WovenTales

Because you're the only one to remember them? Then what about a singlet hiking through the wilderness? Their exploration isn't any less real because they're alone.

Because nobody separate would be (even theoretically) able to verify them? Our community is kind of based on ignoring that; how can you prove an internal conversation actually happened?

Because they disagree with what others remember? That's not anything unique, nobody outside systems with shared memories remembers anything exactly like anybody else. Nobody experiences the same thing as anybody else; just ask the blind men who found an elephant.

Of course it's happening inside your head, Serpent, but why on earth should that mean that it's not real?

The truth is, nobody's past is real anymore. All we can hold on to is how it affects us in the present. For me, the memory of growing up on a farm has left with a need for greenery and wild spaces -- I'm sure I spent much more time indoors than I remember. For Russ, taking the back seat as he grew has left a longing for freedom that manifests as desires for living somewhere/some way we can keep finding new experiences -- our memories are tied to whoever's fronting. For you, your patron made you who you are today -- whether or not it "actually" happened. Even the most cynical viewpoint can't argue with that; those memories are just as real as any others in the mark they have left on you, and through you, on the world.

radio dramatists: write radio plays about otherkin

psychologists: do studies about otherkin

religious studies experts: write papers about otherkin

conventions: have panels about otherkin

otherkin: extensively document their history

Also…

Academic Articles Gerbasi, Kathleen C. et al, “Furries A to Z: (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism).” Society and Animals, Vol.16 (2008): pp 197-222. (accessed January 28, 2013).

Grivell, Timothy, Helen Clegg and Elizabeth C. Roxburgh. “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community.” Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research. Vol. 14, No. 2, (May 2014) http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15283488.2014.891999?journalCode=hidn20#preview  (accessed July 10 2014).

Keck et al, “Lycanthropy: Alive and Well In The Twentieth Century,” Psychological  Medicine. Vol. 18, No. 1 (Feb., 1988): pp 113-20. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=4990600&fileId=S003329170000194X (accessed August 29 2014).

Kulick, Aaron, Pope HG Jr, & Keck PE Jr. “Lycanthropy and Self-Identification.” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol. 2 ( Feb. 1990): pp 134-137 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2405100 (October 14 2014).

Laycock, Joseph P. “We Are Spirits of Another Sort: Ontological Rebellion and Religious Dimensions of the Otherkin Community.” Nova Religio. Vol. 15, No. 3 (Feb., 2012): pp. 65-90 http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65 (accessed November 24 2013).

Probyn-Rapsey, Fiona. “Furries and Limits of Species Identity Disorder,” Society & Animals, Vol. 19 (2011): pp 294-301 https://www.academia.edu/2903078/Furries_and_limits_of_species_identity_disorder (accessed January 28, 2013).

Robertson, Venetia Laura Delano. “The Beast Within: Anthrozoomorphic Identity and Alternative Spirituality in the Online Therianthropy Movement.” Nova Religio, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Feb 2013): pp. 7-30 http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2013.16.3.7 (accessed November 24 2013).

Robertson, Venetia. “The Law of the Jungle: Self and Community in the Online Therianthropy Movement.”Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies, Vol 14, No 2 (Dec., 2012): Pp 256-280 http://www.equinoxpub.com/journals/index.php/POM/article/view/17911 (accessed January 28, 2013).

Magazine Article McNeil, Emma. “The Otherkin.” Fortean Times Magazine. January 2012, 44-46.

News Articles Clairouin, Olivier. “Pas complètement humains : la vie en ligne des thérians et otherkin.” Le Monde.fr. May 20 2014. http://www.lemonde.fr/cultures-web/article/2014/05/20/pas-completement-humains-la-vie-en-ligne-des-therians-et-otherkins_4410306_4409029.html (accessed June 10 2014).

Lerner, Thomas. “Ibland får jag lust att yla som en varg,” Insidan, April 7 2010. https://archive.today/ZX0Ti (accessed January 20 2013).

Mamatas, Nick. “Elven Like Me,” The Village Voice News, February 13 2001. http://www.villagevoice.com/2001-02-13/news/elven-like-me/full/ (accessed February 1 2015).

