#because he really isn't THAT effeminate or flamboyant

[blueberryblogger]

just saw someone recycling ye olde "X character doesn't read as Y identity to me, someone who doesn't & has never held that identity & thus am not as intimately familiar with mannerisms, tropes & characterizations that are typically associated with Y identity. There is no evidence for X being Y and you guys are acting insane."

like. do you understand that you are using the EXACT SAME excuse that other people are using to shit on YOUR headcanon that you're so attatched too because it has so much evidence?

did it ever cross your mind that it would probably be harder for you, person who isn't X, to pick up on subtler tropes & identifiers of X that you've never experienced because you aren't X?

like you get how it sounds like you're shitting on other wueer people?

#blocking another god damn fantasy high account that i really liked #because when people say 'theres no evidence for your headcanon' and theyre wrong its bad and tbeyre erasing underrepresented identities #but when YOU say 'theres no evidence for this' you are good and correct and the rest of us are just stupid weirdos #like oh my fucking god bro #if i see one more person who isnt fucking gay say 'erm actually fabian cant be gay he liked girls' im gonna lose it #gay men also experience comphet! #and it's not because he's 'effeminate' #because he really isn't THAT effeminate or flamboyant #he dances and he talks like a rich boy and those are the only two things i can think lf #that make him seem 'effeminate' #but like. dude rides a motorcycle from hell. he fights with a sword and plays football #he punched someone on the first day of school & routinely punches and gets punched by his friends #like. fabian is wildly more stereotypically masculine than he is feminine #most of us think Fabian is gay because up until he took interest in Mazey #he had exclusively expressed interest in girls that were unavailable or unobtainable #his 'type' was literally toxic and/or unavailable women #which SCREAMS comphet to anyone who has fucking experienced it before #'yeah i love women but only the ones i cant have amirite lads' #'classic completely heterosexual man behavior' #anyway #i think its incredibly rude to take people seeing their lived experiences in a character and say 'youre insane bc i dont see it' #especially when YOU YOURSELF have a headcanon that a huge chunk of people cannot understand fully but accept anyway because they get it #because they understand seeing yourself in a character and how important that can be #unlike you #vagueposting #me when i vague for the first time in like 3 years

[leatherbookmark]

oh god okay i understand that maybe not everyone is as indecisive/comfortable with saying "it depends!" as me, but like, i'm sorry, i'm sorry, but i just can't take people who call izzy a villain seriously

#he's a little annoying dude. i swear to fuck #'the real villain in the show is the system and izzy is siding with the system' babygirl he's a pirate 😭 he really isn't 😭 #he could NOT more clearly be -- he literally IS -- that kind of gay man who wears his leathers and anger as an armor because being scary ha #been his way of fighting The System => being consumed and destroyed by it; and who looks down and feels disgusted by flamboyant #and effeminate soft-handed gays because if they're this soft then they clearly haven't experienced this kind of abuse that would make them #harden up. ....you know what i mean. #like idk this show in general like... doesn't have a 'villain'? it's about stede (and ed's) journey and their development. not necessarily #about their Conflict With Someone/Something. i guess it might change in s2 but idk. there are just Situations in which they find themselves #and because of/md is a comedy no one really... holds things against other characters in a long-term way? izzy stabs stede and sells him #out to the english and ed punches him for the latter (which he says 'ok fair' about!!! like!!!) but does he go 'and for all the shit you've #done i'm Firing you as my first mate? no! he slams him against the wall and feeds him his toe but he's like. ok get up and back to work #and he doesn't seem particularly disgusted or upset with him in that final blackbeard's flag 2.0 moment. (nor manipulated; inb4) #like. it's a workplace romcom. the workplace is a pirate ship but it's a workplace and izzy is that annoying coworker who's a bitch and #often ruins everyone's fun but no one like... Seriously ostracizes him. more like applies some light bullying BECAUSE IT'S FUNNY. #COMEDY. do we remember that? #and like. it seems he's going to have a bit of a larger (?) role in s2... it really doesn't seem like the show sees him as a 'villain' or #even an active 'antagonist' either. like ok let's agree 2 disagree and may both sides block each others' asses into oblivion because god #knows both sides have some annoying people but mannnn sometimes... insisting that things Can be divided into Good and Bad... is worse? #shrimp thoughts #once again i wrote a tag novel about an incredibly silly thing. welcome to leatherbookmark

[bookshelfdreams]

do it. gimme the Izzy straight-coded meta 👀

I feel like I need to preface this by saying that Actually, Izzy Is Straightcoded would be the inflammatory clickbait title I'd give this if it were written to draw traffic & ad revenue to my shitty website. So don't take that term too seriously.

