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English
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Trans Thedas Fest 2026
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Published:
2026-03-31
Words:
661
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
13
Kudos:
15
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1
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70

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Summary:

The Iron Bull knows about aqun-athlok from personal experience, much to Krem's surprise.

Notes:

Prompt: Trans The Iron Bull. Maybe he's a man bc that's how he's read, or that's the role that best suits, rather than because he feels like that's what he should be. Get weird with Qun gender stuff, have fun! Any ships if you fancy

Enjoy!

Work Text:

"You didn't tell me about the aqun-athlok stuff before, boss," Krem said as they left Herald's Rest and towards their quarters, looking at the Bull.

The Bull swallowed around a sudden lump in his throat. He certainly hadn't, as he seldom spoke about the traditions and customs of the Qun with those outside of it, unless the topic came to discussion, and Krem had never asked about it. Even then, he perhaps should have mentioned this—it would've made some early conversations with Krem much easier. But what was done was done, and now he had to deal with his previous decisions.

The Bull shrugged. "I know about it from personal experience. Didn't want to make it weird."

Krem stopped dead in his tracks and looked up at him. "You what?"

The Bull snorted and leaned against the wall outside the pub. "Well, your jab about my tits may have hit close to home, Krem," he teased. "I was never a proper soldier, as you know, but I was still too in the fray to be considered female by anyone around me."

Krem's brows furrowed as he considered this. "Why hadn't you told me?"

"I… almost forgot," he admitted. "Sorry, bud. It's just… not important to how I move around the world, so I don't even think about it nowadays. I was just a girl when I was a child, and then it became obvious I should grow up to be a man." There was a pause. "Really, it's just luck that I turned out to be amenable to the idea."

Krem considered this and stepped closer to his own chambers, running his hand over the door. "Yeah, I mean, it sounds like a sweet fuckin' deal for a guy like me, but it must be that some women get read as men even when they don't want it, right? Or the other way around?"

The Bull nodded. "Yeah, it doesn't work for nearly everyone. It's not… gender is not as important there, as it is here, so it's not as big of a deal. But it's still wrong, sometimes. But for me it was right."

There was a pause as Krem considered this. He made a vague sweeping gesture towards the Bull's everything. "So… did you get some herbs I don't know about, or…?"

"Some of them," he said. "And some surgery. I'd take you to Par Vollen to get yourself done if I could, kid."

"Ha!" Krem rolled his eyes. "I'd prefer not to get killed for being a vint, so I may pass, boss."

The Bull snorted and shook his head. "Understandable."

He leaned onto the wall and crossed his bad leg over his good one, leaning his weight onto it as he glanced down at Krem. He had become a full man, as it were, many years before, and so the topic of his change was a thing of the distant past, not something he had to defend and fight for like Krem. He did wish he could take him to Par Vollen so he would be more comfortable with his own body, could breathe in it the same way the Bull could in his.

Krem opened the door to his room. "Well. It's quite different, but still the same, yeah? We both became men for the military."

The Bull cracked a smile at that. "Yes. I suppose that's right."

Krem nodded. "Well, good to know. Makes sense you didn't care then." He opened the door to his quarters, where the rest of the Chargers slept in bunk beds—the Bull had some privileges and had a room of his own. "Good night, boss. Thanks for telling me, even if you're late."

The Bull nodded. "Good night, Krem."

It was great to have a kindred soul as his second-in-command, their experiences so similar yet so different, their worlds opposites yet mirrors. He waited until the door closed behind Krem before heading to his own quarters for rest.