#alterhuman history

[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

[liongoatsnake]

Website Update and Announcement For Major Project

Our website, The Chimeras Library, has been updated.

Changes include:

An Updated "Symbols Found In The Alterhuman Communities" which now includes the symbols for endels, archetropes, and conceptkin!

An overhauled "A Deeper Look Into Cladotherianthropy."

Added a Spanish translation of  "A Timeline of the Therianthrope Community." Translated by the alterhuman aike.

Added a Spanish translation of "A Timeline of the Fictionkin Community." Translated by the alterhuman aike.

Added a Spanish translation of "A Timeline of the Alterhuman Community." Translated by the alterhuman aike.

Added a Spanish translation of "A Timeline of Plant-Identified People in the Otherkin Communities." Translated by the alterhuman aike.

We're also happy to announce a major project we hope to be sharing in the near future.

The Chimeras Archive.

The Chimeras Archive will consist of an ever updating link to a Zotero account hosting citations for the over 500 items of various media related to the alterhuman community, mentioning alterhumans, or of interest to alerhumanity.

Categories that will be included: academic books, dissertations, journal articles, academic lectures, theses, non-academic books, documentaries, lecture or convention panels, magazine articles, zines, TV broadcasts, newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, podcasts, novels, comics, games, movies, plays, and more.

The Chimeras Archive is an updated version of a project we have been working on for the past decade. We are committed to collecting materials as they relate to alterhuman and sharing their existence with others. This includes not only collecting the citations of these many different kinds of media but also acquiring physical/digital copies of these materials.

Unlike our other projects which have designated versions published in pdf form. Our plan is to instead run a live and updating Zotero listing and a document where the same information will be listed in written form.

As this is a massive overhaul of our existing project, the completion into these two formats is taking a significant amount of time please see our "Academic Publications, Non-Academic Publications, Media, Art, and Fiction Related To Nonhumanity" for the previous rendition of this project in the mean time. We plan on releasing links to our Zotero and the live document in the near future once we have had a chance to better layout the groundwork for them.

#alterhuman #alterhumanity #alterhuman history #alterhuman resource #alterhuman media #website update #therian #otherkin #fictionkin #endel symbol #conceptkin symbol #archetrope symbol #cladotherianthropy

[sophieinwonderland]

Anti-endos Erasing Alterhuman History:

Ooh! I have some words!

ALTERHUMAN HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN INCLUSIVE LABEL!

See the coining post for alterhuman:

Alterhuman has always included plurals underneath its umbrella. Not all plurals are required to identify as alterhuman, but plurality is covered as an alterhuman identity. As are specifically endogenic forms of plurality, such as soulbonds and walk-ins.

If you don't support that, then you don't support alterhumanity.

#alterhuman #alterhumanity #syscourse #alterhuman community #alterhumans #pro endogenic #pro endo #multiplicity #nonhuman #sysblr #system discourse #actually plural #actually a system #history #plural history #alterhuman history

[houseofchimeras]

Hello! I cannot for the life of me remember if it was you who argued that Dionysius was a dog alterhuman, so my question is if that was the case?

Either way thank you for taking the time to read this. =]

*Asker sent this ask fixing a typo:

DIOGENES! I MEANT DIOGENES!

We did include Diogenes in our document, A Timeline of People with Alterhuman Experiences & Related Subjects, though I wouldn't go so far as to argue that he was alterhuman. The document's purpose is to showcase persons or beliefs that have existed outside the alterhuman communities that yet feel reminiscent to what we call alterhumanity day. The document this information is in is currently under a rework as we've been doing research into the methodology and ethics around looking back into history to find examples of people who seem to fit modern day labels that relate to identity. As far as Diogenes, we're also looking into more/better references that go into his life. As the document exists as of yet most of our sources come from the book, Diogenes The Cynic the War Against the World by Luis F. Narvia. The current text we have regarding Diogenes is this:

323 BCE to 404 BCE: Diogenes was born in Sinope. Diogenes was a philosopher from Greece. He was one of the founders of Ancient Greek Cynicism and Cynic philosophy. One of Diogenes’s most famous traits that is referenced throughout the many accounts of him, is that he personally referred to himself as or described himself as a dog and there are just as many accounts of him exhibiting dog-like behaviors or thinking from the perspective of a dog. He is also on record many times likening himself to a dog or even stating for others to call him so. When introducing himself he would call himself, translated into English as, “Diogenes The Dog” but he has also become known to be called “Diogenes The Cynic” as the word “cynic” itself means “dog” or “dog-like” in Ancient Greek. Thus, his name, completely translated into English literally meant “‘a man from God who acted like a dog’” Throughout much of Diogenes’s life he was referred to as simply “The Cynic” or “The Dog.”  [1]