There has been a lot of ink spilled about Izzy thinking he's in a story where one can only be subtextually queer. Some even by yours truly, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes. What would be the purpose of queercoding Izzy?

In general, villains* aren't queercoded to show that men being attracted to other men is bad. It's often the outcome; but it's not why the trope exists. It exists because cishet people tend to be (and are encouraged to be) profoundly uncomfortable with gender nonconformity, and so, making a character gnc becomes a quick and easy way to make him appear twisted and untrustworthy. If he** can't even obey the fundamental rules of his own gender (rules that are inherent and unchangeable!) what other rules does he disobey?

Or: If a man is insufficiently masculine, he can't be trusted to have morals. The villain isn't gnc because that's an evil trait to have; rather, the gender nonconformity is a symptom of his evilness. Being evil is what enables him to embrace his feminine side, and embracing his feminine side is what others him and marks him as a villain.

This only really works when he's contrasted with a hero (or heroine) who is Doing Gender Correctly. The villain is foul to highlight how good the hero is. The Hero will be honest and straightforward, brave, physically powerful; the Queercoded Villain treacherous, cowardly, and physically weak. The hero is a Proper Man, a Good Person. The villain an Improper Man, and therefore, a Bad Person.

Of course ofmd fundamentally rejects this. The shorthand wouldn't work, because ofmd simply doesn't think effeminacy is creepy. It's uninterested in moralizing self-expression; it just lets people be how they are. There's a wide range of expressions of masculinity on this show, and none of it is inherently bad. People are allowed to be hypermasculine, flamboyant, and anything inbetween, can express their gender in whatever manner they want, and it's all fine - as long as they are authentic about it. Be however you are, but be yourself, and this is what Izzy fails at. The repression marks him as a villain. The strict adherence to what he thinks a Real Man Pirate ought to be like. He's very preoccupied with enforcing a traditional (and toxic) masculinity on himself and others. It's no coincidence the characters he antagonizes the most - Stede and Lucius - are also the most effeminate ones. And I know, I know anglophones have a much more casual relationship to twat and cunt, those don't nearly feel as uncomfortable for y'all as they do for me, so I don't want to assign too much significance here, but he is the only character who constantly uses this kind of language, and also the one who uses the most gender&sexuality based slurs (as far as I remember).

All of this while being clearly, obviously queer himself! I do not feel like I need to explain this; his flustered reaction when Lucius asks him if he's ever been sketched speaks for itself. The fact that he meets Stede and immediately slices his shirt off of him, speaks for itself. And so on.

Izzy isn't straightcoded in the sense that the story wants us to believe he's exclusively attracted to women. Much like a queercoded villain doesn't need to be shown to be attracted to men (and can even be shown to be attracted exclusively to women!) to still be queercoded. He's straightcoded in the sense that he's a stand-in for restrictive and toxic gender roles that society enforces on people. He buys into the idea that there's a way of Doing Gender Wrong, and this is presented as a tragic character flaw. Something he has to overcome to be able to do the thing that actually marks a hero in this show: express himself authentically.

Part of why I found his death so moving is because it enables him to set right the toxicity he spread. His rehabilitation arc was about himself; about finally allowing himself to be, accepting love, accepting community. His death was about taking responsibility. About fully recognizing the hurt he caused. Looking death in the face enables him to finally abandon the last shreds of that toxicity, to apologize and be granted forgiveness. In the end, he was not beyond saving, and the harm he has done will be healed.

*Izzy is introduced as an antagonist to both Stede and the central romance of this romcom. I'm not gonna debate this; if you disagree, fine, but you clearly have such a fundamentally wrong different view of the show that it's pointless for us to try and convince each other.

