that-dreaming-dragon

[that-dreaming-dragon]

Artist and Panelist Registration for Othercon 2024 Opens!

Panelist registration: https://forms.gle/CKBqJ1SYa7CAaEMUA Artist registration: https://forms.gle/idbkFbb2oaKQitBU7

"What about dealers?"

Dealers have always been the least popular role with only about 1-2 applicants per year. This year, that has been folded into the artist role. So if you wanted to apply as a dealer, now you can use the artist form for that. In the future if more dealers sign up every year then we might bring back the separate form, but at the moment it's not enough to warrant it.

About movies

To ease pressure on staff and allow more time for moderating, movies are now handled by panelists (this includes the Theater Thursday movies). Want to stream a movie? Now you can use the panelist form for that!

Volunteer Staff

Applications for volunteer staff positions are now closed and will be reviewed in the coming weeks! Thank you to all that applied.

#othercon #alterhuman #panelist registration #artist registration

[that-dreaming-dragon]

this is for the therians/otherkin/general animal people, just something im wondering, do you feel like your kin/theriotype(s) affects your relationship style? select which kin/theriotype you feel is the strongest or that which affects you the most

for the purpose of this poll, your species being monogamous means they have one mate at a time, either for life or for multiple years and polyamorous means they take a different mate each time they mate, or they have multiple mates at once

#alterhuman #therian #otherkin #kin #fictionkin #otherkind #nonhuman #relationship model #poll #not sure what sort of relationship modal my species is #but I’m ambiamorous

[that-dreaming-dragon]

The purpose of this survey is to collect data about the experiences of people who feel sensations of nonhuman body parts, for example, wings or a tail. Some call these supernumerary phantom limbs, phantom shifts, otherlimbs, or astral limbs, though you may have other preferences for the words you use for your own experiences. If you haven't had those experiences, you can participate in this survey too. This survey was made for people who call themselves otherkin, therianthrope, furry, or any other potentially alterhuman or nonhuman identity. If you don't describe yourself with any of those words, you can participate in this survey too.

The survey will take you about 6 to 15 minutes. Everyone age 18 and up is welcome to fill out the survey at the below link, until it closes on July 6, 2024:

Survey Link

Who is running this survey and why: The person running this survey is Orion Scribner (they/them), an otherkin/therianthrope who has been making projects about these communities since 2005. I will use the results in my panel at an Internet-based convention later this year (OtherCon 2024), and in other future research projects.

#alterhuman #survey #supernumerary phantom limb #therian #otherkin #furry #nonhuman #and other alterhuman identities

[that-dreaming-dragon]

I love laying down and pretending I'm laying like this

[that-dreaming-dragon]

Vast Draconity

Often times, I'll see people in Dragonkin spaces ask if they are valid. This seems to stem from a fear that what makes them different makes them not so much draconic than others. Throughout my years in the alterhuman community altogether, I can definitely say that no matter what, you'll always find differences between identities and that doesn't make them any less valid in the slightest. in the case of dragons, people sometimes have had a back and forth on what a dragon is but every time someone specifies something, such as dragons have scales, there is always an exception to that. So to all dragons out there and draconic individuals, look at your differences as a unique and beautiful part of yourself, as it will never take your draconity away. Draconity always contradicts itself in our community anyways haha.

#dragonkin #alterhuman #draconic #dragonkind #draconity

[that-dreaming-dragon]

Hi bird therians! I'd like to present the following list of definitions of avian terminology; instincts and anatomy. Specifically, terms for things that many birdkin may already be aware of due to their own shifts, but not know the word for or even that it's a real and normal thing. Why do I make that assumption? Because my own mind was blown every time I discovered one of these words, the way things I would do or phantom parts I would feel suddenly made sense. So I hope to induce the same reaction in at least someone.

Behaviors

Mantling is mostly a bird of prey thing, the action of leaning over a kill and shielding the spoils with your wings so as to defend it from thieves. I can do no better of a description than a photo, included at the bottom of this post and for raptors it will probably spark recognition.

