assigned 'funky lil harbinger of doom' by stimblr

my username refers to absol pokemon LOL

[oshacompliant-magicdogthing]

finally like.. set this blog up so i can post my alterhuman nonsense w/o outting myself on main. I’m not closeted technically, but I’m a very private person and its no-one’s business so. disconnected sideblog time

below the cut are labels i used to use but have recently felt too stifling and rigid. you can read them if you want but it's not a full or even partisl picture of my being.

—

lots of alterhuman identities but I will mostly discuss the following grouped together items are tied to each other

————— • Elditch Entity - otherkin ◦ Fae - otherkin/otherspin [possibly stems from elditch kintype] ◦ Selkie/Mermaid - otherkin/hearted (exact label unclear) [stems from fae kintype] ◦ Faun - otherkin [stems from fae kintype]

• Dragon/Draconic - otherhearted/therian (exact label unclear) • Unicorn - synpath

• Absol - therian (theriomythic)

• Clown/Jester Archtrope

• Voidpunk

—————

I also have multiple paratypes which I find important enough to mention here, however they are rather faint and mainly involve animalistic instincts and so I may not discuss them much.

—

[d0gbite]

hi, i love otherpaws here. otherpaws are always welcome.

in light of the recent influx of otherpaw hate, i have some Things To Say.

truly, there is no real difference between otherpaws and furries, except the materials they use to roleplay as animals. we should not be gatekeeping materials, guys. you cannot seriously call yourself furry-friendly if you are anti-otherpaw. but that is not my main reason for disliking the anti-otherpaw stance.

i find a laaaaarge issue i have with these “but otherpaws are copying therians!!!!” folks is that the term otherpaw was created specifically to distance otherpaws from alterhumanity; to create a clear distinction that masks and quadrobics ≠ alterhuman (therian included). which is a factually correct distinction. and folks whining about copying are (maybe unintentionally, maybe not) obscuring that distinction.

no, someone wearing a mask or doing quads is not inherently copying or mocking therians, because masks and quads aren’t exclusive to therians, and they never have been. wearing a mask does not a therian make. wearing a mask does not necessarily have anything to do with therians. claiming that anyone who wears masks or does quads is copying therians is trying to claim exclusive rights of therians over masks and quads. it’s gatekeeping, yes, but worse than gatekeeping, it’s trying to cement masks and quads as inherently ‘therian’. which they aren’t. which we have tried all this time to teach folks that no, not all therians wear masks/do quads, and just because someone does those things doesn’t make them alterhuman.

but now these anti-otherpaw folks are regressing again to “mask = therian, therefore they must be copying and mocking therians”. which is factually inaccurate and damaging to what being alterhuman and being therian truly means. it’s what leads to the misinformation about the true depth of alterhuman identity on places like tiktok. and i’m so sick of it.

i know it’s not a widespread issue (yet). but given that i’ve seen a handful of posts and comments about it, this is why i hope it doesn’t become one.

(i have also alwayyyyyys found the argument “but x is too similar to y!” to be a terrible argument against x. cause like…. who cares. things are allowed to be similar. humans and nonhumans alike are so incredibly numerous that you will almost never have a completely unique experience which no one else has ever had. our experiences overlap significantly because there are so many beings in this world. there is no fault in someone having a similar experience to you. you will not die just because you aren’t in fact that worlds most special snowflake. i prommy.)

[wizardsfang]

A tip for white therian/otherkin etc. to make you a better ally

but it’s from a white guything who’s been taking notes & wants to point out a thing it’s noticed

TIP: When interacting with “discourse” or considering interring a “debate” or “conversation” with any BIPOC about a subject that affects them, you need to immediately wipe it from your mind as discourse, a debate, or as a normal conversation

A lot of white community members have a tendency to enter spaces where BIPOC are talking about their issues & do not perceive the conversation as being about literal issues they face. Which oftentimes leads to white community members starting “debates” about semantics, the right to do XYZ, or about their own (different) feelings on the subject. This is the social equivalent of trying to tell someone their own kintype based on nothing other than your feelings; you don’t know someone’s Kintype based on your feelings, thats not how that works.

—

what should you do instead? instead, if you see any BIPOC talking about things that affect them, take a second to listen, take note of the parts that you’re curious about, confused about, or want to learn more about, and try to boost the conversation via reblog or sharing if you want to keep up with opinions & help support that post.

