#about words

[frameacloud]

Some basics about alterhumans, otherkin, and therianthropes

Alterhuman is not another word for nonhuman. It’s not another word for otherkin, either. Alterhuman is an umbrella term for therianthropes, otherkin, nonhumans, and more. It can also be for some who do identify as human, just in some unusual ways. The word alterhuman is short for alternatively human. It was coined by Lio of the Crossroads System in 2014. Its purpose was so all of these kinds could unite under a word, without erasing what makes each one distinct.

The otherkin and therianthrope communities started without any relation to each other. The word otherkin was coined in the year 1990 in the Elfkind Digest mailing list. Its participants were elves, dragons, dwarves, wolves, and more. That’s where the otherkin community started.

Elsewhere, the therianthrope community started in 1993, in an internet group for fans of werewolf stories, alt.horror.werewolves. The participants started talking about how they related to those stories. Therianthropes are often kinds of animals that live on Earth, but not all of them are.

Later, in the late 1990s and 2000s, the communities of otherkin and therianthropes started to mingle because of what they have in common with each other. The two still exist side by side, with their own distinct qualities, and so do many other sorts of alterhumans.

#alterhuman #therianthrope #otherkin #therian #therianthropy #my writing #original post #rated G #history #about words #screen reader friendly #reblogs are welcome as always on my blog #alterhuman history

[gillianthecat]

What are other words besides "western" that better capture what people mean when they use that term?

sometimes I think people just mean "white" but often it is broader than that

"Europe and European diaspora" but diaspora is far too neutral a word for what actually happened

"whiteness dominated countries/cultures." probably accurate but clumsy

"European imperialist descended countries/cultures." also probably accurate but clumsy.

Idk, "western" has always felt like a euphemism to me. At the very least it flattens out what’s really going on. But I can’t at the moment think of common alternatives that capture the population/group of cultures that western is supposed to.

(Also when I was a kid and saw references to people in "western clothes" I pictured them in like. Cowboy hats, denim and spurs.)

#god if I had had tumblr back in college to share my random thoughts and musings while i studied… #i don’t even know how it would have affected me #probably just a distraction #but maybe i would have been more confident in my ideas and questions overall #though i did have other students to talk with which i don’t currently #I am currently much more comfortable with being ignorant #western #about words #gillianthecat goes back to school #psychology #not really #but the question was inspired by my psych textbook so #questions tossed into the void #maybe file under: #anthropology #sociology #political science

[pollyna]

Anyway I should do a list of things I say thinking that are of normal and current use just to discover that they are not, in fact, "normal" words and even less of "current use".

#it's already happened three times i think mr. dude is going to have a fucking stroke if he has to translate wtf i'm saying #about words #language #personal~

[iaintnoflower]

Las palabras son un regalo

En ellas descubro mi verdad

En ellas encuentro la razón

#me #about poetry #about writing #about words

[kochei0]

I turn to Ares.

Thanks to Tyler Miles Lockett who allowed me to draw inspiration from his ARES piece for page 2! Look at his etsy page it's SICK

⚔️ If you want to read some queer retelling of arturian legends have a look at my webtoon

#greek mythology #ares #athena #greek gods #dont get me wrong it aint athena slander but it sure is ares praise #on some level at least #man justly accused of bad things deserves some mid praise more at 11 #thank you romi for helping me with words though i duly noted you insisted on ares not being cautious rather than him not being careful #romi be like “i want him to care” and honestly good you should say it #also EPIC led to this and i just..... i want to draw some animatics man i just need infinite time now #my long lost love for greek myths just will never stop coming and they dont stop coming and they dont stop coming #i want some vulture design in here for ares but not sure about this one #kochei doodles

[butchfalin]

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

#yeehaw #1k #5k #10k #posts that got cursed. blasted. im making these tag updates after... 19 hours? #also i have been told it should say speech loss bc nonverbal specifically refers to the permanent state. did not know that! #unfortunately i fear it is so far past containment that even if i edited it now it would do very little. but noted for future reference #edit 2: nvm enough ppl have come to rb it from me directly that i changed the wording a bit. hopefully this makes sense #also. in case anyone is curious. though i doubt anyone who is commenting these things will check the original tags #1) my friend did not do this on purpose in any way. it was not intended to distract me or to hit on me. im a lesbian hes a gay man. cmon now #he felt very bad about it afterwards. i thought it was hilarious but it was very embarrassed and apologetic #2) “why didn't he use 🫵🏼?” didn't exist yet. “why didn't he use 🆗?” dunno! we'd been using a lot of hand emojis. 👌🏼 is an ok sign #like it makes sense. it was just a silly mixup. also No i did not invent 👉🏼👌🏼 as a gesture meaning sex. do you live under a rock #3) nonspeaking episodes are a recurring thing in my life and have been since i was born. this is not a quirky one-time thing #it is a pervasive issue that is very frustrating to both myself and the people i am trying to communicate with. in which trying to speak is #extremely distressing and causes very genuine anguish. this post is not me making light of it it's just a funny thing that happened once #it's no different than if i post about a funny thing that happened in conjunction w a physical disability. it's just me talking abt my life #i don't mind character tags tho. those can be entertaining. i don't know what any of you are talking about #Except the ppl who have said this is pego/ryu or wang/xian. those people i understand and respect #if you use it as a writing prompt that's fine but send it to me. i want to see it #aaaand i think that's it. everyday im tempted to turn off rbs on it. it hasn't even been a week

