head. >>

Neji glanced at Gai. “So what do you think? They’re basically the same thing.”

“HMP!” Their sensei wore a smug grin. “Listen, cherished student of mine. On the surface, skinship in otome games may all look the same. However,  the key to making the right choice in scenarios like this is to understand the context of your relationship. Try to recall your journey of love: did he previously share a rarely-spoken-of past memory of a precious loved one stroking his head as an expression of affection? Then that may be the right answer. Or maybe you two have known each other all your lives and have always treated him like a little brother. Stroking his head is what a big sister will do, so he’ll only feel disheartened if you choose to go with that option.” 

Gai capped it off by patting his student on the shoulder. “The bottom line is, an almost-correct answer means nothing to the game. It’s either you get the exact response and progress your relationship, or you don’t, and you get a smaller leeway for mistakes until the next bad ending cut-off.”

Neji hated to admit it, but he couldn’t help feeling impressed by the expert understanding the man had for the game. “You must have beat Kakashi during the challenge.”

The jounin raised a shaking fist in the air. “Almost! I was so close to beating him! But his choices were flawless and he beat all the endings before I did.” Gai looked torn between frustration and awe as he recalled that memory. “That Kakashi seems to have more experiences with different men than I do!”

Neji (and Tenten, who was trying to rest on her bed) both grimaced. THAT DIDN’T SOUND RIGHT!!!

Okay Kind of Guy

I am caught by surprise when I hear a soft voice speak from behind.

“Do not trust people so easily, Tenten.” He refuses to meet my gaze, but we are the only ones left in the empty classroom, so I’m sure he is talking to me. “What you see is not always what one is.”

“Finally, a sensible person in the game,” remarked Neji. “Who’s this silver-haired, blue-eyed fellow?”

“Oh, that’s Vincent. He’s the mysterious foreign exchange student from England,” explained Tenten. “Really smart but really quiet guy. He always watches the female MC from a distance and gives her advice. He’s cold to everyone else, though.”

“... sounds like an okay guy to me,” shrugged Neji.

"It sounds like someone I know, though,” murmured Lee, tapping on his chin.

What’s Wrong with Him?

“Does Vincent have a route?” Neji wanted to know.

Tenten thought for a moment. “Yeah, I think I saw a page for him in the CG Gallery. I just haven’t gotten around to playing Vincent’s route.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “So you’ve opted to play all the other men before him? What’s wrong with Vincent?”

Tenten sweatdropped. Neji... really does have a soft spot for Vincent, huh?

Down, Boy, Down!

Neji was still inconsolably miffed by what he perceived as a snub of his newfound bias, so Tenten felt compelled to say something.

“I wanted to play Vincent last because I heard his route has the most number of story spoilers.”

“...”

He’s still mad. Tenten sighed, and then added, “I also want to save the best route for last.”

“...really?” He opened one eye and looked at her skeptically.

But Lee and Gai were seeing something else. Neji’s like a puppy wagging his tail!

The Girl Who Feels Loved

“Well, we’ve made enough ruckus for one day.” Lee gave the bedridden patient a snappy farewell salute. “Feel better, Tenten!”

“We’ll check in from time to time to make sure you’ve taken your meds and are well-fed,” promised Gai as he left fruits and bottled water within her reach.

“I left three choice screens on Slots 11, 12, and 13 in case I made a mistake on Prince’ route,” said Neji. “It’s really difficult to seduce a sociopath bastard.”

She stifled a laugh. For all their quirks, her team really loves her, and she loves them back just as much.

"Thank you, everyone. I had a great time today.” She beamed fondly at them.

Otome guys may be cute and all, but nothing beats my 3D boys.

That Word Again 

“Didn't you have fun, Neji?” asked Lee as the trio walked home leisurely.

“Fun. Heh.” Neji rolled his eyes. “Playing to please fictional men so they’ll date the female MC is hardly fun. A relationship should be the product of two people working together to keep it stable and strong, not a one-sided effort to fit somebody’s preferences and expectations.”

Gai looked impressed. “For a tsundere, you seem to express the ways of love so clearly.”

Neji scowled. “There’s that word again! Why do you keep calling me that?!”

Lee and Gai both wore a stupid expression on their faces as if they were doing their damn best not to burst out laughing.

“F-Fine! Just call me whatever you want! It’s not like I particularly care.” He crossed his arms with a scowl.

