#you're bi and there's a thing called comphet

[youleavethetardisbrakeson]

"He'll grow out of it," says the man who 'yields command' to his dragonrider wife.

[feral-radfem]

Yeah, a LOT of bi women claimed to be a lesbian while she is dating a woman, dating a man identifying as a woman, or is single nowadays. I'm tired of having to sit here and bear it under the guise of allowing others to explore their sexuality. I really wish people would understand that heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality are all innate. No one has to try the other side to see if they like it and most people who experiment with their sexuality were bi the first place. That's where the desire to see what it's like usually comes from.

Between the redefining of lesbian, the 'sexuality is fluid' bullshit, and the fake ass lesbian Master docs I'm surprised anytime I find an actual lesbian wandering about. They want to be a lesbian (usually in name alone {fetishization}) so bad it makes them sick.

I can't believe I've been using this website so long that I got to experience tumblr's entire "LUG" arc in real time. There is currently a post going around with thousands of notes and most of the replies/tags are comprised of women talking about how they thought they were lesbian until they met the right man (even if dressed up in gender/"queer" lingo that's what most of them boil down to). One that stood out to me was a girl saying she "was a lesbian four 4-5 years" and, assuming she's not five years old, I wonder what she was before that? More people really need to read up on the concept of a bi-cycle and stop claiming they're "ex gay" at age twenty-one. You were always just bi.

[stanlunter]

Bi erasure in the fandoms

There are many types of biphobia among people, but I wanna talk about the least noticable type of it, which is super common and barely gets called out. "Headcanoning" canon/implied bisexual characters (mostly female, for some reason) as lesbians.

Usually they don't even portay it as a "headcanon", but just state that they are and make everyone believe this. And when they done, people even start call you lesbophobic for calling bi erasure our, bc It's suddenly you're the one who "erase" lesbians. And the funny thing is that a lot of those who state so, haven't even watched these shows and just have "heard" that these characters are "lesbians" and the continue misinformate everyone else. And that's awful and very harmful for bi community

Let's take some examples

1. Asami and Korra

Both are bisexual women who were in love with the same man and then broke up with him and started dating each other. Prolly the most heavily implied bisexuals ever. But what do people have problems with? Oh, they think that if a bi girl has broken up with a man, it means only that she realized she's lesbian. Not that her ex was a cheater, not that their relationship was toxic. No, they can break up only bc she had a comphet. There are no other options. And if a girl dates another girl, she's also 100% lesbian, bc bi girls are just "straights who wanna invade lgbt", right? Oh, yeah, also Korra is strong and muscle "lesbian stereotype" and Asami is "cold and lady-like" "lesbian stereotype" so yeah, It's absolutely makes them lesbians! — another example of why the stereotypes are actually harmful.

2. Poison Ivy (both in the show and in the comics)

Absolutely the same thing as with Korra and Asami, but is also a "mean lesbian stereotype" which is basically the strongest stereotype, so yeah. Ivy dated Kite man and was actually attracted to him. She liked kissing me and enjoyed his company. The only thing that made her break up with Kite man is that he wasn't someone she saw her future with. He didn't fit her and she knew who did - Harley, her girlfriend. Even when Ivy knew she was attracted to Harley (bc she litterally cheated with her), she still knew she is attracted to Kite man and even so planned their wedding, but being attracted ≠ being soulmates, unfortunately. People also for some reason think that just bc Ivy hates men, it means she has to be lesbian. Ig they don't know there are bi or even straight girls who hate men. Like febfems (bi girls who refuse to date men for political reasons and their safety) don't exist. Like you can't be attracted to someone you hate.

And after all, Ivy dating Kite Man (and Dan Back) isn't even the main reason she's bisexual. Besides it, she was confirmed to be bisexual multipe times by many different authors. She's canon bi in almost every universe. And the way some new authors are trying to change her sexuality is a clearest bi erasure. And It's also funny, cuz if someone ever dared to turn a canon lesbian character into bisexual, everyone would immidiatly lose it. But when they do the same with bisexuals, It's suddenly being ignored. Wow.

3. Sasha Waybright

Thankfully the last time I don't see this so often (mb bc the fandom is dying tho), but just when everyone's favourite "mean lesbian" was confirmed to be bisexual, everyone went wild... Yeah, their favourite stereotype was broken. Does it mean they started to understand that stereotypes don't define sexuality and that even mean girls can like men? Ofc not! They obviously started to say that she was confirmed as bi bc: 1. Disney didn't want to let her be lesbian 2. Mate did it only to make the fandom mad

Lmao. They really gonna believe anything but that a character can just be...bisexual. And even so, they keep "headcanoning" her as lesbian. I've even heard people who were saying she had a "comphet" and will realize she's lesbian in the future. That's not even funny, but it does make me laugh

4. Princess Bubblegum

Oh, I love the way the whole tik tok fandom suddenly started to call Bubblegum "canon lesbian" just bc someone has said so and others have spread it up. Ig I should be thankful, that they at least recognize Marcelin being bisexual, huh?

Anyways, the thing is that Bubblegum, just as much as Marcelin was heavily implied to be bisexual. She litterally had an ex bf and for those who love calling every bi character with ex bfs lesbians with comphet, besides that Bubblegum was also in love with Finn in the episode when she turned 13. She litterally kissed him there and has said she wishes she could stay this way with him. It was directly shown throught the whole show that's the only reason why Finn's feelings are one sided is that Bubblegum is way older than him. And in the episode "Too young" it was directly confirmed. But people are still gonna call her lesbian just...bc? I don't even know why, she doesn't even fit stereotypes that much. Mb they decided to "ruin stereotypes" by it? Or mb they just decided that since6she rejected Finn (a litteral child) it means she can't be attracted to men at all? This logic is even worse. But God only knows what is in their heads

5. Yang Xiao long

Oh, yeah, this one is usually super objectionable bc she was showing interest in men basically only in v1 and then started dating Blake. And if Blake being bi was so clear that there are basically no people denying it or bc she fits bi stereotypes, who knows, however we should remember that bisexuals don't have to have equal attraction to everyone (like Blake, who had 2 male and 2 female love interests) and they don't have to date all genders to prove their attraction.

But there are many evidences of Yang being attracted to men too.

In the whole Yellow Trailer Yang actively flirts with a man

In ep3v1 she happily gazas on shirtless men and then, when Ruby says "father wouldn't approve it" she answers (I know, I fo) – which already would be enought to confirm her attraction to men

But in the same volume, when the team decorates their room, when Yang hangs a poster with a male band of the artists she's attracted too, it was shown that she liked men as well.

Yeah, I got that both the fandom and Roosters really love to forget everything that was in v1-2, but It's a fact that Yang is bisexual as well as Blake. But wait, she's a "strong lesbian stereotype", right!!! So let's ignore a bi representation, sure!

6. Sunset shimmer

Here's a girl, who canonically has dated a man and was officially confirmed to be bisexual by the author in Twitter. So why do people keep "headcanoning" her as lesbian? Oh, bc she's SUNSET and has flags of lesbian colors. Like "Sunset" was invented by lesbian flag, yeah. And what's the funniest thing in this perfect argument is that Sunset Shimmer was created even before the sunset lesbian flag designed!

