Yes Fenris is his own cw

The common Trans Fenris headcanon makes me uncomfortable because of time let me explain:

You meet him presenting Male. This implies one of two things: he transitioned and is presenting post-Danarius Escape OR He transitioned while a slave

If the first one: why would Danarius, who sees him as property and little more than a pet attack dog/fuck toy, respect the pronoun change at all?

If the second: HUGE CONSENT ISSUES and Why Would Danarius ""Indulge"" That?

yeah I see where you're going with this

that and when/where would Fenris, post-escape, access the resources to transition?

(particularly given that, uh, all the "easy" ways would involve magic, and he's not letting a mage touch his body)

Yeah.

And if it was when he was Leto? Why would Danarius respect it and not use being afab as a means of control?

Yeah.

Using as shall we say... Fine Breeding Stock for more slaves who could survive the lyrium process

I'm pretty sure top surgery would be infinitely safer and quicker to recover from with magic than with the nonmagical medical care in Thedas...but Fenris would never consent to that pre-game

It also, I feel, takes away from his story to add it.

I agree

the narrative thread is that he has never had control over his own body before, and saying "psych!" undercuts that

Even post-game, he's still... Elfroot Potion > Magic imo

Various AU's where he has an amount of physical agency: sure! Go for it!! Love that for him!

Normal Thedas DA2 Universe: this is... Squicky and not for the reason you probably think I'm saying that

Fenris is one of the characters I could see being transfem more easily than transmasc simply due to where he is in his personal story

Or just going and saying fuck it to gender at all.

Fenris being Uncomfortable With Having Gender At All

Or not giving enough of a shit like "Big Meh"

I'm thinking like....at best? maybe Danarius allowed and provided for the transition but now is holding it over Fenris like a cudgel and a leash?

but this is not my headcanon

my hawke did hook up with him though

Which is... Still Awful lbr

oh yes absolutely, there's no silver lining here

(Merrill being trans? Oh That I Can See ngl)

oh yes he's gonna have problems all around, but it makes more sense to add one to the pile marked "Fenris's Personal Agency Problems" than to take one away

^ this

Having Fenris explore it as a thing and go "hm. Maybe? Hm. No/Yes/I Don't Care": lovely, beautiful

But yeah it's... I had to think about it for a While to figure out why it bothers me when every other character in even other canons having that headacanon is "oooh neat yah!"