#come here otherkin... come here therians... come here all alter/nonhumans...

[rin-and-jade]

thank u for answering my ask! I appreciate u. im going to share some of my experience if that’s okay!

It feels like my identity is constantly clashing, like they are fighting for dominance over each other. How I see myself and how I want others to see myself changes. Sometimes I find myself feeling and acting younger, and other times more mature. However, these different states feel like completely different people. Two main ones in particular I’ll give fake names bc anon. I typically define them as Zach being more mature, powerful, maybe angry and sexual and having this whole other aesthetic/likes dislikes/species and age than Ruffy. Ruffy coming off younger, soft and cutesy, also having his own separate aesthetic/likes dislikes/species. Sometimes I feel other ways that I’m not sure if I should attribute to ruffy and Zach or a different identity. They each want the body to look different ways as well.. Their appearances clashing. It leads to confusion about who I am and what I should be like and look like. If I try to use the name Zach if I’m not him, it won’t feel right until he comes back around and I guess takes “control.” It would also feel very wrong for zach to be called ruffy since they are so different. Like calling someone by the wrong name. I can’t force myself to be someone. Sometimes it’s hard to define which I am. I also have nonhuman identities and as a whole I id as non physically nonhuman otherkin/therian but I also wonder if the different nonhumans are similar to ruffy/Zach as in kinda like their own individuals bc it can feel like sometimes each have their own self t them but I’m unsure. Sometimes I also speak in a voice that sounds younger and another like a speech impediment (not on purpose) and people tell me in general my voice is very fluid and changes a lot. idk if that is just something that singlets get or what like why do I have something sounding like a speech impediment and also baby voice that comes and goes

BUT it’s so confusing bc I know singlets can have a lot of different aesthetics and parts of themselves. so I’m rlly not sure if it’s typical singlet behavior of me or if it could indicate something else and systems could relate to this? rn I currently feel a wave of feelings id moreso attribute to Zach or something wash over me.. strong feelings. but those are always there. and also I looked into p-did but I’m unsure how to tell if something is passive influence or full switches if u have any insight on that? and also yea I have dissociation trauma all of that just unsure about amnesia and have absolute no communication with anyone it seems (If anyone is there). I know u can’t dx me !! but idk this is why I asked the question earlier.. is any of this relatable as a system? or like do u have any thoughts/advice or something? I’m going to bring what I said here up to my therapist and see how it goes.. but I can’t help feeling like I’m faking/dramatizing normal behavior. also I’m not sure what “taking control” feels like.. to me if I am switching its more like non possessive switches where “oh now I’m (name) and I’m no longer (other name)” like I will feel like someone else .. is that what a switch can be like?

"is any of this relatable as a system?"

I'd say, yeah it is. No singlet has a huge shift from names to speech or even the gender and having species orientation.

"do u have any thoughts/advice or something?"

I don't have anything else except suggesting you to explore a bit more meanwhile, that won't hurt. Maybe you'll discover something else that can help you.

"is that what a switch can be like?"

What you described sounds close to a normal switch between other alters to become the fronter, but i am not entirely sure because you only provided little details. Non-possessive switch is more like a shift in yourself rather than actually a shift in identity, as in going to a different mood state or energy levels.

- j

[raccoon-queer]

okay so I don't think I've talked about my views on otherkin here yet so I'mma do that real quick. I'm adding a cut bc this is long, so tl;dr: I am neutral on kin because I have an issue with the kin community, not with kin itself

cw: this will contain discussion of delusions, if you're sensitive to that please read with caution

so, to start: I've never had any issues with therians, they're awesome, and I've had very few issues with mythical/other nonhuman otherkin folks. bc of some bad experiences I'm still not super comfortable with kin blogs, but I don't have an issue with the concept

my main bone to pick here is with fictionkin. it doesn't seem like it would be that bad on the surface, and when you're doing it in a healthy way it can be fine, but some - I'd go so far as to say most - fictionkin are past fictionkin territory and into delusion territory

saying that you are actually another person irl is classic delusion territory, and the fictionkin community enables it. kin should really be somewhere in between "I am" and "I relate to". if you're all the way on the "I am" side, then that is not great. also, searching out "sourcemates" is a great way to meet someone dangerous online

and before someone comes at me talking about introjects - introjects can have delusions too. introjects need to be mindful of how close they're connecting to their source, because there's a difference between "I introjected from this character and still heavily relate to them so I call myself them" and "I am actually this character irl". with introjects that line can turn into a gray area quickly, so it's important to make sure their relationship with source is healthy

additionally, the fictionkin community can push people with DID/OSDD farther into denial of their disorder by claiming their alters (particularly introjects) are just fictionkin. this happened to me and multiple of my friends

but anyhow. there are healthy ways to relate to characters and have those characters be part of your identity. but there's a lot of unhealthy ways too, and the fictionkin community is chock full of all those unhealthy ways

so yeah, that's my viewpoint. if you're uncomfortable with that feel free to unfollow, the fact that I'm kin-neutral and anti-"irl" is clearly stated on my rentry

[fluffyvoidbee]

Alright, time for us to do a proper intro.

Hey! This is our main blog/account! We are a system (likely Osdd-1b, due to us lacking amnesia, but unsure; we're undiagnosed). We are also Autistic, ADHD, and a myriad of other things, as well as having physical disabilities. Accommodation-wise, we use a cane, and also sometimes use emojis and cards to communicate (we sometimes go nonverbal, and other times go nonscribal as well). We also do use tone tags frequently and would prefer if they are used when speaking to us.

We also have rather severe social anxiety, so may not post much or may not say much.

To set some basic "this is who we are" stuff: We are trans/nonbinary, use neopronouns/xenopronouns and xenogenders, we are (as previously stated) neurodivergent and disabled, we are plural, we are otherkin/therian (mostly through nonhuman alters), we age regress and pet regress (however, we have a side blog/account for that), we are a furry (furries?) and more, but that's all that comes to mind rn. We are those things and, therefor, pro those things. :]

We do try to stay out of inner-community discourse, but we do sort of have opinions. It's hard for us to have confident opinions on it, mostly due to our hyper-empathy, but that's all I'll say, as I'd prefer to stay away from the topic.

Anyways, onto the actual intros!

Collectively, we go by many names, but most often either go by Bee or Moth. Our (recently decided on) system name is The Beehive Mosaic (also sometimes called The Beehive Collective or The Beehive System). We are, bodily, a minor!! So don't be icky.

Onto alter intros. (We are a system of 40, so this will be a bit long.)

The Host and Co-Host:

Default—The system Host, gatekeeper, and more.

Fronts near constantly, sometimes forgets to tag posts/stuff as theirs bc they see themself as the 'Default' or the body, hence the name.

Pronouns: He/they/it and any neo/xenopronouns

Uses neutral terms usually, masculine terms sometimes, and feminine terms rarely.

Signs off with 👍

Mask—The 'Co-host' of the system, also technically a gatekeeper. Most often fronts when we're in public, they are our masking front. Maybe considered a ANP?

Fronts when we feel the need to socially change behaviors and mask, so may not post on here much.

Pronouns: He/they

Uses neutral and masculine terms.

Signs off with 🤍

Fictives

Spiral—Fictive of The Spiral/Michael the Distortion from The Magnus Archives.

Randomly fronts, usually when looking at content abt their source or things he enjoys, so may show up at any point and leave at any point.

Pronouns: They/he/it/that/that thing/creature/distortion/spiral/confuse/odd/corridor/lie/door/💛/🍭/🫗/🌀/🚪/❓️/🔄

Uses neutral and sometimes masculine terms. Also, likes confusion based terms (if that makes sense).

Signs off with 🍭

Luna/Nightmare Moon—Fictive of Princess Luna and somewhat Nightmare Moon from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Also fronts at random intervals, often when interacting with source material or things she enjoys.

Pronouns: She/they/luna/lunar/moon/star/🌙 (mainly she/they)

Uses feminine terms but doesn't mind neutral terms.

Signs off with 🌙

Subsystems

Inhuman—A shapeshifter subsystem, who has an unknown amount of forms/alters. So far, I know they've been a slime, a wooden doll, a beetle, a spider, a mannequin, and I think a demon.

Fronts randomly with whatever form they current are, usually triggered by something that creature enjoys. (Ex. Seeing a bug plushie triggers beetle, seeing Lethal Company coil-head triggers wooden doll or mannequin, etc)

Collective pronouns: It/thing/that thing/that/anomaly/[redacted]/creature/entity/👁/🪽/🐾/🎪/🖼/🎭/☎️/📺/☢️/☣️/they (may prefer others depending on who it is)

Uses neutral and nonhuman terms.