Many points of Diogenes’s life were written down by other phosphors and many of the most well-known accounts include Diogenes pointing out his dog-like nature or his preference toward dogs over humans. For example, it is recorded that upon Alexander the Great meeting and introducing himself to Diogenes by stating “I am Alexander the great king,” Diogenes simply stated, “I am Diogenes the Dog.” In another account, once, Polyxenus became angry upon hearing people openly refer to Diogenes as a dog; however, Diogenes simply said to him: “‘You, too, Polyxenus, can call me a dog. To me, ‘Diogenes’ is only a name that was given to me. In truth, I am really a dog, a dog of high breed, one of those that keep watch over their friends.’” There are also many accounts of him behaving in dog-like ways: he rejected and questioned customs and societal norms, he would bark (sarcastically or otherwise) at people, and so on.[2] He is also famous for living out of a tub on the streets as well as regularly eating raw meat. As a final example, Diogenes also apparently supported the idea primitivism and the idea of humans transforming into animals, especially into dogs. [3]

The philosophy of cynicism bares its name thanks to Diogenes. As the word “cynic” in Ancient Greek means “dog” Thus, Diogenes The Dog and Diogenes The Cynic are the same name. Also, in many accounts of Diogenes he was simply referred to as “The Dog” and thus he was also called “The Cynic.” Thus, the ways of thinking Diogenes helped to found, which viewed animals as being better models of life and behavior while viewing the ways of men poorly, became tied with being “a Cynic” and thus cynicism. [4]

Diogenes was not alone in his classical cynicism. There was apparently a group called the Pasupatas, who were, as described in the book, Diogenes The Cynic the War Against the World, a “strange group of people who since times immemorial found themselves attracted to dogs and to a doglike life. They had become apparently so divorced from their human context that, instead of speaking like human beings, they would bark among themselves and at other people, seeking to imitate the behavior of dogs in whatever they did. […] The Pasupatas displayed in their doglike behavior the exhibitionism and primitivism associated with Diogenes.” [5]

[1] Navia, Luis E.. Diogenes The Cynic the War Against the World. Amherst: Humanity Books, 2005, page 7-9.

[2] Navia, Luis E.. Diogenes The Cynic the War Against the World. Amherst: Humanity Books, 2005, page 62-65.

[3] Navia, Luis E.. Diogenes The Cynic the War Against the World. Amherst: Humanity Books, 2005, page 166.

[4] Navia, Luis E.. Diogenes The Cynic the War Against the World. Amherst: Humanity Books, 2005, page 9-11.

[5] Navia, Luis E.. Diogenes The Cynic the War Against the World. Amherst: Humanity Books, 2005, page 103-104.

~ Ocean Watcher (he/they)

#alterhuman history #hoc answers asks #hoc projects

[alterhuman-resources]

⟡*.~ Welcome !

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Blog run by many alterhuman/otherkin admins! [admins might mostly remain anonymous, and will rarely sign off/gen info]

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❓This blog's goal is to be a library of terms and research in magic, science, the multiverse, species (non human or human related), and anything that seems unconventional in a spiritual way!❓

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Masterpost, tags, values and more information under the cut! ~.*⟡

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🔮 The posts in this blog will be tagged as #unreality for the sake of the users feeling uncomfortable with outer-world/universe experiences, who struggle with connecting from one world to the other, and/or who simply wish to not interact! /not neg🔮

Works regarding plurality and otherkinity(+ other alterhuman experiences) applied in this reality will not be tagged with unreality, as it's phenomena observable in this universe.

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💡 For the sake of accessibility we'll also use tone tags, tag posts accordingly with #flash warning, and use image descriptions in posts. 💡

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🚫 WE DON'T CONDONE BIGOTRY OF ANY KIND

‼️We understand that hate can be justified (in very specific scenarios), and that anger is a morally grey emotion, but harassment or negativity towards anyone interacting with this blog including the admins will not be tolerated.‼️

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⚠️We do not have a DNI, as we believe that information should be accessible for free to everyone, but here are our values and stances in some subjects :

• We're anti-proship

• We're pro systems of all origins, including tulpas

• We're anti-zionism and pro-palestine

• We don't support antisemitism or any other discrimination against religion

• "Narcissistic abuse" is a harmful term and personality disorders or any other mental disorder are not evil or harmful.

