#*nonbinaries your bard*

[lanternlightss]

Bards who are revolutionaries and voices of the people who use their music to speak out against authorities are such a cool niche archetype! I wanna see more characters like Venti nb and Raine. And they are all gender nonconforming!! I will always headcanon Venti and nb to be genderqueer. Like of course these people who play around with rules and social norms would play around with gender. It’s such a cool combination of traits!

Slightly unrelated but my brain mixes up nb as a shorthand for nonbinary and nb as a shorthand for nameless bard. Whenever someone says nb and I know they’re talking about the bard I register it as nonbinary bard in my head.

they are they are they are !!!! same here, awaiting the day there are more characters like them, they are so funnn.

also valid of you, they so so would. and it is !! it’s such a cool combination of traits. they traverse each part of the world in their own way :].

sbshdjdjdjksksk XD. fair, i used to do the same lol.

[yourplayersaidwhat]

[Bard is in love with Warlock but Warlock is oblivious] [well-meaning NPC talking to Bard about the Warlock who is nonbinary] NPC: ...your boyfriend! Warlock: Not a boy. NPC: Your girlfriend! Warlock: Not a girl.  NPC: Your wife! Warlock: NOT MARRIED!

[cantheykillmacbeth]

Could Kiwi(The Bard) from Wandersong kill MacBeth? They are enby(any/all genders/pronouns) and due to being so insignificant destiny doesn’t care enough to write a future for them they are immune to fate.

Yes, The Bard aka Kiwi from Wandersong could kill Macbeth!

They are canonically nonbinary with any pronouns, meaning it applies for the Gender Clause (presumably; there is still the possibility that he is comfortable with being referred to with the term 'man' despite her identity as nonbinary, but I wasn't able to find any evidence that this is the case, so we will presume otherwise).

As for whether or not Kiwi counts as a Unique Exception, I wasn't able to find any information about Kiwi's relationship to fate and destiny online anywhere...

...So I bought the game and played through the entire thing in a single day so I could find out what you were talking about. ((Very good game btw, loved it, nearly made me cry, super funny, could do with about a dozen bug fixes though because I almost got softlocked 3/4 of the way through the game because apparently there's a cutscene trigger you can accidentally skip by RP walking resulting in multiple cutscenes attempting to play at once therefore not allowing you to progress. But yeah I still did really enjoy it. I love the gay monster boyfriends with my life))

Within Wandersong, there is a moment where a fortune teller attempts to look into Kiwi's future, and she finds that the universe/the goddess Eya made no plan for what Kiwi would do at all, as they were deemed insignificant to the story of the universe. The fortune teller explains that this is very unusual, as she is always able to divinate something out of any given person, and Kiwi is an anomaly in this regard. The entire plot of the game revolves around the fact that the universe is coming to an end, and Kiwi is attempting to stop it, though is told time and time again that it is impossible; the method to stop the end of the universe has rarely ever been attempted, and when it has, it has always failed. This universe is stated near the end to take place after "an infinity of infinities" of other universes, so managing to stop the universe's end is statistically completely impossible for any living creature to accomplish. Kiwi, however, is able to pull it off.

While one could probably argue that Kiwi being immune to fate and pulling off impossible feats wouldn't be able to counteract Macbeth's prophecy, I'm fully willing to say that it counts, and that Kiwi applies as a Unique Exception. This might be influenced by the fact that this is single-handedly the most research I have done into a character before, but I stand by it: they apply for the Gender Clause and as a Unique Exception.

Thank you very much for your submission!

[themonsterundermystairs]

short list of lgbt-inclusive games that i love (in brackets is the kind of representation):

- cattails and it‘s sequel, cattails: wildwood story (nonbinary, queer in general): these are both great games that warrior cats fans will love. also, every single cat in the game is non binary. everyone is only referred to by they/them and you can have kittens with anyone.

- starfield (nonbinary, bi, same sex relationships, trans): you can choose your pronouns (he, she or they) no matter your body type. you can also always change your body and pronouns for a small fee. some main companions talk about former partners of the same gender, in at least one case, a character references dating men and women. guards may also reference a partner of the same gender.

- skyrim (same sex relationships for player, gay): you can marry regardless of gender and adopt kids with your spouse. there is a dead gay couple. (this will be the only game with so little representation on this list. i included it because i love skyrim, because you can make it gayer with mods and because it is from 2011 so i don‘t have high expectations)

- ikenfell (nonbinary, queer relationships, neopronouns): a really fun rpg with a fun combat system. also very queer, every character has their pronouns listed and there are nonbinary people with they/them, ze/zir and even he/him pronouns. i haven‘t quite finished playing through it yet, but there are all kinds of queer relationships. oh and you save the game by petting cats

- wandersong (queer relationships, gender nonconformity, nonbinary): a really unique and wholesome game about a bard that wants to save the world. it has an amazing story and some of the most well written characters i have ever encountered. the bard is nonbinary and uses all pronouns and there is a noteworthy nonbinary character whose story doesn‘t revolve around them being nonbinary. they are fully accepted. there are plenty of queer relationships. there are mermaids with beard stubble.

