Hatter & Gender
I've been meaning to write about this for a while, but sort of ironically, I never seem to get around to it. (Ironic considering how willing I am to TL;DR given the opportunity, under most circumstances. I don't know, I fail at essaying about RP stuff.) But I think I finally have the motivation to get this one out of the way - partly because it'll be nice just to have some of this written down for myself, partly for other people who might be curious, and partly because I'm bored and it's sort of fun.
So, this would be a FAQ, if people actually asked me these questions. Since in most cases they haven't, it's more of an TAQ, I guess. Some of these are spoilers and some is head canon.
So what is Hatter?
A devil. And a very powerful one, in Angel Sanctuary universe. But since this is about gender and not something else, that's probably not the answer we're going for, is it? Well, this breaks down in a couple of ways - with Hatter, it's not a simple answer. It doesn't really bear a girl/boy/intersex answer, exactly. Since this is from Angel Sanctuary, it's a little more complicated than that.
Sex?
According to Hatter's explanation of this, angels are born neither male or female. Biological sex doesn't appear until later. God had planned (allegedly) for Belial to be female. Belial, however, found the idea of being female (or male) untenable, and so attempted to arrest hir own development. The result is a body that is, at least, relatively free of secondary sexual characteristics: slim hips, but also slim shoulders, flat chest, delicate face, etc.
As to what Hatter's actually packing in terms of primary sexual characteristics... AS tends to keep that vague. Aside from the fact Hatter's more than willing to flash them at little girls. We do know that. And Hatter would probably be more than happy to show you too. Just ask. Go ahead. It's totally safe.
There are parts of AS that seem to imply that the reason Hatter isn't really a woman is because xe's infertile, and others that make it seem like it's a bit more than that, at least in my reading. For myself, my inclination in playing is to follow AS's lead for the time being and not commit to any particular configuration when it comes to naughty bits. Where it's possible, I'll probably keep it vague. I think Hatter likes it that way.
However, as a guideline, Hatter wanted hir body to match a sort of desexed or neutrois-ish self-identification. How close xe came to that... ambiguous.
What's that leave?
Well, that's not the end of it. Hatter's gender presentation is less neutrois and more broadly genderqueer. Hatter's dress can range from very masculine, particularly hir suits, to fairly feminine with skirts and ruffles and what have you. It's also often flamboyant and costumey. I tend to think of gender as a costume for Hatter. It's something that's fun to put on and play with, an act or a role that can be enjoyable to play, to emphasize in different ways. Androgyny is clearly a common theme, but how it's balanced is flexible.
Ultimately, though, gender is more something that Hatter can do rather than something that Hatter has, and far, far more than it is something Hatter is.
What about curses/magic where gender is relevant? (I.e, Sohmas.)
As far as magic is concerned, Hatter has counted as female for Momiji. If you have some other kind of magic that makes Hatter's sex relevant, then let me know and we can figure it out.
What does that make Hatter's sexuality?
Hard to define. However, it's safe to say that Hatter is only interested in being asexual in the sense it means not having a biological sex, not in the sense where you don't have sex with other people. Though not strongly identified with a sex, Hatter is very sexual. What that sex means is varied, and sometimes not healthy, but does involve an actual sex drive and real sexual attraction, along with being a part of hir games, tools and weapons.
It's hard to call Hatter gay or straight or even bisexual, since all of those imply a certain gender binary that Hatter outright rejects being put on. Hatter might be called queer (in very many ways), and is, we'll say, very, very flexible in terms of who and what xe finds attractive.
Xe is also very flexible about hir motivations for having sex, so even if xe isn't attracted to someone, xe may well want to or be willing to fuck them.
It is worth noting that both Hatter's sex and sexuality factor into hir rebellion.
Does Hatter mind that characters assume xe's male/female?
Not really. Not in most circumstances. Context could render hir more sensitive, particularly if Lucifer were somehow involved, but as a broad generalization, Hatter isn't bothered by being identified as male or female. Depending on hir mood, xe make or may not correct people. But using gendered pronouns isn't going to send this demon clown into a rage.
What pronouns should I use?
It's probably a bit late for changing things, but ICly? Use whatever pronouns your character ought to use or perceives Hatter as. OOC, I'm not personally picky. I use xe and hir, but if you have other gender neutral pronouns of choice, go for it. English grammar is a little behind the curve on this one, so there's not like an official English language solution to this one.
Anything else?
