[Dark][Haruhi (gender-flip AU)] Kyonko Doesn't Want to Play Today

[Brian]

That was actually one of Brian's suggestions. Apparently, Itsuki is a gender-neutral name in Japan and only the kanji changes depending on the case. I'm tempted to say that I'm conspicuously unsurprised...

Haruhi's the same, isn't it?  Or else how does Ouran work?

This is correct.

Specifically within the (Grah!  *looks for loanword again*) Seitenkan subfandom, it's almost always unanimous that 'Haruhi' is the feminine, and 'Haruki' is the masculine.  The specific kanji for 'Haruki' are most frequently (IIRC) something that suggests a royal presence.  This is a bit vague at this point as it's been a few years, so I could easily be wrong about this.

Anyway.  The part about it being the more popular usage among the Seitenkan fandom is accurate.

However, when it gets to Itsuki/Itsuko, there's more of a split.  In this case, it's specifically because there is a kanji reading of Itsuki that reads 'princess', some fans chose not to use a more feminized name.

If we really want to get down to the nitty-gritty, 'Kyonko' is kind of a stupid nickname, since it's a nickname of a nickname; she'd much more likely be 'Koko' or 'Kyoko'/'Kyouko' (which ... happens to be a legitimate, and common girl's name!).  Or, most realistically, still be called 'Kyon'.

Realistically, the goal should be reader recognition over cast familiarity, so whichever Sars uses is fine as long as it's consistent.  And if that means 'using a more feminized form of the name, because everyone else has modified names' then that's fine too.  Sorry if sidenote was a bit overbearing! :)

[sarsaparilla]

One thing -- before I check it I realized this was labeled 'hurt/comfort'.  I ... am not positive, but I believe that genre tag is mostly used to indicate a more uplifting ending?  Here, I'm not positive, but I think that 'suspense' or 'drama' might compliment the horror tag better?

I was actually going for a Tragedy/Horror label first but when the majority of the text was ready I realized that it was a Hurt/Comfort situation, just a horribly sick and twisted version of it, which is a bit of a fridge horror when one realizes what the combination of Hurt/Comfort and Horror implies (in this case the same person hurting and comforting).

Well, that could indeed be seen as a mean-spirited trick and if people start to get uneasy about it I'll change it to Tragedy which is a perfectly fine choice.

Maybe I'm a terrible person for it, but I actually have no trouble imagining Kyon reacting almost the same way as Kyonko in the same situation?

Well, that might indeed be true (the Kyon's reaction part, that is), but I care too much about Kyon to even want to imagine him in that role. And after Muphrid's comment I realize that if I had written Kyon into it, he wouldn't have had quite the same level of dark determination as what I gave Kyonko (apparently subconsciously, to compensate for the perceived lack of inherent ... well, aura? Ability to project one's will?). But maybe that's just what is wrong with my Kyon, I tend to make him even more passive than in the books. Something for myself to think about.

@Muphrid: Even if it is possible to have a male Haruhi, I don't want to leave any room for confusion here. For Itsuki it's not so important as she doesn't actually do anything.

And concerning this whole thread: I must stop writing stuff like this, I want to write happy stories. Thanks for your understanding. I won't do this again, I promise! ;_;