#therian alphabet

[oxceen]

Alterhuman alphabet!

(credits to @/local-xenogender-icon)

A - awakening

When did you realise you are an alterhuman? At what age, how long ago?

I awakened around two years ago, when I was 12. My neighbour/friend and I were hanging out outside our houses and he asked if I knew what a therian is. I said no, and he explained it to me, and told me that he is one. I was really interested, because I've felt very cat-like since I was a kid, and often saw myself as a cat, and afterwards I researched more about therianthropy and asked my friend a ton of questions and around a week later I confirmed that I am indeed a therian!

B - balance

Does your identity affect your social life (school, work, etc.)? Does it cause troubles or not?

It doesn't really affect my social life much, but I get phantom ears very often and it gets uncomfortable sometimes, and my friends often ask me if im ok bc I'm aggressively rubbing my palm against my head to try and get rid of my phantom shift :,)

C - city

Do you live in a city? If yes, is it hard for you to be away from nature? Does your therio/kintype even need nature?

I live in a sub-urban area (thankfully) because cities are pretty overwhelming for me. The area I live in has plenty of trees and bushes but it's mainly just in people's front yards and I wish there was a small forest nearby that I could walk around in, but sadly there isnt't :(

D - diary

Do you have a diary about your alterhuman experiences? If not, do you want to start one?

I used to, but I kept forgetting to add entries to it so I gave up lol

E - experience in the community

What is your experience and thoughts about the alterhuman community?

So far, everyone's been really nice! Everyone seems to be really supportive of eachother and I've only seen discrimination in the community once or twice. I'm also a little concerned about the nonhumans who are severely struggling mentally due to their nonhumanity.

F - friends

Have you told your friends about your identity?

My three closest friends know, and they're very supportive!

G - gear

Do you have any gear? If yes, is it handmade or bought?

I have an ear headband that my neighbour gifted me for christmas, and although the colours are wrong, I love it and wear it pretty often. I also have a half-finished yarn tail that's been a WIP for a couple months now because I can't find the time to finish it. And I also have a necklace with a green gem, a rainbow and a wolf pendant! It was originally just the gem to match with my best friend's purple gem, but then I added the rainbow (bc LGBTQ+) and the wolf pendant came from an old necklace I got alongside a book (Wolves of the Beyond, I def recommend) that I got in 2nd grade.

I - identity

What is (are) your therio/kintype(s)?

Vancouver coastal grey wolf, Turkish Angora, Western jackdaw, orca and banded linsang!

J - jokes

Do you like to make little jokes about your identity or is it rather serious for you?

Both! I don't really make jokes about it myself, but my friends often joke around about my nonhuman behaviours (in a nice way) and I laugh along :)

K - knowledge

In scale of 1-10, how big do you think your knowldege about alterhumans is? Are you new to this topic?

I'd say around a 6-7. I know pretty much all the basic stuff, but the more complicated stuff like physically-identifying nonhumans and otherlinks I don't really know much about yet, mainly because I've only recently heard about them.

L - liking, loving

Do you like your therio/kintype(s)? Do you love or dislike it/them?

I like my theriotypes a lot! I find my theriotypes really interesting, there's always something new to learn about my kind.

N - nature

Does your therio/kintype live in the wild, or rather not? (E.g. it's a house pet, or it's a robot.)

All my theriotypes are wild, except for my domestic cat theriotype.

O - otherhearted

Are you also otherhearted? If yes, what is your kithtype(s)?

I'm snakehearted!

P - popularity

Is your therio/kintype "popular" or is it rather rare?

I'd say my wolf theriotype is very "popular" if you just look at it like a wolf, but I've only seen one or two therians who are coastal wolves like me.

I see domestic cat therians everywhere so it's needless to say my cat theriotype is pretty "popular"

I see crow therians and raven therians a lot, but I've never met another jackdaw like me. I wonder why /gen

I used to think orca therians are rare, but after joining tumblr I found that there are quite a lot like me!

I've never seen another linsang therian, which makes sense because barely anyone knows asiatic linsangs even exist. They were discovered only in 2013 and we know next to nothing about their reproduction, social behaviours, and diet.

R - real body

Do you feel good about your physical body? Do you experience gender dysphoria?

I don't get gender dysphoria often, but I do get species dysphoria. A lot of the time I wish my legs were shaped differently, or my face was longer, or I had a tail, wings, etc.

S - sex

Does your therio/kintype have a different sex than you?

Yes! I identify dpecifically as a male dominant/"alpha" (I dont really like using that word to describe it)/pack leader wolf because I do not feel maternal instincts toward young wolves. I know this because when I look at pictures of kittens, or see actual kittens, I feel a strong urge to look after them, clean them up, protect them from danger, etc. Aside from these two theriotypes, I don't identify as a specific sex.

T - traits

What are your alterhuman traits? (E.g. a need to hunt, bark, ect.)

I get extremely aggressive toward people who wrong me or people close to me, and my typical response is to growl/snarl at them.

If a friend gets their hand close to my face, I try and play-bite but they always draw their hand away (understandably).

When I'm in a group of people, or I see a group of people, I can often tell who the "pack leader" is within a couple seconds, even if it's not obvious to a human.

Very wide smile during tense/awkward situations or any situation where I feel threatened. It's basically a snarl but bc im physically a stupid human, no one notices >:(

Sometimes I raise my shoulders and then shake myself all out (usually involuntarily), which is like the human equivalent of feather rousing

I sometimes also bump/rub my head on my (close) friends' shoulders as a way to greet them

U - urges

If you have a theriotype, are you good at controlling your animalistic urges? Do they bother you?

I'm fairly good at controlling my urges, but when I get angry I feel like I'm gonna lose control and just go feral on everyone. It's never actually happened though.