- a short hike (nonbinary): an amazingly fun game that actually feels like a holiday. it also has a super fast turtle that goes by they/them pronouns

- shovel knight (queer relationships, trans, nonbinary): fun platformer that allows you to choose your body type (male/female) and your pronouns (he/she/they) independently from one another. you can also do the same for all bosses and your love interest.

- squidlit and super squidlit: really fun gameboy style games that were created by independent trans developers.

[monkeythefander]

Here’s a list of random words and quotes related to Sanders Sides that live rent free in my head. Feel free to share your own memorable words and quotes from the series in the replies

- Infinitesimal

-Dork

- “Turn into a ghost!”

- “That was bravery.”

- Callback

-“I thought I was your hero.”

- “Singing to myself, cause I’m not uncomfortable at all.”

- “There is no rhyme or reason for what I do. I just do.”

- Pintroverts

- “I actually really dig the purple.”

- “Just rip it off, like a bandaid.”

- “Because I was one of them.”

- Kiddo

- Sir Squiggles the Brave

-“Who broke this vase?!”

- “Stop ignoring me!”

- Radical

- “How does it feel to want!”

- “I claimed to be the better bard and I backed it up.”

- “Ladies, Lords, and Nonbinary Royalty, watch me as I beat this geek and do it joyously!”

[everysongineverykey]

literally who is doing it like raeda. middle aged chronically ill disabled bi woman who is public enemy number one and has her wanted poster proudly hung up on her wall x neurotic yet brave and hardworking middle aged nonbinary bard with stage fright and they loved each other so much when they dated as young adults but it was a case of right person, wrong time and only now can they begin to pick up the pieces of a broken relationship left to rot. like i don't think you understand it's about "see? you'd be a mess without me" and it's about "why didn't you tell me about all this?" "is it so unbelievable that i wanted to keep you safe?" and it's about "i promised a special kid i'd protect you" and it's about "go! you know i hate an audience." and it's about "no. i told you before, i'm not putting her in danger again / i'll keep you safe, eda. i promise." and it's about "every year, it's just the same old faces..." "until widdle old me? :3" and it's about "i just like visiting raine" and it's about ripping off your beloved's arm so the rot doesn't kill her and it's about resigning yourself to die in her arms while the moon shines darkly above and it's about swallowing thirty years of fear of rejection and letting your beloved finally see the monster in you and seeing them look at that monster like it's the most beautiful thing they've ever seen and it's about watching her fly away as your song plays in the background and it's about beautiful dates and heartwrenching breakups on the same field of flowers and it's about being silly little geese together and it's about love after leaving and it's about unwittingly introducing her to apple blood, her favorite drink, by chance in high school and it's about keeping the guitar they gave you for thirty years despite everything. that's what it's ABOUT.

[lmkobsessedmoth]

LGBTQ hot line

Welcome to the woods of the moth man. This post shall be an introduction ish thing for new people and for people who need a refresher (please note I’ll be adding more to this post as time goes on and I reveal more about my au and introduce new characters)

🌙About me💫

Hi I’m Loyd/the moth man

I’m a nonbinary trans man (pronouns they/him) and I would appreciate that you use my preferred pronouns when talking to me

I love answering questions so don’t be afraid to send me asks (unless you’re going to ask me something invasive or to draw your oc) 

I love interacting with people and answering their questions but please do not message me without my permission. I have social anxiety so I would appreciate it if you sent your messages to my ask box

I’m not in a lot of fandoms but I do like monkey kid, arcane, murder drones, fnaf, gacha life/club and avatar the last air bender

Here’s what my sona looks like (I haven’t drawn a full reference for them yet)

About my art

I’m an artist and storyteller who loves to share ideas and random scenarios through their artwork

I’ve been drawing for almost 5 years and have been an lmk fan artist for half of that time which my style makes obvious 

The only social media I post my art on is tumblr and discord (I use it post my art and twitter and koo but I stopped for a few reasons). If you see my art on any other platforms please report the account as that’s not me 

I do requests but only regarding the lmk show and my fan au. Please do not ask me to draw your ocs as I can’t do that with how my mind works

If you want to make fan art of my oc’s or au that is completely fine just credit and ping me, I would love to see it

I do not do art trades so don’t ask me about those

Do not trace or repost my art on other platforms. I’ve spent years working on my art skills and would rather people see my art through reblogs and links to my posts rather then someone taking my work and putting it on their social media with credit or not 

