Hello! I was wondering if you or your followers have any recommendations of draconic resources? I’m mainly looking for writings / websites on what it’s like to be a dragon or guides to help questioning dragonkin, but anything would help tremendously, thank you.
Hi, Vergil (@falconiforme),
Thanks for the ask. Here are some writings and other information that I recommend for dragon otherkin. I hope to see other readers add more.
As you read these, keep in mind that dragons are very different from one to the next. We don't need to all have the same beliefs, opinions, and experiences as one another to be dragons. Dragons come from all walks of life, and are members of different religions. Some of them believe in magic or supernatural phenomena, some don't. I chose writings here that reflect some of that diversity in the history of our community, rather than pushing a particular view. These do tend to be older articles, because they are the ones I've gotten to know the best.
First, what are dragons? Or what are dragons to you? Rene's essay from 2005 "What is your definition of a dragon?" in the Draconity Resource Project site talks about how dragons are diverse to the point of being undefinable.
Another article on that site, Avatara Raki's "An Introduction to Draconity" from 2006, talks more about the experiences of dragons living as humans.
Some call themselves dragon otherkin. There have always been some dragons in the otherkin community. The otherkin community proper started in 1990 in an online mailing list for elves and others. (The Internet made it easier for unusual kinds of people to find one another, but that's not the only place where we are. We know that there were people like otherkin for decades before the 1990s, at the least. Community historians such as myself and @liongoatsnake have researched those.) Realizing that you're otherkin is called Awakening in that community. Guides for questioning or Awakening otherkin of all kinds should be useful for dragons. I recommend these:
Sprite Rêvenchate's "Identifying your Otherkin Species," from 2004. This covers a variety of methods and ideas to think about.
Tiernan's "From the Heart Out," from 2002.
Miniar's "The Scientific Approach," from about 2012.
Tirl's "The Shadow of Myth," from 2001. This says that when you're questioning and choosing a label, it's important to get to know the actual myths that your kintype (dragon) is based on.
Some call themselves dragon therianthropes. There have always been some dragons in the therianthrope community, too. The therianthrope community started in about 1994 in an Internet fan group for werewolves in movies and folklore. Apparently it sprang up independently of the otherkin community, not as an offshoot from it, so they have different words and ideas about similar experiences. An article about therianthropy written by Jakkal in 2001-- who is one of the most influential writers of the therianthrope community in the 1990s-- talks about dragons and other mythical creatures as not so different from real-world animal therianthropes. That community used to call realizing that you're a therianthrope "awereness," which is a pun on "werewolf." Guides for questioning therianthropes of all kinds can also be useful for dragons. Such as:
Katmandu's "InstaWeres," from 2001. This is about how only you can know who and what you are.
Jakkal's "Introduction to the Newbies' Guide," from 2001. About common mistakes to watch out for.
Quil's "Know thyself, know thy animal," from 2006. About how to discover yourself through doing things, not just sitting and thinking.
Mokele's "Spirituality and data sets," from about 2002. About how to apply the scientific method to questioning your therianthropy.
Dragons also have their own subculture, which started in the 1990s in an Internet fan group for dragons in fantasy and folklore. In 1998, Baxil the dragon wrote "The Draconity FAQ" as a guide for such dragons in alt.fan.dragons. Some of this article is just about the culture in that group at that time, so it's a bit dated, but it is about what it's like to be a dragon.
A dragon called KaniS has been continuously running the Draconic.com forum for dragons since 1998. That site's FAQ talks about not only the site itself, but what it's like to be a dragon, and some of KaniS's personal views about that.
Otherkin and therianthropy are not religions. I've known of dragons whose religious/spiritual paths are Pagan, Christian, Hindu, practitioners of Santería, irreligious/atheist, and others. DrakeLightBearer's article "Am I a dragon?" offers advice specifically for Christians who are questioning whether they might be dragons in spirit. The otherkin community started in connection with Paganism, so a lot of its early writings assume you have that background. At the moment I'm not finding any handy articles that say they're specifically for questioning dragons or other 'kin who are Pagan or of other religious/spiritual paths.
I hope this helps. I'm interested in any other resources that readers might add.
everyone that has and still does, unfollow tab right now. RIGHT TF NOW I AM SO FUCKING DISGUSTED. EW EW EW EW EW WHAT IS WRONG W/ HIM. THE THINGS I HAVE READ ARE FUCKING TERRIBLE. the worst part? he’s a grown as fucking man, but he isnt handling the “allegations” like one. i’ve seen ped0s and r@p*sts address the elephant more than HE HAS. tab is a guilty fucking man. his “defense” is one of a guilty man. worst of all i dont believe he even feels guilty abt it. tab isnt sorry, and he’s not trying to be better. i have screenshots for anyone unaware of the whole thing.