Signs off with 🖼

Swoon—Unsure what they are? They find a certain character we're fixated on/relate to and temporarily become a fictive of that character, but then just...stops later? Idrk

Fronts whenever latching onto a character, so usually when we're looking at content of our fixations.

Pronouns depend on who it is. Otherwise, we'd just recommend using they/them or their name.

Terms also depend. Neutral is the default here.

Signs off with 💖

The Dragons

Dragon—May have fragmented into the other dragons, or was the first dragon at least. Is a feral dragon with non-bodily memories and trauma. Doesn't act very human and has very significant nonhuman urges and wants.

Fronts when triggered (either by things they enjoy, content about dragons, or things that remind them of their trauma).

Pronouns: It/he/dragon/wyvern/wing/claw/paw/gem/draco/they

Uses neutral and nonhuman/dragon terms, but doesn't mind masculine terms.

Signs off with 🦷

Forrest—A wood dragon made of wood who used to protect a forest (non-bodily memories).

Doesn't front very often, but may when Dragon is discussing their memories, because Forrest was likely fragmented from gems older memories, or when discussing lots about nature and preservation of land.

Pronouns: Unsure, likely it/he/they, or simply its name.

Uses neutral and dragon terms, but likely wouldn't mind masculine terms.

Signs off with 🌲

Frost—A fluffy, feathered, snow dragon who's rather solitary.

Doesn't front super often, usually when it's snowy out or when listening to Christmas music/looking at Christmas stuff.

Pronouns: She/they/it (and maybe some neo/xenopronouns, but she never quite decided what other pronouns she uses)

Uses feminine, neutral, and sometimes dragon terms.

Signs off with ❄️

Ocean—A water wyvern who is sometimes human and loves tropical aesthetics and gyaru.

Fronts a bit more frequently than the other dragons, but most particularly around summertime.

Pronouns: It/she/they/draco/water/wyvern/ocean/sea/wing/fin/🌊 (when more draconic)

Pronouns: She/they/it/water/ocean/coral/🐚/🪼/🍹/🌊 (when human)

Uses feminine terms, and dragon terms when draconic, but doesn't mind neutral terms either way.

Signs off with 🌊

Semi-introjects

Weirdkin—A weirdcore creature who's looks may have come from a character in a Roblox game (I can't remember the game or character name). Has a typing quirk that may be hard to read (L1k3 s0).

Doesn't front very often, but thrives when interacting with weirdcore content or 2020 aesthetic content.

Pronouns: It/they/he/thing/that thing/that/creature/0dd/eye/t00th/👁/🦷

Uses neutral and nonhuman terms, but doesn't mind masculine terms.

Signs off with 👁

Tism—Symptom holder? We are collectively autistic, but Tism has those traits a lot more noticeably and excessively. Also, they're sometimes tbhcreaturekin (as in, they are the tbh/autism/yippee creature).

Fronts often in autism-friendly spaces and when interacting with stimboards, but otherwise isn't the most frequent fronter.

Pronouns: He/it/they/boing/bop/vwoop/bonk/stim/wag/yip/yippee/paw/thing/X3/🍬/🌈/🎉/♾️/🦈/🪸/🐠/🫧/🪼

Uses neutral and masculine terms.

Signs off with 🎉

Cozy—A sleepy, comfy catboy who is an absolute loverboy and hopeless romantic. Dunno if this counts as a Semi-introject, but they're an omega (don't think too hard abt it), so I figured that counts as coming from an outside source. Has a sort of typing quirk that elongates words and uses '~' without reason (Likeee thiiissssss~).

Fronts semi-often when comfortable or listening to love songs.

Pronouns: They/he/love/cozy/omega/fluff/sleep/💕/🩷

Uses masculine and neutral terms.

Signs off with 💕

Protector and Caretaker

Nightmare—A shadow polymorph who's very spooky and not very nice (most of us are). Likely a protector, because he's very protective and more comfortable being rude than most of us are.

Fronts infrequently, sometimes a lot, sometimes not very much.

Pronouns: It/he/they/that/that thing/fear/shade/teeth/Nightmare/dark/fang/abyss/shadow/creature/🦷/🦴/👁/🫀/🌑/🖤/🩸

Uses masculine, neutral, and nonhuman terms.

Signs off with 🦴

Sunny—Our caretaker, who associates with 1950s housewives and loves bees, honey, dresses, and tea.

Fronts rather frequently, helping us to take care of the body and the house we live in. She will usually not front if there's a stressful situation, however, because she's very sensitive to negativity.

Pronouns: She/they/sunshine/fun/🔆/🌻 (Mainly she/they)

Uses feminine terms but doesn't mind neutral terms.

Signs off with ☀️

Other Conceptkin alters

Gore: An alter formed from our fear of/trauma from gore that enjoys and embodies it (ANY POSTS BY THEM WILL BE PROPERLY TAGGED AND HOPEFULLY CENSORED APROPRIATELY)

Fronts rather rarely, usually only when we indulge in harsh horror content, which is uncommon due to our severe paranoia.

Pronouns: Gore/blood/bone/flesh/rot/🧠/🫀/🫁/🦷/🦴/👁/🪱/🪲/🪰/🍄/🍖/🥩/🩸/🩻/☣️/it/they

Uses neutral and nonhuman terms.

Signs off with 🫀

Toony—Cartoonkin goofy lil guy.

Doesn't full front often unless watching cartoons/animations, but comes to front a lot when listening to music.

Pronouns: He/it/they/boom/whizz/toon/cartoon/silly/boing/bonk/💥/✨️/🎉/❗️

Uses masculine and neutral terms.

Signs off with 💥

Spooky/Hallow—Halloweenkin, chill person.

Doesn't front much until Halloween time comes around, then they front a *lot*.

Pronouns: He/she/it/they/spook/pumpkin/hallow/Halloween/horror/candy/vamp/bat/🧡/🖤/💜/👻/🕷/🕸/🍬/🌑/🌖/🌘/🎃/🐈‍⬛/🍁

Uses mostly neutral terms, but also uses masculine and feminine terms.

Signs off with 🎃

Neon—Very sensory seeking alter. Likes everything loud and bright and stuff. Also likes leds and bioluminescense.

Partially fronts and gives passive influence frequently, but doesn't full-front very often.

Pronouns: They/it/neon/bright/glow/rainbow/💖/🩷/❤️/🧡/💛/💚/💙/🩵/💜/💫/⭐️/🛸/🦋/🪼/🫧/🩻/🎉/🎨/🚦/🌈/🍭/🛼

Uses neutral terms.

Signs off with 🌈

Jester—The idea of a silly, evil lil jester personified. Also heavily influenced one of my OCs, and then became a partial introject of it.

Didn't used to front much, but is becoming a bit more frequent.

Pronouns: He/they/it/jester/fool/jingle/🃏/🎭

Uses neutral and masculine terms.

Signs off with 🃏

Fragments

Read—A fragment surrounding reading detailed stories and feeling in the story (sometimes in a derealizion/maladaptive daydreaming way)

Very rarely fronts unless reading a story, then getting very invested in said story. Then their front is very short-lived.

Pronouns: Unsure, use they/them for now

Unsure of terms, use neutral for now.

Signs off with 📖

Masc—The personification of our masculinity, coming from a transmasculine perspective. A fragment.

Rarely fronts, but has a couple front triggers that'll make them front for a lil bit.

Pronouns: He/they with a preference for he/him.

Uses masculine terms, but doesn't totally mind neutral terms.

Signs off with ♂️

Mogai—A fragment formed when working on a pride flag-centric project. We barely know anything about them.

Extremely rare front, but may front if working with pride flags, neo/xenopronouns, and xenogenders.

Pronouns: Unsure, default to they/them

Unsure of terms, default to neutral.

Signs off with ⚧️

Craft King—A fragment that works on crafts and art.

They rarely front unless I'm crafting or making kandi.

Pronouns unsure, default to they/them.

Terms unsure, default to neutral.

Signs off with 🌻

Hollow—A fragment and symptom holder for lack of empathy/emotions when dissociated.

Fronts rarely and only when we're feeling dissociated and kind of blurry.

Pronouns: they/them

Uses neutral terms.

Signs off with 🌫

Spaced Out—A fragment and symptom holder who fronts when we're feeling dissociated and spaced out.

Fronts rarely, but more often than Hollow.

Pronouns: They/them + maybe he/she/star/space/cosmo

Uses any terms, but mainly neutral.

Signs off with 🌌

Plush—A fragment who loves plushies and collecting (mostly collecting plushies).

Doesn't front much unless involving plushies or collecting things.

Pronouns: Unsure, default to they/them

Terms unsure, default to neutral.

Signs off with 🧸

Persecutor?

Panic—Persecutor(?)/emotion holder that personifies our mental unwellness and hopelessness.

