ledbythewind | [Voice/Action]

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[Ah, Valentine's Day. The one experiment a year Richard hates most, for a variety of reasons. Granted, this year wasn't TOO terrible, as he was spared the unfortunate fate of falling in love with anyone under the effects of the experiment... but that didn't stop other people from from falling in love/lust with HIM, much to his dismay. And that's left him with many things to think about, as have some of the reactions to the experiment that he's seen from other people. Which leads him to ponder...]

Indulge my curiosity: what sorts of things are considered traditionally "masculine" where you come from?

[A bit later on, Richard will head out of the house on a shopping trip to All Passions and the item store, where he can be found looking for a new wardrobe and a few other things, probably as a result of some of the answers he received to his question. After picking out a bunch of things to take home with him, he chooses something new to wear home as well: cargo pants, combat boots, and a leather motorcycle jacket, because all of those things are super-masculine, right? Alas, on someone with the approximate build of a toothpick and delicate features like Richard has, the end result is a bit ridiculous, but don't tell him that. (Or do, your choice.) He can't quite bring himself to cut his hair - he's still far too proud of it - so instead he opts to pull it back into a ponytail.

There. Much better, in his eyes. Now the question is, what will his friends and housemates think of this?]

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I would think there wouldn't be any argument about whether the latter is considered manly or not.

[HE LIKES YOUR ANSWER, LAW. And yes, his brain did go straight to the gutter.]

Well, I'd hope not. [... but gawd, with all the worlds out there, WHO KNOWS.]

Although there may be some disagreement when it comes to certain aspects of that particular subject...

[Translation: so how much DOES size really matter anyway?]

You know what they say about quality of use versus quantity of size.

[He hopes there aren't kids reading this.

Oh wait. Kids right there, few comments up! ... let's hope the subtext escapes them.]

Edited 2013-03-10 04:06 (UTC)

I'm afraid I don't. Tell me, what do they say?

[This a terrible discussion. Absolutely awful, but you know what? He NEVER gets the chance to talk about this kind of thing with another guy, so damn it, he's going to enjoy the opportunity while it's there.]

[You know, while he's thinking about it, let's filter this from those kids. YOU DON'T NEED TO HEAR THIS STUFF. YET.]

That a big sword will lose to a butter knife if there's no skill behind the blade. If you have the necessary prowess, then it doesn't matter what you're going in with to battle.

[Conversation 100% not referencing actual big swords and butter knives.

Though there are a few people around who can think of a literal instance of this situation.]

In other words, it's all about striking the right spots.

[Yeah, he can't argue with that. If someone has skill and knows what they're doing, that's all that matters. He's had enough personal experience to know the truth behind the saying "it's not the size, it's what you do with it" and he is a whole-hearted supporter of that concept.

... of course, size doesn't HURT either.]

Exactly.

[There's silence for a moment on Richard's end. He remembers Law mentioning having a boyfriend before, but he wants to make absolutely sure of this fact.]

... you speak from experience, I assume?

[Nodding] I do.

[That's... a definite relief to Richard, as the only other people he knows here like himself are Billy and Teddy. It doesn't really help that some of the answers he's received so far have mentioned things like it being sinful given that he's already been having his own doubts as to whether it's acceptable or not.]

Does your world consider such things to be strange or wrong?

Some do. I won't lie. A lot of men in my world take pride in being men, and sometimes they think that only being with a woman - or a lot of women - is the only way to be manly.

But I'm a pirate. And we're a people that do what we want and more importantly love who we want. There are many people on the seas back home, Mister Richard, and they are all different. For example we have an entire okama subculture out there... even an island kingdom solely of them. So for the people who think loving a man is wrong just because you are a man, there are a lot who will disagree. Being a man is more about your convictions and your actions than your hookups. The people who say it's wrong don't matter; they don't define me in the end or my masculinity.

And if you don't have the ability to do what you want or love who you want?

[It's a lot easier said than done when society as a whole doesn't have expectations of you due to your title. Duke Dalen had already started to pressure him about finding a queen to produce an heir, even though he'd turned down every single marriage proposal he'd received from various and sundry noblewomen.

So far, Dalen just thought he was picky. If he tries to break the news that he isn't interested in women at all, well... there will be fireworks.]

Become a pirate. At least that would be the answer given back home.

But in general I would say you would have to find some way to break free of society's demands on you... or at least find compromises that allow you some freedom. That might require sacrifices, but the alternative, denying yourself of who you are is not right.

[He takes a moment to adjust the filter; even though there are a bunch of people in Luceti who know about this, he still prefers to keep it from being common knowledge for the simple fact that he doesn't want anyone to feel obligated to treat him differently as a result.]

... I'm a king back in my world.

[That should explain it all. Breaking free of society's demands isn't so easy for him.]

I know.

[He was there when you and Ling and Guy were discussing who got first go at kissing Miss Nami.]

Then you also know why it isn't that simple for me to just do as I please.

Yes.

But I have a question for you. Say you were straight, had a wife, had plenty of sex, and didn't manage to beget any children. [Because it DOES happen.] What happens to the line of succession then?

[Yeah, he's going somewhere with this.]

Then the next closest male relative would inherit the throne, which would be Duke Dalen, I suppose. I don't have any siblings, nor did my uncle have any children.

And in that hypothetical situation, would you be okay with that?

[Truthfully? Yes, he would. There's no guarantee that his own children would be good rulers, after all.]

... yes. Direct bloodline doesn't give someone the necessary qualities to be a good leader.

Then the problem really isn't the line of succession. There's already somebody you can trust the throne to.

It's your people's perceptions of their leader and if letting yourself be who you are will bring harm to their welfare, right?

[He inhales, then exhales audibly.]

I want to be normal, like everyone else.

[A small sigh.]

Don't we all? Normal. It's not the magic bullet though.

Edited 2013-04-06 07:45 (UTC)

Perhaps not, but that doesn't mean it might not make things easier.

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