Note: you may get more information or clarification if you help spread the reach of a conversation.

afterwards, look into the part you were curious about! Try to do research on that idea or experience and if absolutely necessary, look to BIPOC communities for willing educators who may be willing to talk about the subject in more depth. Note: some subjects are more niche than others, it may be more difficult to find discussion on certain things. If you try to find answers and sincerely can’t after a considerable amount of effort, then you can consider asking the OP to see if they’re willing to elaborate. Dont be upset if they say no, just politely move on & continue searching —

“what do I do if something in their post upsets me?” “What do I do if something in their post is “wrong”?” Short answer: leave them be & move on to reflect on it for yourself. In a conversation about BIPOC experiences if someone is just SINCERELY wrong about something, chances are their peers or mutuals will check them on it in a more effective way than you can. But if you’re upset about something they said, or if you feel conflicted about it- it’s better (and healthier for everyone involved) to take time to reflect on those feelings and try to work through them for yourself.

if you feel bad or conflicted about being a white person after reading about the very real and very negative experiences of BIPOC, that’s okay- it’s normal for people who have “big feelings” to feel bad about being white. You just need to take the time to feel those feelings & work through them. There are resources for this online. You can find a lot of people talk about managing what’s often called “white guilt” and learn more effective ways to deal with that as opposed to trying to make BIPOC help you feel better on it. —

I want to point out to my white peers, that this “tip” and ramblin im sharing with you is a part of what many BIPOC mean when they’re asking to “have space” provided for them in a community; they generally want a space where they can be listened to and heard on, regardless of if they’re super “correct” or articulate on everything. I know it can feel concerning or confusing if something feels “wrong” or “incorrect”, especially if you struggle with neurodivergency or moral OCD, but I want to stress that if this “tip” im sharing is followed and supported- communities have a tendency to balance out and smooth out any incorrection with time and support. — “why does any of this matter?” “Why are you bringing this up?” Because this community has proven to be unsafe for BIPOC and that fucking sucks. to elaborate: ive not been in tumblr very long but in my time here I’ve seen BIPOC in the community keep trying to point out problems or discomfort they have amongst their white peers only for the problem and discomfort voiced to immediately give them backlash, harassment, and hostility from specifically their white peers. And this has resulted in many of the BIPOC in the community to outright leave and that fucking sucks. I’ve seen too many people express the reason they’re leaving or posting less to be specifically this problem & I don’t really jive with how little any of my white peers are publically acknowledging this. So I made a rambly post about it, in hopes to (at a minimum) plant this idea in some others heads. The community needs to be better

im sure ive not articulated everything here enough for it to be the best, so I super encourage everyone to do further research & put in more effort than just this post-

but pleaaaaase, show more compassion and consideration towards BIPOC. This community (and in general this social media) cannot afford the continuous cutting of its numbers, engagement, or unique insights that BIPOC bring to it

[thecrispydemon]

Just a PSA:

It’s normal for your connection to your kintype/hearttype to fluctuate

It’s normal to not have memories

It’s normal if the line between relating and identifying as your kintype is blurry

It’s normal to not be spiritual

You don’t need to figure it all out right now. Your fictionhood is yours.

[barley-beak]

I feel like folks need to talk more about types fading. We grow up, we change, and we figure out our identity more. That doesn’t mean that what we experienced wasn’t real. That type helped us understand ourselves more and we simply no longer connect with it and that’s okay.

I recently lost my connection to Cloudjumper and no longer feel that I am him. I still love him dearly and what he represented to me as I was discovering my fiction identity will always be important.

I think with all of the younger alterhumans joining online spaces, there is a heavy want to know exactly who you are right at the start. That’s not how identity works. It takes lots of time and you’re gonna make mistakes. The internet has made it really easy for others to shame individuals who haven’t fully figured out their types or change their types. You are growing and changing so your types will change to.

Something might fit right now, but one day you may find out about a creature that represents you more so that connection to the old type fades. That doesn’t make the new type or the old type and more or less valid then the other.

Take your time. There is no rush to finding out who you are.

[oshacompliant-magicdogthing]

makes a post

post gets like 8 notes. ...which is 8 notes more than i usually get

look ma, I'm famous!!