And, yeah, I could take the "she has said that she didn't like Flash so it was a comphet/pretending" thing, but the problem is that it still litterally was confirmed by the author himself that Sunset is bisexual. And in the further show and even movie we can see clear signs of them still having a thing for each other. Like Sunset winks to him and many of their other interactions, but they can be read in a friends way as well ofc, which doesn't make her any less of canon bi!

7. Clawdeen Wolf

Her situation is exactly like Yang's. Since not so long time ago Clawdeen was confirmed to be lgbt and there was announced a comic about her and Toralei's romantic relationship, everyone started yelling that she's "canon lesbian" now. However it was only confirmed that she's wlw, not lesbian. And wlw includes these little unknown people called bisexuals.

But why do I say she's bi, but not lesbian? Well, bc it was clearly shown in the show and the movies that she's attracted to men. Yeah, she's a bit less obsessed with them than others and doesn't have a bf, however her feelings for many of them were obvious. And it was no where near a comphet. No, she was exactly attracted to them, that's a fact. So for now, she's a heavily implied bi character who had feelings for boys and who is dating a girl, just like Yang. And calling her lesbian is kinda biphobic

8. Kagami Tsurugi

A canon bisexual character, who's love to both Marinette and Adrian was confirmed in official synopsis for s5 and official show bible. She was shown to have a clearest attraction to Adrian and Felix, 2 men. Even if after she has broken up with Adrian (and no, not bc she realized she was lesbian, but bc he has fucking lied to her face and has broken up her heart) some people got an idea of her being a "lesbian with a comphet", this idea was destroyed again by her new attraction to Felix, another man.

However people are still gonna ignore her canon sexuality and call her a lesbian, by using "comphet" as a justification, or even by turning Felix and Adrian into transwomen, which isn't a justification to erase bi representation either anyways!

It's especially hurting since she's my favourite character I strongly relate to tho

9. Sayaka

Omg, Madoka Magica is an anime that includes girls who like girls. Almost all of the main characters are implied to be lesbians. But you know who's being headcanoned as a lesbian the most?? That's right! The only girl that likes boys too! What an irony, yeah? Sayaka has a huge romantic tension with Kyoka and has a canon crush on her male childhood friend – Kyosuke. So we can have the only bi rep out of 5 wlw girls. Ofc this rep was taken from us, bc some people wanna headcanon (or even impose it as canon) that the only bisexual girl is a lesbian with a comphet! Sure, yeah. Again, my favourite excuse for bi erasure, nothing's new, lol

10. Utena and Anthy

Another bisexual couple, who's coded sexuality is always getting erased. Uthena and Anthy love each other and even shared a kiss in one of the endings. The status of their relationship wasn't directly stated in anime, however everyone who has eyes can see their clear romantic and not only tension. Utena's another love interest is Touga, who was her childhood love who she was shown to have super clearest attraction throught the anime, and this attraction has no platonic explanation, so yeah, Utena ia attracted to both men and women and It's canon. The same goes for Anthy: she had strong feelings for Dios. Both characters are bi-coded and comphet was never there. People are just trying to use it as an excuse to bi erasure bc they want all wlw characters to be lesbians, that's all.

So, if someone is gonna say that I'm "denying comphet" or any other shit like that, no, I know it exists and I know a lot of lesbians go throught it and it deserves a representation too, but in such cases the difference between comphet and an actual attraction to men is so clear and you know that.

There are also examples of the characters who had or could have comphet:

Like Apple White, who thought she supposed to like Daring just bc he's "her destiny", but she never liked him (and even in her bio she says that just bc they have to marry, it doesn't mean they're dating) and her actual "true love", who's kiss made Apple wake up was Darling, his sister. And It's an actually good example of comphet bc of the society pressure. Or Yuzu (even tho for some reason some people still think she's bi) who was said to never be in love with anyone untill her step-sister, she even lied to her friends about having boyfriends bc she thought there was smth wrong with her since she isn't attracted to men. Also Velma and etc. Unfortunately there aren't that many examples, but even with these ones the difference between a lesbian with a comphet and a bisexual girl is obvious, so yeah, you just want an excuse to erase bisexuals and turn them into lesbians and it will never be okay

[quidfree]

hello! i've followed you to indulge in your TSH content, having just finished the book and your fanfic Sober II (Melodrama) back to back! (i'm destroyed!!)

i'm wondering if you've given any thought to whether Richard (Tartt's Richard, or yours) is gay or maybe bisexual? he ofc probably would not make that distinction himself - given the time period, or his aversion to that kind of self reflection, or the apparent finality of his relationship with Francis, or maybe all of the above - but it's fun to think about now, especially myself being someone who now IDs as a lesbian after 10 years of IDing as bi.

thank you for your service 🫡

hello! love your username btw. and thank you, glad to have you in the quidfree extended tartt community.

i like the 'tartt's richard or yours' distinction- i would say i do make an effort so that (to me at least) my richard is a plausible iteration of hers, i.e. i do not like to write so that the characters are 'my' versions unless i think the source material is bad (or at least bad in that specific way). but some of my less serious tsh material veers further into the 'my' side of the scale, for sure. anyway all that to say i don't have separate sets of thoughts on 'both' richards, it's more that there's some stuff i'm 100% on being in canon and some stuff i know i extrapolated into the extended materials my tsh fic constitute.

all that aside, i actually do not have strong feelings on whether richard is gay or bisexual. i think both have strong canon grounding and present similar but slightly different psychologies of the character. the obvious thing is that richard is repressing his attraction to men, but whether he's also comphet in his attraction to women is debatable. he's consistently attracted to them and sleeps with/dates them across all of canon, but on the other hand the key female love interests for him are 1) judy, whose interest he doesn't reciprocate 2) mona, who he sleeps with post murder in a fugue state 3) camilla, who he deifies as a feminine ideal and also always lauds the androgynous beauty/looks she shares with her brother of and 4) sophie, who does lend the most credence to him actually being into girls but also is someone he latches onto when his whole group has deserted him and then fails to emotionally connect with despite several years of dating. of course that could be the trauma, the repression, or both! but my point is there's evidence both ways, no pun intended. richard has very distinct ways of thinking about men and women but it's not as simple as one thing- there's his own self-perception/masculinity, his sexism, his homophobia, and his sexuality all playing a part.

you're right that he wouldn't make the distinction himself, though- either way, his canon thought process is very much 'well i'm not one of those' and that's a catch-all. if and when he gains self-awareness it would have to be through a prolonged relationship of some kind, e.g. with francis in sober ii-verse, because one-offs he can excuse and repress. which is why i think once that sort of long-term realisation happened he would think that he had been lying to himself/everyone the whole time beforehand and secretly consider himself a homosexual (regardless of whether this would be accurate).

i think modern day richard would be more likely to call himself bisexual regardless of which option you go with as more likely. you know that quote from obama's biography about reading marx to get with bisexual college girls... that's somehow richard-coded but in the sense that he thinks calling himself 'flexible' or whatever lets him sound liberated but plausibly heteronormative. in any setting francis delights in the corner he paints himself into.

