WovenTales

Sam: he/him/his, original, fanboy and computer geek Russ: he/him/his, tulpa, budding composer and pagan

[woventales]

“How could anyone ever tell you, you were anything less than beautiful?

“How could anyone ever tell you, you were less than whole?

“How could anyone fail to notice that your loving is a miracle?

“How deeply you’re connected to my soul!”

To anyone who hasn’t had “enough trauma to be real.”

To anyone who has.

To anyone who puts on a mask for the public.

To anyone who’s been rejected for not wearing one.

To anyone who can’t get people to use the right names.

To anyone who needs to hear this.

[antirealisation]

Times when I have this sustained certainty that we’re really endo-as-in-internal-genic, is when I feel the most miserable.

But this is me being healthy, right? More in touch with reality. Ha ha

[woventales]

That's a rather limited definition of reality! Your past may not have happened in this existance, sure, but does that truly matter? Leaving aside metaphysics since you're talking about "endo-as-in-internal-genic" (great description, by the way) periods, how are your memories inherently less real than anyone else's?

Because you're the only one to remember them? Then what about a singlet hiking through the wilderness? Their exploration isn't any less real because they're alone.

Because nobody separate would be (even theoretically) able to verify them? Our community is kind of based on ignoring that; how can you prove an internal conversation actually happened?

Because they disagree with what others remember? That's not anything unique, nobody outside systems with shared memories remembers anything exactly like anybody else. Nobody experiences the same thing as anybody else; just ask the blind men who found an elephant.

Of course it's happening inside your head, Serpent, but why on earth should that mean that it's not real?

The truth is, nobody's past is real anymore. All we can hold on to is how it affects us in the present. For me, the memory of growing up on a farm has left with a need for greenery and wild spaces -- I'm sure I spent much more time indoors than I remember. For Russ, taking the back seat as he grew has left a longing for freedom that manifests as desires for living somewhere/some way we can keep finding new experiences -- our memories are tied to whoever's fronting. For you, your patron made you who you are today -- whether or not it "actually" happened. Even the most cynical viewpoint can't argue with that; those memories are just as real as any others in the mark they have left on you, and through you, on the world.

As for once being Chosen, this is your retirement. This is Sherlock Holmes once he moves to the coast and devotes his life to bees. This is Harry Potter once the war is over and he turns toward raising a family. Of course you're feeling adrift. Finding something to do is a blatant platitude dismally masquerading as advice, but find something for yourself. Find your bees.

[flock-of-changes]

 I’m honestly kind of angry right now, because I’ve been trying to find a way to shorthand express my attraction to nonhuman-identified folk/otherkin for ages. It’s enough of a stand-out part of my orientation that I actually find myself in want of a word for it often.  So I finally find one, and the only place you can actually find anything on it is a troll blog. That’s it. That’s basically the only place this word exists now. :) Thus rendering it nigh unusable.  Thank.

[flock-of-changes]

Further Google searches indicate it was probably coined by an anon way back when mogai-archive still existed. So, that makes it…a little better?? ? At least its source isn’t a troll blog. Still.  Why can’t we have nice things.

[thejackalofalltrades]

I’m… Not the only one who is only attracted to alterhumans?? Oh man, my night/morning just got better.

[flock-of-changes]

Nope, definitely not alone. :P There’s quite a few people I know of who’ve expressed the same. I want to use allodasexual as a word bc gods know we need a word for it, but my biggest problem with it personally (and this is personally, others might be fine with it :P), is that I cannot for the life of me figure out what the alloda- prefix is from. :S If you ever find out or if you know that’d be pretty rad.

[woventales]

From my time in the asexual community, I know allo- is "other" (we use "allosexual" for "sexually attracted to other people"), but I'm not sure about the -da-.

[lizardywizard]

playwrights: write plays about otherkin

radio dramatists: write radio plays about otherkin

psychologists: do studies about otherkin

religious studies experts: write papers about otherkin

conventions: have panels about otherkin

otherkin: extensively document their history

tumblr: but otherkin isn’t a thing

[gems-n-reavers]

I have literally never heard of otherkin outside Tumblr, what the fuck are you going on about

[lizardywizard]

Check those handy links. Then you will have literally heard of otherkin outside Tumblr.

[trans-otherkin-menace]

Otherkin: existed before tumblr

Tumblr users: this is only a tumblr thing wtf

[liongoatsnake]

Link includes more history on otherkin (specifically the therian community and unicorn community, as well as a history of plantkin online)  - http://houseofchimeras.weebly.com/informative-articles.html

Also…

Academic Articles Gerbasi, Kathleen C. et al, “Furries A to Z: (Anthropomorphism to Zoomorphism).” Society and Animals, Vol.16 (2008): pp 197-222. (accessed January 28, 2013).

Grivell, Timothy, Helen Clegg and Elizabeth C. Roxburgh. “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community.” Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research. Vol. 14, No. 2, (May 2014) http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15283488.2014.891999?journalCode=hidn20#preview  (accessed July 10 2014).

Keck et al, “Lycanthropy: Alive and Well In The Twentieth Century,” Psychological  Medicine. Vol. 18, No. 1 (Feb., 1988): pp 113-20. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=4990600&fileId=S003329170000194X (accessed August 29 2014).