[List may be expanded in the future]

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💟 This is a safe space for EVERYONE : Lgbtqia+, neurodivergent, mentally and physically disabled, bipoc, nonhuman, alterhuman, -kin, plural, and more 💟

[List may be expanded in the future]

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~°• ! This is not roleplay ! •°~

🌠 Although many of these resources might be more or less theoretical, and often found/connected/related to fiction, the alterhuman and otherkin community(ies) are real as well as the people and the phenomena. So even if some information and events might not be entirely observable in this universe, they will not be treated as fictional. 🌠

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Notable Tags :

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#mod talk ☆

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#misc (anything not related to alterhumanity or our research) ☆

#original posts ☆

#reblogs ☆

#terms ☆

#flags ☆

#alterhuman history (coinings etc) ☆

[List may be updated and expanded in the future]

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✨HAVE A NICE READING!

➜ Start here ! [masterpost]

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Other links and resources :

Symbols used for otherkin (and other parts of alterhumanity)

Safety in Alterhuman Spaces

[List may be updated and expanded in the future]

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Best viewed on mobile!

❗If any of these works feel like they're deriving too much away from the concept of the alterhuman community, or there's an issue with the usage of the terms, definitions and flags created and used by the alterhuman and otherkin communities, please let us know.

The non human unity flag found here

Projects in progress [updated whenever required]

Partners with @plurality-resources

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update log :

[29/12/23] [null]

[30/12/23] [welcome message added] [values added] [links and resources category updated]["Safety in Alterhuman spaces" link added in resources] [added read more block]

#intro post #misc #reblogs #terms #flags #alterhuman history #alterhuman-resources

[canidaegen]

Okay. Am I the only one who just like randomly thinks of what therianthropy would look like today if the term and definition were coined years before the 90’s?

Like what if the term “therianthropy” originally defined itself in lets say- 1880. Like maybe some sort of butterfly-effect stuff. What would therianthropy look like nowadays? What do y’all personally think?

#therian #therianthropy community #therian community #therians #therianthropy #therian history #otherkin #otherkin community #alterhuman #alterhuman community #alterhumanity #coyote therian #caninekin #red panda therian #coyotekin

[a-dragons-journal]

…So if hypothetically I were to run a panel about hearthomes for Othercon 2024, what kinds of things would people want that to cover?

#besides like a basic definition of what the word means I mean #maybe a history of it if I can find much history #hearthome #alterhuman #Othercon #Rani talks

[daybreaksys]

I need to get this off my chest, I and many other people in our system are terribly afraid of getting blocked and ignored or otherwise conflicted by the outer world nonhuman, "alterhuman" community(ies) due to our nonhuman discourse, I don't think outworlders talk about the things we want to discuss about at all

this is because we faced violence and discrimination for being nonhuman in ways that I don't think to be the norm, we grew up inside this system, without fronting, right beside a human supremacist catholic genocidal colonial fascist state, there is no hiding our nonhumanity, we are socially nonhuman, historically nonhuman, culturally nonhuman and very, very visibly (in the inner world, where we lived our whole lives) nonhuman

antinonhumanity is a very real, tangible thing to us, and I'm very scared of the outworld nonhuman community just going "ew what're you talking about? no! weird! don't say that!"

we are very baby new in the outworld nonhuman community but we lived nonhumanity our whole lives and literally fought wars to free ourselves

there is nothing glorious about war, you hurt, you die, you suffer, no one wins war

all of this history is just dismissed by pluralmisic singlets (and sysmeds) that think "no, it's not real, it didn't happen in the outer world, it didn't happen around me (actually we faced this in the outer world too))

do you have anything to say to us? advice, prediction? are you cringing?

#nonhuman #alterhuman #non human #therian #otherkin #vent post #daybreak history #daybreak system #pluralmisia

[monsterqueers]

The Dragonheart Collective’s Testimony on the KFF Phenomenon

This is our testimony on what a KFF is, what caused the group to happen, and what the history of them is with the otherkind and fictionkind communities.

We notice a lot of people Do Not actually understand what a 'KFF' is and why the old 'kin get huffy about them, so we made this document to attempt to explain that.

Link: https://dragonsroost.neocities.org/essay/edu/kfftestimony.pdf

html version: https://dragonsroost.neocities.org/essay/edu/kfftestimony

This is a history lesson post, not an invitation to do discourse.