[theoldlesbianwithcats]

It pains me to see how low gold stars' self-esteem can be, because we've been gaslit by the so-called lesbian community to think of ourselves as privileged no matter how much shit we went through for being lesbians.

I was thinking of this because I stumbled upon a twitch channel hosted by a fakebian and her gold star girlfriend. They were talking about their couple, their sexuality, their past, etc. The gold star was apologetic and kept saying that she was so much luckier than her girlfriend because she didn't "go through comphet".

However, here are the facts as they were telling them. The gold star:

Got repeatedly belittled by her mother for being a lesbian as a teen ("you're only a lesbian because you're too ugly to please men")

As a result, allowed many bicurious girls and women to "experiment" with her (= use her sexually)

Had a toxic long-term relationship where she was raped

Was the live-in sidechick of a bi woman in a het marriage for years, even though she admits that it destroyed her mental health, until the bi woman left the husband for her (that's the fakebian)

The fakebian:

Had many boyfriends and was in a happy marriage with a guy for years, has a child with him, still friends with the guy.

Bragged about having an open-minded family who never cared if she liked women, admitted that she never felt any social pressure to be with men but just went with the flow

That's it.

The fakebian never told her girlfriend that no, actually, she was the one who had it easy and being a gold star seems very difficult. It's very clear that she's still the one calling the shots in the relationship and the gold star got brainwashed into thinking that having boundaries or desires is messed up. The gs would say things like "It took her a few times to start reciprocating but it's ok! I never asked anything of her, it's fine, I swear! It would have been fucked up to expect her to reciprocate since she had never been with a woman! I prefer giving anyway!" (meanwhile the fakebian was repeating to the nervous bicurious women in the chat that they'll always be better in bed than any man ever) and "I never minded being a bi woman's first time with a woman, no one cares!" and her gf answered "only assholes care about that" 😬

I'd like to help other gold stars be unapologetically themselves, to know who they are, what they want and speak up about it, to be in touch with their emotions and their instincts, but that lack of confidence and boundaries can be so ingrained I don't even know where to start...

[favberrys]

What would you do if you’re a Showrunner/writer on glee?

I don't think i have the abilities and qualifications to write a tv show, but i notice when the writers are becoming lazy and when there are flaws in the writing bc these flaws arrive at the spectator who watches the show. One the first things i would do is make faberry canon like it was intended in the first script of glee (there was a script before the pilot in which the popular cheerleader fell in love with the girl loser of the school, but the idea/project was abandoned). I would give more space to wlw pairings bc while the mlm rep in glee was diverse and deepened, the wlw rep was okay thanks to brittana but had too little screen time. So i would make two wlw pairing (faberry and brittana) have more development and space in the show. I would defo treat quinn's character arc way better than ryan murphy, i wouldn't have throwed that character in the trash after s3, i would have developed her personal story more and her relationship with rachel. Quinn is a very queer coded character, so i would have prob given more space to her journey of coming to terms with her sexuality (prob would have made her a lesbian who struggled a lot with comphet in highschool bc of her rigid catholic upbringing). I also would not make quinn end up with her r@pist (puck got her drunk to have sex with her even though she didn't want to, the consent was basically nonexistent and pretty dubious so that's why i consider him a rapist).

Another change i would make is give more performances to characters like santana and mercedes bc as much as i love rachel, i feel like amber's and naya's talent were underused. I would have given less solos to kurt and more to them.

I would also make rachel bisexual cos there's no way that girloser does not like women, and what i would do is make her "experiment"/have a sort of friendship with benefits with Santana in s4 cos before they broke apart they were pretty close and had a nice intimacy and chemistry, Santana had broken up with Brittany, so i think a thing between them in which rachel full blown realises she likes girls too (and later realises she had always been in love with quinn/had a crush on quinn since highschool) and Santana trying out different bonds with girls before understanding she wants brittany only, would have been nice to make both characters grow and mature.

I would keep the quinntana one night stand bc i feel like that was really important for quinn to finally accept she liked girls and therefore that rachel had always been the one she really wanted. But how would that work if you plan to make Santana bang both rachel and quinn ? Well i would simply make rachel a thing with santana at the end of s4, after santana and quinn's one night stand (it doesn't even have to be necessarly sex or a physical relationship, but a bond in which rachel starts to see santana in a different light and finds her really hot and starts questioning herself and santan teases her about it but also gives her a wake up call "you're bi gayberry" or something like that, these are the two options).

I would keep kurt and blaine as they are but i wouldn't have made blaine have a thing with karosfky, that was just foul.

Also less performances from mr. Schue bc what the fuck was blurred lines.

[hard--headed--woman]

i'm a febfem who happens to have only dated women even before deciding to never act on my attraction to men. recently my friends have been insisting that i'm a lesbian, and refuse to listen when i say that's harmful to lesbians as i'm attracted to men. its annoying as fuck and i'm getting tired. even my ex (both my exes are lesbians, but only one of them is saying this) has been trying to convince me i'm a lesbian instead of a febfem. its annoying me, but when i said that they asked "what do you have against being a lesbian?" i have nothing against being a lesbian, i just literally am not a lesbian. i'm getting close to just saying they're right just to get them off my back. i don't know what to do, but you're a lesbian so maybe you can help - do you think they're right? does it sound like i'm a lesbian? could i just be experiencing comp-het? i don't want to tell lesbians what is lesbophobic or not, but also insisting that i must be a lesbian despite my very clear statement that i'm bi feels lesbophobic. i don't want to tell fellow bisexuals what is biphobic or not, but it feels like they're just doing the "pick a side" thing by insisting i must be "homoromantic bisexual" or "a lesbian experiencing comp-het" and using my dating history (all women) as evidence of that.

It is clearly lesbophobic and I am glad you know it and do not let people call you a lesbian. If I was you, I would tell my friends that I know what my sexuality is and that I won't accept any more comments and debates about it ; or I would just say that I do not want to talk about this anymore. It is your sexuality and they have no right to debate about it or literally tell you who you are attracted to or not. You know you are attracted to men, I don't even understand why they want you to be a lesbian so badly.

The split attraction model is total bullshit. Comphet is bullshit. You're bisexual and it's OK. Your friends just don't seem to understand that you can be attracted to men and still not date them, and that lesbians never feel attraction to men. It's both misogynistic and lesbophobic. Don't let them call you a lesbian if you know you aren't one!

[possamble]

Do you read falin as lesbian or bi? I lean more towards ambivalently bi but never that invested in it until she fell for Marcille, but at the same time that could be a comphet kinda thing so I see the logic of people who call them both lesbians. Do you think she ever had sexual or romantic relationships in the 3 years between school and reuniting with marcille?

here's my general thoughts on falin's relationship experience so far

i'd say lesbian but not in like a way i can back up with evidence and it's not a hill i'd die on necessarily sdflkvjsdf just vibes and projection. you're valid tho!! honestly either way i agree that she hasn't actually... felt much for anyone other than marcille regardless of who she's capable of feeling attracted to

[everything-is-crab]

Straight/bi women literally don't see lesbians as women due to their lack of attraction to men.

