#pronoun advice

[kn1febunny]

I think I want to try out using neopronouns but I have no idea where to start or how to find ones that fit me. Any advice on what to do?

asks :: how to pick out neos

hello, anon!

first of all, thank you so much for asking! as always we really appreciate asks.

to start, lets look at pronouns as a whole. pronouns are little grammar nicknames to help sentences flow better. but they are, at their core, nicknames. keep this in mind when trying on pronouns you like. pronouns also MAY or MAY NOT be related to gender. just like someone can use he/him without identifying as a boy, you can use fairy/fairyself without having a xenogender relating to fairies.

next, lets look into neopronouns a little more. plain neopronouns include non-words such as xi/xer, xe/xem, ix/ixes, li/lius, and more of course. these are more sounds than words. then theres xenopronouns, a subcategory of neopronouns. these are word pronouns, such as meow/meowself and love/loveself. there is also another category of neopronouns, which is emoji pronouns, which are for online use only. these are pronouns like 💗/💗self, 🔪/🔪self, 🌸/🌸self and more. since i don’t know what exact set of neopronouns you’d like suggestions for, i’m going to go forward with this post assuming you want recommendations for all of them.

finally, how to find pronouns that fit you. at the end of this post i’ll include some more popular / common pronouns that seem to be loved all around so you have somewhere to start.

how to find plain neopronouns to fit you can be hard to explain, since everyones experience is unique. however, asking yourself if you want masculine sounding or feminine or even androgynous sounding pronouns can be really helpful! now, all neopronouns are completely gender neutral, but you may find some sounding more masculine to you or more feminine to you. i do recommend that after you decide that (or if your not sure and just want to continue with the pronouns) is just see what sounds fit you and try to spell them out. i’ve made some really neat pronouns this way!

xenopronouns are easier to pick out in my opinion. ask yourself things like, “what kind of objects, aesthetics, or characters am i drawn to or feel a connection too?”. try to make a list of everything you can come up with. you can try to make pronouns out of these yourself, or see if anyone has made themed lists based off of them! (if you can’t find any lists, feel free to request some!)

picking emoji pronouns will be similar to picking xenopronouns except that emojis are finite. list out aesthetics, objects, and emotions you really like or have a connection to. then, see if you can describe these things in emojis.

pronoun masterlists can often be overwhelming and hard for beginners, so i don’t really recommend trying to do it first thing. however, i’d like to include one for you anyways. please use it to your content, and don’t feel pressured at all either!

thats all the guidance i’ll be able to give for now. if you still feel like you need more help, feel free to make another ask or DM me so i can hear out the problem in more specifics! anyways, heres the starter pronouns i promised ♡

plain neopronouns:;

it / its / itself

xe / xem / xemself

xi / xir / xirs / xerself

ix / ixes / ixself ve / vem / vir / viers / vierself

ir / irs / irself

ai / ais / aiself

cu / cue / cues / cueself zie / zir / zirself ne / nim / nir / nirs / nirself

xenopronouns:; fee / fi / fo / fum / fumself (started as a joke but grew popular!) meow / meows / meowself thorn / thorns / thornself one / ones / oneself pers / persons / personself end / ends / endself faun / fauns / faunself fae / faes / faeself bun / buns / bunself

emoji pronouns:;

💕 / 💕self

🫀 / 🫀self

🍡 / 🍡self

🍼 / 🍼self

🥩 / 🥩self

🧋 / 🧋self

💫 / 💫self

☀️ / ☀️self

🌙 / 🌙self

🌕 / 🌕self

🌊 / 🌊self

that’s all for now! thank you for reading!

-(>ω<)

[axarmae]

Writing characters who use they/them pronouns

If in the context the character might be mistaken for a group go ahead and just use their name

In the case this does not apply, use pronouns

If you say the character's name once in the sentence before, or in the previous sentence it is okay to use a pronoun

You do not have to point out that the character uses they/them pronouns; sometimes that can be strange in the context of the story. It can be subtle if you want!

All of this also applies to writing other characters, sometimes you have to watch your pronouns because it can cause confusion for the reader. It is not weird or odd to have characters who use they/them pronouns or if you really want to take an extra step, make the character use neopronouns. It might help if you are struggling with using they/them too much.

