Orion Scribner

About this blog (pinned post)

I’m Orion Scribner (they/them). I’m a grown-up, and my partners are @who-is-page and @liongoatsnake. I make the comic Theri There, the community history book Otherkin Timeline, and more. I’m a subject matter expert on therianthropes, otherkin and other alterhumans. Academics cite my works, and I’ve been in these communities for many years. This doesn’t put me above anyone else, because there are no leaders of the alterhuman communities, and we’re all equals here. I’m just another person here who makes things and values what others make, just as I hope you do too.

You’re welcome to browse my tags and interact with old posts. This blog’s daily activity was almost all queued weeks ago. I don’t follow any other blogs here. If you want to contact me or tip me, here’s my e-mail address and where to find me on other social media sites.

Things I reblog or review aren’t necessarily representative of my own views. I welcome differing opinions, unless if they are intolerant. I block rac-sts and fasc-sts (how to recognize them and other hate groups on Tumblr) as well as gend-r critic-ls and other sexists (how to recognize them: one, two, three, four.)
I welcome people who have disabilities: I write screen reader friendly transcripts. Otherwise I tag posts as “not screen reader friendly.” I try to never post flickering images; if I must, I tag “flickering lights warning.”
I welcome Tumblr users of all ages: Tumblr requires its users to be at least 13 (or 16 in some regions). If you’re between that age and 18 (or the age of majority), please filter out my content warning tags so you won’t see anything your parent or guardian doesn’t want you to. All posts on my blog are rated PG-13 at most, those usually being educational materials from reputable sources.
I welcome all sorts of alterhumans, not only therianthropes and otherkin, but also fictionfolk, and all types of plural systems, regardless of their origin, functionality, or (lack of) diagnosis.
I try to make our communities safer. I block, document, and report people who participate in or approve of the s-xual abuse of real animals or children in real life. (What to do if you encounter s-xual pred-tors on the internet; a collection of more community safety resources.)

I never use art-f-cial intelligence to g-nerate my writing, images, or research.

An icon that has a paw print with this sentence handwritten around it: alterhuman made, not A I g-nerated.

Updated March 7, 2025.

Pinned Post i censor words in my pinned post for algorithm reasons; i do not censor them in my other posts alterhuman otherkin therianthrope therian introduction screen reader friendly pinned post rated G

cassolotl

decamarks

Search now supports an exclusion operator to help you filter out results you don’t want to see. Use -word, -"phrase", or -#tag to exclude posts that contain a specific word, phrase, or tag. For example, "the pitt" -#spoilers will find posts that include "the pitt" in the post content or tags, but do not have the tag "spoilers," like this.

AFTER NEARLY 19 YEARS OF THIS STUPID WEBSITE

blowery

also, on web, we just launched an advanced search dialog that should help folks use all the new operators we added.

sybilius

So true....

not screen reader friendly posts that i did not create how to tumblr tumblr

darklunadoll asked:

Wait your username comes from a quote about framing a cloud formation???

That is so cool omg. I love it. What made you choose that?

darklunadoll,

Thanks! Yes, my username comes from my favorite line in The Book of the Dragon by Judy Allen and Jeanne Griffiths, which is about dragon mythology from around the world:

“It is no more possible to find the definitive dragon than it would be to frame a cloud formation.”

It’s from the beginning of the book, where they’re talk about how it’s difficult to come up with a definition for a “dragon” that fits the whole range of how dragons look and behave in different ways in the art and stories from one culture to the next. That’s part of the mystery of how so many cultures have figures that most of them would agree would count as a dragon, even though they may differ in being either friendly or fearsome, winged or flightless, sophisticated or wild, and other contradictions. They may not even be associated with the same elements of nature (Allen and Griffiths suggested water as the most common association rather than fire!) and may not even jigsaw their way properly into “reptile,” which is the most frustrating category to modern taxonomists anyway. It appeals to me as a dragon otherkin as well as an archivist who likes to neatly catalog my collections, while also recognizing that the map is not the territory, and as a queer person who recognizes that many things only fit into boxes when oversimplified beyond accuracy.

asks answered

hellyeahscarleteen

Text: "Got a sexuality, gender, sexual health, or relationships question you want a personalized answer for? Want safe, sensitive and informed people - not bots! - you can trust to talk about some of the most personal parts of life? We got you. At Scarleteen," alongside a red landline telephone and cord.

