Tara the Vernid

[vernido]

So I started learning digital art...

Tools: Wacom One, Krita

[your-therian-parent-says]

Remember to take breaks.

Your paws are tired, little beast. Rest your legs.

Your claws have put in their work for today. Let them be idle if they must.

Your wings have carried you far, flying friend. They need to recharge.

Your teeth have brought you through tough times. Rest your jaws, as their job is never over.

Your eyes have shown you the world and beyond. Show them solace if just for a few minutes.

If not you, who will care for your body? And what of your soul? Your entire being needs its time. Don't deny it.

[47362518]

Oh to be loved like this

[your-therian-parent-says]

pro tip its legal to make a den in your room out of blankets and pillows and plushies and sleep in it

it also costs zero dollars to hide in the darkness of your newly built den and make unsettling noises to ward off intruders

[vernido]

Do you also sometimes imagine your past and the way that you used to think that you were a regular human, and didn't know any better, when in fact you were a creechur even back then

How would things change if you looked like one, with a long snout and a tail, inherently alien to the humans that surrounded you

They didn't even realize that a creechur was walking, breathing next to them

Nobody had a clue

[vernido]

There are three deer in this picture

[vanillayoteart]

The Real You

To be an animal in a human vessel. To be true.  To be you. ΘΔ Something for doctorf. from my weekly streams!

[vernido]

I think the most important part of feral shifting is to start thinking about yourself as a creechur that brings itself to things rather than bringing things to yourself with your grabber-paws. Use your nose as the point of your attention, combine sniffing and tasting with touching things that are curious with the tip of your nose to determine if you like it. Your paws are only there to carry you around or to steppy on a thing that you're sniffing to hold it in place.

[vernido]

My artistic interpretation of what it would look like in the mind map of the body to have a muzzle. POV looking in the mirror but your mind is actually inside a creechur

[vernido]

[wilderwilderness]

“Species Dysphoria” (2021)

I’ve been waiting to post this one for a little while now! This comic was made for the Inky Paws Zine, a collaborative fiction zine created by nonhumans and alterhumans!

In hindsight, I should’ve probably leaned a little bit more into making this a fictional piece to better fit the zine’s theme…nevertheless, I’m still happy with it! This was something I created to try and articulate some of my personal feelings about my species dysphoria through the lens of someone who’s also trans, and maybe feels that those two identities are really the same.

[dog-thing-augustus]

dam do you ever just try and curl up to go sleep but your limbs dont sit right and now your just uncomfortable, why cant i curl up the way i want to dam it!

just let me curl up like this please!

[wantsharptteeth]

Me, convincing myself to perform basic hygiene rituals:

Scary critters have clean teeth, brush up!! Pretty birds have shiny feathers, take a shower!! Nobody likes wet dog smell, put on deodorant!! Long claws hurt paws, clip your nails!! I want scales but not like that, wash your face!!

[whitneybarkman]

Over the gentle hill.

[ravenfleesfire]

The 5 step grounding process is different for non/alterhumans.

If you're unfamiliar, which you're probably not, the 5 senses technique, or 5-4-3-2-1 technique, is meant to be an exercise that helps one recover from a panic or anxiety attack; name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste.

Just speaking for myself here, as a nonhuman, I tend to prioritize different senses than a human does. Not even referring to sensory shifts; just constantly during daily life I notice auditory input over other types. I've tried the 5 senses technique before and it never worked, so I assumed it was some pop psychology therapy-speak bs.

I'm more likely to be paying attention to my auditory or olfactory environment than my visual one. Sounds and scents will take my mental focus more than sights.

I'm a polytherian across multiple phyla so it's not 1 to 1 what senses are more important to me. Taste seems least important to me because I'm a bird, but despite being a bird, vision is less important to me than it would be for others because I'm also an arthropod, because I'm an arthropod tactile feeling is really important to me but despite being a bug I'm also a mustelid so hearing is important, etc. If I had to redesign this process just for me personally, it would be more like this:

5 things I can hear

4 things I can feel

3 things I can smell

2 things I can see

1 thing I can taste

And I did, and it worked. If you're non/alterhuman and you've ever tried this process and it didn't work, take a moment and really give some thought to what senses your mind instinctively prioritizes over others; it may be different for you than it is for typical humans.

Maybe as a canine you would actually benefit from putting scent above sight in the list; maybe you're a bat and it would work better for you if you placed hearing at the top. Maybe you're an olm and placing sight at the bottom would work out better. Maybe you want to even add or remove steps entirely, like if you're a reptile and temperature is important to you but focusing on taste would just be distracting. I also find that this method not only calms you down but is sort of a meditative way to learn how your kintype actually affects the way your brain works! Give it a try.