Kulick, Aaron, Pope HG Jr, & Keck PE Jr. “Lycanthropy and Self-Identification.” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol. 2 ( Feb. 1990): pp 134-137 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2405100 (October 14 2014).

Laycock, Joseph P. “We Are Spirits of Another Sort: Ontological Rebellion and Religious Dimensions of the Otherkin Community.” Nova Religio. Vol. 15, No. 3 (Feb., 2012): pp. 65-90 http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65 (accessed November 24 2013).

Probyn-Rapsey, Fiona. “Furries and Limits of Species Identity Disorder,” Society & Animals, Vol. 19 (2011): pp 294-301 https://www.academia.edu/2903078/Furries_and_limits_of_species_identity_disorder (accessed January 28, 2013).

Robertson, Venetia Laura Delano. “The Beast Within: Anthrozoomorphic Identity and Alternative Spirituality in the Online Therianthropy Movement.” Nova Religio, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Feb 2013): pp. 7-30 http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2013.16.3.7 (accessed November 24 2013).

Robertson, Venetia. “The Law of the Jungle: Self and Community in the Online Therianthropy Movement.”Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies, Vol 14, No 2 (Dec., 2012): Pp 256-280 http://www.equinoxpub.com/journals/index.php/POM/article/view/17911 (accessed January 28, 2013).

Magazine Article McNeil, Emma. “The Otherkin.” Fortean Times Magazine. January 2012, 44-46.

News Articles Clairouin, Olivier. “Pas complètement humains : la vie en ligne des thérians et otherkin.” Le Monde.fr. May 20 2014. http://www.lemonde.fr/cultures-web/article/2014/05/20/pas-completement-humains-la-vie-en-ligne-des-therians-et-otherkins_4410306_4409029.html (accessed June 10 2014).

Lerner, Thomas. “Ibland får jag lust att yla som en varg,” Insidan, April 7 2010. https://archive.today/ZX0Ti (accessed January 20 2013).

Mamatas, Nick. “Elven Like Me,” The Village Voice News, February 13 2001. http://www.villagevoice.com/2001-02-13/news/elven-like-me/full/ (accessed February 1 2015).

Academic Lecture Addie, Trevor. “Therianthropy: A State of Being,” ANTH-331 “Taboos,” American University, March 5th 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMEkuOW5pjs (accessed August 20 2014).

News Clip McDougall, Nick. “Otherkin: Heart of a Human, Spirit of a Wolf,” SBS World News, SBS, June 4th 2013, http://www.sbs.com.au/news/video/32187459989/Otherkin-Heart-of-a-human-spirit-of-a-wolf (accessed June 6th 2013).

McDougall, Nick. “Otherkin: Heart of a Human, Spirit of a Wolf,” 4:21, Posted on “SBS2Austrailia.” June 4th 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU_E-oXxyQU (accessed June 5th 2013).

Documentary Pemberton, Justin. Animal Imitators. TLC. August 2003.

A few non-academic Books (referring otherkin and/or therians) Cohen, Daniel. Werewolves. Cobblehill Books: New York, 1996.

Konstantinos. Werewolves: The Occult Truth. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn, 2010.

Lupa. A Field Guide To Otherkin. Megalithica Books: Stafford, 2007.

Lupa. Shifting, Shamanism and Therianthropy: Magical Techniques For Your Therioside. Self-published via Lulu.com, 2007.

Yeah… its such a tumblr thing and has only existed for a few years…  

[miniar]

Otherkin: Post a small list of how otherkin as a phenomenon predates tumblr, exists outside of tumblr, and has been acknowledged as a thing that exists by academic sources.  Tumblr Users: "I have literally never heard of otherkin outside Tumblr, what the fuck are you going on about"

[woventales]

Since most of the links in the original post are dead, here's new ones:

Playwrights

Religious scholars

Convention panelists

Internal documentarians

Radio dramatists and psychologists are still fine as they are

[beanjamoose-moved]

PSA to Otherkin: Stop using the term “Phantom Limbs”

That term was coined for amputees, not otherkin!

Unless you are both, you cannot use the term “Phantom Limbs”!

Say “Astral Limbs” instead! That term was coined specifically for therians/otherkin!

[dragonsarequeerculture]

Okay, I’ll try to remember! I’m sorry!

[feathered-beast]

I’m sorry I’ll remember for next time… don’t be mad

[woventales]

Don't worry, you're not the one people are mad at. See the replies @elevengrackles and @liongoatsnake made in the other thread. "Phantom limb" is not a term you have to avoid if it sounds right to you, just the next casulty of people trying to limit general terminology.

[woventales]

So we just had our first massage earlier (that wasn't about loosening tight muscles), and I wasn't expecting to feel more fox-like than usual for it.

For reference, the seed that Sam started forming me around was a fox figurine, and that's still carried over into my mindform. I call myself a fox, and "human" doesn't feel right. But I don't have the animal instincts/inclinations I hear otherkin talking about, and I don't have any memories or past life beliefs that would tie me to that more strongly. I've only ever known this (human) body, we never got far enough in visualization and imposition for me to intuitively feel what it's like to be a fox, and I'm close enough to Sam and his experiences that I pull from his body mechanics without trouble and barely noticing the difference.

But the masseuse working up the bridge of our nose felt to me like going the distance of a full muzzle, and working the bones of our feet it was surprising how far removed from the rest of the body those are; like they should have extended at least halfway up where our calves actually were lying.