People who I don’t want to interact with (tw, mention of problematic shipping and bigotry)

Pro shippers and people who support problematic ships that contain things like incest or pedophilia will not be supported on my account or in my community

Racists, homophobs and general bigotry. Reality Can suck and I want this blog to be a break from that so if you think that people who are just living their lives as who they are is bad then this isn’t the community for you

Ai bros. Ai is cool for something’s but not for replacing people like artists and writers. I do not consent to having my work be used in ai at any point in time

Art “fixers” and people who generally change a characters design, race or body type to “fix” them aren’t supported here as it only hurts the artist who made the original art that gets changed to fit an agenda (redesigning a character for fun is fine)

You’re under the age of 12 to 13. My art and scenarios can deal with some serious topics that aren’t suitable for young children and personally I don’t feel comfortable talking to very young children

✨Information of my lmk au🌙

The death au (place holder name) is about mk and the gang finally getting a chance to breathe and get used to the new world after the events of seasons 3 through 5, that is until spirits start seeping into the mortal realm and mk got dreams about past events mostly lost to time. Mk being the hero he is try’s to deal with the spirits alone but his efforts (and nightmares) don’t go unnoticed for long as macaque agreed to teach him more about spirits and how to not summon 1 that will destroy the city

✨Oc’s included in the death au🌙

Ren Yu ling

Diedie

Bendy

The bard monkey

The king of the north

The mystery maiden

The lady

✨Bonus Oc’s🌙

The tiny dragon

The assistant

[thoughtfulraven]

Cannot Be Persuaded - Ace/Aro Tabletop Stickers

Finally got these up on Etsy! I'm super excited to be able to have these to offer after a lot of tweaking them to get them perfect. Coming soon: nonbinary dice and more tabletop themed stuff! I'm considering doing a variation of this design for aroace as well, so let me know if that interests anyone.

"Are you constantly having to reiterate that your ace-ness is not, in fact, a challenge that can be overcome by someone's assuredly high charisma roll? Do you get tired of having to go through that spiel over and over? Look no further! Tell the players around you "look, I'm sure your gnome bard is very charming, but the problem you're running into is that I've got advantage on my saving throw against charm person and I cannot roll below a twenty."

Handmade. Available in both an approximately 6 inch long x 1.5 inch tall version and a 3.5 inch long x 0.8 inch tall version. Sticker is printed on vinyl and laminated to prevent scratching."

Etsy

[spiritsession-arch]

Independent DnD oc

Google Doc Spotify Pinterest

Bio and Rules under cut

Sideblog, follows back from @murderreign!

**Icon border by sibylsource

-

Name: Alasdair Greives

Age: 30

Height: 6'4"

Gender: Nonbinary (They/He) (AFAB, but please don’t have your muse know this by default)

Personality: A very animated person with a macabre sense of humor. Can be rather quick to anger and highly defensive when certain nerves are pressed. Doesn’t react well to flirting.

Class: College of Spirits Bard

Species: Dhampir/Satyr

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 18

Constitution: 13

Intelligence: 12

Wisdom: 11

Charisma: 19

**This character has the Dark Gift from the Ravenloft expansion called Gathering Whispers

You are haunted by spiritual beings, whether the souls of the departed or entities from another plane. Their voices endlessly whisper, taunt, or cajole, sometimes rising to unearthly howls. Only you can perceive the spirits, unless you allow them to speak through you. The spirits are intangible and invisible; anyone who can see invisible creatures sees only fleeting glimpses of these spirits as they haunt you.

Spirit Whispers. You learn the Message cantrip if you don’t already know it, and require no components to cast it. When you cast the spell, the messages are delivered by one of your whispering spirits rather than you or the target’s voice. Your spellcasting ability for this spell is Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma (your choice when you gain this Dark Gift).Sudden Cacophony. When you are hit by an attack roll, you can use your reaction to channel your haunting spirits, letting their voices howl through you. If the attacker isn’t deafened, add your proficiency bonus to your AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss. Once this trait causes an attack to miss, you can’t use the trait again until you finish a long rest.Voices from Beyond. Immediately after you make an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw and roll a 1 on the d20, the haunting voices grow too loud to ignore. Roll on the Voices from Beyond table to determine the effect of these voices. Once one of these effects occurs, none of these haunting voices manifest again until you finish a short or long rest.

-

This character will involve themes of child neglect, transphobia, sexual assault mentions, fantasy racism (toward dhampirs), references to mental illness in a derogatory manner (only mentioned due to backstory reasons)

The scorned child of a small forest village, their early years were plagued with heartache and emotional neglect. After disappearing into the woods under mysterious circumstances, only to return completely unharmed two weeks later… with claims of being able to speak with the dead the child was promptly outcasted by the rest of the village.

For the remainder of their youth, they were the subject of isolation, bullying and worse from local villagers young and old.

