Sirens are a mythological creature hailing from Greece. They are said to lure mariners in with a song so beautiful that the sailors would be unable to resist going straight to them and drowning in the waters surrounding them. Hence, the term “siren song” is used to refer to an appeal that is hard to resist but will lead to a bad conclusion. Perhaps most famously, in Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus was curious to hear the famous song but didn’t want to die, so he took the advice of the sorceress Circe and had his crew tie him to the mast while they wore wax in their own ears. When the ship passed by the siren’s home, the song was so beautiful that he begged the crew to let him go to them, but they of course couldn’t hear. Only when they had passed out of earshot of the island did the crew untie Odysseus.
The exact nature of the sirens and their appearance varies a bit depending on the poet describing them, but one thing they all agree on is that sirens mixed the characteristics of human women and birds, whether as birds with human faces or women with birds legs or any other combination.
Presumably, this connection was made because both birds and sirens were said to have beautiful songs. Even though they lured sailors, sirens never had many aquatic characteristics and were said to live in “a meadow starred with flowers,” which later poets specifically named as either the island of Anthemoessa or a group of three small islands called the Sirenum scopuli. Sirens always dwelled on land and never actually went into the water.
Some legends claim that if a human hears the siren’s song and does not perish, the siren is fated to die. Gaias Julius Hyginus, a Latin author, later claimed that after Odysseus escaped them, the sirens threw themselves into the water and drowned.
Tigers are mostly nocturnal animals. However, in areas where there are no human habitations, tigers have been spotted hunting during the day. They are least active during midday, when the heat is the strongest, and sleep an average of 18 to 20 hours a day, a considerably longer amount of time than domestic cats, which sleep 12 to 16 hours a day. The reason tigers sleep so much is to conserve energy, as a more active tiger has to have more successful hunts in order to adequately nourish itself. Since only half of all tiger hunts are successful, it’s better for the tiger to play it safe and save up its reserves.
If you’re still up at three in the morning, then the reason you’re tired should speak for itself.
I’ve already addressed this on this blog, but it keeps popping up. So, I would like to remind everyone once again that wolf packs in the wild do not operate by the stereotypical hierarchical structure. Packs consist of a nuclear family of a parent pair and their offspring, and the parents also participate fully in hunting.
Of the four distinct hyena species, only the spotted hyena, the most well-known of the group both in Africa and in the west, has the distinctive “laughing” vocalization. Spotted hyenas make a wide range of sounds, but their laugh, coupled with the lower “whooping” sound they make, are the most famous and among the most distinctive sounds of the African wilderness.
As you might have guessed, hyenas don’t laugh because of humor, mirth, or nervousness, the way humans do. Rather, laughter is a vocalization hyenas make when being chased by other hyenas, usually for a piece of food the hyena being chased has that the other wants.
The sound that seems to human ears to be “laughter” is actually a sign that the animal is a annoyed and wants to be left alone to eat in peace. Unfortunately for the giggler, the laughter often attracts other hyenas. Spotted hyenas will also perform grunting laughs when fleeing in surprise, attacking large prey, or encountering other hyena clans or lions, who of course are major competitors with spotted hyenas (a fact that Disney’s Lion King very faithfully portrayed).
In my foray into the otherkin community, I’ve seen otherkin and anti-kin butt heads again and again over the validity of otherkin identities. Usually, the two groups often end up saying the same things over and over to each other.
When you have two groups of people who think completely differently arguing, the argument often ends up going around in circles because what one group thinks settles the matter still needs to be proven to the other side. This is known as “Begging the Question” in debate circles, where in order to accept someone’s argument, you need to already have reached the same conclusion as them.
A common example used for this is the flawed argument, “God is real because the Bible said so.” In this example, when you ask someone how they know the Bible is true, they would answer, “Because God wrote it.” This is begging the question, as you can’t accept that God is real without believing that God is real. Hence, the Bible cannot be used as evidence for a person like this.
With that in mind, I’ve compiled a short list of arguments I’ve seen otherkin make to anti-kin. When the argument is reaching a “standard point,” I’ll stop it, explain why the message isn’t getting through, and forward an alternative strategy.
Note: Although this blog has been mostly focused on Therians, a few of these points are more directed at fictionkin. Also, I understand that many otherkin have realized arguing with anti-kin is a waste of time. With all that in mind, enjoy:
Otherkin: “I know that I’m not literally a wolf. My body is human, but I feel like my soul-”
STOP
Many anti-kin are operating under the assumption that body=species. If you have the body of a human, then you are one hundred percent human. Hence, when an otherkin says “I know I’m human but only my body,” it seems to these individuals like they are contradicting themselves.
Instead:
The better solution might be to try to argue that body does not equal species. That species is defined by some other quality not limited to the body. And, I feel that this is an argument it is possible to make.
