Will Magnai ever find his Nhaama?

[Midareyukki]

I mean, personally I prefer to NOT extend the cycle of labeling people, irrespective of gender as pathetic. It frankly causes more problems than it solves and will merely propagate and exacerbate the issue, especially in this particular GCBTW.

Fair enough. I'd reword it to "people in general are capable of making others uncomfortable, regardless of sex, gender, what have you". Because you're right, the word "pathetic" carries a certain connotation, when that's not really the case. I meant it more like how behaviours, comments and advances can be harmful, and everyone is capable of practicing them. Not just men. It's just that there's a social outlook. One that changes depending on who does it. And that outlook often ignores the fact that the other parties are also capable of doing the same thing and be just as bad as the group their targetted are perceived.

Honestly, the problem isn't that he's seen as "silly" so much as consistently worthy of ridicule and scorn for one untimely mistake. This is wrong, and reminds me of the horror stories you hear of continuous hazing that ends in a life being taken in tragedious circumstances. The "Little Sun" crack might have been forgivable if not for the fact that Endwalker seems to have taken this and ran all the way to Ultima Thule with it.

His obssession with personifying Azim into himself and searching for "Nhaama" in an off-putting way is part of his personality. But other traits are presented to you during your stay with him in the Dawn Throne, as well as the immediate scenes after the Naadam. He's
1 - Adamant about you abiding by the law of the steppe. (This is a general thing to all Xaela you encounter, but Magnai is the one who is constantly making sure you follow their rules)
2 - Proud of his status and angry about how Sadu disrespects his authority despite the fact that he won the prior Naadam fair and square. Sadu's the one who refuses to acknowledge the authority he and his tribe won under their own mutual rules.
3 - Because of the above two, he also comes across as someone who very much does what he says. Just after you've beaten the Naadam, he acknowledges your gained position with fair play and asks "Your wish was for us to fight with you, yes? Then on my word, we will". He didn't insult anyone, but guess who scoffs at his grand speech: Sadu, who simply just carries on as if following the new Khagan's word was a given. It was a given. But Magnai knows these guys aren't from around, and he wants to make them understand that, unlike Sadu, he actually follows through with his promises and isn't one to question hard-earned authority.
Not to mention him forcing us to do his bidding and sticking around with us wasn't some blind thing. He paid attention to us and what we were doing, that's why he trusts us. All that time, he was gauging who we were.

Come Endwalker and he's "ha ha funny harassment warrior".

I think perhaps the saddest part of this is the explanation for why she's this way personality-wise. Sadu is a former man reincarnated into a more feminine form, and it shows through in her frankly really rather toxic mannerisms. A sort of soul-trans, in a sense. Which is why it's so simultaneously frustrating but also pathetic intellectually that Magnai, who's leagues less offensive is treated the way he is for the misfortune of being borne into the form he was. Another glaring example of 2022 Western double standards in the way it is and isn't deemed acceptable to treat certain personages, I suppose.

So, in a way, they're re-framing toxic masculinity by saying that "Well Sadu is a woman, she just happened to be a man before and she's acting as one". I don't know how much this can relate to trans people, and I've seen enough conversations on that to know that this is the can of worms that shouldn't be opened in these forums... But she is being justified too quickly for being presented as a woman. If we framed it back to her past life, we likely wouldn't find any of her mannerisms endearing. Imagine a male Sadu acting the exact same way toward Cirina and loudly proclaim he'd take every woman in the Steppe. Again: Magnai at least asks you. And the moment you turn him down, he laments it but doesn't make any further advances. Yes, it's still creepy for him to do it, it's still a negative aspect about his personality and it's fine to point that out. But a lot comes at Magnai's expense when Sadu is clearly doing worse and getting away with it.

