dragons like plain crisps @monsterblue@dragon.style

Categories of words I will censor or avoid, if aware (non-exhaustive):

- Words that demean vulnerable groups, or glorify bigotry (e.g. slurs, racist/ableist/anti-fat etc dogwhistles)
- Words that deny others' personal and communal identities (e.g. deadnames, colonial names for places/peoples)
- Words that are sacred or taboo to marginalised cultures/religions, and not to be spoken
- Words that belong to cultures/religions of which I am not a part, and cannot use accurately due to not being immersed in that culture (e.g. spirit animal)

Categories of words I will *not* censor or avoid, assuming they are none of the above:

- Words used by others to describe *their own* personal or communal identities (e.g. microidentities, neopronouns, noungenders)

- Birth of a Dragon, by KaniS: https://draconic.com/fordragons/
- SFW, romance elements
The story at this page is 100% real, but there's a fiction story buried in here that I've always related to a lot.

- Last Session, by Kristina Tracer (Th' buni): https://web.archive.org/web/20030627101029/http://www.menagerie.tf/~krd/writing/pp13/lastsession.shtml
- SFW
Part of the Passenger Pigeon 13 series. A powerful little story about species dysphoria and the mixed emotions of a last therapy session.

- Pretty much anything by Jewelfox: https://web.archive.org/web/20110911120500/http://www.becomeyourfursona.com/stories/
- All SFW
Jewelfox is a survivor of Mormon abuse, and her stories that feature beings trying to reconcile their oppressive religious upbringings with their desire to transform are particularly good. (Endure to the End, An Enemy To God, As I Am) There's also a lot of focus on autistic beings.

- If WisheRs Were Horses: http://www.unicorn-dream.co.uk/destrier/menu.html
- Mostly SFW, some NSFW
An old site by Destrier, including stories, mock-FAQs on what to expect during a transformation, and traditional mythical and folkloric transformation stories. Almost all horses. I remember liking a lot of the stuff here for its general species-dysphoria themes; this is a good little example. http://www.unicorn-dream.co.uk/destrier/Fiction/derbyday.html

i found it from searching reptiles, but you can click to go to previous page and there's stuff about fish and amphibians, claws, hooves, it's fantastic

it just... gives you a really good, deep-down run through each part of a scale, then a feather, then a hair; describing each tiny detail of the (e.g.) scale, how different types of scale perform different functions for the body, the pretty names of various chemical pigments that bodies use to make colour, etc

it's just, good for speciesfeels. like almost meditative. you can go through the whole thing, or start at the top and scroll through to your species

https://www.britannica.com/science/integument/Reptiles

you're sprawled on the bed in your shared hotel room, all nine feet six of you. you're anthro enough, so they let you stay. they clearly didn't have a plan for an entire hotel's worth of guests becoming animals-- animals that can speak, and own credit cards. animals that could sue.

the guy who gave you the vape told you the drill. one hit and you go anthro. two hits and you're feral. you don't know what happens with three. full animal mind?

you pull the thing out of your bag. your bag is all you have, now, since you've outgrown your clothes. ah well. it's not like the folks here aren't used to naked animals.

two hits, and you're feral.

why not try the anthro body first, you think. give it a while, maybe it'll feel like enough. no need to quit functioning in human society if you don't have to....

....and the temptation will always be there. burning a hole in your pocket, in your mind, in your soul. you'll think of nothing else, until you pull out that vape, give it a second hit... who knows where you'll be when the urge strikes.

a hotel parking lot is a better place than most.

you sling your bag over your shoulder, and the door closes with a click. who are you kidding? you never functioned in human society anyway.

a slouched figure picks their way through the piles of furries and scalies, stepping carefully over sprawled tails and paws. still human, for now, eyes wide in awe and confusion, the tail of their hoodie dragging on the floor.

"want some?" says someone from your pile, reptilian hand holding out a vape. "dragon juice."

"nah, i'm good." the figure fiddles with the cuff of their hoodie. "just-- there's someone puking over there, like, puking real bad, and some folks are getting kicked out 'cause they don't have a pet deposit for their room, and...."

their eyes search the crowd for something. an answer. hope. you try to speak but your mouth and tongue are numb.

a raccoon pads over. full raccoon, no anthro, a little bigger than the usual is all. dragging her lanyard and her defcon 2009 shirt along with her, in spite of its size.

"you wanna know if it's safe," she says. her animal maw shapes the syllables as she speaks, just like a cartoon. you think of disney's meeko and giggle. "you want it. but you don't want it to fuck you up. am i right?"

a pause. hoodie nods, meekly.

the raccoon looks up at them. small size, wise eyes. "nothing in this world is safe, kiddo. least of all this. you want to be free, and true freedom is never safe." there's a trans pin on her lanyard, and you wonder if the change gave her all that she needed. you hope, for this woman you only just met.

she beckons them down, down, till they're crouching in front of her, till they see eye to eye. she pulls out her vape, with its cute raccoon branding.

"but there's a measure of safety in numbers."

for the first time, hoodie smiles.

the tf vape. all the therian kids are doing it, little social pods curled up on the hotel carpet, tails wagging. getting high off the warmth spreading through your limbs, blissing out on the sensation of your spine lengthening, flesh and musculature blooming into a thick, sturdy tail. giggling as you sweep your hand through the air, trails lingering in the wake of your claws, everyone's new colours a riot of rainbow

going reptile tonight lads