I was talking to my mutual about them today and it made me realize i never posted this. Here the concept where I stole Cole's grandfather, gave him a name, and shook him up.
I'm marinating a fic idea after seeing your gobslay posts- do you think he started transitioning because it would be easier for him to kill goblins that way or did he already start as a child because it was something he knew but could not explain?
You milord have sparked something in my mind-
I think he started to really think about it after the attack on his village. As a kid on a farm he definitely was raised more masculine side anyways and just hadn't gotten to an age where he really knew how to express himself.
I think the horrors of goblins and what happened that day made femininity not only uncomfortable but dangerous. He leaned all the way into masculinity during his training with how he looked, acted, and thought, though didn't actually consider himself trans, even as people started mistaking him for being a guy around town. He hadn't really considered why he never corrected them, nor, why it felt so wrong when someone saw him that way.
I think the first year he became an adventurer he came across a book detailing Transitioning Through the Ages of Magic and thats when he had a word for it. It was probably only a few months later that he decided it was practical enough to get it done. And he's never really spoken of it since.
Cowgirl was very supportive and the androgynous nature of elven society has High Elf Archer helping him explore femininity again whenever he tells her
Personally rn I feel like this scene would be one of the most underappreciated scene in the anime. Like at first glance, this whole scene btw Gobslay. Spearman and Heavy Warrior was just them talking about girls and stuff, when it's also about them talking about their own aspirations and dreams about becoming an adventurer and them questioning themselves whether or not they really are up for this life...
But then, I guess it might also be because the anime was really moving the plot quite fast, a lot of the original nuances ended up missing... or at least that's what I feel.
Like this scene...
Like unless people read his character well enough, can they figure out the other hidden meaning behind this line? As in, at least... Gobslay was still doing what he's doing rn aka killing goblins... was so that he can let other people be able to (enjoy) becoming an adventurer and go on an adventure.
I like the novel and manga version better tbh
Like... while manga included other younger adventurers besides Priestess, I like how both novel and manga imply that the reason why Gobslay wanted to become an adventurer now, was so that Priestess would be able to continue to become an adventurer.
And that was so sweet.
And this really mean a lot to his character, seriously. Because Priestess was the reason why he started going on his goblin hunt as a 2-man party, and that lead to him party up with Lizard Priest, Dwarf Shaman and High Elf Archer... and then embarking in all these not-quite simple goblin hunts that tied to all sorts of unexpected twists and villains from the Four-Cornered World!