Sex is the division of reproductive labor that men choose to exploit. Gender is the social construct to support and facilitate the exploitation and homophobia is literally a product of that system. Don't wanna use the word "comphet" because the word is quite debated, but people are expected to choose a partner of the opposite sex. It's not like lesbians are just liberated. If you don't wanna admit lesbians are also exploited on the basis of their reproductive ability means that you don't think they're women.

Idk why some people like to argue that just because *some* lesbians in more liberal countries are able to live a life without pregnancy that means lesbians as a class are unempathetic to women of other sexualities in matters of reproductive exploitation. I live in India and I cannot imagine making that statement as a bisexual woman. The way lesbians here are forced into marriage and to give kids to their family. Corrective rape is a thing here. If you're going to use your race as an argument against lesbians then also have the guts to think from the pov of lesbians from your race (she is mixed white-Indian). This is the lived reality of most lesbians in the world. They're not less impacted by any form of misogyny. This is why radfems must introspect and criticize their own work first before blindly worshipping authors like Simone de Beauvoir, whose ideas you have internalized. Just like lesbophobes today, she was bitter against lesbians, thought they hindered feminist movement cause she thought they were some class of "liberated" women. The sentiment is still very alive today.

I highly doubt that she (if yk who I am talking about then yk) and other women who agreed with her have given birth themselves, or plan to anytime soon. In my opinion, a country that's less homophobic is also relatively less misogynistic. So lesbians there aren't more liberated anymore than het or bi women. Just like them, you have as much choice to remain childfree and never be pregnant. The social pressure, retaliation etc is something lesbians do share with us.

Straight women think and say the worst things about each other. Give each other advice on how to lose weight after pregnancy and to look attractive again to their husbands again. Give advice to stitch to be "tight" again. Disapprove certain style of dressing while on or after pregnancy.

However, all such behaviors these women inflict on each other is called internalized misogyny. In case of lesbians tho, they're accused of "behaving like men" when lesbians have no power, no social institution to force straight women into pregnancy or any of the things related to it. When lesbians are themselves forced in het marriages and childbirth. You cannot claim they're like "men". This is such an insult to the lesbian and bi women activists in my country who have made female only orgs within LGBT cause neither male members of LGBT nor het women understand the unique position of wlw community in society.

[ohwell-itsme-but-danganronpa]

My headcanon for Maki's sexuality and Danganronpa's "everyone's bisexual" problem

okay, but the fact I'm pretty sure Maki's LHS is about that friend (she tells Shuichi she used to play family with that friend and then in LHS she's like "we used to play family and we promised to become one when we grow up")

like, I'm fully Maki is a lesbian team, she played dad in their family, there's no heterosexual explanation, Kaito is just comphet

Ves: with the way she talks abt him, as a representation of what she's always wanted - to be "normal" - i think it's a fair reading!!

omg, you're a guy and you're being pushy with me, demanding I meet your idea of what a girl should be, what if I took that chance to emulate heterosexuality like I think I am supposed to as you're reaffirming that world-view

"you're the first person that made me feel this way", girl you were coerced into every situation where you were spending time with him and never said a positive thing about him, what kinda way you're talking about

she was shown being protective of him in the later stages but never saying something good about him

token comphet girl to me, following Toko's legacy

Ves: she's definitely sapphic…whether she likes men is hard to decide for me bc of kaito's general aura

Sini: She’s so gay in DRS Her interactions with Kaede and Chiaki?

listen, if you're not willing to see certain things as comphet dr can and will make everyone seem kinda bisexual this is because they make everyone accidentally gay from the beginning and then try to apply as much straightness as they can shove down our throats

salmon mode has a romantic ending for Tenko afaik, so people made cases for her being bi and repressing that side bc of trauma, canon would support that, but I don't, "a nice enough guy can fix her" is literally just another negative lesbian stereotype bc they tried to give her ALL of them

Ves: i have had SO MANY arguments on tumblr trying to explain that 1) tenko is a lesbian 2) tenko is attracted to men 3) this is because the makers of v3 are lesbophobes and her story is about finding a good man to "fix her" like. i feel like it isn't difficult to understand she's not written SUBTLY

Sini: Let’s be real, she’s kind of presented as a lesbian in denial. That’s not what they intended at all, but that’s definitely how it reads to me

[in another conversation] Hina: I'm just making her gay atp

this is a win for lesbian Maki truthers and I will take it, calling her unfortunate thing for Momota comphet is the only way to salvage that mess, the whole thing with her childhood friend and her LHS, and things she told Shuichi all contradict her confession to Momota, she is not in love and this would not be "the first time she felt that way" if she was, and just. immaculate gay energy, not bi, I can believe Tsumugi on her feelings for Momota being in-universe scripted, it was so forced, and she complied with it in a way that had to be pulling strings, just begrudgingly going along with something when her heart is NOT in it

Ves: harumami rights!

one of my fav "this is actually qp now, not doing the sibling dynamic" Amami ships beside amaguji, amamatsu is a bit below, it's the basic default cute option that will be good to see with any dynamic so I don't go for it, seen too much background romantic amamatsu in fics that protag Harukawa fic that seems silly if you judge it by it's cover is doing harumami propaganda to me, I think it's literally titled "ass in an assassin", unless I mistaken it with something else (since I know the title exists, I just hope I associate it with the correct fic)

Ves: ASS IN ASSASSIN IS RLLY GOOD IM PRETTY SURE I HAVEN'T READ IT IN A WHILE BUT I REMEMBER LIKING IT

[michellezagenda]

not to keep bringing up the same old but your screenshot of that tt vid of "signs ur a lesbian teeheh" and the comphet nonsense should be a big topic to discuss among bisexual women who might feel alienated by other bisexual women. what i mean is, is that no wonder some bi women proclaim to be gay when they're not since the average bi woman tends to be more leaning towards OSA rather than SSA (nothing wrong with that ofc!), tend to want to end up with men rather than women, and/or exclusively date men and only want to hookup with women for fun. its like always looking at the word bi as meaning "only taking the opposite sex seriously and only seeing the same sex as a short term thing" and then when we don't relate to that, we or other people then chime in and say "oh that means you're a lesbian bestie!" which is just. no its hard because ssa-leaning bis/febfems are hated everywhere and get attacked from all sides, yes even in gay/lesbian circles as well. reddit has banned r/febfem so there's just no safe way of meeting other likeminded bi women without going through the hordes of bi women who spit on you for not wanting a male partner or make you apologize to them repeatedly for not wanting to talk about their partners enough. they also proclaim that we are trying to get on the good side of lesbians when all we want is to have a chance at having a serious relationship with a woman; that's not lesbian behavior, that's just same sex attraction behavior. sorry if this got long lol but yeah idk, it's hard to feel secure in our sexuality when our sexuality feels hated on by everyone and then when we do try to make our own spaces, it gets shut down eventually, and then we're just floating through space with no secure anchors to hang onto. and so i think this is why some bi women insist on being called lesbians; its the one only true way of finding community with other women who do want something serious and long-term. its wrong yeah but it makes sense, you know? what says you queen?

yea i get feeling alienated as a bi woman, i still feel alienated bc i just don’t like men as much as a lot of them do. i still find myself trying to force it too…

I wish that bisexuality was treated normally so everyone can know that just because you experience certain things as a bi woman doesn’t make u a lesbian and yea we need spaces where we can talk about being mostly ssa as bi women. This is why so many bi women call themselves lesbians, accidentally or not. I still don’t call myself a febfem bc 1) i think it’s pointless for me personally and 2) idk what the future holds

[redheadbigshoes]

Ugh lesbianchemicalplant...

