This shit ain't nothin' to me, man

on "godrik" gripp & transfemininity.

i will be using she/her pronouns for gripp throughout the post because well. I am writing a post about how I think she's a woman.

the first big doozy to me, my main cornerstone of this reading, is the business itself. mr gripp's emporium was a business started & founded by godman gripp, godrik's father. and like. naming your kid after yourself like that is already certainly something. gripp reveals that she is not content in running the store, with all its trappings and branding. branding that includes her being mister gripp. branding where she has short (or well. not visible) hair, a mustache. all of this is typically masculine presentation, and all of these are things she abandons on the voyage of the dearest selena.

she goes on that voyage in the first place seeking a major upheaval of her life. she isn't content, wants some kind of major change. and the first thing she does... is change the way she presents.

these are the only images I have on hand to reference at the moment BUT. do notice how in the outfit she wears for the voyage, she has ditched the mustache & wears her hair visibly longer. this is a shift from a more traditionally masculine presentation to a somewhat less masculine one. not entirely feminine, no, but more so.

she then claims that she felt a coward for the entire trip. that she hid, that she was unable to actually reach out and grasp the change she wanted so desperately to hold onto.

the biggest change of all that happens on the voyage is the presence of the mermaid. now, the mermaid symbolises a lot of things. the primary meanings behind the mermaid are obsession and grief, in my opinion.. these are the driving forces of everyone who has witnessed the mermaid. but in this case, it could also be argued that the mermaid represents change, the uncertainty of the unknown, and a very idealized sort of femininity.. after all, SHE is called the mermaid, is SHE not?

we know that gripp was deeply and fundamentally changed by her encounter with the mermaid. she almost did not surface again - and even goes so far as to claim that living was an act of cowardice more than anything. this makes sense, in this reading... because living meant returning to the cage of being godrik gripp, a man, and not embracing her true self. during the events of the game we see her fully immersed in her facade, in the persona of mr. gripp. several characters comment that it is a persona, and that the real gripp is far more subdued and quiet.

we also know that she was jealous of magnus. I think this is because magnus was two things. one, able to chart his own course, something that she could not manage to figure out how to do. but two, magnus was very traditionally masculine. strong and muscular and such. it may seem counterproductive to say that her being jealous of this is a point towards her being transfeminine, but the way I see it.. she is jealous of magnus for being able to so easily be what she cannot be, and this extends both ways. she wants to be free from manhood, and magnus is able to simply pursue what he wants so easily in her eyes. she struggles to maintain her identity as a man, but it's so effortless for magnus in a way she wishes it was for her. because she is supposed to be a man, supposed to be mister gripp, supposed to be happy in that role.

the final nail in the coffin, to me, is the reveal. when she takes off the mask of mr. gripp... and once again is markedly presenting in a way more feminine than typical. there is everything touched on before, in her monologue. but afterwards... she reveals one more thing. that she would rather die than return to that life again. the mermaid, communing with HER, is a way for her to gain a very final escape from her role... because she will be dead. because she wants to be free, and the only way she can see to do this is to die. which is a very common thing for trans people who lack a way to transition to feel. and I do not think it was an option she even knew she had.

(I will be using they/them for Gripp here as I will be talking about differing interpretations of transgender Gripp.)

What you said about tfem Gripp is more than enough on its own so I won't go further on that, what you said about Gripp envying Mortuga's masculinity works for any take on trans Gripp (whether it is in a "He performs so easily what I am punished for not being able to do" way like for tfem and/or nonbinary Gripp, or in a "I wish I was able to attain what he performs so easily but I am actively denied it" way for tmasc and/or nonbinary Gripp).

The Mr. Gripp persona could be them in the closet forcing themself into a masculine role or them trying to use the brand as a means to present more masculinely in a manner within their control. Their chasing of the mermaid, a nonhuman entity rumored to be GOD, could be indicative of a want to escape the gender binary altogether. Their reaction to being spoken to by the mermaid could be read as being introduced to the ability to be something other than Boy or Girl. The sheer amount of egg imagery works for every interpretation as well. So does them basically committing suicide in the end.

Good ole Sally Spears. ^///^ I actually quite like both her designs, though I do miss her freckles.

Some drawings of their expressions! I love drawing them so much.

Post 1 of 2 for @creatingblackcharacters Melanin Beam challenge, featuring Sally Spears from the Detective Grimoire series!!! I was introduced to this game recently and immediately knew in my heart of hearts she's a Black woman so she was PERFECT for this challenge.

I love the idea of penny having a mystid sanctuary post canon... fleeing tangle tower, having nowhere to go but her mother's old hunting grounds. realizing that... She doesn't want this. A new cage, all her own, with nobody left around her. She killed her family. The closest she had to it, in every sense of the idea... her parents, their affiliates. freya, her future cousin in law if she'd gone through with the whole marriage thing, someone she was close with. what does she have left?

and she thinks on it. considers her options. realizes... she doesn't have to be like her mother. her father. her uncle. she can be better. do better. so she looks through her mother's old notes. starts tracking down escaped mystids herself. but instead of killing them... she brings them back with her, alive. the estate is converted into a safe haven. she doesn't keep them there by force, but they stay regardless. and she keeps watch over them, shielding these rare creatures from those who would seek to harm them.

more of them #sillygeese stupid thing below the line