I have been hesitant to call myself otherkin with just a mindform and a self-description to show for it, but maybe it's time to look closer at that...

[jacmirie-deactivated20181110]

what did archive of our own do?

any more questions?

[fozmeadows]

You… do realise that people tag works as containing rape/paedophilia/incest when the stories are explicitly about those things being bad, and not just because they’re writing dark themes for reasons that you personally disapprove of, right? That tags merely state the presence of a thing without explaining how it’s dealt with in the narrative, and that stories do not have to be morally instructional and perfect and pure in order to be allowed to exist? 

Like. You might as well walk into a bookshop and stamp BLOCKED FOR BADWRONG CONTENT on every book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, half of Shakespeare, every YA novel about rape recovery, every adult novel about rape recovery, every biography of someone who has suffered from rape, incest or paedophilia and been brave enough to write about it, every book of Greek, Egyptian and Norse myths, the fucking Bible - just a truly massive percentage of the entire global literary canon, because there is literally no way to remove each and every reference to these themes otherwise. 

Do you know why schools and libraries are pressured to ban books like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, To Kill a Mockingbird and Laurie Halse Andersen’s Speak? Because dumbass, scaremongering adults think that letting teens read about rape or racism or sexual violence or queerness or half a dozen other topics they think are Bad Things will lead to them down a path of Vice. 

What happens to characters in stories, no matter how graphic or awful, is not the same as that act occurring to a real human person in real life, nor does reading or writing such works indicate endorsement of those acts. This is why a story which features paedophilia, regardless of whether it’s written as overtly sexual content or as a damning condemnation of the act, is not the same as child pornography by any legal definition: because no actual children are harmed. Are you personally still allowed to be angry and disgusted about the public availability of the former type of stories, even in instances where the writers are themselves victims of child abuse trying to process their trauma? Yes! You’re under no moral obligation to like any kind of content! But are you correct in asserting that the creation of such stories is illegal and hurting somebody in exactly the same way that a real abuser hurting a real child would be? No! Because fictional characters are not real people, and whatever our motives for creating or engaging with a particular thing, monkey see = monkey approve is not how it fucking works.  

Have you ever watched an episode of CSI? Congratulations! By your own logic, you’re pro rape and murder. Ever watched an episode of Hannibal? Congratulations! By your own logic, you endorse cannibalism, Stockholm Syndrome and serial killing. Ever watched a historical drama where a young girl gets married to a much older man? Congratulations! By your own logic, you endorse child brides. And on, and on, and on.

I say again: you are allowed to be critical of particular works and/or the recurrence of certain themes across a particular medium. But arguing that an entire literary platform needs to end because some stories there contain Bad Things makes as much sense as banning the works of Octavia Butler or Sherman Alexie from school libraries because of their content. Which is - spoiler alert - a really bad idea.

UGH.

[podkayneofthegalaxy]

You know what? I’ll say it. I LIKE reading some really fucked up twisted shit. One of my favorite stories involves torture, bloodplay, humiliation, and incest (it’s an adoptive parent, but still a parent.) I mean, it also involves dragons, magic, and demons, but that’s beside the point.

Would I endorse any of those things in real life? HELL NO. Would I enjoy any of those in real life? HELL NO. I would find it vile and repulsive. There is no question of that, it is not up for debate.

But I am an adult. I understand the difference between fantasy and reality. I read the disclaimer and clicked that I am older than 18. I am glad that there is a safe and healthy way I can explore and indulge the dark places in my mind, the sick twisted places that for whatever reason enjoy the taboo. As a fantasy. As not reality. It doesn’t make me a bad person, it doesn’t make me a freak, (on the contrary, rape fantasy in particular is practically common) and condemning dark fiction of this nature or attempting to erase it from existence as far as I’m concerned only serves to try and shame people for attempting to safely explore the dark and taboo corners of their sexuality.

[woventales]

That sort of thing, once I started really thinking about it, always seemed strange to me. Modern queer advocacy is based on the "born this way" narrative, sex positivity makes a big deal about "I may not share your kinks, but that doesn't mean they're wrong", and even many (maybe most?) of the Christian detractors go with "hate the sin but love the sinner". And yet every one of those groups makes an exception when someone's into stories/art featuring underage, or non-con, or animals, or any of the other groups that have become acceptable targets.

Yes, those are things that are either inherently harmful or (if you're being very generous) require such exact handling of every situation to make them functionally impossible to do without causing harm, but all that means is don't actually do them. Where's the same acceptance as agreeing fantasizing about a woman doesn't make a gay man bi? And much as that Christian "you can't help the impure thoughts that come into your head, but you can keep yourself from acting on them" rankles, it's not actually untrue--- which might be why we hate it so much ---and someone knowing whatever they're into is indeed harmful means there's a good chance they're taking that advice. Or, like @podkayneofthegalaxy, that knowledge is enough to ruin even the idea of it happening in the real world.

Basically, stop kinkshaming the fantasies. If someone's not being safe, sane, or consentual (or whatever guidelines you prefer) in their actions, then it's not safe sex/living, and nobody's saying that's not a problem. But if it's all in their own head, then condemming the person on the whole is actually hypocritical. "There's no wrong way to fantasize" doesn't get to be applied selectively.