[rosymothgod]

Being an adult therian/otherkin is so wild cause wtf do you mean an elf is assembling burgers, A moth is working a 30+ hour work week, A dragon is trying to rent an apartment, A rat is paying students loans, A god is trying to get piercings and tattoos, A demon graduated college, a cow is responsible for a pet, a doll is trying to maintain savings and a crow is looking for new jobs?? Ts is so funny

[oshacompliant-magicdogthing]

there are 2 things i know for absolute certain about my alterhumanity, or i guess, i prefer to say 'being' both as in my existence and species classification ? whatever it's complicated. there are only 2 things i know for sure

I am not meant to be here; I want to go home.

I am supposed to be able to fly.

My entire life i have had vivid dreams about being able to fly, Peter Pan style like I'm swimming in water. The way I fly is the same every time, i instinctively know what to do and how to do it. The yearning I get when I think of flying is so strong that it's nauseating and choking, makes me feel like i need to vomit or scream. Not being able to fly for me feels like a part of my soul has been ripped out of my body and is so deeply wrong that it's almost morally repugnant. I don't know how to explain it better than that. Its like someone chopped my body in half and then told me it's always been like this. Why does my body remember how to fly? Not 'know', REMEMBER. Sometimes I still do this little hop and foot wiggle that I always use to launch myself (in dreams), and the feeling of my weight dragging me down is worse than any gender dysphoria I've ever felt. Sometimes I question whether I'm alterhuman at all, but the urge to fly always brings me back to alterhumanity, because I am supposed to be able to fly. I don't know what I am, but without it, I am trapped.

[oshacompliant-magicdogthing]

the longer i spend with my.. nonhumanity, other-than-humanity, the less sense it makes to me and the more frustrated i am.

i think that, like my gender, my alterhuman identity cannot be neatly tied down into a few labels, and that has always been distressing as someone who wants to find community. but splitting myself up into little boxes like 'unicornheart, separate from my absol theriotype, separate from my archetrope' just... doesn't work for me. I don't know what I am, just what I'm NOT. my alterhumanity has always been defined by a sense of otherness and wrongness, not by my 'type and a face I can recognize in books and movies, but by knowledge that I am not where i am supposed to be or WHAT i am supposed to be. I know that fae are my everything. I know that I am not supposed to be here, I'm supposed to be 'home', a home that is very 'faeryland' shaped, but I mostly just know that i am not right as I am.

It feels like I'm the teen protagonist of a fantasy novel, but my adventure never came, so i just grew up, never knowing why i felt so painfully out of place in ways that brain chemistry and diagnoses can't explain. I'm always going to be longing for something more, and crying in my bed at 3 am because that something more will never happen. I mostly just feel out of place, when everyone in therian and otherkin communities knows who they are and I've been bouncing off of vague notions for going on 6 years now. No matter how hard I try to understand myself, or the methods I use, I always hit a wall. It seems like so much of alterhuman communities surroundeds around being SURE, and i am NOT sure.

But i think i need to be okay with that, because fae aren't ONE thing, and if they are what mean so much to me i might have to be okay with accepting that I don't know what i am beyond guesses. i am a creature for who the words 'creature' or 'being' do not do justice, i am everything from your myths and starry spun legends, but I am also a scared insecure human who wishes to be the myths. I'm both. That's okay. Even if it feels like it isn't.

[aestherians]

Thinking about all the neurological and energetic and shard and psychic and multiple cause and irrelevant cause otherkin out there, you rock 👊😤

[two-facedgod]

I know you miss home, but try to remember everything this world has to offer - take it from a god who's been on this planet since the beginning. We've got thunderstorms, city lights, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You can listen to Nirvana, eat sushi, kiss your loved ones, and read comic books. Explore the forests. Lay out on the beach and get some sun. Get lost in the urban jungle. Earth is a beautiful and terrible place - I don't want you to miss out.

[sunbladeprints]

The heart knight's taking a stand against the evils of the world

The heart knight says trans rights

The heart knight says fuck fascism

The heart knight says free gaza

This was the first time using proper fancy lino (a joy to carve) and my last time ever attempting a serifed font (a bitch to carve)

[coldcigarettes]

The school year is over which means I got to spend an evening making a T4T linocut while watching Drag Race France 😌🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

(You can get a print here)

[fishbonesart]

Care for a drink?