Fronts when doing unwell and when spiraling, whether due to paranoia, anxiety, depression, etc.

Pronouns: It/they/he + maybe ⚠️/‼️

Uses neutral and masculine terms.

Signs off with ‼️

Other alters (bc we can't think of more categories)

Adventurer—A human alter with non-bodily memories and trauma. Likes mushrooms, moss, and forests.

Doesn't front super often, but also isn't quite rare. Often fronts when in nature or discussing nature-based topics.

Pronouns: He/him + maybe 🪶/🦋/🌱/🪷/🌲/🌳/🌿/🍂/☘️/🧭/🌄/🌙/🌧/they

Uses masculine terms, but doesn't mind neutral terms.

Signs off with 🌱

Auto—A robot alter with vauge non-bodily memories who has had many different bodies over time (in reference to memories).

Fronts semi-frequently, most often when interacting with robot/computer content.

Pronouns: It/tech/cyber/wire/robo/screen/synth/neon/static/auto/=]/=p/🦾/⚙️/🔲/📺/🔌/🖥️/they/he

Uses neutral and robotic terms, but doesn't mind masculine terms.

Signs off with ⚙️

Bimbo—Sexual alter. Has most of our hypersexual tendencies (hypersexuality is the result of mild trauma with us). Is not allowed to post much online due to us being bodily a minor. Also, she likes pink, dressing pretty, and McBling aesthetics. Also also, she sometimes bunny-regresses, but rather rare, and it makes her personality rather different.

She fronts rather frequently, especially as of recent, but her posting/online interacting is being limited/restricted by our host/gatekeeper for the previously mentioned reasons.

Pronouns: She/they/love/pink/heart/rose/💖/🩷/🎀/👛/💕/❤️‍🔥 + sometimes he/it (rose is genderfluid)

Uses mainly feminine terms, but doesn't mind other terms. Mostly depends on what her gender feels like at the time.

Signs off with ❤️‍🔥

Gamer—Another human alter who likes gaming, especially minecraft, and is a bit of a geek.

Fronts sometimes frequently, sometimes not for a while. Usually fronts most when we get fixated on a video game.

Pronouns: He/it + maybe they/🎮/🖥

Uses masculine terms, but doesn't mind neutral terms.

Signs off with 🎮

Kitty—The other sexual alter. Kitty also sometimes pet-regresses, however.

Fronts semi-frequently, but will also likely be restricted from posting much, if at all.

Pronouns: It/they/he/she/kitty/puppy/paw/meow/woof/💜/🐾/🎀

Uses neutral terms mostly, but is also fine with masculine and feminine terms.

Signs off with 🎀

King—Another human alter. Her name is slightly misleading. She's just very confident and feels powerful (may be considered an emotion protector of sorts).

Fronts rather often, usually when feeling empowered by things like music. Also stays fronting for a while due to listening to music or getting dressed up (her style fits the current fashion norms a bit more than the rest of us, but she also loves the boujee aesthetic).

Pronouns: She/they + maybe some neos/xenos

They use feminine terms mainly, but don't mind neutral terms.

Signs off with 👑

Little—The system little/age-regressor.

Fronts semi-frequently, but has a separate blog that he'll post on more (blogs kept separate to not make any agere blogs uncomfortable with our other alters' stuff).

Pronouns: He/they/bub/plush/doodle/🍼/🧸/🫧/🔆/🩵

Uses masculine and neutral terms.

Signs off with 🍼

Mikael—An angel, specifically a seraphim. We are not Christian, but he is based on biblical descriptions to an extent and wears Christian symbols.

Fronts infrequently. Sometimes shows up a lot, sometimes not a lot at all.

Pronouns: Seraph/seraphim/light/dove/[redacted]/{angel}/☁️/🌧/🦢/🤍/⬜️/❔️/⚪️/💫/⭐️/aer/silk/hir/he/they + sometimes she/her

Uses neutral and masculine terms, but sometimes doesn't mind feminine terms.

Signs off with 🕊

Poet—A human alter that loves poetry and theatre. Also quite loves academia aesthetics.

Usually fronts frequently, but sometimes doesn't show up for a while.

Pronouns: He/they/poet/poetry/🌙/🎭/🖊

Uses masculine terms, but doesn't mind neutral terms.

Signs off with 🎭

Pup—The system pet-regressor, often cofronts with Little. Is usually a puppy regressor, but occasionally other animals.

Fronts rather frequently, but also will mostly be on Little's blog rather than here.

Pronouns: Pup/paw/kit/meow/woof/bark/wag/fluff/🐶/🐱/🐾/he/it/they

Uses masculine, neutral, and animal terms.

Signs off with 🐾

Researcher—A human alter who loves studying and researching things. Has a 'mad scientist' aesthetic but is rather chill and doesn't act that way.

Fronts semi-frequently, usually when we're researching a topic we enjoy or when interacting with the previously mentioned 'mad scientist' aesthetic.

Pronouns: He/chem/lab/🥽/🥼/🧪/🖋/🩻/🔬/🩺/they

Uses masculine terms, but doesn't mind neutral terms.

Signs off with 🖋

Scene Qween—A alter that is very scene and loves older-webcore content and animation memes. Also, has a typing quirk (L00kz l1k3 th1z usu4lly!! X3)

Fronts infrequently, sometimes a lot, sometimes not a lot.

Pronouns:He/she/they/it/Rawr/XD/X3/:3/:D/X]/:]/X0/:0/xe/nyan/kandi/🌈/🎶/💜

Uses any terms.

Signs off with 🎵

That should be everybody for now. This is a lot to read, so thank you if you actually did. It was a lot for me to write. Hopefully, when certain alters front, they may make posts detailing more about themselves, but I can't confirm that or speak for them. Anyways, I hope to post on this account a bit and just have fun. :] -👍

[leophnyx]

After getting to socialize on this platform for a bit and know others, I'm feeling comfortable about being more open here. It's such an improvement from the past few years.

I've also noticed that it's reduced my negative reaction to things like blocking. In the past being blocked by others would cause me to spiral, probably because people blocking me or everyone else in the system weren't blocking an authentic version of us. Now? What you see is what you get, if you don't like it then you're free to leave. If someone blocks us I'm more comfortable with it, since they're blocking the real us, and not a nervous act we put on to avoid getting mobbed.

I was reflecting last night on just how much "mature therian" spaces really messed us up. I was on a couple of forums in the late 2010s (namely Werelist and a few others) and honestly I'm tempted to call it a cult during that time period. In those forums you couldn't be human (oh sure, we're all technically human, but don't dare side with their views or feel like them in any way) but you also couldn't feel like other nonhuman types beyond therian and MAYBE otherkin. I remember many threads where people would rant about those "newer otherkin/therians", who didn't take anything seriously and didn't want to maturely analyze their types like the rational therians on that forum.

And the ableism! I remember how the admin made it clear that you didnt want to be like those kids on the short bus (not my phrasing), the adults living in their mom's basement, the people who were never able to get a job and do something with themselves. You have to be human and function in human society (but again, don't empathize too much with humanity or you become the odd one out!) While I can't figure out why figuring out you're an animal in a human body would suddenly change your life path so much so that these become new options, idk, maybe this is an issue therians struggle with lol

And I do feel that held us back somewhat? Like, we were being filled with all these ideas about how tumblr was a toxic terrible place, but here we find ourselves to be the most comfortable. I had to believe and feel that I was a therian, or else be attacked (didn't stop me from being a p-shifter though, so... task failed successfully?) We had to believe every human was bad, every p-shifter was bad, psychotic people are inherently evil (because if you're not lying you're delusional, and that's just as bad in the eyes of many elder therians) and yet, we still socialized with p-shifters, still accepted nonhumans and other humans, and tried to not be as bad as they were being towards people with disabilities.

Even if I wasn't a shifter, I'd still use the label because it seems to offer us a degree of protection from these people and we vibe with shifters so much. Only when you encounter an anti-shifter therian (that isn't using cults as a reason for their apprehension) does the ableism and patronizing come out in full force (with a little bit of racism): 'you can't be this way without suffering from a disorder!', 'you always need treatment, there's no way you could enjoy this', 'you must feel shame for being this way', etc. It's quite infuriating, and I'd rather deal with all of the stigma of the p-shifter label than ever have to deal with that again.

Honestly, I don't know why I stayed. I didn't stay long, I actually spent more of my time around the supernatural groups, but I was around enough for these ideas to touch me and alter my behavior. Oh well, I can cast them off with a little bit of retraining.

