nova_dergs: Cartoon portrait of a golden hydra (Default)
[personal profile] nova_dergs
Pixel art gif of a spell being cast on a book and text appearing.

Join the Fictionfolk Webring


Are you fictionfolk? Do you have a personal website? We'd love to have you join our webring!


We've have yet to see anyone make fictionfolk webring, so we're filling the gap ourselves. Learn more on our website. We have more info there on what we're doing, how to join and even links to the resources we used to build everything.

What is a webring?


It's basically a collection of websites, that you can cycle through and view via a widget all the sites put up. This means, that by using our webring, you can easily browse through a bunch cool websites made by fictionfolk without having to scour the internet! Neat!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us.
nova_dergs: Cartoon portrait of a golden hydra (Default)
[personal profile] nova_dergs
My Gender is [NOT] Human. Huge scaly coils of a serpent which are the same colors as the xenogender flag cover the entire page.

Xenogender: A gender that cannot be contained by human understandings of gender; more concerned with crafting other methods of gender categorization and hierarchy such as those relating to animals, plants, or other creatures/things.

This zine is a collection of artwork, writing and more created by alterhumans and nonhumans to express both their species identity, gender, and how they intersect. While this zine has an xenogender slant, everyone who had something to share about how their species and gender overlap were encouraged to submit pieces!

Speaking of which: Thank you to everyone who submitted works! It means a lot to us that others think our project is valuable and are willing to use their time and ability to be a part of it! The community is so talented and varied, we hope this zine serves as a comfort for anyone who feels alone in their alterhuman and gender identities.

We created this zine to be an accessible pdf. Every entry is bookmarked for easy browsing, every image contribution is accompanied by alt text and we’ve done our best to battle against Adobe Acrobat's reading order to make sure it was logical! We’re also rather proud of figuring out how to make the content warnings also be links - so skipping ahead is only a click away.

Download it for free here!
dreamdragon: A orange furred dragon with white feathered wings and sungold horns, soft yellow mane and deep red belly, looking towards the righ side. In a gentle, abstract cloudy background filled with pink, purple, white and yellow. (Default)
[personal profile] dreamdragon
Ever curious about the POC demographic within the otherkin/therian/alterhuman/non-human identity community?

Dinocanid (creator of Othercon) has opened a survey that will last till this year December.
Even if you're not POC, a good percentage needs a good sample, and that means as much folks as possible!
Take the survey here!
nova_dergs: Cartoon portrait of a golden hydra (Default)
[personal profile] nova_dergs
Othercon.org is finally open again, thanks everyone for your patience! Also a reminder that this year's convention is on August 11th - 13th (it's always the second weekend in August).

If you don't have an account: All you have to do is register one and you're all set for attendee registration, there's no extra steps.

If you do have an account: You don't need to make a new one every year. However, because of Discord's latest update, Discord tags/discriminators are a thing of the past. You'll have to edit your on-site account to include your Discord user ID instead.

Now onto the other relevant information.


Theme and Charities

tumblr-bf24f0afb3c276476c12ce97531921c6-67045f34-2048

This year's theme is: Prehistoric!

Details on our charities for this year can be found here. The list of them is as follows:

  • St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site (spotlight)
  • Archangel Ancient Tree Archive
  • Ice Age Trail Alliance
  • Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences

For Artists, Dealers, and Panelists

I haven't been able to go through submissions yet, so nobody has been sent any emails so far. I should be able to get to them by next week!
nova_dergs: Cartoon portrait of a golden hydra (Default)
[personal profile] nova_dergs
OtherCon logo


Become a contributor!

Panelist registration is now available, and artist/dealer registration is still open!

Register a panel | Register as artist | Register as dealer

Registration will remain open until June 30th, meaning that after that date applications will no longer be accepted.

Please be aware that you must meet the following criteria:

  • Valid email address
  • Discord account
  •  


heron taking flight

For Artists

Want to take commissions at the convention?


To sell commissions you must provide a link to your art account(s) or shop and, if applicable, reviews from previous customers. This is to protect our attendees and ensure that all sellers are legitimate before being allowed to present. However, Othercon is not responsible for sales that take place.

What includes "art"? Is it only drawings?