**of course Queercoded Female Villains exist s well, but they are a whole different can of worms and less relevant to this discussion

#okay now that i typed this all out i realize that i just basically keep writing the same izzy post over and over sorry for that #but i spent too long on it not to post it #i do not remember who said it but i saw a post a few days ago along the lines of #izzys death reads like the fantasy of a repentant abusive parent #and i think theres truth to that #may also read like the fantasy of the kid of an abused parent #finally the person who hurt you is able to apologize and you can part on good terms #but also wont have to deal w the fallout #i write as my grandmother who doesnt speak to us is probably dying idk #anyway! #i hope this is somewhat interesting #our flag means death #ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands #thoughts #anonymaus #message

[alarrytale]

Sorry for the really stupid question. I'm straight but I'm really interested in the lgbtq+ community. I see a lot of comments about how Harry is straight presenting and Shawn is gay presenting. I don't know if that's the right terms but the gay community specifically recognizes Shawn as one of them but they don't recognize Harry as one of them which is a reason for the queerbaiting discourse, because Harry doesn't act like a stereotypical gay man. I know about Shawn but don't follow him much. I just wondered what is it that they're picking up from him but not Harry. Because both men have beards and Shawn did a denial. What's the difference. If that makes sense. Also what would Harry have to do for them to recognize him as one of their own, without needing to CO? Thanks

Hi, anon!

There is no need to apologise! I don't follow Shawn much either, but i think what queers are picking up on are stereotypes combined with queercoding and queerbaiting. The gaydar is going off. There is also not much gaslighting going on. Shawn isn't really making much of an effort to appear straight.

Shawn is living up to every queer stereotype, he's naturally effeminate, emotional, has a submissive personality, is twink-ish, and is soft spoken with a feminine speaking tone. He's into yoga. He's done some homoerotic underwear shoots and other scantily clad photoshoots that's like catnip to gay men. He flirts with gay men (that he's also rumoured to be sleeping with) on social media and in person, he queercodes, says he likes men in crop tops, and have no sexual or romantical chemistry with women. He looks like their gay best friend. He's also had mental health struggles that he's hinted are about wanting to live his truth. There are thousands of blind items about him being gay, no straight rumours at all.

Shawn's looks, mannerisms and way of being are natural to him and it's authentic. Shawn acts, dresses and behaves the same in every setting and environment. He's not gaying it up on stage or for the camera. He's just being Shawn.

Harry does not fit the gay man stereotype. He's an alpha male. He's got several masculine traits. He's got a deep voice, a masculine body, no effeminate traits or mannerisms (unless you know what to look for), he's into hypermasculine sports like american football and boxing. He hangs out with men and has primarily male friends. He takes ice baths for fucks sake and golfs. He dresses like a frat boy when he's not working an event. So for him to communicate and signal to the queer community that he's gay he needs to queercode through fashion and adopt a more stereotypically gay man behaviour that doesn’t come naturally to him.

When he is on stage or in front of a camera he puts on a flamboyant persona and an act to show people he's gay. Since he's not naturally effeminate and people don't clock him as gay just by observing him, he's got to exaggerate the flamboyance and camp. He needs to make his songs gay. His problem is that when he's off stage he's back to snogging a stick thin female supermodel wearing his frat boy clothes and sporting buzzed hair. Since queers pick up on the inauthenticity and the discrepancy between H on stage and off stage, people are mad that his gay performance is just that, a performance. He isn't wearing nailpolish when golfing and his queer lyrics means nothing when he's only ever dated women. Queers want real queer representation and he isn't giving them it with his double personality/sexuality. It seems like he's doing it for attention, shock value and to attract queers as a target audience.

Masculine gay men/straight passing gay men will always struggle with queerbaiting accusations as long as they're closeted and project both gay and straight at the same time. H's problem is that he's so extreme about his projections. So i think a solution would be to bridge the gap. Be a bit more authentic and himself. Either he could tone down the gay on stage (H would hate it, please don't) or he could tone down his straight image (Sony would riot).

