Saluton! I'm Lupine, and this is my alterhuman sideblog. I focus on personal posts, education, and community discussion. There are no stupid questions here! I'm an adult and have been in the community for ~7 years.
No DNI: all interactions possible, not all will be entertained.
~Come and find what redefines you, make it crystal clear.~ icon credit
Out of ~95 respondents who answered the question, over half (~67 compared to the halfway point of 47.5) said that they would not tell their source, their source's friends, and/or their source's family about their facttypes. ~23 said that it would depend on the source (which for this poll, includes plurals whose members may have differing feelings about telling their source and source's relations). A mere ~5 said that yes, they unequivocally would tell!
In my opinion, this is vastly different from the semi-common anti-factfolk sentiment that factfolk would openly proclaim their identities to their sources and/or source relations, even in cases where it would be rude or potentially harmful to do so.
[ID: an edited tweet by Adam Zee, but spicier (@ ChimaAmlaDING) that reads: Don't write for your imaginary audience ā write for yourself, your dick, and the 3 to 6 highly personal thematic narratives that haunt you and your psyche / end ID]
Itās funny when your own divinity isnāt connected to like an actual religion, or just not even an abrahamic religion , like wowā¦.being divine already sucks but having to explain it to someone who already doesnāt understand without having a frame of reference? Yikes.
hot (?) take, but voluntary alterhumans and otherpaws might just be more punk than involuntary ones
please hear me out
expressing nonhumanity is (or at the very least can be) a very alternative, counter culture move. normative society limits people's self-expression, and one of the many things it prohibits is being animalistic. normative society puts humans on a pedestal and does everything it can to separate them from nature. being alterhuman is fundamentally going against that system by blurring those very lines it constructed
now, for involuntary alterhumans, expressing oneself is often a need, not a want
but there really are just mfs out there who choose to be unapologetically feral, not because they feel it in their core, necessarily, but because they want to
they actively aid the broader alterhuman community in propagating nonhuman self-expression and help us challenge the system, not because it's their only option, but because they saw it as an option and thought it was interesting enough to dedicate themselves to it
and that's so fucking punk!!!
we should be more thankful for our otherlinker, otherpaw, furry, and all our siblings in adjacent communities for popularizing our way of living, not because they needed to, but because they wanted to
they are so incredibly important, and we can't just forget that for the sake of "validity". they don't make us "look silly", they make us fucking stronger as a movement
>I understand what you're getting at here but it is imperative that we stop using punk in so flippant a manner_
>And then use whether or not something is <<punk>> in this manner as merit_
>Punk is and always will be about the music first and foremost_
>And then on top of that the culture famously involves anti-consumerism and other counterculture aspects including no strict labels or categorisation which placing things into the category of punk or not punk like this does_
>Especially if your only reason is that the <<punk>> thing is different to that is usually expected and this seems to be watering down punk quite a lot_
>I also find it very off putting that after waxing poetic about how cool it is to be <<punk>> you inadvertently place voluntary nonhumanity above involuntarily for no other reason than viewing <<because you want to>> as better <<more punk>> than <<because you have to>>_
>I'm glad you have a high opinion of Otherpaws but if them wearing masks and doing quads really had the power to do all that then furries would have done it long ago with their adoption of animal identities especially the feral ones_
>Otherpaw and voluntary nonhumans don't deserve respect because they are <<punk>> or providing some use to the rest of us they deserve respect because they are causing no harm and deserve to express themselves_
Btw you cannot claim to support the alterhuman community while being misanthropic.
As someone who is fully and completely nonhuman on every level, you have to care about alterhumans who are still human to some extent.
And attributing the things terrible people have done to innate flaws of humanity itself is to absolve them of responsibility. It is not "human nature," it's not anything about humanity whatsoever, it's choices those people made that hurt the world.
Plus self identified "misanthropic alterhumans" have a tendency to ignore their own role in perpetuating systemic biases. You think because you're not a human you're above humanity, that you can't possibly be a bigoted shithead. News flash: misanthropy is bigotry.
It's bigotry because it pins the blame for the world's ills on some nebulous human nature instead of the people who actually perpetuate this shit. You are blaming the oppressed for their oppression.
Stop using your trauma as an excuse to be bigoted.
I know whatās like to feel the pain and frustration of seeing humans hurt your community, both as a human and a nonhuman myself. To reiterate: when are you going to stop and think about the SYSTEMIC issues tied to that pain instead of taking the easy way out by blaming and hating an entire species for existing?