Academic Lecture Addie, Trevor. “Therianthropy: A State of Being,” ANTH-331 “Taboos,” American University, March 5th 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMEkuOW5pjs (accessed August 20 2014).

News Clip McDougall, Nick. “Otherkin: Heart of a Human, Spirit of a Wolf,” SBS World News, SBS, June 4th 2013, http://www.sbs.com.au/news/video/32187459989/Otherkin-Heart-of-a-human-spirit-of-a-wolf (accessed June 6th 2013).

McDougall, Nick. “Otherkin: Heart of a Human, Spirit of a Wolf,” 4:21, Posted on “SBS2Austrailia.” June 4th 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU_E-oXxyQU (accessed June 5th 2013).

Documentary Pemberton, Justin. Animal Imitators. TLC. August 2003.

A few non-academic Books (referring otherkin and/or therians) Cohen, Daniel. Werewolves. Cobblehill Books: New York, 1996.

Konstantinos. Werewolves: The Occult Truth. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn, 2010.

Lupa. A Field Guide To Otherkin. Megalithica Books: Stafford, 2007.

Lupa. Shifting, Shamanism and Therianthropy: Magical Techniques For Your Therioside. Self-published via Lulu.com, 2007.

Playwrights

Religious scholars

Convention panelists

Internal documentarians

That term was coined for amputees, not otherkin!

Unless you are both, you cannot use the term “Phantom Limbs”!

Like. You might as well walk into a bookshop and stamp BLOCKED FOR BADWRONG CONTENT on every book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, half of Shakespeare, every YA novel about rape recovery, every adult novel about rape recovery, every biography of someone who has suffered from rape, incest or paedophilia and been brave enough to write about it, every book of Greek, Egyptian and Norse myths, the fucking Bible - just a truly massive percentage of the entire global literary canon, because there is literally no way to remove each and every reference to these themes otherwise. 

Do you know why schools and libraries are pressured to ban books like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, To Kill a Mockingbird and Laurie Halse Andersen’s Speak? Because dumbass, scaremongering adults think that letting teens read about rape or racism or sexual violence or queerness or half a dozen other topics they think are Bad Things will lead to them down a path of Vice. 

What happens to characters in stories, no matter how graphic or awful, is not the same as that act occurring to a real human person in real life, nor does reading or writing such works indicate endorsement of those acts. This is why a story which features paedophilia, regardless of whether it’s written as overtly sexual content or as a damning condemnation of the act, is not the same as child pornography by any legal definition: because no actual children are harmed. Are you personally still allowed to be angry and disgusted about the public availability of the former type of stories, even in instances where the writers are themselves victims of child abuse trying to process their trauma? Yes! You’re under no moral obligation to like any kind of content! But are you correct in asserting that the creation of such stories is illegal and hurting somebody in exactly the same way that a real abuser hurting a real child would be? No! Because fictional characters are not real people, and whatever our motives for creating or engaging with a particular thing, monkey see = monkey approve is not how it fucking works.  

Have you ever watched an episode of CSI? Congratulations! By your own logic, you’re pro rape and murder. Ever watched an episode of Hannibal? Congratulations! By your own logic, you endorse cannibalism, Stockholm Syndrome and serial killing. Ever watched a historical drama where a young girl gets married to a much older man? Congratulations! By your own logic, you endorse child brides. And on, and on, and on.

I say again: you are allowed to be critical of particular works and/or the recurrence of certain themes across a particular medium. But arguing that an entire literary platform needs to end because some stories there contain Bad Things makes as much sense as banning the works of Octavia Butler or Sherman Alexie from school libraries because of their content. Which is - spoiler alert - a really bad idea.

Would I endorse any of those things in real life? HELL NO. Would I enjoy any of those in real life? HELL NO. I would find it vile and repulsive. There is no question of that, it is not up for debate.

Yes, those are things that are either inherently harmful or (if you're being very generous) require such exact handling of every situation to make them functionally impossible to do without causing harm, but all that means is don't actually do them. Where's the same acceptance as agreeing fantasizing about a woman doesn't make a gay man bi? And much as that Christian "you can't help the impure thoughts that come into your head, but you can keep yourself from acting on them" rankles, it's not actually untrue--- which might be why we hate it so much ---and someone knowing whatever they're into is indeed harmful means there's a good chance they're taking that advice. Or, like @podkayneofthegalaxy, that knowledge is enough to ruin even the idea of it happening in the real world.

