#hoku rambles

[infinitedraconity]

An Otherkin's Guide to Interacting with the Media

Step 1: Don't.

[infinitedraconity]

One super nice thing about being otherkin and having otherkin friends is how easy we are to shop for.

Want an easy gift for an otherkin? Anything related to their kintype. Mugs, pins, pendants, anything. I can walk through a store and get very excited whenever I see something with one of my or a friend's kintype on it (double excitement if it's something rarer).

[infinitedraconity]

Music for Dragons and Dragon People

Do you like music? Of course you do. Here are some playlists I use for my practice and personal listening.

General Listening/Upbeat: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2elzSFhkKsHSyXHAxi6dGc?si=b6e846ae44cc45e2

Meditation: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7DuQqYlOdAuaBI2npPRv5U?si=51f67ca2fbac44c7

Enjoy! Please feel free to throw recommendations my way, too!

[infinitedraconity]

are constelics valid? i was always wondering this and my friend (whose otherkin) seems to not like them. i’m a little confused as to what they are too.

Hey there, grey friend with sunglasses!

Admittedly, I don't know many of the new terms being coined for some types of identities, so I had to look this one up.

According to the coiner, constelic refers to folks whose identities are picked up later in life, and are generally not permanent. Constelic identities (or stels) are not something you're born with, and whether or not you choose your stels depends on the person and/or the individual stels. Stels can last anywhere from a very short amount of time (around a week) to a lifetime (though this is uncommon).

Honestly, sounds like it occupies some of the space between linktypes and flicker identities. I'm not an expert on any of these, as I don't experience them, but I'm not surprised to see an overlap there.

My take on whether or not something is valid is this: if it is a good-faith identity that is actually being experienced by someone, and it isn't harming them or anyone else, then yes. We should always approach these things with curiosity and empathy, rather than ire, since both the human and nonhuman experiences are so diverse and unique.

To your friend, if they wish to listen: From one otherkin person to another, I would ask you to look inward and figure out what about this identity bothers you. Then, read about it, and seek to understand them before you make a call on whether they are valid.

Tl;dr: Constelic is just another form of alterhumanity that someone could experience. There is no good reason to call it invalid, if you ask me. Be curious and always seek to understand first.

Wind at your back!

Original Carrd archive for the term constelic

[infinitedraconity]

(kin ask game)

13. What makes you feel most “at home”? What types of sights, sounds, smells, etc. remind you of your kintype and put you at ease?

For all my kintypes, mountains are the universal sight. Jagged, smooth, rocky, green, doesn't matter—mountains have always been present in my lives. Thunderstorms, too, are a huge calm for me. The rain, the thunder, the scents it leaves in the air.

Other natural things include the ocean, forests, lakes and rivers, cliffs, and caves. Some less natural stuff includes roaring fireplaces, old architecture, folk music (or any acoustic music in general), swords, bows, and a variety of other things.

[infinitedraconity]

Hey! I saw you talking earlier about a vampire/werewolf/gargoyle kintype, and it reminded me heavily of a race from a book series... they drink blood, and are somewhat beastial in their habits. I don't remember much of their rules, TBH, and I only remember the name of the sequel (Brighid's Quest). If you're interested I can look into it harder and sent you like a wiki page about them, if it exists?

Heyo! Sounds super interesting, I'd love to see the wiki page! Would love to do a comparison.

I do know that this kintype of mine is from Tamriel. My base form is a Chimer (I think), and I lived as just a Chimer for a while before I was bitten. After that, I lived until the Second Era, where I was captured by the Grey Host (I believe, it was some sort of organization that had a lot of alchemical stuff at their disposal) and turned into that shifter.

This is as far as I know, and could be shown wrong as I discover more.

[infinitedraconity]

do you have any tips on identifying trolls / troll blogs / bad faith in general? i am autistic & fairly new to the kin community in general, i'm worried about being swindled. thank you in advance, hoku!

Hello, grey friend with sunglasses!

This is a really good question, actually, and it addresses the whole reason that trolls are a problem– the good ones can be mistaken for serious otherkin, especially by people who have little to no experience with the community. As a fellow autistic person, this is something I used to have trouble with, too. However, you eventually start picking up on patterns.

