#we shouldve been more blunt about it too like there was no need for 3 poc to be so level headed when asked shit like that | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

still-a-morosexual-help · 3 years

Note

Regarding the new characters in obey me; im super happy their giving us more gender diverse characters. We love that representation

However… to be blunt about it- While i like how the mc can be imagined to be any gender, ethnicity, sexuality, appearance, etc; if they were really going for inclusivity and diversity, they shouldve already had female, non-binary, trans, etc characters from the start and not just adding them in later on. It just feels cheap to do that now. There are characters in the cast that couldve been female or non binary or even trans and the story will be unaffected if not even better. Hell, it would make so much more sense if asmo was gender fluid or enby.

I can understand how some people who didnt pay attention think that this was just any other otome game targeted to a mainly female audience because the entire cast is composed of all cis males. (Unless canon states otherwise and i missed it) but its not. It really infuriates me how petty some people become with just seeing a feminine silhouette. We dont even know much about the new characters and their role in the story yet.

Tldr; solmare should’ve given us the women and enbys from the start of the game. This drama couldve been avoided. But its better late than never i guess.

Sorry for making you read my rant, Thank you and goodnight

Ps: I dont know if this is a real hot take or i just need to chill. But oh boy do i have alot of grievances to the story and gameplay already

Okay so about Solmare not giving us nb, female and trans LIs from the beginning- I completely understand your frustration and I would have loved that However:

Look, I'm not trying to defend Solmare or whatever but you gotta consider their side of things too:

1.) I genuinely don't think they had a concrete plan to add more LIs than the brothers. The game advertises romancing the 7 brothers and that's it. Usually an otome game would advertise their large variety of male LIs. I don't think they expected OM! to grow so popular in such a short period of time (specially considering they have loads more games that never reached this level of popularity). They probably did have a plan of maybe making the side characters dateable but I feel like 13 and Mephisto were both (relatively) rushed jobs?

2.) I don't what the situation is like in Japan - ik being gay is not illegal but I don't know what the actual situation is like there when you're creating lgbtq+ media. I do however live in an Asian country and I do know that getting any type of lgbtq+ media that isn't all awfully stereotyped is hard. I do know that even in Western countries where things are supposed to be generally more accepted that creators can struggle to get lgbtq+ relationships out there. That (though this is somewhat outdated) they had to fight to let Asami & Korra hold hands, or to let Ruby & Sapphire get married (& that in certain dubs Ruby was voiced by a man), that they had to keep hints of Catra & Adora and Marceline & Bubblegum subtle until the last episode. That the producers of Gotham (the tv show) kept referring to two female characters who were canonically in a relationship and who had slept together on the show, as "best friends" despite the writers insisting they were girlfriends, that they had a canon gay character and his possible love interest referred to "as brothers" within the show itself. I have no idea who heads Solmare or who greenlights these games but I can't imagine it wasn't an uphill battle.

3.) Look at the end of the day OM! is an otome game and they are known for having a tiny fair skinned MC with long brown hair. Anime itself is not really the most inclusive of lgbtq+ relationships (and though this has changed recently and there have been more realistic portrayals of them - for the most part they have been either a.) completely ignored b.) used as the butt of a joke c.) grossly fetishized d.) weirdly noncon/dubcon for no reason). So OM! first of all giving us a MC without a confirmed gender who uses they/them pronouns within the game is huge!? I played this game thinking it was gonna be about another petite girl and that I would delete it after about a month and when I realised MC used they/them pronouns within the actual game it felt like I got hit by a speeding train? It was amazing. And now they're adding a nb character with a feminine aesthetic as a LI????? Like hello??? Is no one else impressed? If OM! keeps getting popular they may follow wizardess heart and add more LIs (after all Michael still isn't there yet) meaning potentially more diverse characters. Maybe it's because of what the situation is like where I live (aka being gay is still illegal and - though the law has never been implemented - punishable by 10yrs in prison) and so maybe I have low standards but to me this is a lot and I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and let them have their slow start (specially considering Solmare has never done anything like this before and they're breaking their own mould and I'm generous enough to let them stumble and take baby steps. Hopefully other new otome games will see om! and its popularity and follow in its footsteps while also improving and picking up OM!'s slack)

Yeah I've been annoyed at people too cause of how they're reacting to a feminine silhouette but I don't really think you can blame anyone else but those people if:

a.) They have no reading comprehension when the game clearly states in the description that it was for all genders

b.) They can't read the note next to the silhouette which says the new character is for people who would prefer them and that they're not there to steal away the other LIs

c.) They're facing some weird internal misogyny/bigotry and are now demanding that anyone who wants a variety in the LIs' gender should get their own game. <- Look if someone is saying this I AM NOT gonna blame Solmare or the OM! team. I'm gonna blame that particular person for being a grade A asshole

Here's a link to a post I made about people feeling anxious about 13 and reasons why they don't have to be, it also touches on some of the stuff I said here -> here

EDIT:

Tldr: all my points basically add up to this ->

140 notes · View notes