I've read a bunch of her posts on transmisogyny before, some of them are fine but her views on lesbian stuff is so... really strikes me as someone who hasn't actually faced lesbophobia before.

I'm a transfem lesbian too and I've gone through enough comphet conversion therapy bullshit that I have no patience for anyone who doesn't respect the strict boundary of No Men in lesbian identity, I have been pressured and forced and chained to men my whole goddamn life and to say "oh its just bi women saying Yes they really are attracted to women" thats biphobic to think that that needs to be said rather than taking bisexual identity seriously and not making assumptions that a bi person is barely attracted to the same sex.

Like she referenced 'political lesbianism' as a keyword without it being in any way involved and 'lesbian sepratism' which I just take as a keyword to mean someone doesnt give a shit that we want an identity seperate from trans men and bi women.

If you can't empathize with the fact we are alone against a world where almost every fucking one else (aroace women i see you) in some way is a man or is attracted to them and every fucking thing in this world expects you, tells you you should care about them, be interested in them, everything fucking involves men in some way and they whine when it doesnt, if you can't empathize with the fact we want some goddamn respect for the struggle that is to live in this man-centric world? Then you're blind to why we're upset, why it hurts, why it makes us feel alone.

So yeah, it's not a 'cis lesbian seperatism' thing there's plenty of trans lesbians who want our goddamn independance from men to be respected.

...phew okay got all my feelings out lol have a nice one ya'll

-🌻

I am pretty sus of lesbians who support the inclusion of cis and trans men in lesbianism. They either (like you said) have never faced lesbophobia, or they’re not actually lesbians.

If you’re supporting the inclusion of cis and trans men in lesbianism there’s a big chance you call yourself lesbian while being attracted to cis and trans men so you’re not actually a lesbian.

These people really don’t realize how they’re reinforcing bisexual stereotypes of being deep down straight or gay/lesbian. They completely erase the years of bisexuals fighting for respect and for recognition so people start thinking bisexuality is an unique and separate identity and not being half gay and half straight. They completely ignore history while trying to use history to include men in lesbianism.

[abnorok]

When I first started up my whole fwb thing I was kind of in crisis. Ever since transitioning at who knows what age at this point, I'd identified with lesbian. Lesbian felt like my gender and my identity, but all of a sudden I wanted this one (just one) guys dick all up in my guts.

It's remained the same, I'm not really attracted to any men but him yet I'm drooling over every woman I see.

Either way, I was kind of trapped in this pit of confusion, and all of my searches basically boiled down to "can I still be lesbian?" Tumblr wasn't really what popped up. Reddit and Quora, actually. Lots of posts that were against bi lesbians or trying to belittle people who think that way. "Well, if you like men, it should be obvious you're not a lesbian?" But the label BISEXUAL didn't feel right. Not out of some internalized biphobia, it just...didn't resonate.

So I kind of gave up on the internet answering my problems, and one day I was talking with a straight friend. I asked him, knowing that he's straight his entire life, what would he call himself if he suddenly fell in love with a man.

He paused, took a sip of his coffee, and said. "I guess I'd be straight, still." Which was, in earnest. Not quite the answer I was expecting.

"I'm sure if someone saw me and this hypothetical boyfriend out in public, they'd assume I'm gay. But if I told someone I'm straight, they wouldn't tell me I'm actually bi. They'd just tell me to believe whatever I'd like to believe."

Which has actually been driving me crazy in the years since. Why do we hold LGBT identities in such tight boxes? I'm positive he's right, if a straight man said they were straight nobody is wasting their time trying to change that. Not with any other sexuality.

Oh, you're bi? But what about comphet? Oh you like all genders equally? No matter what you say you MUST be pansexual. Nonbinary lesbians aren't real, you're NEPTUNIC. Bi lesbian? Just call yourself bi and get to it.

This is long and rambley, but in short, I think this community needs to get off of other peoples asses and stop trying to force them into some double standard they don't even apply to anyone else.

[todayisafridaynight]

Funny you mention that, I'm actually planning to go a step further and have proper relationships sections! So every character relationship in the infobox (and then some) can be covered with the depth they deserve.

Of course, that kind of thing can go off the rails fast and become a breeding ground for speculation, so they'll focus solely on the progression of the relationship from the perspective of the character whose article it is, and require a citation for every claim made. (I'd personally like to move towards citing every claim we make period, but it'd probably be best to start with baby steps.)

So I've had that cooking for a while (Jo is coincidentally the character I decided to start with, since he has very few relationships but they're all complex enough for a stress test). I probably shouldn't approach it with the intent to "correct misunderstandings," but I would like to think fans might have an easier time creating in-character fanworks with all of that information in one place. At the very least, you wouldn't necessarily have to go back through all the RGGO stories as a refresher lol.

I've never wanted to address Mine's orientation per se--not that that's quite what you were talking about I think, this is purely as an aside--because a lot of it's considered semantics and I just can't cite it directly in the way I can cite his feelings for Daigo. But on a personal level, I'm honestly surprised at the number of dudebros I've seen who'd be willing to accept he's bi, but being gay is a bridge too far on account of him dating women.

But the point of what he was talking about in the finale is that those relationships weren't at all fulfilling for him, right? Through a purely speculative lens, Jo claiming to be unable to remember Ikumi's name reminds me of that somehow. Like, if that's actually true, you remember every single minute detail of New Year's down to the locker numbers, where Ikumi gave birth, what Arakawa's face looked like, but you can't remember the name of the mother of your child? Alright, man. That's so normal. There's no trauma and/or comphet-adjacence there.

Speaking of--yeah, Masato's card unfortunately comes with no story, so it's not just bad luck. Character stories were discontinued with Kawara and Bessho, I think over a year ago now. On one hand I'm kind of thankful because they've been making it increasingly difficult to actually pull newly-released cards, but on the other hand, it's a huge part of what made cards worth trying for in the first place.

I do get it in terms of sheer volume though; it's mainly Yokoyama and Takeuchi themselves writing everything, and for scale, if I take solely my own translations of all of Mine's events and stories, it'd equal roughly 27.5k words. I can understand putting out that novella-length volume of content--ridiculously HQ content at that--every month isn't feasible when you're also writing for console entries on top of that.

You definitely shouldn't be putting yourself down in comparison though haha, I adore your work precisely because you've got such an excellent grasp on the characters and I always look forward to anything you put out!