#fictionkin #otherkin #kin discourse #otherkin history #nonhuman stuff #alterhuman stuff

[thatonechaosentity]

Here's something that y'all should know.

"kinnie" the term itself was originally a term created by people who hated otherkin/therians/fictionkins.

The original word is derived from a offensive slur "tr-nnie/tr-nny" which was a word made by people who hated trans people.

Some might agree or disagree on the origin of the word but it's been used not only offensively, but as a way for non'kin to make fun of people who are 'kin and sets up a bad example of how otherkinity works to younger folk that don't necessarily have the resources or to find them.

Not everyone is ok with "kinnie" because it sounds as if you're making fun of the culture it originally represented.

It's also been noticably online that it's been replacing "copinglinker" which is a term used for someone who " 'kins to cope".

"Kinnie" is not cute. It's not aesthetic.

Yeah, some might try to "reclaim" it but not everyone is ok with the word and you shouldn't be labeling other people "kinnies." Because it sounds like a wholesome word. Because it's not.

You have a right to feel uncomfortable with the word, and nobody should try and force it on you or try to get you to "leave" the community because you don't like the "term."

#otherkin vent #otherkin things #otherkinity #otherhearted #archdemonkin #divinekin #nonhuman #alterhuman #kin stuff #otherkin #kinnie #kinnies #informative #slurs #t slur tw #t slur mention #kinnie slur #kinnies slur #otherkin history #therian history #fictionkin #fictionkin history #tumblrkin #tumblr otherkin #kinnie term #kinnies term

[seyemvertisepra]

Up until relatively recently in its natural history, Centauri Prime was the homeworld of not one but two sapient species, close cousins who diverged around 550,000 earth years ago. This other species was referred to by Centauri ancestors as the Xon, a word whose meaning is lost to apocrypha. This is the origin of the Centauri species' original name for itself, "Ahnxon" or "Not Xon" as the ancients viewed themselves as weaker creatures living in a frightening world where their predatory cousins held dominion over their lives.

The average Xon male stood around 7 feet in height, a considerable advantage over the average male Centauri height of 5'7". Obligate carnivores, they possessed notable meat sheering dentition and the ability to unhinge their jaws, something still observed recessively in their modern Centauri descendants. Their skull structure was more readily compared to their crocodilian like ancestors, giving them the appearance of a slight reptile "snout."

Like most members of their family, males possessed the usual six prehensile reproductive organs. Unlike the Centauri, these were more highly developed, with an extra digit evolving on each. It is believed that Xon may have used their pachiri for manipulation and grasping far more often, which aided them as predators and in navigating their more heavily forested habitats. They are believed to have been used as a threat display on occasion. Xon crests were long and laid flat on their backs, with three or four sets of quilled hair in sections, giving them a tiered appearance.

Female Xon are mysterious, as nearly all written examples describe lone wandering males who occasionally joined together to execute pack hunts.

The only clue to their existence is the occasional discovery of incredibly small Xonoid remains found deep in the impenetrable forests of the western mainland. These individuals would have stood only three feet in height fully grown and are often attributed to Centauri mythology around Whisper Folk, strange tiny women who built Creche-cities in the forest and shied away from interaction with the outside world.

It is well known that male Xon frequently interacted with Centauri Claves and Creches, with Claves favored for pack hunting and hybrid instances existing in both. The modern Centauri population contains an average Xon admixture significantly greater than that seen in humans with Neanderthal ancestors, with the highest admixture existing in the Zapata culture and mainland Centauri coming in second.

The rapid acceleration of Centauri society and its ability to defend itself began to show damage to the Xon population as early as 1500 years ago, with the last full-blooded individuals living just prior to the foundation of the Republic 200 years ago. During this time, they were often treated as second class citizens when they did manage to interact with Centauri, believed to be less intelligent and naturally violent. Individuals were often held captive for research aimed at pushing them further towards the edge of extinction.

The last major Xon population center was wiped out in a single cataclysmic event; the launching of the first suborbital Mass Driver, which was aimed at their then-home in the western continent of Eachnke. This devastating attack tore the continent itself apart, and the newly founded Republic declared the Xon race to have been obliterated in the process. High content hybrids continued to live on the mainland for some time but were mostly eventually driven out or killed, the survivors settling on the ruptured Eachnke to form the Zapata culture.