W - wondering

How do you think you would look like, if you could physically shapeshift into your therio/kintype? (Describe or put an image here!)

I think I'd just look like any other member of my species.

Y - yarn

If you wanted to buy/make a tail, would it be real fur or fake/yarn fur?

I prefer real fur, but I'd only buy it if I'm 100% certain it's not from a cruel fur farm. But if I'm unable to buy it, I'd make my own, from yarn (which I've already started doing).

Z - zoo

How do you feel about zoos (a place, not z00philes)? Are they good or bad in your opinion? Do you want to go there to meet your theriotype (if you are a therian).

I think zoos are okay (only ethical ones), I enjoy going to them and seeing all the cool animals there. Sadly none of my theriotypes are at any of the zoos I normally visit.

___________

:3

[being-a-human-isnt-very-fun]

Therianthropy Alphabet

credit to @local-xenogender-icon for the alphabet!

A - awakening

I always remember running around pretending to be a deer and always drawing/seeing myself as a deer. I used to push these away when I was older and never thought about it until I realized that therianthropy was a thing and I wasn’t the only one experiencing it. After that I narrowed my theriotype down to a caribou (yes, I know there are subspecies but they’re all very similar so I just say caribou).

B - balance

My therianthropy affects the way I communicate with other people, and my hobbies. It doesn’t affect my work/school/life balance as much, aside from little “quirks” like being afraid of loud noises, being very attached to people, etc

C - city

I don’t live in a city, I live in a rural area, which I’m very grateful for.

D - diary

I do have an alter human diary! It’s mostly just documenting shifts or drawing, and also functions as a regular journal.

E - experience in the community

I’ve had an extremely positive experience in the alterhuman community on Tumblr, and I’m eternally grateful for this because it helped me untangle my therianthropy identity and figure out who I am. Other social media platforms, not so much.

F - friends

None of my friends know I’m a therian, but I have a friend who is a furry who I think suspects.

G - gear

I don’t really feel the need for gear, but I get why people like it. If I had enough money, I might look into buying something, but mostly gear is centered around foxes/wolves/cats, and it would be hard to find caribou gear. I would have to buy a commission which is very expensive.

I - identity

I only have one theriotype, which is a caribou. I’ve yet to meet another caribou, but I have met so many other deer, who have all been super cool!

J - jokes

I love making little jokes about my identity, because it is very silly if you think about it.

K - knowldege

On a scale of 1-10, I would say my knowledge of alterhumanity is a 7 or 8. I still have a lot to learn.

L - liking, loving

I don’t think I could’ve had a “better” theriotype, a caribou is a lovely animal that I am grateful to be.

N - nature

My theriotype lives in northern parts of North America, and in Europe. They are migratory, so they don’t have one specific territory or anything.

O - otherhearted

Tbh I don’t really know the difference between otherhearted and therianthropy but I don’t think I’m otherhearted.

P - popularity

My theriotype isn’t very popular (unless it’s Christmas). Fun fact: in North America, caribou are called reindeer when they’re domesticated, but in Europe, they’re always called reindeer.

R - real body

I get species dysphoria from time to time.

S - sex

I never really thought about the sex of my theriotype? It’s kind of hard to tell really.

T - traits

-fear of loud noises/sudden noise

-foraging for food (gardening mostly)

-head butting things

-communicating with grunts, moving my head, pointing with my feet, or flicking my “ears” (that don’t exist bc phantom shift)

-running/hiking in the woods and swimming

-flight instinct

Urges

I think this question was centered more towards therians with prey drive instincts, because my urges are mostly just to run away, swim in random bodies of water, eat the grass, and restlessness.

W - wondering

Leaving the question here for context: “How do you think you would look like, if you could psychically shapeshift into your therio/kintype? (Describe or put an image here!)”

Y - yarn

Leaving this question for context too: “If you wanted to buy/make a tail, would it be real fur or fake/yarn fur?”

Caribou don’t have tails…

Z - zoo (as in the place)

I like zoos that are there for protection of a species or rehabilitation. I think there can be a lot of abuse involved, though.

[sirensense]

Alterhuman alphabet!

made by @local-xenogender-icon

link

A - awakening

When did you realise you are an alterhuman? At what age, how long ago?:

maybe about 4-6?? and no Ariel was not my awakening. lol

B - balance

Does your identity affect your social life (school, work, ect.)? Does it cause troubles or not?:

nah

C - city

Do you live in a city? If yes, is it hard for you to be away from nature? Does your therio/kintype even need nature?:

no, I live near the ocean and forests so I’m actually pretty lucky!!

D - diary

Do you have a diary about your alterhuman experiences? If not, do you want to start one?:

not really. but hey, I have this tumblr blog which is basically taking place of that!!

E - experience in the community

What is your experience and thoughts about the alterhuman community?:

I think we are all just as valid as the other. and the people I have met in it so far are really nice.

F - friends

Have you told your friends about your identity?:

yeah. (I have 1 friend LOL)

G - gear

Do you have any gear? If yes, is it handmade or bought?:

I have some fake fangs and long elf-like ears, but they’re not really like how I envision mine to be. they’re good enough tho. also I have catish/wolfish ears, and I did have some paws, but my dog ate them. sad times

it’s all bought, however i am going to make a mask soon!

I - identity

What is (are) your therio/kintype(s)?:

Siren (the mermaid kind, not the bird kind). sometimes I’m a catkin too, it used to be my most prominent one. the feeling is not as strong anymore. I’m a big wolf lover but idk if I am a wolfkin tho!!

i do feel as if i am some kind of land animal, but I haven’t really figured it out yet.

J - jokes

Do you like to make little jokes about your identity or is it rather serious for you?:

I don’t take it too seriously, but I don’t really like when people make jokes to otherkin that are bordering mockery. Then it’s just rude.

