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Does identifying as a hydra mean I must be plural?
We gotten variations of this question several times now, so we're compiling all our thoughts into one post.
tldr; No, you don't have to be plural to be a hydra.
However, that it doesn't mean it's not a question worth considering. Hydras do seem like the perfect "multiple beings one body" personification. Not that we're biased as a hydra otherlinker of course. As a counter example, the pokedex entry for the pokemon hydreigon says repeatedly that the 'mon only has one central mind despite having multiple heads.
So we started with the linktype technically, but it's unclear if we ever would have been drawn to it without being plural. This is an entry from our journal when we first formed the linktype:
"My own reason is because I feel this creature is a fitting representative of my inner narrative. Being a hydra takes all of the contradictory elements of my "self" and brings them together in a way that makes sense to me. Others may disagree, but this identity is for myself. At the end of the day, no one knows my experiences better than myself.
I just "knew." I had a feeling and thought "haha like a hydra." and BAM I knew it was something I wanted to pursue. I have considered other creatures in the past, but they didn't give me the same rush of emotion and "me-ness" as this sudden thought and species did." - July 2021
Our plural "awakening" happened parallel to it. We don't spend any time in the plural communities nor want to so we don't know all the terms. Not sure if awakening is the word to use, but it gets the point across. We all collectively choose to identity as a hydra despite having individual forms because we feel drawn to one another and don't want to be separated. Presenting this way in the headspace lets our speech and thoughts flow more easily and just feels good to be honest.
If you're interested, we have another piece that goes more in-depth on how it feels being a hydra.
tldr; The closest comparison we can think of is of a bunch of dogs all curled up in a dog bed together. It might look squished, but it’s comfortable. It’s hard to tell where one dragon ends, and another begins. We could get our own beds, but we're cute like that and it makes us feel closer to one another.
But back on topic:
It was easier initially to see the hydra (were really into Godzilla at the time and watching the new king of monsters dvd) and realized there was something there we wanted even if we couldn't articulate it at the time.
This isn't to say you have to be plural to be a hydra, but it's how it worked out for us. Hydras are a huge category of creatures that vaguely is a serpent with multiple heads. But it'd be a question that would come up in alterhuman spaces and is worth thinking on if only to have an answer when others ask. And "I'm not sure." or "I'm still sussing things out." are totally acceptable answers! This stuff takes time and no matter how confident others sound, only you can know what the right terms for yourself are.
Depictions of hydras are hard to come by to begin with, but It makes sense that there'd be more than two possible options (one mind vs multiple fully independent ones). The original reason for linking a hydra was still a valid one imo even if we would have not ended up plural as well.
If you're a hydra or questioning it and feeling like an outlier don't let it get to you. Being a hydra in the community is to be slightly weirder among the weird anyway. The important thing is to find your truth.
Speaking from experience, even if you never find someone else with your exact thing going on, there's a lot of comradery to be found in alterhuman circles. A lot of the core feelings and experiences resonate with others even if everyone experiences them their own way.