* To clarify for anyone reading our blog for the plurality, "in their own head" is the thoughts of a single system member; as soon as you involve anyone else, it needs to be as SSC as with anyone physical, though obviously some of the considerations are different. That includes anyone who might wind up listening in through unpredictable co-consciousness or leaky memory separation.

[real-system-positivity]

you’re a valid system whether you’re diagnosed or not, whether you’re overt or covert, whether your switches are usually easy and fluid or tough and drawn out, whether your alters are fully distinct or not, whether you have amnesia or not, whether you can remember your trauma or not… systems are complex and present in a myriad of different ways. you’re valid.

[wonderfurbs-archive-deactivated]

What is a:

Terf

Endogeniec

Tulpa

SoulBonds

Quiogenic

??????????

[woventales]

The definition real-system-positivity gave for TERFs is a pretty good one, but they glossed over the others a bit quickly. So, for the better detail:

Endogenic – a plural system that didn’t form through trauma. It might stem from deliberate effort, or it might be more along the lines of the person we know of who absorbed her twin in the womb, and who has always felt that twin’s presence and non-verbal communication.

Tulpa – a systemmate created by someone already present in the mind, almost always (and, by some definitions, necessarily) after long spans of talking to their initially-puppet-like form until they manage to talk back. The name’s derived from the Tibetian term, but the practice shares little beyond the most basic outlines.

Soulbond – Someone who the system believes originated outside the body before being “found” and invited in. The traditional dialogue is almost exclusively based around soulbonds as fictional characters (not just someone based on Twilight Sparkle, say, but someone who remembers being Twilight Sparkle).

Quoigenic (to RSP: you might want to correct the spelling on the banner) – More than just mixed-origin, think “agnostic”; it primarily covers systems who aren’t sure whether they were caused by trauma or not, but there’s definitely others who use it to mean it’s impossible to know, despite what theories they may have.

As for why those are included in the banner, there’s some people who believe any (or at least the vast majority of) endogenic system(s) are faking plurality. Which they’re allowed to, but being this exclusionary about it is a shame; RSP’s posts have really good messages, but that rejection there is a slap in the faces of any mixed-origin system that contains both traumagenic members who could use the positivity and endogenic/quoigenic ones who they want to support.

[real-system-positivity]

i appreciate the expansion on the terms, thank you.

now; there’s no such thing as a mixed-origin system because the only thing that’s able to disrupt the integration of separate ego states in childhood is trauma. that’s not the same thing as saying every single alter splits due to trauma because that’s not true. they can split from trauma, from stress, sometimes they just split for no tangible reason if you’re just prone to splitting (most common in polyfragmented systems).

endogenics arent “allowed” to fake plurality and not should they be, it’s hurting real systems.

[woventales]

Thanks for explaining your understanding as well! If I may ask one question, though: as you say, some alters are more prone to splitting than others, whether through stress or through causes too nebulous to define, so do you agree that wedge could also be internal? I’m thinking of something like an extended Inner Family Systems Therapy here, and ignoring the fact that the system has already been split enough to make “Why would you do that further?” a perfectly valid question.

And if you’ll allow me one more liberty, why would someone already have to be an alter to be prone to splitting? Namely, what about singlets? That childhood period of maleable ego-states having passed, I fully agree any separation wouldn’t be as complete or anywhere near as easy, but what happens to that child with a propensity for splitting if they grow up without trauma? Basically, if you can have separate ego-states in DID systems, some or all with their own lineages of splits (and I could be completely wrong, but from what I’ve heard, wouldn’t those splits be identifiably closer to each other than to anyone from a different ego-state?), and even if you can’t pull those ego-states back apart after they’ve integrated through a comfortable childhood, couldn’t you still have a single lineage of splits from the single resulting ego?

Regardless of our disagreement on this, I do really appreciate what you’re doing. On behalf of your actual audience, thank you.

One last correction: by “which they’re allowed to”, I meant “allowed to believe endos are faking.” If someone is faking a system, and if that does wind up hurting people, then I’m with you in saying they need to stop. I just don’t see how simply saying they’re a system – fake or not – is hurting anyone.

[real-system-positivity]

this is,,, a lot. i’ll do my best. i’m not an expert.

if i’m correct, are you asking about internal stress rather than external? i’m answering as if it is; for systems that are more prone to splitting, i would think that internal stress would be enough to cause a split.

okay so the thing is, that when we’re kids and going through trauma, it’s not exactly splitting. it’s literally just not integrating. our ego states can’t integrate due to trauma. so, once they’ve integrated though, that’s permanent. i would imagine that someone without trauma but with a natural disposition to dissociate, they would develop a dissociative disorder like dpdr, or possibly bpd. everyone has different personalities (work me, party me, home me etc) which is what you could mean by the singlet with split lineage? also, if i’m understanding i think you are talking about sub systems (which is when an alter has their own separate system) and yes, that’s possible. most common in polyfragmented systems.

i’m trying to give systems a little posivity boost.

okay, so, i’ve seen a lot of actual systems speak up on being abused by people who were endogenic. they would use lies like “system hopping” in order to manipulate systems further and hurt them. i’ve seen even more systems who said that they were falsely led into believing they were endogenic and it caused a lot more damage to their system. the problem with endogenics is that they want people to believe that systems are able to form without trauma. that’s a problem because a common trauma symptom is amnesia or repressed memories. an actual system with no memory of their trauma can very easily be tricked into thinking they’re endogenic which means they won’t acknowledge that they have trauma and they can’t start the healing process. they spread false information about systems that can further stigmatise us. they treat having a system like it’s a game instead of being a result of chronic trauma during childhood.