Art includes digital and traditional drawings, crafts, literature, and music. NSFW (Not Safe For Work) art is not permitted to be displayed in the art gallery, on your art table, or sold at the convention. "NSFW" in this case is referring to explicit material such as porn.

Artists are also able to request their own time slots for streaming.

 


turtles

For Panelists

Does every panel have to be a alterhuman/otherkin/therian lecture?

Nope! While there no doubt will be lectures, there are also a bunch of other things that may be submitted (in-game meetups, concerts, story readings, watch parties, etc.). A diverse schedule leads to a better convention!

Also reminder that panels can be longer than 1 hour! By selecting "other" in the form, you can request a longer time slot.

Can I pre-record a panel?


Yes! There is an optional section for submitting a pre-recorded video that can be livestreamed if you are not able to present, or if technical difficulties prevent you from presenting. Submitted pre-recorded/backup panels are played through the official Othercon YouTube channel with the premier feature.

What if I want to run a panel, but don't know where to start?

Last year we held a survey of what kind of panels people want to see. If you're not sure where to start, you can look at the results here for ideas: LINK

 


whale

For Dealers

To become a dealer you must provide a link to your shop and, if applicable, reviews from previous customers. This is to protect our attendees and ensure that all sellers are legitimate before being allowed to present. However, Othercon is not responsible for sales that take place.

Do I belong in the dealer's den or artist alley? What's the difference?

The dealer role is specifically aimed towards those who own shops (usually for physical goods but not always). Some examples would be Redbubble, Etsy, Printify, Shopify, etc.

 


uh-oh-logo

Other Updates

If you visit the site now, you will see that it's currently undergoing maintenance. It will be in that mode for a couple weeks while updates are being made.

In addition to that, staff applications are now closed! If you applied and haven't heard back yet, please check your spam folder! Emails were sent out to everyone that applied.

And as always, feel free to email questions or suggestions to the official Othercon email: admin@othercon.org.
nova_dergs: Cartoon portrait of a golden hydra (Default)
[personal profile] nova_dergs
Modern-Draconity-Zine-cover-small

Draconity isn’t solely from ages past, but something that still burns bright in the modern age. This zine will be a collection of pieces created by nonhumans and alterhumans about what it means to be draconic in the present day (or even future). Also, this zine imposes no set definition on what is or isn’t “dragon enough.” If you feel like the label applies, we want to hear from you!



What Can I Submit?

Both fiction and nonfiction pieces are accepted. As long as what you have in mind fits the theme, it’ll probably be a-ok.

Off the top of our head, we’re thinking of:

  • Essays of your personal experiences
  • Short stories
  • Poetry
  • Mock advice columns
  • Alternative covers
  • Fictional advertisements
  • Comics
  • Recipes

We welcome you to think outside the box and dig into what it really means to be draconic in the modern era!



How to Participate

Please email your completed submission to ruffledgryphgon(@)gmail(.)com and title the email “Modern Draconity Submission.” Also make sure to include the following information in your email:

A name you would like the piece attributed to
  • Title of your submission
  • Any content warnings that you feel are necessary for the piece
  • Any social media handle or personal website you’d like linked in the contributor section
  • A logo or icon for the contributor section

**If you would like to stay anonymous let us know

Members of systems are welcome to submit individually or collectively. Please let us know your preference when it comes to attribution.

Once the deadline has passed, these submissions will be put into the zine and it will be posted on itch.io as a free PDF.

Submissions are due by October 31th, 2023.



Submission Guidelines

Each individual may submit up to 3 works to be featured in Modern Draconity. Comics and multi-image works count as one piece. Individuals within a system may each submit up to 3 works. All work must be your own! Anyone caught plagiarizing or submitting AI-generated work will be barred from entering Modern Draconity and any future zines from us.

Written submissions should not exceed 30 pages and multi-part art entries should not exceed 10 pages. Please keep in mind the zine’s pages will be 8.5x11 and entries will be scaled accordingly to fit that size. We request all art submissions to be sent in either .jpg or .png file formats.

For stories that use multiple different fonts, we will do our best to preserve the general “feel” of your piece but cannot guarantee we will be able to use the exact fonts or sizes due to restrictions in what fonts we have access to, readability and overarching zine style.

Submissions must fit the thematic criteria of

  • About draconity / being draconic
  • Involve the modern era or the future

As stated in the summary, we will not be policing what is or is not considered “dragon.” If you self-identify as draconic you count!