Neji’s tsundere-ness is a dating sim dream! Gai imagined hordes of male players exploding into massive nosebleeds if they overhear this conversation. We must keep this dere side of him a secret... or he’ll pose a threat to the future of Konoha youth! 

The Last Word

“But all that aside, I really appreciate that you decided to meet Tenten’s interests halfway,” said Lee smilingly. “You’re typically not the kind of person who’d be pushed into doing something he didn’t like.”

Neji shrugged. “If I didn’t do that, Tenten would have insisted on playing all day. Otherwise, I just want to move on from this day and forget those sissy-looking, psychologically-problematic jerks.”

“Now. now, Neji. it”s not so bad,” chuckled Lee. “Besides, it’s not as if it’s the furthest you would go for her.”

The Hyuuga glared pointedly at him, but had no words to rebut until they parted ways.

“Was I too upfront with him, Gai-sensei?” asked Rock Lee when it was just the two of them walking back.

In response, Gai grinned. “A bit. I have a feeling that someone’s going to do a lot of thinking tonight about circumstances.”

Indeed, that night, Neji could hardly feel the beckoning of slumber. He was busy writing down in-depth character profiles for each otome male route, his famed observational skills polished by Gai’s game insights meticulously detailing the nuances of possible choice screens that would come up as the game progressed.

Neji sighed. Maybe Lee was right-- there wasn’t a lot he wouldn’t do for the sake of Tenten’s smile. 

But it’s not like he could help it. Just like the female MC in the game, pleasing someone that matters to him did feel... a little nice.

THE END

[kouhii]

Ok, I know everyone praises P2 for having a canon gay relationship, But can we talk about how it isn't apex of represantation. I mean, while Jun's great, writers avoided giving him a Shadow. Also his relationship with Tatsuya has pretty much all yaoi cliches of that time (like game can't stop reminding us how feminine Jun is). I think Naoto and Kanji's (and Chie's, in the original) are much realistic and meaningful represantations of gender perspective in Japan.

I agree with some things you have said Anon, but I also think you got a lot of things wrong too, so I’m going to try to adress those things down below in this big post.

Just have in mind that this could be just my own opinion in the matter and I could have made some mistakes or forgotten to mention something, but I really respect your opinion and I will be careful to say anything about the matter.

JUST A BIG REMINDER: FOR SOME PEOPLE POINTING OUT FLAWS IS SAYING THE GAME IS BAD, THAT’S NOT THE POINT AT ALL. I’M A BIG FAN OF THE GAMES AND I REALLY RECOMMEND PLAYING THEM. 

ALSO: I saw some ignorants saying that “the game isn’t even supposed to represent anything” and no, don’t freaking use this excuse for putting dirt under the rug, just don’t. If you are going to mention it in a game at least do it right.

First, I don’t think Jun not having a shadow has anything to do with bad writing because they explored his backstory very well even without a presence of his shadow (there is shadows in P2, but if you came from P4 thinking that shadows are necessary you can get some things wrong, exploring your “true self” is not the main point here, this is more of a SMT game where evil and good are the main attraction).

For example, Jun was manipulated to be Joker and control the shadows that were forcefully created to obey him, there wasn’t a reason for him to control his own shadow to begin with.

But this doesn’t mean we don’t try to show him who he truly is and have a insight of his confusing mind and what he really thinks of himself, through the Caracol dungeon we have a look inside Jun’s mind (looking at his younger self that appears like a ghost) and how he was manipulated to believe there wasn’t anything positive for him anymore.

And the relief of seeing the truth of himself.

He didn’t have a reason to have a shadow at all because he was already accepting the things he had done and accepted what was his true self (we even fight him in two forms, it would be a bit too much to have a three round battle against another side of Jun again, seriously that thing was terrible I don’t think I need another Jun to beat up, please, just don’t).

Second, I think Jun being feminine wasn’t exaggerated or “yaoi cliche”, he is a very caring, warm and protective character shown to have big problems of being antisocial, using his calculating self to manipulate other people and the big trauma he suffered when he thought Maya died made him even more closed.

Even if it is canon that he likes Tatsuya they don’t just slap that in your face with homophobic jokes or him being forcefully flirty every second too, he is caring with Tatsuya, praises him and is very attentive with him, Ginko considers him a “rival in love” just like Maya and the rest is pretty much optional demon negotiation dialogues where you flirt with him (that you, the player, can choose to unlock), calling him your “boyfriend” or saying “you like him”, but that’s similar for the girls too. I don’t remember anything overly exaggerated or mandatory for his interactions.

