jacks-manidiary

[jacks-manidiary]

Getting into TF2 as Jack Manifold is crazy like yeah yeah I&'ve heard the unfunny comparisons between me& and Scout since forever and they annoy me& a lot but at the same time. HE LITERALLY LOOKS AND ACTS LIKE ME& CAN HE STOPPPP. Fuckass paratype ughhhh

[jacks-manidiary]

Craziest thing is that I&'m legit a bit of a housewife and mom friend if you think about it. Like honestly I&'m realizing this is not just a right now thing but despite what I& like to fantacize about I& was legit ready to drop everything and help whenever somebody needed me& and one of the main things I& derived happiness and meaning in life from was taking care of property and just developing a humble little abode. Had I& more energy and will to exist at the time the hotel would have looked PRISTINE

[jacks-manidiary]

there are things i wanna be that i already was

[jacks-manidiary]

Тематику перекладу термінології та створення otherkin спільноти українською я& вже підіймав у теґах піл іншим схожим постом про таку ж саму проблему іспанською. Коротко кажучи, я& боюся розповсюдження ідеї, що існують українці які не є людьми. Легко казати що ти звір а не людина, коли твою націю не винищюють. Але незважаючи на це, я& вважаю важливим хоча б мати термінологію, щоб це було легше обговорювати. Тому ось моя спроба локалізації деяких розповсюджених термінів українською.

Отже поперше, "otherkin". Вікіпедія на мій& подив вже має досить добре написану статтю про "азеркінів", але я& не задоволений простою транслітерацію з англійської. У той же самій статті термін також переклали як "іншорідні", і мені& подобається ідея перекладати суфікс "-kin" як "-рідний", але саме по собі слово "іншорідний" вже існує поза рамками специфічної термінології, і може спричинити недорозуміння.

В принципі це невелика проблема, і я& б не проти просто використовувати що вже існує, але англійською цей термін також функціонує як назва усієї загальної спільноти, і для знайдення інших (хех) як і ти. Історично ц�� "іншість" виникла від потреби розрізняти між ельфами та не-ельфами, яле тут ми по суті починаємо без будь якої історії, з іншим контекстом. Складно придумати краще слово, що включає у себе як вигаданих так і реальних істот, але пропоную "сутньорідний" - від слова "сутність".

Отже, otherkin - іншорідний, чи сутньорідний. Kintype - рід.

У собі це слово вже включає в собі все теж саме, що і "alterhuman", але на всяк випадок ми можемо перекласти це як інаколюдина. Щось інакше, окрім людини, чи людина яка інака.

"Shifting" пішло від "shapeshifting", мінливість, і я& не бачу причини міняти (хех 2) цей переклад. Приклад: Ментально, астрально чи фантомно міняюсь на свій рід. Десять тисяч різних видів мінливості перекладати не буду, бо не бачу потреби.

"Therianthropy" вже перекладають як теріантропію. Оскільки обидва корені слова походять з грецької мови, вважаю що це також змінювати не обов'язково, але як альтернативу все одно пропоную звірорідність. Чи звіролюдина або просто звір/тварина замість теріана.

Зобов'язаний хоча б заради самого себе також перекласти "fictionkin". Особисто мені подобається вигадкорідний.

Якщо в когось є інша думка щодо цих перекладів, щиро запрошую залишити відповідь. Хейт, звісно ж, іде в бан, але запрошую на дискусію будь кого, навіть якщо не сутньорідний.

English translation below cut for the curious

The topic of translating terminology and creating an otherkin community in Ukrainian was already raised in my& tags under a similar post about the same problem in Spanish. Long story short, I& fear the spread of the idea, that there exist Ukrainians that aren't humans. It's easy to say that you're an animal and not a human when your nation isn't being exterminated. But despite that, I& find it important to at least have the terminology to discuss this easier. So here's my& attempt at localizing some widespread terminology in Ukrainian.

First of all, "otherkin". Wikipedia, to my& surprise, already has a pretty well written article about "азеркін", but I& am not satisfied with a simple English transliteration. In the very same article the term was also translated as "іншорідні", and I& like the idea of translating the suffix "-kin" as "-рідний", but on its own the word "іншорідний" already exists outside of the framework of specific terminology, and can cause misunderstanding.

