#conceptfolk

[liondrakes]

I get the aversion that folks have towards anyone assuming alterhumanity is exclusively experienced as a connection. With social media adding more visibility to us as a community, it feels like we have to make corrections every day about what it means to be otherkin, therian, fictionkin, otherhuman, transspecies, bispecies, etc. We see this especially with the alterhuman label, which has a similar yet more internal issue— having to correct our own when it’s misconstrued as synonymous with nonhumanity or identify-as experiences only.

Connection, however, is a word that comes up a lot in the former of the two conversations. It’s a word that indicates a tie to something, but not necessarily identification or embodiment as that thing. It’s a word that many have come to associate with these misconceptions, because frankly, a lot of misinformed people cite identify-as experiences as connections when those experiences are distinctly about how one identifies.

At the same time, I feel like some folks take the nuance of connections for granted because of these misunderstandings. Corrections are still needed, of course. After all, we live in an age where language rot happens twice as fast thanks to how widespread (and poorly organized) the internet is. Regardless, connection as an experience still exists apart from these discourses. Clarifying, reaffirming or even defending one experience is possible without diluting another. That’s usually not the intention, but that doesn’t stop the initial act from coming off that way.

This is partially related to the topic of watering down hearttypes in contrast to kintypes and the like, but I believe this extends into other non-identify as experiences since the act of not being something is often approached as secondary to one’s experiences. It’s not a problem if that’s the case on an individual level, but the collective assumption that this is the case is where things get messy. I am a concept (a genre of fiction, to be exact), but I believe my connection to speculative fiction and my history with it predates my identity as fantasy.

Being fantasy is very relevant to my shapeshifting, but speculative fiction is relevant to my alterhumanity at large. It’s likely why fiction is at the forefront of my alterhumanity, and I’d wager my identity as fantasy developed from this connection. Regarding conceptuality, my relationship with speculative fiction is experienced as:

Symbolic Conceptuality: Speculative fiction has been influential throughout my life. It’s shaped my self-perception, my writing, and my passion for literature over the years. It’s also been a source of inspiration for my philosophy and spirituality, specifically how I interpret the ontology of what we consider tangible/“real” and intangible/“not real”. As art and as a general concept, specfic represents the kind of energy I want to bring in my life. Finding the fantastical in mudanity, seeking possibility in what’s deemed impossible, lifting the boundaries of belief and exploring how much larger the world becomes with every venture, etc.

*Literal Conceptuality: In this case, I mean this connection is directly tied to what I am. I am categorized under this medium and recognized as a primary example of what specfic is. I am a part of speculative fiction, not the medium itself; this is a connection established by association. Speculative fiction and I are inseparable (but not interchangeable!) because my very existence consists of the kinds of art and storytelling this medium is built on. Not only are we inseparable, but to be separated from this medium would feel like a violation to me as one of millions of genres included under specfic. This experience with specfic as conceptuality would come later than the previous one.

*To clarify: “Literal alterhumanity focuses on the object of identification as itself. Often, this is accomplished by being the thing in question, but I would argue that, while that sense predominates this category of alterhumanity, it is not the exclusive domain of identifying-as. In literal alterhumanity, each 'type is focused on one singular entity, and generally focuses on the lived experience of being that thing, whatever it is. This type of alterhumanity is not specifically focused on things that exist in the world, but rather focused on one's type in a practical, literal, occasionally material sense,” quoted from Exploring Conceptual Alterhumanity, 2nd ed. (Or: the revised and edited conceptfolk essay) by gossamer_musings on Dreamwidth

My position as both fictionkin and fictionhearted are equal. I talk a lot about my fictionhood in the identify-as sense, but the relevance of fiction to me, specifically outside of who or what I am and where I am from, presents itself through my life outside of this community. I helped my college’s literary magazine get back on its feet once the quarantine was lifted and dedicated a lot of my work as a student around the anthropology of English literature (Southern contemporary and gothic lit being my preferred focuses, respectively). Although specfic isn’t limited to English-speaking audiences nor does my connection exclusively apply to literature, my childhood interest in speculative fiction is still foundational to my background with English literature and the profession I’m working towards.

Now, by no means does a connection have to entail experiences such as mine. A connection can be important simply because it exists, no matter how long that’s been or how that relates to your life outside online conversations.

That said, that’s not what my point is. My point is: a connection is still yours, just as much as your selfhood. In the same way you don’t want your selfhood to be taken out of context and framed as something else to appease others’ judgment, those of us with very present connections do not want them to be treated as a step below selfhood when these corrections are made. Both experiences get caught up in the interactions we have with people in and outside of our community, and it’s far too easy for these situations to take a nosedive. Keeping each other in mind can be just as easy, though.

[that-dreaming-dragon]

Not me here struggling to figure out if something is a anchor or a keystone.