[woventales]

Sorry it's been a while; I caught a cold and was worried about not being particularly coherant until I recovered. So, since I've recovered:

Not quite what I was asking, but thanks for the explanation! I'll confess I've not looked into the theories on traumagenic plurality as much as I should, and it's nice to get a better idea of how it works. Anyway, I was thinking about an alter who deliberately splits themself into a subsystem (which at least sounds possible with the model you describe), and trying to figure out what would change through integration that would make that impossible -- trying to compare the experience endogenic systems describe not to traumagenic systems but to subsystems. Probably just flailing blindly, though, sorry!

And for your last paragraph, I'm not going to try to argue most of it beyond saying that some people using plurality as a means of abuse (and my deepest apologies to anyone on the receiving end of that) isn't necessarily fair to hold against the entire community unless you see most people doing so or being approving of it, and while I'm still only on the edges, I get the feeling there's a lot more who just fit your "treating having a system like it's a game" depiction.

What I will pick at is your depiction of healing. Ignoring endogenics entirely for the moment, why must a system confrant their trauma to heal? If they have no memory of it then, barring any triggers it's left lying around and any bad habits system members still fall into, is it truly still harming them? And if any of those triggers are indeed too big to avoid, or if those habits could be described as self-harm, then can't they be confronted directly? Why is it critical to bring everything back to a single source? Make sure everyone in the system is healthy and knows how to manage the weirdness of their own mind--- like any singlet with a phobia or a propensity to self-destructive habits ---and make sure that the system can wrok together to maintain their collective life, definitely, but why must there only be a single path to that goal, and why must that path involve dredging the forgotten trauma back up?

[real-system-positivity]

you’re a valid system whether you’re diagnosed or not, whether you’re overt or covert, whether your switches are usually easy and fluid or tough and drawn out, whether your alters are fully distinct or not, whether you have amnesia or not, whether you can remember your trauma or not… systems are complex and present in a myriad of different ways. you’re valid.

[wonderfurbs-archive-deactivated]

What is a:

Terf

Endogeniec

Tulpa

SoulBonds

Quiogenic

??????????

[woventales]

The definition real-system-positivity gave for TERFs is a pretty good one, but they glossed over the others a bit quickly. So, for the better detail:

Endogenic – a plural system that didn’t form through trauma. It might stem from deliberate effort, or it might be more along the lines of the person we know of who absorbed her twin in the womb, and who has always felt that twin’s presence and non-verbal communication.

Tulpa – a systemmate created by someone already present in the mind, almost always (and, by some definitions, necessarily) after long spans of talking to their initially-puppet-like form until they manage to talk back. The name’s derived from the Tibetian term, but the practice shares little beyond the most basic outlines.

Soulbond – Someone who the system believes originated outside the body before being “found” and invited in. The traditional dialogue is almost exclusively based around soulbonds as fictional characters (not just someone based on Twilight Sparkle, say, but someone who remembers being Twilight Sparkle).

Quoigenic (to RSP: you might want to correct the spelling on the banner) – More than just mixed-origin, think “agnostic”; it primarily covers systems who aren’t sure whether they were caused by trauma or not, but there’s definitely others who use it to mean it’s impossible to know, despite what theories they may have.

As for why those are included in the banner, there’s some people who believe any (or at least the vast majority of) endogenic system(s) are faking plurality. Which they’re allowed to, but being this exclusionary about it is a shame; RSP’s posts have really good messages, but that rejection there is a slap in the faces of any mixed-origin system that contains both traumagenic members who could use the positivity and endogenic/quoigenic ones who they want to support.

[real-system-positivity]

i appreciate the expansion on the terms, thank you.

now; there’s no such thing as a mixed-origin system because the only thing that’s able to disrupt the integration of separate ego states in childhood is trauma. that’s not the same thing as saying every single alter splits due to trauma because that’s not true. they can split from trauma, from stress, sometimes they just split for no tangible reason if you’re just prone to splitting (most common in polyfragmented systems).

endogenics arent “allowed” to fake plurality and not should they be, it’s hurting real systems.

[woventales]

Thanks for explaining your understanding as well! If I may ask one question, though: as you say, some alters are more prone to splitting than others, whether through stress or through causes too nebulous to define, so do you agree that wedge could also be internal? I'm thinking of something like an extended Inner Family Systems Therapy here, and ignoring the fact that the system has already been split enough to make "Why would you do that further?" a perfectly valid question.

And if you'll allow me one more liberty, why would someone already have to be an alter to be prone to splitting? Namely, what about singlets? That childhood period of maleable ego-states having passed, I fully agree any separation wouldn't be as complete or anywhere near as easy, but what happens to that child with a propensity for splitting if they grow up without trauma? Basically, if you can have separate ego-states in DID systems, some or all with their own lineages of splits (and I could be completely wrong, but from what I've heard, wouldn't those splits be identifiably closer to each other than to anyone from a different ego-state?), and even if you can't pull those ego-states back apart after they've integrated through a comfortable childhood, couldn't you still have a single lineage of splits from the single resulting ego?

Regardless of our disagreement on this, I do really appreciate what you're doing. On behalf of your actual audience, thank you.