The violence between the two species has left a permanent mar on the epigenetic health of modern Centauri and is thought by many to be the catalyst for their developing xenophobia and warlike attitudes. They retain many traits associated with prey animals, such as heightened fear responses; they have a tendency to sleep in groups and an intense instinctive fear of having the stomach exposed that can induce panic attacks for many.

#alienkin #alterhuman #the great misc tag empire the lion of the galaxy #biology lessons #eachnke province #history lessons

[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

[liongoatsnake]

Endel Symbol History?

We've been trying to work on some things and we realized that we had missed adding the archetrope and the endel symbols to our Symbols Found In The Alterhuman & Related Communities document. So we've been working on that. However, we're struggling to find the origins of the endel symbol (the strawberry with a white flower) or any of the alternative endel symbols at the moment.

We'd love to add them if possible. Does anyone know about the origins/history of these symbols?

#hoc projects #endel #alterhuman #alterhuman history #are there any other symbols we're missing

[777-parasitearashi-777]

Since I’m seemingly the only person who identifies as SupernovaKin I made a flag and a mood board for myself!!

#supernovakin #supernova #spacekin #starkin #spacecore #space #stars #starcore #otherkin #nonhuman #alterhuman #alterhumanity #post #lgbtq community #lgbta #lgbtqiia+ #lgbtqia+ #lgbt positivity #lgbtq positivity #lgbt history #lgbtq #lgbtqia #lgbt pride #lgbt representation #lgbtqa #lgbtq rights

[houseofchimeras]

i'm doing some soul searching rn with regards to my nonhuman identity and i'm a bit confused about the terminology.

theriomythic and fictotherian especially confuse me because i thought therianthropy specifically referred to animals and not fictional or mythical creatures and there are terms like otherkin and fictionkin etc to describe those for example.

is this just a result of communities evolving differently and independently coming up with terms to describe very similar stuff? is it just a matter of preference?

Firstly, Daski has created a great essay (or if you prefer, here is a recording of deir’s panel covering the same points) explaining how the concept of therianthropy being Earthly animals only arose within the community.

But to summarize, it’s a little bit of collum A and a little bit of collum B.

The online therian community and the otherkin community arose separately around the same time period in the early 1990s and had little, if any, interaction between them for many years.

In the therian community, people identifying as weredragons and other mythical creatures actually appeared really early on while the community was still forming. (There was even an infamous, werepontiac on AHWw.) Also, in the past, the therian community did not make a distinction between people who identified as natural Earthly animals and those who identified more as an actual werecreature, which mixed things up even more. Yes, a large majority were Earthly animals, but there were non-Earthly animals in the community as well. The early therianthropy was a lot more concerned with shifting and related experiences than what form the shifting and such took.

Over in the early otherkin community, there is some evidence there were people who identified as animals there as well alongside the non-Earthly beings and creatures. Yes, the early otherkin community appears to have been more geared towards or popular too people who were mythical but how the otherkin community defined itself wasn’t exclusive to mythical beings or creatures.

Even once the two communities started to become aware of each other, people more or less kept to whatever community they vibed with more or had discovered first.

However, in the late 2000s, people began pushing the idea that therians were strictly Earthly animal only and the discourse grew from there. The terms theriomythic and fictherian actually arose because of the rise of people trying to strictly define therians as being Earthly animals only.

Either way, in present day with both communities overlapping so significantly, label choice between therian (or theriomythic or fictherian) and otherkin comes down to personal preference and such, more or less.

That is a brief summary of it all, anyway. A lot has happened in the online communities in 30+ years.

~ Sky Singer (he/him)

Sources:

Daski. “Therian: Dispelling the Earthen Animal Myth,” Othercon 2022, https://theriversystem.neocities.org/essays/EarthenMyth

Daski. “Therian: Dispelling the Earthen Animal Myth,” The River System, [Tumblr insists on url become embed video? Tumblr, no. You're messing with my citations...]

House of Chimeras. A Timeline of the Therianthrope Community, Version 1.1. Updated 19 November 2021. www.houseofchimera.neocities.org

Scribner, Orion. “Otherkin timeline: The recent history of elfin, fae, and animal people, v. 2.0.” Last modified Sept. 8, 2012 in The Art and Writing of O. Scribner.

#hoc answers asks #alterhuman history #therian history

[caliginouscreature]

Are Hearttypes/Synpaths *really* taken as seriously as Kintypes?