(Please feel free to add/expand on the list)

[bonefall]

I'm thinking of writing a Grey Wing redemption/pissed off fic where Grey is the one who kills Clear Sky/Skystar (a la Scourge) after he threatens Thunder/Thunderstar and another of Grey's adopted kits.

But idk how Grey gets that pissed. Thoughts?

Idk anon I'm gonna be honest, that feels really unlike Gray Wing. I'd say to use Thunder for a plot like that, tbh, the character that canonically makes several loud and angry rejections of Clear Sky's violence.

I don't like Gray Wing but he's very well characterized, y'know? Even at his absolutely most pissed moment in-canon he can only taunt Clear Sky into killing him with his Star Line. He's verbal, not physical.

He's able to land a little hit on people here and there, but he usually requires an entire group to do damage (Tom the Wifebeater and One Eye). Overall he's really bad at fighting. Good hunter, bad fighter. Even before his asthma he was kinda pathetic; killed Fox with a lucky hit, tried to attack Clear Sky over Jagged Peak and got curbstomped

And like, on that "verbal" thing, he's incredibly nasty and catty when he's upset. Barking at Turtle Tail for having the wrong friend, smugly watching Bumble get dragged off, shouting at Thunder several times over various things, the... whatever the hell the Erins thought they were doing with Jagged Peak (i still maintain that gray was actually totally right to scream at him that One Time, fuck u jagged peak).

I feel pretty strongly that his anger is primarily vocal. He's more likely to start yelling than hitting. If it does come down to an actual death match, he's more likely to get turned into tomato paste lmaoooo

So if he ever DID kill Clear Sky, I'd suggest it be an accident or as a result of one of his plans. In addition to his lack of physical capacity, honestly? I think Gray Wing would buckle if he had to make that choice.

He'd have his claw on his throat and be unable to pull down. Might be able to start screaming, "YOU TOOK MY BROTHER FROM ME!" or make a really harsh speech, maybe even cast Vicious Mockery. But I don't think he could ever ACTUALLY do a Yellowfang, let alone a Scourge. Not even if he saw Clear personally kill someone he loves.

If he ever actually did get Clear Sky killed, he'd also, honestly, probably change immensely for the negative. OR AT LEAST needing a long time to recover and accept he had no choice. I can't imagine him being able to live with the "guilt" very well, it would weigh on him. The "gentleness" would melt away as he becomes overall quite miserable and snappish, like he usually is when he's not happy.

(Could be very interesting to give someone else the kill after Gray can't bring himself to do it. Like Thunder jumped in to save his life, but it causes their relationship to fall apart completely.)

Overall I'd treat the premise as more of a "tragedy" than a "catharsis." Not based in anger, but immense pain and frustration.

[bloodanddiscoballs]

This probably doesn't count but Pyro/Scout? Or Demo/Sniper (I love my boys)

I’ll get you that Swordvan later but I kinda got carried away with this one so have this lovely bit of Flash Fire! Scout may talk enough for the both of them but Pyro certainly has some stuff to say as well. Click for better resolution

[rjalker]

Pro tip, writers who only use she/her or he/him pronouns:

If you usually write everything in 3rd person POV, but just suddenly feel the need to write in the 1st person as soon as you're dealing with a character who uses neopronouns of some sort, that is your unpacked exorsexism talking and trying to make you avoid using the pronouns that make you uncomfortable.

Resist the urge. Write your story in 3rd person POV just the same way you would if the character used she/her or he/him. Get used to it.

Switching to 1st person POV as soon as it's about a character that uses they/them or it/its or xe/xem is the lazy cowardly exorsexist way out. You can do better. Accept the challenge, or at least have the strength to admit you're choosing the coward's way out on purpose.

And no, saying that "using it/its pronouns in the 3rd person is just too difficult tho :(" is not an excuse, that's just an admission that you don't know how to write.

[maxkirin]

Respecting people's pronouns is a great way to practice stopping for 0.5 seconds and thinking about what you're going to say before opening your mouth. You can save yourself so much heartbreak and trouble just by thinking before you speak. No punchline just legit life advice

[genderfluid-info-blog]

I have known for a while what neopronuns are, but I don't really know how to use them

Am I supposed to put xe instead of she/him?

Is it the same with neopronuns like fox or star? Like instead of "he grabbed the book" "star grabbed the book"?

