Its been a while since I've done HCs here. So lets go.
I think Jasper Badun definitely knows Polari.
For those that dont know Polari was a very common code language used in Brittain in the 50s and 60s by the LGBTQ+ community. Basically to speak to each other about queer topics without being found out by the cops. It depends a bit on where you lived in Brittain but either way the language heavily used a mix of Romani, Italian, Yiddish, Sailors and Thieves slang and most importantly Cockney Rhyme.
Basically-- every minority you could imagine in the 1960s.
I think I can make this argument even stronger by Jasper's and Horaces character designs alone. The big hands, big noses, exaggerated proportions and way of speaking. Early Disney based lots of their character designs of racist stereotypes and it didn't take long for me and my boyfriend to quickly see a pattern when we saw the repetition of big hands, noses and speech when Disney represented the Romani population. Its extremely problematic and a criticism we all should be aware of when we watch old movies for the nostalgia
Now I cannot 100% be certain that Jasper and Horace are supposed to be Romani. I think its completely up to the viewer. But the possibility is certainly still there. Which just leans into my headcanon even more.
Also even if you weren't queer yourself. If you were a thief that needed to hide in the slums of society, you would walk into queer culture either way. Especially since lower class pubs were a hot-spot for anyone that didn't fit in. It was a hiding place for people to be themselves and also very often host 3 am dragperformances. (I know this documentary is based off of New York but i still think watching the 1990s documentary Paris is Burning is a great insight to kinda get the vibe of underground hush-hush drag culture) Now I've always HC:d Jasper as a extremely closeted bisexual man. Someone that's for certain into women but would literally prefer dying than admit he was attracted to men. But I still think it's important to make this point to people who just see him as a hetero man. Straight men can still experience gay culture. Minorities understand other minorities.
Now why am I so adamant that Jasper (perhaps Horace too) could be bisexual? Honestly, because I am very tired of people always assuming that you have to *look a certain way* or *act a certain way* to be queer. As a gay person myself, I really like the presentation of both healthy but also problematic gay people. Because thats just realistic! Jasper is a bad person, a thief that considered killing puppies to get money. A man that is portrayed as remorseless and scary. And to add that he is struggling with internal homophobia and most likely feels disgust around gay people? It's sad, it's awful... but it feels real. It feels like someone I would meet. It feels like a person that-- if they could just meet the right people, if they were bonked over the head enough that it's alright to feel like how they feel. Could eventually come around to eventually accept themselves. Doesn't necessarily need to happen, thats honestly a way too positive way of looking at it. But it's such a raw feeling I have when it comes to HCing that Jasper could be bi. Especially bi-ness as well. Anyone that was bi back in the day most definitely ended up with someone of the opposite gender so they could conform into society. So exploring that, and really digging into it in my fanfic. Feels so extremely validating.
I uh-- I honestly dont know where I was going with this. I just wanted to yap. I suppose I should tag my friend @shychick-52 to read this if they want lmao
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