Now, Kanji too has what you would call a feminine side, Jun loves flowers and Kanji loves cute things and crocheting. I don’t see anything wrong in male characters to be shown to have “feminine” interests, this is what we would call representating people that feel that way too. Let boys smell flowers and admire cute things for god’s sake, this is beautiful and there’s nothing wrong with that (both Jun and Kanji wear make up during some scenes too).

But in Persona 4 they totally mock Kanji for having those traits, they call him “queer” and even his own father says that “because he is a man he needs to be strong” and this confused him to no end. We don’t have this kind of homophobic reaction for Jun feminine traits whoever. 

I don’t think it was bad to adress those things, but for the way they made Yosuke (his own friend) to call him queer and make rude jokes all the time when he already suffered enough? That was painfully horrible and nobody called him out for that while on the other hand Ginko just says for Tatsuya “you are free to love whoever you want” when you choose to say you are interested in Jun and that’s it. They don’t shame you or Jun of being queer.

(This whole scene makes me uncomfortable. I’m sorry they wrote you that badly and scrapped your romance route Yosuke).

In Persona 2 Jun is already shown to be a canon gay character without problems to accept this part of himself because he didn’t suffer from people being homophobic with him (he was already suffering enough with trying to get away from people to begin with), but I don’t think this means he is a bad representation just because he didn’t suffer from it. He is just a character that accepted himself easily because Tatsuya was someone special for him since he was a child and he had even a worse trauma of being manipulated to cope with.

As for Naoto, I think she was a great character who saw how bad and sexist society was of having a girl as a detective and needed to dress up like a boy to continue with it and also because she admired male detective figures that marked her childhood, there is also a lot of transexual implications on her shadow, but she was a nice representation by herself (maybe some more development would be nice).

What I think is:

Persona 4 would be a perfect game about accepting your true self if the sexist/transophobic/homophobic jokes weren’t badly treated and overly used for no good reason, this doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have addressed it, but they made even your friends do that and you, as a protagonist who is supposed to represent the player as much as possible, can’t even do shit about that (It’s just awful and I got a lot of LGBT people coming to me to talk about how uncomfortable it was for them to see that badly treated in a game).

Because of the rude jokes the good representations were totally “covered” up, as for character alone Kanji and Naoto are nice, maybe just not so greatly developed, but for the game on it’s own it’s just poorly treated.

Persona 2 was a game made in the 90′s and they didn’t make that amount of mistakes that Persona 4 made when addressing a character of being interested in men (I mean most people see Kanji as bisexual too, nothing wrong with that) and that’s why people praise this game (and it is the only game you can romance a male character in the series and they didn’t even have social links/cooperation for the whole dating sim thing).

Homophobia is a delicate and heavy topic, if writers want to talk about it the number one rule isn’t to make the whole work with it all over the place (just mention it and never treat about it seriously is a big mistake) and if the character has already accepted who he is then there is not a single reason for him to not just react to it seriously (I really wanted Kanji to call out Yosuke and talk about it seriously, but it didn’t happen).

Tatsuya is a silent protagonist too and he had options to say “sexual discrimination is wrong”, they could’ve just make something similar for Yu if they really wanted some representation even if demon negotiation wasn’t a thing (just for P5 recently).

If Yosuke wasn’t scrapped as a romantic route they could’ve at least showed a character that was just being homophobic because he was still in doubt of his own sexuality (this is a real thing in real life too, sadly), this would be so interesting to see, but when they scrapped this out of the game they just left him as this character who is a complete dick without a reason and nobody cares.

AGAIN WHY THE PROTAGONIST CAN’T FIGHT AGAINST IT IF HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE AS CLOSE AS THE PLAYER AS POSSIBLE. IT’S UNCOMFORTABLE TO JUST SIT THERE AND WATCH.

The mistake that the new team of writers of P3/P4 and the direction made was so bad and regressive that what we got now for Persona 5 as a gay representation is… just, just look at it:

This is what I would call stereotypes and overly bad representation of “”feminine”” male characters (this whole scene is just a big rude joke on gay panic), to compare Jun of being feminine and exaggerated comparing to that? I’m sorry, but I have to disagree with you. 

It’s not because “Japan is still not as progressive with it as other countries” because the media has already changed a lot and there is other games that treat about it with a far openly mind. This isn’t a excuse for anything.

No, the new team didn’t make a good job at all and never learned from that. I’m sorry if it hurts to say that, it hurts me too, but I don’t think the same team of Persona 2 would be able to make that mistake as careful as they was at least.