Effeminate gay men have the opposite problem, and a much more difficult task. They need to tone down their natural mannerisms and behaviour and ramp up the straight image. It's against their nature and it's difficult to make it seem authentic. It's also hard on their mental health (see Shawn and Louis).

I think for H to be recognised as gay by his community without having to come out he needs to stop stunting with feminine women. Heteronormativity is so ingrained in people, as are stereotypes. So when he doesn’t fit the gay stereotype, has been connected to 85 different women in his 14 year career, and is gaslighting his fans, that's hard to look past for queer people and the gp.

#queerbaiting #queercoding #harry image #shawn mendes #straight passing #gaslighting

[twopoppies]

Hi Gina. When people keep pushing the idea that Louis is really feminine they're basically saying that gay men can't be masculine. Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe that is why he pushes his boyo image so much, because he is tired of people arguing against it. In 1D the boys had certain roles to live up to and his was being really camp. He has said himself that he was told he was 10% too British. I think that is him basically saying that he had to hide his Doncaster roots. I think we're seeing the real him now but people can't let go of his image in 1D. It's not that he isn't flamboyant anymore because we see it but he's just not like he was in 1D. It also irritates me when Larries take it out on Harry and remind us 1000 times that Louis was always the flamboyant one. Harry has had a long journey to be the person he is now. It was gradual and he has come more and more out of his shell as he gained confidence. His flamboyance was still there when he was in 1D but it's more now because he's gained confidence over many years.

I think some people seem to equate Louis being soft and gentle with being "feminine". I just don't see him as feminine. He's sometimes effeminate. But that's not the same thing. But he definitely has a very soft side and it's sometimes overshadowed by people focusing on the fact that he talks a lot about football and drinking and smoking weed and he wears jeans and football tops etc. But that's just one side of him. He definitely shows us his sweet, gentle side too.

This idea that somehow Harry is being praised for something that belongs to Louis is so ridiculous. The way Harry and Louis show their flamboyant side is not the same. Louis is occasionally flamboyant. He's probably more flamboyant in private when he's around people he trusts. But I don't see being flamboyant as being feminine, either. I don't really understand why it's so important to people that he be feminine. He was never feminine. Even in the early days before they curtailed his flamboyancy.

#louis' image #harry's image

[a-nybodys]

Idk about the other stuff, but isn't Izzy's whole thing is he's gay and homophobic? Like, not like a Bible thumping homophobe, and this show is meant to be positive so they aren't going to make him like call people slurs and he's gonna respect pronouns, but Izzy in the narrative represents toxic masculinity, and there is homophobia in toxic masculinity. He may not even hate like men sleeping together cuz pirates are desperate, but he hates softness and effeminacy and caring/attachment in men, and that is a major part of homophobia and toxic masculinity. The people he has the most beef with are the most flamboyant gay men on the ship. He tries to make Lucius do hard labor, but he also taunts Lucius over sleeping with men, and then he tries to his sexuality against him before Lucius reveals it doesn't matter to him. He hates Stede for making him look bad, but he also hates what Stede is doing to Ed, and says that thinks Stede is seducing Ed and that its breaking Ed's brain by making him "soft" and caring, and is also horrified when he thinks they're having sex. And then he insults and threatens Ed over, going soft and heartbroken over his pining after his "namby pamby boyfriend." To me, that is homophobia and it's a part of Izzy's general toxic masculinity stance. And I say this while saying that I love Izzy. He's funny and an interesting character and I wanna study him under a microscope, and I wanna see where his character will go from here, if he'll get redeemed or get more evil or just hang out on the ship still minding his own business. There is absolutely nothing wrong with liking him, and I'm not saying this as a reason to make people hate him, and no way are fans of Izzy homophobic for liking him. That literally makes no sense. But I don't understand him not atleast representing homophobia in a subtextual way, as the Badmintons do, since toxic masculinity and homophobia (among other things) are intertwined together and the stuff he uses to jab at Ed and Lucius and Stede is their presentation and even sexuality. As the antagonist, his goal is separating the gay romantic leads and keeping toxic masculinity the same as it was before Stede. I might be completely missing something here or misunderstanding something, I dont know. I do not mean for this to sound rude at all, I'm just genuinely curious about your thoughts.