[lucidloving]

@roach-works // Melissa Broder, "Problem Area" // Mary Oliver, "The Return" // @annavonsyfert // Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer // Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance // David Levithan, How They Met and Other Stories // Tennessee Williams, Notebooks

#theme: saving yourself #my favourite thing about myself is how i always pick myself back up #and make things better #again and again #web weaving #webs #poetry #aesthetic #prose #prose poetry #art #collage #literature #books #book quotes #novels #novel quotes #poems #quotes #words #positivity

[lastoneout]

I know this is a tiny part of the wider problems born of diet culture, fatphobia, classism, and racism but like god the idea that "healthy" food must inherently taste bad has completely ruined us as a society.

#MR. KELLOGG I WOULD LIKE A FUCKING WORD #beating this man's fucking corpse with a broom #I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR POOP AND WEIRD CHRISTIAN NONSENSE NOW EVERYONE THINKS PLEASURE IS BAD FOR YOU #KILLING AND BITING AND MAIMING

[lazylittledragon]

can't believe we're all adults being forced into the club penguin level of censorship in 2024

#ramble #if you say unalive in front of me i will personally kill you with my hands #you just can't muffle and censor and hold someone's hand through some things #some things are horrible. and they should be spoken aloud and they should upset you. because they are horrible #the second we started kidzbopifying the world was the end of taking anything seriously i think #i'm not even joking i've spoken to people older than me who won't even say the world sex #this isn't the playground you're not going to get in trouble just let us say the word!!!!!! #how am i supposed to listen to you when you won't even say the thing you're supposed to be talking about #yes this is the fault of the platforms with their censorship rules but the fact that we all just go along with it like it's not dystopian #you do know it doesn't stop with cursing right. people are already having to censor queer terms because they get flagged as inappropriate

[dirtytransmasc]

the men and boys are innocent too.

we cry "the innocent women and children" to appeal to the masses, to try and force their sympathy, but the men and boys are innocent too.

I have seen sons crying out for their mothers, their fathers, their siblings. I have seen them break down at the loss of their families. I have seen them cling to their dead and grieve.

I have seen fathers cradle their dead children, seen them kiss their faces and hold their little hands. I have seen them faint with grief when asked to identify the dead. I have seen them carry their sons and daughters. I have seen them fasting to provide what little they can for their families.

I have seen men and boys digging through the rubble with just their bare hands, I have seen them comforting strangers, playing with children, rocking them, hushing them, even if the face of such imminent danger. I have seen them cry, seen them grieve, seen them break down into each other's arms, seen them be selfless, beyond selfless, becoming something I don't have a word for.

I have seen the men who are doctors refuse to leave their patients, even when they have no medicine or supplies to give them, even when they're threatened with bombings. I have seen fathers who have lost all their children pick orphans up into their arms and proclaim them their child so they are not alone. I have seen men and boys digging pets out of the rubble.

the men are innocent too. the men and boys are being hurt and killed too. the men and boys are grieving too. the men and boys are scared too. the men and boys are fighting to save their people too. the men and boys deserve to be fought for too.

#I don't have words to describe how I feel for the men of Palestine #the things I have seen them do after everything they have been through goes so far beyond selfless #what do you call this? this prevailing goodness and willingness to give everything they have and more? what word even touches it? #I don't think there is one #islamophobia has conditioned us to see these men and boys as evil and dangerous #we see this in how we speak about Palestine #and we need to uncondition ourselves #they're just as innocent and of value and good as the women and children #so fight for them #they don't deserve this any more than the women and children #free palestine #palestine

[toss-a-coin-to-your-stan-account]

being a student during peak pandemic was so fucking surreal like. "it's not an excuse to fall behind" I cannot stress enough to you how much A Worldwide Plague Upending Life As We Know It is literally one of The Top Three Reasons to fall behind