K - knowldege

In scale of 1-10, how big do you think your knowledge about alterhumans is? Are you new to this topic?:

honestly I’m not super smart on it, but I love to keep an open mind and learn as much as I can!!

L - liking, loving

Do you like your therio/kintype(s)? Do you love or dislike it/them?:

I love it!!

N - nature

Does your therio/kintype live in the wild, or rather not? (E.g. it's a house pet, or it's a robot.):

yes! In the ocean! but it can adapt to human society.

O - otherhearted

Are you also otherhearted? If yes, what is your kithtype(s)?:

I haven’t learnt much about what this term means yet, so I’ll say nothing for now!!

P - popularity

Is your therio/kintype "popular" or is it rather rare?:

tbh, it’s pretty medium(??) I think therians, like cats/dogs/wolves etc are far more common, and it’s kind of hard to find mer/siren kins. I haven’t seen any other sirenkins like me specifically. (SAD FACE)

R - real body

Do you feel good about your psychical body? Do you experience gender dysphoria?:

I feel gender dysphoria at times because I am non binary, but I’ve learned over the years to love myself and my body because it’s what I’ve been given! and I don’t necessarily feel dysphoria when it comes to being in a human body as opposed to a siren body, it just kinda sucks is all. but I don’t have a real struggle with it like most do.

S - sex

Does therio/kintype have a different sex than you?:

nope! non binary just like me! but they do have female anatomy.

T - traits

What are your alterhuman traits? (E.g. a need to hunt, bark, ect.):

If it’s traits I personally have myself, I’d say hissing, humming, pretending to bite things, baring teeth and claws, the need to swim with a tail, only having baths as opposed to showers

If we’re talking about traits that my siren self has, then I could go on all day about it. but I won’t. lol

U - urges

If you have a theriotype, are you good at controlling your animalistic urges? Do they bother you?:

I’m fine with it, sometimes just imagining/picturing being in my siren element is enough for me.

W - wondering

How do you think you would look like, if you could psychically shapeshift into your therio/kintype? (Describe or put an image here!):

I have silverish-blueish skin, big finned ears, sharp teeth, slitted pupils, gils in my neck and rib area, webbed fingers, claws, and a long scaly tail that is a sort of dark, desaturated blue. and sometimes it’s dark greyish green— depends if I’m feeling swampy or I’m feeling ocean-y lol. my tail has a lot of fins on it, sometimes it’s more shark like, and sometimes it’s more flowy and fish-like. I can’t tell if I have fins on my back or not yet. also I have long long black hair!!

maybe I can draw me in my siren form and post it someday.

Y - yarn

If you wanted to buy/make a tail, would it be real fur or fake/yarn fur?:

(As a non-furred creature, I can’t really answer this question!!)

Z - zoo

How do you feel about zoos (a place, not z00philes)? Are they good or bad in your opinion? Do you want to go there to meet your theriotype (if you are a therian)?:

I’ve been to zoos before a long time ago, but I’ve kind of realised it’s really messed up. I’m not talking about animal conservation places or sanctuaries, I’m talking about zoos. institutions made to hold wild animals captive against their will for the entertainment of humans.

and unfortunately, I can’t meet my theriotype T_T

this was very fun to write!!!

[sillylittleraccoon]

alterhuman alphabet !!

b- balanced

does your identity affect your social life(school, work, etc)? does it cause troubles or not?

i find that sometimes sitting still in class is very hard, and having shifts in school is a common occurrence but i feel that i get through the school day pretty well :)

(credit to: @local-xenogender-icon for questions<3)

[local-xenogender-icon]

Alterhuman alphabet!

(feel free to copy, paste, fill in and credit me!)

A - awakening

When did you realise you are an alterhuman? At what age, how long ago?

B - balance

Does your identity affect your social life (school, work, ect.)? Does it cause troubles or not?

C - city

Do you live in a city? If yes, is it hard for you to be away from nature? Does your therio/kintype even need nature?

D - diary

Do you have a diary about your alterhuman experiences? If not, do you want to start one?

E - experience in the community

What is your experience and thoughts about the alterhuman community?

F - friends

Have you told your friends about your identity?

G - gear

Do you have any gear? If yes, is it handmade or bought?

I - identity

What is (are) your therio/kintype(s)?

J - jokes

Do you like to make little jokes about your identity or is it rather serious for you?

K - knowldege

In scale of 1-10, how big do you think your knowldege about alterhumans is? Are you new to this topic?

L - liking, loving

Do you like your therio/kintype(s)? Do you love or dislike it/them?

N - nature

Does your therio/kintype live in the wild, or rather not? (E.g. it's a house pet, or it's a robot.)

O - otherhearted

Are you also otherhearted? If yes, what is your kithtype(s)?

P - popularity

Is your therio/kintype "popular" or is it rather rare?

R - real body

Do you feel good about your psychical body? Do you experience gender dysphoria?

S - sex

Dies therio/kintype have a different sex than you?

T - traits

What are your alterhuman traits? (E.g. a need to hunt, bark, ect.)

Urges

If you have a theriotype, are you good at controlling your animalistic urges? Do they bother you?

W - wondering

How do you think you would look like, if you could psychically shapeshift into your therio/kintype? (Describe or put an inage here!)

Y - yarn

If you wanted ti buy/make a tail, would it be real fur or fake/yarn fur?

Z - zoo

How do you feel about zoos (a place, not z00philes)? Are they good or bad in your opinion? Do you want to go there to meet your theriotype (if you are a therian).