Hey! It depends on the set of neopronouns, but generally yes!

It's always helpful to look at the full set of the neopronoun, for example: xe/xem/xir/xirs/xirself (the order is always: subject/object/possessive adjective/possessive noun/reflexive) -> with he/him this order would be: he/him/his/his/himself

So in this case, you would say: Xe grabbed xir book. I really like xem. That pen is xirs, xe said that xirself.

Another example: ae/aer/aer/aers/aerself Ae grabbed aer book. I really like aer. That pen is aers, ae said that aerself.

Nounself pronouns work in a similar fashion! Star/starself pronouns would be: Star grabbed stars book. I really like star. That pen is stars, star said that starself.

There are also emojiself pronouns! These ones are used exclusively in online spaces, although some emojiself pronouns have spoken alternatives. One example would be ☁️/☁️self: ☁️ grabbed ☁️s book. I really like ☁️. That pen is ☁️s, ☁️ said that ☁️self. -> a spoken alternative to ☁️/☁️self would be cloud/cloudself

If you still have any questions, this carrd explains neopronouns really well! You could also check out my other post if you're looking for lists of neopronouns!

I hope this helps! 🫶

[fixyourwritinghabits]

hello! regarding the post about writing mlm or wlw scenes and pronoun usage, i wanted to ask if you'd be able to clarify anything for characters who use they/them pronouns or multiple sets of pronouns, like she/they or he/they.

in my head, i feel that it may be necessary for the narration to include one set of pronouns to avoid confusion, while the characters in dialogue refer to the character with multiple pronouns with either or. that's just my thought though, and i wanted to ask for your insight.

thank you in advance!

This one you're going to need to wrap your head around. Who is the POV character, the person with multiple pronouns or someone else? How is your story told (first person, third, etc)? When do pronouns come up, and how does the person they belong to feel about them?

One example I could use is someone who presents very feminine but personally prefers to lean toward 'they' most of the time. The option of 'she/they' may be something they lean into to make others more comfortable (when dealing with clients they won't know well, in social situations, etc). If the story is from their perspective, they could explain this in the narrative - the same goes for if they're a friend of the main character. If they're a minor character, a quick "I'm okay with both" to explain a name tag or introduce themselves is probably your best bet.

If you have a character who is neutral on both or prefers to switch, you'll have to make the decision depending on their importance to the story - if their the main character, noting that switch in the text ("I prefer he today") will help orientate your reader. When in doubt, spell it out, and you can clean it up in post.

Your biggest concern is clarity (though again, don't sweat too much on the first draft). I've seen this done poorly by people I know meant well, but keep in mind that your audience needs a little guidance. You always want to make it clear who is talking - feel free to stick with names in dialogue tags, with pronouns used to describe actions. If your character switches pronoun use in the middle of a scene or chapter, it's better to highlight that switch, especially if you have other characters in the scene. You can also rely on context clues (changing clothes or settings, how they feel in the moment) to highlight why your character is using a particular pronoun.

Third, consider your audience. Are you writing for your fellows who won't blink an eye? Don't sweat it so much. Do you anticipate a larger cis audience who might be very new to the idea? Give them (and yourself) some grace in making sure it's clear who the character is no matter what pronoun they use.

(Check out sci fi and fantasy books with multiple pronoun usage, by the way. You'll find a lot of great examples to study!)

[cepheusgalaxy]

Y'know, gender doesn't have to make sense all the time

By example, today I'm a guy

I mean, kind of a guy

And at the same time I want to use he/him pronouns, I wanna be a princess and use neutral honorifcs!

And it's great, stay awesome folks~

(This does apply if you're trans binary, cis, or have a "simple" gender identity too, as much as it does if you have a super confusing or genderfluid/multigender gender identity [like me], try to use whatever terms you like!)

[all-lars-bars]

In my delusion world, the MC in DDLC is aroace and transfem

[just-a-little-unionoid]

absolutely struggling to find a chara design for fem sinner Adam bc I just... can't figure out a body type

like canonically I guess Adam's supposed to be a little fat but I think it's mostly due to his robes? I mean look at those skinny arms there is no body fat or muscle on that, I think the robes really makes him look bigger than he actually is

and I guess as a sinner their clothes would be a little more revealing? I mean I don't really see the point of making a new chara design if it's to keep the same clothes y'know, so anyway point is, I kinda need to have a rough idea of what I want her body to look like

skinny is the to-go for the Hellaverse but I do see that as a flaw, so I would prefer not to do that too much, and also Adam is so round, that's cute, I want to keep that

but those fucking arms...

