Nonhuman expressions of affection are great. Purring. Exposing weak points as a show of trust. Head bonks. Preening and chewing. Nuzzling. Biting. Intertwining tails. Feeding each other. Little chuffs, chatters, beeps and squeaks. Fluffing up of feathers, fur or other things. Dancing to impress. Cleaning their fur, scales, feathers or skin. Sharing body heat. Ears pointing toward those you care about to show your full attention is on them. Slow blinking.
More people should really at least consider otherlinking to be a thing they themselves can do. The community is quiet and the tags tend to be overrun with crossposting, but I think it'd be a lot louder if people actually considered it as a genuine possibility a little more often. 'Linking is usually seen as an afterthought you tack onto the end of a list of alterhuman terms and not usually discussed too much more than that from what we can see. Which is sad because it really can be beneficial and it absolutely has a place in the broader alterhuman community.
You really want to be an animal, or your favourite character, but you know you're not? You can do that--you can just.. become them.
You have a hearttype but it feels kinda weird and it feels like you should have been that thing, but you're not? You could always 'link it if you're dysphoric about not being that thing.
You have something that was--or you thought was--a kintype, but now it's not, and you miss it? Just link it back into yourself.
You think [thing] is really cool and it'd be cool to be one? You can!
You want to incorporate an aesthetic of [thing] into your identity and it'd work best if you just became that thing? That's absolutely a thing you can do.
You think it'd be fun to identify as something other than what your body is? You can make that happen.
Being [thing] would help with something in your life? Go ahead, you can do that.
You can mold your own sense of self an identity however you see fit, and that's really cool. Honestly it comes across as a power move. You get to make your own self, no matter what came before it.
Therilink - Specifications of what it is meant to mean, possible misconceptions that have been brought up in places the idea has been shared to, and alternate name ideas, etc
(pt: Therilink - Specifications of what it is meant to mean, possible misconceptions that have been brought up in places the idea has been shared to, and alternate name ideas, etc)
Original post: https://www.tumblr.com/sebastians-alterhuman-archive/794647121892622336/therilink-therilinktypes-coining-post
If you only want to see the new definition, it will be added in the comments shortly after this is posted, so it should be there if you look.
Originally, I defined Therilink as "a subcategory of otherlink, where one has a voluntary identity as an animal that exists or has existed on this earth. similar to a theriotype, but unlike therianthropy is voluntary instead of involuntary". After sharing it around in a few communities on here, some things have been pointed out on some possible misconceptions and that it could be better defined. This is what this post is for.
MISCONCEPTIONS
(pt: misconceptions)
In terms of the original definition, a very helpful suggestion in the comments of the original post pointed out I didn't get the description of therianthropy that was included correct, as it is not just earthly animals that therianthropy can apply to. The exact words were "But imo it shouldn't be earthly-specific, as therianthropy isn't earth-specific :> /nm /sug", which I do agree with this suggestion, and it will be a part of how I will be redefining Therilink later in this post.
In one community I shared the original post to, there were a few concerns over things that weren't made clear about the term initially.
One person said "Isn't this just otherlink tho /gen", which is understandable. By technicality, yes, it is. Therilink is meant as a subterm under the otherlink umbrella, such as like how copinglink is if I'm not mistaken, specifically applying to any linktype that is of some kind of animal. This wasn't made obvious at the time before the person brought it up.
There was another community comment initially with similar points to the first thing I mentioned that was on the original post itself, about the therianthropy meaning. I wouldn't mention this by itself because of that, but in replies to that there were further things that weren't really questions but I still wanted to mention that this specific misconception came up more than once. The user here however provided a link to help with defining the term better, which I haven't looked at in a while admittedly, but I presume I looked at when first receiving it, though my memory is notoriously bad so I may be wrong. I will be looking at it again. Here it is if you would like to go through it yourself:
https://theriversystem.neocities.org/essays/EarthenMyth (originally was embedded but tumblr hates this link if I wanna share to any communities apparently, which I do, so you'll have to copypaste sorry)
A third user mentioned how therianthropy is involuntary, which it is, but I didn't make it very clear that Therilink takes that into account, and by all means the name does imply it does not. As I specified there in response, Therilink does not mean voluntary therianthropy. Looking back in not sure I used the best words, but what I responded with at the time was "therilink is for when an otherlink type would be a Theriotype to the individual were it not a voluntary identity. It's about how the identity is felt. It's separating it from being a Theriotype while acknowledging what it feels like it would be if it wasn't a choice to be that thing". This was a long winded way of explaining that Therilink is about how the linktype is felt. It does not apply to every animal linktype. It was meant to be about how it feels to be otherlink of that animal. Trying to word it exactly how I meant it as is difficult, especially with the passing of time and possibility I may not remember my exact original intentions and wouldn't even know if that's the case, but I'll be attempting to do so later in the redefining.