FAQ

Q: Where will the zine be hosted? What will it cost?
A: The zine will be hosted digitally on our itch.io and will be free to download.

Q: Is there a cap on submissions?
A: There is none, as long as the file doesn’t start getting too big for our computer we’ll do our best! If there are an unprecedented amount of submissions, we may have to delay the release. In the event that happens, we would communicate that through updates on our tumblr.

Q: Can I update my application after it’s been submitted?
A: Yes you may, as long as that is communicated to us before the submission deadline.

Q: Can I rescind my submission?
A: Yes you may, as long as that is communicated to us before the submission deadline. This is because once we begin work on the zine, having to remove content mid-way through would throw off the formatting of everything else after. Please take this into account before submitting.

Q: Will this zine allow NSFW entries?
A: No, nothing 18+ will be accepted.

Q: What is your timeline for the project?
A: Our submission deadline is October 31, 2023. We are then planning to spend the next month or so compiling all of the entries. Our goal is to have the zine live by the end of the year. If something unforeseen happens and we are unable to make that deadline, we will post an update about it on our tumblr.

Q: I have another question!
A: Feel free to reach out to us at our email ruffledgryphgon(@)gmail(.)com with any other questions you have about the zine.
who_is_page: (Page)
[personal profile] who_is_page
"Inky Paws: Submissions wanted!" reads text around a dog laying on its paws, with inky paws and inked pawprints all over.

Inky Paws is a collaborative nonhuman anthology zine for original fiction writings by nonhumans and alterhumans about nonhumanity, alterhumanity, and similar, related themes. The first issue is out and can be downloaded for FREE here: Issue #1 contains 16 different stories, poems, songs, and comics by various alterhuman authors, with genres ranging from fantasy, to sci-fi, to horror. A content warning list supplied from authors regarding their pieces is included towards the beginning for readers. It is 89 pages long and was inspired by Tsu Swanblood’s The Forest Voice zine.
 
We are currently doing a call for submissions for issue #2. This zine is primarily literature focused, but is also open to more illustrative methods of story-telling such as comics. The zine’s focus is on fictional pieces that are centered around nonhumanity, alterhumanity, therianthropy, and similar (see Submission Guidelines section below the cut for more details). Here’s the Inky Paws Info Document on Google Docs; it has all the information written here and below, but may be easier for people to keep track of.
 
Read more... )

who_is_page: (Page Old)
[personal profile] who_is_page
The Alterhuman Archive is an ever-expanding collection of nonhuman and alterhuman-related information, writings, and creations, meant to function as a community resource and memory bank. It currently contains over 550 essays, articles, blog posts, and more written by or about alterhumans.

Historical preservation of works made by and for alterhumans and nonhumans is a major goal of this archive. Whether that's through hosting resources, linking to them, or helping to advertise collaborative alterhuman events currently going on in the greater community, the Alt-Archive is here to be another place to collect resources in one singular, accessible location open to everyone.

The resources on the Alterhuman Archive are currently organized through Zotero, a free and open-source reference management software with various features meant to aid in organizing research materials of various kinds.This library is sorted with a variety of tags and contains summaries to every single piece of writing within it. You can sort by date, author, website, species, label, and more. Links on the main website will lead you to the relevant Zotero library section.

If you have submissions for the Alt-Archive, please consider emailing them to us at the email listed on the website's Contact page. Please include a title, your name or pen name, a brief description of the content, the attached submission or an accessible link, and any other relevant information.


houseofchimeras: (Chimera Archiving)
[personal profile] houseofchimeras
Three pieces have been added to our personal website, The Chimeras Library, this month.

“Symbols Found In The Alterhuman & Related Communities” –
Our most recently created alterhuman related article. This 22-page document lists and shares information about some of the symbols created throughout the history of the alterhuman communities and communities related to it.
Can be found here .


“From the Blue Fleet” by Ocean Watcher –
A recently overhauled 25-page personal essay by Ocean Watcher about their experiences as a frilled shark & blue glaucus polytherian and Tetsu Hayami fictionkin (from the anime, Blue Submarine No. 6).
Can be found here.


