CJ and Flick in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

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Image Credit: Retrieved from https://twitter.com/gaybabyjail/status/1241903029499990017?s=21

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, CJ, an NPC who hosts the seasonal fishing tournaments, mentions his “partner,” who is an artist who makes models of bugs. Fans have pointed out that Flick, an NPC who hosts the Bug Off tournaments, may fit this description, as he allows the player to commission him to make models of bugs. This has lead fans to queerly read the two as a couple (as seen here and here). However, a difference in dialogue between the Japanese version and the English version shows that Flick is referred to as a friend rather than a partner. Additionally, a screenshot of the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Companion Guide page on Flick shows that the two are roommates and business partners. Fans have taken this to mean that the two are coded to be secretly gay, such as with this tweet.

As Animal Crossing: New Horizons is still quite new, we would love to hear about any additional new LGBTQ content to the series. If you find anything not listed on the Archive, please feel free to let us know.

LGBTQ References in this game series:

Animal Crossing (2001): Blanca, Gracie, Julia, Saharah

Animal Crossing: Wild World (2005): Mentions of Same-Sex Relationships, Opposite-Gender Haircuts

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012): Crossdressing and Gender Expression, Isabelle, Villager Flirting

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020): CJ and Flick, Mentions and Queer Readings, Removal of Gender Choice

Citations:

  1. ankha_crossing. (2020, April 16). and they were ROOMMATES [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/ankha_crossing/status/1250870867598487567
  2. fluffysmolcloud. (2020, March 21). PLEASE SUPPORT FLICK, A LOCAL STARVING ARTIST LIKE ME!!!!!!!! #AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/fluffysmolcloud/status/1241534025547698176
  3. gaybabyjail. (2020, March 22). wait a second here . WAIT A SECOND [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/gaybabyjail/status/1241903029499990017?s=21
  4. LylaHammar. (2020, March 22). HOLD UP [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/lylahammar/status/1241930054759641090?s=21
  5. Robinson, A. (2020, March 24). Animal Crossing Switch could feature ‘Nintendo’s first openly gay characters’. Retrieved from https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/animal-crossing-lgbt/
  6. The Poochy Kid. (2020, March 23). Animal Crossing: New Horizons features Nintendo’s first openly gay couple. Retrieved from https://www.resetera.com/threads/animal-crossing-new-horizons-features-nintendos-first-openly-gay-couple.176854/#post-30170121
  7. yeomk2. (2020, March 23). I’m disappointed with jpn ver #どうぶつの森 #AnimalCrossing #ACNH [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/yeomk2/status/1242012520946135040?s=21