To a dear anon reviewer:
To the one who wrote this heartbreaking review for my RyoSaku oneshot “Spectator”: "...maybe he needs someone to show him the rest of the world" This is a wonderful line. You couldn't believe how much I can relate to this fic. I have a crush on this cute boy at school, and i learned that we also have common goals to reach after high school. His girlfriend's house is just a few meters away from mine and I see them walk together in the neighborhood from time to time. that's why I rarely go outside to take a walk 'cause i dread having to encounter them again like i had used to before. i just stare at them from my window like any stalker would do. I wonder about the same things as your OC does. And from that line above, I now understand why that boy couldn't be with me instead. I'm too sheltered, so I cannot be the one to show him the world. Omg. I just shared my life story. Just ignore this haha how embarrassing.. I LOVE your fic! Thanks for making me realize things
Dearest anon,
I’m not sure if you’ll ever read this, but I really wanted to write back, so I’ll do it here. To be honest, I have a lot of mixed feelings about RyoSaku still, and my story “Spectator” is not supposed to speak truth about healthy relationships. I think there’s a ton of misogyny in Konomi’s characterization of Ryoma: he’s an immature middle schooler who thinks he’s basically faultless. Part of the reason Ryoma likes Sakuno, a very kind and sweet young lady, is because his ego is problematically enormous and she feeds it by idol worshipping him. And my story is a confused probe into the reasons why Konomi might have made them end up together—but male mangakas are idiots sometimes in the way they treat the women in their works.
I mean, if you look at most of the women in PoT, they’re sidelined. Rinko, Ryoma’s mother, is an attorney and the main breadwinner for her family. Yet, the series always cuts off her head from the screen view, as if lazy Nanjiroh is the most important parent. Thank goodness for this fandom that empowers women through its female-centric fanfics. Fyerigurl’s magnum opus (@tcafs08) is one example of this. I really appreciate Sakuno’s characterization in TCAFS because it emphasizes her determination and will. Fyeri’s OC Shigohara Minako gets hate for being strong and perfect, even though the overly perfect male characters in PoT are worshipped. Double standards like that are problematic, and I’d check out Fyeri’s fics for some strong female role models.
Please don’t think that the reason your crush is not with you is because you’re not worthy or that you’re too sheltered, as you mentioned. You don’t have to be some sweet, girly, meek doormat to get a guy. If you two have similar goals and he’s not paying attention to you, it’s NOT your fault. You’re not too sheltered. You’re not unworthy. You are a young woman who clearly has goals and dreams—and that’s amazing and admirable. It’s just that high school boys are immature, shallow, and don’t often see what’s in front of them. They’re dumb and horny and looking for arm trophies. In fact, the way manga and anime portray teenage boys as being sensitive and gentlemanly is unfortunately somewhat false—they usually reach that point much, much later in life. This world has historically told men to dismiss women with goals, but that’s slowly changing. The right guy for you is the one who recognizes that you are a motivated and driven person. It might be a while, but you won’t have to convince the right person that you are valuable, because he’ll see you for the gem that you are.
Thank you again for sharing your story, and feel free to reach out anytime :) I’m rooting for you!
xoxo rainywindows