“Iridescent Green Feathers and Scales” by Quatz –
A 12-page personal essay by Quatz explaining a bit about being an emerald tree boa & resplendent quetzal polytherian (and thereby how being a polytherian leads him to also be an amphithere theriomythic).
Can be found here.

These pieces and more can be found linked on our website.
[identity profile] jarandhel.livejournal.com

There seems to be a significant migration of otherkin to a new service: TurtleSeed.  I had never heard of this service before today, but from what I've been able to determine it is a service similar to Twitter which allows people to make microblog posts of 140 characters or less. TurtleSeed is unique, however, in that it is built from the ground up with an eye towards privacy, eliminating trolls, encouraging positivity, and even the ability to designate certain words as triggers in one's user settings. By default, turtleseed posts expire after 3 days, for privacy reasons, though one has the ability to change that setting on an individual level.

There are already a wide variety of otherkin "clans" on TurtleSeed.  These are roughly equivalent to facebook groups or livejournal communities, organizing around a particular discussion topic.  Some of these are public, while others require approval to join.  Some are permanent, while others have a set duration they will be in existence.  And some even allow all posts to them to be made anonymously.  One of these clans, /otherkinchat, already boasts ~328 members despite just having been created on August 20, 2014.  And it's more active than most otherkin groups I've seen, on any medium.

The otherkin clans of which I am currently aware are:

The communities there do seem to have been influenced, IMO, more by tumblr otherkin culture than the culture of the wider community, but the activity level definitely makes it something to keep an eye on.

[identity profile] overlord-mordax.livejournal.com
After a several year hiatus, From Fiction, a large resource for otakukin and fictionkin has been archived at its original address (http://otakukin.atspace.com/). New content will now be uploaded at the new address on tumblr. The attached 'More Than Fiction' message boards will be maintaining their familiar address.
ext_1601924: (jimbo)
[identity profile] crystal-waters.livejournal.com
Content warnings: None

The fiction/media/otakukin forum, More Than Fiction has been deleted sometime in the past few days. It has been with little activity for months. Recently Selebis posted a thread saying she and Mordax no longer believe they are fictionkin.

The content of the forum is gone, but members can still long into their account and contact other members through notes.

Edit: The forum has returned, although previous posts could not be saved.
frameacloud: A white dragon with its tail in a knot. (Heraldry transparent)
[personal profile] frameacloud
Content warnings: None.

September: In the academic Journal of Religion, Media, and Digital Culture, David Robertson reviewed Danielle Kirby's writings about the otherkin community in Fantasy and Belief: Alternative Religions, Popular Narratives and Digital Cultures, a book published this year.

Robertson's review also functions as a concise introduction to otherkin and some of the overlapping groups described by Kirby. See that Robertson opens the review by giving a definition of otherkin:

The Otherkin are an online community of individuals who identify as ontologically non-human; while occupying a human body, their 'true selves' (one might read 'souls') are other. The majority of Otherkin identify as animals, beings recognisable from folklore and mythology (dragons, elves, vampires) or characters and races from popular fiction (literature, television, computer games and particularly Japanese manga and anime). [...] Of course, there is no strict delineation to be drawn between fictional and religious or mythological narratives; while dragons, fairies and angels all derive from the mythologies of specific historical cultures, their contemporary constructions derive as much, if not more, from recent portrayals in popular fiction.


I think this is a fairly satisfactory definition of otherkin. Later in the review, Robertson tells of some groups that Kirby considers sub-groups of otherkin (otaku-kin and Elenari elves) and some overlapping groups (multiples and soulbonds). Notably, I see no mention of animal people such as therianthropes or furries.

Regarding Kirby's book itself, Robertson said,

"Despite her admonition that [Kirby's] aim was not to provide 'an exhaustive exploration of the Otherkin community' but rather to explore 'the dual influences of speculative (primarily fantasy) fiction and communication technology in the creation of alternative metaphysical systems', the book is nevertheless just that, with chapters devoted to how the Otherkin relate to these themes. Too much of the book is little more than a catalogue of related but not particularly relevant concepts and communities ..."


Robertson voiced disappointment about some insufficiently relevant material in the book, particularly a chapter that gave histories of mythological creatures, which did not contribute much to understanding otherkin or questioning religiosity.

I noticed that Robertson made a few errors in the review. Robertson misspells "Elenari Elves" as "Elanari Elves." Robertson also perpetuates the common misconception of conflating schizophrenia with Disassociative Identity Disorder.