I'm not sure if I want to add muscles bc on one hand, big lady with muscles y'know, but on the other hand I really don't think this guy has any visible muscle in canon? again, the arms

I want to keep the pear shape but those damn skinny arms are fucking hard to attach to a pear shape (also, how the fuck do I draw the legs???)

anyway, I'm struggling but it's fun

[corfisers]

the thing about the dudebro discussion, the aita post, the willingness to just take at face value any accusations directed at a person you don't know, is that it's all so painfully transparent, it's so obvious that those conversations are happening at this scale specifically because it's about trans women. maybe it's just me, but you generally shouldn't be using certain terms for people unless you know that they are comfortable with them, and if you fucked up then apologize and move on (if we pretend for a second that the majority of dudebros weren't feign ignorance or just actively malicious to begin with). you should be aware that some things don't affect you the same way they affect other people, and you definitely shouldn't be giving those people potentially dangerous advice on topics that you personally aren't familiar with, this is the baseline, at least don't fucking put other people who were misled into trusting you in danger. and if an anon barges into your inbox with some wild accusations then you should stop and think "hey, why are you coming to me anonymously with no evidence to back any of this up, and in such a way that i have to reply to you publicly so more people get to see this" regardless of who it's directed at. like, those are all pretty simple things, or they should be at least, but because the targets are trans women and transmisogyny is so fucking rampant everyone has to bend over backwards to come up with excuses as to why treating trans women this way is perfectly normal and justified.

[nadir-writes]

Question for writeblr:

One of my OCs uses any pronouns. How should I go about changing pronouns in their fic without it becoming confusing as to who's being discussed? Can anyone recommend any media that features characters who use multiple pronouns?

[i-wiggle-i-squirm-bc-i-am-a-worm]

Are my emotions real even if I’m not human?

I’m currently very sick and very weak, but I mustered up the energy to draw because the Sage and Adrien parallels have been twisting in my brain ever since I finished Frontiers only Sage has a villain dad who actually loves her, but I digress-

[rjalker]

If you want your story to be representative and supportive of trans people you are NOT allowed to shy away from the fact that you cannot tell someone's gender, or pronouns, just from looking at them. Unless they are literally wearing a pronoun pin, you do not know someone's pronouns just by looking at them. You cannot tell someone is trans just by looking at them.

If you want your story to actually be representative of real trans people, your characters need to fucking ask eachother what their pronouns are. Your characters need to introduce themselves with their pronouns. They need to wear pronoun pins. They need to have conversations about pronouns and which ones to use and when.

You cannot brush this under the rug and pretend this isn't a thing that's necessary and have your story fully and 100% support trans people.

If you're too embarrassed to write your characters telling eachother what their pronouns are or think it's cringey and annoying, you're not ready to write a story about trans people.

[lady-fey]

Using Relationship Descriptors To Get Around Pronoun Trouble

Whenever you’re writing a scene where multiple characters use the same pronouns, things can get tricky. Is the ‘he’ in this sentence character A or character B? There are many writing tools that you can use to get around this, but I wanted to share one that I don’t see used very often: keeping focus by using relationship descriptors instead of names. 

Allow me to demonstrate!

Alexander glared at Michael, then he grabbed his coat and stalked out of the room.

The ‘he’ in this sentence is ambiguous. It’s probably Alexander, but you can’t be sure. A way I get around this is to do this:

Alexander glared at his brother, then he grabbed his coat and stalked out of the room.

By replacing ‘Michael’ with ‘his brother’, you keep the sentence framed around Alexander. Everything is being described in relation to him, so you naturally assume that he’s the one doing the action. 

Here’s another example:

Madeline ran across the room, throwing her arms around Sarah. Then she pulled back, wiping away her tears.

Verses

Madeline ran across the room, flinging herself into her girlfriend’s arms. The she pulled back, wiping away her tears.

I use this all the time when two characters with the same pronouns have to interact in some way. If they're just talking to each other, then I usually use other tools.