DekuBlast

so the first thing i have to say is that i don’t think this is like, a unique or isolated trend. everywhere you look there’s another person looking at a (blonde) man and saying “he’s like a woman to me” (without engaging with other women in the story or transfemininity/transfem headcanons) or dressing male characters in “feminine” clothes (nothing inherently wrong with that, but see earlier parenthetical about refusing to engage with transfemininity while doing so). and kristoph is like, prime pickings for these people. he’s evil but kind of pathetic, he has long blonde hair, etc…i’ve even seen similar trends happen with like, mvk and bvz.

so then let’s talk about kristoph’s character. is he feminine? does the idea of femme kristoph have roots in canon? this is somewhat tricky to say because we ultimately don’t know a lot about kristoph. what do we know about kristoph from canon:

1. he’s a defense attorney—we can extrapolate from “coolest defense in the west” that he’s probably pretty good at winning cases

2. re: coolest defense in the west—has an unflappable, unbothered demeanor—though we know it can be cracked

3. has a brother who holds/held him in high regard—this is all we know about his family

4. wears ariadoney nail polish + has a general taste for nice/expensive things (consider his jail cell)

5. forged evidence at least once, to win against his brother—this alludes to a family dynamic wherein he needs to maintain control/superiority as well as a general need for control and concern about appearances in his professional life (see pt. 2)

6. killed at least two people and attempted one more as well as maintaining extensive surveillance to maintain his secret/appearance

7. framed phoenix for the forged evidence—this one is murky. there’s not one clear-cut conclusion to be drawn from this about his motives/character

8. has a deep secret that he is unwilling to admit to even himself.

so, we know what kristoph DOES and HOW he acts—breaks laws/moral codes to maintain superiority and control despite how it affects others. but there’s not really a lot in canon to explain WHY he does it/acts that way—his motivations and desires are fairly murky in canon.

still, i think what we can extrapolate is that kristoph is very very meticulous with his appearance and intentional about how he presents himself. i think where people get “femme” from is the long hair and nail polish, but i don’t think that these are intended to read as feminine—rather, i think they are meant to suggest an aristocratic elegance—an air of superiority. i think this is comparable to say, the appearance of mvk—long(er) hair, ear piercing, ruffles, etc.—but still undeniably patriarchal and aristocratic.

so, patriarchy. it’s worth noting that the pervasive fanon is that kristoph is the patriarch of the gavin family who raised klavier alone. this is obviously, as i said, fanon, so i think it’s fine if people choose to reject that. but i think it’s worth keeping in mind when considering depictions of a character that he reads so strongly patriarchal to most people. and being intentional in how and if you reject that. and it’s also worth keeping in mind that along with this most people consider kristoph abusive—we can split hairs about krisnix and their dynamic. but we do have canonical evidence to suggest at the very least that he was highly controlling of klavier (you’re spinning out of control, whose control, etc.). so. patriarchal, abusive. two of the most prevailing notions of kristoph.

another thing with femme kristoph is that it’s very queernorm. i think a lot of people love to do feel-good queernorm with aa but that’s obviously antithetical to my every being. also incredibly unserious in reference to a canon that’s been wildly misogynistic, transphobic, and transmisogynistic. and i just can’t really imagine a kristoph who is so concerned about appearances and control dressing extraordinarily femme.

which leads us to um. the idea of repressed transfeminine kristoph. now this is where i think things get most complicated and very contextual on who is writing it and how.

i don’t think that there’s no basis for it. it’s not a headcanon i have but like i mean, really deeply repressed secret you’re unwilling to admit to yourself and a strong level of attention to how you appear/are perceived by other people. sure.

what i DO think we have to keep in mind is the fact that kristoph is a villain. unequivocally murdered at least two people, attempted at least one more. and evidence points to him being abusive and controlling of his brother, extrapolated by fans into also being an abusive partner. so i think if someone is headcanoning transfem kristoph its worth doing some serious consideration exactly WHY kristoph reads transfemme to them. how are they engaging with such transfeminity especially in concert with the prevailing notion of kristoph as abusive. how does this change the dynamics with phoenix and klavier. what are the motives behind the forgery and the murders. is kristoph the ONLY ace attorney character or even character in general they headcanon as transfem (<- serious red flag). is the writer/creator tme or tma. etc etc.

i don’t think it CAN’T be done well/respectfully. but i do think it requires serious thought and consideration that i don’t know is really being given by everyone with this headcanon.

(i also think it’s worth mentioning that like even if kristoph was a trans woman i do not think she would dress hyper femme. as mentioned above kristoph is super concerned with/aware of appearances and i think transfem kristoph would be hyper-aware of how disadvantaged and marginalized she is and would largely dress super professionally to try and help herself be taken more seriously as a lawyer)

and finally there’s a third category of people making both phoenix and kristoph women so that they are toxic yuri. this is literally fine and oftentimes awesome however see above notes about how i still don’t think kristoph would be hyper femme as a woman. also typically i would say that like cis gender swapping when you could just make them be transfem is like whatever but you know. see above notes about the care required for transfem kristoph. though i have seen transfem kristoph + transfem phoenix together before which i think has slightly less potential to be wildly transmisogynistic but again. still requires thought + care esp. when being written by someone tme

anyways at the end of the day i do think for a lot of people it’s just that they think kristoph is hot and want to see him in a dress. which is whatever. do i think it coheres with his character? not really. but live your truth shrug emoji. unless that truth is writing transmisogynistic stereotypes in which case fix your heart or die