___________

That's all! Bye!🍄

[frameacloud]

A list of some alterhuman identities and groups (cut version)

About this article

This article is a five-minute read. It gives definitions and sources about (in alphabetical order) alterhumans, constelics, daemons, dragons, endels, furries, fictionfolk, nonhumans, otherkin, plural systems, therianthropes, tulpas, and vampires. These alterhuman community historians, archivists, and writers wrote this article together in August and September 2023: Orion Scribner, House of Chimeras, Page Shepard, Dinocanid, Ryuu Yumemoto, Draconic Wizard Workshop, and others. You have permission to repost this article, if you keep the list of authors, don't change what the article says, and don't use it for money. This is shared under this type of Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND).

Alterhumans

In 2014, Lio of the Crossroads System created this word as an umbrella term and identity for anyone who feels they have an identity beyond the scope of how one might typically think of “being human.”^1 Later, the alterhuman advocacy group Alt+H popularized this word. According to the coiner and Alt+H, it includes but is not limited to nonhumans.^2 Some groups who can opt-in to considering themselves under the alterhuman umbrella are otherkin, therianthropes, fictionfolk, plural systems, daemians, vampires, voluntary identities, furries, and more.^3 This umbrella is very broad because its purpose is to give these communities something to unite under without erasing their distinctions.^4

Constelic

Coined by Extranth in 2021, a person who is constelic identifies with or as one or more entities, objects, concepts, species, items, or characters throughout their life.^5 A constelic may collect or hoard any number of these identities for any number of reasons, as their identities are non-inherent and are considered to be entirely extrinsic.^6 Constels may be voluntary or involuntary identities,^7 and can be intense or casual, but they are often non-permanent.^8 

Daemians and daemons

Daemians are people who have daemons, which are most often described as mental constructs or a part of an individual’s consciousness which has been assigned a unique gender, form, and personality.^9 Some daemians consider themselves plural.^10 Their community started in 2002, inspired by Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials fantasy novel trilogy.^11

Dragons

The dragon community started in the 1990s in an online group called alt.fan.dragons.^12 They identify as dragons for spiritual or psychological reasons. They are draconic, and they refer to this part of themselves as their draconity.^13 In the 2000s, the dragon community started to mingle with the other communities: with dragon otherkin (dragonkin)^14 and dragon therians.^15

Endels

Mental health experts say that being alterhuman isn’t the same as being mentally ill.^16 For alterhumans who do have mental illnesses, that can be an important part of their everyday life and their sense of self. Endel is a word for alterhuman identities that are rooted in or greatly influenced by delusion. Babydog coined this word in 2021, by and for delusional alterhumans.^17

Furries

The furry fandom is a large subculture that began at sci-fi conventions in the 1980s.^18 It’s for creating and enjoying art, stories, costumes, and roleplay about fictional human-like (anthropomorphic) animal characters, called furries. Many fandom participants choose to represent themselves as their furry persona (fursona), which can be just for fun, though it can be meaningful about who they are.

Fictionfolk

Fictionfolk is an umbrella term for many sorts of identities that come partly or wholly from fiction.^19 Fictionkin identify as characters or species from fiction,^20 and their community started in the early 2000s.^21 A plural system member with origins from fiction is a fictive, which psychologists call a fictional introject.^22 When someone has the brief experience of becoming someone or something from fiction, that’s a fictionflicker, which psychologists call experience-taking.^23 

Nonhumans

An umbrella term for those of us who identify as partly or wholly not human: therianthropes, otherkin, and more. Many nonhumans opt to include themselves under the alterhuman umbrella.

Otherkin

Otherkin are elves, dragons, or other beings, usually from mythology. It’s always an important part of who they are throughout their lives, not role-play for fun.^24 The community started in the Elfinkind Digest mailing list in 1990, when they started calling themselves otherkind or otherkin.^25 Their reasons for being otherkin are often spiritual, for example, from reincarnation.^26 However, otherkin is not a religion.^27

Plural systems

Plurality (or multiplicity) is an umbrella term for all experiences and identities in which more than one entity, consciousness, or pseudo-consciousness exists within one physical body,^28 for systems who are or can be diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID), formerly called multiple personality disorder (MPD), as well as systems who do not meet those diagnostic criteria. Plurality and multiplicity as terms have always been inclusive of systems regardless of their origin or diagnoses.^29 Some plural systems have members who aren’t human or who are fictional characters or species.^30 Multiplicity can be an interchangeable synonym for plurality, or multiplicity can mean a form of plurality in which more than one person, self, or identity is within a single body.^31

Therianthropes

Therianthropes are people who have a lifelong identification as a certain species of animal on an integral, personal level.^32 Some are other species than animals from Earth.^33 The therian community started in 1993 in an online group, alt.horror.werewolves.^34 They developed jargon about shapeshifting to describe feeling more animal-like at some times. These changes are mental or spiritual, not physical.^35 Some have sensations of phantom limbs.^36 Some feel consistently animal-like at all times.^37 In the late 1990s and early 2000s, therians started mingling with the otherkin community.^38

Tulpas and tulpamancers

A tulpamancer is someone who practices tulpamancy, which is the act of creating tulpas.^39 A tulpa is an autonomous conscious entity who shares the body and brain of their creator.^40 Tulpamancy is often considered to be a part of the plurality umbrella.^41 

Vampire Community

The vampyre or vampire community (VC) is for people who identify as vampires and require sustenance.^42 Those who drain energy are energy vampires or psi-vampires.^43 Sanguinarians drink blood.^44 Hybrid vampires need both.^45 Vampire lifestylers and donors are in the VC, too.^46 

None of the above

Some participants of our communities are not themselves alterhumans. However, they’re here because they’re curious, or they’re our friends, family, and partners.

-

Endnotes

Please click to open this so you can read all of the sources that we cited. They are all here below.