Bunch of rambly thoughts below

I’d say orange is a anchor for me as a shapeshifter, and dream is a keystone for us collectively, across all of our identitype.

Interestingly, draconity isn’t a anchor or keystone. Yet? It is a central theme for many of our identitype.

Divinity is also something that we can’t say if it is a anchor or a keystone.

Circle as well. It is somehow someway tied to the belief of Balance, which is either keystone or not really. We wrote this in the Othercon conceptfolk discussion board:

it crossed my mind that there are things that is part of my life philosophy and beliefs. I do not know how to define them. Conceptuality feels like the crystal orb you hold as dragons that have them, or the coat and crown that you wear as leaders, titles on your nameplate. They may be larger than life, abstract, or metaphorical, symbolic, but somehow they are still surrounding and wrapping around you, at least it feels like that to me.

Beliefs, lifestyle, philosophy, perhaps especially lifestyle, really blurs that line of “is this a conceptfolk identity, or is it something significant to me, but not identity related.”

For example, I am conceptually tied to dreams, that is our keystone, and within it one aspect of dream is chaos. My feelings, my action, my very being are just, chaos at times.

My belief? One of them is balance. That almost sound and feel like a personal conceptuality, but I cannot say for sure it is or isn’t. There is a distance there, something far that I’m putting on a altar. A lens I put on. Filter which is in front of my own view on the world around.

I identify as a chaotic being, I identify conceptually with the concept of dreams, but I do not feel that with the concept of balance, even if it could easily be seen as conceptual alterhumanity.

It’s mainly trying to figure out if the listed things are significant to us in a conceptual sense, or in a characteristic sense. Many of them are blurry.

Anyways rambly thoughts.

[lightning-beast]

So. We saw Daystar Solander's panel on conceptfolk in Othercon a few days ago (which was great, btw!).. and now we're all questioning something.

💿:Most notably I, Corvus Sharp-whistle Corax, am questioning being conceptfolk myself. Movement. That's what's at the center of it all. Specifically two concepts I've been calling Travel and Water. (and also a potential third which might just be a normal kintype, or could just be some avian gender fuckery that I've been calling Contrast, which I'm not going over because of its uncertainty). ..but. Uh. Yeah that panel fucking awakened something in me.

First up, Travel. You may be asking, what do I mean by that? Well, for starters, I definitely know what it isn't - I'm not nomadic. I doubt I ever will be, I simply have too many belongings and connections to ever truly leave somewhere I call my home. And bringing home with me feels. Wrong. I need to have a stable territory to return to. But that's the thing - I return to it. From elsewhere. I have a common urge to just pick an interesting looking direction and Go. I'm a curious beast! I see a pathway, I want to walk along it! Maybe even take some scenic photographs! If I don't go somewhere New or at the very least return to somewhere I haven't been in a while, I get Bored and Sad and it makes me want to rip out my metaphorical feathers in anguish. Staying at home all the time gets Stagnant. Somewhere new isn't stagnant - I've never been there! It's fresh! Enrichment in my enclosure! Even somewhere I've been before can be good enough, so long that it isn't Home and I haven't been there in a decently long stretch of time. Going Somewhere gives me the chance for things to stop feeling Stagnant, for me to chat with my dæmons, to see new things, to photograph cool plants. Staying somewhere all the time can be cozy and safe. But sometimes I don't mind a little bit of discomfort and risk.

So, that second one, Water. That sounds.. even more broad than Travel, but trust me it's entirely literal. Water, in all its myriad forms, is very important to us collectively and also individually. But what do I mean by that? It's certainly very hard to describe. But I'll try. For me in particular, it's mostly freshwater - lakes, rivers, rain. And thunderstorms, by extension. For Mozzarella, it's mainly freshwater as well, lakes and ponds and rain. For Caeruleus it's the obvious - the ocean and any other saltwater environments. (Not that we don't like snow or steam, it just isn't as integral as liquid water.) I've loved swimming ever since I was young. Every summer, me and my family would go to the local pool (or the beach, at least once) for my birthday (which is in summer, so it's perfect!) Even outside of birthday celebrations, I've been to the pool on just random days throughout the summer. We also had an inflatable pool at one point, and there have been many times when Mom would attach a sprinkler to the underside of a table umbrella. Like a domesticated rainstorm of sorts. I used to dislike rain, but mostly due to the inconvenience of Wet Clothes rather than a true dislike of water. As you can clearly tell by our collective name, I like rain now. (Related to that, I have a raincoat now.) It's always a delight to go outside when it's soaking wet outside, rain pounding on the earth. Even if I get sopping wet, I don't mind. It's just that nice. It makes me feel alive. So, why, exactly do I think this has something to do with being conceptfolk? No matter what season, just getting to experience water in some form is important to us. In the spring and autumn, the rainstorms. In winter, navigating a cold snowscape. In summer, visiting our local lake and swimming in it once it's warm enough. We always seem to, almost instinctually, seek out water. There have been many times I've been motivated to go outside simply because of rain. Been motivated to goon a walk simply because of the idea of merely seeing the lake. Maybe water has nothing to do with being conceptfolk for us. Maybe it's a hearttype. Regardless of which it is, water is very important to us. So, uh. The point of all this. Both of these two concepts, Travel and Water, feel integral to myself (and my dæmons as well, as mentioned earlier!) And at the center of them both, there's a third, simpler concept - Movement. You can always tell when I'm really not doing well because I don't move much. I just kind of stay inside all day, in my room, and probably cry a bunch or something like that. But when I feel good, when I feel like myself? Movement. A lot of movement - stimming because of something I like, walking on trails outside and photographing bugs, running through the woods near our house, diving in the lake to look at fish. There's always movement involved. Travel requires movement. Even if you're in a car or on a horse or whatever, something is moving. Water is nearly always moving, it's rarely stagnant. When it is, it's usually in small quantities - and even that will stir with a simple breeze or the tail movements of fish. Motion is at the center of it all.