Text: "Our free direct services are: our safe, moderated message boards, our private text line at (206) 866-2279, our advice columns, our one-on-one live chat currently offered Tuesdays from 9am - 12pm CST and on Sundays from 12pm - 3pm CST at Scarleteen," alongside a red landline telephone and cord.

Scarleteen has long been the one of the only sex education sites and organizations that offers FREE direct support services, provided and moderated by real people, not bots. We can offer help if you can't find what you need in our static content, if you need help better understanding something you've read here or heard elsewhere, if you need or want personalized information, or when you just want to talk one-on-one with someone qualified to help you with anything related to sex and sexuality, relationships, identities or bodies.

Scarleteen’s services are diverse, inclusive spaces, and we are and have always been deeply and actively committed to the safety and security of everyone who uses them. In our current political climate, we recognize the increased need for inclusive and emotionally safe spaces for all, especially young people who are actively seeking community with and care from others who respect their experiences and their agency.

We currently offer a moderated message board, a text/SMS service, advice columns based on your questions, and a live chat. All of our services are staffed by both trained volunteers and paid staff, and are carefully supervised and moderated. None of them allow for anyone to privately contact or speak with our users who isn’t a member of our team. You can learn all about our different services, and find our current schedule for the live chat at the attached link!

Ask for help

Ask us or our moderated peer community your own questions through advice columns, message board discussions, SMS messages, Reddit replies or live chat.

www.scarleteen.com

hellyeahscarleteen

Live chat hours have been updated for 2026!

Our live chat is open on Tuesdays 9am-12pm and Sundays 12pm-3pm CST.

hellyeahscarleteen

remnantglow

fun discovery from today's internet rabbit hole:

the first lesbian magazine published in the US, Vice Versa (1947-48), was entirely hand-typed by one Edythe Eyde (better known by her pen name Lisa Ben - yes, that IS an anagram for lesbian). she worked as a secretary with a ton of spare time on her hands, and her boss would tell her he didn't care what she was doing so long as she "looked busy"... so she decided to use her free time to type out copies of a home-made periodical for lesbians, writing most of the content - editorials, book/film reviews, poetry, short stories, and more - herself!

overall, the magazine ran for 9 issues, 16 hand-typed copies of which lisa would mail to friends (well, until one of them advised her she could be arrested for sending "obscene" materials) and distribute at lesbian bars :)

remnantglow

all issues of Vice Versa are digitized here! (the website also has a scan of a great article on Lisa Ben ❤️)

a lot of the issues of the first widely distributed gay publication in the US, ONE magazine (1952-1967), are also available online on JSTOR. there's also this article detailing the magazine's ups and downs and general history, it's v fascinating!

furthermore, a solid amount of The Ladder (1956-1972) - one of the other earliest lesbian periodicals in the US, published by Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization in the US - is also available for online viewing thanks to the Internet Archive

who-is-page

chipper-smol

How would you describe a dragon to someone who has never seen a dragon?

chipper-smol

"Horse but make it a lizard and give it bat wings and horns"

didnt know how to interpret "make it a lizard" so i wrote lizard and drew an arrow pointing to the horse so people know its a lizard. Also didn't know what bat horns were so I gave it a horned bat nose

"A body like a big cat but completely covered in scales, the head of a crocodile with the horns of an ibex, and the wings of a bat on its back"

On it boss o7, ive mashed all these animals together and threw scales all over it. This the dragon you saw?

"Take a lizard, extend the neck. Add a pair of bat wings to the back. Add horns and sharp teeth."

Seems like we're onto somethin' boss! Though idk how it'd be so fearsome bein such a small thing.

"Big-ass lizard with wings" "big lizard" "Giant lizard" "Big fucking lizard"

don't seem too special?

"Imagine a winged alligator that was 70 feet tall and aware of its existence"

i dont know if this is a dragon but it could definitely be some kind of god

"Dinosaur with wings and horns?"

Dunno which dino you were talkin about so i just picked a random one. Stegosauus :}

"Big snake with legs and horns that can breathe fire"

Ah. Hm.

"A dragon is like a tree, in that it's a made up category for a broadly similar type of mythological creature that has no relationship to other dragons, but you know a dragon when you see one the way you know a tree when you see one."

who-is-page

Meme courtesy of @frameacloud from our Discord chats--

Orion Scribner

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

About this blog (pinned post)