So, how does one go about spotting trolls? Some hallmarks that I look for are:

•"ridiculous" kintypes. Food is really common. This one can be hard, since ridiculousness is subjective, and there are some people with out-there kintypes who are completely sincere. This sign really only applies in conjunction with others.

•odd pronouns, especially nounself. As with before, this is only in conjunction with other signs.

•a million labels, often conflicting with each other. You may as well have the entire dictionary.

•sudden appearance with a lot of posts. Usually trolls like to hit fast and hard.

•over-use of "uwu" and similar emotes.

•a LOT of posts about species dysphoria. Serious otherkin will address this topic on occasion, but trolls often make it every other post.

•posts about how their kintype interferes with normal human functioning. Most otherkin would seek help if it interferes (which it almost always doesn't).

•posts about otherkin being oppressed (especially the poster). This ties in a lot with the previous point, since they like to say that being "forced" into functioning normally is oppressive and they shouldn't have to do it (famous example: the rabbitkin in a restaurant post).

•posts about being triggered by stuff related to their kintype. This especially applies with "foodkin" ("please don't talk about eating I'm biscuitkin and it's really triggering"), but can also be related to other kintypes.

•inflammatory behavior. They come onto the tags, and start fights when someone tries to gently correct them.

•justifying shitty behavior with their kintype (i.e. zoophilia, acting out in public, eating stuff they shouldn't, etc.). This is easily the biggest marker, as well as the one that fools the most outsiders. We've all seen the posts about the dragonkin eating gems and the cat therian who is attracted to cats. Those are notorious troll posts that are still passed around by anti-kin despite being years old and demonstrated to be fake many times. It's definitely rarer than the others, though they definitely get the most attention when they show up.

Some stuff that is usually not troll behavior:

•having a lot of kintypes. This is common among younger folks and people who aren't totally familiar with otherkinity as a concept, but not trolls.

•on that note, misinformation. Same as above.

•unusual kintypes (when not accompanied by other markers of trolls). I've seen some very odd kintypes with some totally serious folks.

Some other people to avoid:

•people who pretend to know everything. We are all humans, whether we like it or not, and are ergo fallible. Nobody knows everything. Be wary of what they tell you.

•godkin/deitykin who demand worship. Just don't bother with them, you'll be a lot better off.

•physical shifters (a.k.a. "p-shifters"). These are folks who claim they can physically transform into another being. They also call themselves lycans, werewolves, and shifters. They lurk in the corners of the community, making grand claims with zero evidence to back it up. They tend to prey on vulnerable people, forming small cult-like groups of followers who all believe that they, too, will one day have their first shift. However, physical shifting is impossible, despite how much we wish it wasn't. Avoid these folks at all costs.

The listed troll behaviors are almost never isolated– trolls usually exhibit two or more behaviors from the list. Usually, I keep my guard up at one, but once you see at least two, you can be pretty sure they're a troll. However, I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt until they actually start hurting people.

This was a really good question, and it's good information to know. Thanks for asking!

Edit: added some stuff and corrected some typos

[infinitedraconity]

How do you necessarily act around someone in a kin shift? Or during? I’m new to kin shifts and things like that. I’m sorry.

Sorry for taking so long to get around to this! Quarantine's been a bitch to my energy.

First of all, don't apologize. You are here asking questions, and it honestly brings me so much joy that you want to learn.

As far as "kin shifts," I'm unsure if you're talking about the traditional definition of a shift, or the one that I see more commonly used here on Tumblr, especially in the fictionkin community.

Traditionally, a mental shift is when your thinking becomes more like that of your kintype's, so you generally begin to act more like it. (And yes, we can control this. It's usually not hard to do so.)

The definition of "kin shift" that I see more often on here now is when your "predominant" kintype changes, I believe, or when a kintype becomes stronger. Essentially like a mental shift, but longer lasting? If someone wants to help the oldie on this one, please do.

As far as how to act around them? Ask them. It's generally a rule to just... treat people kindly, so start there. But asking them how they want to be treated in certain situations is probably your best bet.

TL;DR- The definition of shift varies widely depending on who you ask. If you want to know how to treat someone in a shift, ask them.