Souji, Kuma, and the Lament of Het-Supporters

Here's a comment that came in from regular reviewer Kisdota-The Freak Gamer, regarding Chapter 59 ("A Little Night Music"); I thought I'd share part of my reply. Some spoilers through Chapter 59, so if you want to read, you'll have to highlight below.

Q:...It's nice to read a chapter that doesn't have Souji being a total douche.

Pairing up everyone like that was good, I know that there's some people who like the idea of Rise with Teddie, I know she's a chick and that's not what you implied but I know you'll do good with alot [sic] of the straight couple fans, which is possibly a small portion of your readers....

A: Well, Souji kind of had to be a douche for a while there - hubris is his sin - in order for him to grow into the person that you're starting to see in this chapter. He still plays a large mentor/leader role for the characters coming up, but it's a position that he moves into more organically after facing his Shadow, rather than the others just falling into place behind him for sake of ease. I like writing this Souji, who's become a product of the people around him, equally influenced by their perspectives and experiences as they are by him. Hopefully, that comes out clearly in this chapter.

I didn't intentionally put the characters into pairs, actually. It just sort of happened. Rise and Kuma's bond of friendship becomes important to Kuma's development later on, as the story moves forward (though not for a while yet; I still have to get through the first sequel). There's no intended implication that Rise and Kuma are acting as a couple, here; I tried to convey that with the farewells at the train station. Rise's really more a mentor to her, than anything else. And Yousuke's reluctance to let Kuma grow up should be taken as just how childlike she still is.

You're right that I do often feel in the minority supporting a heterosexual couple(s) in my timeline. I don't have a problem with the slash stories, I just don't see most of the friendships and relationships working out that way. Even Kanji, Naoto, and Rise - none of whom have a problem with homosexuality - fall into a category of their own rather than being one way or the other.
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There's really not a question here, but I find it interesting when readers decide to focus on an aspect of a character (like Souji), who I've tried to move into a growth position based on what has occurred to him over the course of the story. I realize that what I did through the chapters of the final arc/Part IV ("I'll Face Myself") rubbed some readers the wrong way, but in all honesty it was in many ways it was just as much about how Chie and her friends reacted to the situation as it was about what was going on with Souji.

Then there's the subject of Kuma.

I'm plotting the sequel story now (both of them, as I've considered my timeline to work best as a trilogy in order to touch on the three important characters whose voices I know best), and I cannot for the life of me see my Kuma/Kumada-chan as anything other than a girl. My original plan for Kuma oh-so long ago was for her/him to be something completely different at the outset. Kuma will still get to step into that role (as things are currently plotted, of course - we all know how that can change!), but I don't think that my alternate universe of Persona 4 will ever be quite the same for changing Kuma's gender to a female. I love her so much that way, though, that I just can't stomach changing her back to a boy, as much as others might want me to stay true to what the canon story is about.

And then there's the issue of the sexuality. The sequel story investigates the characters' sexuality a bit more, since the characters by that time will be around 25, more established in their lives, and less - shall we say - purely experimental. I'm looking forward to tackling those kinds of issues, especially as they relate to young adults and what they think is "proper", "right", "acceptable", and even just plain "me."

I'm still collecting feedback on the latest chapter, and I'm always interested to hear what readers think. Not as much for Chapter 59 yet, but it's got to be more about my feelings, right?