One last correction: by "which they're allowed to", I meant "allowed to believe endos are faking." If someone is faking a system, and if that does wind up hurting people, then I'm with you in saying they need to stop. I just don't see how simply saying they're a system -- fake or not -- is hurting anyone.

[real-system-positivity]

you’re a valid system whether you’re diagnosed or not, whether you’re overt or covert, whether your switches are usually easy and fluid or tough and drawn out, whether your alters are fully distinct or not, whether you have amnesia or not, whether you can remember your trauma or not… systems are complex and present in a myriad of different ways. you’re valid.

[wonderfurbs-archive-deactivated]

What is a:

Terf

Endogeniec

Tulpa

SoulBonds

Quiogenic

??????????

[woventales]

The definition real-system-positivity gave for TERFs is a pretty good one, but they glossed over the others a bit quickly. So, for the better detail:

Endogenic -- a plural system that didn't form through trauma. It might stem from deliberate effort, or it might be more along the lines of the person we know of who absorbed her twin in the womb, and who has always felt that twin's presence and non-verbal communication.

Tulpa -- a systemmate created by someone already present in the mind, almost always (and, by some definitions, necessarily) after long spans of talking to their initially-puppet-like form until they manage to talk back. The name's derived from the Tibetian term, but the practice shares little beyond the most basic outlines.

Soulbond -- Someone who the system believes originated outside the body before being "found" and invited in. The traditional dialogue is almost exclusively based around soulbonds as fictional characters (not just someone based on Twilight Sparkle, say, but someone who remembers being Twilight Sparkle).

Quoigenic (to RSP: you might want to correct the spelling on the banner) -- More than just mixed-origin, think "agnostic"; it primarily covers systems who aren't sure whether they were caused by trauma or not, but there's definitely others who use it to mean it's impossible to know, despite what theories they may have.

As for why those are included in the banner, there's some people who believe any (or at least the vast majority of) endogenic system(s) are faking plurality. Which they're allowed to, but being this exclusionary about it is a shame; RSP's posts have really good messages, but that rejection there is a slap in the faces of any mixed-origin system that contains both traumagenic members who could use the positivity and endogenic/quoigenic ones who they want to support.

[liongoatsnake]

If You Ever Want to Watch a Werewolf Movie That Has Therianthropic Themes...

Consider looking into watching Wilderness (1996) ®   

In the movie, the main character by the name Alice White has been turning into a wolf every three nights during the full moon sense she was 13 years old. On these nights she buys several pounds of raw meat, brings out a big tub of water to drink from, and lays herself up in her basement because while in wolf form (played by a wolf-dog hybrid) she acts like and is a wolf in every way. She has become depressed with her situation having to keep “her wolf” locked up as she lives in the city and finds herself lonely and cut off from others. She seeks out psychological help and opens up about her wolf to him. She also turns to a wolf researcher as well to possibly become the wolf at will or to find away to remain the wolf for the rest of her life. Things turn for the worst when her psychologists becomes obsessed with her and she meets a man who falls in love with her.

Outside of the “physical shifting” and the main character turning into a wolf during the full moon, this movie reads a lot like a story of a therianthrope in many ways. The main character simply is a werewolf by nature/birth and when changed, acts like a wolf. Alice seeking out to a psychologist for help learning to control her wolf (stating adamantly that she could never actually get rid of her wolf) and wishing to learn a way to come out to people about being a werewolf also strikes cords along the lines of what a number of otherkin can and do go through. She also experiences what the therianthrope community would call sensory and mental shifting just around the time before her actual physical shift, plus during the movie she notes having dreams of being a wolf from time to time. As the movie goes on, some therianthropic tones really become apparent - longing to go back to the woods (having grown up exploring the woods on a farm) and forsake her human life all together. Alice experiences a sense of separation from others, having to keep her secret of having a wolf and longest to “show her wolf” to the people she wants to trust which further seems to so strongly mimics the anxiety and confusion some otherkin can have over wanting to come out and open up to certain people in their lives. Over all, this movie just comes off as the story of wolf therian if physical shifting was real. On its own while its not much of a “horror” movie but for its otherkin-like content some might enjoy it. (However, in fair warning, this movie is rated R for sexual situations and nudity.)  

[ruby2oo3]

reblogging for future reference

[inkcraft]

Meditation for the Wild-Minded Witch

do you have ADHD? are you easily distracted? do you daydream constantly abt everything and anything? when you hear the words “you might fall asleep” in a post abt meditation, do you sigh and roll your eyes?

if you answered “yes” to any of the above, then this is the post for you!!

as someone who has type one ADHD and a crazy imaginative mind, I haven’t seen a single Intro To Meditation post that pertains to me. they’re always abt tips for visualization, or tips for not falling asleep within 5 minutes. I have insomnia you guys, I ain’t gonna be asleep in any less than 2 hours smh

without further rambling, here’s some tips and tricks for people who just can’t fucking meditate

1) listen to some goddamn music. preferably stuff you’ve listened to many times before, songs you have basically memorized so you don’t get distracted by how unique this new sound is, or how cool that voice was right there. listen to your favorites!! listen to songs in foreign languages, so you aren’t focused on the words but more the feeling they give. blast that shit through your most comfortable earbuds, tune everything else out

2) don’t sit outside. trust me. too many extra sensory bits and shit that you just don’t need rn. miss me with that wind and bugs and prickly grass.