Basically, stop kinkshaming the fantasies. If someone's not being safe, sane, or consentual (or whatever guidelines you prefer) in their actions, then it's not safe sex/living, and nobody's saying that's not a problem. But if it's all in their own head, then condemming the person on the whole is actually hypocritical. "There's no wrong way to fantasize" doesn't get to be applied selectively.

Terf

Endogeniec

Tulpa

SoulBonds

Quiogenic

Endogenic – a plural system that didn’t form through trauma. It might stem from deliberate effort, or it might be more along the lines of the person we know of who absorbed her twin in the womb, and who has always felt that twin’s presence and non-verbal communication.

Tulpa – a systemmate created by someone already present in the mind, almost always (and, by some definitions, necessarily) after long spans of talking to their initially-puppet-like form until they manage to talk back. The name’s derived from the Tibetian term, but the practice shares little beyond the most basic outlines.

Soulbond – Someone who the system believes originated outside the body before being “found” and invited in. The traditional dialogue is almost exclusively based around soulbonds as fictional characters (not just someone based on Twilight Sparkle, say, but someone who remembers being Twilight Sparkle).

Quoigenic (to RSP: you might want to correct the spelling on the banner) – More than just mixed-origin, think “agnostic”; it primarily covers systems who aren’t sure whether they were caused by trauma or not, but there’s definitely others who use it to mean it’s impossible to know, despite what theories they may have.

now; there’s no such thing as a mixed-origin system because the only thing that’s able to disrupt the integration of separate ego states in childhood is trauma. that’s not the same thing as saying every single alter splits due to trauma because that’s not true. they can split from trauma, from stress, sometimes they just split for no tangible reason if you’re just prone to splitting (most common in polyfragmented systems).

And if you’ll allow me one more liberty, why would someone already have to be an alter to be prone to splitting? Namely, what about singlets? That childhood period of maleable ego-states having passed, I fully agree any separation wouldn’t be as complete or anywhere near as easy, but what happens to that child with a propensity for splitting if they grow up without trauma? Basically, if you can have separate ego-states in DID systems, some or all with their own lineages of splits (and I could be completely wrong, but from what I’ve heard, wouldn’t those splits be identifiably closer to each other than to anyone from a different ego-state?), and even if you can’t pull those ego-states back apart after they’ve integrated through a comfortable childhood, couldn’t you still have a single lineage of splits from the single resulting ego?

Regardless of our disagreement on this, I do really appreciate what you’re doing. On behalf of your actual audience, thank you.

if i’m correct, are you asking about internal stress rather than external? i’m answering as if it is; for systems that are more prone to splitting, i would think that internal stress would be enough to cause a split.

okay so the thing is, that when we’re kids and going through trauma, it’s not exactly splitting. it’s literally just not integrating. our ego states can’t integrate due to trauma. so, once they’ve integrated though, that’s permanent. i would imagine that someone without trauma but with a natural disposition to dissociate, they would develop a dissociative disorder like dpdr, or possibly bpd. everyone has different personalities (work me, party me, home me etc) which is what you could mean by the singlet with split lineage? also, if i’m understanding i think you are talking about sub systems (which is when an alter has their own separate system) and yes, that’s possible. most common in polyfragmented systems.

i’m trying to give systems a little posivity boost.

Not quite what I was asking, but thanks for the explanation! I'll confess I've not looked into the theories on traumagenic plurality as much as I should, and it's nice to get a better idea of how it works. Anyway, I was thinking about an alter who deliberately splits themself into a subsystem (which at least sounds possible with the model you describe), and trying to figure out what would change through integration that would make that impossible -- trying to compare the experience endogenic systems describe not to traumagenic systems but to subsystems. Probably just flailing blindly, though, sorry!

And for your last paragraph, I'm not going to try to argue most of it beyond saying that some people using plurality as a means of abuse (and my deepest apologies to anyone on the receiving end of that) isn't necessarily fair to hold against the entire community unless you see most people doing so or being approving of it, and while I'm still only on the edges, I get the feeling there's a lot more who just fit your "treating having a system like it's a game" depiction.

