Open Sorcery

Tag: lgbtqia

  • So I hear y’all like TTRPGs on here.

    My poetry writing TTRPG is included in the bundle that just went live today (I’ll include a widget so you can find it directly), and I’ll post links to examples of poems I’ve written using it as well.

    The TTRPG:

    Some examples:

    One
    Two – “letter to theseus”
    Three
    Four – “a brief inquiry into the shape of time”
    Five – “sin eater”
    Six – “ariadne’s thread”
    Seven – “queer pressure”

    All six of these poems were written using Infinite Poems, and it’s helped me become a better poet and writer overall. I hope it helps y’all, too. Please don’t hesitate to reach out, tag me in what you make, and share this with your friends, foes, and anyone still under review!

    -Allēna

  • y’all get a two for one special tonight. this one’s called “queer pressure”.

    after careful consideration, i have determined

    that i didn’t know what it was like to put space between the 
    world and me, so i held everything and everyone at
    an artificial distance while seeing too close, held everything
    i ever earned in a vise grip and let myself slip into
    the grip of my vices

    i stared into the void so long that it blinked before i did 
    and then i mistook the deep nothing of it for your eyes
    until there was nothing left but a deep, deep hole

    here’s the thing about an addiction, though -
    admitting you have it is the first step toward vindication

    -Allēna 8/2/2025

  • “to be the lightning”

    when the lightning strikes me back
    and my cracked-cup mind can no longer hold
    all the subtle fire it’s meant to contain
    find me at the edge of a cold, dark place

    i wanted to be the lightning,
    not simply the bearer of it, 
    but sometimes both dream and nightmare
    outpace me and i cannot find my way home

    so if the world begins to slant 
    remind my parched mouth
    that i am both cupbearer and bitter wine
    reforge both sides of my twisted spine

    when the lightning 
    strikes 
    me 
    back

    -Allēna 7/31/2025
    Fediverse Reactions

  • I call this one “song of experience”.

    you claim that i'm better than you, when in reality
    i’m nothing but a practiced poor player 
    who knows how to call fire and gold from nothing but words
    i stand before you and strut and fret my hour upon the stage
    in much the same way i did since i was a child -
    and when i became a teenager i found the voice of a haunted pipe organ
    that only increased in volume and resonance with time and skill
    and when i was 24 i unsexed myself and learned to roar
    got some damned spots on my hands 
    (i roar about them, too)
    i learned the difference between hard and soft, between open palms 
    and hidden knives
    and built a cathedral for my pipe organ voice 
    burnt out like a caravan or a candle a time or nineteen
    so don’t ever think you’re better than me
    learn to screw your courage to the sticking place
    dust off the keys, call the fire
    and sing
     07/28/2025

    -Allēna

  • I wrote this at the poetry workshop I went to today:

    i'm not sorry for the wisdom that pours out of me, breaking through the cracks, bursting at the seams
    i'm one of the rare few that can love to the point of invention, but believe me, I can hate to the point of invention, unapologetically
    and i'm not sorry for being myself -
    a gordian knot, a bois d'arc tree,
    a technicolor, queer, living scream you
    could never even begin to hope to parse, cut down to size in
    thirteen lifetimes.
    i've danced in the space between life and death more times than 
    you've ever given yourself permission to live 
    and you will never destroy me, not even in death. 
    the empires i've built and burned 
    out of beauty and rage, the space i've claimed and wars i've waged
    to create who i am when you don't even know who you are - and you are twice my age... i'm not sorry for that. 
    i've grown around you. i've loved around you. i've rested around you. i've learned that i didn't fucking deserve any of what you did to me. and i'm not sorry. 
    you should be.

  • AJ Rose – In Conversation

    Hello! My name is Siege, and I’m a newer addition to the Ashley system. We recently asked one of our friends, the author, lyricist, and creator AJ Rose, to do an interview with us here on Open Sorcery. I don’t want to keep you all waiting with my rambling, so without further ado, here is our conversation with the brilliant AJ!

    Introductions Are In Order

    Hey. My name is AJ Rose and I am an independent author/lyricist. My pronouns are he/they. I am openly transmasc and focus my writing toward being inclusive of the LGBTQIA+ community. If you’d like to follow me on Facebook for updates, memes, shitposting, and/or an all around good time I welcome you.