[a-dragons-explanations]

soo I’m psychotic, possible system, and I also ID as otherkin and fictionkin.. and I’m having a hard time understanding if my experiences should be called delusions(DAs), kin types, or if it’s an alter fronting and I’m mistaking it to be a kinshift. I’ve been in the therian and otherkin community for a long time and I’ve always known that it was an involuntary thing, that it can be spiritual, etc, and I’ve never chosen my kin types for fun. the way I go about thing is… I will get very attached to a character, feel like I’m 100% them at times and my behavior changes, and that’s how I’ve figured out my kin types. I don’t relate to them at all.. they’re just me. and some have told me that it could be a DA instead and say that “kinning is voluntary, DAs are not” I know that’s not true but I’ve seen them be given the same definition.. “involuntary belief that you’re a creature/character”.. so I don’t know how to tell them apart for my experiences? also one of my kin types(or could be considered theriotypes) is a dinosaur so not all of them are fictional characters for me. but I only have three/four of them .. I know u can’t diagnose me or anything like that but it’s very confusing.. could u explain?

Okay, I am going to open with the fact that I'm not psychotic - that being said, basically everything I say about DAs is based on a) what I've seen psychotic people say about them (primarily @strawberrybabydog, whom I will tag because I think it might be able to help you better than me anyway) and b) what I've seen them say about themselves.

You're right that people often seem to give DAs the same definition otherkin and/or fictionkin should be given, usually while simultaneously making the "kinning is voluntary" claim - bluntly, this is basically trying to rebrand 'kinity as "delusional" again, whether that's the intention or not, and it's just flat-out not true. A nonphysical identity, by itself, does not constitute a delusion, by definition. We've had that argument time and again, and it hasn't changed now just because it's being phrased in more "politically correct" language. If your identity is wholly nonphysical, it's not inherently a delusion, full stop.

That being said: It is still possible for a nonhuman identity to come from delusions - the delusions just usually have to involve physically being nonhuman (or something other than you are) in some way, from what I understand. This is where Babydog can probably help you better than I can, regarding figuring out where that line lies and whether your experiences are influenced by your delusions or not. The term "delusional misidentification" seems to be what's used in psychology, from what I understand, and the term "endel" was coined specifically to describe a nonhuman identity stemming from or influenced by delusions - more on that here. (Regardless, even if your nonhumanity is influenced by or stemming from delusions - you still qualify as otherkin if you want to use the label.)

Regarding telling a shift apart from an alter/headmate co-fronting, I'm... afraid I really don't have much advice there; that's just not something I have expertise in. The folks at @liongoatsnake are my go-to reference for plurality - they may be able to give you better advice and/or resources than I can.

[scarsmood]

Mental Health and Otherkinity

This is my panel I did today! enjoy! it’s the script

             My name is scar im apart of a system of 4, I am mightyenakin from pokemon. Trans ftm and very queer. We have a lot to go over so lets jump in.

             Today I want to talk about my experience with being psychological kin. Talk about how this has shaped me as a person. How the community handles psychological kin as well as the greater outside world. So lets get into it. Otherkinity has been in my life ever since I can remember. From the age of 3 I can remember feeling non human and having alters that were also non human. I’ve also found for my life and my experience my mental health and my otherkinity are two things that have wound themselves together. I can never look at one without the other are both play a critical role in my identity.

               I can say as psychological otherkin right now I stand at an interesting intersection of my life where I have the most freedom I have ever had and dealing with the worst trauma I’ve had to face. I recently got out of a bad long term relationship of something I had been in for 7 years. I can say the events I’ve lived did and still do directly impact my identity and change how I see myself.

 for me I cannot explore my otherkinity without exploring my trauma and mental health

these two parts of myself are closely woven together. DID is a product of trauma and it’s something that rules over my life daily.

It is something I don’t just accommodate it is a way of life for me.

For the past 3 years I’ve been in intensive therapy going at least once every two weeks. At one point going twice a week, completed an inpatient and outpatient program. Needless to say I have been fortunate enough to not be in a lot of debt. However I would like to think that these things have helped me immensely.  With the background talk out of the way lets get into how these things have shaped my identity.

 A little bit about me. I am diagnosed with DID or dissociative identity disorder. This means my identity is split apart between alters or alternate personalities. If your unfamiliar with plurality I can say with confidence that can be its own talk but heres what you need to know.

•            My alters are distinct each having their own morals, ideals, life perspective, lived experiences and memories separate from my own.

•            We all share one body like roommates share an apartment space

•            My alters are a result of trauma I experienced during my life. Each of us hold our share of trauma so imaging trauma is sandbags instead of 1 person holding 100 pounds of sand we have given 25 pounds of sand to 4 alters. Which is much more manageable.

•            My alters including me were shaped from the environment they came from

·       Alters also share an inner world where they can interact with one another. This also a place where I can easily my identity and how I view myself internally.

 Some others fun things about me is I have some mild psychotic symptoms. Since I’m in my early 20’s they’re pretty manageable at the moment I am always keeping an eye out for them worsening though. These things include hallucinations visual, auditory, touch, smell, taste. I also have a weird mix of beliefs that can mix into delusion territory but aren’t damaging to my life and therefore cant really place a good label on them. So I consider them delusional like but not the same experience as a true delusion I believe I could very much be wrong.

my first identity shift was when I was a child about 3 years old was the first time me as an alter became prominently separate from our host. It was apparently at that time I was non human and a hyena. I looked like a hyena from lion king roughly no character in particular and acted as a companion/ friend.

When I got a bit older at 4-5 my identity shifted once I moved and left behind some family. I changed from a hyena to a pokemon. If I could guess I would say due to a pokemons inherent loyalty. My identity became a mightyena a wolfish hyena basically and the codependency that pokemon carry also carried over.

I was depended on to be support for our host and to take care of them as a friend and caretaker. We experienced neglect at the time and this was reflected with my identity. I was a creature that was supposed to stay with someone forever basically giving a comfort we were missing to our host so they could continue functioning. I would say my identity changes based on my environment and is sensitive to my environment all the time

depending on what I experience I see myself change and adapt because of how sensitive we are as a system trying to adapt in the world around us. I often think if my identity isn’t shifting a little it might be a sign of trouble and us shutting down being unable to adapt and change.

 When I was 5-6 it changed to its own species a threatening wolf. Which it stayed until a few months ago. My identity as a threatening wolf changed a lot I had spikes then got a sword tail then was able to breathe fire, my size would shift and change, my tail length and ability to move it would change. Teeth, eye color,  would all change depending on my environment. For example when I was deep in abuse with my ex I gained the ability to breathe fire suddenly as a needed adaption to scare them away. My eyes turned red to look scarier. I got bigger. This all happened internally as my ex was able to interact within our system in our inner world. Which is a terrible idea by the way don’t be an idiot like me. Which was why I needed to look scarier as a way of protection

 Lately I have been healing from trauma and now that my ex is gone so is a lot of pressure to defend myself so I turned back into a mightyena which is much more defenseless but much truer to how I see myself in a safe space. Im sure if trauma happened again I would shift back to a threatening wolf as a means for protection.  When it comes to plurality labels I fall under protector and host we are pretty integrated though so we have grown out of most typical labels due to how functional each of us are now.

 This concept of a changing identity is taboo in otherkin communities

              usually we are lead to believe when we were kids we have always been one strict animal for our whole lives and just now learning about it. this animal never changes it is static unchanging and we simply learn about it as we grow up. My experience has been wholly different. My animal and my identity changes based on my environment it can be subtle or drastic. I never evoke or ask for the changes they simply happen and I have to adapt to the new way I see myself. Trying to apply my identity to the common otherkin rhetoric gave me a lot of grief as a teenager

when I was about 13 because I would discover something about myself say breathing fire or growing in size and be ashamed because I knew these changes were not “typical”

as an aside I think this notion that my experience is atypical is also false. I think this is fairly common but a lot of otherkin just handle it in a way that flows with the static concept where we learn we have a new kin type but still also have the old one, we learn something about our kin type that totally shifts it but connect it back to our old kin type, we find new features, personality traits or experiences that now define our kintype that were never there before and newly discovered

               Otherkinity is about self discovery and how it’s essentially chasing a dragon. Literally. We will never fully know our internal identity no matter how closely we look into it. there is so much that we learn and how to weave into our identity otherkintiy is as much of an art as it is a science when it comes to self reflection. It’s just like any other aspect of ourselves we can create labels for our sexuality and they work but they don’t capture 100% of what you experience theyre a short hand for others. I find that otherkinity is this concept on steroids. I find my identity to be a much larger part as it impacts everything including my sexuality it is more prominent for me so trying to put it under labels becomes increasingly difficult.