[Image description: Artwork drawn with acrylic markers of a sparkling black dragon floating through abstract pink, purple and blue clouds. The dragon's eyes are closed as if asleep and white spikes run down his back and line his cheek. The dragon's tail ends in a white fish-like paddle. End description.]
If you experience any changes in body control (switching, possession, etc.), then establish some form of consistent, asynchronous external communication with your system. External communication has a major benefit: you can still talk to each other across switches (asynchronously) even if the inside of your mind is a mess.
You might set up a journal, whiteboard, calendar, a "single user, multi-account" app like Mytter or Antar, sticky notes, etc. Anything goes as long as your system knows to check it occasionally (or at the least, in an emergency).
We recommend choosing an analog method for your fallback communication method if possible, as a power outage could take out a lot of digital methods. A spur-of-the-moment piece of paper left on a table is better than nothing, but it's less likely to work than a pocket notebook or bulletin board that every system member knows to use for communication if needed. You can always add an app or program once everyone knows where to go for your analog fallback.
Discuss how you want to treat each other. Keep it loose and informal for now- don't make any absolute Laws just yet. Think of it more like the quick agreements that roommates make with each other for practical reasons: "I'll do the dishes if you do the laundry".
A few classics: "try not to die, don't kill anyone else, don't get any tattoos as an impulse decision, and don't throw out things that don't belong to you."
Don't force agreements on anyone. If someone disagrees, then stop and discuss their concerns to find a better agreement. See: Consensus Decision Making.
Map your system, if it feels right. This can help you learn about each other, but it can also be soothing to feel like you have some understanding of who's in your head when you're being flooded with new system members.
Again, keep it simple. What do you actually need to know? What would help you in a practical sense? Start there, then branch out if you'd like to get to know each other better.
Consider making a simple guide to your life. If someone had to handle a day in your life with little to no prior knowledge of it, then what would they need to know?
Where should they check to see if you have any appointments? Are they responsible for feeding any pets? Where can they find money if they need it, and how do they know how much to spend? Do you have a job, and do they need to work it? Etc.
Hopefully you never need this guide, but it's a lifesaver for any unexpectedly amnesiac system members.
Focus on building bridges and trust. Get to know the folks in your head. Find ways to talk and just get to know them. Listen as much as you talk, if not more.
Learn to lean on each other for support, if you can. Trust is one of the most valuable things that you can have in a system. Trust gets you through a lot of tough situations. Give your system members every reason to trust you, and try to learn to trust them in turn.
If someone is hostile, then ask what's driving the hostility. Do they feel under-represented in your life? Does peace make them feel unsafe because they don't know where the threats are? Are they bored, scared, frustrated, or routinely unhappy?
What can you do to support them? What do they need to feel comfortable?
Don't worry about knowing everything. You're just figuring this out- give yourselves some grace for not knowing as much as everyone else seems to. (Besides, they know less than you think. I've yet to meet a system without a single mystery left in it, including folks who've known for decades, and many systems are forever figuring things out in one way or another.)
Ask for information when you need it and let your system explain itself over time; let your system set the pace. You'll get better information that way, and your system will learn that they can trust you to respect them when they say "no, don't touch that yet."
Screw plural community labels for now. Seriously. Screw figuring out origins or consciousness or whatever the linguistic dividing line of the month is. Don't worry about it. These words come and go. Get to know yourselves first.
Why am I suggesting this? Community labels will still be there when you've figured out how to work with each other in a practical sense, and your stronger understanding of each other will make it much easier to find whatever words you wind up needing. Hunting for words now is likely to get you stuck trying to cram a bunch of shifting unknowns into someone else's categorization system, and it might cloud your situation more than it clears it.
Given that you're still settling into the idea of sharing a head at all, getting into the nitty-gritty of labels is probably going to be less helpful than figuring out how to handle doubt and denial issues (or getting communication going, or learning to manage switching, or...), hence the recommendation not to worry about it.
That said: do use labels if you need them. Just remember that labels are tools. Don't let the tools use you.
Also, screw the discourse. If you listen to any one item on this list, make it this one.
Plural community discourse tends to be a little bit rancid in the "debating whether your experiences exist meaningfully in our spaces" way, and it will fuck you up as a new system. Get past the worst of your denial or doubt issues first to avoid worsening the "oh my god, am I faking without knowing it" hell brainworms. Please. I am actually begging you. Avoid the discourse until you've dealt with your own existential doubts.
None of these things are obligations, nor is there any rush to do them. It's just a cluster of things that I tend to suggest to newly discovered systems, and I realized that I don't think we've actually rattled these off on this blog yet.
