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Girls who like Boys who like Boys – Ethnography of ... - Yuuyami.com

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Lisa, but she still calls Lisa “he” and “Ron” as those are the terms that she is<br />

used to call her by. Yuri in the form <strong>of</strong> Harry as well as Ron’s and Draco’s<br />

players have known each other from the very beginnings <strong>of</strong> this Harry Potter<br />

RPG and know about events in each other’s daily life, but they are simply<br />

“Craco, Harry, and Ron” to each other (Craco being the nickname the RPG<br />

players use for Draco <strong>–</strong> Yuri mentions that it might have been an OOC typo,<br />

initially). When Yuri tells me about something Draco’s player writes about in<br />

her “private” LiveJournal, or rather her non-game-related journal, she may<br />

refer to her occasionally by her LiveJournal username, but will usually tell me<br />

that “Craco” or “Draco” posted this link or that article.<br />

At the same time, the flirting in OOC is not so much a flirting <strong>of</strong> the<br />

characters (as the only flirting in this game for IC consists <strong>of</strong> clumsy teenager<br />

exchanges), but more so a flirting as players. In other words: though flirtatious<br />

OOC exchanges are exchanges between players rather than characters, they<br />

are also operating with the characters’ gender rather than with the players’.<br />

Yuri explained it in the following manner:<br />

It’s just <strong>like</strong> we’re wearing silly masks and we’re running<br />

around, but it’s still…It doesn’t mean anything, because<br />

it’s not <strong>like</strong>… it’s just <strong>like</strong> friendship; Do you know how<br />

little kids touch each other and the way monkeys do? It’s<br />

kind <strong>of</strong> <strong>like</strong> that. It’s friendship, but it’s safe cuz it’s online.<br />

Because it’d be weird and mary-sue-ish if [Yuri] was<br />

flirting with Ron. It’s more <strong>like</strong> Harry!mun is flirting with<br />

Ron!mun, but not <strong>like</strong> [Yuri] flirting with [Lisa]; it’s a sort<br />

<strong>of</strong> different level.<br />

The flirts and innuendo are, after all, not meant as a <strong>com</strong>e-on to another player<br />

62

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