How are we supposed to create a short hand for who we are? All of those moving pieces inside of us that shape our perspective, experiences, how we interact with people, how we love people, how we go through day to day life, and we are supposed to just say something like “bear therian” what if it changes? What if we have quirks that our outside of this label? When I first joined the otherkin community it was pretty frowned upon to change your identity. You had to be a wolf therian, you had to be a dragonkin. Once you picked a label that was it. your locking into your identity if you didn’t you weren’t taken seriously.

Ableism in the otherkin community

I question as well if this correlation between identity stability and maturity/credibility is ableism. Usually I noticed when I first join the therian and otherkin community there was a push for “not looking crazy” so as to not get bullied further for identities. I’m sure anyone in the LGBT community knows trying to please people making fun of you really doesn’t work. There is a prominent fear of seeming to outsiders as if were roleplaying or kinning for fun which seems to be a whole other topic in and of itself. My personal experience has lead me to the conclusion that these people are going to come at you regardless of how often you shift your identity, how seriously or goofy you take it, how analytical you are with your identity whether you write essays or one sentence it does not change the views of outsiders.

Endels, clinical lycanthropes, and other nonhumans who have mental illness-based identities face a similar ableism. It wasn’t until earlier this year, 2021, when the connection between mental illness and nonhumanity was finally accepted by the greater community. But even still, Endelic communities are more often treated as a novelty; not something to be taken seriously as an identity, just something “interesting.” Mental illness, especially psychotic disorders, aren’t pretty or tame, and the greater nonhuman community appears to subtly enforce this stigma. Werewolves are monsters, and the greater community spares no feelings in reminding us of this, with such unwelcome words my friend babydog’s met as and I paraphrase a quote here from my friend baby dog “you’re welcome here, but you should expect people to uncomfortable about your identity as an endel or question your endelity. I dont personally believe people like you should be part of alterhuman communities.” End quote Many of those who are part of the greater alterhuman community are still concerned about respectability politics, how we appear to outsiders, rather than being concerned about how inner-community members are finding their welcome. Arguments like “But, clinical lycanthropy was previously used as ammunition against all Otherkin! We’re playing into anti-kin’s stereotypes!” isn’t an excuse anymore, because throwing your own community under the bus isn’t acceptable anymore. We want a higher standard in this community than being driven by shame that makes us hide members of our own community. It’s much better to stand with them.

               Lets also take a moment to acknowledge these actions stemmed from an act of seeming more credible and not “crazy”. I’d like to say also that the stereotype of crazy doesn’t exist when we think of crazy we think of someone whose mentally Ill and struggling to function.  In reality these people have an untreated mental illness or going through an episode that’s only one aspect of a person. They do other things with their life including myself. I write poems and go out with friends but if someone only judged me at my worst and lowest I would fit into this “crazy” stereotype. Its not fair for us to judge people based on actions they cant control. Based on trauma or brain chemistry people are more than that I think can agree.

we should be understanding with these people treating them as whole people not just one descriptor. crazy is really just a derogatory name for someone with a mental illness. So to avoid being crazy means to avoid any signs of neurodiversity people view as abnormal. Or signs of nonconformity with nuerotypicals

 -endels still face ableism typically in the form of being treated like a novelty and not really being taken seriously. Endels are still getting called interesting a lot) and it makes them feel like a specimen within their own community. I’m sure those who suffer from mental illness understand how degrading it is to be looked at as some sort of test subject or lab rat. I think as a community we can do better and be more accepting and open to all forms of otherkinity. Shutting down this kinda of language would be great for endel otherkin.

-endels are still having to deal with other community members who use psychotic/delusional/etc as insults or jokey words. These words are derogatory and insulting they shouldn’t be said as insults or jokes there are plenty of other words that could be used and it pushes endels and otherkin with psychotic symptoms away from the larger community. Using this language shows an ignorance to the ableism still alive and active towards endels.

-none of this helps internalized ableism!! All the actions described above only reinforce internalized ablism. This creates a combative and toxic environment for endels and otherkin with psychotic symptoms. It would be in our best interest as a community to help bring down ableism and be more aware of what were saying and to who.

Some things to keep in mind

-treating psychotics like they cant make their own choices is not ok/ thinking for them

-insults and jokes using derogatory language is triggering and alienating

-treating psychotics as lab rats or something to gauk at as “interesting” is demoralizing and takes away someones individual power as a person. Its hard to have an identity and a voice if everyone is busy staring at you like a lab rat.

               What about the internal side of the otherkin community? I found when I was apart of the therian community this was a more prominent problem and still is in some corners I wander into. Otherkinity also holds some ableist views but from what I’ve seen not to the same intensity as therian communities. This I would say is a cultural difference from a new age of therians that took over the internet, p-shifting cults, wolf packs, and some forums for therians were intense I know previously therians and otherkin identities didn’t have to much of a difference besides animalistic tendencies or a way to further define an identity.  Once this shift happened it became more so about earthly creatures or animals based on earth. earth mythics, animals that exist present day and extinct, and plants as well. I’m not an expert of the history of otherkin and therians so I would direct you to house of chimeras and who is page for more information over it gladly. If im wrong please correct me. That’s my understanding. This shift to earthly animals also carried a sentiment or notion of being more “real” than otherkin that I often experienced in the wolf packs and forums. Since they’re identities were based on “real” animals it made them more valid otherkin. An easy question I asked often or others would ask was a simple “why?” and the response I experienced a lot was “so were more credible/ don’t seem crazy” this was 8-9 years ago which was at the time the height of otherkin hate. It came across as a borderline phobia to be seen as an antikin steriotypes which were ableist stereotypes to begin with. some of these communities in reaction created ridged and strict cultures of how to be therian. This would leave an imprint on many people including myself.

               so that was 8-9 years ago why do I bring it up? Because I still see this sentiment present just subtle.

              Some things I feel were carried over is: Overly present and specific about kin types, an obsession with details and intricacies to a degree where its no longer beneficial to learn, embarrassed or shamed for certain kin types, a focal point on kin type tendencies and ignoring or pushing aside human experiences to further pronounce a kin type. A fixation on the past and not taking into account of the present, always centering around the past. I would say these behaviors in the community were influenced from the wolf pack cultural shift.

             These are a remanent set of reactions from a more intense time of grilling, questioning and if validity was questioned your title could be easily taken away in close knit communities. I think the otherkin community still has some skeletons in the closet so to speak of a more intense time that a lot of members endured and witnessed. We passed on this culture, myself included as we grew up cause its how we learned to present our otherkinity. We can unlearn though and I think it’s time to push for more freedom and new ways to take on otherkinity.              a larger problem I see is a fixation with the past which once it gets to a certain point I don’t think can be constructive or healthy. Exploring your past is good, gaining context for your actions and your background is good, but living in the past is not healthy. Reshaping how you live in the present by escaping to the past isn’t really healthy. I find it worrying how common it is for otherkin to not tie their humanity and the present to their identity. It hurts to say, it can be uncomfortable but being human is apart of our experience. Now my therapists always say “never damn a coping skill” if looking to the past and living in the past finds you comfort and it keeps you stable that’s ultimately a good thing your staying stable and keeps you functioning. I urge though for people to start to take the time to explore humanity with our otherkin identities and living more in the present. How your identity effects you right now. How people interact with you and what you can do to tie your otherkinity to the physical world to the present. I think it’s a balancing act ultimately trying to find a sweet spot between the past and the present. Not completely ignoring your past and only staying in the present or only living in the past and neglecting the present. Its not easy and something im actively working on myself.

               I want to highlight the present cultural imprint the wolf pack phase in present day otherkin communties and how new otherkin members seeing and reacting to it. we as older members may not realize how impactful our words are and may not notice us carrying an imprint of the past with us. Here some quotes I picked up. I asked a few friends their experiences who had come as otherkin in the past 6 months. I was also able to get 1 anecdote anon from my tumblr after sending out a request earlier today they are also pretty recent. Here what they had to say. These are all anonymous.

“(tumblr)My experience was pretty good! The community is super open and friendly, or at least the side of it I'm on (idk about the fictionkin side of it which might be more controversial/full of discourse).

It was easy to get into which is good because I was super scared about it 😅” “(friend) the whole community is

scary, for me at least, mostly because some of the older grey muzzles seem really intimidating and cliquey

the discord group im in seems like really cool to me, they are all super nice and helpful but the rest of the community is super scary for me”

 “(friend) [when asked about getting into the community] it's weird to me, it really is.

like

I've spent a good chunk of time just like

wondering what it could possibly mean to be "valid" otherkin

like, who's judgement is that? mine?”

