@Felthry @nautilee I had been thinking that if I flip-flopped on some aspect, it couldn't be truly me.

I'm so glad to be wrong on that.

@IceWolf @Felthry

Identity is fluid

@nautilee @IceWolf identity is squishy and fun to play with
-F

@Felthry @nautilee *chews on own identity thoughtfully*

@Felthry @nautilee @IceWolf And it's often healthy to spend a little time exploring alternatives. You may have facets that you don't recognize yet that are still important.

Think how you would feel if you had never realized how important being a wolf was: you'd be fine, and not realize you were missing something such a joy-bringing discovery.

That's not to say that you *are* missing anything. Just that you can play with your identity without breaking anything.

@Austin_Dern @Felthry @nautilee Huh neat!

Some things I don't feel safe exploring. Like, the fox thing scares me. I /want to want/ to be a wolf.

But, other things... *gestures at mech self*

@IceWolf @Felthry @nautilee This is fine, and don't push yourself into stuff you are uncomfortable with.

I just want you to know it's OK, and even good, to try stuff you're not sure about. Even when it doesn't work, you aren't breaking yourself. You're learning your range.

@Austin_Dern @IceWolf @Felthry

self-exploration is healthy and necessary for self-care and growth. That said, it's also completely fine to set limits on things you don't feel ready to explore or don't want to explore.

@nautilee @Austin_Dern @Felthry

I think I'll stick to exploring other aspects, yeah. I just.. wolf is foundational to my identity and I want it to remain so.

But, the whole mech thing... that was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise! And body plans might be a cool thing too. I think it was Felthry, maybe Rosemary, mentioned being hexapedal earlier and that didn't feel actively wrong like a lot of things do.

@nautilee @Austin_Dern @Felthry [Just emphasizing because this is definitely more than a "not ready to explore", this is a "do not want to change ever" and I don't think of it as exploration for that thing.]

@IceWolf @Austin_Dern @Felthry

We kinda have a similar thing with Dragon. We explored a lot of other paths but at this point we've kinda stopped b/c nothing else really feels right (at least unless it's combined *with* dragon) so, yeah, we getcha, we feel a bit of the same way. Not worth wasting energy/spoons on, not something we want to change.

Felthry really likes multiples of 3. It's a good look!

@nautilee @Austin_Dern @Felthry Huh, that almost... sounds like a bit different, to me?

Me, I /actively do not want/ to "explore" anything else. To do something that could potentially make me no longer a wolf.

Just thinking about it actively scares me.

@IceWolf @Austin_Dern @Felthry

What we're trying to say there in a roundabout way is basically we understand and respect that decision and want, even if we don't feel completely the same way...

(although we are a little scared that might be tied up in whatever else you've got going on...)

@nautilee @IceWolf @Felthry I have very much this relationship with coatis. You could talk me easily into being a clockwork coati, or one made of quicksilver, or a cartoon, or if you wanted to stretch a coati-fish. But I'd just be a terrible boring lump if turned into a goat or biped or somesuch. Just a matter of understanding one's boundaries and one's preferences and one's cozy region.

@IceWolf @Felthry @nautilee How do you think genderfluid works? X3

@moonbolt @Felthry @nautilee Yeah, right after posting that I was wondering.

I would've wondered out loud if I was, I don't know, "materialfluid" or something, but I didn't want to be disrespectful somehow.

[This while I unapologetically call myself transspecies.]