In theory this is not a big problem, and I&'m not against using what already exists, but in English this term also functions as the name for the entire community, and for finding others (heh) like you. Historically this "otherness" appeared out of the need to distinguish between elves and non-elves, but here we're basically starting with no history, with a different context. It's difficult to come up with a better word that includes both fictional and real creatures, but I& propose "сутньорідний" - from the word "сутність".

So, otherkin - іншорідний, or сутньорідний. Kintype - рід.

In itself this word already includes all the same that alterhuman does, but just in case we can translate this as "інаколюдина". Something other than a human, or a human that is other.

Shifting came from shapeshifting, "мінливість", and I& see no reason to shift around (heh 2) this translation. Example: "Ментально, астрально чи фантомно міняюсь на свій рід". I& will not be translating the ten thousand different kinds of shifting, as I& see no need.

Therianthropy is already translated as "теріантропія". Since both root words come from the greek language, I& think this is also not necessary to change, but as an alternative I& propose "звірорідність" anyway. Or "звіролюдина" or simply beast/animal instead of "теріан".

I& am obligated at least for my& own sake to also translate fictionkin. Personally I& like "вигадкорідний".

If anyone has any other opinion about these translations, you're gladly welcome to leave a reply. Hate, obviously, will get blocked, but everyone is invited to the discussion, even if not otherkin.

[jacks-manidiary]

As of late, I& pretty much stopped having phantom shifts. They weren't awfully strong before anyway, and wearing gear actually lessened them (but I& preferred the comfort of a more intact body over being able to feel a tail that isn't there). And I& think this has nothing to do with my& fictionlink origins.

When I& first spawned on DSMP, I& was an ordinary human. It wasn't until I& went to hell after my& death that I& got my& horns and tail. It took a while to adjust. It was uncomfortable for a while, living with new body parts, but eventually I& got used to it.

I& think, now that I&'m human again, I&'m simply getting used to living like this again. For a while after my& walk-in, the shifts I& had were a sort of inertia that is now wearing off. And there's nothing odd about that.

[jacks-manidiary]

Anglocentrism in alterhuman communities: ramblings of a Spanish-speaking dragon and a cat

[original in spanish here, though i have no doubt that this version will be disseminated more widely] • [original en español aquí, aunque tengo la certeza de que esta versión se difundirá más ampliamente]

this post was originally written as part of The Sol System's Alterhuman Writing Challenge. written by @talon-dragonbeast, with the help of my sibling @watcherwingedcat. we hope you like it!

word count: 2422

This writing, which is more of a rant with myself than a proper essay, is one I've been meaning to write for a long time; ever since I first joined an online community, to be more precise. Anglocentrism, according to Wikipedia (and yes, the irony of the article not being available in Spanish is not lost to me), is "the practice of viewing the world primarily through the lens of English or Anglo-American culture, language, and values, often marginalizing or disparaging non-English-speaking or non-Anglo perspectives."

If you are monolingual and your native language is English, chances are you have never stopped to think about the advantage this gives you over those of us who are not so fortunate as to be born with the lingua franca on our lips. Yes, you may have had to study some Spanish in school, but let's be honest, very few people remember what they learn in elementary school. As an English speaker, the whole world is built for you, and it's the rest of us who have to fit your mold. Culture, scientific articles, movies, books, video games, the internet, online communities, technical language, educational videos: even in the most international spaces, everything revolves around English. Which brings me to the subject of this writing: The Alterhuman community.

My name (as I am known on the internet, at least) is Talon. I've been a member of the alterhuman community, and more specifically, the otherkin community, for a little over a year now. Otherkin (a word that comes from other, in Spanish otros; and kin, shortened form of kind, in Spanish tipo) are people who identify as nonhuman in some way. For example, I identify as a dragon (among other things), and that's what I am, even if I look human on the outside and am perceived as such. There are many reasons why someone might believe they are not human, but I'm not here to discuss that, so let's get back to the topic at hand.