Rousing is the word for that "slowly fluff up the feathers and then shake the whole body" thing that birds do. Yes, it does have a name! Birds do it when relaxed or just chilly. It is not a threat display. I experience this as like an near-involuntary action -- like scratching an itch or sneezing -- and because I'm not actually raising physical feathers it feels kind of like shivering. But it sort of feels frustrating that I can't seem to achieve it. Like when a sneeze goes away.

Feather-plucking (pterotillomania) is a maladaptive habit birds in captivity develop when they are stressed. You see it most often with parrots, because they're kept as pets more than other birds and are also extremely intelligent so more easily understimulated. Sometimes this does feel like being a bird in captivity and a lot of you might experience this instinct without knowing what it is your brain's asking to do because you have no feathers. Calling it pterotillomania is helpful to me because I have actual dermotillomania and if my body had feathers I'd be plucking them.

Anatomy

Nictitating membrane. Starting with this because you may already know it by now. The third eyelid of birds, translucent, drawn sideways across the eye so that you can keep it moist while still being able to see. Also, as you may know, relevant to cat therians!

Crop. Part of the digestive tract of a bird in the throat where food is temporarily stored before being digested. If you had these shifts it would feel like, according to Wikipedia, basically an enlarged portion of the esophagus.

Keel. An extension of the sternum, the structure to which flight muscles are attached. If you had these shifts it would feel like a thin bone going beneath (or I guess on a humanoid body plan, in front of) your ribcage.

Cloaca. In the interest of not having to mark this post mature, I will not define or describe this one. I encourage you to look it up. Mammals are already working to reduce the stigma surrounding these types of shifts and instincts; we can do the same. There is no shame in it. You're a bird and birds have these. Accept it.

Birds do have sensation in our beaks. There are nerve endings in the beak. Not as much as, say, human skin, but yes, birds can feel touch on their beaks. If you can feel your beak, great! That is anatomically correct, and it certainly does not make you fake!

And now for your enjoyment, a mantling eagle:

#birdkin #bird therian #avian therian #alterhuman #aviankind #resource #terminology

[that-dreaming-dragon]

Archetropy and Personal Choice

I had heard the word "archetrope" around the alterhuman community before the OtherCon (the biggest convention for alterhumans) 2023. Although in vague terms, I had heard of it. I sort of got the vibe from the word, so I never felt the need to look into it. A vague sort of, "Identifying with an archetype, or a trope from media," vibe. What came to mind for me was tropes like the knight, the prince, the rogue. Classic roles. The stuff you'd see on tarot cards or such. The alterhuman community is known to look down on "newer" sources of identity, after all (see the long-standing hesitancy to accept fictionkin).

So, when I joined the panel being hosted by someone named Vyt (who can be found on tumblr, as @thelightfluxtastic) all about archetropy, I thought I knew what to expect.

Vyt described their archetype as "the right-hand man".

Well, Vyt mostly talked about "the paladin" as their main tropetype. But that was the sort of archetype I expected. "The right-hand man" may not be considered a "modern" archetype, but the specific phrase of "right-hand man" for it feels rather new in comparison to how I viewed archetropy before.

My mom was a pastor.

She was in charge of a very large building, which acted as a place for church services on Sundays, and as a kindergarten during the day. I remember watching my mom being up on the church's stage. I didn't learn until I was an adult that she actually had stage fright. I remember stalling whenever I went to the principal's office, because, of course I went to my mom's school for kindergarten. And going to the principal's office when your mom is the principal is certainly… a time, of sorts.

I was a good little Christian kid, though. I was a trouble child due to my undiagnosed autism making me seem "rude" to everyone around me, but I followed what my parents taught me to believe. One could hardly say I was doing so on purpose, though. I didn't even know there was any other option, after all.

Vyt went on to define archetropy as looking at an archetype or trope or such, and saying either, "I am that," "That's want I want to be," or both. Though Vyt also makes a point to say that "archetropy", as a term, was coined specifically to be both linguistically flexible and very broad in definition. It can be involuntary, voluntary, intrinsic, extrinsic, 'identify-as', 'identify-with'…

Vyt also discussed connections to kintypes for archetropal reasons. For example, being dragonkin because one identifies with how the trope of dragons are shown in media.

