#theri there

[frameacloud]

This is page number 12 of Theri There, originally posted on November 14, 2005. The image description is in the alt text. Here's the discussion thread for this page.

Notes from when I originally posted it in 2005: "Today’s comic was inspired by a certain thread where Kyoudai mentioned having had an experience of receiving sensory feedback from a phantom limb, as shown. This could be called a rather odd way of having ESP, Extra Sensory Perception. Kitsune are a kind of Japanese mythological creature. They’re shapeshifting fox-spirits, cunning magical tricksters. While I could have shown the kitsune in this comic as being like a real-world fox, I preferred kitsune as depicted in Hiroshige’s prints."

Notes from posting this again in 2025: When I was younger, phantom limbs were one of many things that I thought of within a framework of paranormal phenomena. Though it is common for people to think of their phantoms in a spiritual way, that isn't necessary for having them. Even for people who don't think of them that way, sometimes folks do tend to feel more alert about obstacles near their phantom. It's all part of the range of how people experience phantom limb phenomena, and some of it can seem strange.

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Here's the discussion thread for this page.

[wyndscale]

going cycling with some dragons in the netherlands this weekend! it's been 15 years since i was last on a bicycle. that's longer than me knowing that i'm a dragon. let's see if orion scribner's comic about riding a bike and phantom wings apply to me ^^'

[transdrakn]

Rereading Theri There after like 10 years and

The more that changes the more that stays the same lol

[frameacloud]

This is the first page of my comic about therianthropes and otherkin, Theri There, from September 4, 2005.

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Original notes: "This is the kind of simple pleasure that makes us who we are. Thanks to a couple of dragons: to Kistaro Windrider, for the analogy comparing the experience of bike riding to flying, and permission to use this idea for a strip; and to Baxil, who helped edit my writing so that it wouldn't sound like haiku by Yoda. Thanks also to all my friends for their overwhelming approval and support... You've helped this comic come to be. You all rock! :) "

Some new notes: I posted this first page on September 4, 2005. On September 4, 2023, my comic Theri There has just turned eighteen years old! To celebrate this anniversary, I'm going to start posting old pages of it to Tumblr each day, so that it'll be on here too. The comic's main presence should be on its Dreamwidth. During this September, I'm going to work on making its Dreamwidth look more like how I want.

Talk about this page on the Dreamwidth forum for Theri There.

[frameacloud]

Page two of my comic about therianthropes and otherkin, Theri There, from September 5, 2005. The image description is in the alt text.

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Notes: A certain phoenix (who wishes to remain anonymous) suggested a strip where someone absent-mindedly uses a phantom limb to gesture, which xe has done a few times. Thank you!

Here's the discussion forum for this page.

[frameacloud]

Page number 6 of Theri There, from October 3, 2005. The image description is in the alt text.

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Note from 2005: This is a short introduction to phantom limbs of therianthropes. There is much more to say about them, whether the best known kind (felt by people who have had amputations) as shown in panel 1, or the kind experienced by therianthropes. Panel 4 was suggested by a phoenix who wishes to remain anonymous. Panel 6 was suggested by a friend who had it happen as shown, and I’ve heard very few anecdotes about a paranormal phenomenon of that kind.

Note from 2015: Several folks have asked me about the phrase “phantom limbs,” which I used in my old Theri There comics. In 2005, that was the only name therians gave to that experience of theirs. Now, readers were concerned that it might be wrong to use that name for that experience. It’s a sensitive issue, but it’s also important to address, so I wrote a long blog entry about it.

Note from 2023: I updated the link to that blog entry with some new commentary that I wrote today. For another thing, back when I drew this page, I thought of phantom limbs as a paranormal phenomenon. That fit with how my worldview used to embrace the paranormal. My personal worldview has changed and become generally more skeptical as I've continued to ask questions and learn. I still acknowledge that part of the range of these experiences are ones that are strange and difficult to explain.

Here’s the DreamWidth discussion forum for this page.

[frameacloud]

Page three of Theri There, originally posted on September 12, 2005.

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Notes: Apparently a lot of therianthropes and otherkin have had this sort of experience.

Here's the discussion forum for this page.

[frameacloud]

Page number 10 of Theri There, originally posted on October 31, 2005. Description in alt text.

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Note from 2005: When offered a chance to wear a costume, some people dress as their opposite. Some dress as what they wish they were. And some go as themselves…

Here's the Dreamwidth discussion thread for this page.