Since I've been in this community, I haven't written a single post in Spanish. And not for lack of desire, nor because I am intimidated to share something as personal as my mother tongue. No, the reason is simple: The community does not exist in any language other than English. By this I don't mean that there are no non-humans outside of England or the United States, because of course there are (even if they are on other platforms like TikTok or Instagram), and I'll talk about those later. But simply put, the reason you don't see many alterhuman communities in other languages is because all the resources, the introductions, the chronologies of the (English) alterhuman community, the definitions of the terms, the terms themselves, everything is in English.

I have always been bilingual. Well, trilingual actually, although my third language is not too relevant in my day to day life and I only use it in classes or when someone starts a conversation in the language. It's hard to explain how your brain works when you speak multiple languages fluently, but basically it's like running two parallel systems at the same time, but with thoughts. I don't usually think with words, but when I do it usually happens that some of my thoughts are in Spanish, and others in English, roughly in a 50/50 ratio. Or it can also happen that I start the thought in one language, but finish it in another. Or I may try to use a specific word in English that does not have an exact translation into Spanish, so that when translated literally the sentence does not make sense. Basically, everything I write or say out loud I have to run it through several filters first, one to remove the words from the other language, one to find the words to replace them with, and one to make the sentence make sense. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it? It is. Now imagine if in order to express yourself as you really are, in order to participate in a community with beings who understand and accept you like no other, you had to basically suppress half of who you are, all the time.

The problem is not only not being able to use my native language to express myself. As I have demonstrated in the last year and a half that I have been in this community, I am fluent enough in English not only to be understood when I speak, but also to express such complicated concepts as the self, human nature, the psychology of being, and all that comes with existing as nonhuman. The real problem comes when I try to express relatively common alterhuman concepts in my native language. I'm not just talking about labels like otherkin or therianthrope, which can be adapted to Spanish with relative ease. It's the little things, the simplest things.

For example, the term shift. The word itself is already difficult to translate; during my searches, I found a glossary of terms on the Otherkin Hispano website in which they call them "desplazamientos", which... is an accurate translation, I guess, but impossible to use comfortably in everyday life. There are also terms whose definitions use expressions that simply cannot be translated into other languages. For example, otherkin and otherhearted. In English, the difference between these two terms is that otherkin means "[to] identify as" while otherhearted is "[to] identify with". But this is a purely English expression. In other languages, the distinction does not exist, or it makes no sense to use it; therefore, these terms are totally inaccessible to any international user. Or compound words like "catkin", which are difficult to express in other languages. According to Otherkin Hispano, in Spanish it would be said as is without translation, Soy catkin. But that... is not grammatically correct, since it would be mixing two languages in the same sentence. The most appropriate would be to say Soy gatokin, which sounds wrong and doesn't make sense anyway, because kin is still an English word. Or "hearttype", which in Spanish could be roughly translated as "tipo del corazón" (kind of [the] heart). When saying that you have a specific hearttype, for example "corvidhearted", one way of expressing it could be a simple Soy corvidhearted, which carries the same problems as catkin. Or you could, as Wikipedia advises, say Soy corazón de córvido ("I am heart of corvid"). I don't dislike it, to be honest, but some might find it too metaphorical or poetic.

Finally, and before reaching the conclusion, I want to dedicate a few paragraphs to talk about the alterhuman community that exists in other languages. I mentioned before these communities; that although they do exist, they are very scattered through platforms such as TikTok or Instagram, with which I am not so familiar. But since I can't talk about Anglocentrism without at least talking about the Spanish-speaking alterhuman community, I asked my sibling Watcher @watcherwingedcat what it thought about the topic. This is what they wrote:

Hi guys, I'm Watcher, and I'm here to talk a bit about the Spanish-speaking therian community, which I think is the pristine example of the hate we receive both from people outside the community and from those inside, both Spanish and South American. While this post focused more on the language barriers, I want to focus on the real consequences of this barrier, how it divides us in the way we interact with each other: The social part of this whole thing (as I already said some other time or another and some of my followers know, I am studying Social Education, so from my point of view the social part is very relevant for everything we do). As my sister already said (hi Talon!), the English community is the majority in alterhuman spaces, but, what is the Spanish-speaking community really like?