Source


David Robertson, "Review." Journal of Religion, Media, and Digital Culture 2: 2 (Sept 2013).
http://jrmdc.com/reviews/fantasy-belief/
(That's the full article, in HTML.)
http://jrmdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Review_FantasyandBelief_Robertson_Sept2013.pdf
(That's a direct link to the full article, in PDF.)
frameacloud: A white dragon with its tail in a knot. (Heraldry transparent)
[personal profile] frameacloud
Content warnings: For this article, none. The linked articles give their own content warnings.

August: An otherkin named Jewelfox wrote several essays about being otherkin and fictive. These are:

Jewelfox, "Realizing that you're a fictive." 2013-08-14. http://jewelfox.dreamwidth.org/76281.html
A personal awakening story.

Jewelfox, "When I say I'm fictive / median / otherkin." 2013-08-11. http://jewelfox.dreamwidth.org/2013/08/11/when-i-say-im-fictive-median-otherkin.html
On how other people misinterpret those self-descriptions.

Jewelfox, "Are therians, otherkin, and fictives real?" 2013-08-16. http://jewelfox.dreamwidth.org/2013/08/16/are-therians-otherkin-and-fictives-real.html
Observations and advice on the balance of one's inner and outer world.

I linked to these articles with Jewelfox's permission.
frameacloud: A white dragon with its tail in a knot. (Heraldry transparent)
[personal profile] frameacloud
(The linked article lists its own trigger warnings.)

August: A trans woman and otherkin in the otherkin community named Jewelfox wrote an essay titled "Why trans* people hate otherkin (and otherkin hate fictives)." Jewelfox explains that why people who have unusual identities tend to disparage other kinds of unusual identities, and why that doesn't help them the way they think it does. She argues that although they're trying to defend their own legitimacy, they're unknowingly supporting the system that oppresses them, in vain hope to get mercy from it.

You can read the whole article. There are good insights in the comments, and on this other post about the essay.



Source


Jewelfox, "Why trans* people hate otherkin (and otherkin hate fictives)." 2013-08-07. Jewelfox. http://jewelfox.dreamwidth.org/2013/08/07/why-trans-people-hate-otherkin.html
frameacloud: A white dragon with its tail in a knot. (Heraldry transparent)
[personal profile] frameacloud
Trigger warnings: For this article, none. The linked article lists its own trigger warnings in its introduction.

August: An otherkin in our community, named Jewelfox, wrote an article this month titled "What does it mean to be otherkin?" Other authors have had difficulty trying to write a definition for otherkin (people who identify as mythological creatures), therianthropes (people who identify as animals), and/or fictives (people who identify as characters from fiction), because these self-identifications are individualistic and have surprisingly few beliefs in common with one another. Rather than attempting a definition based on spirituality or behavior, Jewelfox isolates three traits that she thinks are held in common by otherkin, therianthropes, and fictives alike. These three traits aren't spiritual beliefs or behaviors, but are aspects of a process: identification, explanation, and expression. Read Jewelfox's article to learn more about the reasoning behind this, and its impact on the social acceptance of these people.



Source


Jewelfox, "What does it mean to be otherkin?" 2013-08-05. Jewelfox (personal blog). http://jewelfox.dreamwidth.org/74778.html
I linked to this with Jewelfox's permission.
[identity profile] hoyvinglavin64.livejournal.com
Tomorrow is the last day for my crowdfunding campaign for the otherkin/fictionkin-inspired short film Book Girl. The project has met its goal but we're hoping for as many donations as possible: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/book-girl
[identity profile] hoyvinglavin64.livejournal.com
I'm working to raise funds for a film project some friends and I are working on. It's inspired in part by otherkin/fictionkin issues so I'd think people here might be interested. Please donate if you can and if you can't, then please share it around and spread the word! http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/book-girl

Profile

otherkinnews: A centaur reading a newspaper. (Default)
Otherkin News

About

Otherkin News is a collaborative, volunteer-run blog for sharing news for otherkin, therianthropes, fictionfolk, plural systems, and all sorts of alterhumans. You can join and post here about current events in our communities and newspaper articles that are about us. The person moderating this is [personal profile] frameacloud. Everyone is welcome to subscribe and explore our tags.

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