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The Physicality of The Sphinx-Kin

An semi assorted rambling of my Sphinx Kinship, how it looks, how i experience it, and so on

Image: “Serra Sphinx” MTG art by Daren Bader; image found here

- warnings: none; maybe bad rambly writing

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I want to acknowledge first that the Sphinx is an old kin of mine in comparison to some others; the kinship I have started around when I was 12-13 and seems to derive from a mix of Greek mythos and random bullshit that has yet to be sourced. So my kinship to what I consider a Sphinx is a tad atypical to what’s known and recorded for this creature in its varying mythos; know that I identify this kinship as a Sphinx Kin because it’s what makes the most sense, not because I mean to alter the ancient culture or stories around it. If there are ancient beasts who better identify my experience, im happy to hear about them. Additionally, I will be describing the Sphinx Kintype as if it is separate from me for a lot of this post because that makes it easier for me to describe & talk about, but please understand this kintype is still of course “me” or what I am on occasion. With that being said, let’s talk about me being a Sphinx!

Basic Physicality

The physicality of my Sphinx Kin is very noticable and clear to me in comparison to many other kins. For context, despite being polykin and having many kintypes- its relatively uncommon for me to understand what exactly my kintype looks like or functions like outside of a basic understanding; that is to say I’m not often able to identify my exact pelt color or patterns, those details are often very blurry or variable for me since so much of my kinship and shifting occurs via maladaptive daydreaming. The Sphinx however is VERY clear and VERY forward in terms of phantom feelings, so I find it worthy to describe its physicality & the abilities that alter it.

The Sphinx Kin is not as grand in size as typically depicted; rather it is “human sized” and stands upright at a sturdy 7 or so feet. Its body is a mix of an ancient feline species, an unidentified avian, and of course human features. It more or less has the typical physical layout of a Sphinx: the body and chest of a human, with unfurled/unfeathered skin running down its belly; the body of a lion-like cat, with especially broad shoulders; the wings of a bird, an unidentified species but an absolutely massive wingspan nonetheless to help such a large animal fly.

Notable features include:

Small & generally softer feathers being found all over the spine and top coat of the Sphinx, with feathers and fur mixing around the face and throat to clearly frame its face; feathers and fur flow seamlessly all over the upper body

Long thick humanoid hair and long silky feathers that produce a mane-like appearance when draped properly around the face and shoulders

More pronounced “hands” than would be found on a big cat’s paw; digits are longer and able to grip with more care and purpose. Paw pads are at the end of the digits and seem deceptively soft but have an almost grippy texture to them when squeezed or adjusted correctly. Due to the thick fur found on the arms and paws, these paws remain relatively “normal” looking in comparison to a big-cats

An especially long and prehensile tail, thicker and more muscular than it appears; it resembles something similar to a mountain lion and is deceptively fluffy. It also has a sort of pseudo-hand at the end of it to grip with; this is primarily hidden by fur and does not have the full strength of a true hand.

Its wings, while technically able to carry and fly with the beast, are generally not made for especially long flights; the wing and feather structure resembles the modern eagle’s wings the most.

While it walks bipedal, the limb & spine proportions are not exactly that of a human; the Sphinx is able to comfortably switch between bipedal walking and quadrupedal walking/running with ease (bipedal running is possible, though more flimsy)

The Coat, Feathers, Patterns and More! (oh my!)

My coat is relatively simple in appearance and function. Everywhere except for my face, chest, and belly is covered in fur. That fur is best described as a double coat, so it’s thick and soft to the touch with the outer edges being darker and more patterned than the inner coat. This coat of course sheds and thickens as needed with the seasons.

My base coat is primarily a tan color with slight warm greys peppered in, with my under coat being a light yellow-tinted white. Along my back where feathers begin to grow and my wings sit become a much darker brown, with the darkest brown being along my spine & wings. My coat also sports a light spotting pattern that runs along my back and sides; with spots running and slowly changing into stripes that coat my front limbs. The back limbs are, strangely enough, unmarked aside from a few stripes on my haunches. And finally, my wings are primarily a dark brown with a slight darker striping appearing on my primary feathers. On ocassion they present with a lighter brown/creamy under coat, but this is inconsistent- I suspect they may be seasonal changes? Outside of this my tail is tipped black with slight bits of black fur around the tips of my ears.

A few visual examples:

Not exactly perfect depictions, my coat is a bit more varied and my feathers are a bit more warm & saturated but I find these photos help visualize well what my coat and feathers resemble

I want to clarify as well that while this is my set of coat and feathers- SphinxKind is not known to have many limitations in how they appear or present in regards to feathers, fur, or patterning. One could easily find a black furred Sphinx with hummingbird wings as they could find me.

My hair around my head and face is a long and strawberry tinted brown, matching similarly to my feathers; and my skin is generally a pale warm “sandy” beige with natural variations around softer or rougher parts. (naming specific skin colors is… weird.)