I thought there was more, but apparently I recalled wrong on that, so onto the next section.
REDEFINING
(pt: redefining)
Quick refresher on the original definition:
"a subcategory of otherlink, where one has a voluntary identity as an animal that exists or has existed on this earth. similar to a theriotype, but unlike therianthropy is voluntary instead of involuntary"
Now, I'll attempt to redefine the definition with all of the points mentioned in the misconceptions, along with some suggested alternate names and one of my own ideas, and if applicable any concerns over any of the names, including the one it already has, because there still could be some.
NEW DEFINITION
(pt: new definition)
Therilink - A subterm under otherlink. Therilink is when someone has a linktype that feels akin to a theriotype. It does not mean voluntary or chosen therianthropy, it is only about how the linktype feels. Therilink does not apply to every animal linktype, nor does a linker have to use it even if it applies to them. It is just an additional opt in or sublabel to otherlink that only the linker can choose to define themself as. The specifics about what the feeling is like exactly may change between individuals. Someone who is Therilink may be called a Therilinker, and their 'types can be called Therilinktypes.
POSSIBLE SYNONYMS AND RELATED TERMS
(pt: possible synonyms and related terms)
Therianlink - A longer spelling of Therilink. Shared concern with the shorter form that it may be taken as synonymous to chosen/voluntary therianthropy by name if someone is unaware of the actual meaning. Synonym.
Therifeel / Therianfeel - Highlighting the fact it is about how the identity feels. No concerns I can think of beyond it isn't immediately obvious it's an otherlink term. Synonym.
Theriwish / Therianwish - A suggested term by one of the people mentioned in the misconceptions section, who will remain anonymous unless they choose otherwise. Same or similar concerns to therilink/therianlink's as well as not being immediately obvious as an otherlink term. Synonym.
Animallink - A suggested term by the same person as theriwish/therianwish. Only concern is this may already exist as a different term, though I've yet to check. Could be either of synonym or related term.
Fictolink / Fictofeel - Fiction equivalent, same definition but replace all mentions of therianthropy with fictionkin. Only concern is Fictolink as a term likely already exists, presumably to mean a voluntary fictional identity, so Fictofeel may be more preferable. Related terms.
If anyone has further suggestions to add to this list, feel free to add them in comments or reblogs and they may be included here.
CLOSING NOTES
(pt: closing notes)
I hope this gets out there well, and that it's covered all of the points it was meant to. This probably isn't perfect, but I think it's better than it was. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
this [x]-culture-is blog is for c’linkers or linkers in general – anyone has the right to send asks and talk about their experiences here , because linking is a different experience for everyone , so there is no right or wrong . the goal of this blog is to basically share and spread the unique experience of us copinglinkers !!
This blog is ran by a Laios c’linker ( actually , he has way more linktypes than that but they link with Laios the most. ) who goes by any pronouns ! They really enjoy hearing about other people’s experience and running a culture-is blog has always been a dream of hers !
Copinglink is the term used when someone/something chooses to identify as a character/animal/concept/etc in order to cope with trauma , stress , disorders , and/or other issues . This can be done either consciously , subconsciously , and so on .
Otherlink is “a voluntary identity as an alterhuman or fictional being, adopted for various reasons.” [ source ]
there are many more types of linking but they will be added later on , but the gist is – if you identify with any term that contains linking in its name , or have anything vaguely linking-related going on , then you’re allowed to send asks here :D
I don’t do detailed DNIs but if you come to this blog with something negative in mind , then don’t interact . i’m aware that others have very graphic opinions about c’linking and alterhumanity as a whole but this isn’t the space to make those opinions known .
requests are open ! no limit to how many asks can be sent !