No matter how many times they pleaded with their mother for protection, help, advice, anything, all she would tell them is that ‘if they wanted it to stop then they just needed to shut up and act normal for once’.

During the years since their disappearance, they’d made no attempt to hide their newfound ‘gift’, finding the idea of being able to gain wisdom or even help those who have passed fascinating. The other villagers… clearly didn’t feel the same.

As time moved on Alasdair grew resentful of the villagers, as well as their mother. They began to cling onto their gift, doubling down and convincing themself that they’d been given this gift for a reason. They were chosen for a specific duty, to record and preserve the stories of the dead.

They left the village, and began a journey as a traveling poet, writing down the stories that spirits would tell them and turning them into poetry to share with the world.

-

▍ ❝   RULE ONE. Crossover friendly; I prefer rping with fandoms i’m familiar with, but i’m open to those i’m not as well. You’ll just have to excuse me for any mistakes since I won’t be too familiar with your muse or their world.

▍ ❝   RULE TWO. Multiverse/Multiship; All relationships will take place in different verses.

▍ ❝   RULE THREE. Do not force ship; Do not try to force your muse on mine and do not get upset if I happen to say no to your ship. Not every ship is going to work, that’s just how it is.

▍ ❝   RULE FOUR. Mun is 25+; Due to the nature of this character, I will ONLY interact with those that are also 18+.

▍ ❝   RULE FIVE. No godmodding; I control my character, you control yours. Do not have your muse auto-hit mine, or narrate anything happening to my character without discussing it with me first. It’s really quite infuriating and can leading to a lot of things happening to my character that my character should have reasonably been able to get out of or would be generally ooc.

▍ ❝   RULE SIX. I am generally pretty quick with replies. I usually respond within 3 days, a week at most. If I take longer then that it means i’m probably busy with other blogs and haven’t checked in. Feel free to send in message if i’ve gone a week without replying and you see me still being active. I might have missed your reply or ask somehow.

▍ ❝   RULE SEVEN. Triggers; Due to the nature of Alasdair's backstory there will be prominent themes of Death, Ghosts, Violence, mentions of SA, PTSD, Mentions of Transphobia, Suicidal Ideology, and more.

[opposingsigns]

When A Bard Loves 💙💖❤️

Redraws from that kiss scene from “When A Man Loves” (1928). I’ll be so real, I have not seen the movie but I saw that clip and it was so Klaus coded I had to draw it. Though this quickly went from 1 panel to 4 as I couldn’t decide which pose I liked most… and also if I wanted it to be colored as if it were Astarion or Shadowheart…

Anyways go off with your Toxic Yuri Goth Girlfriend and Old Man Yaoi Boyfriend you funky little nonbinary.

(insta) (twitter)

[kannedia]

Have tea with or Pass - Iskra

Variant created by @spotofmummery. Replace tea with another hang-out activity if your character doesn't like tea. Tagged by: @gatheredfates and @zylphiacrowley Tagging: @uldahstreetrat and @mimble-sparklepudding. If you haven't done this yet, have the time and interest.

Quick Facts

Height: Five foot eight inches

Age: Thirty

Gender: Nonbinary

Pronouns: He/They

Sexuality: Aromantic Asexual

Race: Rava Veera

Pros

He's a trained bard and an experienced storyteller. If he's comfortable he may share a song or story with you.

A good listener with a kind heart. If you need an ear to listen or talk off he will be there for you.

He has a cute chuckle and a gentle smile.

Creative. He enjoys whittling in particular. He might make you something, he might teach you.

Cons

Withdrawn and a little shy. It will take time and patience for him to open up.

He can be a bit of a worrier. Especially if he cares about you and your safety.

Struggles to reach out to people, especially if he needs help. It's a bad happy he's trying to break.

On that note, he's a little hard to read unless you know his tells. Another bad habit.

Details (& History)

He left home at a young, for a Viera, age of nineteen.

Iskra then spent the next two years wandering and hiding in Garlean-occupied territory until he found a safe way out.

This is where most of his issues come from. He had to learn to not draw attention to himself. He's also witnessed some things he probably shouldn't have.

Lived with an old Hrothgar couple for about a decade after escaping. They were offering aid and shelter to refugees. For a time he helped them with that.