The Fantastical Abilities & The Nature of Change

The Sphinx, similar to legend, is wise and holds many unusual fortunes; one of said fortunes is the ability to change or alter its own shape to appear more human or more truly beastly. Somewhere in the back of my mind and very prevalently in maladaptive daydreaming- the Sphinx understands how to appear human & change itself into a gnarly Sphinx in an act of willful lycanthropy. While it does not change into other beasts naturally- the change into a Sphinx or the change into a human is not necessarily easy or painless. It’s a difficult and power-intensive process that leaves the body sore but functioning.

This ability to change & shift between forms obviously leaves the Sphinx having a human body to match its human face, in which ofc- my human “form” is just my current body (which I will not be describing in depth here for the sake of privacy).

However, outside of this fantastical and magical fortune- the Sphinx seems to be able to achieve more change with time and the further development of its wisdom. What exactly every possible change is, is unknown to me. Though I’m certain that as the years go by, if this kin stays present, I will learn more about it through maladaptive daydreaming and my own natural life changes. Sphinx traditionally live hundreds of thousands of years- and while I have my doubts on reaching that, I like to believe I’ll still learn plenty in whatever time I get. At the time of writing I’m aware of a minor change that occurs when shifting between the long term bipedal body and a long term quadrupedal body- while switching between the two for brief periods is as easy as getting on all fours & bolting or standing upright to reach a book, the extended use of either form requires the lengthening or shortening of the spine and limbs. With the Bipedal form getting a shorter spine and longer limbs, and the Quadrupedal form getting a longer spine and more stocky limbs. Generally speaking young Sphinx (like myself) stay bipedal, where older and much larger Sphinx tend to stay quadrupedal for the ease on limbs and convenience of squeezing into smaller human spaces.

Due to changes with the wings, I also suspect that the Sphinx may harbor a summer coat (which is what I’ve described in this post) as well as a winter coat (unconfirmed but it “feels” right, for lack of a better description).

How I Know & Experience this Kin

All of this is fine & dandy but I know many onlookers have curiosity or confusion about how someone even begins to know this sort of thing- I know that as I describe all of this there’s a few inevitable questions to be raised: How did I figure this out? What do I even experience as a Sphinx? What does shifting into a Sphinx even mean to me? How does this affect my day-to-day life? Etc etc.

I’ll answer what I can to the best of my ability here, if you have more specific questions feel free to ask in my inbox, in reblogs, or in comments (inbox is probably best to ensuring I see it)

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So, to start

I experience a large portion of ALL of my kinship through what’s generally understood as maladaptive daydreaming. Maladaptive Daydreaming is a vast subject with varying amounts of research attached to it & while I encourage you to do your own research and form your own opinions- my personal experience with it is this: for portions of each day I dedicate time and energy to mentally visualizing and mentally traversing different places and scenarios. It’s sort of like an advanced form of imaginary play that I unintentionally developed in my youth; it helped me cope with emotional, mental, and physical issues I faced. In my adult life I still use this very frequently- and have to dedicate time to it each day to keep my mind stimulated, sharp, and at peace. It’s proven to be a very beneficial practice for me, and while it did not start as something I willfully did (and still sometimes occurs nonwillfully)- I consider it a necessary activity for my day-to-day health. Within many others who daydream like this- it is not uncommon for them to dream up advanced scenarios or stories of themselves or characters that vary from their real life; often times in ways that are more ideal, more empowered, or more capable than the individual currently feels.

For myself- dreaming serves as a method to explore my ideal body, my deeper emotions or connections to things, and to process my identity or deeper sense of self. Sometimes dreaming is so strong or “imaginative” that I get a sort of “phantom feeling” for limbs, physical sizes, or features i don’t necessarily have; such as tails, wings, a bigger size, retractable claws, etc etc. And while my dreaming is generally a willful activity I engage in- everything within my dreams is not something I choose or necessarily “have control over”. That is to say: I do not generally “choose” how I appear; I do not “choose” the information of myself or any associated species information or “lore”; I do not choose all of my behavior in my dreams- etc etc.

I can keep talking about this pretty extensively but I think this is where we can see my kinship begins to come in; my dreaming self & the body that my brain decides is the “truest” or most “correct” often aligns with kintypes I have. And the Sphinx is one of them. At the time of writing, the Sphinx has been hyper-present for about a week. Meaning that phantom sensations, a desire to align with the known kinship behavior, or to dream as that kin has been incredibly incredibly forward in my thoughts & feelings.

Because of the pure potency of this kintype over this brief time- my daydreams have been incredibly clear and focused on its appearance. When I dream I can very clearly see the paws, the lower body, the markings along it all- not the wings as much but given that they’re, yknow, on my back- im not necessarily able to look at them all the time during dreams. So for a few portions every day for the past week, I have been experiencing incredibly vivid daydreams seeing and feeling myself roaming, prancing, and playing about as a Sphinx. Thats how I know my coat and physical features so well.

