#extranth

[interstellarsystem]

Animal Identity vs Theriform Animals

Being a warrior(cat) in a body that owns a cat is weird.

First of all, I'm stuck in the shape of a twoleg. Anyone who comes near me will percieve me as such. No matter what I wear, or how I dress, or what I say, strangers first impression will always default to "this is a human", so much so that there's not even a question in their minds about it. This is much the same with literal non-alterhuman cats, they'll see me the same.

Second, there's a kittypet here and I can't talk to him, he doesn't see me as a cat, he sees me as the thing that gives him food and a warm lap. There's no way to have a conversation with him. He's able to convey certain things, like sitting near his food bowl meaning he wants food, or meowing at me for attention, or if he's happy, hurt or angry via his body language. This isn't a conversation, though--not in the same way I'd expect to be able to have one with another cat.

Third, we own this cat who I can't talk to, and I'm just supposed to. Brush that off? We're responsible for feeding him, his health, keeping him warm and safe, and keeping him clean if he needs help with that. He's a pet. A member of our family, sure, and a valued one at that--but he's still owned by us. And by proxy of our collective, he's owned by me, another cat.

I don't mind too much, it doesn't disturb me really. That's part of being in this brain--foreign things become benign and mundane pretty quickly. We love our cat, so do I, in the same way any owner loves their pet. But when I think about it in-depth? I can't love him in the way I'd love a member of my clan, and I can't get to know him as such. It's very strange to be a member of a specific species that in your noemata has autonomy and has "human-level" sapience, while.... Owning another member of that species who can't communicate with you in any of those same ways. This is a cat, not a fictionalised cat who lives in a mini society with complex rules and wars out in the middle of the forest--he doesn't know what war is, much less politics and clan leaders. He can't think like that, though he's complex in his own way--it's nowhere near the same. You simply can't treat another non-alterhuman member of your species as you might be used to, and it's a weird feeling.

I don't think I'm alone in feeling weird about it either. From what I've seen over the years of my system being in the community, a lot of nonhuman animals seem to struggle with the concept of still being different to a theriform animal despite your species identity. If you're a wolf therian, you can't communicate with other wolves as you normally would. If you're a bird therian, birds won't recognise you as one of them and you need to interact with them from a human perspective to preserve their safety or comfort. If you're a fish therian, you can't join up with the school and become accepted into their group. This is true for any theriform animal, really. As an alterhuman, you can't trust that you inherently know the body language, calls, actions or feelings of any theriform animal even if you're one of them too. You need to study these things, learn about the nuances of their actions. You need to interact with them through the lens of a human--at least to a degree--so you can ensure they're safe and comfortable. That's hard to do and feels damn weird, uncanny or even invalidating, and we've seen a lot of people struggle with accepting it outside of our system. It's not a great feeling.

But... It's nice to have cats around though, of course. Even if they bring a sort of uncanny valley esque vibe if I think too hard about it, it feels right to be surrounded by my species. I can relax in the company of other cats and feel a little more normal, a little less twoleg even, for a little while. And there's something very rewarding about putting time and effort into understanding an animals behaviours and learning their body language and such. A lot of people don't know all the nuances of animal behaviours, but by educating yourselves on what it means when a theriform animal does xyz thing... You bring yourself as close as you can get to an understanding of them, on their level. Not all animals are extensively studied in this way so for some, finding information might be hard, but it's really rewarding in our experience. You can help others to understand animals too--explaining better safer ways to handle animals or interact with them, what to and what not do do, how to tell if the animal is showing signs of stress.. These are all important things for anyone who interacts with an animal to know or learn.

This shifted from personal experiences to rambling, but... I guess the bottom line is--don't be ashamed of not knowing what some things mean, or needing to research your 'types or identities. This is normal, everyone needs to do it. No one is born with inherent knowledge. It might feel clunky and weird and awkward, and those feelings of being alienated might not ever go away when interacting with theriform animals of your species... But there's ways to prioritise learning about their behaviours and preserving their safety, and none of that is at the expense of your alterhuman identity. Needing to do research on your 'type doesn't take away from your identity. Ever.

[cerberus-dogs]

“You were born a human, you can’t genetically be a wolf”

Me:

[ix-c-999]

[this post has no dni other than not to involve it in discourse, mockery, or other harassment]

[necrocotta]

if youd like to, then interact with this post if youre an alterhuman (therian, extranth, copinglink, otherhearted, otherkin, etc etc) and youre also over the age of 21 !! i see a lot of people saying that we are mostly kids but i find that hard to believe. plus, i want more mutuals !!