I can trace multiple kintypes of mine straight down to the same root. This Christian upbringing of mine. Surrounded by it. Suffocated by it.

My mom would often work late, so, as she locked herself in her office, I would be left alone in this huge building. I often stayed in the auditorium during those times. I didn't like the big, open area, so I'd often hunker down in one of the two more closed-off areas. Those two areas were surrounded by walls, but were very small and had no doors, thus, considered a part of the auditorium. One was decorated in green and black. It had beanbags, a step to sit on, and a chalkboard that covered the entirety of one of the walls. The other was pink. It had two chairs and a whiteboard. Covered with sparkly materials, it was hard to leave without some of it sticking to you.

I hated the pink room. Specifically, I hated the texture of everything. Almost everything had this god-awful fuzzy texture that was almost feather-like. The chairs, the rug, the walls. Even the pens there had a grip made of this texture. I couldn't stand it.

But every time the church children my age were there, the boys would go to the green area, and the girls to the pink. The teachers and other officials would call them "the girl room" and "the boy room". The boys and girls would often have one person standing guard near, or in, the door, just to make sure nobody of the opposite gender even got close to their room.

Even when I was alone, in that huge auditorium, I couldn't bear to enter the boy's room. It was wrong. But the first time I did, and I layed down on the beanbag, I exclaimed to my little brother, "It's no fair that you guys get these!" I was so much more comfortable there.

But, still, I rarely came in, even after the barrier was breached. I stayed away on purpose. I made my brother promise to not tell anyone I was there.

I was supposed to be a good girl. Never mind my intersex condition – a good GIRL. One who likes pink, who likes my church dress, and who likes the fuzzy, feathery textures with a smile, for the sake of how others see her. For the sake of fulfilling my God-given role.

As Vyt talked more and more about archetropy, it became clearer to me that modern tropes and archetypes were absolutely included. "The mad scientist" was named as an example. TV Tropes was named as a place to find a list of tropes and archetypes in media.

The TV Tropes page for "The Pastor's Queer Kid", describes the trope like this: "[The pastor's] kids seem to be every bit as perfect as they are, and have the perfect relationship with them. Well, except for one. You see, this one has a secret they're not sure about admitting to their parent. The secret being… Well, this kid isn't heterosexual (and/or cisgender, etc., as the case may be)."

I remember finding the page for this trope and lighting up. Scrolling right down to the "media" section, to see if there were any pieces of media with this trope that I would be interested in. Seeing one of my already-present kintypes there and giggling a little bit to myself. Oh, I'm so predictable! Of course I'd already have a character like this as a kintype.

I realized I was queer very young. Too naive to think better of it, I came out to my parents too soon. Not even a teenager yet, I had to comfort my mother as she cried over me being queer. One of the biggest God-fearers around, I was struck silent when my mom expressed that she feared me going to Hell, and her going to Heaven.

She phrased it as, "What will I do without my child in Heaven? You have scared me so much. I have given you a role to fulfill, and you have failed. Now, I must watch the one I love be punished."

She told her child that they would go to Hell, and be separated from everyone they love for eternity. Poor her.

(Pay no attention to the child, parentified and afraid. Do not look at the way its breath hitches when she says this. The look of disbelief on its face. She really thinks I'm going to Hell…?)

(Look at her, now. She is the victim. This is her spotlight.)

It took me years of purposeful work to undo the toxic mentality that I was taught. About purity, about martyrdom, about the flames of Hell licking every queer's feet. And I still get nightmares sometimes, but I'm proud of how far I've come. When I feel a surge of queer joy, when I see a queer person's smile, when I experience gender euphoria, I know this is it. This is what I've been fighting for. And I know that it's worth it.

