Back in my day we didn't need lungs

Deadline: June 1st, 2025

Information Q&A

Q: When is Othercon? A: Othercon always takes place on the 2nd weekend of August, which means that this year the dates are August 8th - 10th (Eastern US timezone) Q: Will there be movie/episode screenings on the schedule this year? A: Movies are handled by the panelists as of 2024, so for movies/episodes to be available it has to be submitted as a panel by someone willing to stream it.

Q: Where are the staff applications? A: For more accurate availability guesses, volunteer staff applications will open closer to the con on June 1st.

Q: How will I know if my panel(s) got accepted? A: Confirmations will be sent out sometime in mid-to-late June after applications close.

Links

Okay, so I started wandering out, trying to see when the word ‘soulbonding’ came into use.  So far, the earliest reference I can find is from 7/9/01, in Souls and Bonds and Ourselves on a (surprise!) multi website… in fact, it’s good ol’ Pavilion Hall, the group me and Zyfron used to joke was all about multi inactivism back in the day.  The way terminology is slung around makes it sound like the community and the slang were already there then. (So don’t worry, old fogeys, the word soulbonding is now old enough to drive, practically.)

The soulbonding comm on LJ was created at the very, very start of 2002, January 3rd to be exact.  And Laura Gilkey seems to have helped spawn people’s favorite definitions and quotables; she wrote a story about soulbonding, called The Trinity, and put it on Fictionpress on April 22nd, 2002.  Pavilion Hall has a handful of other articles on soulbonding that date from this time, including transcriptions from the autobiographies of Edith Warton and Robert E. Howard (the Conan guy).  Ha, there are even articles on how plurals and soulbonders could get along better!  Yes, we’ve been having the same damn turf wars in fifteen years.

In the Edith Warton article, Astraea notes, “Of course, [Edith Warton] didn’t call it soulbonding. No one did until a small internet anime fanfiction writers’ group started using that word.” According to this InsaneJournal entry, it’s from 1996.  If that’s true, congratulations, the term ‘soulbond’ is old enough to drive, vote, and gamble.  Soon it’ll be old enough to drink!

It LOOKS like that anime fanfiction writer’s group might’ve been involved with Child of Mana, but link rot has long since set in so I can’t date that, or even know for sure.

EDIT: foolish me!  Child of Mana’s soulbonding site was first archived on 6/26/2001, so predates the Pavilion Hall article.  And IT references this article, do you believe in soulbonding at first sight? which was written in 1999.  Annnnnnd shibooski!  This article answers!

Q: Who coined the term “SoulBonding”? And how come it’s capitalized that way? A: Amanda Flowers, a member of the JFW, coined the term “SoulBonding”, and I believe that in one discussion relating to the subject, she said that the inspiration for the term being capitalized like that was the title of the RPG “SoulBlazer”. Basically, she just thought it looked cool. ^_^

JFW was the “Just for Writers” mailing list, which was for Final Fantasy rather than Child of Mana.  It seems to have been an informal thing, so no official website, just an invite-only mailing list.

So anyway, I can’t prove it’s from 1996, but I can at least place it back to 1999, and it’d spread into pretty common online parlance by 2001. (Since one blogger references it on 6/4/2001 with “my friend Amanda Flowers (the actual coiner of the term ‘soulbond’ that everyone likes to bandy about these days)“)

Soooo there you go.  Until I put more work into it, the word for soulbonding is at least from ‘99.

SORRY ABOUT THE LAST ONE this is a repost from my community post. on my main kin sideblog. i'm booboo the fool. Please rb to boost sample size if you can, and PLEASE don't vote unless you identify as alterhuman, therian, otherkin, holothere, otherhearted, copinglink, etc

Injuries (both major and minor) that came from magic

Death, perhaps even more than once if revival magic existed in your source

Illnesses that don't exist in this world

Mind control/possession (might make a whole other post about this one)

Combat/getting in life threatening fights that involved magic or fictional weapons

Various spells, curses, or potions

Being stranded away from home in another planet/dimension/timeline

Apocalypses

erm hello alterhuman community :3

Made some otherkin, therian, and otherhearted wooden keychains <3

3 of each in stock, $10 each (shipping not included). There are also two discounted ones due to blemishes.

My Ko-Fi shop is set only to accept orders from the US since I know the shipping costs. However, if you are outside the US and would like to buy, send me a DM and we can work shipping out :] (it may be really expensive tho :< )