A silly funsie thing of my very rough, loose interpretation of alterhuman identities (just a couple of them) in a limited 2D visual representation.
Really, alterhumanity is probably 5D+ motion madness. At the very least, I'd imagine that constel is going around like its namesake.
(Posted as requested by @paracosmic-gt :D)
(that grammar was weird, ugh. I donno how to fix it)
Terms below cut.
Likeness - What's on the tin, whatever you "share a likeness with".
archive.md/2023.10.30-142647/https://extranth.tumblr.com/post/680195890861998080/okay-so-this-is-my-coining-but-again-its-not
Simile - "A simile (in the context of alterhuman identity) is a character, animal, concept, or object, which reflects or otherwise represents who you are, without actually being a part of your identity. A simile may be described as a metaphor for who you are."
Vaguetype[1][2] - An alterhuman identity that may fall into multiple categories, or if one has uncertainty or simply prefers not to define what all goes into a single identity.
Archetropy - An identity in which one performs the role, the title, the trope, or the narrative space one occupies and embodies.
Cameo (Shift) - A shift not of one's 'type.
otherkin.wiki/wiki/Shifting
'Flicker - A brief, temporary identity. Flags.
Hearthome - "A place, whether real or imagined, to which a being has a deep and meaningful emotional connection, considering it their 'home.' This connection is strong, even if the being has not been raised or spent a significant amount of time in that particular location."
Paratype - "an identity facet that only exists in relation to a preestablished identity". Up-to-date reading here at Poppy’s website poppyhapalopus.neocities.org/alterhuman/essays/definingparatypes
Kardiatype - A past life [in] which [your] experiences had such an impact on you that it [wholly or partly] formed your core identity and personality, even to this day, [but] … you [DON’T] identify as the being from your past life anymore.
A panel on kardiatype presented by @noodledragonsoup and I can be found here youtu.be/71dXVAsq-_E?si=BQg0mMBc2GK0LO93
Constelic - Individuals "take on or adopt an identity, or multiple identities, throughout their lifetime. People who are constelic may have any number of adopted identities, and it may fluctuate in count or intensity. These adopted identities aren't usually there at birth, instead being discovered at any point later in their life. These adopted identities aren't always permanent, but they can last a very, very long time. "
Heartedness - Identifying with something instead of as. To fully understand what that abstractness entails, I highly recommend reading Part I of Poppy's Simile essay.
Synpath - Something you identify with on several levels, which could be a concept that resonates really strongly with you, an animal or mythological creature you feel you act like, or a person or character you share a lot of common behaviors with, among other things. This often is used in synonymous to heartedness, but many do use it differently than hearttype.
'Linked - An identity that was created, constructed, or connected to intentionally, wherein that identity is capable of fading out without maintainance and care, and is possible for said identity to establish root and become permanent, self sustaining. Usually, people only link identify-as identities, but there are folks like me who go beyond and link all sorts of alterhuman identities on the spectrum.
web.archive.org/web/20180325235532/http://victiim-of-changes.tumblr.com/post/170162038800/otherlinkers-are-not-kin-but-voluntary
I'm also avoiding the usage of "voluntary" because that's a whole mess within the community. A linked identity is the connection that you intentionally bridged, that's it.
Kinity - In which one identifies as a nonhuman species or character.
otherkin.wiki/wiki/Otherkin
Therianthropy - In which one identifies as an animal.
Essentially the same as being otherkind or fictionkind, just of different focus.
Just in case, therian does mean any species that has animality within.
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Being alterhuman and having cameos that have you questioning your identity years later is crazy. I might be a beetle AND a werewolf AND a selkie AND a Vulcan or even DATA what the.
Last night I had something which I would normally describe as a terror as it followed all the mechanics of a terror but this time I was not horrendously scared, but I was still in the delerium and not fully processing the world around me. I had woken up as a wild dog I believe (or something very clearly canid) and was very confused, sat up on all fours and spun around a few times to try to find my companion, who is themself a wild dog, but they are for the moment in the next province. It was a bit disorienting and there was some sense of fear not knowing what was going on, though the body being different did not bother me. It is ironic that my mind seems to just accept whatever form the body happens to be in (or feels that it is in), but ironically has trouble controlling this human body (though had I been in that state longer I expect I would have found limits and errors with the dogform). It only lasted around a minute or so before the delerium faded and it was a bit disorienting, but overall rather pleasant, especially for what would have been a terror. I sometimes get dreams as various animals, but it is not common, and the waking up feeling as a different animal for a minute or two before the illusion shatters has really only happened a few times - the previous I can remember being a dragonair two years ago.
It is ironic how much my companion wants to be around other wild dogs, and the night that happens, they are in another province. Still it was a nice experience, now back to my regularly scheduled cetacean nonsense.
Something I learned as I explore my species identity is that species dysphoria isn’t exclusive to a nonhuman-or-human dichotomy. I often see species dysphoria discussed in context to nonhumans who feel dysphoric at the thought of being perceived as human or having human traits. The same goes for humans in our community, mainly those who experience dysphoria resulting from assumptions of nonhumanity or a sudden development of nonhuman traits.
The kind of species dysphoria I’m discussing is only partially based on perception, not so much from other parties but specifically from oneself. It pulls from experiences that are thrust upon me through cameo shifts, specifically. I’m often forced into the circumstance(s) of being what I am not, and that struggle is what motivated me into posting this.