I am Black. I have my own track record of trauma involving white humans. I spent all my whole life in the Southeast U.S. where this is no shortage of white republicans, itching to peddle their racist rhetoric. I was made a target of racism by a human white boy in the first grade. This boy was several years older than me. He too was a child, but he was also old enough to understand why his behavior was harmful. Yet, Iām also aware that his behavior had nothing to do with his species. It has everything to do with the privileges many white people have been allotted in my country and the constructs theyāve either been taught or have adopted into their world view against marginalized communities like mine.
Humans donāt just come out of the womb violently racist. If they are racist, thatās something cultivated gradually throughout their lives and has to be dismantled just as steadily once they realize the harm in their behavior IF they choose to recognize the harm in said behavior. As someone victimized by this behavior, I also recognize that white people alone arenāt the only arbiters of racism, let alone antiblack racism. Racism is systemic.
Day in and day out, Iām sick at the thought of human farmers and agriculturalists poisoning my species (vultures) because they deem us as āpestsā when we have just as much of a right to live as they do. Not to mention these poisonings have led to many of my kindās endangerment and potential extinction. Yet, I also know that thereās plenty of human conservationists busting their asses to save us, reverse the damage that has been done against our populations and educate rural communities on the ecological effects of these poisonings. Abuses against wildlife is systemic.
And before Iām hit with the āThese problems wouldnāt exist in this first place if it werenāt for humans!ā card, remember that the root of your frustration are societal infrastructures, not the existence of a species. Nobody is exempt of bigotry, not even the most marginalized person you can think of. Itās called having bias, and that bias can always be weaponized against someone or isolate you from the world around you. Some of you KNOWINGLY exude privilege over some demographics of humans while defending your ārightā to be misanthropic. Humans are still your peersā your communitiesā at the end of the day. We all share this fucking planet, and itās going to take everything but hate to heal it.
Itās already frustrating that so many nonhumans treat alterhumanity as synonymous with nonhumanity and center that experience over others when addressing the community collectively. I have no tolerance for nonhumans who expect to be given a slap on the wrist for their behavior because whatever history they have, meanwhile alterhumans like myself and fully human alterhumans as well are expected to quietly accept LET ALONE SYMPATHIZE with this behavior. If not that, weāre forgotten completely, so folks act as if their behavior affects no one.
Your trauma holds weight. I get that.
At the same time:
I exist. We exist. You donāt get a pass to be misanthropic in alterhuman spaces simply because you are nonhuman, in community with a lot of nonhumans and/or have a bad history with humans.
Humans exist in this community too, and even if they didnāt, itās not acceptable to dismiss an entire species as ontologically evil or harmful.
If you can understand why itās a problem for someone to be bigoted against fictionkind, otherlinkers, physical nonhumans, etc. as a whole in this community, then you can understand why itās a fucking issue to be misanthropic in and outside of this community.
Btw you cannot claim to support the alterhuman community while being misanthropic.
As someone who is fully and completely nonhuman on every level, you have to care about alterhumans who are still human to some extent.
And attributing the things terrible people have done to innate flaws of humanity itself is to absolve them of responsibility. It is not "human nature," it's not anything about humanity whatsoever, it's choices those people made that hurt the world.
Plus self identified "misanthropic alterhumans" have a tendency to ignore their own role in perpetuating systemic biases. You think because you're not a human you're above humanity, that you can't possibly be a bigoted shithead. News flash: misanthropy is bigotry.
It's bigotry because it pins the blame for the world's ills on some nebulous human nature instead of the people who actually perpetuate this shit. You are blaming the oppressed for their oppression.
I sympathize with and don't shame misanthropic alterhumans for their feelings, because I know they usually come from negative things, such as frustration with the state of the world and adverse experiences with people
but I couldn't agree more that it shouldn't belong in the alterhuman community
not only is misanthropy exclusionary towards humanmore, demihuman, etc. members of the alterhuman community and bigoted in nature (yes, even if humans are a privileged group)
but most importantly, we have to remember that if we want things to improve, we have to work with humans, not against them
-> šrun by Gill ( @gone-fish-mode ) he/she
-> šŖ” last updated 24-07-2026
What is this blog?
Alterhuman Fiber Arts is dedicated to the collection of fiber arts patterns, stitches, ideas, and projects that may benefit otherkin, therians, plurals, and other alterhumans.
Fiber arts refers to any fine art that deals with natural or synthetic fibers. Some examples are sewing, knitting, embroidery, and quilting, although there are many more. Any type of fiber art is welcome on this blog.
This blog is open to all systems/plurals regardless of origin and alterhumans of all experiences. The fiber arts are open to everyone.