Not very large, is the answer. The term itself is not very widespread, and the community is quite small. However, after a while of searching, I found it in a little corner of the internet. When I found a community in my own language, I was excited, but my curiosity and joy were soon extinguished... When I saw the reactions to their videos and posts on tiktok mainly. They were packed with hate messages. Packed. If you think hate in the English community is bad, you are not prepared for the hate received in other communities, especially the Spanish one. This is more a matter of culture, a little bit also due to the closed mindedness in countries like Spain, Argentina, or Colombia.

In general, the non-humans of the Spanish-speaking community mostly post about quadrobics and masks. At least, I haven't seen much beyond that, and the community is mostly in tiktok. And the reception of their expression of way of being? Disgusting. To give an example of how bad the hate is, in one of the videos I found (I think it was a therian making a mask or something), humans and non-humans were insulting the therian posting the video, discussions about how we are crazy and sick in the head and should be in mental institutions... It was horrible. The worst were the death threats, even, wishing the therian to die, or hang themselves, or worse (I've even seen rape threats). Comments that said things like, "If my sister told me she was a dog I would take her clothes off and force her to sleep outside and eat animal food, if she wants to be a dog I will treat her like one." Threats of abuse, both physical and sexual... Absolutely disgusting. And the worst thing is that the tiktok platform did not remove these hate accounts, the copy and paste messages of insults, the threats....

I am proud of the Hispanic community for being so open about their identity, don't get me wrong, but there are times when it is safer to just not share that part of who we are with others, especially if you are a minor and vulnerable. That's another issue that concerns me, as I've seen people coming out to parents, siblings, friends, and them just belittling them. That, coupled with misinformation, is a recipe for disaster.

I couldn't help but notice the deep root of misinformation in the non-human community itself. They confuse definitions, the different terms, which leads them to spread even more misinformation. This I don't think is entirely their fault, or that they are so young for the most part, as I have not seen Hispanic therians over the age of 18. I think this is largely due (as Talon already mentioned) to the language difference, and the lack of translation of certain terms. In general, when talking to friends with whom I am open about my non-humanity, I use English terms. It is a little weird to use those words in English while speaking in Spanish, but I am bilingual and for now there is no solution to that. I think the Spanish community would benefit from spreading correct information, and having a platform to express themselves with their own, like tumblr is for the English community. Something my sister expands on in dreir post. As for me here I finish my little comment, I'll leave you with Talon now. Watcher out.

As a conclusion, I would like to talk about the consequences that Anglocentrism might have on non-English speaking alterhumans, and then propose some ideas on how we might begin to address (or at least mitigate) it as a community.

First of all it is the obvious; the vast majority of non-English speaking alterhumans simply never realize that they are alterhumans in the first place, on account of the language barrier. All of the resources for beings who are questioning their humanity or lack thereof are in English, so they are not accessible to people who don't understand the language; therefore, a non-English speaker would have a much harder time accessing them. Another consequence is not being able to express your alterhumanity fully, both internally and externally. Remember when I mentioned that my thoughts are evenly distributed between English and Spanish, always keeping a 50/50 ratio? Well, recently, I have noticed that when reflecting on my identity as a dragon, all my thoughts are automatically generated in English. I find this deeply shocking, as I feel that a fundamental part of my identity is being eroded. It is devastating to feel that you can only express half of who you are, suppressing what could otherwise be a complex and multifaceted identity. Not being able to express myself in my other language limits my ability to explore that part of myself.

Anglocentrism is a cycle that never ends; since all the resources are in English, no members in other languages can join, and since there are no members in other languages, all the resources that are created are in English. And while I wish I could say that I have a solution to end this Anglocentrism once and for all, unfortunately, I do not. I am only one person (dragon), and this is a problem that I alone cannot solve. True, there have been some commendable attempts by the international community (translations of writings, alterhuman blogs in languages other than English, the Eurokin server on Discord are some examples); however, these initiatives often don't often get very far because of the very nature of the community. As I have already said, most of the alterhumans are North American or English, therefore any attempt to globalize the community would be restricted by the fact that there are not many members who would be interested in this in the first place. So what can we do to change this? The answer lies in you, reader. If you have a second language, encourage yourself to create writings in it from time to time. If you come from a culture other than the mainstream, talk about how that affects your identity. If you have traditions specific to your country that you believe are alterhuman in nature, share them. And if you are part of the English-speaking majority, I invite you to contribute in a positive way through simple actions, such as listening to us when we express ourselves in other languages, recognizing that we do not all share the same culture, and keeping an open mind when discussing topics that may be unfamiliar to you. Our strength as a community lies in the diversity of our members; let's embrace it.