I don't know, is there? You can tell me. If anyone has any questions or curiosity, or sees a problem with this, I am open discussion on most details. I'm very willing to consider other thoughts. I'm also cool for asking questions.
I don't know that I really expect anyone to have them, but.
It's something to get out.
So, this would be a FAQ, if people actually asked me these questions. Since in most cases they haven't, it's more of an TAQ, I guess. Some of these are spoilers and some is head canon.
So what is Hatter?
A devil. And a very powerful one, in Angel Sanctuary universe. But since this is about gender and not something else, that's probably not the answer we're going for, is it? Well, this breaks down in a couple of ways - with Hatter, it's not a simple answer. It doesn't really bear a girl/boy/intersex answer, exactly. Since this is from Angel Sanctuary, it's a little more complicated than that.
Sex?
According to Hatter's explanation of this, angels are born neither male or female. Biological sex doesn't appear until later. God had planned (allegedly) for Belial to be female. Belial, however, found the idea of being female (or male) untenable, and so attempted to arrest hir own development. The result is a body that is, at least, relatively free of secondary sexual characteristics: slim hips, but also slim shoulders, flat chest, delicate face, etc.
As to what Hatter's actually packing in terms of primary sexual characteristics... AS tends to keep that vague. Aside from the fact Hatter's more than willing to flash them at little girls. We do know that. And Hatter would probably be more than happy to show you too. Just ask. Go ahead. It's totally safe.
There are parts of AS that seem to imply that the reason Hatter isn't really a woman is because xe's infertile, and others that make it seem like it's a bit more than that, at least in my reading. For myself, my inclination in playing is to follow AS's lead for the time being and not commit to any particular configuration when it comes to naughty bits. Where it's possible, I'll probably keep it vague. I think Hatter likes it that way.
However, as a guideline, Hatter wanted hir body to match a sort of desexed or neutrois-ish self-identification. How close xe came to that... ambiguous.
What's that leave?
Well, that's not the end of it. Hatter's gender presentation is less neutrois and more broadly genderqueer. Hatter's dress can range from very masculine, particularly hir suits, to fairly feminine with skirts and ruffles and what have you. It's also often flamboyant and costumey. I tend to think of gender as a costume for Hatter. It's something that's fun to put on and play with, an act or a role that can be enjoyable to play, to emphasize in different ways. Androgyny is clearly a common theme, but how it's balanced is flexible.
Ultimately, though, gender is more something that Hatter can do rather than something that Hatter has, and far, far more than it is something Hatter is.
What about curses/magic where gender is relevant? (I.e, Sohmas.)
As far as magic is concerned, Hatter has counted as female for Momiji. If you have some other kind of magic that makes Hatter's sex relevant, then let me know and we can figure it out.
What does that make Hatter's sexuality?
Hard to define. However, it's safe to say that Hatter is only interested in being asexual in the sense it means not having a biological sex, not in the sense where you don't have sex with other people. Though not strongly identified with a sex, Hatter is very sexual. What that sex means is varied, and sometimes not healthy, but does involve an actual sex drive and real sexual attraction, along with being a part of hir games, tools and weapons.
It's hard to call Hatter gay or straight or even bisexual, since all of those imply a certain gender binary that Hatter outright rejects being put on. Hatter might be called queer (in very many ways), and is, we'll say, very, very flexible in terms of who and what xe finds attractive.
Xe is also very flexible about hir motivations for having sex, so even if xe isn't attracted to someone, xe may well want to or be willing to fuck them.
It is worth noting that both Hatter's sex and sexuality factor into hir rebellion.
Does Hatter mind that characters assume xe's male/female?
Not really. Not in most circumstances. Context could render hir more sensitive, particularly if Lucifer were somehow involved, but as a broad generalization, Hatter isn't bothered by being identified as male or female. Depending on hir mood, xe make or may not correct people. But using gendered pronouns isn't going to send this demon clown into a rage.
What pronouns should I use?
It's probably a bit late for changing things, but ICly? Use whatever pronouns your character ought to use or perceives Hatter as. OOC, I'm not personally picky. I use xe and hir, but if you have other gender neutral pronouns of choice, go for it. English grammar is a little behind the curve on this one, so there's not like an official English language solution to this one.
Anything else?
I don't know, is there? You can tell me. If anyone has any questions or curiosity, or sees a problem with this, I am open discussion on most details. I'm very willing to consider other thoughts. I'm also cool for asking questions.
I don't know that I really expect anyone to have them, but.
It's something to get out.