I searched TV Tropes for other tropes that fit me, halfheartedly picking up a few more. I wanted an excuse to list "my tropes" on my website's 'about' page, just to add "The Pastor's Queer Kid" on it. I didn't care about the other ones I listed – I just wanted them to be there so I could feel like I had a reason to put that one in particular.

When the archetrope panel was coming to a close, and taking questions, I typed into the chat, "If people are certain archetypes or tropes in real life, would someone like that be able to identify as an archetype? Even if they technically just are it?"

I am my mom's child. I am queer. I struggled against the religion I was suffocated by, and came out the other side damaged, but alive. I try to let people know the sort of harm this upbringing can cause. I am purposefully open about this aspect of myself.

Vyt answered my question. "My default answer is gonna be, ‘Sure.' Like… I think there's something powerful in embracing something, on purpose."

On purpose, I am The Pastor's Queer Kid.

#archetrope #archetropy #fictionkind #alterhuman #alterhumanity #alterhuman essay #essay #homophobia tw #religious trauma tw #queerphobia tw #transphobia tw #this is so freaking beautiful #you go you! #and every other person that share this experience

[that-dreaming-dragon]

While other features are cool, and claws are nice and menacing. I too easily scratch up things and would stress scratch. Also would want tail, but that can get inconvenient without accomodation from this society that’s dominated by those that do not have/feel tail.

But wings have always been a priority want. It cuts down travel cost and foot traffic, breaks from the restrictions that is gravity, general euphoria for everything, also looks aesthetically pleasing. Although I can be mistaken for a angelkind because of my white feathered wings…

#nonhuman #poll

[that-dreaming-dragon]

I feel like now is a good time to remind everyone that...

Nonhuman is an umbrella term, but it is also a standalone label.

You do not need to also be otherkin, otherlinker, otherhearted, therian, fictionkin, alterhuman (which itself may be 100% human and nothing else) or anything else to call yourself nonhuman. You can, if you want to, just use it by itself. No qualifiers, no further explanation required, no definition beyond 'not exclusively human in some way.'

You don't need to identify physically as not-human. Plenty of nonhumans do, and plenty more don't.

You don't need to identify entirely as not-human. There are lots of nonhumans that are also human, plus whatever else they are. There are similarly nonhumans who are in no way human. The term encompasses both without contradiction.

You do not need to specify any amount of voluntary/involuntary adoption of your identity. You can in fact choose to just be nonhuman because you want to do that, or you can come to it after a long time searching and conclude it's the only explanation, or you can fall anywhere in between.

You do not need to be any specific thing other than some degree of not-human. You can be an animal, plant, object, concept, song, creature, shapeshifter, character, device, AI, color, emotion, or anything else that exists or doesn't, or any kind of mixture of those things.

You do not need any specific reason to call yourself nonhuman. It can be a psychological thing, a spiritual thing, a physical thing, a coping thing, a reclamation thing, even just a 'because it's fun and makes you happy' thing.

You do not need anybody's permission or approval to be nonhuman. There are no gatekeepers who have any say over what a nonhuman is or is not, aside from the definition of the word itself, which is incredibly broad and open to interpretation. This is by design. Anybody who tries to stop you has no right to do so.

Please don't forget that when defining 'nonhuman.' It is not just a big tarp to be thrown over other labels. It is also its own full identity with its own merits and concepts, even if it is a very broad and inclusive identity.

#nonhuman #alterhuman #otherkin #otherhearted #otherlink #otherkind #fictionkin #alterhuman positivity #therian

[that-dreaming-dragon]

Past lives versus kintypes

I've recently realized a lot of what I'd labeled kintypes are actually - what are they called, kardiatypes? - past lives that I no longer identify as, but still affect me.

I was a fictional pirate in a past life, and I still yearn for the sea and love historical piracy and great wooden sailing ships, and interacting with my source in any sort of way is deeply personal for me - but I'm not that person anymore. I was that person, that pirate, that poor, depressed captain.