 My Take on otherkinity

               Im telling my story because my mental illness causes me to fall into an undesired or taboo identity categories or stereotypes of otherkin often. I find instability, identities that are less material or easily relatable, signs of mental illness with otherkinity. Are swept under the rug. I’d like to change that and show that instability, less relatable, highly specific or vague identities are just as valid. My experiences can be something of an uncomfortable truth for some that otherkin can be cringy or be easier to target from outsiders. I ask to everyone that has some reservations about accepting more diverse identities to consider how beneficial these new perspectives bring to our community. These identities give a perspective and voice we are missing and is needed. It’s beneficial for our community to be heard fully so we can support and help everyone. Endels may have a perspective other therians/otherkin may not have considered before. the wider range of experiences about our community that we share the better. It gives us the tools to make the community even stronger.

               I would say overall psychological kin are extremely diverse and no experience is going to be the same. Its difficult at best to say anything that all psychological kin experience because the definition is so broad. We all have unique and diverse stories and I’d like to encourage everyone to share them even if they show mental illness. Things like Delusions, trauma responses, trauma sourced, episodes and regression. I would love to see more inclusivity for the messier and less understood part of psychological kin.

               So lets get into some of my specific experiences. my identity is messy at the moment as my brain seems to have an interesting understanding of what a mightyena is. It has 2 images instead of one

These two images are houndoom and mightyena. Both of them I see myself as but are the same entity. My brain cant see the difference between the two as an identity at the moment. So theyre both “mightyena” its quirks like this that I think should be seen as more acceptable in the community because its messy at best. It has made me on several occasions go “that makes 0 sense” but from a trauma stand point it doesn’t surprise me

my brain has trouble picking only one. If my 5 year old or 3 year old brain attached itself to both images and called them the same then well that’s it im both of them at once. Brains don’t tend to work very logically and while it sounds confusing I would say it probably feels similar to having 2 kin types active at once. The two identities don’t blend (ie mightyena wolf hyena doesn’t breathe fire while houndoom does. ) I experience a range of both identities at once. They’re both mightyena it just so happens that image that’s associated with houndoom is present when something happens that only that pokemon could do or associated feelings or states. I would say theyre 2 different kin types except if I say I have a houndoom kin type I don’t think of anything and don’t feel anything. When I say I have a mightyena kin type I have images and feelings from both. They also cant seem to be separated both images and associations need the other. Its interesting. Its very funky. The wonderful world of trauma. Could probably make anew label for that but that’s alright im not one for labels.

               I experience something I call m-shifting which is really animal regression. It’s called m shifting because I was previously in an p-shifting cult where it developed it. it’s uncontrollable but I can start it or trigger it if I want to. When I go into an m-shift I cant understand English, read English, walk on two legs well, speak, or know basic things most people would know. My brain goes into instincts and impulses. I don’t think critically or contemplate much. My thoughts are in images and feelings. Its fun. But its difficult to control, I find it’s a way for me to relieve stress in excess when I cant seem to find a good outlet for it.  this is part of my identity is what makes me relate to the werewolf community so much since its involuntary and frowned upon generally to greater society .(aka internalized ableism) One of my biggest fears is shifting in public or with friends. It’s hard on me for sure.

 Another thing that effects me is coping linking as someone who deals with trauma I have found lately I’m starting to create involuntary coping links. I had a brief coping link as a sled dog its purpose was the personality of a sled dog was something I needed to be at the moment to stay functional and coherent once I learned to do that without my coping link it went away. I notice myself having brief coping links on and off each of them usually teach me something or a skill I couldn’t fully understand yet.

 I experience false memories. My memories change depending on my identity. I don’t force or make them change they simply do.

they hold the same narrative throughout all the changes though. The narrative from what I understand seems to be a re telling of my trauma. My false memories don’t seem to be a major part of my identity and I think I may have them simply because of p-shifting cult trauma and the pressure to have a past life or noemata. I think my false memories are a way to retell my trauma in a form that gives me validation as an animal. I do know seeing myself as human in memories is inherently triggering for me as I cant recognize myself so a set of false memories that lets me see myself in those situations as an animal is comforting and validating. It helps me evaluate my trauma better and understand why I feel the way I do about trauma. A dog that looses its molars would be distraught while a human doesn’t really care if they get wisdom teeth removed. Evaluating trauma through an animalstic lens has helped me immensely.  I’ve noticed the more I evaluate and see my trauma through an animal lens the weaker my false memories become and I think that’s neat.

               My perspective of the world also changes as my identity shifts

I see the world differently as a mightyena than I do as a threatening wolf. Objects, people, environments and habitats have different meanings to me and associations according to shifts and how my identity changes. These associations and meanings are ones that either I had when I was a child, or ones I repressed due to being childish or something I didn’t see as acceptable at the time. So my identity now has a wider range of perspective. My threatening wolf perspective toned down a lot and let the repressed associations and meanings take a more dominant role.

               Another thing that effects my otherkinity is when it comes to species dysphoria I would say it’s a large factor in how I experience otherkinity. I would say my otherkintiy is something very based in the present. I don’t think about my kintypes past, I don’t think about its future or let my mind wander off a lot about whats going on with it. I am usually observing it in the present moment. A big part of that is my species dysphoria which tells me a lot about what I am. I’m trans female to male though that’s debatable as im considering a gender to my kintype. Human gender dysphoria is something that bothers me a decent amount. What has sent me to therapy though is species dysphoria. It is unbearable for me. I have fangs, a tail, a collar, wolfsbane pendant for mythology about werewolves, pointed nails, short hair thicker hair to resemble my kin type. I had to learn how to make animal vocalizations like growling, snarling, whimpering because I felt incredibly stressed being unable to emote properly. I learned to walk on all fours and run as well. I learned to play and move like an animal mostly from m shifting but it helps immensely. Getting on T has helped a lot as I got furrier, deeper voice, thicker hair, generally able to gain muscle better. Overall has helped my species dysphoria. Its something I’ve always had that brings me immense discomfort. I’m planning to make a prosthetic muzzle to wear and possibly some ears.

               This dysphoria is apparent when you see me on the street cause im wearing a collar, tail everything I can’t hide my otherkinity because it triggers my species dysphoria to much to hide it so I just have to roll with it. the census? Its really not that bad being out or showing im otherkin. It’s a good conversation starter and most people are friendly about it here which has been nice. I do get asked if im a furry I usually say yes just cause I don’t feel like explaining otherkinity. If someone asks why I usually just say I see myself as an animal. Responses are mixed but people are polite about it. wearing gear makes me feel much more grounded in where I stand with my identity. I noticed a feel much more confident about myself when I am being myself unabashedly. Who knew. Also planning to get some combat boots and add some spikes to them to imitate claws. Should be fun.

 Heading back to my weird quirks and otherkinity experience Phantom shifts are something I experience all the time 24/7. In part due to p-shifting cult and also a way to manage my species dysphoria. It’s pretty intense for me and its something I find comfort in and encourage. It’s a way for me to find the world more relatable. Often these shifts calm me down and make it easier for me to navigate the world. I would say my phantom shifts only effects parts of my body im aware of not my entire body all the time. Rather whatever body parts im using. It also does its best to not have any “clipping” through objects and my shift may phase out if there may be clipping to a body part im aware of.

               Lastly My gender and sexuality I would say tie to my kintype as well. Im attracted to otherkin moreso than humans. I really like animalistic aspects to people and traits I see in my kintype in other people. I find I get along best with canine kintypes. My gender im realizing is more so tied heavily to my kintype I want to be a male mightyena whatever that entails and it plays closely with my species dysphoria. I find when I relieve my species dysphoria I tend to also relieve a bit of my gender dysphoria to. I say im ftm as a short hand because that’s what my kintypes gender seems to line up with the most. Though I think that will be less and less the case as I start wearing things like a prosthetic muzzle which is pretty animal gender to me.

   Therapy and Otherkinity

               On this topic I would like to talk about how therapy and otherkinity interact cause that’s something central to this panel. For me I always noticed that when I am given analogies in therapy they are always about an inner child, how I was as a human kid, how I am as an adult. These things are good but they lack the context of me as a whole. I am not just a human I am an animal in a human body which changes a lot in how I’ve had to take care of myself and apply advice given to me by professionals. For one I always have to tell professionals im otherkin and what that entails. That it isn’t a hobby or one aspect of me but something that impacts my entire perspective. Methods of self soothing just wont work for me if I don’t change some wording around. There is no inner child for me personally theres a puppy and a puppy seeks out an entirely different sets of behaviors, emotions, and emotes/ way of communication than an inner child would. You would be able to talk to an inner child hug them and act as a type of parent to them. With a puppy I tend to act more as an owner or an animal parent depending on whats needed.as an owner i have to bridge the communication gap with things like chew toys, petting, dark cozy places, brushing or grooming, non verbal communication

             which plays a much larger part in my healing process than what I read or what methods im taught. As an owner to myself I have to learn to take care of my inner puppy the way I needed which can be difficult when no one you know has to follow that method. As an animal parent I also have to act as I am, an animal to my inner puppy that’s what we both understand the common language we speak is non human and is critical to my healing. I find protecting my inner puppy as an animal parent gives me a larger sense of catharsis it feels like something I can finally understand however the methods don’t translate well to the real world. I cant just snarl at people I have to talk to them in a disagreement. I cant go hunting I have to go shopping. Which is why having both an owner and an animal parent.

