I'm still getting over the fact that there's a snake species called a Boomslang...
A few days after this has all happened and I'm leaning toward totem or a new plural form as an explanation, not that one necessarily excludes the other.
Generally...I think there's something happening with my system that I've mostly been unconscious of. I haven't been online as much for the past few weeks, so the amount of time where I'd actually be paying active attention to who's fronting has been cut down. Plus, much of my time online has been at this forum, and I've been forgetting to check who's writing before starting to post; by the end it's usually too late to be accurate. And you can see -- my use of "I" has been becoming more generalized; I've only been using "we" when clearly referring to a group phenomenon (or when Bell's talking). Speaking of which, I keep finding myself shifting mid-entry, which is unlike most posts I've seen online from plural groups (though not unheard of).
We'll see where I'm at in a week...
gah. I'm tired...
I wanted to talk about the gender stuff in combination with what's been happening recently (in the period from about Xmas Eve to now). Short version...I've realized that a great deal of the reason I haven't referred to myself as a "woman" is that the term is too loaded. But if we look at what *sex* I'm identified with, I'm clearly female. When you add the therian stuff in on top of it, though -- it kind of destabilizes the "human woman"/"human man" type dichotomy going on. So instead of measuring oneself against "human woman" (and...there is a massive amount of pressure I've seen going into making human women insecure about being women, in order to sell products), if I'm instead self-defining as something that is still female but of another species...where species is kind of more important than gender (though this form *is* very distinctly female), it kind of opens up a lot of room for a more personal self-definition.
'Course it's also possible that I'm just feeling input from Rattlesnake and since my fetish-spirit has a female gender...I'm just picking up on that, along with the sexuality bent (though that could also be due to hormonal fluctuations). But there's also the fact that it's been becoming less important to me to physically appear male, and that I've actually been slowly building up to wearing heeled shoes and a decent amount of makeup (nothing flashy)...which until about four years ago I wouldn't have even considered. Along with this I've largely dropped wearing my skirts and have been dressing more androgynous-to-female; as versus binding + mens' clothes, or hyperfemme. I *have* been wearing male-gendered clothes, but not because I feel I *have* to, or "should"; more because they're comfortable and allow a wide range of motion without messing themselves up, and they don't draw unwanted sexual attention.
*yawns*
Legless lizards are indeed cute. <!-- s

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--> Most of them, anyway. <!-- s

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I also looked up the term "reticulation" and I'm not sure I used the term right. I was trying to get at this concept of side-to-side serpentine motion, which could be related to fish, eel, snake, or lizard. It just doesn't feel specifically mammalian. There's also the possibility that there's more than one kintype or other-life or DNA imprint being active here, and that the signals are getting mixed up, or I'm adding in information that's just confusing me. Or that I keep forgetting things I said before and thus end up becoming confused all over again...or take cameo shifts (like the long-tailed serpentine form with the arched fins I've felt before) too seriously.
Re: Estelore; I haven't climbed enough to have noticed anything more than resting my weight against a rock or tree to help hold onto it through friction. When younger I used to play around with climbing trees...rocks...arms of couches...<!-- s

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--> but rarely after an early age. I can recall one time going talus-hopping on a field trip (same trip where a bunch of girls got scared off of a lake because they saw a little snake head poking out of the water XD) where I eventually let my weight rest against the rock so I wouldn't fall. I didn't want to disturb the lichens, but it was the lichens or me. ^_^;;
now I'm wandering. I should get some sleep before I become fully incoherent. <!-- s

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-- blendy including "Rattlesnake" (temp. name)
edited for grammar (switched a semicolon and a comma) 12-29-10.
Old sentence: "Along with this I've largely dropped wearing my skirts and have been dressing more androgynous-to-female, as versus binding + mens' clothes; or hyperfemme."
New sentence: "Along with this I've largely dropped wearing my skirts and have been dressing more androgynous-to-female; as versus binding + mens' clothes, or hyperfemme."