Writer's Block: I Can Relate
Jun. 18th, 2009 04:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Shirogane Naoto
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
I had two entirely different sets of friends call me while playing this game to say that they had found my video game self. For those who have not played the game: Naoto is the Detective Prince, exacting, analytical, brilliant, and every inch the gentleman--except Naoto is a woman. Her Shadow is a mad scientist in a secret underground laboratory. Both normal and Shadow Naoto integrate as a pervasive aspect of themselves analytical thinking, logic, and a sharp intuition. Naoto knows that the case is not truly "over" even when the rest of the police department thinks that it is; she trusts her instincts and reasoning. Beyond a superficial relation in terms of outward appearance, mannerisms, dress, and aptitudes, Naoto and I share a similar psychology--the same hang-ups, fears, and, essentially, Shadow. I was far more similar to her when I was her age (fifteen), but I have since gotten over many of the issues she has to face during the game. She does not want to be a woman, because being "female" does not match with the persona she feels that she has, namely, that of a hard-boiled detective and prince. She feels that the world does not take her seriously because of her age and gender (this would be more of a problem in Japan), so she wants to hide her small, female body. Eventually she comes able to integrate her physical sex into her sense of 'self', regardless of how society says a woman should act. She is also attracted to men, and has difficulty reconciling her sense of self with a heterosexual relationship. She comes to realize that there are heterosexual men will like her for who she is--without wanting to make her more 'feminine'. You have to max out your intelligence score for her to start taking you seriously, and you have to also have your courage maxed to start her Social Link. She gets pissed if you insinuate that she cannot take care of herself, or needs to be protected, and she will throw up walls as a result. She can be abrasive and condescending to anybody she senses is not to her level of intelligence.
Shirogane Naoto
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
I had two entirely different sets of friends call me while playing this game to say that they had found my video game self. For those who have not played the game: Naoto is the Detective Prince, exacting, analytical, brilliant, and every inch the gentleman--except Naoto is a woman. Her Shadow is a mad scientist in a secret underground laboratory. Both normal and Shadow Naoto integrate as a pervasive aspect of themselves analytical thinking, logic, and a sharp intuition. Naoto knows that the case is not truly "over" even when the rest of the police department thinks that it is; she trusts her instincts and reasoning. Beyond a superficial relation in terms of outward appearance, mannerisms, dress, and aptitudes, Naoto and I share a similar psychology--the same hang-ups, fears, and, essentially, Shadow. I was far more similar to her when I was her age (fifteen), but I have since gotten over many of the issues she has to face during the game. She does not want to be a woman, because being "female" does not match with the persona she feels that she has, namely, that of a hard-boiled detective and prince. She feels that the world does not take her seriously because of her age and gender (this would be more of a problem in Japan), so she wants to hide her small, female body. Eventually she comes able to integrate her physical sex into her sense of 'self', regardless of how society says a woman should act. She is also attracted to men, and has difficulty reconciling her sense of self with a heterosexual relationship. She comes to realize that there are heterosexual men will like her for who she is--without wanting to make her more 'feminine'. You have to max out your intelligence score for her to start taking you seriously, and you have to also have your courage maxed to start her Social Link. She gets pissed if you insinuate that she cannot take care of herself, or needs to be protected, and she will throw up walls as a result. She can be abrasive and condescending to anybody she senses is not to her level of intelligence.