A plural exclusive term for presenting one's alters or feeling like one presents one's alters like the sky presents the stars in non-still art, with them glimmering in and out of visibility, with the moon representing the host or permafronter(s). This definition can be slightly adjusted as per the collective.
coined for @chronicallyqueercoining2’s pride month event day 5 with the prompt of presentation.
There is no flag, and anyone can use the symbol as it's just the plural interlocking rings with space pictures.
yo therianblr what types of dragons could possibly have fluffy feather wings? im thinking i might be a dragon (horns, long claws, tail) I just have biiiig fluffy white wings. or any creature that generally fits that description i genuinely have no clue. thx !!
Dragons have looked verrrrry different throughout history. Fish like, turtle like, and big feathered snakes. Its the spirit of it that makes a dragon what it is. To me, a dragon is reptilian in some way perhaps elongated body, forked tongue, and even feathers can be considered as they evolved as specialized scales. Also very draconic imo, flying, having elemental magic, and associated with higher powers/celestial/godlike. If that speaks to you, dragon may be a good fit!
I’m not a bird expert but when I think of big wings condors, vultures, and albatross come to mind. If you feel bird-y but beastly maybe you’re a griffon. Hope this helps!
They’re trying to start a movement dead on arrival but I still want to say how ridiculous it is to be upset that someone else enjoys some of the same things as you.
You think this group is just copying you? They are inspired by you! You should be friends!! You’re not radical you are just being exclusionary! Congratulations, you sound like a terf! This is a hate campaign disguised as protecting kin culture.
I feel like the best thing to do is not interact with these blogs. They will run out of steam because this is just such a nothing issue BUT if you feed them they get to feel attacked or whatever.
To do the opposite let’s take a moment to appreciate otherpaws. They contribute so much to the alterhuman and therian community. Most quadrobic tutorials Ive seen are by hobbyists not therians. They are talented artists too, they provide quality gear and take your commissions. Thank you for being you, otherpaws! o7
Wingscardernic: when wants a body with scars on the backside to signify where they had wings, but no longer have wings there for any reason and have scars where they were formerly placed.
Scarbrandernic: when one wants a body with any kind of scar brand on it.
Armbrandernic: when one wants a body with some kind of an arm branding; whatever this means to the user.
Note; The branding related ones are made to be Whumpous in nature, as branding is in reference to actual branding; making a mark on someone in some way to brand them as theirs.
2.7.2025. // Feel free to ignore/ask to be untagged from future posts + this through comments or asks!
Userbox transcript: Remember to check and respect coiners boundaries! Don't repost our terms in public sites such as wikies, Pinterest, etc!/end Transcript. (Userboxes made by headmate, also posted on hampaanirvi.)
ID: Three rectangular flags of 7 even horizontal stripes, in the first flag there is a dark brown to orange colored diamond shape on the center with a white outline, in the second they are dark orange, medium brown and muted pink, and the third one has dark orange to medium brown and muted pink respectively. In the first flag the colors go from top to bottom as white, orange, warm brown, dark brown, warm brown, orange, and black, in the second they go from top to center as muted pink, medium brown, orange, dark orange, and in the third as light brown, medium brown, orange, dark orange, orange, medium brown, and dark brown./end ID
For those who want to download the zine as a PDF, it can be found on itch.io, our plural article website, or our zines website for free (but donations are always welcome!).
(note: this was originally coined by coinings-of-aquarius, on a blog which has since been terminated. the archive is here. this post will only contain plaintext.)
Scardernic, or alderscarred, is an aldernic identity in which one has or wishes to have or obtain a body that is full of or covered in various scars in some way.
Term and flags coined by us on September 8th, 2022.
📢 Hey gang, the blog will be changing a little bit so here’s a heads up. 📢
Names
Phantasma is now the name for us collectively as well as the name for the aspect/headmate who considers themself the “shell” and has a separate blog. That blog is more of a personal one so I’m not linking.
I am now going by Dovah (literally the 3rd name Ive tried in the last year so whatever man), and Grimm also posts here as we both are therian. We may not always distinguish who’s posting because it’s generally blurry and layered.
Content
Primarily about alterhumanity still. However you will also see more about plurality. I’ll also probably post about aldernic terms.
I won’t post about syscourse. I have found resources from tulpamancy and endogenic communities to be helpful for me so you may see that. If that’s a problem this may not be the blog for you. I currently consider myself nondisordered and unsure if “system” is a suitable term for us. I’m also not going to be using origin labels for our plurality or alterhumanity.
Hope you’ll still stick around! I appreciate all the entities who interact with my posts!
If all the beings in the misceverse and alterhuman/nonhuman community gathered together we could form a really sick town/city but nobody is ready for that yet
