#i love being vague in my drawings wrt them & their relationship/the timeline but this is pointedly while theyre pining over each other

[dazeymazey]

[ id: a short, uncolored comic featuring Chip, a thin character with a cardboard box for a head, and Petra, a taller fat character with a cactus head. they sit next to each other, and Petra watches as Chip uses a small screwdriver on a pair of glasses. Chip holds them up, testing the hinge. next he places the glasses on Petra's face, who then wiggles them to make sure they're stable. Chip claps and smiles at them; Petra smiles back with a flushed expression on their face. end id]

a little moment from a little story (which may never see the light of day)

[ id: diagram of the glasses, which have double-hinged arms. they're labelled "extra adjustable hinges to accomodate the unique structure of their face". next to that is another small doodle. Chip, glancing at Petra thinks "Okay.. so that explains why they always get so close.. they just couldn't see. It all makes sense now." Petra is holding one of Chip's cats as it paws at their face - an arrow pointing at them says "nearsighted". end id ]

shaking him (gently)

[jyuanka]

Looking for an opinion: I've always hc'd cheadle as a trans woman (mostly because I'm trans myself but I have some vague canon justifications) and since you're a fellow Big Cheadle Fan I want to hear how you think that would look from a story perspective or a leodle perspective or anything else you can think of? All I can think of is her reacting to the trick tower b.s. (wrt leodle) but I feel like there's more possibilities. What do you think?

First off, thanks for sending me this, I adore this headcanon! And you considering me a fellow Big Cheadle Fan… *wipes tears*.

Also, vague canon justifications are my favorite thing, so if you want, please feel free to elaborate on that in another ask or message, I’d love to know them.

So, I feel it’s important to preface this by telling you that I’m not trans myself, and that you as a trans person definitely have better ideas than mine when it comes to this subject, so your input is more valuable than mine here. That said, I did think of some things! I put it under a cut because it became a tiny bit long and I hate dash clogging.

I headcanon that she comes from a very conservative family with strong emphasis on male inheritors, so it would be even more difficult for her to remain with them or find acceptance as a trans girl, especially in a society that adheres to rigid gender roles and man-centered hierarchies. She would have a lot of pressure placed on her, and she finds that taking the Hunter Exam and running away is her best choice, because with her family she constantly feels like a disappointment and a burden her parents have to hide from their social circles. She tries to compensate through academic excellence, obedience, principled behavior, and by concealing all those little bits of herself that keep escaping, but there comes a point where she realizes it’s impossible to please her parents unless she ate at herself, which she refuses to do. 

So from here, I can totally see Cheadle’s already furious loyalty to the job and to the Association strengthened by the acceptance she finds there, and while individual Hunters can definitely be bigoted and transphobic, those people have seen so many wondrous things in their lifetimes, they are in possession of superior technology and resources, so I imagine many of them are prone to see beyond strict social constructs like gender, and have a larger capacity than civilians to accept and embrace non-conformity in all its forms, so I feel like all this could add to Cheadle’s comfort within her work space and with her colleagues. I also don’t see her being particularly interested or enthusiastic about discussing her experience with others, but that mostly has to do with how she’s a private person who’s work-oriented, and generally speaking, I think only few people would know that she’s trans, either because she’s told them or because they figured it out on their own (I can see Mizaistom and Ging being two of those people, maybe even Pariston, and later Leorio).

I would also like to think that the first person who made Cheadle more comfortable and confident in her trans identity is none other than Ging himself. He’s not the kind to dance around the bush, he’s direct and honest, and he figures it out before she tells him. He tells her that many Hunters wouldn’t give two shits about that, and she needs to stop worrying (in his own Ging way, which hurts a little). He’d also guard this knowledge and keep it a secret until she feels comfortable coming out to few others. I’m not super enthusiastic about Ging as a character in general, but I do feel like this is something he would do and is willing to do; he respects Cheadle as a fellow Hunter and a colleague, and he sees beyond appearances and doesn’t care about past lives (like Gon) so yeah, that could also be one of the reasons Cheadle is particularly trusting of him, and canonically speaking, she does value his opinion, because maybe at one point, his opinion brought her the comfort and assurance she needed.  

Now, Cheadle is not only a Hunter, but she’s also a doctor and a lawyer, which means she’s most definitely a rich woman, so the high costs of transitioning (hormones or surgery) would not be issues for her. However, whether she has other issues about transitioning is a matter I believe others are more qualified to discuss. I simply don’t know enough about that, so I’m not qualified to talk about it; I think these gaps are ones you could fill, being informed by your own experience, and I’d love to hear how this would apply to her, if you want to talk about it.

But can you imagine Cheadle dedicating so much of her scientific and medical research to help improve the quality of medicine and treatment needed by trans people? And funding hospitals that offer reassignment surgeries? And trying to make help and services cheap and widely available/accessible to poor trans folks? And maybe she even finds her path as a Virus Hunter through this. 

So now to leodle. I wholeheartedly believe that Cheadle being trans wouldn’t make any difference in Leorio’s love, affection, and admiration for her, and I’m not saying this just because I love Leorio and want him to be a decent person, (any Leorio fan worth their salt would not ignore that transphobic/sexist bet in the tower, but I will still argue that’s it’s a problem with Togashi’s writing than with Leorio’s character) but because he’s compassionate and always willing to learn and better himself, especially in regards to those he loves.

Would Cheadle see that shit in Trick Tower and groan and be disappointed? Definitely. Will she drag his ass for it? Absolutely. It would feel personal for her, and when Leorio is sulking in guilt, she would demand he stop feeling guilty (she doesn’t see productivity in guilt) and start educating himself instead. He does, and I feel like this would help draw them closer (that’s when he knows she’s trans). She would also ask that he not begin tiptoeing around her or treat her differently, and Leorio’s like aye Ma'am!

(Note that I’m applying your Trans Cheadle headcanon to my personal timeline for them _which is by no means consistent or makes sense_ so at this point where she sees the video from Trick Tower Cheadle is Leorio’s mentor and they haven’t developed feelings for each other yet, so basically he would know she’s trans way before he fell in love with her).

Sometimes when they talk about their lives, she shares some bits from her past with him, and Leorio would see her as 10x more baddass than previously (which was already a lot to begin with), and aaaaah I don’t know buddy I’m already thinking of scenarios I die for leodle tenderness and mutual love and respect so to summarize it: I don’t believe it would change the core of their relationship one bit, even excluding the romantic aspect, it would be awkward for Leorio at first because he fears saying stupid or ignorant things, and Cheadle’s answer is always “learn more about the subject” (she refuses to personally educate him about trans issues _it’s not her job_ she’d rather use the time to teach him cool nen tricks).

I hope this answer was good? I feel like it’s just mixing headcanons, and I would really love to add to it whenever I have more ideas, but for now I really hope this was satisfying or the least bit inspiring. If I said something uninformed or ignorant, or used incorrect terminology, please correct me. If any of my followers is trans and likes to add some insight or a headcanon, please do!