1. Lio of the Crossroads System (September 26 2014). "This will probably be my last post on semantics..." Phasmovore. https://phasmovore.tumblr.com/post/98482696958/

2. Lio of the Crossroads System (May 27, 2023). https://x-rds.tumblr.com/post/712949341799727104/ Alt+H (September 17 2021) “What does alterhuman mean?” Alt+H. https://blog.alt-h.net/post/165592493965/what-does-alterhuman-mean

3. Kiera Ember. “Alterhuman Dictionary.” Beyond Humanity. https://www.beyondhumanity.net/alterhuman-dictionary/dictionary-a Ana Valens (September 25 2020). “Otherkin are the internet’s punchline. They’re also our future.” Daily Dot. https://www.dailydot.com/irl/otherkin/  Alt+H, “FAQ” https://alt-h.net/educate/faq.php

4. Lio of the Crossroads System (February 19, 2023). https://x-rds.tumblr.com/post/709694807213211648/

5. Extranth. “An Introduction to Constelic” https://web.archive.org/web/20230519124625/https://constelic.carrd.co/

6. Extranth (May 19, 2021). “Constelic!” https://extranth.tumblr.com/post/651652168396472320/constelic-1-whats-constelic-constelic-or

7. Constelic (May 27, 2022). “How are Constelic and Otherlink different?” https://constelic.tumblr.com/post/685380822139813888/how-are-constelic-and-otherlink-different

8. Constelic (April 12, 2022). “The wild thing with stels for me is how sometimes…” https://constelic.tumblr.com/post/681308197084135424/the-wild-thing-with-stels-for-me-is-how-sometimes

9. The Daemon Page, “Introduction” https://daemonpage.com/introduction.php

10. Daemians & Daemons (March 18 2023). “Hey there! This is a bit of a discussion question…” https://www.tumblr.com/daemians-n-daemons/712142103972560896/hey-there-this-is-a-bit-of-a-discussion-question Rani (June 21 2022). “Okay so I was right dæmonism is turning into my…” A Dragon’s Journal. https://a-dragons-journal.tumblr.com/post/687725978250870784/okay-so-i-was-right-d%C3%A6monism-is-turning-into-my

11. House of Chimeras (October 8 2022). “A Timeline of the Daemon Community” pg. 3 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GVSBMvwKIyTvDIqyqXy2C_7Q4Qx4UK3A/view 

12. ExistingPhantom (October 3 2001). “Alt.Fan.Dragons Frequently Asked Questions.” Dragons Must Be Here. https://web.archive.org/web/20050219002348/http://www.dmbh.org/dragonfire/IndexFAQ.html 

13. Baxil (December 1999). “Draconity FAQ.” Tomorrowlands. http://www.tomorrowlands.org/draconity/faq/index.html  Orion Scribner (September 8, 2012), Otherkin Timeline, version 2.0 http://frameacloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Scribner_Timeline2p0.pdf p. 36

14. Orion Scribner, Otherkin Timeline, p. 53.

15. Daski (August 17, 2022). “Therian: Dispelling the Earthen Animal Myth.” The River System. https://theriversystem.neocities.org/essays/EarthenMyth.html  

16. Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (February 22, 2015). “Understanding the otherkin.” The Kernel. Archived March 18, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150318110839/http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/11866/otherkin-tumblr-definition-pronouns/ 

17. Babydog, “Endel” https://endel.carrd.co/ 

18. Fred Patten (July 15 2012). "Retrospective: An Illustrated Chronology of Furry Fandom, 1966–1996". Flayrah. https://www.flayrah.com/4117/retrospective-illustrated-chronology-furry-fandom-1966%E2%80%931996 

19. Poppy (January 24, 2023). “Quick guide to fictionfolk terminology.” Aestherians. https://aestherians.tumblr.com/post/707370073217695744/ 

20. Mordax. “What is Fictionkin? An exploratory definition”. From Fiction. https://web.archive.org/web/20220728060858/https://fromfiction.net/index.php/what-is-fictionkin-an-exploratory-definition/ 

21. House of Chimeras (June 21, 2021). A Timeline of the Fictionkin Community, Version 1.0. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w4vGsWkiGPjYtXvTe4PyCcZsPba1kb_p/view?usp=sharing Page 4.

22. Ryn (Aristocrats) (October 18, 2021). “Fictives: A short introduction” https://pluralsoapbox.wordpress.com/2021/10/18/fictives-a-short-introduction/  Sark (The Interstellar System) (August 9, 2021). “Fictive and Factive FAQ”  https://interstellarsystem.weebly.com/fictive-and-factive-faq.html 

23. Geoff F. Kaufman, Lisa K. Libby (2012). “Changing Beliefs and Behavior Through Experience-Taking.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2012; DOI: 10.1037/a0027525 https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0027525

24. Lupa (2007), A Field Guide to Otherkin, Stafford, England: Immanion Press, pp. 27, 108-109.

25. Arethinn (September 6, 2021). “A brief(ish) history of the word ‘otherkind’.” Mythsong. https://www.mythsong.net/history/wordhist.html 

26. Lupa, pp. 57-66, 287.

27. Lupa, p. 30; and Devin Proctor (May 2019), On Being Non-Human: Otherkin Identification and Virtual Space. The George Washington University. https://search.proquest.com/openview/e156c24bf65c4efb0918a8db37433cce/ pp. 94-95.

