What if page 279 turned out differently?

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GaySailors
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What if page 279 turned out differently?

#1 Post by GaySailors »

I was going through the archive when I stumbled upon page 805 which had the subtext "Now imagine the whole comic if instead Natani was a girl in a guy's body". So I did. After I remembered how feminine Alaric acted at times (both in and out of the comic), I wondered what would happen if Natani really was just a guy physically but a girl mentally.
After all, Keith did say he wasn't absolutely sure about whether he'd still love Natani or not if he never found out about her womanliness, and Natani is pretty masculine anyways, so I wouldn't be to hard to convince that hes bisexual. Regardless, this isn't about Keith, its about Natani.

The whole coming to terms with his identity would still be there as well as the feeling the need to be masculine to gain respect, and to be honest it could fit in near perfectly with the comic, but it feels so weird. It could have happened, but trying to imagine Natani as anyone other than herself feels so off.

This got me thinking about AUs, and all of the little decisions that changed this comic into what it is, and how easily it could have been done. Flora's design is another good example. I couldn't find a thread dedicated to "What if" moments, so I'm gonna post this here.

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amenon
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Re: What if page 279 turned out differently?

#2 Post by amenon »

Just wanted to add that this goes really well with yesterday's Patreon sketch :grin: More food for thought!
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Ddraig
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Re: What if page 279 turned out differently?

#3 Post by Ddraig »

When you're totaling up the woodpile for the 'Keith's bi' fire, don't forget the quasi-romantic relationship he has with Alaric. Even if he doesn't know how to respond to most of it, he still goes along with it (see the bath, statue, and streaking incidents)
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Bellhead
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Re: What if page 279 turned out differently?

#4 Post by Bellhead »

Yeah, I think Keith is more demi-sexual than Bi. I doubt it would affect him all that much, all told.. He loves Natani, not the body, but the mind; and the spirit behind it.

The real question here is how everyone else would react. With a male body and a female mind, Nat would be FAR more willing to accept the body over the mind, and over the time since, may actually already have by this point in the comic. After all, men are accepted. With a male body, "she" wouldn't have to hide, and that level of expression can get a tad addictive in relation to following your heart in the face of oppression.

However, if Nat were to not accept the male body, and insist on wearing the cloak of female, as it were... that.. Well, I don't know. Interactions with the rest of group A would be.. hectic, at best. The group wouldn't see "her" as any different than they saw "him", with the possible exception of Eric, and maybe Mike and Evals. But then again, based on TDM, Nat may not have had a reason to hide from the guild in the first place, so Clovis probably never would have had his gripe against them.

I'll have to keep an eye on this thread. This could get good.
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aitaituo
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Re: What if page 279 turned out differently?

#5 Post by aitaituo »

Bellhead wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:32 am Yeah, I think Keith is more demi-sexual than Bi. I doubt it would affect him all that much, all told.. He loves Natani, not the body, but the mind; and the spirit behind it.
I dunno, Keith has spent an awful lot of time blushing after looking at parts of Natani or when sexual themes have entered their conversations.

steelabjur
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Re: What if page 279 turned out differently?

#6 Post by steelabjur »

aitaituo wrote: Sun Jul 23, 2017 9:43 pm
Bellhead wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:32 am Yeah, I think Keith is more demi-sexual than Bi. I doubt it would affect him all that much, all told.. He loves Natani, not the body, but the mind; and the spirit behind it.
I dunno, Keith has spent an awful lot of time blushing after looking at parts of Natani or when sexual themes have entered their conversations.
That's more because he comes from a repressive society rather than Nat's sex, I feel. Sort of like how others of his race react to bare ankles. I feel Keith all but confirms Bellhead's thought in the last panel of page 279, that even if he thought Nat was physically male at this point he'd have to seriously question if his feelings regarding him were more serious than friendship after the kiss at the tavern.

I also have to agree with Bellhead that Nat would be a very different character if the gender dynamic was reversed. One of the major stumbling blocks of his and Keith's relationship is Nat's doubts about his feelings being because of his physical sex rather than his own desires, a female mentally/male physically Natani wouldn't have that stumbling block, plus that version wouldn't have to hide her physical sex to function in Wolf society.

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GaySailors
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Re: What if page 279 turned out differently?

#7 Post by GaySailors »

steelabjur wrote: Sun Jul 23, 2017 10:27 pm
aitaituo wrote: Sun Jul 23, 2017 9:43 pm
Bellhead wrote: Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:32 am Yeah, I think Keith is more demi-sexual than Bi. I doubt it would affect him all that much, all told.. He loves Natani, not the body, but the mind; and the spirit behind it.
I dunno, Keith has spent an awful lot of time blushing after looking at parts of Natani or when sexual themes have entered their conversations.
That's more because he comes from a repressive society rather than Nat's sex, I feel. Sort of like how others of his race react to bare ankles. I feel Keith all but confirms Bellhead's thought in the last panel of page 279, that even if he thought Nat was physically male at this point he'd have to seriously question if his feelings regarding him were more serious than friendship after the kiss at the tavern.

I also have to agree with Bellhead that Nat would be a very different character if the gender dynamic was reversed. One of the major stumbling blocks of his and Keith's relationship is Nat's doubts about his feelings being because of his physical sex rather than his own desires, a female mentally/male physically Natani wouldn't have that stumbling block, plus that version wouldn't have to hide her physical sex to function in Wolf society.
He defiantly has sexual attraction. I could point out where its shown, but theres so many times hes been attracted to her body it'd be a waste of time really. Hell, she recently abused that! He gets flustered and embarrassed really easily even when he no longer cares of basitian norms though, he doesn't even wear the ankle wraps. He said he wasn't sure if he'd still be attracted if he never saw her in the bath, which is far from a "no" already, but he said he would seriously question if he would their relationship. The fact he didn't say "no" shows pretty clearly that he does love her, regardless of whether or not she was a male or female.

So if he would date her just for being who she is, male or female, it does show he has that connection. It would still be a bit of a reach to say he isn't sexually attached as well. Page 809 helps with that. He said he found it difficult to kiss someone he viewed as a guy, but that hasn't stopped him, certainly not afterwards. It kinda goes both ways since you could argue if there was a male that he viewed as a female he'd still be attracted, whether or not they have gender issues or not. Even Tom noted it, saying "Now imagine the whole comic if instead Natani was a girl in a guys body". I don't know about you, but I could see that relationship still happening. Of course, this is all just from the comic, if we pull anything from outside, this would be way different and far easier.
When I look at them, I see Keith still trying to avoid putting advances on her not because he isn't attracted or anything, but rather that he thinks Natani wouldn't want it, and it would be uncomfortable for her.


Alaric went from being dominant to flamboyant to submissive and then back to dominant, how does he do it?

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