Terf

Endogeniec

Tulpa

SoulBonds

Quiogenic

Endogenic – a plural system that didn’t form through trauma. It might stem from deliberate effort, or it might be more along the lines of the person we know of who absorbed her twin in the womb, and who has always felt that twin’s presence and non-verbal communication.

Tulpa – a systemmate created by someone already present in the mind, almost always (and, by some definitions, necessarily) after long spans of talking to their initially-puppet-like form until they manage to talk back. The name’s derived from the Tibetian term, but the practice shares little beyond the most basic outlines.

Soulbond – Someone who the system believes originated outside the body before being “found” and invited in. The traditional dialogue is almost exclusively based around soulbonds as fictional characters (not just someone based on Twilight Sparkle, say, but someone who remembers being Twilight Sparkle).

Quoigenic (to RSP: you might want to correct the spelling on the banner) – More than just mixed-origin, think “agnostic”; it primarily covers systems who aren’t sure whether they were caused by trauma or not, but there’s definitely others who use it to mean it’s impossible to know, despite what theories they may have.

now; there’s no such thing as a mixed-origin system because the only thing that’s able to disrupt the integration of separate ego states in childhood is trauma. that’s not the same thing as saying every single alter splits due to trauma because that’s not true. they can split from trauma, from stress, sometimes they just split for no tangible reason if you’re just prone to splitting (most common in polyfragmented systems).

And if you'll allow me one more liberty, why would someone already have to be an alter to be prone to splitting? Namely, what about singlets? That childhood period of maleable ego-states having passed, I fully agree any separation wouldn't be as complete or anywhere near as easy, but what happens to that child with a propensity for splitting if they grow up without trauma? Basically, if you can have separate ego-states in DID systems, some or all with their own lineages of splits (and I could be completely wrong, but from what I've heard, wouldn't those splits be identifiably closer to each other than to anyone from a different ego-state?), and even if you can't pull those ego-states back apart after they've integrated through a comfortable childhood, couldn't you still have a single lineage of splits from the single resulting ego?

Regardless of our disagreement on this, I do really appreciate what you're doing. On behalf of your actual audience, thank you.

Terf

Endogeniec

Tulpa

SoulBonds

Quiogenic

Endogenic -- a plural system that didn't form through trauma. It might stem from deliberate effort, or it might be more along the lines of the person we know of who absorbed her twin in the womb, and who has always felt that twin's presence and non-verbal communication.

Tulpa -- a systemmate created by someone already present in the mind, almost always (and, by some definitions, necessarily) after long spans of talking to their initially-puppet-like form until they manage to talk back. The name's derived from the Tibetian term, but the practice shares little beyond the most basic outlines.

Soulbond -- Someone who the system believes originated outside the body before being "found" and invited in. The traditional dialogue is almost exclusively based around soulbonds as fictional characters (not just someone based on Twilight Sparkle, say, but someone who remembers being Twilight Sparkle).

Quoigenic (to RSP: you might want to correct the spelling on the banner) -- More than just mixed-origin, think "agnostic"; it primarily covers systems who aren't sure whether they were caused by trauma or not, but there's definitely others who use it to mean it's impossible to know, despite what theories they may have.

Consider looking into watching Wilderness (1996) ®   

In the movie, the main character by the name Alice White has been turning into a wolf every three nights during the full moon sense she was 13 years old. On these nights she buys several pounds of raw meat, brings out a big tub of water to drink from, and lays herself up in her basement because while in wolf form (played by a wolf-dog hybrid) she acts like and is a wolf in every way. She has become depressed with her situation having to keep “her wolf” locked up as she lives in the city and finds herself lonely and cut off from others. She seeks out psychological help and opens up about her wolf to him. She also turns to a wolf researcher as well to possibly become the wolf at will or to find away to remain the wolf for the rest of her life. Things turn for the worst when her psychologists becomes obsessed with her and she meets a man who falls in love with her.

