I so badly want to be that mysterious and elusive college student at the local bookstore with a dark academia style and who no one can really tell the gender of, since I constantly interchange between presenting masc, fem, and andro.
Ykw I usually praise franchises for the fact that a trans character will be trans and nobody will make a big deal about it, but I’m actually quite married to the fact that tgcf doesn’t hesitate to show that being trans actually does suck through Shi Qingxuan (and yes, sqx is trans, eat my ass). It wasn’t some individual scene that tries to hammer down intense and violent trans suffering as hard-hittingly as humanly possible, to the point of triggering trauma, just to never bring it up again like most shows- it’s more subtle than that. Shi Qingxuan is frequently subtly mocked for switching between genders. Their brother scolds them publicly for being in their female form and demands they switch back. People frequently make fun of them for being ‘shameless’ and imply that they’re just a cross dresser. They’re never bothered by it, and never bring it up. They’re perfectly content with their existence, if a little intimidated by their brother. That’s such a nice portrayal of things like this. Sometimes transphobia isn’t violence or slurs, sometimes it’s subtle snideness and the bare minimum of respect. Mxtx doesn’t shy away from these topics, but doesn’t exaggerate them cruelly either (mind you, I’m not sure how deliberate this representation is on their part). They’re portrayed in a realistically subtle way.
idk who needs to hear this rn, but you can literally do whatever you want forever with your gender. You can want boobs in a guy way and want a dick in a girl way. You can want neither and both and everything in any way you’d like. You can have any gender, and still do whatever you want. Present the way you want to, transition into anything, do anything- regardless of your gender. Gender has no walls, the differentiation between gender and sex is intended to liberate. If you aren’t liberated, there’s no point. I implore you, do whatever you want forever.