What will be posted?
Any pattern, stitch, project, or idea that may be beneficial to alterhumans. Many of these may be considered "species-affirming gear," such as paw gloves, shawls made out of wings, or amigurumi eggs (for those with nesting instincts). Others may be more vibe-based or subtle, such as tapestries of specific animals, fronting bracelets for headmates, or garments that bring euphoria.
Free patterns will be prioritized, but not guaranteed.
Many patters will be beginner friendly, but do not expect everything here to cater towards beginners.
AI generated content is not allowed on this blog. Resources revealed to be AI will be removed.
This blog will be updated as I come across things and not on any particular schedule. If asks and patterns flow in, I may start a queue. I crochet and knit frequently and am starting to dabble in cross-stitch/embroidery, so things may drift more heavily in that direction.
Sending an Ask
Asks are open for requests (where I help you find something specific) or suggestions (where you send me some things you might have made or found). You are also encouraged to send in WIPs, finished projects, requests for help, or general comments!
I am an amateur and will probably be unable to help with very complex patters or problems. Do not let that stop you! There are plenty of fiber artist in the community who I'm sure would be happy to lend a paw/talon/fin/hoof/etc.
"But I know know how to knit/sew/etc.!"
No worries, we all start somewhere! Below are links to collections of very basic tutorials to help beginners out. I am in the process of creating these, this may be incomplete for a little bit!
Anyone who has any resources to add to these posts are more than welcome to send them my way!
-> crochet basics
-> knit basics
-> sewing basics
-> embroidery basics
Tags and Navigation
(non-exhaustive; to be updated as more things are added. I just put a few tags I expect to use along the way for now)
topic:
-> topic: pattern
-> topic: WIP
-> topic: info
-> topic: help requested
-> topic: final product
-> topic: ask
-> topic: questions
I was being abused too. Just because you fell for the propaganda doesn't mean that I wasn't a victim too. And yes, I did bad things because of it. That doesn't make me any less of a victim.
People can do bad things for good reasons. A snake that is trod on too many times will start biting before your foot even touches their scales.
biggest piece of advice ever for nonhuman predator/prey: play manhunt. now.
iāve partaken many times throughout the course of my life, but only recently, with new friends who know who i truly am, have i really been able to lean into it.
if you experience prey drive, be the seeker. practice moving quietly, stalking your prey, seeking out spots it might be hiding in the underbrush. then, when you catch sight, revel in the chase. tiring it out, backing it into a corner, tackling with force and a yelp of triumph.
if youāre a prey animal yourself, try hiding. it might throw you into an unwanted, fearful mental state, so participate with caution, but i felt more animalistic than i have in weeks trying to outrun the āpredatorā. practice finding a spot to lay low, swiveling your head to keep watch, always darting and on alert for any movement. if the seeker catches sight of you, practice fleeing as fast as your legs can take you. swerve and change direction, find a new place to hunker down, force your breath to calm and your hammering heart to slow so that your location isnāt given away. listen, frozen, for footsteps or voices. and then youāre off again.
iāve only played with this new group twice now, about a year apart, because both times i was so good at it (and won by such a wide margin) that they all got a little scared. i only JUST convinced them to let us have another go at it last night, and they couldnāt understand how i managed to beat everyone again. manhunt is undefeated in the realm of nonhuman enrichment.
if you're an alterhuman, therian/otherkin or fictionfolk and haven't disillusioned yourself with the concept of delusions and fantastical thinking as defined by psychiatry, to the point of refusing to call any belief "delusional" at face value, then I am here to remind you that there is nothing, absolutely nothing standing between a person diagnosed with delusions of grandeur for believing they are a wizard, and you, who sincerely believes that you are an animal or fictional character on a spiritual level. unless you are 'kin but "don't actually believe it", in which case you are not. you need to dismantle the idea of a psychotic "other", who's beliefs and experiences should not be believed/respected once they pass a certain threshold of crazy, immediately. YOU are that other to orthohumans who believe in it
Inky Paws is a nonhuman anthology zine for original fiction writings by nonhumans and alterhumans about nonhumanity, alterhumanity, and similar, related themes.
This zine is primarily literature focused, but will also be open to more illustrative methods of story-telling such as comics. The zineās focus is on fictional pieces that are centered around nonhumanity, alterhumanity, therianthropy, and similar (see Submission Guidelines section for more details).
And more! If you're unsure, just ask! Seriously, please just ask. I promise I would 10000% love to hear about your idea even if you're unsure about submitting it, there is no such thing as a bad idea and I cannot stress this enough.
How to participate:
You can submit your pieces in this Google Form!