[kaykebitez]

Hands in the Fire (Astarion x Genderfluid!Tav) (Modern!AU)

Rating: Explicit Category: Multi/Other Pairing: Astarion/Tav; Other background/side pairings to be added Status: In Progress Chapters: 7/? Word Count (So Far): 36,032

Tags:

Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Tadpoles | Illithid Parasites (Baldur's Gate), Nightclub Setting, Tiefling Tav (Baldur's Gate), Half-Incubus Tav (Baldur's Gate), Genderfluid Tav (Baldur's Gate), Nonbinary Tav (Baldur's Gate), The Dark Urge and Tav are Separate Characters (Baldur's Gate), Deal with a Devil, Raphael Being a Bastard (Baldur's Gate), Manipulative Raphael (Baldur's Gate), Many Character Cameos, Vampire Spawn Astarion (Baldur's Gate), POV Astarion (Baldur's Gate), Shapeshifting, Bard Tav (Baldur's Gate), Hook-Up, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Riding, Enthusiastic Consent, Succubi & Incubi, Vampire Bites, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Named Tav (Baldur's Gate), Shapeshifter Tav (Baldur’s Gate), POV Tav (Baldur's Gate), Masturbation, Vaginal Sex, Cunnilingus, Clothed Sex

Summary:

“See something you like?” Vox murmured into his ear. “I forgot to ask what form you might prefer, but the way you’re looking at me says I made the right choice.”

Astarion struggled to catch their meaning at first. “Form?”

Vox twirled around in his arms with a laugh. They shrunk in height, the curls of their horns barely coming up to his shoulders. Soft curves pressed against him where hard planes of muscle had been, and their voice was now a soulful, lilting feminine drawl.

“I can be whatever you want me to be." They rocked their body against Astarion’s before they pulled away again, twisting around to step behind him and change shape again. This form dwarfed his own, broad arms encircling his waist with hands that made him feel downright tiny. The voice in his ear was now deep, rumbling. “In any configuration…” Another shift, and while they were still taller and broader, Astarion felt the press of breasts into his back, heard their voice now as a sultry alto. “…anything your heart desires.”

AKA: The Modern Nightclub AU with big bad Raphael, a plot to create the crown of Karsus and stick it to the Devil himself, and nary a tadpole in sight. Oh, and Astarion falls in love with a half-incubus.

READ ON AO3

Snippet from Chapter 1 under the cut:

He took his wine with a small nod of thanks and paid in cash—Cazador never trusted them with credit cards, no matter how much money his company made—and then turned around in his stool to look out over the dance floor once again. There were so many people it was hard to make out where one person ended and another began, and he was quite certain there were at least a few couples plainly fucking on the dance floor in the middle of the chaos. How scandalous.

Astarion snorted to himself and took a sip of the wine, surprised to find that it actually tasted more like wine than swill. This place did seem upscale, even if the crowd wasn’t, so it wasn’t a stretch of the imagination that they had some pricey suppliers. The glass had cost him a pretty penny, but he had enough money for one or two drinks before he needed to really get to work and find someone to lure away.

He watched the smiling, laughing faces of the dancers and scowled. Unfortunately for one of them, their night of fun would end in being sucked dry by a vampire lord. And none of them were any the wiser.

A pity, really.

A pity that he hadn’t been drained two hundred years ago, instead.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed and the music abruptly shifted to a low hum. Confused, Astarion shifted his gaze to the stage, where it appeared that the DJ in the corner had suddenly disappeared from the booth. In a blink, the center of the stage was awash in pink and purple lights, and an incredibly breathtaking tiefling was standing at the edge, infernal purple eyes glowing under the light as they held their arms up in an elegant pose.

“Do you dare to dance with devils?” the performer purred into their headset microphone in a delightfully masculine voice, the gold charms on their curled, white horns clinking in the background. They wore little more than black, skin-tight leggings with a strappy harness across their ridged chest, gold rings and cuffs circling their clawed fingers and wrists catching the light where they stood. The crowd went nuts at the sound of their voice, screams echoing through the bar area in a deafening roar that had the performer smirking, showing off a mouthful of sharpened, pearly white fangs.

Then they began to sing.

Now, Astarion had heard many a bard in his two hundred years of frequenting seedy bars, clubs, and even a hotel lounge or two. Many could carry a tune, many could even bring a tear to his eye, but no bard had ever sounded like this one. It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room as they crooned into the microphone, the music swelling to accompany them as pale blue magic coiled around their wrists. They started to move around the stage as they sang, their lithe body rolling with ease as they teased the clubgoers closest to the stage with little swishes of their hips and flicks of their tail, also adorned in gold jewelry.

Admittedly mesmerized, Astarion sat with his back against the bar, wine nearly forgotten in his hand, as he watched the performance with rapt attention. The tiefling swirled and danced around the stage, their movements salacious and skilled, rolling their hips with each dirty phrase purred from their lips in a voice that reminded Astarion of a siren’s song. Could they be a siren? It surely seemed plausible—

And then a strange thing happened. The performer did a twirl and then dropped into a split, and their body changed before Astarion’s very eyes. They still held the same white hair, coiffed into a series of braids over their right ear and hanging in loose waves over their left shoulder; the same infernal purple eyes, seemingly staring into Astarion’s soul; and the same upturned nose with what appeared to be a light dusting of freckles, framed with vine tattoos up and down their pale blue skin…

But where the hard planes of a man’s chest had been were now soft curves of breasts, the dip of a narrow waist and wide hips. Their voice, too, changed to a feminine lilt, their pouting lips sparkling with purple lipstick as they crooned and rolled around on the floor of the stage.