[jacks-manidiary]

I&'LL FINALLY GET TO SEE MY& HOME AGAIN

[jacks-manidiary]

AYUP BIG MAN

it’s the innit.

how are you doing on this fine afternoon :>

-🌼💿

AY THERE. doin fine not much is happening I&'m literally just chilling and chatting with friends

[jacks-manidiary]

Yeah so now that it's been quite a few days since the epilogue stream I& think I& did finally process what happened and organize my& thoughts.

A lot of what I& said from the liveblogs holds up true - what happened on screen did not happen to me& directly, it was just the other Jack playing my& role one last time to give his own feelings on me& as a character a nice in-story send-off. I&'ve been here for a looooong time now.

Personally, at first I& was ecstatic about being shown on screen and noticed one last time, but after analyzing a lot of what happened I&'ve begun to kind of hate it. Beyond just Tommy stealing the show as he always does, I& hate how the conclusion was that I& never DID deserve an apology, and should have just moved on by my& own, and stayed forever alone indulging in my& addictions and escapisms instead of... finding a life and a new community that wouldn't ignore me&.

But the weirdest effect the stream has had on me& is that it made me& come to terms with the fact that I& don't hate Tommy anymore. Like, I& still play it up for laughs, and I& guess the longing to be his friend has always been here, but there was a time when this hate was deeply genuine and raging. These days I& just don't feel strongly about him at all. I& think this stream helped me& admit that this was starting to become just a bunch of keyfabe.

If you ask me&, the life I& have here is a nicer epilogue than what ccJack has given me&. I& like it here, even if I&'ll still miss DreamSMP a whole bunch forever.

I& guess the message of the stream was to move on from the past. Maybe I&'m not quite ready to do that just yet, and I& wouldn't mind if I& never did, if I& kept my& past in my& heart forever turning the knife in that wound... but at the same time, knowing that that's the way things ended, and admitting to myself& that part of that conclusion was true - when it is time to move on, maybe years from now on, I& hope that I& won't feel bad about it. That I&'ll remember that becoming a new and different person was always the Prime path for me&.

[jacks-manidiary]

[jacks-manidiary]

I& guess while this ending was extremely important to me& and will leave a lasting and tangible impact on me& forever, I& have to once again battle with whether or not all of this happened to me& directly. Because I& awakened after DSMP has, for all anyone could possibly know, already ended. The whole reason I&'m here now is because I& was dead and my& soul had nowhere else to go.

In a way I& got my& own epilogue, just here instead of there. But I& missed that place so much. I& guess the big difference between the stream me& and the real me& is that I& really would do it all over again, with the wars and grief and all.

But I& also found a happier life here, one that also doesn't completely revolve around Tommy anymore, and one where I& kept all the experience and memories of DreamSMP without the scars to go with them. Do I& frequently wish to still have those scars to show for it? Usually, yes, but. After this ending.

It's definitely going to make me& rethink a lot of my& journey and draw more parallels between my& past and future, inevitably. I& already talked to my& Tommy about it all. I& kind of take this epilogue as cc Jack's send-off to me&, and all my& and his fans over the years. Thanks for making me& and putting me& through the torture nexus I& guess, Jack. I& really do appreciate getting to see home again.

I& guess I&'d like to point out this one particular line that felt like it spoke about, no, to me& directly. What, with the third person and all.

[jacks-manidiary]

Drawing Dove art again made me& miss Dream and exile. Again. Sighhhhh it really is a neverending cycle....