OR
Email invisibleotherkin(@)gmail(.)com with your submission, and please title the email "Inky Paws Zine #4 Submission". With your submission, please include:
The piece's title or name,
A name or pen name to attribute the piece to,
Any content warnings that you feel are necessary for the piece,
Any social media handle or personal website youād like to be published alongside your name with the piece (optional), and
Any relevant author notes or author biographical information (optional).
Anonymous pieces are also welcome.
Once submissions have been collected and the deadline has passed, these submissions will be put into the zine and it will be posted online as a free PDF. Submissions are due by November 30th, 2026.
Please see the Submission Guidelines, and Submission FAQ, below cut.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Each individual may contribute up to 3 accepted submissions to be published in Inky Paws; individuals within systems may each submit 3 pieces, that is to say 3 pieces per systemmate/headmate/preferred term.
Comics and similar multi-part pieces count as one submission altogether: if you submit a single story that has been divided into two sub-stories for dramatic emphasis, or if you submit 10 pages of a single-story comic, or if you submit a written piece of fiction and an accompanying image that you drew or otherwise created to go along with it, that would still only count as one piece.
Submissions must fit the thematic criteria of:
Being explicitly about or based on nonhumans, otherkin, therianthropes, fictionkin, alterhumans, or similar groups, or;
Having strong themes or describing experiences strongly reminiscent of or related to nonhumans, otherkin, therianthropes, fictionkin, alterhumans, or similar such as (but not limited to):
Characters experiencing nonhumanity or alterhumanity as being a part of themselves/their identity,
Characters experiencing anything similar to a shift (including physical shifting),
Characters struggling with (emotionally, socially, or otherwise) being both human and nonhuman or alterhuman in some way,
Characters having a past-life as something nonhuman or alterhuman that strongly still impacts their current life, or
Characters desiring to be nonhuman or have nonhuman attributes.
TL;DR - Your submissions have to relate to or be about alterhumans or nonhumans in some way, shape, or form.
Written submissions must not exceed 7500 words, and must also use a reader-friendly font with a text size of or exceeding 16 pt.
For stories that use multiple different fonts, such as pieces meant to imitate newspapers and similar, every effort will be made to preserve the general "feel" of your piece but fonts may not be transferred over 1:1 due to potential conflicts with font copyright, readability, and overarching zine style.
Multi-part image submissions must not exceed 10 pages in length, and must also use a reader-friendly font with a text size of or exceeding 16 pt if they include text. Images larger than 8.5 x 11in. will be scaled down to an appropriate size; please take that into account when creating and submitting your images. It is also recommended that images be vertical or square in their orientation.
Written submissions should be submitted as a .docx file. Images and mixed media pieces should be submitted as either .jpg or .png files.
All submitted pieces should be your own work. Individuals caught plagiarizing or using AI within their submissions will be barred from participating in Inky Paws, including in any potential future volumes.
SUBMISSION FAQ:
Q: Where will this zine be hosted?
A: The zine will be hosted for free download on Itch.io, where issues 1, 2, and 3 of the zine are already hosted.
Q: What is the cap on submissions?
A: At this time, we are not looking to accept more than roughly 25 submissions at most, in order to keep numbers and expectations manageable.
Q: Can I update my application after submitting?
A: Yes, so long as the updates are submitted before the submission deadline!
Q: What is your policy on content moderation and content warnings?
A: If you feel your piece needs content warnings, please include them in the submission, as we are hoping to include relevant content warnings and maturity ratings alongside all pieces. We are at this time accepting pieces of all tones and ratings.
With that said, It should be noted that any items submitted with soapboxing intent and anti-nonhuman, anti-alterhuman, anti-fictionkin, or similar leans are largely not welcome, as this is a zine geared towards all aforementioned groups and then some.
Q: Can I submit an in-progress draft or sketch? Can I claim a spot in the zine before sending in my submission?
A: We are not currently accepting WIP pieces for submission at this time, though feel free to send us your WIP if you have questions related to its future submission. We also cannot reserve or guarantee a spot in the zine pre-submission, regardless of any existing drafts or WIPs.
Q: Can I submit a piece of fanfiction?
A: While we've now accepted pieces of fanfiction in the past, we tend to prefer to leave them out for legal reasons. If you submit a piece of obvious fanfiction, please know that it may be significantly more likely to be rejected from the zine and that, if the piece is accepted, the piece may be removed without warning from the zine later on if DMCA or legal issues arise. We strongly advise that individuals who wish to write something inspired by fiction make it non-obvious to the outside reader where the inspiration is being taken from.