do you have ADHD? are you easily distracted? do you daydream constantly abt everything and anything? when you hear the words “you might fall asleep” in a post abt meditation, do you sigh and roll your eyes?

if you answered “yes” to any of the above, then this is the post for you!!

as someone who has type one ADHD and a crazy imaginative mind, I haven’t seen a single Intro To Meditation post that pertains to me. they’re always abt tips for visualization, or tips for not falling asleep within 5 minutes. I have insomnia you guys, I ain’t gonna be asleep in any less than 2 hours smh

without further rambling, here’s some tips and tricks for people who just can’t fucking meditate

1) listen to some goddamn music. preferably stuff you’ve listened to many times before, songs you have basically memorized so you don’t get distracted by how unique this new sound is, or how cool that voice was right there. listen to your favorites!! listen to songs in foreign languages, so you aren’t focused on the words but more the feeling they give. blast that shit through your most comfortable earbuds, tune everything else out

2) don’t sit outside. trust me. too many extra sensory bits and shit that you just don’t need rn. miss me with that wind and bugs and prickly grass.

3) tired of the “visualize a door” method? visualize yourself dancing! find one good dance song that you’ll only use when trying to meditate, and choreograph your own little routine! imagine urself dancing outside on a chilly autumn day- the air smells crisp and the leaves crack and almost hurt beneath your feet and every once in a while your arms hit a twig or branch. imagine it’s spring and there’s cold dew on the soft new grass and the sun is making your bare arms tingly, a warm breeze tugs at your hair and clothes. get creative! the hardest part is imagining yourself *in* your body, looking out, instead of watching urself dance like it’s a movie.

4) sit in the car!! oh my god!! do this!! the passenger seat of the car opens a world of possibilities, and you probably won’t even have to close your eyes because damn, look at you, you’re already off daydreaming abt god knows what and completely ignoring everything around you!! if cars are good for anything, it’s daydreaming. now all you gotta do is figure out how to switch your daydreaming off and turn meditating on.

5) school age witch? meditate in the morning on the bus. if you trust the other kids riding with you enough, do it on the way home too (warning: may suddenly find urself interrupted by flying paper balls or gross laughing. this is why we meditate in the mornings when everyone’s half asleep still)

6) it’s okay if a stray thought drifts in every once in a while, so don’t get upset over it.

7) your leg bouncing? scalp itch? eye twitching? keep bouncing it! scratch your head! rub your eyes!! trying to ignore these things will take more effort than it will to just take care of them. make sure youre comfortable

8) extending on that point, if you find your overall position uncomfortable, just move dude. it’s okay, just cause you aren’t laying with ur arms at ur sides and legs perfectly straight doesn’t mean you won’t get some meaningful meditation in

Meditation isn’t supposed to have one form because it is unique to the individual. Some people might find success in walking (which is a legitimate form of meditation done in Buddhist temples), in knitting or doing some sort of finger work, in exercise (yoga), in singing (mantra), in focusing on one point, on studying an image (yantra)….

Thoughts and the lack thereof are a cycle through which meditation helps lead an individual. So you’ll have a thought and another and another and then eventually you’ll realize you weren’t thinking at all (which “messes up” the meditation, right?). What practicing does is makes the time between thoughts lengthen and illuminates the ease of recognizing that flow.

The mischaracterization of meditation through mainstream channels has hindered a lot of people from feeling successful when meditating. Truth is, if you fall asleep you needed it. Meditation is about tuning in to your deeper channels and removing blocks to your highest self. A sleep deficit is a block to your higher self and sleeping during meditation helps that.

People who practice meditation by being tender with themselves and honoring where their body and mind is at right then are the people who have the most successful meditation practices and don’t feel stymied or decayed by it long term. Your meditation should leave you feeling charged, not depleted.

In both work and observing, I have learned something about kids. A lot of parents try to get their boys to go fight. Of the young ones that do, they tend to be shy. You get the ones who just swing the boffer swords around with no regard for life, but, mostly, they’re reserved. It’s adorable. I mean, they’re kids.

At which point this six-ish-year-old girl whips out her certificate from the axe throwing booth and says “Nah, I’m fine.”

“I… Isn’t this… An engagement ring?”

“Well… We… We should get married by human customs as well.”