i think its possible to uphold toxic masculine standards while not being homophobic. but, honestly, he doesnt even really read toxic masculinity to me tbh.

he had to have known ed was gay, he was close to the man for years if not decades, and i really dont think izzys issues with stede or lucius stem from homophobia but maybe more of a general aversion to how they pirate. he views piracy as a tough, dog eat dog world (as do the rest of the pirates in the show other than the crew), one that cant be solved by kindness or caring or anything stede tries to uphold. he is angry that stede is trying to get by like this, without any hard work on his part, without any blood sweat or tears and, worst of all, without failing miserably. we dont know anything abt izzys backstory but i think it genuinely burns him up that the crew of the revenge doesnt even have to work particularly hard to get by and even thrive, because thats not his experience at all. i think he got to where he rests, at the top of the top, second only to the best pirate ever, through pain and death and hard work. i think his problems with stede arise from more of a place of ‘he has the money and resources and luck to get by without any hard work’ and less of ‘hes effeminate and i hate that about him.’ same with the whole ‘daddy’ scene, hes not mad at lucius for having sex with a man, hes mad at lucius for not working and slacking off. he brings up fang and pete as a threat, not because he finds it gross, but because its a way to blackmail lucius into following izzys orders.

and by him being disgusted by his thinking of ed and stede having sex, i def think it has way more to do with ed having sex with stede than ed having sex with a man. he just genuinely hates the guy lmao. he knew jack was “close with” (read:had fucked) ed before, otherwise he wouldnt have sent jack to play with ed’s emotions and trick him into leaving the revenge.

idk i think my view of it all comes down to theres no way izzy could idolize ed and work on a crew consisting entirely of leather daddies if he was homophobic lmao, and i dont think ed wouldve kept him around if he were either.

#thanks for coming to my ted talk #i think the ‘homophobic izzy’ thing has a lot more ground textually to stand on than the ‘abusive’ or ‘racist’ shit ppl try to say #idk if this makes sense at all #but yeah #i appreciate the ask :)

[genderkoolaid]

more ofmd appreciation bc I love that lucius spriggs is like. a flamboyant gay man who's realistic. like a lot of depictions of flamboyant gay men are very stereotypical, not just in "gay men is effeminate" but in that the gay man just. feels like someone's vague idea of how gay men act. and at first lucius kinda seems like that, like he's the first character to come out as gay and it's in a very joking way ("my mom thought I liked girls for years!") so at first u think it's just another "flamboyant gay man is flamboyant and gay and doesn't wanna work and is petty and stuff".

but lucius is like. he's talented, and he's funny but in a. certain way? like i don't know how else to describe it other than he feels like an effeminate gay man you would actually meet. like him and his boyfriend who isn't some Hollywood Perfect Twink. he's smart! he's clever!! he's thoughtful and supportive of his friends!! he feels like a gay man who's flamboyance doesn't come from some nebulous idea of "this is how gay men act!", it comes from him being a full person. he's important to the story and treated like a full person and him being flamboyant isn't even really a joke! which makes sense because this show is drowning (ha) in queer characters including gnc characters, all of whom are treated like Real People. he's even an amputee that has nothing to do with anything else but I love that he's canonically an amputee with a prosthetic finger. what could I ask for I fucking LOVE lucius spriggs

#if lucius spriggs had 100 supporters i am one of them if lucius spriggs has 1 supporters i am him if lucius spriggs has 0 supports im dead #if the world (or blackbeard) is against lucius spriggs then i am against the world #m. #media #our flag means death

[the-road-goes-ever-on86]

No offense to people who like bearded Stede, but it really irritates me (for reasons previously explained, which amount to: it seems fanbase doesn't like Stede being as effeminate as he currently is); I'm constantly seeing comments like "Ed will suddenly forget what he was angry about when he sees Stede like this", which implies he isn't nearly as hot unless he becomes more traditionally masculine with a beard and simple clothes. At this point if Stede gets a beard in s2 I hope he shaves it off within one episode. It's disappointing that all the s2 fanart I'm seeing has bearded Stede; I get why people want to draw Ed and Stede's reunion, and on some level of course I get why he could have a beard when that happens, but it seems like the entire fanbase is obsessed with the idea and wants him to keep it/keeps going on about how much hotter he is with one. (And look... For the record, I like beards. That's not the issue.)