[Nyxs]

So, in a way, they're re-framing toxic masculinity by saying that "Well Sadu is a woman, she just happened to be a man before and she's acting as one". I don't know how much this can relate to trans people, and I've seen enough conversations on that to know that this is the can of worms that shouldn't be opened in these forums... But she is being justified too quickly for being presented as a woman. If we framed it back to her past life, we likely wouldn't find any of her mannerisms endearing. Imagine a male Sadu acting the exact same way toward Cirina and loudly proclaim he'd take every woman in the Steppe. Again: Magnai at least asks you. And the moment you turn him down, he laments it but doesn't make any further advances. Yes, it's still creepy for him to do it, it's still a negative aspect about his personality and it's fine to point that out. But a lot comes at Magnai's expense when Sadu is clearly doing worse and getting away with it.

Sadu is a woman born a woman so it doesnt relate at all to them at all. Her former life she was a man but she isn’t man.So they are grasping at straws while also preaching about former self not being your current. It’s disappointing.

[Midareyukki]

Sadu is a woman born a woman so it doesnt relate at all to them at all. Her former life she was a man but she isn’t man.So they are grasping at straws while also preaching about former self not being your current. It’s disappointing.

Oh I mentioned trans people there because that's what SentioftheHoukai mentioned, "Trans-Soul". I don't know enough about trans people to comment on it, and I personally also don't think it relates to them at all. Hence why I said "I don't know how much this can relate to trans people", and the rest of the post didn't mention trans people at all.

[SentioftheHoukai]

Sadu is a woman born a woman so it doesnt relate at all to them at all. Her former life she was a man but she isn’t man.So they are grasping at straws while also preaching about former self not being your current. It’s disappointing.

Oh I mentioned trans people there because that's what SentioftheHoukai mentioned, "Trans-Soul". I don't know enough about trans people to comment on it, and I personally also don't think it relates to them at all. Hence why I said "I don't know how much this can relate to trans people", and the rest of the post didn't mention trans people at all.

Honestly, the trans bit is just how I saw it. Feels relevant to me, since her being a former man and reincarnating into a different physical body, but possessing ultimately similar personality characteristics is actively brought up as plot point in-game during the same segment Dotharl beliefs are discussed. Not irrelevant or unmentioned and thus invalidated as a view, after all.

Or can you tell me that if you died and were reborn as the opposite gender in physicality alone, but retained your former memories and identity that no disconnect would be felt? I might myself, but then my gender has never factored into my identity so the chances are admittedly iffy.

[Midareyukki]

Honestly, the trans bit is just how I saw it. Feels relevant to me, since her being a former man and reincarnating into a different physical body, but possessing ultimately similar personality characteristics is actively brought up as plot point in-game during the same segment Dotharl beliefs are discussed. Not irrelevant or unmentioned and thus invalidated as a view, after all.

Or can you tell me that if you died and were reborn as the opposite gender in physicality alone, but retained your former memories and identity that no disconnect would be felt? I might myself, but then my gender has never factored into my identity so the chances are admittedly iffy.

They don't really retain their previous memories though, do they? I thought the dynamic was that people around them told them of who they were and they'd grow up based on that expectation. Many of them don't possess the same talents as before and have to work them up. Meaning Sadu likely grew up listening to stories about who she was as a man, and it was either expected of her to behave like her previous incarnation, or this stems from her interpretation of those stories. I can see how trans people might relate, but I can't speak for their experiences, which is why I acknowledge the thought but try not to go too deep into it.

For me the curious aspect is more so how Sadu presents herself and how her behaviour is presented with a justification. Especially when she's caustic, insolent and abrasive, yet no one bats an eye. Because it seems to be expected of her based on her past self, mixed in with a bit of her own innate "Sadu-body" personality. It could be Sadu herself is an already insolent woman, exacerbated by the traits that were seen as acceptable in her male selves. Regardless, I do think there's a double-standard, and Magnai is taking the brunt of it. Not that it excuses his behaviour, mind you. But whether or not Sadu is justified in hers often goes entirely unmentioned.