I’ve been having a lot of thoughts about my alterhumanity for a while, and a big question that comes up is “am I otherkin, or otherhearted?”  The muddly struggle of sorting out “ID with vs. ID as” makes up the meat of this conundrum, and could merit several posts on its own, but another facet of the issue is quite notably one less-possibly-subjective thing: how the community seems to present and identify otherheartedness.

It’s been brought up numerous times how nonhuman experiences outside of ’kin and theriotypy are horribly underrepresented; even resources for non-spiritual individuals within those communities are woefully scarce.  If you’re copinglink, a synpath, or even just don’t have memories from your ’type, you’re going to have a hell of a lot harder a time finding community, resources, and-- most tragically-- firsthand accounts of what it’s like to be any of those things.

You may have noticed, as I have, that most of what could be argued to be the “big name” bloggers on here who post informatives on otherheartedness, are also of an alterhuman identity that’s more talked about (therianthropy, fictionkin, daemon-having, etc.).  There’s nothing wrong with this, and I’m quite glad it gets talked about in-depth at all, but it’s rare to find experiences from people who are primarily otherhearted.  Go to the blog of anyone who’s both otherkin and otherhearted, and you can pretty much guarantee that their posts are 99% about kintypes, and that they mostly bring up their hearttype when asked specifically about otherheartedness, or they’re otherwise making an informative post about it.  Maybe they’ll reblog an aesthetic post once in a while, or show you some pictures of their hearttype they have hung up in their house.

In general, despite frequent and ardent claims as to otherwise, the vibe I pick up is that being otherhearted really isn’t as intense or personal as being ’kin.  It’s hard not to be a tad disheartened when I’m seeing somebody talk on about how being ’hearted is no less valid or powerful an alterhuman identity than ’kin, how it’s something that can most certainly mean wishing to be the thing and that it’s a lot more than just liking or relating to it... only for them to turn around and describe their own otherhearted experiences in detail, and speak at length at how it’d feel alien and improper for them to be the Thing, how in their life, despite degree of alleged connectedness, it kind of does wind up manifesting as a thing they like a lot, how they totally can’t see themselves being the Thing even if they have shifts of it or consider it something they have a non-’kin kinship with. The “with vs. as” confuddle makes a strong return in the issue here, but the strong emphasis on the “you are not, would not be this thing on any level”, despite sometimes including “feeling like you should be the thing” being listed as a frequent symptom of ’heartedness gets a little... I don’t know what it gets, but it doesn’t feel very nice, and it makes it feel like it’s less the right ID for me.

Outside a few scattered and small posts, you don’t see many folks talking about trying to behave more as their hearttype, or look more like it.  Lots of talk about feeling a strong connection to and fondness for them, but much less in terms or desire to do things like acquire gear, find others of similar types... less talk of longing and existential dysphoria, especially if the poster is already otherkin (notice how if you go into the otherhearted tag, how many of the posts are tagged also with a specific kintype. I know experiences can overlap, but do notice this). On one claw, it makes sense.  After all, if your hearttype is a dragon, why try and present as a dragon or mope over not being one if you already know that you’re truly a wolf?  But that’s exactly the thing I’m pointing at here.  It’s not taken as seriously or personally as part of one’s nonhuman identity.  I can’t read minds and hearts, so I can’t say how closely one may or may not hold their hearttypes to who they are and how they are, but that’s how it comes across to me.

I get very much pensive over how my personal experiences and feelings seem to stagger haphazardly somewhere between what defines “otherkin” and “otherhearted”, and wonder if either of those is even the accurate term for me at all. Sometimes I wonder if there are entities out there who are truly otherhearted or other sorts of alterhuman, but call themselves ’kin because the general firsthand accounts of what ’heartedness is like to experience don’t sound personal or deep enough to match how they feel their own nonhumanity.  I really wonder.

#alterhuman #otherkind #otherhearted #fictionhearted #otherkith #synpath #otherkin community #for the sake of brevity I'm considering hearttypes and synpaths to be the same thing here #but um. can't help but wonder if the greater history community and praise of 'kin is why you get so many folks kinda-misusing it #this applying to p much any nonhuman IDs of all spectrums of being psychological or possibly-voluntary or not #this not made easier by how I'm autistic and thus the line regarding special interests being a part of deep identity or not gets MORE blurry #blah blah blah ''what even IS feeling like you're still a human?'' stuff too deep for me to have a straight answer to probably ever #maybe I just need to go to more places outside of tumblr but hopefully you get the idea