After seeing all those comments about how much better bearded Stede looks I want him to be clean shaven for the remainder of the show; buck those expectations (plus be even more flamboyant with your clothes king). 💗

Don't get me wrong: the art itself is lovely! There are so many talented artists in this fandom. I just absolutely hate that everyone acts like Stede has to 'glow up' because he isn't attractive or alluring enough. There is such a thing as razors guys; he doesn't have to be stuck with a beard for the rest of his life if he doesn't want one.

#I've complained about this before I'll probably complain about it again #Our flag means death spoilers #Our flag means death #Stede Bonnet #Bearded Stede #Fandom wank #Kinda

[gregrulzok]

okay a few things on you’re recent post!

question 1: where did you get the information that ONE is racist and homophobic??? I’m just curious is all because I love ONE a lot, for even making OPM or Mob 100 a thing.

question 2: on the speed o’ sonic thing, are you sure you meant ONE, or Murata? Because the OG webcomic where ONE fully drew everything he never pay attention to THAT kind of detail. So every drawing you saw of speed o’ sound sonic in the manga or anywhere else was Murata I’m sure.

Good questions! I'll answer number 2 first - admittedly, it could be Murata. I've only recently heard about the whole Murata thing in the first place, so I'm not sure of the Murata-to-ONE ratio of being horny for Speed'o'Sound Sonic. That part of the post was mostly a light-hearted joke, anyhow.

Now for the first question:

While I DO believe ONE has - at the very least - depicted some less than savoury racial caricatures before, as a white person I don't feel very comfortable discussing it at length.

However! As a gay person I'm more than happy to tell you why I think he's homophobic. It's a pretty simple answer, really.

This charming gentleman right here is Puri Puri Prisoner, one of the 'heroes' featured in One Punch Man, and the main crux in my argument towards ONE's homophobia.

Now let me make one thing clear: I am very, very tolerant of homophobic caricatures in media, especially in eastern/Asian media. Being from West Asia myself, I understand that many countries - including Japan - just don't have the same level of sensitivity towards a topic like this. Japan is a conservative culture and jokes aimed at the LGBT community do not carry the same weight as they do over in the more liberal west.

From Ouran Highschool Host Club to Black Butler to whathaveyou, I've consumed and enjoyed plenty of anime with depictions of LGBT characters that are less than flattering.

While I don't ENJOY homophobic jokes, I've always been able to see them as just that - jokes. Jabs at people (usually gay men, sometimes trans women) that came from a place of ignorance more so than a place of hatred. "Haha, isn't two men kissing funny?" "Haha that 'man' is wearing a dress, that's so wacky!".

...

Puri Puri Prisoner disgusted me every moment he was on screen, and made it nearly impossible for me to finish a show I was otherwise loving.

This is not a simple, light-hearted jab at something the author didn't understand or wasn't used to.

[TW: Homophobia, R*pe, P*dophilia.]

In case you need a reminder - Puri Puri Prisoner is a flamboyant, effeminate, flagrantly homosexual man. One of the jokes is that he's so buff and over-the-top manly, yet still "pretends" to be dainty and feminine, haha, isn't it so gross and weird, haha. That in itself is icky, but nothing I haven't seen before.

He is also a prisoner, because he "cannot stop sexually assaulting men". There are multiple jokes in canon about him assaulting or raping other male characters - including his fellow prison mates whom he refers to as 'his boys' and presumably regularly assaults. There's also implications that he's interested in young boys.

This isn't written by someone who doesn't understand the gay community and is poking fun at something confusing and new.

This is written by someone who understands damn well the stereotypes and insults that get hurled at gay men, and either believes them, or at the very least thinks that they're funny.

As I've said - I enjoyed OPM a lot. I enjoyed MP100 a lot. ONE is a fantastic writer.

But this character single handedly is the most vile, disgusting caricature I've ever witnessed. I don't believe this was an accident, and I don't believe it was because of ignorance or misinformation.