[thetadelta]

Filling a lexical gap: dysphoria & euphoria in alterhumans

Dysphoria and euphoria are a defining facet of alterhumanity for many people, but the current prevailing terms, species dysphoria and species euphoria, are highly limited in scope and carry the implication that any alterhuman-related feelings of this kind worth naming are caused by identifying as a nonhuman living thing. This terminology fails to acknowledge dysphoria and euphoria experienced by human-identifying alterhumans and those with non-"identify as" identities, and can feel alienating for those who identify as something nonhuman that would not typically be considered a "species", such as an object or concept. It also does not provide any lexical framework to describe the wide range of alterhumanity-derived dysphoric and euphoric experiences often discussed in the community.

People in all alterhuman demographics deserve to have a way to distinguish their experiences from "typical" types of dysphoria and euphoria experienced by orthohumans (non-alterhumans), so I am proposing a new set of terms:

Alterdysphoria: Feelings of unease, wrongness, dissatisfaction, or alienation that stem from one's alterhuman identity.

Altereuphoria: Feelings of joy, comfort, catharsis, or affirmation that stem from one's alterhuman identity.

A dash may be added after the prefix (e.g. "alter-euphoria") for ease of legibility/pronunciation if desired.

EDIT 11/26: I've changed these to my original inclination of just using "alter", which I initially didn't use because I was worried it would be misconstrued as dysphoria/euphoria experienced by alters, but after thinking it over I don't see that really being an issue given how well-used the word alterhuman is. It's a much more intuitive option than using "onto" but if people prefer that I will change it back!

Alterdysphoria and altereuphoria are umbrella terms that include species dysphoria and euphoria as well as dysphoria and euphoria due to being otherhuman, concept- or objectkin, otherhearted, fictionfolk, plural, or any other type of alterhuman.

Common types of alterdysphoria or altereuphoria someone may experience are:

Physical, related to one's current physical body

Ability, related to things one can or cannot do in their current body and/or environment

Mental, related to one's emotions, interests, or thought processes

Sensory, related to one's sensory experiences (or lack thereof)

Gender, related to one's internal or perceived gender

Cultural, related to one's cultural environment

Social, related to social interactions/relationships with others

Perceptual, related to how one is perceived by others

Environmental, related to one's physical surroundings

Reality, related to the contents, history, physical laws, etc. of one's current subjective or objective reality

Examples of each of these types is under the cut at the bottom of the post. When discussing these experiences in contexts where it is clear someone is referring to alterhuman-derived feelings, the "alter" can be dropped for brevity (e.g. reality dysphoria, perceptual euphoria). The distinction is for clarity of communication only. For example, a person who experiences height dysphoria due to their alterhuman identity could choose to distinguish it from transgender height dysphoria by using the phrase "height alterdysphoria".

Differentiating alterhuman-related feelings from other origins of dysphoria and euphoria does not denote a hierarchy or binary between alterhuman and non-alterhuman experiences. Many alterhumans have dysphoria or euphoria with unknown or mixed origins, and those experiences can absolutely be considered partially or entirely alterdysphoria or altereuphoria if doing so feels helpful. Any alterhuman who feels these terms are useful to them can use them in any relevant context.

Some examples of alterdysphoria not objectively covered by the "species dysphoria" term are:

Physical or gender dysphoria experienced by anyone due to a human kintype

Dysphoria experienced by those with nonliving kintypes due to being in a living body

Dysphoria experienced by those with non-corporeal kintypes due to being in a physical body

Social or cultural alienation experienced by those with a connection to other worlds, time periods, or societies

Disconnect or distress experienced by anyone with a hearthome due to their current surroundings

Disconnect or alienation experienced by those with a connection to a world/time period/etc with different flora, fauna, landscapes, or physical laws from present-day Earth

Disconnect or distress experienced by otherhearted people when others discuss/treat their hearttype in a dismissive or disrespectful way

Physical, age, or gender dysphoria experienced by system members while fronting in their host body

Disconnect or distress experienced by system members when they are presumed to be another alter/facet/etc

Alienation or distress experienced by plural systems when they are presumed to be a singlet

Disconnect or distress experienced by fictionkin/fictives when their personality or age is perceived differently from their identity

Disconnect or distress experienced by canon divergent fictionkin/fictives when interacting with their source or fandom