As a member of both groups, there’s parts of humanity and nonhumanity respectively that I can’t imagine being while having those experiences (generally) at the same time. In a way, I’ve developed an aversion to various kinds of humanity and nonhumanity that I don’t fall into.
I’ll explain what I mean with a few examples under the cut.
First example: Although I experience human alterhumanity, how I experience it still matters. I can’t one-and-done it simply because my experience applies to humanity generally. Such is the case of muir parallel life as Miracle, a median collective of X-Men. Wei belong to one of two active groups of human beings on Earth-767A: Homo sapiens superior, aka Mutantkind. There’s more than enough non-mutant humans in this fictomere, but to be a non-mutant human— and not the mutant human(s) that wei are— would be very dysphoria-inducing.
In this case, muir x-gene is inherently tied to the kind of humanity wei experience. Even though I’m human here, and the Marvel Universe holds infinite possibilities, wei can’t see muirselves being anyone or anything else in that context because of muir mutant status. It’s not interchangeable with any other form of humanity.
Second example: I linked Redguards for a while. Being a Redguard is now a significant part of my otherhumanity, and it’s never left me since. I appreciate this experience because I had difficulty mapping out this fictomere (The Elder Scrolls) when I started exploring my alterhumanity. There’s plenty of other humans in TES, though. Nords, Bretons, Imperials, etc. There’s some early humans in there too. That said, I belong to none of those groups. To be anyone but a Redguard would invoke dysphoria, even though we’re all human beings. Regarding Redguards, the culture, history, and people are all important to me; I’ve identified with them for so long that I chose to be one of them. I can’t see myself as any other kind of human under this fictomere.
Third example: This one’s specific to my nonhumanity. Although I’ve experienced being a wide array of species, there’s many more that I don’t belong to. Take my animality for instance. From aquatic and semi-aquatic animals to canines, there’s plenty of bases to cover in terms of what I’m not. Regarding one of my foremost species, I am an african lion. I take a lot of pride in being a big cat (pun intended), and I love learning more about my species as time goes on.
However, I can’t see myself as any other species of panther with the exception of paleolithic cats that I flicker into on occasion. I’ve experienced being other living species of panther before, those being a mountain lion, a leopard and a golden tiger. But the longer I stayed in those forms, the more uncomfortable I became. I had to be an african lion. “African lion” is also specified because I can’t see myself as an asiatic lion, either! I am distinctly Panthera leo leo.
Same thing goes for temporary identities. As I mentioned before, not every animal I am is a permanent experience; some experiences are flickers. One such example is my cat flicker, specifically a Somali Cat. I take this form whenever I need to decompress. It solely exists for my own comfort. Despite breed specifics being irrelevant to a reason like that, I’m ridiculously thorough. If I’m going to be something, I need to know the specifics. I can’t just be any other cat; I’ve got to flicker into a ruddy Somali tomcat. Otherwise, it’s not going to feel right at all.
Fourth example: I’m probably being redundant at this point, but I’ll end it off with this example. I’m draconic. Though I’m not draconic in every fictomere I have, it’s still crucial that each potential experience aligns with my personal concept of draconity. This is reflected through the following qualities: associated with fire or the sun, thrives in desert-like habitats (if leaning on the more animalistic side), lithe and serpentine in form, capable of flight (wings are not required), usually sophont, is a part of or referenced in a fictional civilization, and of course, appearing golden or at least a warm yellow.
Despite being my namesake, this is why I’m not a liondrake in terms of species. Though they apply to four of these qualities, their appearance doesn’t align with my draconity whatsoever. Usually, a draconic species applies to me if it manages to check off at least three out of seven boxes on this list. However, the possibility of me being that species isn’t always guaranteed. I’ve fallen out of several draconic fictotypes before, and that’s because those experiences didn’t suit me. I’m very particular about how my draconity exists, and I’m sure there’s some folks who can relate.
And species dysphoria doesn’t end there either, I imagine! As conceptkind, there’s no shortage of things that I can’t fathom being. I am the genre of fantasy, regardless of the medium. I am also the following concepts: magic, mythopoeia, and imagination. I’m all of these wondrous things, but as of now, I am only these concepts. I get dysphoric at the thought of being other concepts.
Species dysphoria is a deeply uncomfortable and personal subject to tackle, but I think assessing my dysphoria helps me self-regulate in a way? On average, I don’t choose what I shapeshift into; that means anything is possible in my phantom body. This makes differentiating between actual identities/experiences I have and cameos or other unexpected shifts difficult. Keeping track of what I think is certainly not me makes that a bit easier to navigate, especially since I have a lot of ‘types to sift through as a shapeshifter.
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i’ve gotten angelish cameo(?) shifts lately… like a long, thin tail with a head of fur at the end, quite similar to my cherubim oc, peregrine. i could also feel large, soft wings on my back and nearly doubled over from the weight. it was short-lived but it was nice and i felt calm and relaxed when i got them. i can kind of feel them right now against this chair and it’s a little uncomfortable. marking this down in case they come back again, but i’ve always felt a sense of belonging with certain angels on here. hm.
had a clouded leopard shift last night, which was funky because ive never had any shifts of that animal before!! my partner asked if i was an ocelot when i said i felt like a big cat, but that didn't quite fit. unsure if it was a cameo shift or something more concrete, but i thought it was cool!