3) tired of the “visualize a door” method? visualize yourself dancing! find one good dance song that you’ll only use when trying to meditate, and choreograph your own little routine! imagine urself dancing outside on a chilly autumn day- the air smells crisp and the leaves crack and almost hurt beneath your feet and every once in a while your arms hit a twig or branch. imagine it’s spring and there’s cold dew on the soft new grass and the sun is making your bare arms tingly, a warm breeze tugs at your hair and clothes. get creative! the hardest part is imagining yourself *in* your body, looking out, instead of watching urself dance like it’s a movie.

4) sit in the car!! oh my god!! do this!! the passenger seat of the car opens a world of possibilities, and you probably won’t even have to close your eyes because damn, look at you, you’re already off daydreaming abt god knows what and completely ignoring everything around you!! if cars are good for anything, it’s daydreaming. now all you gotta do is figure out how to switch your daydreaming off and turn meditating on.

5) school age witch? meditate in the morning on the bus. if you trust the other kids riding with you enough, do it on the way home too (warning: may suddenly find urself interrupted by flying paper balls or gross laughing. this is why we meditate in the mornings when everyone’s half asleep still)

6) it’s okay if a stray thought drifts in every once in a while, so don’t get upset over it.

7) your leg bouncing? scalp itch? eye twitching? keep bouncing it! scratch your head! rub your eyes!! trying to ignore these things will take more effort than it will to just take care of them. make sure youre comfortable

8) extending on that point, if you find your overall position uncomfortable, just move dude. it’s okay, just cause you aren’t laying with ur arms at ur sides and legs perfectly straight doesn’t mean you won’t get some meaningful meditation in

I was hoping to get 10 points but I’m suddenly lacking motivation and getting bored with typing this. guess that’s the proof for you that I have ADHD? I hope these help! feel free to add on your own tips for meditation! and like always, don’t beat urself up if nothing seems to be helping. I’ve been trying for three years and I still struggle very much to meditate, and be confident that what I’m seeing isn’t just my Wild Wild imagination, and is instead the astral or whatever else I’m looking for. take your time, and good luck! ✨🌊🥀

[sarahmascarah]

These are actually very good meditation tips for everybody!

Meditation isn’t supposed to have one form because it is unique to the individual. Some people might find success in walking (which is a legitimate form of meditation done in Buddhist temples), in knitting or doing some sort of finger work, in exercise (yoga), in singing (mantra), in focusing on one point, on studying an image (yantra)….

Thoughts and the lack thereof are a cycle through which meditation helps lead an individual. So you’ll have a thought and another and another and then eventually you’ll realize you weren’t thinking at all (which “messes up” the meditation, right?). What practicing does is makes the time between thoughts lengthen and illuminates the ease of recognizing that flow.

The mischaracterization of meditation through mainstream channels has hindered a lot of people from feeling successful when meditating. Truth is, if you fall asleep you needed it. Meditation is about tuning in to your deeper channels and removing blocks to your highest self. A sleep deficit is a block to your higher self and sleeping during meditation helps that.

People who practice meditation by being tender with themselves and honoring where their body and mind is at right then are the people who have the most successful meditation practices and don’t feel stymied or decayed by it long term. Your meditation should leave you feeling charged, not depleted.

Let it flow! Happy meditating!

[system-comforts]

Love your system! It is yours! It is unique! It is amazing! Love your system!

[dajo42]

if you dont have me on facebook you are probably not missing out on any posts but the comment section is important too lmao

I went to the Renaissance faire dressed as a warrior.  I had a real sword with me, too.  I was standing (in character) next to a sword-fighting ring, where kids of all ages got the chance to pick up a sword and challenge the champion.  Some woman walks by, with her little girl.  The girl starts walking towards the ring, saying she wants to fight.  But the mom pulled her away hella sharply, and was like, “That’s for boys.”  You don’t want to be a BOY, do you?”    And the girl looked around and saw me.  I think she thought I was a boy; I had my hair in a ponytail, and was wearing a hood.  So she comes up to me and asks me, “Do you think girls can be fighters, too?”  And her mom looks like she’s silently gloating.  Like she thinks I’m going to say no.  So I take off my hood, untie my hair so that it flows freely, and kneel before her.  And I’m like, “Milady, anyone can be a fighter.”  I swear, the look on that mother’s face made my day.

[maneth985]

[luxgalador]

This post was good but then it got better

[celticshenanigans]

Okay, this is a slight topic diversion, but in response to the above comment. I’ve volunteered at the CT Ren Faire for years now. For the last 5 or so I’ve worked in the game section, and we have a game similar to the above comment called “Smite the Knight”. I’ve been in the ring before, it’s a ton of fun getting to run around with the kids. The main goal is entertainment. Have a good shtick, keep the crowd engaged, and let the kids have a good time.

In both work and observing, I have learned something about kids. A lot of parents try to get their boys to go fight. Of the young ones that do, they tend to be shy. You get the ones who just swing the boffer swords around with no regard for life, but, mostly, they’re reserved. It’s adorable. I mean, they’re kids.