The same with my past life as Gimli. I love dwarrow and all things metal and viking and Norse (there might be some other past lives playing into that, I'm not sure of that yet), and I loved Legolas once, but I don't anymore. The pirate Sabelle and the dwarf Gimli are both people I once was; but I am no longer the pirate Sabelle or the dwarf Gimli, I'm echoes of them; shadows, them-but-older, them-but-changed.

It's funny that I had to accept a psychological, wishy-washy on the details kintype to realize this. I've been using the term paleokin, but now also otherhuman - and I might just start calling myself a caveman. Because that's... that's what I am! That's what affects me on a day to day basis, I feel out of tune with the people around me, I long for older days with campfires and pelts and tribe-family-clans and God knows what else.

I just got my guinea pigs with me to live in my apartment, and just knowing there are other living beings with me is so calming on such a basic, instinctive level. We couldn't always converse with each other, back in my day, and we definitely couldn't converse with the animals around us - the wolves we'd raised from pups, the primates we lived alongside with, the bovines we hunted. But there was companionship with all of them, a sort of understanding that we came from the same beating earth.

The modern world is so removed from it. I don't feel that attachment at all to sailing ships or halls of carven stone (though there is a definite attachment). Ships and halls, to me, they're things-that-were.

Walking the green earth barefooted side-by-side with nature's creation, to me, is the thing-that-should-be.

#alterhuman #kardiatype #psychological otherkin #otherhuman #otherkin #paleokin

[that-dreaming-dragon]

Yes I'm a shapeshifter from another universe. No, I don't believe in the multiverse theory. We exist.

#fictionkin #otherkind #fictionkind #alterhuman

[that-dreaming-dragon]

one of the frustrating things about being fictionkin or fictive-- especially with a source that's very popular-- is that sometimes a popular fandom headcanon or fanon can distort your memory, or make you doubt your memory of the things that happened to you.

So this is a reminder for all my fictionkin and fictive friends.

Just because something's a popular headcanon--hell, even if something is actually canon to your source material-- that doesn't mean that's the way it happened to you.

Don't let outside influences distort what you know about yourself-- esspecially if they're upsetting to you.

#fictionkin #fictive #alterhuman #fictive system #fictives #fictionkind

[that-dreaming-dragon]

If you, my fictionkin and otherkin and therian etc, friends, are ever sitting around, fretting and worrying that maybe everyone secretly feels like you do--

--that everyone's dissatisfied with being human. That it's perfectly normal to feel like your body should look like something else that it does.

I give you evidence that no. No that's not the case. Not everybody feels like that.

Most people do not chose to have horns, weird colored skin, or be a dragon.

#alterhuman #fictionkin #therian #otherkin

[that-dreaming-dragon]

Every once in a while, I'll see someone saying they want to write more about being fictionkin but have no idea what to write about. It's hard to get specific without knowing the individual or their source material, but some general ideas on what to write about could be like…

What makes you believe you're your fictotype(s)

How being fictionkin affects your day-to-day life

Your relationship with your source material(s), before and/or after discovering you're fictionkin

How you feel about your source material's fandom

If/How discovering you're fictionkin affects how you interact with other fictional works

How you deal with doubt (from yourself or others)

What you do to cope with homesickness/canonsickness

What you consider shifts and what they're like, or what it's like not having shifts

Aspects of your source materials (weird pacing? gameplay mechanics?) and how they compare to your memories/noemata

I'll also add that getting into the habit of journaling regularly can help you figure out topics to write about! Of course, journaling is first and foremost for better understanding yourself, but if you make it a habit of journaling about anything that comes to mind, you could find some entries cover topics that may be interesting or helpful for others to see.

(On that note, it can be very interesting to address how things have changed over time--whether that's your identity (or your understanding thereof) or the community. That's the benefit of both journaling (for yourself) and sharing your writing publicly (for others).)

But I think in general, there's a serious need to talk about what being fictionkin is, so anything you can think to write about and share helps.

