Otherkin

[Shang Li]

Yes KT i have seen those ones (in japan many families believe that it is the result of a fox spirit possession and call a priest, who more often than not tells the family to hire a psychiatrist) i have even seen a few who belived strongly enough, from an early enough age, to actually back up thier claims with abilities. (a young man who thought he was the reincarnation of the celestial dragon comes to mind, he could exhale a cloud of living chi without needing to burn a joss or perform any incantation/ritual - however his aura, chi, and every other test showed him to be (physicly) normal

[Last Moon]

If anyone has a solidly reliable way of determining who is a deluded teenager and who has the goods to back it up, I'd be interested in hearing more.

[Ron Caliburn]

So would I.

[Hannah]

I think I know a good place to test it.

Also, hello Last Moon.

[Last Moon]

Hello Hannah,

I would be curious about where this testing environment may be. Would it be a controlled environment or just one with a high probability of the presence of something?

[Hannah]

Definitely an uncontrolled environment.

Hannah

[Last Moon]

That makes research difficult.

[Hannah]

True, though I did learn a lot about myself there. Much of it things I didn't really like and I'm trying to improve on.

Hannah

PS: I think everyone should priodically take some time to figure out if they are the person they think they are and want to be.

[Last Moon]

Thank you for your thoughts Hannah, though I am here in search of more concrete details where possible.

[Cybermancer]

What sort of concrete details?

Do you have specific questions?

[Last Moon]

I have an interest in developing techniques in locating and identifying supernatural beings disguised as human. In particular therianthropes are the focus of my interest.

[Cybermancer]

Samples of their fur taken while in their animal or hybrid forms can be analyzed in a laboratory and used to identify them if you know what you're looking for.

For some reason it doesn't work for human hair collected. Which suggests to me that their transformation is more than a biological change.

I have yet to determine a means of identifying them in the field, apart from their acute allergy to silver and near invulnerability to all else. Entirely too crude a method for making a timely determination. Which forces hunters to rely on investigative work and luck. Which puts them in danger as often as not.

If a way could be found to force their change into either hybrid or animal forms, then that could be a game changer, so far as it comes to identification. They're far more dangerous in those forms of course.

While it's not scientific, my gut feeling is that any such means of forced transformation would probably be related in some way to the moon.

[Last Moon]

Cybermancer,

It appears you and I have similar lines of research in this matter. I would be most interested in the opportunity to compare notes with you.

You speak of the therianthropes like they are a single type. Is this because you are investigating a single type of therianthropes or has circumstance limited your sample size to only a single type of the creatures?

In regards to the forcing of a therian to transform, I have come across a number of references to such occurring. Typically as a part of a ritual performed by a priest, shaman, medicine man or similar spiritual figure calling out the beast within the therian. Depending on the circumstance, this may be used to confirm the therian's existence or as a part of how particular societies of therians performed their coming of age ritual. Indeed, some species or societies of therians seem unable to adopt their full range of abilities without performing this ritual at some point in their lives.

Some human societies, notably the early Scandinavian society and many in Central America conducted such rituals as a part of the initiation into their warrior castes. This may have been an attempt to provide human warriors with some portion of therian abilities or, more cynically, provide a degree of social acceptance of therians within the warrior (and therefore ruling) caste.

[Cybermancer]

I speak of them as a single type only in very broad strokes. For example there are at least five different creatures that could be classified as werewolves. They bear many similarities but also marked if subtle biological differences. And this doesn't even factor in cultural differences where you have loners and family groups. You also have feral and civilized.

I have encountered two sorts of lycantrhopy that can spread to humans. The first was a powerful curse cast by a necromancer that turned individual humans into werewolves. These poor souls could not pass on the curse to others. The second acted like a sort of virus that used saliva as a vector. This one could spread from victim to victim. The origin of the strain of this virus we discovered is unknown. To my knowledge it was wiped out but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of other strains existing. Only one case was properly cured. It required a collaboration of scientific and mystical means.

A thought on the curse. Given that we know a faulty means of transforming humans into werefolk, it is at least possible that there is a more refined means of magic to accomplish it. What we witness as a curse may have been a failed test or prototype to a greater form of magic. Or an imitation of a greater form of magic. If this is true, then one can speculate that perhaps at least some of the werefolk we see today originated from a powerful form of mystic intervention. Perhaps from some powerful entity.

This is of course entirely speculative.

[Last Moon]

Cybermancer,

I am glad to hear that your research has encountered different sub-species of therian, it indicates that it is a fairly mature research project like my own and it is likely that a comparison of our works would yield not only corroboration of our individual results but suggest new possible avenues of research.

Would you be interested in taking sometime comparing notes as it were?

Also, my readings in other threads on this board indicate that the virus has been noted by other researchers as well, but they did not indicate that a cure was yet developed. If you have a workable treatment, that is very exciting news indeed. Also, the possibility of creating a vaccine that would prevent the spread of this viral form of therianthropy is something to consider.

[Cybermancer]

I would like to compare notes, yes.

As for a vaccine, that would take quite a bit more research. Like I said, magic was involved and it wasn't the sort you could trot out day to day.

[Last Moon]

Cybermancer,

that is most excellent.

It is unfortunate that so much of the work in this field is dependent upon the somewhat unreliable need for paranormal energies to be manipulated. This has frequently stymied my own efforts.

[Cybermancer]

That reminds me of another avenue of my research. That is where paranormal and electromagnetic energies. I suspect the benefits of this research will be two fold. First, it will allow for the detection of paranormal energies. Secondly, it will allow for the protection of electronics from interference by those same paranormal energies.

[Last Moon]

Very interesting.

Could it potentially be used to detect those with excessive amounts of such energy? Therians are likely quite energetic.

[Nemesis]

A lot of people are probably 'energetic'.

[Last Moon]

Yes there is quite a variance of what Dr. Lazlo termed Psychic Potential Energy in the human species. As semi-mystical beings, Therians would have a higher baseline reading however, so the ability to detect and measure such energy could provide an element to a useful detection system.