Very, very true about Mine and his dad! I think if I were to summarize my findings from the papers (with regard to Mine specifically), Mine has this line in the finale about his hatred of people like Kiryu who "live solely by the principles of giri-ninjo, moral obligation and human feeling." Obviously not translated that way in-game because it's pretty lofty, but there is significance to it as I see it.

Focusing on the ninjo aspect, the papers define the term as "knowing how to [depend and presume upon another’s benevolence] properly and how to respond to the call [to depend and presume] in others." The "dependency need" component is thought develop as a baby first bonds with its parent.

Although it's commonly associated with child and parent, it applies to many forms of dependence, "such as between lovers, friends, husband and wife, teacher and student, employer and employee." It should also be noted it's not strictly hierarchical--superiors depend on their subordinates just as much.

So ninjo is a concept with a history of being considered "specifically as Japanese" in a way Westerners wouldn't understand. (It isn't actually, of course--everyone experiences this form of dependence--however, if I recall correctly, Japanese people were found to be significantly more likely to recognize and admit to it than Westerners.)

By opposing ninjo, a Japanese ideal of dependence, Mine implicitly aligns himself with "the Western ideal of personal independence," which is described as an ideal in which "one might just as well depend upon oneself or become independent, since there is nobody else to depend upon."

This is absolutely rooted in his being an orphan. His "dependency need" was at one point fulfilled by his dad's presence in his life, and once he lost him, he spent the rest of his life fluctuating between searching for someone else who would fulfill it and trying to be someone who doesn't experience "dependency need."

In contrast to Japanese society, where "parental dependency is fostered and its behavior pattern institutionalized into the social structure," the idealized version of Western society values an individual's success over their background. One example is the American myth of the "self-made man," which Mine describes himself as in the original Y3. As an orphan, his rejection of Japanese society in favor of Western society would make sense in that regard as well.

Growing up with no one to depend on and often facing loss and betrayal when he tried to, Mine avoids relying on or trusting others for most of his life. He is independent not because it comes naturally to him, but because of how dependence has hurt him in the past--i.e., "one might just as well depend upon oneself or become independent, since there is nobody else to depend upon."

However, Mine does accept and directly acknowledge the concept at the heart of ninjo when he admits in the finale, "People yearn to trust others. And to be trusted in return." That also coincides with him choosing to end things according to his code of honor as a yakuza, and literally taking the game's main representative of Western culture down with him. It's so perfect within this framework that I have no idea if Yokoyama even knew what he was doing, but He Sure Did It.

But it absolutely works with what you said, and I think it's fairly self-evident because you were able to pick up on it even if you didn't have the exact terminology in mind; Mine once his dependency need fulfilled where Jo never did, and it's made all the difference. I'm a very, very heavily Westernized South Asian still living in South Asia, and I imagine there's less overlap between SAsian culture and EAsian culture, but I've always thought "family values" such as those discussed are more or less ubiquitous in Asian cultures. For what it's worth, I relate strongly to Mine here.

(Also, in case anyone one day accuses me of copying Mine's future personality section from Tumblr, a fair amount of this is from my draft of that. I'm trying my best to make it sound less insane because it's going on a wiki, but y'know.)

Rewinding a little bit, I wanted to point out that Mine being bullied for being an orphan in that specific scene is more or less an invention of Y3R's localization. Kind of an understandable one, because he certainly did face it and Y3R's script was written without ever consulting a Japanese translation, but an invention nonetheless; in that scene, he was being bullied for being poor, not being an orphan.

But I don't think that affects the validity of your point at all, since--and it might not be totally intentional, since Mine wasn't always supposed to be the main antagonist--all the time you spend working with the Morning Glory kids through their problems effectively shows what he may have gone through. Except that he, also like Jo I suppose, had no adults in his life to help him navigate those same problems.

It's hear-twrenching listening to Masato talk about his disability even as an adult, the role internalized ableism played in creating that rift can't be overstated. Brings to mind the image of Arakawa at a complete loss how to respond when Masato was hitting his legs; perhaps if he'd been better-equipped to get through to him as a parent in the way Ichi was able to at the end, things might have turned out different. I think Arakawa displays a lot more emotional maturity and awareness than most characters, but he's not always able or willing to communicate that.

Once again, I absolutely love how your comparison post turned out! I wouldn't have minded being @'d (not that I mind not being @'d) at all haha, I'm not very active so I love getting notifications. Just a huge fan of your presentation, super clean and easy to follow in my opinion. There are a few points I'd love to discuss further, but I know my asks tend to be way too long for what they are haha, so I'll wait. But yeah, just as the Venn diagram of Mine and Jo overlaps, so does the Venn diagram of Mine and Jo fans. Happy to have you in the middle!

I'm glad you got as much out of the books as I did! That's exactly why I think they works super well for them, and I was hoping you'd catch the added Art Appreciator similarity. Also worth noting the art history books appear to be in Polish? I guess you wouldn't need to understand the language if you were more about admiring the art itself (my own art history books are in English and I ignore the text in every single one), but it's kind of funny to have all these thick Tomes you probably can't read.

Also very true. I feel like Hijikata and DS Ryuji aren't quite even since Saigo does exist haha, though he doesn't have as much screen time as Hijikata. There are a few opportunities Mine seems to lose out to Ryuji or others (Ryuji being chosen over him as an RGGO protagonist when Mine was in the running and frankly fit the criteria better, for example), but it is what it is.

Yokoyama did mention the love for the first three games' rivals makes casting for spinoffs really easy though, so I do have hope for more actual Mine! I'd like to see a Dead Souls 2 (he has a pretty good excuse to be cyborg-ified, given the probable state of his body after the fall lmao), or maybe even an Ishin 2, since the events that led to Hijikata and the others' deaths in real life were avoided in Ishin.

I know Yokoyama's talked about a "Y0.5" with Ryuji and Mine, a French Revolution spinoff (???), a Romance of the Three Kingdoms spinoff, and a Sengoku-era Hattori Hanzo spinoff featuring 8 protagonists and the same "all-star" approach to casting as Ishin. Someone else pitched a spinoff for when the yakuza first came into existence, too. And, at one point, before Ichi existed, they were considering continuing the series with Gaiden-type games featuring various characters (though I think going forward, further Gaidens would depend on the success of Gaiden.) So there are lots of possibilities! I really do hope he gets to be a protagonist or playable character one day, since he fits the mold perfectly IMO.

I'm happy you appreciate my offering haha! I hope you'll let us know what you think of Princess Toyotomi and Hero SP whenever you get to them. That is unfortunately how I found out about Toru :') I adore the leads and their relationship myself, so I never would've thought Pure would go there! But I suppose it does check out for Tsutsumi's career.

Good Morning Show is honestly driving me insane because I'm positive I watched it but can't find it at the same address anymore??? I had to watch it with clearly machine translated subs, but it was as chaotic as it looks. Godspeed!

Oh, I also wanted to weigh in on the "Masato's care" line since that was originally supposed to be part of the response (and since the topic of localization is super interesting to me, as someone who not only translates works but translates RGGS' works and has needed to become intimately familiar with the official localization style).