28. FreyasSpirit (Lucia Batman) and Irenes (Irene Knapp), “Plurality Playbook” https://freyasspirit.com/plurality-playbook/ 

29. LB Lee (May 28, 2020). “Quick'n'Dirty Plural History... Part 1 (1811-1980ish)” https://lb-lee.dreamwidth.org/1111069.html  LB Lee (June 30, 2020).”Plural History part 2: The Memory Wars” https://lb-lee.dreamwidth.org/1116190.html  LB Lee (July 30, 2020). “Plural History, part 3: Usenet and its spin-offs and Soulbonders” https://lb-lee.dreamwidth.org/1120824.html  LB Lee (August 31, 2020). “Quick'n'Dirty Plural History, part 4 (LJ, the Genic Slapfight, and THE END!)” https://lb-lee.dreamwidth.org/1129216.html 

30. House of Chimeras (May 1, 2021). “A Collection of Mentions of Nonhuman and Fictional-Based Members of Plural Systems” https://drive.google.com/file/d/17TKE_8Lx2ljuTpHNclvaXqvA5AAlkG90/view 

31. Manchester Metropolitan University, “Understanding Multiplicity” https://www.mmu.ac.uk/mmud8/media/10605/download 

32. Sonne (2008). “Terms and definitions.” Project Shift. https://projectshift.therianthropy.info/terms-definitions-by-sonne/ 

33. Daski (August 17, 2022). “Therian: Dispelling the Earthen Animal Myth.” The River System. https://theriversystem.neocities.org/essays/EarthenMyth.html  

34. House of Chimeras (19 November 2021). A Timeline of the Therianthrope Community, Version 1.1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jDmjl78hQ2BiQtzQMTV3yRQkrIgB9eUZ/view?usp=sharing P 9.

35. Clegg, H., Collings, R., & Roxburgh, E. C. (2019). “Therianthropy: Wellbeing, Schizotypy, and Autism in Individuals Who Self-Identify as Non-Human.” Society & Animals, 27(4), pp. 403-426. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685306-12341540

36. Jakkal (October 6, 2001). “Therianthropy- an overview." Shifters.org. Archived 2002-11-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20021101165313/http://www.shifters.org/overview/therianthropy.asp

37. Akhila (April 2005). “The Contherian FAQ.” https://akhila.feralscribes.org/2005/the-contherian-faq/ 

38. House of Chimeras (November 19, 2021). A Timeline of the Therianthrope Community, Version 1.1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jDmjl78hQ2BiQtzQMTV3yRQkrIgB9eUZ/view?usp=sharing Pp. 27, 56.

39. Tulpa.io, “Terminologies” https://web.archive.org/web/20160405214050/http://tulpa.io/terminologies 

40. Luigi.exe/The Dragonheart Collective (January 12, 2020). “Tulpamancy FAQ” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Yb6dfm4JxR5u_oNpHrttJyJHc0NvMhkKUP4Btc4jPc/edit#heading=h.h3onkkn

41. Tulpa.io, “What Is A Tulpa?” https://web.archive.org/web/20160318054103/http://tulpa.io/what-is-a-tulpa 

42. Jayden Night, “What is Vampirism?” https://web.archive.org/web/20080511200648/http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org/articles/jn-vamprism.html 

43. Fvorboda, “Psy Vampirism” https://web.archive.org/web/20080513030621/http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org/articles/dyscracia-psivamps.html 

44. #Sanguinarius IRC (May 26, 2007). “A Discussion of Sang and Psi Vampires” https://web.archive.org/web/20080108215555/http://www.sanguinarius.org/articles/sang-and-psi-disc.shtml 

45. Enygma, “Real Vampires” https://web.archive.org/web/20080511201408/http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org/faq/most-enygma.html 

46. Sanguinarius: The Vampire Support Page, (July 4, 2006). “Sainguinarus Terminology & Lingo” https://web.archive.org/web/20080521005735/http://www.sanguinarius.org/terminology.shtml

[qupy]

hi, i'm qupy! i'm a puppy therian and i make music! i'm a trans girl and i'm weird and i have autism and tourette's. ... and here is what you can see from this profile:

garbage - random junk

doggyposting - therian related things

abcposting - alphabets and letters my beloved

music - my music (which, by the way, is awesome.)

if you really like my music i'd love if you shared it or look at my new album or checked out the spot if Y... i have super cheap music commissions too btw.

dni - terfs, truscum, proshippers

[zuskiscoiningflagz]

hAII! I'm just here to promote some sites (carrds, etc.) with explanations of alterhumans terms! They are good sites with (probably) easy-to-understand explanations! (so you don't have to search sm for the websites!)(possibly in alphabetical order)(some terms are not that well known)(tell me if you want other term here!)

ALTERHUMAN // NONHUMAN ↓ ( rlate / others.. )

Alterhuman Types Carrd

Alterhuman ( More Therian and Shifts

Aldernic Site

Alteraffectis Post

Altervexo Carrd

Amistelic ) Amistera Post

Anchorbeing Post

Animaive Post

Archetrope Post

Concerare Post

Casshuman ) Cassbeing Post

Cirrie ) Cir Post

Constelic Site

CopingLink Site

Dimenell Post

Eiment Post

Emportulum Post

Endel Carrd

Eulovia Post

Factkin Site

Fenikae ) Fenixal ) Fenixic Carrd

Fictionflixic Post

Fictionflicker Post

Fictionkin Site

Fictionodium Post

Gravistelic Post

Hearthic Post

Humanmore ) Overhuman

Icosahuman ) Multialtertype

Identimore Post

Infirope Post

Kardiatype Post

Kerbero Post

Kin Link Post

Likeness Post

Linosus Post

Musisonar ) Echosonar ) Vibrisonar ) Sonar Post

Nubil Post

Oggerare Post

Otherdition Post

Otherfix ) Fixtype Post

Otherflicker Post

Otherhearted Site

Otherodium Post

Otherspirit Post

Prehistan Carrd

Quixoris ) Quixote Post

Quoihuman Post

Root Post

Teohuman Post

Vior Post

I'll update this if i find moree!

