#conceptfolk

Connection, however, is a word that comes up a lot in the former of the two conversations. It’s a word that indicates a tie to something, but not necessarily identification or embodiment as that thing. It’s a word that many have come to associate with these misconceptions, because frankly, a lot of misinformed people cite identify-as experiences as connections when those experiences are distinctly about how one identifies.

At the same time, I feel like some folks take the nuance of connections for granted because of these misunderstandings. Corrections are still needed, of course. After all, we live in an age where language rot happens twice as fast thanks to how widespread (and poorly organized) the internet is. Regardless, connection as an experience still exists apart from these discourses. Clarifying, reaffirming or even defending one experience is possible without diluting another. That’s usually not the intention, but that doesn’t stop the initial act from coming off that way.

Bunch of rambly thoughts below

💿:Most notably I, Corvus Sharp-whistle Corax, am questioning being conceptfolk myself. Movement. That's what's at the center of it all. Specifically two concepts I've been calling Travel and Water. (and also a potential third which might just be a normal kintype, or could just be some avian gender fuckery that I've been calling Contrast, which I'm not going over because of its uncertainty). ..but. Uh. Yeah that panel fucking awakened something in me.

First up, Travel. You may be asking, what do I mean by that? Well, for starters, I definitely know what it isn't - I'm not nomadic. I doubt I ever will be, I simply have too many belongings and connections to ever truly leave somewhere I call my home. And bringing home with me feels. Wrong. I need to have a stable territory to return to. But that's the thing - I return to it. From elsewhere. I have a common urge to just pick an interesting looking direction and Go. I'm a curious beast! I see a pathway, I want to walk along it! Maybe even take some scenic photographs! If I don't go somewhere New or at the very least return to somewhere I haven't been in a while, I get Bored and Sad and it makes me want to rip out my metaphorical feathers in anguish. Staying at home all the time gets Stagnant. Somewhere new isn't stagnant - I've never been there! It's fresh! Enrichment in my enclosure! Even somewhere I've been before can be good enough, so long that it isn't Home and I haven't been there in a decently long stretch of time. Going Somewhere gives me the chance for things to stop feeling Stagnant, for me to chat with my dæmons, to see new things, to photograph cool plants. Staying somewhere all the time can be cozy and safe. But sometimes I don't mind a little bit of discomfort and risk.

So, that second one, Water. That sounds.. even more broad than Travel, but trust me it's entirely literal. Water, in all its myriad forms, is very important to us collectively and also individually. But what do I mean by that? It's certainly very hard to describe. But I'll try. For me in particular, it's mostly freshwater - lakes, rivers, rain. And thunderstorms, by extension. For Mozzarella, it's mainly freshwater as well, lakes and ponds and rain. For Caeruleus it's the obvious - the ocean and any other saltwater environments. (Not that we don't like snow or steam, it just isn't as integral as liquid water.) I've loved swimming ever since I was young. Every summer, me and my family would go to the local pool (or the beach, at least once) for my birthday (which is in summer, so it's perfect!) Even outside of birthday celebrations, I've been to the pool on just random days throughout the summer. We also had an inflatable pool at one point, and there have been many times when Mom would attach a sprinkler to the underside of a table umbrella. Like a domesticated rainstorm of sorts. I used to dislike rain, but mostly due to the inconvenience of Wet Clothes rather than a true dislike of water. As you can clearly tell by our collective name, I like rain now. (Related to that, I have a raincoat now.) It's always a delight to go outside when it's soaking wet outside, rain pounding on the earth. Even if I get sopping wet, I don't mind. It's just that nice. It makes me feel alive. So, why, exactly do I think this has something to do with being conceptfolk? No matter what season, just getting to experience water in some form is important to us. In the spring and autumn, the rainstorms. In winter, navigating a cold snowscape. In summer, visiting our local lake and swimming in it once it's warm enough. We always seem to, almost instinctually, seek out water. There have been many times I've been motivated to go outside simply because of rain. Been motivated to goon a walk simply because of the idea of merely seeing the lake. Maybe water has nothing to do with being conceptfolk for us. Maybe it's a hearttype. Regardless of which it is, water is very important to us. So, uh. The point of all this. Both of these two concepts, Travel and Water, feel integral to myself (and my dæmons as well, as mentioned earlier!) And at the center of them both, there's a third, simpler concept - Movement. You can always tell when I'm really not doing well because I don't move much. I just kind of stay inside all day, in my room, and probably cry a bunch or something like that. But when I feel good, when I feel like myself? Movement. A lot of movement - stimming because of something I like, walking on trails outside and photographing bugs, running through the woods near our house, diving in the lake to look at fish. There's always movement involved. Travel requires movement. Even if you're in a car or on a horse or whatever, something is moving. Water is nearly always moving, it's rarely stagnant. When it is, it's usually in small quantities - and even that will stir with a simple breeze or the tail movements of fish. Motion is at the center of it all.

