You know how guys rev their car engines to exert alpha dominance? So if you drive a hybrid or electric car, are you automatically a beta? Huh… screw the planet I guess.

I freakin’ love Cloud. This is my first time playing FFVII and I found Cloud to just be an amazing, lovable character. Honestly, I do consider him pretty manly in regards to society’s standards. He’s a man of little words, very strong and badass—seen from his protective abilities—and doesn’t show many emotions.

Then you see him dress up as a girl. And dang, did my heart go ‘doki doki’ for a sec. He doesn’t embrace and flaunt it, but that makes sense—it’s not a personal interest to him. I mean, heck, I would dive into the opportunity if my job asked me to cross-dress, but then again I already like cosplaying so…

But that’s the thing. Cloud doesn’t go on the defensive and start overcompensating. He just brushes it off and basically says ‘let’s not talk about that ever again’. And that’s part of what makes Cloud such a lovable protagonist. He’s adorably awkward in his own way while still finding ways to kick ass and be such a role model.

The Life Lesson

If you are not masculine by society’s standards, you are not a man. You are not attractive to girls. You are not respected by guys.

For a long time, I thought this way. My mom used to berate me about how my skinny build and feminine tendacies would prevent me from finding a girlfriend. I had an ex push my buttons til’ I snapped because apparently getting angry was manly and sexy. People assumed I was gay because I dressed nice, had a colorful tone, and liked the color pink.

But I realized I was stupid for listening to those words. You can be a nice guy, dislike violence, bake sweets in your free time and STILL be a BAMF.

Cliché warning: If you need to change your ways to be romantically attractive or respected by peers, you’re probably hanging around the wrong people. The right people will like you for who you are inside, not whatever facade you put up on the outside.

In fact, I like to think of it as this. Instead of ‘men should be masculine and women should be feminine’, why not just have it be ‘people should be competent’? Personally, I find competence sexier than anything else. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a guy that excels at make-up or a girl who can fix up a car.