    The Interview

    1. You’ve told me several things about what you’re working on over the course of our friendship thus far – a novel series with accompanying concept albums. What do you want readers to know about the series?

    My series focuses on the right to love who you love and goes over several different concepts while being centered as a paranormal romance (heavy on the romance). It is meant to show how there are many different forms of romantic love in the world while also highlighting challenges faced for being who you are.

    1. Where do you find your inspiration? Why does that spark creativity for you?

    I find inspiration from a lot of other authors. Deborah Harknesses All Souls Series is what initially inspired me to get back into writing. I love her series and it helped me formulate my story in the way I want it to be presented.

    I also draw inspiration from music. I heavily focus on metal style music. Motionless In White sparks a lot of lyrical creativity for me and the reason is mostly because their music is usually about real world issues, relationships, and how horrible the American system is.

    1. You’ve spoken a fair bit to my system about being plural yourself as well as being bigender. Do either of those facets of your identity influence your characters or stories at all?

    Yes and no. I find it is easier for me to create characters because I am a plural person. I can give them a voice in my head. I can visualize who I want them to be. I can make the characters talk to one another and play out the scene for myself while I’m writing.

    Being part of the LGBTQIA+ community influences my characters overall. My novel series features straight, gay, bisexual, lesbian, and poly relationships.

    I have also dropped considering myself bigender and embraced that I am actually transgender. Transmasc just helps encompass my ENBY self as well.

    1. You’re writing a series about a metal band. What got you into metal?

    The series isn’t about the metal band. They are just a part of the novel. A character in the novel fronts the band. I apologize if I didn’t clear that up during our discussions.

    In terms of what got me into metal, my parents were heavy rock music lovers. My dad was a huge Metallica fan when I was growing up which is considered metal. As I got older, my sister would show me their music and it was heavier metal. Pretty much, I grew up on it and it’s the genre that speaks the most to me.

    1. On the musical side of things, if you could work with anyone, living or dead, to bring your concept albums to life, who would you have play on these records? Who would you have produce?

    This will be no surprise to the people who know me but Motionless In White. I am a huge fan of their work and Chris Motionless has an amazing voice. He would do my songs well. Production wise, I’m unsure. I’ve never really looked into producers.

    1. Have there been any challenges so far in writing novels about musicians? How have you overcome them so far?

    When it comes up for the character it can be challenging to wrap the concept of how hard musicians have it versus the character himself as he has gone through some awful things in his past. In overcoming that challenge, I try to keep it as realistic as possible. I write the songs as if I were him bleeding his innermost thoughts on paper.

    1. Has anything surprised you about the writing process? Have you learned anything about yourself or your system through this project?

    It hasn’t really surprised me as I’ve known my whole life that writing is hard. It’s something I’m super passionate about. I have learned that my system is very helpful in untangling thoughts for me. If I feel particularly stuck, I can usually work it out with my alter by bouncing it around in my head.

    1. Do you have any musicians or authors that you look up to, of any genre?

    …well here we go again lol Motionless In White is my biggest musical one. Then it’s Bad Omens. Authors, I really aspire to have the ability to write like Deborah Harkness. She’s actually a historian and her novel series is very well written in the historical parts. There are historical parts in my series.

    1. Are there any songs, albums, or novels that helped you learn more about your system and the different facets of who you are, or that got you through a very hard time?

    Headache by Motionless In White perfectly sums up my head. That’s really all I can say there.

    1. What advice would you give to a young author or musician just starting out, especially if they’re plural or queer?

    Just do it. Be you and do what you love. If people don’t like it, that’s on them. The love will vastly outweigh the hate.

    1. When can we expect the first installment in your series to be published?

    I’m not sure. I’m still working on editing. My best advice is to follow me on Facebook or TikTok @WitchySerious.

    Closing Thoughts

    I hope you enjoyed this conversation! I personally can’t wait to see more of AJ Rose and his work. I think they have some great advice and really wonderful experience to pull from.

    It has been a Day, so I’m going to wander off now. However, stay tuned for more magic!

    -Siege