#the only nearly “open” case of anyone being queer tho funnily was Namulith who almost said he was bisexual

[dulaman-na-farraige]

Talking to the wall here, but I've been thinking more about Nausicaa manga recently and specifically Kushana and the way she's portrayed in it. If you think that viewing the manga through queer lens is impossible just scroll past this and don't scream at me, I'm not making anyone read this or agree with me, I'm just writing down my thoughts

Anything gender related doesn't*really* get talked about in the manga (except for maybe hate towards women in Tolmekia?) but I've read many reviews/analyses regarding Nausicaa and Kushana and the way they're shown as female characters and different"feminine" traits they have, and while I don't really understand treating various personality traits as "masculine" or "feminine" I believe that we don't talk about Kushana's lifestyle literally challenging the way Tolmekian society treats gender norms enough. Just think about it. A princess born in a country where women are looked down on and not taken seriously, where they have 0 chances of gaining any power, commands an army and takes the throne. Not to mention that Kushana also had 3 elder brothers who were more than likely to become rulers of Tolmekia. She's also admired and respected or even feared by many people despite nearly being called "inferior" in the scene with her brother just because she was born a woman. What caught my attention however is that it's unusual to see a princess being given the same kind of upbringing as the princes. Kushana and her brothers were given military education and were expected to command armies, despite the fact that in many ways (gender, being the youngest in the family, not being a biological child to the emperor * according to one of the interpretations of 3 really confusing panels *, just to name a few) Kushana was not supposed to gain any political power at all. You could almost say that Kushana was treated as a prince, despite being a girl, which is exactly why I started writing this wall of text.

Kushana is everything men are supposed to be in this kind of *medieval-ish* society: a leader, a military commander, an excellent swordsman and rider, a talented tactician etc. even more so than her brothers who are never depicted doing anything she did . Sadly, the manga never mentions anything about how Kushana views her position and her responsibilities as well as the way she achieved her status. We never see how she views herself and her gender and how she's treated by her brothers (and probably other people as well). I believe that being female is not exactly comfortable for Kushana, given her rather abusive family.

It may not have been a conscious choice for her, but taking up a social role of a prince is what gave her the privileged position she had. Unlike Nausicaa who never really was limited to a certain type of social behavior dictated by the binary norms, Kushana had to behave according to these norms, but the manga does not explore that.

I'm entering headcanon territory at this point, just a warning for those of you who have read this far. Ever since I reread the manga for the 2nd/3? rd time I can't help viewing Kushana as a transmasc character. She doesn't necessarily present herself in this way fully (the clothing aspect mainly, which isn't explored either) but behavior-wise she definitely does. Her hair could also have been an aspect of presenting in a different way than her cis gender if her decision to cut it short was less impulsive. Obviously that's not the only way to interpret that, because being a butch lesbian also fits Kushana really well. Neither of these hcs have any confirmations and that's why both of them can be valid. Her backstory is a very interesting part of her character I wish more was said about it in the manga

#There should have been at least 2 paragraphs regarding Kushana's relationship with Nausicaa but it's the middle of the night atm and I'm too #tired to write that #Nausicaa manga and film are the classic example of media that was not intended to be gay #but ended up being pretty gay #Kushana's lesbian feelings are left out of the narrative and are rather vague if you ask me #everything related to that we've seen are just that one scene ™ and also a few gay staring panels #she's such a disaster lesbian UwU #the only nearly “open” case of anyone being queer tho funnily was Namulith who almost said he was bisexual #anyways bye #please stop being mad at me in anonymous asks #anybody can headcanon as much as one pleases #it's just my wild interpretation of the manga and I'm not saying that it's valid or that any other possible interpretations aren't