< Ian > Has anyone ever used the word "paleotherian"? Like to refer to being otherkin with a prehistoric species? Can I make that a thing?

#otherkin #therian #paleotherian

< Ian > I've heard of fictotherian to refer to fictional species. Am I a fictotherian as well as a paleotherian for being kin with the Jurassic Park velociraptors?
< Ian > Oh cool they use the word "paleotherian" on Tumblr!

< Ian > Anyway I do feel that I have different experiences as a paleotherian than people who are kin with living species.

My first connection to my kintype (velociraptors) was because of the movie Jurassic Park, and I feel paleotherians are more likely to necessarily relate to fictional or artistic depictions of their kintypes, because their kintypes are no longer alive, and children are shown a lot of media about prehistoric creatures, so a lot of paleotherians most likely have an important experience with fiction that informs their discovery of their kintype.

Paleotherians will also never get to see their kintype IRL or even in real life video footage, because their kintypes are no longer alive. Documentaries about their kintypes are inherently based on speculation.

Speculation is inherently more important to paleotherians than those who are kin with living species, because science can really only speculate about how prehistoric creatures lived at the end of the day, and since science is always changing, paleotherians' view of their kintypes is less likely to be factually accurate than other types of therians, and it's through little to no fault of their own.

This isn't to be like "uwu paleotherians are so oppressed compared to other therians uwu" cause. That's not what I'm saying. But what I am saying is that, if you're kin with a prehistoric species, you're gonna have a different experience connecting to that kintype than someone who can go outside and see that animal in the real world or even watch a real life wildlife documentary about it. So I feel very warranted in using an additional word to describe the fact that my kintype is prehistoric.

#paleotherian #therian #otherkin

@localvoid We haven't heard that, though we're far from an expert on the subject. Either way, don't see why not. invent words, they all were anyway. :)
@Gaptangle < Ian > Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think I am gonna use that word for myself as a velociraptor therian, because I feel like I have different experiences than other therians. I'll never see my kintype in the wild, or in a zoo, or even real-life footage of one, because they're not alive anymore. And being kin with a prehistoric species is more inherently based in speculation, and more likely to be tied by necessity to artistic and fictional depictions of the species. It feels different enough from someone who's kin with a living species that I feel it warrants another word.