[cottonthefatstrawberry]

Therian/Otherkin things to do inside your house:

Please reblog and put your ideas!

1) Train poses that your kin/type makes (ex: sit, lay, sleep)

2) Train vocals

3) Make a meal with things that your kin/type eat (or something that remembers the texture/taste)

4) Write a poem about your kin/type

5) Write a story about therians and/or otherkins

6) Make gear

7) Make/ write in a therian/otherkin journal

8) Search fun facts about your kin/types

9) Read a story which your kin/type is the protagonist

10) Do therian crafts

11) RP as your kin/type

12) Play therian/otherkin games

13) Dress up with clothes that make you remember your kin/type

14) Draw your kin/type

15) Make an animation of kin/type

16) Make a playlist related to your kin/type

17) Hear sounds of the habitat of your kin/type

18) Hear guided meditations to shift

19) Talk with another therians irl or online (The Therian Amino is a good place)

20) Make a Pinterest board related to your kin/type

21) Make a moodboard / stimboard / pfp relates to your kin/type

22) Try to fill the alterhuman alphabet (made by @local-xenogender-icon

23) Reblog this post and give your ideas!

[feathers-fins-and-fangs]

✦ Welcome to my territory! ✦

Hi! You can call me Quinn!

I use they/them, ze/hir/hirself and void/voids/voidself pronouns and I identify as nonhuman, genderless and apothiromantic aegosexual (or just aroace, I'm fine with both labels).

I am: (a) therian, nonhuman/alterhuman, fictionkin, otherhearted, age and pet regressor, artist and animator.

My main blog is @oxceen and this side blog will be mainly therian/nonhuman-centered!

I'm not that good at tone, and will use tone tags as much as possible, but occasionally I forget so please tell me if you would like me to clarify my tone!

USERBOX REQUESTS INFO ↪ Requests are currently CLOSED as I am busy with schoolwork (😭)

▸ Pronouns page ▸ About my nonhuman identity ▸ My non-AvA art sideblog: @jackdaww-draws ▸ Alterhuman Alphabet ▸ Fun facts about my 'types

DO NOT INTERACT:

Anti-LGBTQ+

TransID

Pro-sh, ed, etc blogs

Truscum

Proshippers

Racists, sexists, ableists, etc

P3d0s and z00s

Anti-nonhuman/alterhuman

Anti-agere/petre

NSFW/K!nk accounts

Anti-recovery

Anti-otherlinkers (especially if you are accepting toward the rest of the nonhuman community but exclude otherlinkers.)

Endogenic systems and pro-endos

Neo N@zis

Primarily venting blogs (I have a really bad habit of ignoring trigger warnings)

BEFORE YOU INTERACT:

Please do not refer to me as a furry under any circumstances! I have nothing against the furry community (I'm all for it) but due to personal reasons I would rather not be referred to as a furry, whether or not I have sonas, follow users who are furries, enjoy drawing anthro animals, etc.

I am okay with doubles, but if you are uncomfortable with doubles, I understand if you decide to block me!

I'm not sure of the reason behind my fictionkinity, but I do know that I am very uncomfortable with Rarijack shipping, so if you are a Rarijack shipper, I ask that you either DO NOT INTERACT or avoid bringing it up!

My content, tags I use, hearthome, blocked list and userboxes under cut!

Stuff I will post:

▸ Nonhumanity-related text posts ▸ Nonhuman userboxes ▸ Nonhuman-related art/crafts ▸ Answering asks ▸Reblogging nonhuman posts [this list might be adjusted occasionally, but most miscellaneous stuff would be posted on my main]

Tags Guide (feel free to block any):

#therianuserboxes - userboxes I have made #ruffled feathers - rants or vents #rehowl - my reblogs #whistles and clicks - my text posts #the bird replies - answering asks #scribbling paws - art and crafts I make

Hearthomes:

▸ Vancouver Island/Great Bear Rainforest ▸ The ocean ▸ Forests ▸ Sweet Apple Acres + Ponyville

Blocked list:

@/aspiescot - harassment of nonhumans and age regressors, blocked for spam, hate speech, racism, transphobia, etc.

@/3therian - just a straight up troll who mocks the nonhuman community and makes posts about p3dophilia, z00philia and necrophilia, sexualises scars and thinks trans men are not real men.

(all userboxes by me except the last one)

(also by me!)

[dreaming-of-mogai]

[ID: nine gifs. The first one is a green fluffy pillow, the second one is pillows flopping onto a couch, the third is someone patting some blankets, the fourth is a miniture fake soup and soda, the fifth is Tommyinnit dancing in his chair, the sixth is a squishy creeper, the seventh is a plushy pig bouncing on the floor, the eighth is someone gently pressing into a bush and the nineth is a piglet nuzzling a pink blanket. End of ID ]

A surprise Stimboard for our QP partner!!! Please no kin/IRL/me tags unless you are the reciever /lh

Created ;; 5 / 11 / 2024

[ID: a medium purple with light purple banner with dark purple text that reads "DNI: Anti Endos, Anti MSPEC gays/lesbians, Anti Kin/IRL, Anti Furry, Anti Therian, Discourse, etc." It also has Jax from The Amazing Digital Circus both on the left and the right. End of ID]

Credit ;

https://www.tumblr.com/i-reblog-stims/664434411862966272?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/cryptid-stimming/687809290030989312/i-would-be-unstoppable-if-not-for-the-tired-sleepy?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/ghibli-stims/740545002794631168/comfort-stimboard-with-stims-of-things?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/puyostim/746413929979396096/mini-resin-alphabet-soup?source=share