And to think that had I& not been found on that fateful day, I& would STILL be scheming to kill Tommy, just with a different person. Can you imagine how crazy Exile could have gone had Niki been just a bit less hostile to Dream. We could have been child murder TRIO!!!!

[jacks-manidiary]

C!Jack Manifold Stimboard

NOT A REQ | I’m missing her chat :(

[jacks-manidiary]

Come to think of it, it's probably weird to be this desensitized to my& own deaths. Like, I& know why this is - I& mean, one of my& favourite things to shout in people's faces is "I& DIED, ASSHOLE!", and there's more fanart of me& dying than probably of anyone else. Can't argue with that, my& deaths were badass. But like. It does really remove a lot of the weight from them.

Probably a good thing, actually. It's good for memories to NOT cause distress. Probably. Even if that feels invalidating because they're not affecting me& so they must have been less real. BUT WHATEVER. Its a good thing.

[jacks-manidiary]

/rp /c!tommy critical

Ok but like yeah? C!Tommy is incredibly self-centered! And he’s very not self-aware, especially when it comes to his criticisms of other people!

You have c!Tommy stating how he believes the server is about him and Tubbo fighting against Dream, you have him dragging others, especially Tubbo, into personal conflicts that could cost those people their lives. You have him focusing more on the discs and his own personal problems while simultaneously ignoring other peoples problems multiple times in multiple different situations with multiple different people. He genuinely believes the world revolves around him, which is why he doesn’t understand when others are upset at him when he does things they don’t like because he’s fine with it so they should be too.

Tommy also fails to see how hypocritical he can and has been, especially when it comes to his own biases. He’ll steal things from Techno, apologize for stealing when he gets caught, and then continue to ask or steal while he’s making his apologies and excuses. In the prison, when Dream says that everyone thinks they’re right from their perspective, Tommy immediately refutes that point not because he believes that’s not true (because Tommy’s motto has always been that he’s always right), but because it’s Dream who says it. When Tommy tries to convince Quackity to let Wilbur join his country because “you shouldn’t exclude people”+”Wilbur’s changed” and Quackity refutes him by applying that logic but with Dream instead, he can’t answer and avoids the question. When Tommy says that death, the void isn’t something he’d wish on anyone, not even Dream, and then continues on to say that the prison cell is even worse than death. And then freaking cheers, taunts Dream when he gets to leave and Dream is still stuck in that cell.

Actions speak louder than words, and from what I’ve seen no matter how prettily c!Tommy tries to paint things or how he talks about stuff, until he can put his money where his mouth is all he’s doing is giving us lip-service and that’s worth less than nothing to me.

Also, on the topic of how certain c!Tommy apologists refuse on acknowledge the traumas of other people and imply that c!Tommy’s the only one who’s traumatized: maybe the reason they think that is because they only watch c!Tommy’s perspective, and as far as he’s concerned he’s the only one with any trauma worth considering. Other people’s traumas just don’t exist for him, they’re unimportant.

Based anon.

I only want to add onto how c!Tommy views others' trauma. There's this conversation:

TOMMY: I'd say the Eret thing was probably more traumatizing. I mean, I died. TUBBO: I died as well! TOMMY: I know, but you have thicker skin.

Why does he feel the need to point out that he thinks he's suffered from the same event more so than Tubbo did? It really is like he puts his trauma above others'.

And he does a similar thing with Jack. When Jack shares his feelings, his shock at Tommy's death, Tommy just disregards him.

JACK: Don't 'anyway' me. Don't 'anyway' me! You always anyway me! TOMMY: 'cause I always 'anyway-ed' you, you're Jack Manifold mate. You're not Tubbo are you?

So in his mind, anyone that's not Tubbo isn't even worth listening to, and even with Tubbo, he tends to put his own opinions over his friend's.

c!Tommy is... a deeply flawed character, to say the least.

[jacks-manidiary]

If you think about it being fictionkin is kind of inherently tied to being a Watcher. like not in the ATUS sense of the word where you're an angel-like purple eyes species but in the canonical EVO sense. Where when you leave the SMP, you become an outside observer of it, no longer participating in the action and becoming equal to the viewerbase in your perspective. Idk, just drawing parallels here.