So I’m reading the reviews for the latest chapter of my fic, Not Quite Black, which is an OP OC-Insert story. The MC is a guy who’s androgynous enough (and acts like it) to be mistaken for a girl.
And there are some reviews (polite ones, to be in fact. But also... less than savory ones) that keep telling me that I should ‘change the MC to be a girl if you’re going to make him so girly’, in general. And I get that. It’s confusing when your character switches from ‘sweet goody-good shoes’ to ‘bad ass mother fucker off to beat ypur ass’. But I have my reasons:
1. His personality/mannerisms stem from his upbringing (spoilers)
2. He has been surrounded by people w/o motherly figures
3. He has expressed indifference/amusement when being treated/dressed up as a woman (seen when he had wanted to cut his hair before joining the Marines, but stopped his cutting (of his hair) until his departure when the girls in his village gave him sad eyes because his hair was perfect to play with/put flowers)
4. The rose tucked behind his ear is also important (spoilers)
5. Giggling is something everyone does. Even boys.
6. Crushes (especially kids’) are usually out of admiration. Sabo harboring a crush (when he was five) on the MC was a combination of awe, looking for an idol (that isn’t a petty noble/crazy old grandpa), being taken in by his kindness, and finding him aesthetically pleasing (aka pretty) to look at.
7. “Pretty boys” are real in both the real-life world and anime world. See: bishounens
8. Too bad for you, I like writing Baccara. So if you don’t like it, then look at the upper left corner of your website, and click the left arrow to go back from whence you came.