Another blink, and the tiefling lifted their hips into the air before they vaulted themselves upright, suddenly bearing a more muscular, masculine form with a chiseled jaw and deeper, booming voice.

Round and round and round they went on the stage, slipping between visages seamlessly, not missing a beat of their song. Astarion clicked his jaw shut when he noticed his mouth was hanging open, clearing his throat even though he logically knew no one was watching him—all eyes had to be on the tiefling on the stage.

[tempestgnostic]

On Therianthropy

or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Label

As with all identity groups, the therian community has dealt with its fair share of misinformation, ignorance, and exclusivity throughout its storied history. For quite some time, I felt connected to the label—in that profound way when something just fits—yet, I wasn’t certain if I fit the bill. I had seen the common misconception that therians were limited to only “Earth animals.” There are many issues with this definition, and plenty of folks have gone over this already. This discussion between irritatedandroid and spiritus-sonne was one of the first posts I saw that gave me some background on this misconception, and it struck a chord with me.

As I began to look into it more, I kept finding challenges to what I thought I knew about therianthropy. Below is a snippet of the forum post that ultimately led me to identify with ‘therian’ as a werewolf rather than ‘otherkin.’

You can find the page right here if you’d like to check it out for yourself! The author is Lynna Landstreet/Lynx Canadensis at time of posting. (9/18/1999 on alt.horror.werewolves)

This might get a little lengthy, so here’s your courtesy readmore.

This word, ‘liminality,’ is everything that I am. Liminality, balance, breaking down false dichotomies—this is what it means for me to be a werewolf. As a quick disclaimer, there are almost certainly werewolves out there whose self-perception is similar to mine, but they use ‘otherkin’ instead. That’s completely fine! As who-is-page points out in this post, “While it’s important to understand the definitions of various labels for a variety of reasons, these labels are not the end-all be-all to what you can or cannot call yourself or identify yourself by.”

I’ve written previously about how my werewolf identity is deeply intertwined and ultimately inseparable from my queer identity and my experiences as an autistic person. I don’t just toe the line between person and animal—I practically live in the split tongue of therianthropy. I’ve made a home at the crossroads as an autistic, nonbinary butch who’s had top surgery and is on HRT, who rejects boxes and binaries like the plague.

I embrace the ways in which I challenge norms, call out injustice, ask “Why?” and “Why not?” of my society. It’s the reason I named myself Taliesin, after the influential Brittonic poet and bard. He lives on as a creative genius and master satirist, and—according to legend—a figure who can be invoked and channeled by poets who continue his legacy. I carry on the name of a trickster figure who connected with the universal creative spirit—the Awen—and aim to do the same myself whenever I create art of all kinds.

I see my own ‘purpose’ in life as self-defined, not fated, and I find strength in the fact that I can be part of an ever-shifting process of change. Above all, it is transformation—the divine lesson of The Werewolf—that lies at the heart of my therianthropy, and that’s pretty damn therian, isn’t it? The word resonates with me almost as much as my own name, and that’s enough for me.

I encourage all of us to consider how our language can help us understand each other, and how the hard-and-fast rules and restrictions proposed by even the most well-meaning folks can be counterintuitive. It’s not that any label can “just mean anything” — rather, labels can offer a general framework to describe and relate our experiences to others. A label should be the start of a sentence, not the period at the end.

I’ll close on my favorite part of Page’s post, linked above: “Identity is unique, it’s not something that can be charred well-done and then flipped into a tupperware container for tomorrow’s lunch.”

[theygender]

My Tav is nonbinary and I like to believe they're on fantasy magic HRT but then I remembered that they're a bard so now I'm imagining them just like. Magically transitioning with the power of music

Anyway if you were a bard and could play gender affirmation music to magically transition what would your HRT song be. Mine would be I / Me / Myself

[rinwellisathing]

Untitled Wyll/Tav Drabble because Wyll Ravengard is actually perfect and I had a really bad day at work.

Wyll/Femme presenting Tav(this OC is nonbinary)

Just some fluff and comfort, though as usual with my catharsis writing, trigger warning for bullying.

Jaina hummed softly, one hand on Sentry's back, the other, glowing with a cool blue aura, on Karlach's. Her hands moved in slow, circular motions like ripples on the water and she began to sing gently.

"Upon one summer's morning, I carefully did stray down to the lower city where I met a sailor gay..." her voice was haunting, almost bewitching.

