There isn't a word for every single experience and there doesn't need to be

[theredoesnotexist]

But I feel like there is a particular dichotomy that I strongly associate with in an undeniably alterhuman way: the dragon and the phoenix. In any form they're portrayed; sometimes a dragon is a wild beast and a phoenix is a bird of golden fire, but sometimes a dragon is a storm and a phoenix is the sun, sometimes a dragon is a solar eclipse and a phoenix is the totality—in any manifestation, it feels like me. But it's not anywhere close to dragonkin or phoenixkin or mythological therianthropy at all, because I am not a dragon nor a phoenix. I know by now, having questioned, confirmed, and even 'linked both multiple times throughout my life. It's the symbol. The symbolism is what I am, the illustration, that contrast. The dichotomy is what represents me. Maybe I actually am something of a diptych!

I don't think every experience or identity under the alterhuman umbrella needs to have a word for it. If I can explain myself and how I feel, then it's real. A deep dive into Latin roots isn't going to help me get myself across any easier to most people because whatever word I come up with isn't going to be something anyone else already knows and understands, like therian or archetrope. I'm starting to feel the same way about our horror-genre experience, though I'm not sure if I'm even the one it applies to, so I'm not sure if I get to make a call about whether it gets a label or not... but the dragon/phoenix thing seems to just be me, and I say it doesn't need one. More discussion of unnameable identities is healthy for the ecosystem. It gives more people the space to have experiences that aren't named in the first place.

🜁