Distress or discomfort experienced by fictionkin/fictives when seeing or interacting with doubles

Disconnect experienced by anyone with exomemories/exotrauma (events that were not experienced by their current physical body)

Disconnect or distress experienced by endels when someone or something "reality checks" them

Alienation experienced by mediums or spirit workers due to having a different subjective reality from others

Any kind of alterhumanity-derived dysphoria experienced by nonhumans that feels unrelated to their species

Alienation or distress experienced by any alterhuman when they are presumed to be orthohuman

Some examples of altereuphoria not objectively covered by the "species euphoria" term are:

Affirmation experienced by anyone when dressing up or depicting themselves as their human kintype

Euphoria experienced by objectkin and conceptkin when engaging with their kintype

Joy or comfort experienced by someone with a hearthome upon visiting or looking at that place or somewhere similar

Joy or affirmation experienced by archetropes from doing activities that align with their identity

Comfort experienced by fictionfolk when engaging with their source media or fandom

Joy experienced by an otherhearted person when engaging with their hearttype

Affirmation experienced by a fronting member of a system when being referred to with their own name and pronouns (instead of the ones typically used for their host body)

Joy or comfort experienced by an otherlinker when shifting as their linktype

Any kind of alterhumanity-derived euphoria experienced by nonhumans that feels unrelated to their species

Euphoria experienced by any alterhuman upon having their identity affirmed by others

This is by no means an exhaustive list, alterdysphoria/altereuphoria is an inclusive concept and there is theoretically no limit to the types of situations these terms can cover.

I hope that this terminology can provide a clearer, more inclusive framework for identifying and discussing these kinds of experiences!

EDIT: Since I've been asked, if you are alterhuman you automatically have permission to use these terms wherever you want and don't need to credit me! My intention for this concept/terminology is that it should be community-owned and accessible, the only reason to link me to it would be to use this post to explain what it means :)

Example of dysphoria/euphoria types below:

Example identity: Unicorn otherkin

Physical alterdysphoria: Lack of hooves

Physical altereuphoria: Wearing a tail

Mental alterdysphoria: Enjoying the taste of meat despite being an herbivore

Mental altereuphoria: Being introverted feels emotionally similar to being a solitary creature

Ability alterdysphoria: Unable to channel magical energies

Ability altereuphoria: Running & jumping

Sensory alterdysphoria: Inability to hear very quiet sounds

Sensory altereuphoria: Wearing hard-soled shoes to mimic the click of hooves

Gender alterdysphoria: Unicorn genders are not recognized by human society

Gender altereuphoria: Using unicorn-related neopronouns 

Cultural alterdysphoria: Unicorns are protectors of the earth, but many humans are disrespectful of nature

Cultural altereuphoria: Joining a local climate activism group

Social alterdysphoria: Unicorns socialize like equines, so typical human socialization feels unintuitive 

Social altereuphoria: Talking to equine therians and orthohuman equestrians, and interacting with horses

Perceptual alterdysphoria: Presumed to be entirely human by others

Perceptual altereuphoria: Consistently wearing unicorn accessories in order be be associated with unicorns by others

Environmental alterdysphoria: A city is nothing like a forest, living there feels alien

Environmental altereuphoria: Buying houseplants

Reality alterdysphoria: This world contains no unicorns or other magical creatures

Reality altereuphoria: Playing an immersive fantasy video game

[squirrelyoak]

"Here Forever" Alterhuman Stickers

What other symbols should I add?

I'm not sure about the clinical lycanthrope symbol. It's the upside down y / greek l. I just don't know if that's a symbol beings used by clinical lycanthropes.

I'm also not sure if the ink and quill symbol is the fictionkin or fictionfolk symbol.

Alt text / symbol explanation:

18 stickers that say "Here Forever". The symbols on each sticker are :

otherheart

plantkin

otherkin

plural

nonhuman

alterhuman

archetrope

therian

fictionkin

clinical lycanthrope

fictionkind

conceptkin

otherlink

fictionkin / fictionfolk

fictionhearted

objectkin

holothere

beastpunk flag

Here Forever Stickers (@squirrelyoak)

Here Forever Stickers (@squirrelyoak)

[oshacompliant-magicdogthing]

having a moment where i feel too weak and human and fragile and its so frustrating when i feel like that