Wyll smiled up from his sharpening stone. "Are you sure you aren't trained as a bard, my friend?"

Jaina nodded with a smile, watching Karlach's eyes flutter, a tell tale sign of slipping consciousness as she brushed a strand of dark hair from the other tiefling's face.

"No, just a sorcerer with some wizardry schooling, I'm afraid." She replied once she was sure the two she'd been soothing had nodded off.

"You should try for bard's college, you have a lovely voice." Wyll's full attention was now on her, one eye of red and one of stone meeting glowing blue in the darkness.

"I couldn't..." Jaina smiled sadly and looked away.

"Why ever not? If it's something you would like..." Wyll scooted closer to her, finding with pleasant surprise she smelled like fresh ocean air and sea blooming flowers.

"You have a contract you can't get out of, so do I. " She remarked cryptically, gazing forward with a resigned look on her freckled face.

"Oh?" The Blade gazed curiously at her, waiting for her to continue.

A small, mirthless chuckle escaped Jaina's lips and she looked Wyll in the eyes. "My darling Ravengard, how do you suppose those of us who grew up outside of nobility pay for school?"

"I'm....I'm sorry? You were charged to attend school in the city?" Wyll's eyebrows rose. Father never told him about that and out along the Sword Coast, most people he met weren't exactly city folk.

Jaina nodded. "Yes. My family couldn't pay, and so I work for the school now. I have since I was old enough."

Wyll frowned, lowering his head. "I'm sorry, from the way you spoke about it, it sounded like you loved your students and your work."

His tone was genuinely apologetic. Jaina's expression softened as she immediately felt bad for her bitterness. Wyll was a good man and none of this had anything to do with him.

She sighed and nodded. "Please don't misunderstand, I love my students very much, but my coworkers, well...not so much." She looked at the ground, mind reeling with a recent exchange before her abduction.

"But Miss Cressida, you said we could ask the headmistress to intervene if a child was too unruly." Jaina rubbed the bruise on her cheek from a child's foot having struck her in the face during an outburst.

"Have you ever heard the phrase 'rules for thee but not for me', girl? I may call for aid, you may not. You are lucky to be here." The greying elvish woman had sneered, her aged face glaring down at Jaina.

Jaina kept her head down, pale hair framing her face, hiding her anger as she tapped her fingertips together and counted to ten like mother always said.

"Besides, I can calm them. I can provide structure. You hellspawn are born of chaos, you don't do well in these sort of jobs." Cressida smirked. "Now go, the children need to be changed, that's your duty."

"I see..." Jaina had felt her jaw clench, a white hot flash of anger coursing through her, the urge to lash out, but she knew she had to keep it down. For the children and for herself.

Back in the present, she was only aware she was crying and warm, calloused hands gently pressed to her cheeks, thumbs wiping her tears so gently.

"I'm sorry....for what it's worth, I will do everything I can to get you out of your contract, just like you're trying to do for me...and it's as you said, if we put our tadpoles together, we can figure anything out." His smile was so kind, so handsome. Jaina's heart fluttered in her chest as she slowly raised one hand to his, just savoring the closeness.

"Thanks, Wyll..."She gave a small but unmistakeably genuine smile as he stood, offering a hand to help her to her feet as well.

[riddlerosehearts]

Okay now EYE must ask you - how are you liking BG3??? How far are you?? Tell me about your Tav!!!! (Please and thank you <3)

hi!! 💖 i only started the game a few days ago and it was an impulse decision i made after having previously told a friend of mine that i definitely wanted to play it but that it'd probably take me a while to get around to it (and, because i thought i wouldn't play anytime soon i hadn't really been trying to avoid spoilers). but, i have the PC version and while it generally runs just fine, my computer is kind of slow and the game is so big that it took hours to download and install. so i kind of went ahead and started to come up with a whole character idea during that time LOL. sorry if my explanations of things get a bit too rambly/disorganized. i'm actually not very far in the game at all yet, i've been spending a ton of time doing stuff in the druids grove and i'm supposed to go find halsin but i haven't even gotten karlach in my party yet! i've recruited all the main companions except for her but i am excited to meet her. gonna put the rest of this under a cut for length.

my only background with DND is that i listened to the first campaign of the adventure zone and i've watched the legends of vox machina show. i also have a friend who's super into her own DND campaign and another friend who's told me a lot about dimension 20, specifically fantasy high--and i've considered trying it out for her but haven't gotten around to it yet! i think she actually told me the same thing about the episode lengths making it easier to get into than critical role, because i had tried critical role and it was just so long that i couldn't stick with it. but, yeah, i've also looked at the forgotten realms wiki a bit but i've never actually played DND. i have played skyrim and final fantasy 14 and some other similar RPGs with customizable blank-slate protagonists, and in those types of games i always have to make OCs to roleplay as--usually i'll think up a basic idea to start with and then flesh the character out as i get into the game. they're never really self-inserts but i do often project onto them a little.

