Flip The Script

He would be going back to school.

 

 

Upon arriving at his new home, Toshi learned he would start at his new school as soon as the weekend came to a close. Although he’d be a few weeks behind the other students, the tests at the hospital indicated that he was not only doing better cognitively but might actually be smarter than before he died. He joked that perhaps now that his brain had been emptied, there was room for important stuff.

 

Nobody laughed.

 

He had the weekend to adjust to the new home before attending school. At least the school looked normal. He tried to figure out things over the weekend by reading the internet.

 

Holy Crap.

 

If he didn't deduce he was in some strange world where gender norms were flipped on his own, the internet had all the proof he needed. Even with the parental blocks, he had no problem figuring out that the women in this world were the ones with the overactive sex drive and men were... well...

A bunch of pussies.

Navigating a world full of eager women was an intriguing notion, but the reality proved different than he expected. He hadn't realized how much he preferred submissive partners; he'd always been the dominant type. Yes, he didn't get very far in his relationships, but it didn't matter. He refused to compromise who he was. Moreover, he noticed a backlash against promiscuous men, reminiscent of how women in his previous world policed those who broke rules to ensure a balanced supply of men across age groups. This dynamic was now reversed. Similarly, he noticed a group with a familiar name, mirroring aspects of his original world.

 

The meninists.

 

A fringe group for decades, this movement was only now gaining traction in society. It resembled feminism but focused on men. Toshi observed that the group contained radicals and extremists, although there were some members with more moderate views. One standout faction within the group was the Trans Exclusionary Radical Meninist, also known as TERMs.

 

The TERMs were engaged in conflict with a group called the Bobbits, named after their leader who gained notoriety for being castrated by his wife. Initially pushing for significant changes, the Bobbits were perceived to have been influenced by Marxism over time. On the opposite end of the spectrum were the Women's Rights Activists, often portrayed in modern media as extremists. However, upon reading their literature, they appeared as reasonable advocates outlining the numerous laws that perpetuated discrimination against women.

 

He was watching a group of men called 'The Honey Badgers' on FaceTube when his sister spoke from behind, "Brother, I..."

Toshi looked over his shoulder to see his sister standing in the doorway, "Oh. Hey. What's up?"

She bit her lower lip, then walked in, "Look... I don't think those videos are good for you."

Toshi looked from the computer to his sister and back again, "WRA videos are bad?"

Hinako blinked, "Wait. Isn't that... That's not meninist crap?"

Toshi hooked a thumb at the computer, "Nope. They're women's rights advocates. You have a problem with women's rights?"

 

Hinako shook her head then leaned into the screen, "Uhhhh... no. I... just assumed. I don't know English." She paused then slowly turned to look at Toshi, "And neither do you."

 

Toshi cursed inwardly, ~Crap. How do I explain I learned it as part of my job in my previous life?~ He was quiet for a few moments, then just shrugged, "Well... apparently I can!"

 

Hinako looked at Toshi then moved over to sit on his bed, "Can I be totally honest?" Toshi nodded in response. Hinako cleared her throat, "Brother, You are as dumb as a box of rocks." Toshi looked surprised as she continued, "Nothing personal, but when you put on that blonde wig of yours, it completed your transformation to Himbo." She scratched behind her ear, "And... frankly I think when you started with that meninist crap because your manager said it was good for your image, you..." She paused, "And now? Now I can have a prolonged conversation with you where you don't start spouting about how it's the fault of the matriarchy and you..." She pointed at the computer, "How? Seriously. HOW? It's like... nearly dying made you a hundred times smarter!"

 

Toshi nodded and listened and was quiet for quite a bit afterward. Finally, he spoke, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I was actually smart and just pretending to be stupid so I met everyone's expectations?"

Hinako looked surprised at the suggestion, then looked a little concerned and stared at her hands, "So. What you are saying is that you were acting like what you thought people wanted you to be." She looked up at Toshi, "Wait. Did I make you what you were?"

Toshi shrugged, "I dunno. I just..." He looked at the computer, "I don't get it. None of this makes sense. The more I look into this, the more crazy it gets. Shouldn't women be... passive?"

 

"I'm sorry. What?"

 

Toshi pointed at the computer screen, "Men are bigger, stronger, we have testosterone that makes us aggressive. When women get pregnant, they're incapacitated for like a year or more, including recovery time. Women shouldn't be so aggressive to get laid. Getting pregnant alone is BAD, and yet..." He gestured at the computer, "It seems that not only are women more sexually aggressive, but men as a whole find sex... unappealing?" Toshi scratched his chin, "I don't have a better word for it. As a reproductive strategy, this makes no sense."

 

Hinako just stared at her brother, "Wow... it's so strange to see you like this. Not to mention the fact of dealing with someone who-" She shook her head, "Never mind. This is well known. It's taught in history class. It started about two thousand years ago. About the time of the Roman Empire. They discovered a plant called Silphium. It started growing in the country now known as Libya. It cured several ailments, but it was best used in preventing pregnancy."

She leaned over and started typing something into The GooHoo search engine. The history of Silphium came up, "See? Some place named Cyrene. It almost got harvested out of existence, but some Roman senators realized its use and started growing large fields of the flower. Over time it became a major cash crop and spread all over the world. It didn't get to Japan for nearly eight hundred years after its discovery, but..."

She sat back down on the bed, "Everywhere it showed up, it had the same effect. A period of shifting social rules, a general breakdown in the relationships between men and women, and then the restructuring." She held up one hand, "Women started having much more sex, which, it's unknown if it was selective or a side effect of the plant, but women became horny as HELL. And..."