🪲:I don't write often but, hi! I'm Mozzarella. I like ferns, if you didn't know. A lot. And since earlier today, I've been questioning a fern hearttype. Hearttypes are nothing new for us collectively. Corvus has, uh. Three of them, so wer're certainly familiar with how Corvus experiences hearttypes. But neither I, nor Caeruleus, have ever kinfirmed any hearttypes. So we're both very new to this whole hearttype thing. I've considered hearttypes before. Notably Mustelidae. (this was before I labeled myself as a shapeshifter.) Still not quite conclusive on that one? But that's not the focus here. Something about ferns.. it's certainly nothing form related. And it's definitely not a kintype. As a collective we are.. way too movement focused to even consider being phytanthropes (myself definitely included! oftentimes I'll shift form halfway through an action!) But.. something in me always comes back to ferns. I like other plants a lot as well! I'm the resident Plant Enthusiast (directly opposite to Caeruleus, the Fish Enjoyer, of course), and other non-fern favorites include birch, mosses, and lilypads. There's just something ib ferns thats, like, it's not me, but it's an integral part of my sense of self? Like iridescencent objects. It's not like I'm labradorite objectkin just because they're Iridescencent and Sometimes Green.. but I do really like them. Something about ferns consistently makes me go "!!!" when I see them. The feeling is definitely stronger than for the others. Corvus likes ferns a good deal due to being from the Mesozoic, which had lots of ferns. It's different, though. With Corvus, they're like "Oh cool, ferns!" While with me, I'm like "!!!! IT'S FERNS!!!!! FUCK YEAH!!!!!". Ok maybe not the exact wording I'd use but you get the point. Something about them is deeply Me despite not being me-shaped?? Ferrets are me-shaped. As are magpies. And rats. And a myriad of other animals. Ferns... yeah. I think I'm fernhearted.

🌊:Hello all, I am Caeruleus. Similarly to my fellow dæmon Mozzarella, I've been questioning a hearttype as well. Specifically, fish! There's a reason I'm known as the Local Fish Enjoyer, and it's because I do, in fact, enjoy fish. I'm not quite sure about eating them (my Spinosaurus instincts say they'd be tasty, but I haven't confirmed that since I've never fronted) but as animals? I love them, in all their myriad forms. My personal favorite are the Coelacanths (it's only natural, though - they're ancient blue fish! That's right up my alley!) but this fact doesn't mean I don't also enjoy the others! Anything from the tiniest minnow to the huge river sturgeon, they're all lovely in their own ways. Gar, with their long snouts reminiscent of my own, eels, with their sinuous bodies, rainbow trout, with their beautiful coloration and lovely spots. I could go on. But I won't, because the point here is that I may be fishhearted. In truth, pretty much any aquatic animal is one that I like at least a little. I'm definitely biased. But excluding paratypes like cormorants and herons, my favorites are.. practically all fish. (And.. maybe also lobsters? That might be a bit of Corvus seeping through, though. .. Sidenote, the English language is a mess.) There is something about fish in particular that captivates me like very very few other animals. The way they move, the way their scales shine in sunlight, a myriad of shapes, different scale patterns for different environments. The fact that eels can even exist is fantastic in its own right. Coelacanths were thought to be long extinct until someone found one alive. In the Cenozoic. That's simply impressive. The fact that there is a fish called wahoo is delightful as well (It's a beautiful animal, too! Long, silvery and striped.) I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but that fact that I managed to write so many words about fish probably means that my gut instinct was right - and I am, in fact, fishhearted. And, just the idea that someone can be so taken with such often overlooked animals as fish that they have a hearttype.. that's simply delightful.