#you go upstairs to hear the news talk about the death toll hitting 100k. you get some frozen waffles bc its all you've got stocked up #and you wont risk going to get groceries or takeout. you go back downstairs because you have a 3 page essay due. #you stare at your word doc with lofi playing and wonder why you can't just buckle down and work like normal. #or really. you pretend to wonder #because you know the reason you cant work like normal #you just refuse to allow yourself to believe its reason enough #mine #academia #covid mention

[frameacloud]

“A therianthrope is a person who feels a connection to a particular type of animal so strongly, s/he feels that s/he is, in fact, that animal in most ways except physical. This is an extremely powerful feeling that in most cases began at a very young age. It is usually accompanied by a strong desire to become that animal, lots and lots of instinctive behaviors, thoughts, and desires that echo the natural behavior of that animal--and sometimes, mental and emotional ‘shifts’ into the specific mindset of that animal. [...] We do NOT physically turn into animals (though the Universe knows we’d like to). [...] not all therianthropes ‘shift’, voluntarily or spontaneously. Some simply feel like an animal all the time.”

- Excerpt from “Therry-what??” by Ozenwolf, written in 2002. Read the full article here.

One definition of therianthropy uses some form of the phrase “In all ways except physical, I am an [animal].” Ozenwolf (he/him, wolf) and Swiftpaw (she/her, jaguar) both used the phrase in their essays from around 2002, as in this excerpt. That means the phrase is at least twenty years old, as of this writing. I don’t know who invented the phrase or when.

#therianthropy #therianthrope #therian #quote #history #shapeshifting #rated G #screen reader friendly #wolf #jaguar #Ozenwolf #Swiftpaw #from 2002 #original post #queue #about words #alterhuman history

[gillianthecat]

A partial list of words I have no objection to in principle, but for some irrational reason irk me nonetheless:

biopsychosocial - I don't know why it bothers me. Our lives are shaped by our biology, psychology, and socio-cultural context all interacting and influencing each other. But for some reason it tiggers my meaningless bullshit jargon alarm. I think it's the kind of word people will throw around to pretend like they're saying something meaningful when they actually aren't. Not the word's fault though!

gifting - I should love it! There should be a specific verb for "giving as a gift." And this is the most natural choice. It's not some weird made up word. It's not even new! But for some reason it feels like twee corporate speak to me. I need to get over it.

nibling - We need a gender neutral word for one's siblings' children. But this feels so twee and condescending to call anyone over the age of three. Like they're some sort of vegan turkey alternative for Thanksgiving. I don't want to get over this one, I want the world to come up with better options in English.

#about words #sometimes my brain is weird #this was inspired by biopsychosocial in my psychology textbook #which reminded me of other words i irrationally dislike #gillianthecat goes back to school #psychology

[kurgy]

miku expo 2024 is the dashcon of vocaloid concerts. the projectors were replaced with LEDs and organizers told no one, still charged ppl for the projectors. someone stole the Miku canada cut out. vocaloid producers are really mad that attendees are mad that they got scammed because nothing comes before Product. the event banned glowsticks and upcharged the sale of their own, under the excuse that average glowsticks would interfere with the projectors, that the organizers knew they did not have. someone pissed on the floor. car crash outside the venue in san jose

#i made this unttaged post about the expo on my personal blog #and now all the deliberate misinterpretation of my words #and the words of other users being attributed to me #so #post privileges are revoked

[applejongho]

"I feel so normal about him" well I dont. move

#apple lady words #for anyone coming back to the original post and is curious: this post is about hongjoong of ateez (kpop group)

[stil-lindigo]

SPREADSHEET OF PALESTINIAN ESCAPE FUNDS‼️TIME SENSITIVE

Operation Olive Branch is a continuously updating spreadsheet of Palestinian escape funds where progress towards their goals is being tracked. As of right now, there are over 100 funds listed there.

Any amount of money can make a difference. With their recent decision to bomb Rafah, the only remaining “safe” territory in Gaza, Israel has forced Palestinians into a corner by giving them nowhere else to go. The international community has given Israel the ability to act with impunity - it is long past the point in time to rely on those in power to hold Israel to any standard of compassion.

Today, I want you to look at this document, choose a fund, contribute to it, and share it. The people in Rafah are living on borrowed time. Free Palestine.

#there a few funds that have met their goal which is heartening #I can’t express in words how fucking disgusted I am that it’s come to this #the average joe will always have more compassion than those in power #but in a cost of living crisis the fact that it comes down to the general populace to give a single shit about Palestinian lives #the fury is paralysing and cold #free palestine #free Gaza #save rafah #palestine #mutual aid #fundraising