[ SECRET POST #6480 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #6480 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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[Rings of Power]



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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 13 secrets from Secret Submission Post #926.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

01. https://i.imgur.com/Hi0qqVR.png

[kamino_neko]

The image is an interesting pairing for the secret content...at least 2 of them are from the late, lamented Lovestruck app, and the Lovestruck fandom (which is still around, albeit more quiet since the app died), IME, really embraces the queerness (likely why Voltage increased queer the series got - both of the ones in question, Sweet Enchantments (second pic, MC and the LI Liora) and Queen of Thieves (4th, LI Zoe, the MC being cropped out), being after they started making the LI's about evenly divided between 'male' and 'not male').

Not that it doesn't have issues with it - there was a super-annoying tendency in the route-reviews, when the app added that function, to aggressively misgender NB characters (I noticed it particularly with Cyprin from Astoria's Fate Kiss and JD from Havenfall is For Lovers), which, as a genderfluid person was...hurtful, especially in such an otherwise accepting fandom. (People seem to have left Mothman alone, probably because they weren't an LI.)

[(Anonymous)]

This is a comment secret from the thread, so secret maker anon probably just took a random otome game picture.

[(Anonymous)]

Jaehee, my beloved. She deserved a better route.

[(Anonymous)]

You know, I really don't see actual homophobia in otome spaces much, but I see this a lot. I'm a queer woman and otoge is one of my favorite genres, but I personally don't really ever ship the LIs together in any way... because that's not the point of the game for me... A lot of people feel that way, and not liking a MLM ship doesn't make people homophobic...

I also don't think that wanting a space for primarily women is homophobic, either, especially in the video game world where that is still in our year 2024 somehow hotly debated. Otoge are specifically for women. So the SIs are female. There are many many many other dating sims/visual novels that have male SIs and some lately even with NB SIs which is great and we should see more of it. They are just not otoge. And that's fine? Not to say that there aren't some people who are asshats, because there will be in any fandom at any time, but as someone who has been in these fandoms since 2012ish it is just NOT as common as people like to make it sound.

[(Anonymous)]

You speak wisely, and I agree with all of this.

[(Anonymous)]

I think it depends on the space. I wouldn't say it's "prevalent" in the english-speaking adult fandom, for sure.

But some of these types of games if not specifically these, even if they're supposedly for 18+ adults, draw in younger fans the same way animanga does. And "ewww weird gay" in the way ignorant kids say it is something that does happen. Especially when you get into forums of people from countries that are more socially conservative.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, same here. I ship 99% M/M in other fandoms but I have zero interest in it for otoge fandoms because, like you said, that's not the point of otoge. I'm there to read about the main female character and her relationships with the dudes, not their relationships with each other.

[(Anonymous)]

Wanting a space just for women isn't homophobic but the way quite a few otoge stans act very much is. And it's especially fascinating to see how completely open and unapaologetic those parts of the fandoms are in their homophobia.

[(Anonymous)]

It is interesting that this is how people see things nowadays because in spaces where mlm is more prevalent it is quite common to see discourse about misogyny, usually aimed at people who, rather than hating women, simply are not interested in them.

Not saying you do this yourself, but I can Imagine someone witnessing something like this might see it as hypocrisy.

[(Anonymous)]

Does anyone know the sources for this secret?

[(Anonymous)]

Comments on social media, mostly.

[(Anonymous)]

Mind elaborating? I've only played one of these games (Mystic Messenger, which did have a bit of a queerbaiting problem when it was first released) and never touched the fandom besides reading a few fics.

[(Anonymous)]

One of the most recent examples is Love and Deepspace where the homophobia is actually firmly in the game rules (they officially forbid creating m/m fanworks with the characters) and a good part of the fandom actually acts like you're trying to make their boyfriends gay and shit is kind of ... unhinged.

[(Anonymous)]

On the fandom side, there was a big thing a few years ago where a lot of the BNFs of the otome game fandom made posts felt that it was very important to "clear it up" for people that a game can only be otome if all of the love interests are male (or if there's a female route it's platonic like in Mystic Messenger). If it has even one romanceable girl, it was not an otome! Oh of course they had nothing against games where you could romance a girl, you just need to call them romance games, hands off our otome label you filthy gays UH WAIT I-I-I mean we have nothing against that really just don't call your game otome!!!

Lots of long posts about how it's just simple history; all the games that defined the genre had all male love interests. No reflection on why that would have been, given when they were made (hmm, big mystery there!) and why that could possibly change.