#fictionkin #fictionkind #alterhuman #prompt list

[that-dreaming-dragon]

here are some ways you can be alterhuman and human, by the way:

transhuman, posthuman, or otherwise h+

human fictionkin, fictives and fableings

other human system members

literally any identity where you still consider humanity important to you

like there are a lot of otherkin and therians who consider themselves ‘human and nonhuman’

daemians

otherhearted people

soulbonders

channelers and spirit mediums

walk-in spirits and starseed

all of these experiences still subvert the typical human experience and challenge what it means to be human. all of these kinds of people still have more in common with other alterhumans than they do purely human-identified people.

if you’re in one of these groups and you want to claim this label and community, i’m in your corner, and i’ll fight anyone who tries to take ‘alterhuman’ away from the people it was coined for in the first place.

#alterhuman

[that-dreaming-dragon]

This will probably be my last post on semantics for a while, since I want to focus on other things, but I know a lot of people really dislike “otherkin” being an umbrella term and want something else, so a while back I wrote up this little idea. Please note to take it with a grain of salt and, if you don’t like it, please feel free not to consider yourself part of it. This is simply a suggestion based on common complaints I have seen in various communities - it is in no way absolutely flawless. In general, do what makes you comfortable - if this isn’t something that makes you comfortable, don’t feel that you have to use it!

Alter-human/Alternative Humanity Personal Identity “AHPI”

A category of personal identity which encompasses identification that is alternative to the common societal idea of humanity.

For the sake of this categorization, the “common societal idea of humanity” is classified as such:

The common human identity involves:

-Identification with the body in the sense that the body is part of the self, unrelated to a sense of gender or any form of personal expression; at the basest level, a common human identity is an identification with the mechanical human form, bodily function, etc - feeling correct in a human body, the one given to the self at birth, when gender, race, and societal concepts are removed; not feeling that the body is not one’s own. (Simple/Example: A transgender person is not/may not be AHPI because they still consider themselves human, and still consider the body to be theirs - just incorrect. Of course, transgender people may be AHPI, but being trans is not an AHPI identification, unless the gender of said trans person directly correlates to a nonhuman concept of gender.)

-Identification involving a singular persona within a body present from birth and which has not differentiated from the original-born persona which is attached to the body. (Simple/Example: A multiple system would be AHPI due to multiple persons existing in one body. A walk-in (which occurred after birth, or by their own identification this way) is also AHPI as they are not the “original.” A median who experiences their multiplicity as facets of self or other similar but still non-singular sense would be AHPI.)

-Identification as a human with no supernatural personal basis BY SAID PERSON’S OWN DISCRETION. (Simple/Example: A person who identifies as human and as their born persona in this life but who has an identity involving past lives may be considered AHPI if they so decide their experiences dictate as such. A person who believes themselves to be human in this life but spiritually angelic would be considered AHPI, assuming they identify as their angelic spirituality and not as a human. Some religions and spiritualities might include reincarnation but those who follow said spiritualities may not feel they fit in this category.)

-Identify as human regardless of personal subculture. (Simple/Example: A furry would be human if they consider themselves to be, but a furry who identifies as a furry more than anything else may be AHPI due to identification as a member of said subculture as part of one’s overall personal identity.)

AHPI identities may include, as per personal discretion: -Therian, phytanthrope, otherkin, and fictionkin identities -Multiple, plural, median, and walk-in identities -Spiritual self-identities which may still include degrees of humanity such as angelics, celestials, starseeds, god shards, reincarnated gods, vampires, etc -Identities involving shared self-identification with nonhuman or other alternative human entities/concepts such as animal-hearted, godspouse, soulbond, and spiritual medium identities -Identities of alternative humanity through disassociation, trauma response, or non-neurotypical mental status

Of course, all of these may either agree with or deny identification as AHPI, depending on personal discretion. Don’t feel a need to subscribe to any one label just because it exists. Do what makes you feel good!

#alterhuman #terminology #coining post #please take a detailed look at the definition #alterhuman =/= nonhuman #alterhuman is not just otherkin/therian #alterhuman is not simply spiritual

[that-dreaming-dragon]

holy shit is this gorgeous.

#crafts #traditional art #chinese chess #象棋 #video #tiktok video