Both are important because both aspects cant be ignored and need to be used in tandem.

               Healing for me when it comes to trauma involves a lot of balancing between my human life and my animalistic needs which is something I have had to do and explain to therapists the difficulties of doing so. I notice most therapists I have met cant seem to grasp this and see otherkinity as more of a metaphor than an identity. I noticed a lot of my therapists would just change metaphors to talk to me instead of reshaping a technique for healing which has caused a lot of problems. An example I can think off the top of my head is instead of “a family sticks together” may be “a wolf pack sticks together” which is helpful sometimes but if it’s the only change it becomes detrimental to me. Often because while not intentional I think a lot of therapies are human-centric. There is an assumption you are human in order to apply the coping techniques or healing strategies. This lead to me unintentionally repressing a larger chunk of my otherkinity just because I was applying these skills without changing anything. Sometimes present day I still fall into this and notice it triggers my species dysphoria to worsen. It can be difficult to spot for me as well because otherkinity is so uncommon no one else is having the same issue in my real life friend groups. So I assume whatever im doing must be ok cause it seems to work ok for everyone else. Which ends up not being the case.

              A solution I’ve found to help with this is for one explaining as I go with a therapist what is and is not working. I have to be an advocate for myself and teach them as well what I like and what works and what doesn’t. I try my best to let them know when something they do is detrimental. I also try to explain what brings me comfort and what doesn’t. a nice talk isn’t going to help my puppy self but a hug would. Things like that. When it comes to internal imagery some therapists use I know stating to them youd like them to consider your kintype as yourself has helped me by them not seeing me as a fully human being or just my irl body.              overall I hope this talk has helped some people. Given some new perspectives. And I am happy or reiterate some topics I went over. Thanks for coming to my ted talk.  

[gateway-to-glimmer]

Otherkin Topics

Otherkin experience a type of alteration in their sense of self and place in the world. Some otherkin experience a shift in personal identity from human to that of a nonhuman entity, fictional character, or animal. Other people experience a slightly more elaborated form of this, and feel as though they are from another place or time, and may feel an internal location inside or sense of plot from this other time.

Being otherkin is a form of natural multiplicity that can co-occur with traumagenic multiplicity. Some kin experience their kin self as a part of themselves, others have a degree of dissociation from this self and may experience as a guide or other identity. Otherkin experiences involve an alteration in the way the person sees themselves. The experience of guides or being possessed by another sense of self is a more elaborate form of this basic experience. The difference is that in those types of experiences, the other sense of self is seen as different from the main sense of self - instead of being seen as a different mode or aspect of the main sense of self. Even if someone logically knows that all things inside of themselves are an expression of themselves, people can still feel as though they have another self on a fundamental level that defies logic.

It is possible to fully explain the phenomenon of otherkin experiences from the perspective that they are a normal shift in the way someone experiences themselves and relates to the external world, which can be intensified in their expression if this form of natural multiplicity co-occurs with trauma-induced alterations of consciousness seen in dissociative disorders. However, some people maintain spiritual explanations for their shifts in their sense of self and place, and see these changes as an indication that they were another animal or fictional character in another life and these experiences are their way of picking up on this past life. The mind treats memories of imagined experiences as well as real experiences similarly, and assigns them both an equal amount of importance.

It is easy to understand that these experiences are an expression of the contents of our memory rather than something external, although many people see it differently and enjoy the explanation that these are past lives. Using psychological therapies that re-frame past experiences or current psychological issues using fictional stories to give the person a sense of self-esteem and mastery over their life, even if it is found through a fictional vignette, does have tangible positive benefits on the self. Engaging with past life memories can be beneficial from the perspective that, although these may be false memories based on a synthesis of real and imagined scenarios, changing them into constructive experiences and stories can have positive effects on someone’s psychological state.

Shifts

Otherkin tend to experience their shifts in identity in particular ways, known as shifts. These shifts have been reported fairly consistently among people claiming to be therians. They likely represent a psychological construct that exists in the general population- not necessarily as a mental illness, although it may be related to a healthy form of dissociation- in predictable rates and expressed in particular ways.

Mental.

The person shifts into a different mental state associated with an animal or other character. In cases of significant- often but not always trauma-based- multiplicity, this shift feels like becoming another person or is forgotten entirely. This feels distinct from the general atmosphere or sense of existing from normal life, and is connected to the experience of shifting into another form in some way. This is similar to but more distinct from entering another mode or self for a different situation (such as how we talk to our friends differently than our parents), which are forms of mild natural multiplicity that everyone experiences.

Dream.

The person finds that they naturally shift into a particular form, or set of forms, while dreaming. This form is generally predictable and consistent over time. This can be helpful for someone to have evidence of what form they take when shifting, and to establish that they recurrently experience this psychological construct.

Sensory.

The person hallucinates their sense of self in some way. Their vision may feel sharper, they may see a faint outline of fur or their kintype overlaid on their body or reflections of such. This represents semi-conscious imposition, or the ability to influence what we perceive via voluntary sensory hallucinations with our internal expectations and visualizations. The way we perceive the world can be affected consciously, or by significant mental states like those provoked by the experience of shifting. Some people experience the sense of invisible wings or paws or other features or their kintype.

Narrative.

In a narrative shift, the otherkin experiences a sense of being from another world or another life. They may see something in their mind’s eye, like a story that plays out with or without their input, related to their life in another place. They may feel as though they have relationships and an entire life within this state of mind. These are likely translations of the person’s memories for their real life, imagined scenarios, and their own imagination coming to life to create something new. People who endorse spiritual explanations for these experiences would consider these past life memories or memories of being a fictive in their cannon.

Voluntary Shifting.

It is possible to voluntarily shift for people who are ‘kin. This can be useful for certain reasons. It can help the person feel in touch with their identity; it can be used for creative, psychological, or spiritual exploration; and some people enjoy the feeling of embracing their internal representation.

Mental Shifts.

Whenever you experience a mental shift, bring up a specific mental image. The image you choose to associate with the feeling of shifting doesn’t matter, although it helps if it has some kind of symbolic meaning for you. Imagine a blue diamond or a symbol from a favorite video game or whatever other symbol you have chosen whenever you experience a mental shift. Imagine the feeling of being your kintype as a rainbow thread that you wrap around this symbol. Every time you shift, think about that symbol. Eventually the experience of mentally shifting will become associated with this symbol, and whenever you visualize it you chance provoking a shift.

Looking at images or other things you associate with your kintype can also provoke a shift. In order to prompt mental shifting with this technique, it can help to think about what comes to mind easily when you shift. What aspects of your kintype or other life come to mind immediately when you look at your thoughts? The things that come to mind are associated with your mental shifting and can be used to help trigger a shift when you’re outside of that state.

Sensory Shifts.

Learning imposition is helpful here. Imposition is training the self to create voluntary sensory hallucinations. It is possible to visually hallucinate the features of your kintype or experience a physical sense of your kintype. Imposition is simple and involves training the self, after clearing the mind in a manner similar to meditation, to trick the self into seeing something that isn’t there. You see what you would be imagining in your mind’s eye. It’s easy to practice with simple things first and then move on to more complex things. Try imagining a blue line crossing between two points, like two black dots you have drawn on a paper. Within five to ten minutes of visualizing the blue line between the black dots in front of you, you should begin to get the hang of altering your sensory output consciously.

Dream/Astral Shifts.

There are two different methods of provoking astral shifting that I will mention here. Astral shifting refers to shifting into the feeling/form of your kintype during either deep sleep or light sleep.

The first method involves learning to lucid dream. There are many guides for this, although most people learn to tell the difference between sleeping and being awake by keeping a journal and looking at patterns of things seen only in dreams as well as making a habit of asking yourself several times a day if you are dreaming or not. After learning to lucid dream, come up with a symbol that you associate with your intention to shift into your kintype. Before going to bed, think about that symbol. When you question if you are awake or not, think about that symbol and your intention to shift. When you attain lucidity in dreams, think about that symbol to anchor yourself to lucidity while you are dreaming and to remind yourself of your intention to shapeshift into your kintype during your dream.

The second method involves lucid dreaming as well, although the method of entering the lucid dream is different from the above method. Begin by imagining an internal landscape you have designed with the intention of visiting as your kintype. What is your kintype? A tiger, dragon, fictive, and so on? Meditate in a specific environment you feel should be associated with your form. As you go to sleep, every night, imagine yourself as your kintype in that mental environment. As you fall asleep, stay lucid as that alternate form. Eventually, you will stay lucid after falling asleep in this form, which enables you to enter a lucid dream this way.

