There's been a discussion recently here on the forums about how to write trans characters. We thought it could be cool for those of us who are publishing stories with trans protagonists to share a little bit about them here. (And of course everybody's welcome to link their novels & comics!)
Here are our main protagonists from The Dread Eclipse, both of whom are trans:
Caren Navarrete (she/her, 23) is a "ratcatcher"—a factionless bounty hunter employed by Ordo Arcanus, the most powerful magic faction in North America. She takes care of Arcanus enforcement business in the Greater Philadelphia neutral territory, where official Arcanus enforcers are mostly forbidden to work by interfaction law.
Caren's the broke daughter of Filipino immigrants, a survivor used to scraping by by the skin of her teeth. She's a generalist when it comes to her magic skills, making innovative use of common cantrips and alchemical or enchanted items, though she does specialize somewhat in the use of agimat—Filipino traditional implanted amulets that enhance her physical attributes.
While she may have other identity stuff to work through, when it comes to Caren's gender, she knows she is female and has known since she was a kid. It's just never been a question, though getting acceptance from the people around her growing up wasn't always a guarantee.
Ashton Grenville (he/him, 18) is a Martial Magus—one of Ordo Arcanus's highly skilled magical enforcers.
Ash is the child of so-called "Old World" parents—magical elites descended from old European magical houses. He was AFAB, born the only child of a recently deceased mother and a newly paraplegic father who very much wanted a cisgender son who could climb the ranks of Fraternitas Mercurii, the competitive all-male magic order to which Ash's father belongs. So Ash, despite being denigrated incessantly by his sexist father for being a "girl," was raised and socialized from birth as a boy. Ash is a genius at alchemy, and invented a martial application of the magical science called "combat alchemy."
When it comes to Ash's gender, he's used to presenting himself as male and trying to repress what he's been conditioned to think of as feminine traits. But he also privately values the kabbalistic ideal of the gender-ambiguous "celestial man." When the story begins, Ash has a complex gender journey ahead of him, as hinted at by his fascination with the mysterious nonbinary YouTuber Valentine, and his strained relationship with his own more "feminine" traits.
Here's our link!
