#...well that got long

Right, so, a lot of people read Tobias’ discomfort in his human body as gender dysphoria, or at least a pretty good sci-fi analogue, which I think is really cool!  I generally don’t write trans Tobias myself because...actually tbh I think I’ve never written a fic where Tobias took his shirt off and/or anything else that would make anatomy a real issue, so you’re totally within your rights to headcanon whatever you like.  My somewhat disinterested grasp on gender makes me a bad candidate to write trans stuff because.  Like.  Listen.  You can use whatever pronouns you want with me and I will absolutely not give a damn.  I’ve gone by five different first names falling everywhere from feminine to androgynous to masculine (some people call me Gabe), I’ve been called sir, miss, ma’am, and you there, and honestly: I don’t care.  So like...I am not writing gender dysphoria stuff because I don’t have a good handle on gender in the first place.  

As far as the trans girl Tobias headcanons go, I don’t have any of them on deck to be linked because it’s not my jam, but I’m sure someone will step up to the plate here.  I did read a really excellent fic one time where Tobias acquired Rachel and she and Rachel went to the mall on a date and it was pretty cute, but also it is lost to the depths of my AO3 history.

Regarding trans boy Tobias, on the other hand, I feel it a little more.  Hear me out here.

Tobias is literally flat out tortured by bullies at school (MM4), which, listen, I went to a really small parochial school where their handle on the concept of trans-ness was dubious at best.  First gym class, Tobias is basically screwed, even though his uncle probably doesn’t give enough of a damn to say what he can or can’t put on his paperwork.

Tobias mentions several times that his uncle doesn’t care about him, but was can all basically agree that he’s probably also abusive as well as being neglectful.  More to the point, though, Tobias says that his aunt cared more when he was younger (before he came out maybe?) and that she mostly used him as free labor once he was older.  So in this situation I headcanon that the majority of the time, Tobias’ uncle doesn’t give a shit what Tobias calls himself and is therefore a nominal improvement on his aunt, who still calls him Tabitha and yells at him every time he cuts his hair off.  Tobias at some point tells Rachel offhand that, yeah, his uncle hit him from time to time, but at least he usually called him “kid” or whatever, and Rachel almost gets on a goddamn plane to go beat the shit out of his aunt.  (I firmly headcanon that in any universe, Tobias spends minimum one hour a month talking Rachel and eventually Ax out of hunting down his extended family.)

The Animorphs all know he’s trans and are ready to Fight about it.  This is generally the reason that I prefer trans boy Tobias rather than trans girl Tobias, because I like AUs that fit reasonably well into canon and in order for Tobias to be a trans girl, he would have to be in the closet with literally every single person he knows.  He would be lying constantly to the Animorphs about who he is.  And honestly his life is so terrible that I can’t stand to put him through that, and moreover: don’t come here with your The Animorphs Don’t Really Trust Each Other nonsense.  Get out of my house with that.  I will talk for days about the breakdown of team dynamics toward the end of the war, but these kids would fucking die for each other, don’t come at me with your Jake Is Transphobic shit.  I’ll deck you, straight up.

BOOK 23 SPOILERS: The Ellimist shows Elfangor the future so that Elfangor knows to write his letter to his son and Tobias has to work really hard not to burst into tears in front of Visser Three about it.  Relatedly, Loren is a disabled woman who married an alien, I am 100% sure that Tobias coming out to her would be 0% of a problem.  “I’m so glad you trusted me with this and I want you to be happy, but also we are at war so maybe this is not the best time to have a heart-to-heart.”

Listen...Andalite culture is such a hidebound train wreck that I have no idea off the top of my head if they would be fine with the trans thing.  I have some strict-ish headcanons about how marriage works (literally intended for reproduction, as in: usually arranged, often a friendly formality that only lasts as long as there’s a child to raise, and structured so as to match couples based on their ability to parent together and their genetic compatibility), but nothing hard and fast about sex or gender.  Except that I will have my tragic gay aliens and therefore: same-gender love matches exist.  But even if Andalites aren’t down with the concept of the gender spectrum, Ax will have known Tobias for most of a year before Tobias’ biological sex becomes an issue that even exists in the physical world, and I’m pretty sure he could be talked around.

I feel like the morphing thing has great potential for transgender usage, which I guaran-damn-tee you the Andalites have not thought of (I have a lot to say about how the Andalites seem...pretty uncreative with the morphing thing).  In a happier world, after the war Tobias admits publically that he’s trans and that it’s part of the reason he’s uncomfortable in his human form, and Frolis maneuvers himself a new human body that looks a lot like his old one with a few major exceptions.  A feather, or a silhouette of a hawk in flight, becomes a familiar Trans Pride mark, with people carrying flags and wearing tattoos at marches.  Rachel has never been more delighted with the world, and picks up a new crusade.  She only gets arrested a few times.

Oh, also let me take this moment to give you a few other headcanons about queer Animorphs.

Jake: actually Jake is straight because I have never seen someone who is so obviously a Straight Ally Doing His Very Best but in like every aspect of his life.  He’s doing a good job and he’s the first person Marco comes out to.

Marco: B I S E X U A L as fuck and dtf basically anyone.  This is straight up canon, literally any given Marco book includes him commenting on at least one person’s attractiveness.  I think the only Animorph who does not routinely get hit on is Tobias and I’m willing to ascribe that to Marco’s very understandable fear of death by acute grizzly bear.

Cassie: li’l bit bisexual, li’l bit gnc, lot bit too busy to care.  I feel like Cassie is also demisexual because...she’s so much about the person.  Whenever she talks about Jake and why she’s attracted to him, sure, she’ll talk about his eyes or his smile, but it’s usually about how his real smiles are rare and therefore special, or about how he seems so confident and adaptable under the gun, or about how much he cares about his causes.  Thus: demi Cassie.

Rachel: listen I don’t know because I feel like Rachel probably wouldn’t bother to take the time to have an identity crisis ever, she would just be like “update everyone I’m also into girls” and move on with her life.  People would ask her what her sexuality was and she would give them a disdainful look and say “not your fucking concern” and go on about her day.  Rachel goes to her deathbed without ever giving a single fuck about anything, up to and including what she should or should not call herself.  (Oh but obviously Melissa Chapman is a lesbian and has been in love with Rachel since they were kids)

Ax: cinnamon buns are Ax’s One True Love and while I do feel like he’s probably pansexual and kind of blithely disinterested in the human parameters of gender, I also feel like he’s the kind of person to tell people out loud and in public that his sexuality is Cinnabon.  He learns this kind of joke from Marco and the others all immediately despair of them both.  Jake just.  Washes his hands of this whole situation.  He’s out.  He’s done.  Ax is beyond help.