She paused and looked a little embarrassed, "I'm... a little embarrassed to talk about this with my brother but... yeah. It ain't no joke. I sometimes wish I had been born a guy just so I didn't have to deal with being so..." She blushed, "Thirsty all the time." She cleared her throat, "Which is why you REALLY shouldn't trust women. We're all douchebags on some level."

 

Toshi looked a little surprised by his sister's admission, "And... men?"

 

Hinako shrugged, "Oh. It was sort of a reversal of roles. It used to be women shamed all other women into following social rules on who you could date and who you could marry. As soon as women went completely insane with the desire to fu-" She cut herself off, "Uh... er..." She rubbed the back of her neck, "I mean... guys all started to band together. Men who broke ranks and slept with women too young or too old or outside the right social circles were ostracized. Masturbation in men became a no-no. In the modern day, we now know that if a man never masturbates and never engages in sex and never looks at porn, by the time he turns twenty-five, his sex drive will crater."

 

Toshi blinked, "Excuse me?"

 

Hinako nodded, "Well, apparently the hormonal surge that causes men to want to have sex only lasts for like ten years. If a male avoids any behavior that reinforces the desire for sex, he simply doesn't have one when the surge wears off." She held up her hands to gesture while talking, "From puberty to age twenty-five, the desire in a male to have sex is biological, but after age twenty-five, it's psychological. If a man masturbates while a kid, he turns into a horny adult."

Toshi leaned back in his chair, "So... society, at least men, figuring this out, created a culture of abstaining from any form of sex or self-pleasure so the men could..."

Hinako rolled her eyes, "Take advantage of thirsty women. We never stop being horny until the eggs dry up. It's why most women are so... aggressive." She came back over to start scrolling down the search results, "As time passed, women learned to control their emotions because if a man knew you were horny, it was so much easier to manipulate you." She clicked on a result, "In turn, men got more emotional because the more emotional the man, the more likely a woman will know what to do to make you happy and more likely to get married and-"

Toshi completed the sentence, "And more likely to have children. Holy crap. So that's what changed."

Hinako looked at Toshi, "Changed?"

 

Toshi froze for a second then continued, "Humanity. It changed humanity. We used to be reversed."

 

His sister nodded, "Ah." She scrolled some more, "I think you can figure the rest out." She went to sit down on the bed, "I'm surprised you remember English but not this."

Toshi looked at his sister, then back at the computer, "So... these... meninists are men trying to... undo the matriarchy." He paused then looked back at his sister, "To be honest, it seems like men got it good under this so-called matriarchy."

"I have never been more surprised than to hear you say that." She looked over out the window, "Damn you have changed."

Toshi swiveled his chair around to face his sister, "Why do you say that?"

Hinako smirked, "I... I might regret telling you this... and know that it is just my opinion..." Toshi gestured with his hand for her to continue. Hinako sighed, "I think Mom and Dad broke up because of you."

 

Toshi sat up in his chair, "what?"

 

Hinako winced, "Look. You... got into the meninist crap and kept needling Dad with it and being pissy with Mom and... I think you were the wedge that came between them. Mom shouldn't have cheated, but Dad shouldn't have listened to you, either. I... don't want to lay this heavy crap on you, but I don't want to lie to you either." She held up both hands palms out to Toshi, "In Fairness, I could be wrong! This is just my opinion."

 

Toshi looked thoughtful then shook his head, "Yes, but an opinion that makes sense." He slowly turned back to his computer, "I'm sorry I was such a toxic wastrel."

 

Hinako was quiet for a long time, "You know... I think this is the longest conversation we've had without fighting." She coughed a bit and looked away.

 

Toshi looked at his sister for a bit, "Whatever you want to say, say it."

 

She sat there in silence for a while, then started to tap her foot rapidly. Finally, she looked up, "I'm sorry about what happened to you. I am so goddamn sorry I couldn't keep you safe. No matter what happened, you are my little brother, and I-" She stopped and looked off into the distance, "I am such a horrible person because I am so happy you lost your memory."

Toshi looked surprised then cleared his throat, "That's... something."

She stood up suddenly and ran over to hug Toshi, "You might have lost your memory, but I got my brother back." She let go of the hug, and held him at arm's length by the shoulders, "Forgive me?"

Toshi smiled softly, "It's fine."

Hinako smiled weakly, "Thanks. Although... I'm a little worried about your lack of emotion. Still, I'll take this you over the old you. You seem... happier... and not insane."

Toshi snorted, "Insane?"

Hinako nodded, "Oh yeah. I'm sorry but... you were just... I dunno. You didn't make any sense sometimes. You'd believe anything you read on Tweeter. Whenever I tried to discuss your latest crazy nonsense logically you just would scream 'Educate yourself.' Then go blog about me on how your sister was trying to oppress you." She spoke much softer as she continued, "I could read your YouBook account, by the way."

 

Toshi took in a sharp breath, "You know what? I'm... thinking of just deleting all my social media accounts."

Hinako looked shocked, "Buh-what?" She gestured at the computer, "You... you know that your social media accounts were your whole life, right?"

Toshi shrugged, "I got a family now. What do I need that crap for?"

 

Hinako stared at Toshi for a good minute before giving him a crushing hug, "God? Thank you for giving me my baby brother back to me."

Toshi let out a muffled, "Ack!"

Hinako let go but immediately grabbed him by the cheeks, cradling his face in both hands, "My sweet innocent little brother. I swear to god I will not let anyone ever hurt you again. I failed once before, but never again."

Toshi immediately felt a combination of warmth and guilt, ~Oh hell. I can never tell this family the truth.~ He grabbed both her hands and pulled them down to press them together, "Can I ask you anything?"

Hinako nodded, "Of course, my sweet brother." She beamed him a smile, having the happiest moment with her brother in years.

 

 

 

"So what do you think about me getting a job at a Soapland?"

 

 

 

A smile that suddenly shattered.