All of that while learning or experiencing the “lore” or extensive history of my specific SphinxKind through daydreaming misadventures. This “lore” is generally relayed to me (the “waking self”) by my dreaming self or through different things in the chosen dream world; for example, if i were a Sphinx & chose to daydream about being a Sphinx while in the world of something like MLP:FiM- I may explain to pinkie pie why Sphinx have “so much wisdom”, or twilight sparkle may spout a random tidbit of sphinx knowledge from a book she once read. This is purely a hypothetical but to get the point across, i- in my normal everyday non daydreaming self, DO NOT GENERALLY INHERENTLY KNOW OR BELIEVE THESE THINGS PRIOR. Unless they’re based on or derived from real world science, stories, or experiences (such as being a horse therian & obviously deriving information or behavior from years of horse research); this is how I learn the unique things about my kintypes. Especially the more fantastical ones. So if you ever see me talking about “learning” or relaying “lore” of a Kintype, know that this is how I’m experiencing it. Im seeing it and learning about it through often vivid daydreams; and yes, while it can be silly & be relayed through funny fictional characters in whatever setting I try to focus on- because the information itself is not “chosen” by me I consider it important. It generally remains very consistent no matter what setting or world I focus on. Using the hypothetical, whatever Sphinx Funfact twilight sparkle relays will be true in that daydream as well as true in any other- it’d be no more or less “correct” for my dream self than it would be had it come from bugs bunny, a made up dream person, or a reimagining of some celebrity figure. So these dreams serve as a sort of messenger for self discovery and offer me subjects, ideas, or things to ponder for awhile (because I don’t blindly accept them all, they become prompts for thought and further research; especially with the Sphinx)

But all of that aside, how do i experience my kinship outside of dreams? + Do I experience them outside of dreams at all? Short answer? Yes I experience my kinship outside of maladaptive daydreaming, but it’s a bit hard to explain since so much of it is weird internal recognition & processing. Long answer- I experience varying forms of kinship in a wide variety of ways. The first to pop up in my mind is the process of mental or emotional recognition I experience towards things like the Sphinx. So for example if im seeing images of Sphinx and I find they have striking resemblances to how the dream self appears- my mind recognizes that Sphinx image as being like myself. In the same way seeing an image of yourself might alert your brain. interestingly enough, prior to the Sphinx kin “coming back”, when I saw certain forms of Sphinx images it felt very reminiscent of looking at childhood photos; as my last major “Sphinxing out” happened when I was a preteen/young teen. So those images never felt like me currently- but did feel like me in the past.

Outside of this recognition, I find I can still be very “shifty” as a Sphinx outside of dreaming; I get front limb paw phantom feelings, my brain tends to take in information or misfortune differently, my emotional nature seems to relax a bit, i of course recognize myself or my actions simply as a Sphinx (me) doing them etc etc.

When I am “shifty” towards the Sphinx I also find that I greatly enjoy moving to bodily recreate or engage in what I consider Sphinx related behavior; this ranges from reading, research, and note taking over new subjects to honing my physical control over my body- or working on my physical strength. Both things that are highly valued amongst my understanding of my own SphinxKind’s culture. My Sphinx, in my own silly understanding and perception of self- is simply a bit different from how I act in a day to day level as a human. So when I begin to act different or find especially large bouts of value in certain things- I begin to become aware of a mental shift.

It’s important to note, that despite the ordering of this text- the mental shift often begins to occur or pop up prior to the maladaptive daydreaming of a kin. Or in other words, I will often times begin to feel related to a kintype long before they begin to appear in my daydreams (if they appear at all). The maladaptive daydreaming is more often spurred on by mental shifts or physical sensations as opposed to the other way around. They can on occassion feed into each other and create a certain mental loop- though this specific problem isn’t very common with my Sphinx kin itself.

All of that is to say that, yes, I do experience my Sphinx Kintype outside of daydreaming. The Sphinx kintype does have other facets to it that im having a hard time figuring out how to exactly describe, so perhaps I’ll return sometime later with a follow-up to better describe how i understand this all outside of dreaming. I think the “Sphinx Things” as a subject is a little harder to describe to others due to it being so similar to humans on a behavioral level; like it really is noticing the difference between blue and blue (Sphinx v Human) as opposed to blue and red (Fox v Human). But I digress I guess.

Ultimately, I find that my Sphinx shifting has proven to be very helpful over this past week and may be pushing me into better tomorrow’s. It presents very heavily and vividly in my dreaming currently- but is also driving me to re-engage with healthy and stimulating activities such as workouts & longer writings. Attempting to write and document what I have in this post, on its own, is a Sphinx-like behavior for me. And im very happy with it even if im aware it’s far from perfect. And furthermore, because it also mirrors and presents as a transformation of my current body, it has also brought on great positivity towards how I look and appear to others: especially in regards to my face. I can be a very beautiful Sphinx, and because my face does not change when I am a Sphinx- I am also allowed to be a very beautiful human ^v^ As far as I’m concerned, I’m just a young Sphinx who needs to hone her writing skills & read more; and I think that’s a lovely way to exist.

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