Whether ONE believes that gay men are pedophile rapists, or whether he thinks that saying so is a funny joke, I sincerely believe that that is enough to warrant calling someone a homophobe.

#one punch man #opm #puri puri prisoner #homophobia #saitama

[amaya-chwan]

Hi there dear~, I know this is kind of an out the blue question, but... I’ve been wondering about it for a bit, and felt you might be the best person I know of to ask /)w(\

I’ve been curious-- do you know if there's a name for the sort of speech pattern that Minato uses? Since I haven't got much knowledge about Japanese myself, I'm unsure if that's even exactly the right term to use, but... it seems right? so we'll go with it lol

I know a portion of things is also just his vocabulary differing from other characters as well, but still, I wasn't sure if his usual way of speaking would also count as a different pattern in general or not-- and even if this isn't something you've got much of an answer on yourself, thanks so much for taking the time to reply to this, and for all the updates and such you post for everyone~💕

HI LOVELY HUMAN! ❤️💛💜

Oh my gosh, first of all, thank you for waiting so long for this super late response! ;A;

Hmm, honestly, I'm not 100% sure about this since Minato's word choices and grammar usage are a mix of masculine and feminine language (leaning more towards feminine though).

However, Tofugu has this amazing article on gendered language: Beyond the Binary: A Queer Take on Gendered Japanese

They mention Onee kotoba [オネエ言葉] which they define as:

オネエ言葉 is a stereotypical gendered speech style, similarly to 女言葉 and 男言葉. While it is associated with the queer community, it goes without saying that it is not "the way gay people talk." Rather, just like 女言葉 or 男言葉, it's a speech style that people of all different gender identities can use in their own speech.

The name of this speech style comes from a queer identity term, オネエ, which is short for お姉さん (older sister). オネエ is used to refer to people who speak オネエ言葉, or act in a flamboyant manner. Just as a quick disclaimer: オネエ is considered derogatory by some, so we recommend using appropriate caution with this word. Still, it is quite commonly used in the media, as well as in friendly banter between members of the queer community, much like English-speaking gay men might call each other "girl."

Another definition for Onee Kotoba is from Weblio (one of my favourite dictionaries, haha).

Their definition is:

女性であることを強調した、誇張された女性語。「わ」「よ」「なの」などをよく用いるといった特徴がある。オネエ言葉を使う人を「オネエキャラ」などと言うこともある。

"Exaggerated feminine language that emphasises being a woman. The use of (sentence enders such as) wa, yo, and nano (among others) is a typical trait of this language. Those who use onee kotoba are also referred to as 'onee kyara' (i.e. celebrities or personalities, usually male, taking on an effeminate role -- JapanDict)."

So after reading a few articles and rereading TG, I'd say Minato uses this language to a degree. He still definitely uses masculine pronouns and some sentences sounds more masculine, grammatically, but he definitely mixes his use of gendered language.

Picture (1): アンタ (anta->from anata). I find this usage is used more by women, esp. when women address their husbands/lovers. Tofugu also has a longer explanation for anata (linked below). だよ (dayo) is supposedly neutral, but I find it is generally leaning towards being more masculine. I've personally never heard my female Japanese coworkers use 'dayo' -- they'd say ですよ (desu yo), but I guess that's probably because we were in an office setting! Picture (2): use of pronoun 俺 Picture (3): だってば is a grammar point that seems to be used more by women. Pictures (4) & (5): Some feminine sentence enders that Minato uses. For picture 5, that's attributed to the lack of だ in the sentence.

Plus, OnoYuuki's portrayal as Minato in the CDs... he really makes Minato sound masculine in some scenes, and more feminine in others!

Again, thank you for waiting so long for me to respond! I hope this helps! 🥰💜

(And you are most welcome! I am glad you are also enjoying the takeaways~ 💜)

- Amaya-chwan

P.S. If anyone has more information on gendered language in Japanese or has any corrections for me about anything on this post, please let me know! I'd love to learn a lot more about this topic! 🥰

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Some other websites I stumbled across when looking into this topic!

https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/24139/can-girls-use-%E3%81%A0%E3%82%88%E3%81%AD

https://jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%B0-%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%82%89-tteba-ttara-meaning/

https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/3ian4b/gendered_language/

https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/1tp2al/masculine_and_feminine_language_question/

https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/2b9fiz/anyway_to_check_for_language_femininity/

https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/anata/

#amaya chwan answers

[bransles]

botanical headcanons. // accepting.

