Tips for Writing a Non-Cis Character?

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

Bump!

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

Bump!

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

One last bonk!

[wolfie]

tbh, i think my only real advice is perhaps figuring out what gender ""feels"" like for berrykit if that makes sense ? it's a whole spectrum where sometimes you get a non-cis person who struggles with dysphoria heavily while on the other hand you may get someone who .. has little to no dysphoria but instead feels a disconnect between specific parts of themself that they associate with a gender they have no connection with. could be the same person on different days !
could be pretty useful to know what can cause berrykit to feel dysphoric/disconnection/euphoria regarding their gender and how that may vary on the particular day they are having if that makes sense ?
also i lied i think it may be useful to explore how gender is .. exposed to berrykit ? idk how to phrase but are they like exposed to strict gender roles with clear lines drawn in the sand about what things are considered "girl" and what is considered "boy" or perhaps an opposite scenario with people around that encourage exploration etc.!! b/c I've found that can really affect like, gender perception and internalized transphobia if berrykit has any ! (which not everyone does ! like i said depends on upbringing imo)

[Kacey!]

I relate to later Berrykit in the fact that I don't mind what gender I'm referred to as, so I'd like to try and help!^^

This is from personal experience

As they're growing up and figuring themself out, they might have a sense of guilt(?) or confusion, not understanding why they don't simply agree with their birth gender fully. They might try to act more feminine, maybe copying other she-cats to feel more feminine.

Or, they might do the exact opposite, and try to act like a tom, while still not saying out loud that they might prefer he/him over she/her. They might try to hang out with toms more than she-cats.

Alternatively, both of these could happen at different points in Berry's life, or not at all, depending on her personality and the cats she's around.

And you said that later on, they realize they don't really care what they're referred to as. Once that happens, they wouldn't try so hard to appear as a she-cat or a tom, but instead just let themselves act however makes them comfortable and however feels right in the moment.

Also, I find that when someone uses pronouns different from those I was given at birth, I feel a little surprised and happy, since they've acknowledged what I've told them. You could incorporate that; e.g. Berry flicking their ear or raising their brows just slightly, as they're used to ppl using "she/her" most the time. Obviously, the surprise will wear off once Berry gets used to using different pronouns and such.

I hope this helped a little, but I think you'll write Berry just fine anyhow!^^

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

@wolfie @Kacey!

Thank you very much! I will keep these both in mind. Berrykit will be exposed to other cats who encourage exploration/have explored gender themselves (Bumblestar, her mother Fireflysplash), but he’ll still be pretty confused about why he feels like a she-cat sometimes, a tom sometimes, neither sometimes, etc. and will eventually realize that he doesn’t care so long as everyone isn’t always using the same pronouns for him. I’ll have to explore more when I RP with her, though! She’ll be fine with being referred to as a she-cat throughout kithood, then begin to explore as she enters apprenticehood. How they begin to have those thoughts/feelings are things I’ll have to figure out, though.