It's an odd choice, because on top of what Anon said, everything from the context to the grammatical construction of the original Japanese sentence should clearly convey that what he's apologizing for is not taking sole responsibility for Masato's care and having Ichiban attend to him on top of his regular duties. He's not apologizing for Masato's care itself being a burden.

Honestly kind of baffling because not two scenes earlier, they convey the exact same sentiment perfectly--"Sorry to bother you with something so personal." [JP] / "I'm sorry to keep asking you to help me with something so personal." [EN]. It's like, to me, talented localization teams should absolutely be celebrated, but they should also be completely "invisible" in the moment. They're not invisible in that moment because it's their biases coming through rather the character or even the writer's biases.

I don't necessarily mean bias in terms of internalizing ableist ideas (it's hard to say it plays no part, given it's a disabled character being discussed, but what I mean is there's not at all enough to go on to conclude it was a malicious or even a conscious decision). I also mean in the sense of getting "locked into" a certain way of thinking about disabled characters and their care, and multiple different teams (base translation, dub editors, and sub editors) going over that line and not thinking twice.

Because like, it's true that in fiction (and unfortunately real life) you do see parents who feel it's a burden, but that doesn't mean Arakawa has to be that way. It kind of undermines RGG Studio's efforts to employ rigorous sensitivity checks starting this "generation" of games (starring Yagami and Ichiban, I mean) when things slip through the cracks like that.

And it's not the only area it happens; there are a number of places where there's this "tunnel vision" surrounding certain ideas that comes to the forefront. One of the things that leads to is instances of "pigeonholing" characters into pre-existing molds while not giving enough consideration to who the characters actually are in this particular work.

For me Jo actually got the brunt of it (or perhaps I was just most sensitive to it), from marketing to localization. Marketing-wise, the very first time we saw him in English-language trailers, it was literally for one second after either the word "BAD" or a synonym flashed on-screen. A far cry from Tsutsumi's one-on-one interview where he explicitly says Jo is doing everything in service of a deeper motive, his English voice actor was not interviewed at all, while most major characters' English voice actors were.

Localization-wise, there's one thing that perfectly encapsulates (if you'll allow me to be dramatic for a moment) "What Went Wrong." It's what they decided to call Jo's fighting style. The fact it went from Shame Style to something as trite as Vile Blade genuinely haunts me to this day. Just the sheer flanderization in taking a name that lays bare the core of his character and motivations, a name that conveys perfectly how he sees himself as inhuman and irredeemable, and then turning it inside-out to suggest he IS inhuman and irredeemable? That's insane to me.

Of course, I'm not really able to gauge whether/how that kind of thing actually affected the reception or general understanding of him as a character since I haven't participated in the fandom at all for years, but I do wonder if it has.

Having pages dedicated to relationships and including how each character perceives their relationships sounds like a fair idea (I've always been a fan about how on Masato's page, Yumeno is regarded as his 'girlfriend' while on her page he's only her 'customer'. It's a small detail all things considered, but it's a great way to emphasize how much impact one party can have on another and can deepen the significance of relationships and interactions)! And having citations at the ready is always a good idea to help clear up misinformation or just to simply provide tidbits people are curious about, though obviously with a franchise as big as RGG (including RGGO content), it's very easy to understand if it would take significant time to have absolutely everything accounted for. It's what makes the time dedicated to this kind of work all the more respectable, really!

When it comes to Mine- or any character honestly- and their orientation, for the sake of sharing information clearly, I think it'd be better just to focus on what's provided opposed to trying to find a concrete label for it, so I can't say I'm all too upset at the lack of a solid 'confirmation' and I am grateful for the material given that lets us work towards one conclusion and another.

It is surprising to me that people are more open to Mine being bisexual though (I usually see people try to ignore the fact bisexuality is an option. It's a weird win I guess..). But as you've pointed out, I personally believe Mine's case was more about a case of comphet behavior, as the line where he alludes to his past relations with women it's from a segment where he's specifically highlighting how he wasn't happy abiding by what should have made him happy. I still don't know how people observed the full scene but decided to block out the very next line where he says he was unsatisfied and just walked away with 'Mine likes women'. ☠️

Onto Jo though, the state of his memory about Masato's birth really is jarring when you point it out. It's one thing to just chalk it up to a sprinkle of misogyny and not finding Ikumi important (though at least RGG was nice enough to give her files a proper name), but really thinking about it, it's incredibly bizarre he doesn't remember at all. Not considering the actual nine months they had to live together for Ikumi to have Masato, I'd assume they'd have to live together a little longer than that then- and still nothing...? But everything else about that night... Definitely something to raise an eyebrow about lmao

That's unfortunate about the RGGO stories though! But like you said, it's totally understandable as to why they had to discontinue them (but also of course, they were a big attraction to me personally to play the game and card hunt), especially when it's only two people already having to juggle other projects. But thank you for the encouragement with my own personal projects: I try not to be too hard on myself since that certainly won't do anything, and it certainly helps to know that I'm on the right track with what I'm doing! I really do love these characters (and I'm also terribly aware they're a bit unpopular all things considered), so I always want to do what I can to do them justice for myself and other fans!

Highlighting Mine's preference towards the West has really been a great experience- it's something I've only noticed on small scales (i.e. his foreign car and of course his English), but bringing it to light like this has really helped validate and further my understanding of him! That being said, Mine most definitely has adopted the American mentality of stressing independence and not relying on others, and it's undoubtedly come as a result of his upbringing. Ergo, analyzing Mine in relation to his connection not just with American philosophy but also giri-ninjo is definitely worthwhile, and from the sounds of it absolutely significant to understanding his character and his motives (it's certainly something I'm already taking notes on for the future)!

Moreover, I've always been a fan of Mine and his ability to acknowledge the inherit need to have companionship, or at the very least his subconscious need for bonds. In that, it's clear Mine's pursuit of independence was a way to protect himself (I might dare to say he lets down his guard fairly easily all things considered, though I won't ignore his caution towards Daigo and Kanda when initially meeting them. Moreover, it's just clear that when he feels betrayed, despite convincing himself he's a lone wolf, he feels that pain significantly- much greater than someone who sincerely believes themselves to be independent should). Just as you've said, Mine's suicide and taking Richardson with him is really a solid and magnificent way to round off his character through the lens of him putting to rest his solitary philosophy. Going further with gameplay interwoven with story telling, the time-consuming Dad Simulator bits of Y3 really do help highlight how much the kids of Morning Glory- and in that case orphans in general- rely on adults like Kiryu to navigate life. And evidently, that experience ties back into Mine and his frustrations with not just people like Kiryu who help others without expecting a reward, but also how the less fortunate are able to receive that help where as Mine wasn't offered that.

On that note, I feel like I remember learning that the 'orphan' bit was an inclusion, but I guess I forgot that detail along the way. Nevertheless, I'm just about to start eating drywall over the translation differences at this point- even if my point isn't moot, I still can't help but feel an anxiety that I'm going to greatly misinterpret something (and I can certainly get back to this point later when it comes to the likes of Jo's in the west). At the very least, it's a better incentive to brush up on my Japanese. I'll take what I can though: I'm glad that what I've said it still valid in some parts!

