#the way Haruhi doesn’t have to have gender biases/reality shoved down her throat she’d already be aware of it

[myinterestsvary-writes]

If the beach episode of Ouran must be rewritten, I’d prefer to keep the subplot of the men being assholes and trying to find out what she’s afraid of, her finding out about it and scaring one of them instead, then those outsiders coming in to harass the girls and Haruhi witnesses it so she comes to their rescue by calling to their attention in a less antagonistic way (by not agitating the hostiles by throwing stuff at them). She uses her wits to effectively talk down the outsiders and to unknowingly make time for the others to come but as soon as the boys arrive to help she tells them that she can handle it but the outsiders get pissed off all over again at the sight of more people. One of the girls get thrown off the cliff and Haruhi immediately jumps in after her while the boys get angry and start fucking them up while Tamaki begins panicking over Haruhi’s actions.

Haruhi rescues the girl despite not being a very strong swimmer. Mori and Tamaki helps them back to shore and everybody asks them if they’re alright. They then praise her for her actions and Tamaki then says, “why didn’t you call for us sooner? That was a very dangerous situation for a girl like you to be in.”

That is when she reaffirms her views on gender, saying, “it doesn’t matter about me being a girl. I was there, I had to do something.”

Tamaki asks her if things had escalated, what would she have done? Does she know martial arts? Can her swimming skills help her in an emergency?

She admits to not knowing martial arts, and it’s the reason why she approached the situation the way she had but Haruhi also motions to the girl she had rescued responding to his second question, saying they were strong enough to save two people so she knows she’s good enough. Tamaki angrily counters that it was because everyone else was there to help her to shore, not because she’s a good swimmer. He doesn’t like how nonchalant she’s being about this. Defensively at his tone, she tells him that she didn’t need their help and if anything, the rest of the Host Club coming in only made it worse as the men were calming down before. She then angrily walks off. The twins berate him for picking a fight with her, laughing at his instant misery.

The dinner scene happens, Haruhi is wearing a dress because of her father and she’s also turned back on the lights at Kyoya’s estate after a blackout. All by herself. The boys welcome her for dinner and Tamaki is hesitant to say anything to her but Haruhi greets him, making him blush. He then offers to help her with the crab legs as they’re not easy to open but he’s interrupted by her easily snapping them in half and munching down on them repeatedly. He grows more and more taken aback with each crab leg and doesn’t comment on how much she eats and instead gets upset at her demeanour, not understanding it. He’s escorted out to his room by Kyoya.

Haruhi notices his departure and asks what’s up with him. The twins ask her if she thought she might’ve been a little arrogant out there and Haruhi being oblivious thinks of course not, she was doing the right thing and had it under control. Honey comes in and says something wise about martial arts and the beauty of working in sync with your fellow fighter. Haruhi considers the proverb, reflecting on her actions and how it affected everyone. Noticing this, they group embrace her, telling her how much they admire her and that they weren’t worried at all. That she belongs to them as a fellow Host Club member. Haruhi grows sick and makes it to Tamaki’s room to expel her food, she’s upset over doing that.

“Are you alright?” Tamaki asks.

Haruhi nods and immediately cuts to apologizing for her arrogance. Tamaki dismisses the apology, apologizing himself for what he said to her and admitting to worrying about her. Haruhi is confused because everyone else said that they weren’t. He goes on to say he didn’t know what to do when he saw her jump in after the girl, feeling useless. Haruhi reassures him and then looks out the window to see rain starting to drizzle onto the glass. ‘Is there going to be a thunderstorm?’ Perceptively, she bids him a good night and just as she turns towards the door, thunder claps, Haruhi seeing the telltale white light surround her silhouette. She shudders in fear and is momentarily paralyzed before she turns to face him with tears in her eyes. Tamaki notices this and reaches out for her before another thundering sound erupts, Haruhi screaming and making her way towards the closet but Tamaki stops her, pulling her in for a hug. He vocalizes his realization of why she became so independent, reveling in the idea of finding her weakness but showing compassion for it because of the explanation for it. This contrasts the boys’, including Tamaki’s, behaviour in the beginning. Tamaki, who at first didn’t like the idea but selfishly figured he could grow closer to her through it and also get some nice photos of her, tells her that he’ll always be there for her even when she thinks she doesn’t need it. Haruhi protests at this but then more thundering silences her.

The rest of the episode plays out in its original format.