But the girls. THE GIRLS. Holy crap. I swear, the pinker the dress, the more taffeta and glitter…the more intensity. I remember, the first year I worked there, one girl came in, grabbed the biggest sword she could, and WENT TO TOWN on our knight. Lifted it over head, let out this primal scream and mowed him down. Homeboy is 6′2″, she was FIVE. And once he was in the fetal position (He was fine. It was for show.) on the ground, she stopped, put her foot on his chest, and yelled “I AM A FIERCE PRINCESS!!”. Later in the day when she walked by a couple of us yelled “Ah! It’s the fierce princess!” and she stopped and flexed. It was the best, and I will never forget that girl.

[complete-in-ix-deactivated20230]

OH MY GOD IT’S BACK YES

[the-ironhobbit-deactivated20170]

This has improved since last I reblogged.

[tinierpurplefishes]

I taught karate for like 5 years, and the girls were always, pound for pound, better than the boys. Even the girls who didn’t really want to do it and were only there because their parents made them were better than like 95% of the boys.

[shadesofmauve]

I was playing fiddle at a ren faire, and two little girls were really enjoying our set. After quite some time one of them walked up to me and shyly offered me her star tinsel tiara, because she “didn’t have any money. And this protects you from trolls!” I said “Thanks, that’s really sweet – but what about you? Don’t you need protection from trolls?”

At which point this six-ish-year-old girl whips out her certificate from the axe throwing booth and says “Nah, I’m fine.”

I still have that tinsel tiara. It’s draped over my modem. I figure it’ll protect me from the most trolls that way.

[callmebliss]

I am not in the habit of reblogging a post and slapping an “it got better” on there BUT I SAY GOTDAMN

[skyrim-crossing-deactivated2026]

This is the best thing I have seen on this site. Also, with the toys, my father was a very strong believer in gender roles. My mother wasnt. So we went to Toys R Us when I was 7 and my father said I could go and get any toy i wanted. (It was just me and him) The first thing I picked up was a fricken epic Darth Maul Lightsaber. I wanted that thing so badly like omg. But my father was like “You cant have that. Star Wars if for boys not girls. Come on lets go to the girls bit” I remember being triggered af. He tried buying me a barbie, a doll, a tea set. I wasnt having it. So I eventually gave in because my father threatened me with nothing abd taking my toys and games away. He bought me this lije Snow White doll. So we are paying and I see this boy who has the lightsaber. And the boy walks up to me and says how he wanted that Snow White doll but “it was for girls”. So I traded toys with him, and he was so happy. (I think he was only like 5). And I remember my father trying to get us to swap back, but we didnt. I remember sitting in the back of the car, doing the most smug stare ever. When we get home my mum says “Oh wow! Where did my daughter go? Excuse me sir have you seen my daughter?” She went out and bought me loads of Star Wars merch and she bought me an X-Wing bed. Like my room was all Star Wars. We would go and “fight” in the park with our lightsabers. And my father used to be so mad because “Girls cant like Star Wars”. So anyway, a few years later they get divorced (abuse and shizz) and the last thing I said to him was “May the force be with you”. He was so triggered about it omg XD

Just please stop enforcing gender roles ESPECIALLY on kids. I am so lucky that my mum is who she is, but not everyones parents are like that. You are traumatising kids for something they dont even understand. (If you read this far you get a cookie! 🍪)

[woventales]

We’ve been reading through Name of the Wind, and came across this rather striking passage. Only gotten a couple chapters beyond it so far, so we don’t know if it’s returned to later— and no spoilers, please! —but it’s a nice connection even on its own:

He also taught me a game called Seek the Stone. The point of the game was to have one part of your mind hide an imaginary stone in an imaginary room. Then you had another, separate part of your mind try to find it.

Practically, it teaches valuable mental control. If you can really play Seek the Stone, then you are developing an iron-hard Alar of the sort you need for sympathy.

However, while being able to think about two things at the same time is terribly convenient, the training it takes to get there is frustrating at best, and at other times rather disturbing.

I remember one time I looked for the stone for almost an hour before I consented to ask the other half of me where I’d hidden it, only to find I hadn’t hidden the stone at all. I had merely been waiting to see how long I would look before giving up. Have you ever been annoyed and amused with yourself at the same time? It’s an interesting feeling, to say the very least.

Another time I asked for hints and ended up jeering at myself. It’s no wonder that many arcanists you meet are a little eccentric, if not downright cracked. As Ben had said, sympathy is not for the weak of mind.

[system-comforts]

You are allowed to believe and follow what you feel is right, even if it doesn’t match that of other system members.

[howtobangyourmonster]

“Oops, dropped your coat!” You cheerfully pick up the soft fur coat off the floor and carefully drape it back over the person’s chair. They stare at you with wide, stunned eyes. They’re remarkably attractive. You awkwardly wave at them and go sit down at your table.

They’re a selkie, you “gave” them back their coat, you now have a gorgeous and besotted selkie spouse. Hey, they don’t make the rules.

[kurara-black-blog]

The next day, the attractive person you met shyly approaches you and gives you a little box with a ring inside. You blush, a little confused, and stare at them.

“I… Isn’t this… An engagement ring?”

“Well… We… We should get married by human customs as well.”

“… What?”

[thorkidumpster]

HARD INSPO

[can-t-figure-it-out]

@vesperlionheart this is so you!

[vesperlionheart]

I feel like this is something that happens when a young fairy doctor or witchling goes out and does exploring/forbidden stuff before reading through all the magic books and Grimoires like her mentor told her to-only to accidentally get engaged/married. 

Mentor does not fix situation because it’s a good learning opportunity.