[theriannation]

Thoughts on Past Lives (Transcript)

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/cJdH60lCdlg

Welcome to Therian Nation. I'm Ulfrvif. In this video we talk about the belief of past lives. Before we jump in to this topic, first, I'd like to mentioned that we are putting this under Editorials/Opinion. There does seem to be agreement about this within the community, but I will be adding some personal views as well. Second, I'd like to remind viewers that you can find links to sources and related reading in the video descriptions (at the end of text posts).

Not all Therianthropes believe in past lives or have memories of past lives as animals. Having past life memories is not a requirement to identify as Therianthrope. Believing in reincarnation is also not required to identify as a Therian.

Reincarnation is not the only spiritual hypothesis for Therianthropy. I've gone over some of these in the video about Spiritual Therianthropy.

It is okay to look to the past to learn more about what has contributed to the current you. What lessons can you take away from the previous life that you recalled? However, we need to understand that the past can not be relived and accept that this is a new life. We can't even 100% be sure that we are not fabricating the memories associated with these lives.

Therianthropy is identifying as nonhuman in the current life. It is important to take into consideration that plenty of people believe in reincarnation and feel completely human. A past life may be recalled, but not every one will affect this current life. In most cases it comes down to a belief that the whole soul or a part of the soul is not human due to influences of being a nonhuman animal in a past life. Being an animal in a previous life has altered the state of the soul in a way that is noticeable in the here and now. Another possibility to consider is being animal-hearted instead of Therian.

I also want to point out that asking other people if they have known you in a past life can be dangerous. It wouldn't be difficult for someone to claim that they had known you in order to make you emotionally vulnerable if they had an intention to get personal information and harm you. Just be aware of that. If you are a minor, under the age of 18, do not give out your real name, location, address, phone number, or any personal information to any one over the internet.

I personally believe that I have lived many lives as wolves, humans, and possibly other animals. I only identify as a wolf Therianthrope (wolf-human person). If I have existed as other animals, those lives have no bearing on my present life, and I am currently not seeking to know anything about those potential past lives. I'm happy with my current amount of knowledge and only having one therioside. I think I have one memory of being an Arctic Wolf. But I am not that wolf now. I have probably been other subspecies of wolf too, but I currently feel like I'm a black-phased Timber Wolf. There is only one me. I'm not wolf A from one time, wolf B from some other life, and wolf C from before that.

I really personally don't understand how someone can be multiple wolves (or more than one of any same species). You are just one person, and you're not the wolf that's dead...long dead. You are you. You are a new person. This is a new life.

Most species/subspecies of wolf or any animal have similar behaviors. It seems to me like it would be too difficult to tell them apart as we process these experiences through human senses and a human brain. For me personally, all of my previous lives as different subspecies of wolf boil down to just wolf essence now and instinctual behaviors that have stayed with me because my soul has been wolf through it all. I don't need to live those lives over again. The wolf is me, and I am the wolf. I don't even say past lives are my reason for being a Therianthrope. I just have a wolf soul in the here and now. That's what matters.

Addition: Of course your personal experience or beliefs will not be exactly like mine. However, I strongly feel that the main question for spiritual Therians should be "Do I believe that I have the soul of an animal?" The next question should be, "Do I believe this explains why I feel nonhuman and/or have the mentality and behaviours of an animal?" The next step could be to figure out what animal shares that mentality and behavior. One of last questions to ask yourself, if you want to be more in depth and it seems important to you is "How did the soul of an animal end up in a human body?" Too often reincarnation comes before everything else, when it shouldn't. And that leads me to think that most people are just copying what they see someone else doing in the Therian community. I think if more people thought for themselves, we would currently see a wider variety of causes or origins for Therianthropy.

Here are some questions to ask yourself.

Who/What am I now? What about the current me is non-human?

If I didn't remember past lives, would I still have indicators of being a Therianthrope?

Why was it important for me to seek out information about a past life? 

 Did I feel non-human first and then seek an answer for why? 

Or did I claim to have a past life first and then trick myself into feeling non-human?

Not every separate past life is significant to the present and can be a species that you identify as in this life.  A therioside is a species or subspecies. It was never meant to be individual animals with stories and a personality separate from your current self. You don't need to match all of the same personality traits and behaviors as a species, but I see so many narratives created for past lives (and current ones too).

It just seems like everybody has this "Discovery Channel" story going on. You know how Discover Channel does their documentaries and these animals seems to have such exciting and varied lives. But that's not really the way it is.

We need to be careful to not anthropomorphize our animal identities. We're not talking about fursonas or original characters.

It seems that in a lot of cases, young people looking into Therianthropy spend too much time on the past lives and not enough time learning about their current selves. There is a lot about balance when it come to Therianthropy. Balance what you can learn from previous lives with developing who you are today. Balance the human and animal sides of you.

I hope I have made this clear enough, but if anyone has any questions, please let me know in the comments.

Resources

Reincarnation on Encyclopedia Britannica - https://www.britannica.com/topic/reincarnation

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201210/the-problem-reincarnation

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/natasha-dern/do-you-believe-in-past-li_b_566665.html 

"How much Wildlife Filmmaking is staged?" Big Think. http://bigthink.com/age-of-engagement/how-much-of-wildlife-filmmaking-is-staged

Poppy (Aestherians) “Having a non-human past life ≠ being otherkin” October 10, 2016. http://aestherians.tumblr.com/post/151603027034/having-a-non-human-past-life-being-otherkin

Victim of Changes “About Past Lives” September 2017. http://victiim-of-changes.tumblr.com/post/165426559720/about-past-lives

Tirl Windtree "That life isn't This life" Otherkin.net, September 10, 2016, https://www.otherkin.net/2016/09/that-life-isnt-this-life/

Infurrior, "Past Lives Kintypes" January 28, 2018 http://infurrior.tumblr.com/post/170231539598/firstly-i-have-huge-respect-for-spirirtual

Dakota, "Does a past life make us to Therians?" March 8, 2018. Therian Amino. http://aminoapps.com/p/kactte

Opening Title Music - "Lion's Heart" by Ask Again is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike License. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ask%20Again/Arena_Electronic_Music/Lions_Haven

Attribution-ShareAlike License - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ 

All images are used for educational purposes and remain the property of their perspective creators. No money is being made from the production or viewing of this video.

[tumblekin]

What Are Kin, Astral/Skyler?

i’m gonna put this under a read more bc it’s super long. sorry…

kin are ppl who, spiritually or mentally, identify as something or someone who is other than their body. notice i didn’t say they identify physically as nonhuman. this is bc the average otherkin is aware that their body, at least, is human, and have accepted that. p-shifting (physical shifting), the act of shifting your body to that of your kintype, is iterated in the community to be impossible. to clarify, a “kintype” is the type of kin you identify as.

(as a quick side note: i’d like to add that “kin” and “otherkin” are usually used in different contexts; kin is sorta like “what’re you kin with?” while otherkin is usually sorta like the overarching community, like “the otherkin community” or to describe a single person within the kin community, like “i’m otherkin!” (a sidenote to this sidenote: though “kin” can also be used in the context, “otherkin” is described as being used here)).

otherkin identity as a non-human being that does not exist on earth. some examples of otherkin may be angelkin, monsterkin, or demonkin. obviously there are other examples but these are the ones that came straight to mind, since they’re some of the most common.

you can also be a therian, who identify as animals that exist on earth, such as wolfkin, dogkin, or catkin. therians are also otherkin,  a subset.

now, you can also be fictionkin, which is when you spiritually or mentally identify as a fictional character. the place where the character comes from is referred to as the “source”. inside of the source are multiple “canons”, which are altered sources.

so for example, naruto would be a source, but naruto with all genderswapped characters would be a canon.

fictionkin are often searching for their “canon-mates”, who are ppl who are kin with other ppl within their canon.

but you say, “skyler, what if your kin in a canon is a human being? does that mean they’re not otherkin?”

well. that’s a bit of an iffy line, bc technically, according to the definition of otherkin, otherkin are ppl who identify as nonhuman specifically. however, these fictionkin are part of the otherkin community nevertheless, human or not.

there’s another branch of the community referred to as “factkin”. this is identifying as an existing person, alive or dead (ex. donald trump). they… aren’t always regarded as real and valid, as i addressed in a previous post. and whether or not you regard them as valid is your opinion entirely, and i won’t go into my own opinions in this post, like i said in a previous post, as well.

i hope this was informative and helpful to your needs!

-mod skyler (with halp from Mod Astral)