Otherkin: “I’m mentally ill, you know. And you’re ableist if you try to say my identity isn’t valid because it’s my coping mechanism-”
STOP
Many coping mechanisms are toxic and harmful. There are positive coping strategies and there are negative coping strategies. For instance, my personal coping strategy when my anxiety was acting up was Candy Crush. I found it to be soothing, colorful, and distracting, and it really helped me out. Other people knit, make paper stars, write down their feelings, or any other multitude of things. These are examples of positive coping mechanisms.
On the other hand, cutting as a coping mechanism is considered extremely harmful because the person is doing physical damage to themselves. Alcohol, another coping mechanism, is also very destructive. The definition of alcoholism, in fact, is using alcohol to escape problems or stress. Even something normally as innocuous as eating can be considered a destructive coping mechanism if it’s getting in the way of someone’s physical well-being.
I am in no way trying to say that being otherkin is on the same level of destructiveness as drinking or cutting. But, a lot of otherkin seem to think “It’s my coping mechanism” shuts down the argument and frees them from criticism.
Instead:
If your kin identity is working for you, explain why this coping mechanism is not destructive. Explain that it doesn’t impair your functioning and in fact helps you function better at school, at work, wherever. Also, please keep in mind that many of the anti-kin talking to you are also mentally ill, so please don’t be pedantic or patronizing to them, as they are probably already familiar with what coping mechanisms are.
Otherkin: “Why do people hate fictionkin? It’s so cool to actually meet your favorite characters! True, they’re not anything like they are in canon, but-”
STOP
It never seems to occur to fictionkin that the reason we liked the characters in the first place is because of those personality traits that fictionkin don’t have. The reason we like Alucard from Hellsing is because he’s violent, smug, admires humans, and hates cowardice, among all of his other unique personality traits. So, if you’re kin with Alucard, and you’re a vegetarian, pacifist, and constantly complain about how awful and worthless humans are, you can see why Hellsing fans would be mad. What fictionkin care about in this scenario is not the character but the brand recognition the character gets. Alucard has a certain established history and people are familiar with him, and that’s what the kin want. Like the look and name of a person without any disregard for their personality... You know what that is? That’s shallow.
Instead:
Accept that you’re not literally the character you’re kin with. Explain why you identify with this character and explain that identifying as them is something you do for fun. In this example, Alucard is not a good person to try to be, but you can certainly research him and engage more with fans in meaningful ways. They would hate you a lot less for it.
Otherkin: “You may be insulting us fictionkin, but you know those characters you love hate you and think you’re an asshole-”
STOP
This is similar to the body/species argument up above although much more assholish. Fans of the character you’re kin with do not accept that you literally are that character. Mostly because you’re not. Hence, trying to shut them down by saying their favorite character now has a negative opinion of them is begging the question because of course anti-kin are not going to believe you when you say that.
It is also important to note that many anti-kin don’t care what their favorite character’s opinion of themselves would be. Many of them have accepted that Peridot would hate them because Peridot hates all humans, and they love her because of that hate. Other anti-kin feel that worrying about the opinions of a fictional character toward themselves is a pointless endeavor, since the character isn’t real.
Instead:
Give up. If you’re making this argument, you’ve already lost. You don’t have any points to go on, and you’ve just resorted to weakly insulting the people who disagree with you. Once your argument has degenerated into nothing but insults, you’re out of the game and are just trying to win on the point of not being the biggest poopyhead or whatever. Insulting someone should not be a point you use to argue. It should instead be sprinkled throughout your argument in a passive aggressive way.
Like what I’ve been doing throughout this whole final section.
Hot showers are well known as an excellent stress reliever. One source states that a hot shower increases oxytocin levels in the body. Oxytocin, known as the “bonding” hormone, has a wide range of effects but scientists believe it is partially responsible for feelings of romantic attraction, trust, and empathy. It is a fact of biology, not astrology, that causes the good feeling that comes from hot water.
As for ouija boards, an umbrella term for speaking boards, the general Christian consensus is not to use them, as they could be a conduit for demons and might even open the gate for possession. I personally don’t believe this is true, but if you’re going to invoke the name of Christian angels, you might want to listen to the Christians.
In the Shengxiao, commonly known as the Chinese zodiac in English, the rabbit is the fourth sign in the cycle and is associate with good luck. However, according to ancient Chinese belief, the year of your animal sign is a year of bad luck for you. For instance, if your zodiac sign is a snake, then you are expected to have an unlucky year in the year of the snake. You can counter this bad luck by wearing something red, as red is a lucky color in China.
Furthermore, not only does each zodiac animal correspond to a different year, they also have their own months and hours. According to Chinese astrology, the hour in which you were born is more important for determining your sign than your birth year. This is referred to as your “true” sign.
The hours of the rabbit are from 5:00 am to 7:00 am.