so, in games like these my first character is usually an elf that specializes in elemental/destructive magic. idk why, that's just what i've always liked. in ff14 i started out as a black mage without knowing it was the hardest class to play LMAO. soooo i went into this planning to create a high elf sorcerer, but as i started writing out ideas and thinking about what to do, i ended up creating a half-high elf bard. they're transmasc/nonbinary and in my head they use he/they pronouns, but i picked the nb option in the character creator and that causes npcs to actually use they/them in dialogue which i think is so cool. i love that the character creator is so inclusive in regards to gender.

anyway, i named them elenion, which is something i took from the lord of the rings universe because i'm a huge nerd. in LOTR it's an elvish word that basically means "of the stars". here's a couple screenshots i took when i first started. let's just ignore the fact that this hairstyle clips into elf ears (and also that the face preset is from a mod i downloaded).

i didn't really give him a tragic backstory or even the most interesting story haha--i'm wanting to do something bigger and angstier with another character on a second playthrough when i'm more familiar with the lore and world of the game. and i'll probably also end up changing or expanding on some things about this character later, but for now i just kind of made a normal guy with normal problems. i had this idea that his father, a human who attracted the attention of a beautiful elf woman, was also a bard and was a very successful musician in his youth. so elenion has always shared his father's passion and dreamed of being like him, being able to effortlessly tell incredible tales and inspire crowds of people through song, but no matter how much he studies and practices he never feels good enough. if he seems confident it's usually just because he's gotten really good at faking it. he's also pretty reserved and often avoids having to talk about himself by asking a lot of questions. see, i kind of wanted to specifically find a way to not roleplay the usual sort of loud, flirty, goofy bard, lol. not that i dislike those kinds of characters or anything though!

however, bards are meant to be super charismatic, witty, and persuasive and of course the game strongly encourages that with the dialogue options and skill bonuses you get. so my way of explaining this is to have elenion be a bit like raine from the owl house, in that they may be shy, but they're very firm in their ideals and are no pushover when it comes to protecting themself or their allies. they're clever and have a snarky side to them, and they're genuinely friendly and caring in a way that gives them a sense of quiet charisma. which reminds me that one of the spells i gave them at the start was sleep, and it's made me imagine that when they were a kid they tried calming a crying baby by playing a lullaby on their lute and accidentally ended up casting their first spell.

oh, and, i also wasn't really sure at first where in the world i wanted elenion to come from but i decided on something pretty quickly after getting multiple of those dialogue options suggesting that the protagonist is baldurian! i pictured them growing up in a somewhat small town with their family but moving to baldur's gate as an adult, hoping that if they left the comfort of their home and started to journey out into the world a little they'd eventually find their spark and become the bard they wanted to be. unfortunately they've had little luck so far because even after all this time they can't see that maybe their whole fixation on trying to be just like their father and achieve the exact same kind of success that he had is holding them back. the fact that their father died the year after they moved away hasn't helped either. and now, in the middle of traveling to a historical site that they'd wanted to see in person and use as inspiration for a song, they've been abducted by mindflayers and are struggling with the massive upheaval that this has brought into their relatively mundane life.

so. yeah. my tav for this first playthrough may not be the most unique or exciting character but i like him! i like figuring out what kind of choices he'll make and thinking up new ideas for what he likes and how he sees the world. also, i find it funny how in your reply to my ask you said you thought you'd be into gale but then you fell for astarion--because i thought that i'd be all over the edgy, brooding, snarky vampire man, but it turns out gale is so charming and funny that i'm probably going to romance him first. i'm also pretty intrigued by shadowheart and wyll but i'm so early in the game that i can't even say who i think my overall favorite companion will be because they all seem so interesting!! even karlach despite the fact that i haven't actually met her yet, i've seen a bunch of cool gifsets of her and my brother told me he's been romancing her on his playthrough. i really need to go find her soon.

i'm sure you can tell from everything i wrote here that i am definitely enjoying the game LOL. i can already tell that there's just so many different things to do and see, that i will both need and want to do a lot of different playthroughs and that it's going to be something that sticks with me. nothing wrong with using guides and walkthroughs btw! i do it too because i'm worried about missing too many things and have the world's worst sense of direction even with a minimap. honestly i probably need to look up some guides for certain mechanics that i don't feel like i've really figured out yet. there's a sarcophagus trap in the ruins early in the game that got me SO stuck and got my whole party wiped and then i looked up a video and found out you could turn off the whole trap system by pushing a switch... i felt so stupid askjdfgf.

anyway, i think this got to be way too long of a reply so i will stop here! but if you ever wanna tell me more about your tav or anything definitely feel free to and i hope you're having an awesome day!