🪲:I don't write often but, hi! I'm Mozzarella. I like ferns, if you didn't know. A lot. And since earlier today, I've been questioning a fern hearttype. Hearttypes are nothing new for us collectively. Corvus has, uh. Three of them, so wer're certainly familiar with how Corvus experiences hearttypes. But neither I, nor Caeruleus, have ever kinfirmed any hearttypes. So we're both very new to this whole hearttype thing. I've considered hearttypes before. Notably Mustelidae. (this was before I labeled myself as a shapeshifter.) Still not quite conclusive on that one? But that's not the focus here. Something about ferns.. it's certainly nothing form related. And it's definitely not a kintype. As a collective we are.. way too movement focused to even consider being phytanthropes (myself definitely included! oftentimes I'll shift form halfway through an action!) But.. something in me always comes back to ferns. I like other plants a lot as well! I'm the resident Plant Enthusiast (directly opposite to Caeruleus, the Fish Enjoyer, of course), and other non-fern favorites include birch, mosses, and lilypads. There's just something ib ferns thats, like, it's not me, but it's an integral part of my sense of self? Like iridescencent objects. It's not like I'm labradorite objectkin just because they're Iridescencent and Sometimes Green.. but I do really like them. Something about ferns consistently makes me go "!!!" when I see them. The feeling is definitely stronger than for the others. Corvus likes ferns a good deal due to being from the Mesozoic, which had lots of ferns. It's different, though. With Corvus, they're like "Oh cool, ferns!" While with me, I'm like "!!!! IT'S FERNS!!!!! FUCK YEAH!!!!!". Ok maybe not the exact wording I'd use but you get the point. Something about them is deeply Me despite not being me-shaped?? Ferrets are me-shaped. As are magpies. And rats. And a myriad of other animals. Ferns... yeah. I think I'm fernhearted.

🌊:Hello all, I am Caeruleus. Similarly to my fellow dæmon Mozzarella, I've been questioning a hearttype as well. Specifically, fish! There's a reason I'm known as the Local Fish Enjoyer, and it's because I do, in fact, enjoy fish. I'm not quite sure about eating them (my Spinosaurus instincts say they'd be tasty, but I haven't confirmed that since I've never fronted) but as animals? I love them, in all their myriad forms. My personal favorite are the Coelacanths (it's only natural, though - they're ancient blue fish! That's right up my alley!) but this fact doesn't mean I don't also enjoy the others! Anything from the tiniest minnow to the huge river sturgeon, they're all lovely in their own ways. Gar, with their long snouts reminiscent of my own, eels, with their sinuous bodies, rainbow trout, with their beautiful coloration and lovely spots. I could go on. But I won't, because the point here is that I may be fishhearted. In truth, pretty much any aquatic animal is one that I like at least a little. I'm definitely biased. But excluding paratypes like cormorants and herons, my favorites are.. practically all fish. (And.. maybe also lobsters? That might be a bit of Corvus seeping through, though. .. Sidenote, the English language is a mess.) There is something about fish in particular that captivates me like very very few other animals. The way they move, the way their scales shine in sunlight, a myriad of shapes, different scale patterns for different environments. The fact that eels can even exist is fantastic in its own right. Coelacanths were thought to be long extinct until someone found one alive. In the Cenozoic. That's simply impressive. The fact that there is a fish called wahoo is delightful as well (It's a beautiful animal, too! Long, silvery and striped.) I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but that fact that I managed to write so many words about fish probably means that my gut instinct was right - and I am, in fact, fishhearted. And, just the idea that someone can be so taken with such often overlooked animals as fish that they have a hearttype.. that's simply delightful.

(This was also posted to our Dreamwidth here if you would like to view it there: https://lightning-beast.dreamwidth.org/720.html )