[ambrosiaque]

i think i finally cracked the code of where exactly angels come from in my exomemories and it shook me to my core.

i don't remember very much about my life pre-fall, and have mostly come to terms with that. but even as a fallen angel i feel so intrinsically linked to stars and suns as if i used to be one. i have a sun tattoo both on the body and in headspace. i almost named myself eos, back when i couldn't remember the name given to me when i was created.

now that i've thought about it more, i've started to remember bits and pieces of how angels were even created in the first place. we couldn't have just been created out of thin air, right? of course not. i think angels are, in part, formed from materials that can be found in the vastness of space. things like stardust, dark matter, plasma, etc.

so that clarifies to me exactly why i feel so connected to such things. it makes so much more sense now. of course i identify with things like the sun and stars, i was created from them.

[possessed-pack]

I love being nonhuman in a system. The body may be human but it's not mine. It's a disguise. You would never be able to comprehend what's lurking underneath.

[alterhuman-culture-is]

nonhuman alter culture is feeling parts of yourself are still there when they're not (wings, horns, tails, etc)

-

[redacted-coiner]

Goat Flags

[PT: Goat Flags]

A Otherkin, Therian, Nonhuman, and/or Extranthrope individual who feel connected to goats and/or rams in some way, are otherkin, therians, neurodivergent, stuff, etc... if u like goat aesthetics too.

Goat Flag Temp

[Tagging] @radiomogai , @liom-archive, @liomarchive, @imoga-pride, @kin-flags + @loveletterliom

[deltoradecay]

Niche Kin(type) Appreciation Challenge.

16. Write affirmations for this kin(type).

Centipede therians, otherkin, extranthropes, and alterhumans in general--you're wonderful.

Centipedes, your legs are awesome, having more than most other animals have just means you have extra limbs to do extra things with. Your colours are stunning as usual.

Centipede-hearteds, you're amazing. You have a unique hearttype and no matter what others say or think, they can't take that connection from you.

There's nothing wrong with being a centipede. There's nothing wrong with liking centipedes. There's nothing wrong with centipedes in general. Bugs get too much hate, but those with bug-related alterhuman identities are out there and they'll accept you with open arms. And their other arms. And their other other arms. And their other ar

[plural-flag-vectors]

Extranthrope Flag

A flag from the extranth blog - now deleted, but the original is archived here. The term extranth was coined as an alternative to otherkin.

Some additional flags based on this design include: Anthro Extranthrope, Star Extranthrope, and Hedgehog Extranthrope

(Anthro flag by @the-silent-fellowship in this post, Star and Hedgehog flags by @clusterofcoins in this post and this post respectively)

(Accidentally posted this to main the first time. Oops!)

[interstellarsystem]

Nonhuman expressions of affection are great. Purring. Exposing weak points as a show of trust. Head bonks. Preening and chewing. Nuzzling. Biting. Intertwining tails. Feeding each other. Little chuffs, chatters, beeps and squeaks. Fluffing up of feathers, fur or other things. Dancing to impress. Cleaning their fur, scales, feathers or skin. Sharing body heat. Ears pointing toward those you care about to show your full attention is on them. Slow blinking.

[necrocotta]

i wish i had more hyena mutuals !! interact with this post if youre a hyena therian, extranth, otherkin, copinglink, etc... !! whoooooop !! calling all spotted hyenas, striped hyenas, brown hyenas, cave/ice age hyenas, extinct hyena species, fantasy hyena species, gnolls...!!!1!1 all hyenas :o3

[pluralprompts]

Prompt #1,539

I am a cat.

The thought drifted across Character A's mind with an air of certainty. If it weren't for this air of certainty, Character A wouldn't have questioned it, but as such an absurd sentiment came to them with such certainty, they took the time to ponder it, rearranging and restating it a few times only to conclude that it felt wrong to change it in any way. "I am a cat." felt right in a way "I am like a cat." or "I feel like a cat." didn't; it felt wrong to dismiss or challenge the statement, as though it were an immortal truth to the universe – and to them. The absurd sentiment was also a correct one.

"Guess I'm a cat now," Character A murmured, and refocused on what they were doing right before the thought appeared to them.

Wait.

Normal people don't just randomly think of themselves as cats.

[skyedancer-system]

Having one of those moments of longing to be seen as who and what we actually are instead of as this human shaped body that we’re in…. This goes for our alterhumanity and the system. I wish people could see us each as ourselves instead of as parts, or at least acknowledge that we exist at all when we tell them….

If I was physically myself my music would definitely be playing off-key right now eheh, it always did when I was stressed or upset

-🎶Boxten (He/Him)

[alterhuman-culture-is]

extranth culture is thinking “well don’t you just kind of… know?” when someone asks how to determine their kintype

and then mentally slapping yourself

-

[hazyaltcare]

An aesthetic for a agender and feminine vampire who loves being undead because it means a new chapter of her life she can build a new identity on.

Yes this is me (Le) again x) But this is free to reblog and use 💚

Mod Vintage (Le & Tn)