Q: Can I submit something I've created in the past?
A: You can submit something you've created in the past, but please try to avoid submitting anything that you've published previously and is currently publicly accessible. For example, if the story you want to submit has already been featured in a different anthology, please don't submit it to Inky Paws! We want to encourage people to create new pieces, or to put the spotlight on pieces that haven't previously had the opportunity to be published.
Q: What is the projected timeline for this project?
A: Submissions will close by November 30th of 2026. The publish date of the zine depends on submission amount and size of submissions; in an ideal world, we hope to have the zine published by December, before year's end.
Q: Can I rescind my submission?
A: As long as you request to rescind your submission before the submission deadline, yes. After the deadline passes and the formatting and work towards publishing begins, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to remove your work from the zine due to time constraints and potential formatting issues. Please take this into account before submitting.
Q: Will there be any physical copies of this zine?
A: Due to cost restraints and a lack of printing experience on the part of the zine organizers, we have no physical copies of this zine planned for print. You are, however, welcome to download and print copies of the zine for personal use.
Q: Who are the organizers of this zine? Where can I reach out to ask further questions?
A: Who-is-Page and Noel Sol of the Sol System are organizing this zine. Feel free to send us any questions, comments, or concerns to invisibleotherkin(@)gmail(.)com, or you can always message us on Tumblr at Who-is-Page.
Thank you so much to everyone for the positive responses! :D I wasn't sure how well-received we were going to be coming back after close to two years on hiatus, but it's been really wonderful to see everyone excited to contribute and boost the zine's return volume. It's incredibly encouraging and I can't tell you guys how much we appreciate it. <3
With that said, I've also seen some people who were hesitant about submitting or felt that their work wasn't up to par-- and I want to encourage the folks who are nervous to give it their best shot anyways! You'll never know if you don't try and I promise that you're likely being a much, much harsher critic on yourselves than anyone else would be. Inky Paws is open to everyone, regardless of perceived skill level. Your work is uniquely yours, and we want to see it. No one else can dream or write up exactly what you can. So get out there and start writing! Even if you decide in the end that you truly don't want to submit to the zine, you'll still have made something that didn't exist prior, and isn't that amazing???
Hi there and thank u for the ask!! ^w^ I want to preface this with: I am definitely not an expert! I havenāt been in the alterhuman community for as long as a lot of other people so I may not be as knowledgeable, but this is just how I understand my labels..(plus I am not that familiar with taxonomy and taxonomic terms, so forgive meā¦ qwq)
A cladotherian is someone whose theriotype is every animal within a certain clade. A clade is a group of animals (or other organisms) that share a common ancestor. So for me, I am every animal within the equidae clade (horse family), which includes zebras, donkeys, horses, and their ancestors. I mainly talk about being a modern horse here because that has proven to be most prevalent in my identity.
Now, a hearthome is a place that someone has a strong (emotional) connection to. As far as I know, it doesnāt have to be a place the person has visited, and it doesnāt even have to be on this planet or in this universe. It could be a specific location, habitat, biome, somewhere from fiction, etcā¦ā¦. As a general example, a dolphin therianās hearthome could be the ocean. But a hearthome doesnāt have to correspond with someoneās alterhuman identity.. any place could be someoneās hearthome for any reason.
For me, I guess Yellowstone National Park is kind of between being a habitat and a specific place. I donāt live near Yellowstone but the park has played a large part in my childhood (because of playing games like WolfQuest, which took place there), and my adulthood (because of awakening as alterhuman and gaining more interest in the park and its inhabitants). Itās a place I have always had a strong bond with, and have wanted to exist within maybe not as a horse specifically but just as a living thing, because it feels so special to me.
I dreamt of being on Jorvik... While it wasn't of Wildwoods or Marchenghast, it still felt so fucking great to be home. I've missed jorvik. My creation, my natural habitat and to an extent, *me* as a whole.
I remember the dream very vividly, I walked from Fort Pinta to the stone wall next to Jasper's old house. Here my dream's Jorvik differs from that we've seen in the game, there was a huge tower-bridge thing made by the same stone's as those in Galloper's keep. I freaked out, be it in a quite positive way. It was apparently meant to bridge the gap for some later event, most likely halloween, but possibly something to do with the Silverglade castle.
Either way it felt so fuckign amazing and whimsical to be back on Jorvik, I saw the grass, the buildings. While I didn't see any others, or any horse specifically it felt so right.
I can't recall what form I was in, but I think I shifted between being a Jorvik Wild Horse and humanoid (considering I took pictures on my phone hehe)
