#vakalon

heyo!

@siphonyx coined that term so I cannot give an accurate description of what it is - but I can say that it roughly equates to an innate identity that is experienced quite literally and physically through supernatural phenomena.

Im not a vakalon (once questioned) but the term is intertwined with supernatural and shifter communities because of the system who coined it and because of the fact that it encompasses species, gender, sex, etc.. through physical expression. It is, in my opinion, a bigger umbrella term in regards to physical animality than, say, holothere would be, since holothere doesn't imply shapeshifting.

resources:

https://alterhumanity.fandom.com/wiki/Vakalomorphy

Yesterday we joined a therian amino - not the main one, but the other one for therians. We're not one, but we were curious and their views on holotheres, physical therians, etc. Seemed good. Unfortunately their views on systems seemed to be a bit exclusionary (so many with endos DNI in their profile) so we just left, but for the brief few moments we were there we felt at home. It felt spiritual, it felt mystical, and yet serious. Similar circumstances have happened in the past - another therian amino in the past was once a haven for us for a time, and in the past we've gotten along in certain select circles. Why is that?

I think yesterday we just realized why. Therianthropy in the old days used to refer to all "shifters" - mental shifters, physical shifters, spiritual shifters, etc. In the past if you were a therian you would have been one of these shifters, but nowadays that isn't the case. If you're a therian you're a person with an "animal spirit" - someone who identifies with an animal mentally and/or spiritually. In the past we could have been considered therians, because a lot of beliefs mesh in perfectly with therianthropy - we feel we have animals souls, we can shift (though physical shifting is not the goal, it's a side effect) and we once experienced dysphoria for our animal forms, although nowadays it's practically nonexistent. But as we no longer experience dysphoria, we no longer have anything tying us to that community, and so we left.

Shifters are fine, but the culture is different - most shifters don't literally believe in totem spirits making them shift or the spirituality like therianthropes do - if you see some of the gatekeepers from either community you'll see differences in how they conceptualize their experiences. One is very spiritual, one is physical. We're fairly spiritual, but we also have this physical side that is disqualifying us from communities we should have a right to be in. I don't want to be a therian (in terms of being a typecast therianthrope that's gatekeepy and ableist and generally annoying) but if the vibes are right and they're cool about p-shifting, I don't mind calling myself one.

Idk... I came in through the p-shifting therian communities and at the time I thought they were childish (I was completely in touch with my physical side at the time), but now with multiplicity being a factor I sort of relate to them more? And the vakalomorphy... But that would be something that they would dismiss so aghhh

I guess I am just my own thing. I feel better about the strange connection if I call myself a theriomorph, so that helps... I don't know what the "therio-" prefix is doing for me, but it's doing something. Maybe letting everyone know I still relate even though I'm different? That these still are "my people" in a sense, even though we wouldn't get along otherwise - animals are still animals, even if they're at each other's throats.

Anyway, I combined the proposed vakalon symbol with the theta delta a while back. I think it came out good.

Phantom Shifting

Sep 25, 2019

Felt like writing up something on phantom shifting, since I experience it and wanted to contribute something personal on it? My phantom shifts aren't the standard fare, so don't feel pressured to experience them the same way I do. They're pretty unique to me 🦁

I gotta clarify that my phantom shifts have very little to do with what I am a shifter of. They're separate things - one is physical body, and the other is more mental/spiritual body, if anything. (Also the reason why I kinda distinguish being a 'shifter' from 'nonhuman', even though different people will use the words differently. To me, one is physical and independent of what I might want or feel, the other is generally internal and syncs up with who I am as a person.)

My phantom shifts are semi-visible in a sense, but not physically. I'm not walking around thinking I'm actually physically what I identify as, nor am I going around trying to tap things with limbs that aren't physically there (unless I want that feeling of touching something as a nonhuman being? Then I could pretend I'm physically touching it I guess), I'm pretty aware it's not a physical thing despite it acting like such sometimes.

I actually tend to like talking about these experiences in groups like these because despite it not being a physical experience and despite me being extremely aware of what it actually is and the nature of it, it always feels awkward to talk about it in standard otherkin/therian groups. I get the feeling that me seeing it is like bragging to them or rubbing it in their face that they're not what they identify as, and since it's really the only shift I experience that I can relate to them with (and like talking about) it can be hard to talk about with unaccepting people. It seems more acceptable to talk about seeing yourself AS a nonhuman in a group with shifters, honestly.

It's a subjectively physical identity. Vakalons are people who are physically their identity (identity being something like trans, nonhuman, plural, etc.) and/or can externalize their identity in this world - so for example, becoming bodily nonhuman, seeing and interacting with your headmates physically, and expressing your self image onto your physical body would all be forms of vakalomorphy.

It was really nice, I hope it happens again.