@magioffire / @dullweapons / anonymous:

aloe, apple blossom, carnation, sage

aloe : how does your muse handle grief?

perhaps not the most gracefully — he had initially taught himself necromancy in a fit of grief and desperation over losing his childhood pet, only to then realize it isn't necessarily bringing back the dead as he thought it to be. instead, what he got was a mindless corpse of a puppet that would follow his commands. he quickly realized from that experience that there is no bringing back the dead and all he can do is move on.

yet, his emotions have always been strong and dramatic and grief is no exception. he'll sob, he'll isolate himself for a bit, he'll write songs to honor his loved one's memory, slip into depression for a while.

if it's a significant other he's lost, he may never feel able to find another partner — or at least won't for a long time. he will eventually move on, keep them in his memory, but again. octavo is dramatic with everything.

apple blossom : how does your muse go about expressing or not expressing their sexuality ?  

octavo is not one to be shy about any aspect of himself. he's gay. he'll blatantly express attraction towards other men. he'll politely decline any advances from women and will bluntly tell them it's simply because he does not prefer their company in that way. if someone asks him about it, he won't dance around it. he feels no need to.

now, his . . . demeanor isn't necessarily a deliberate expression of his sexuality. but it probably isn't surprising to most people to learn he's gay, given how he dresses, talks, acts — he's. effeminate. fruity lol. and he's fully aware that he is. although he never considered any of those things to have any correlation with his sexuality — he's a musician, a performer, and the more flamboyant you are, the more attention the audience gives you.

he expresses his sexuality pretty casually, i guess? it just something about him that is, and it never really gets discussed unless he is actively interested in someone. it's not usually something that needs to be brought up, otherwise. he doesn't go around introducing himself like "hello i'm octavo and i'm gay."

carnation : what is your muse’s relationship with their gender? how do they express or not express this relationship?

octavo's relationship with his gender is a passionate one. he is a transgender man, although his experience with being trans might be a bit different than some. as in, he doesn't really experience body dysphoria — his body is his, and he loves it! it's perfect, along with the rest of him! thus he feels no need to make any huge changes to himself (e.g. top surgery, etc). that said, being called a woman, the idea of living as a woman, brings him a lot of discomfort. he'd snap at anyone who would refer to him as such (feminine affectionates however like princess, queen, wife, sis, etc. are allowed from people he's closer to). he never really felt as if he were born in the wrong body, just had the wrong words assigned to him. he is a man, and that is something about himself that just is, as well.

his gender expression really goes as far as making it clear that he is a man. he does typically take on a more masculine mode of dress, such as suits, but will wear dresses and skirts. he also keeps his hair long, will wear makeup, jewelry, paint his nails. clothes are clothes. he'll wear whatever he likes.

tldr he is gnc af

sage : what is your muse’s legacy?   what do they want to be remembered for   &   what might they actually be remembered for?  

first and foremost, he wants to be remembered for his music. as one of the greatest musicians to walk hyrule's fields. to make music that would be played for generations after him, for other people to play and learn from, keep his spirit alive. someone's work being remembered long after their death in the closest the average person can get to immortality.

after learning about ganon? maybe he could be remembered for something else. maybe he could break the mold of the same hero and princess being the one to save hyrule from ruin. he could not only save himself and hyrule, but live on as something even far greater than he could have fathomed. a complete failure, of course. his extremist actions brand him a criminal for some time — although most just view him as causing mischief than anyone dangerous.

he'll be remembered for his actions for some time, for sure. his music might live on, as well — with that fun little tale attached to it of a silly little musician who wanted to play hero when that was not his place in the world.

#( 🎵 ❛ hc ╱ thought i felt your heartbeat. #( 🎵 ❛ answered ╱ love letters. #magioffire #dullweapons #anonymous