The case of Masato's something that's always going to intrigue my mind (I owe myself a chance to properly sit down and analyze him). There's so many aspects at play that could have affected how he turned out as an adult, and family is undoubtedly a major factor contributing to that outcome. To expand on that, it's inarguable that Arakawa was doing the most he could for Masato as not only a young, single father who had a complicated relationship with his own parents, but also having to operate as a ruthless yakuza to the rest of Kamurocho meant not only was he busy, but he needed to uphold an image and make sure his son wasn't too involved with that life. In this, it seems apparent that Arakawa's conditions to be a parent weren't exactly ideal, and as a result it's fair to assume he potentially 'under performed' in some aspects due to these circumstances, so to say (we see he keeps himself active in Masato's life when he's an adult, so it's not as though I'm proposing it's a case of neglect. It's unfortunate we really don't get more of the Arakawa Family's family life to better understand their circumstances).

Thank you for your compliments on my comparison post! I didn't want to come off as bothersome, but I'll make sure to tag you in any future posts I make that are inspired by you ^^ Honestly, I thought my post was a bit messy on some parts, but I'm thrilled to hear it was comprehensive- and of course, I've love to hear your input on any points in the future if you ever feel like sharing them!

The topic of RGG spinoffs has been a topic between a friend and I every now and then (though I never would have expected a French Revolution game????), so it's astounding to hear about the various ideas that have been floating around (I would be excited the most for a game about Hanzo though- I remember obsessing over him while I was in middle school for whatever reason lmao)! In any case, spinoffs would be a great way to utilize one-off characters: it might not be mainline or technically canon, but being able to see the characters again is never something I can complain about so long as the game's fun and the story's engaging!

I'll make sure to keep you posted on how I feel about Princess Toyotomi and Hero SP: I have an insatiable need to share everything on my mind, so I'll undoubtedly talk about them and whatever thoughts I have! Again, I have to apologize about spoiling the end like that- I really didn't expect them to go that way either when I first saw it honestly! But I can't say it was a terrible ending- unfortunate, but I wasn't super mad about it.

Now returning to the state of RGG's translations, that is especially weird in that situation in particular when they have a similar line in the same (or about the same, anyway) scene? As you've said, it might have been an unfortunate case of penning in something based off of independent thought, though it's still unfortunate because it did have the potential to alter not just the scene itself, but Arakawa's character as well (and of course, we would have hoped RGG wold improve when it comes to sensitive topics at this point).

And onto a point I've been weirdly excited to get to, the case of Jo and how the west seemed to handle him. Maybe it's because of America's tendency to make marketing more 'aggressive' (my personal favorite case is making Kirby appear angrier in ads? Because rage and cute-pink-puffball makes sense to me), so opposed to a more grey portrayal they went with something more blunt. Though, it's incredibly strange that Jo seemed to receive such a 'particular' treatment when it came to marketing? My only theory is that they just really wanted Jo's 'reveal' in the Coin Locker Baby chapter to be all the more impactful, but it's just messy honestly.

More importantly, the change of his style's name is also really unfortunate to me. As you've said, it strips interesting aspects of his character away, and a major aspect of his character is evidently guilt. I can't fathom trying to construct his character to be violent without reason, it really undermines what makes him so compelling.

Though, I guess if it's anything, from what I've seen this change in presentation has done little to impact people's perception of him (but maybe that's because I haven't really seen anyone else in the west talk about him...)

[gettin-bi-bi-bi]

I don't usually do this kind of thing but oh well

I think I might have some kind of internalized biphobia. Like I know it's common for bi people to constantly question if they're actually straight or gay and these part few months I've been having a preference for women and questioning whether I have comphet, even though at times in the past I've questioned if I was straight. I might just have a preference for women tbh but idk it's all very confusing, do you have any advice?

It's true that this is something that many bisexuals go through at least once in their life. But I want to point out that it is absolutely possible to work through one's internalised biphobia and live a life where being bi is just one aspect of your sexuality that you are not bothered by or that doesn't cause you worries and self-doubt. It can be something very enjoyable that you just take as is without constantly overthinking.

And that's basically where my advice would lead to as well.... trying to learn to not overthink your attractions. Just feeling them as they happen and making the best of it. It's supposed to be fun and you don't owe anyone that you follow a certain narrative of being The Good Bisexual. Your sexuality is yours! So what if you call yourself bisexual but are having a phase where you strongly prefer women? If you still like to be bi then you're bi. Even if that phase lasts forever.

Just... try not to think of this label-issue as if it's an exam that you need to pass. Using a label to describe your sexual orientation is just a tool for communicating something and nobody should judge your for it or decide whether that's correct or not. If you're in a situation where you find it helpful to give your sexuality a name then pick whatever word you find the most helpful. That's your choice. But you don't need to overanalyse every little instance of attraction that ever happens to you in order to find ~the one true answer~.

If you want to look further into internalised biphobia I have some more tipps here.

Maddie

[lavenderfeminist]

the whole concept of Comphet confuse me because so often I see on twitter users that I follow who id as a lesbian who post "fighting Comphet everyday" "ugh Comphet is so strong" under a fancam of some male actor and...if you find him attractive in that sense maybe you are not a lesbian? and usually they said "I know is comphet because is an actor and not someone in real life so is unobtainable" but still if you feel attraction to him maybe you're bi with preference for women but still bi?

Ngl I find it grossly hilarious when “lesbians” say things that are just so blatantly outside the realm of lesbianism it’s not even defensible. It’s like that chick going “I’ve slept with men. I enjoyed it, I just preferred women. I’m a lesbian.” I don’t even need to make an argument at that point because anyone who understands what a lesbian actually is knows you might as well just have said “I am not a lesbian” outright. Lesbians don’t have to remind ourselves we don’t like men because of some nebulous force called “comphet”; (some) lesbians try to convince ourselves that we do like men, and once we recognize the futility and harmfulness of that, we stop. One day, I looked myself in the face and said “You like women. You’ve never liked a man, and you’re not going to suddenly start liking men after all this time because it hasn’t happened no matter how much you’ve tried. What does that make you?” and that was it. I don’t look at a man and have to remind myself that I’m not attracted to him; when I was younger I’d look at a man and tell myself that I was attracted to him because *lists reasons why*, and remind myself that it was completely nonsensical to be fantasizing about my best friend kissing me while we watched the fireworks because she definitely didn’t fit all the *right* criteria (see: being male). I don’t do that anymore because I recognized that as a unhealthy behavior resulting from the way I grew up.

Those women could swap out the word “comphet” for “attraction” to describe their experiences more accurately. “Fighting attraction everyday” “ugh attraction is so strong”. As someone who spent actual years trying to explain away my attraction to women, it’s funny to me. I have very little sympathy for women who have such little respect for lesbians that they think we experience attraction to men, even as it comes at the cost of suppressing their attractions. I hope they’re enjoying a taste of their own homophobic medicine.