Found on Tenor

https://www.tumblr.com/yoongistims/713568801280638976/neon-green-creeper-themed-stim-board?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/ghibli-stims/733264707114401792/piggie-doodle-users-plush-stimboard?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/pocket-sized-nightmare/738544909605306368/secret-life-pearlgem?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/peepeepy/713502691860660224/pig-plushie-stimboard?source=share

[lizardywizard]

I see (and have participated in) a lot of discussions about furry that boil down to:

"Furry is that kink where they have sex in mascot suits right"

"actually no, furry is very diverse, some of it's kink, some of it's identity, some of it's art/fandom"

and I've heard this stuff said for years, but what never clicked is that furry, itself... it's a whole fucking rainbow umbrella.

and now I can't believe I've never seen anyone say this before! furry has always been at least two groups (furry fandom and furry lifestyler), united by a love of the anthropomorphic animal concept in some way, sheltering together and arguing. furry has always been gay guys and leatherpups and it's always been Just Art U Guys and emo teen sparkledogs and it's always been therians and people who just really love the Lion King or want to dress as a Beatrix Potter expy. it's drag and it's trans and it's gay and it has its Im Furry But Otherwise Normal folks and just like in LGBTQ+ plenty of us are more than one thing. the reason it's confusing is it's not like a letter in the alphabet soup, it's its own damn alphabet soup.

[flameswallower]

the cute ones you can read for free

This is something I've been meaning to make for a while, which is a convenient list of all the fiction I've written that is available to Read For Free Online and that is, uncharacteristically, not really horror, or pornography, or a downer, or dealing in depth & gritty detail with ~* ~*~* dark, upsetting themes*~*~*~. JUST the stuff that's sweet and gentle, with strong elements of optimism and/or humor. I do write stuff like that sometimes!

A few people have said to me recently or semi-recently that they would love to read my fiction but they're reluctant to do so because they really can't handle anything too bleak, or intense, or creepy, or X-rated. It's perfectly possible this is just a nicer, more polite way of saying "I'm not interested in and do not wish to subscribe to your (metaphorical) newsletter, thank you very much," but I've decided to proceed by taking it at face value. Hopefully, someone'll find this list useful!

So, in alphabetical order:

7 7 7: Very faintly, loosely autobiographical trans flash fiction.

Alterations: An Interview: Flash fiction about body modification. One of the first stories I ever had published.

Colossus: I...guess this is technically body horror? It has buildings made of fingernails and hair, but not, like, in a way that's supposed to be disgusting. Flash fiction.

Gardeners In Hades: This is mostly just some dudes complaining about their jobs and talking about plants. Like the previous three, very short.

Persephone, Traveling: Utopian slice-of-life type story about a robot moving from a society in which robots are abused and oppressed to a robot commune on the moon. Sequel to...

Pomegranate: Dystopian but chill slice-of-life type story about a robot and her one human friend.

Serpent's Bride: Flash fiction based on Beauty and the Beast + similar fairy tales.

The Giant and the Girl of Glass: Flash fiction about two disabled circus performers who are in love.

Additional stories, a little creepier or spicier, but still on the light side:

Close Encounter: A transformative experience with a weird, goopy E.T.

Clinic and Ghost-Rose: Two flash fictions! Content warning for institutionalization/implied medical experimentation and male pregnancy, respectively.

Leavings: A maid finds a bizarre mess at the roadside motel where she works.

Lanie's Monster: I really like this one, personally! Two middle school best friends face down an enormous creature. Content warning for implied/discussed death, implied suicidal ideation, and, uh, I guess kind of a nihilistic overall message? But funny! And joyful! (Download the PDF at the link.)

Nothin' But Mammals: The internet's premier flash fiction about giving a handjob to a horse therian in exchange for marijuana.

[sillylittleraccoon]

alterhuman alphabet !!

a- awakening

when did you realize you are an alterhuman? at what age, how long ago?

i awakened five years ago in 2019 but i always noticed that i acted differently than my peers <3

im not gonna share my age but i was (and still am) a minor when i awakened :3

(credit to: @local-xenogender-icon for the idea +questions<3)

[suitov]

Hello! Today I was thinking a little about the super-minimalist constructed language toki pona, as well as about your wonderful fic Izuru Kamukura’s Cuddly Toy, and I had the sudden thought of trying to translate it. The result would be something really niche, but the more I considered it the more I realized it might actually fit well with Izuru’s laconic narration. So I wanted to ask your permission to give translating it a try just for fun, and possibly to post it on Ao3 if I’m happy with the result.

Maybe the title could be ijo puwa pi lon Isulu—Izuru’s fluffy thing. puwa, fluff or softness, is a rarer word that doesn’t come from the original 120, but it seems utterly essential here. soweli puwa has been used to refer to a stuffed animal, which Dandelion is not, so instead maybe he’s ijo, a thing or entity. Names in toki pona consist of a standard noun followed by a capitalized modifier (this modifier is usually based on the person’s name then altered to fit the toki pona alphabet)—the standard head noun is usually jan, meaning person or human, but you also see people occasionally deciding on different head nouns for their own names, such as soweli for a therian or an animal character. Because Izuru likes to refer to himself (and Dandelion) apart from humans, I figured I could also go with something like lon Isulu, lon meaning existence. Izuru is who exists now, and Izuru is himself, nothing more or less.

For Dandelion, I have other thoughts! First of all, to disguise Dandelion’s true identity in the narration, Izuru could use a different unusual head noun, like the word puwa itself. He is a Fluffy. Second, for the name Dandelion itself, there are a few ways it could go:

• something new derived from toki pona words themselves without necessarily a head noun at all, because the point of the nicknames is that concepts are faster than thinking in terms of the sound of a name. Downside: in toki pona, either too vague or too bulky. kasi kon?

• puwa Talasakan from Taraxacum, since as a scientific name it’s more common cross-linguistically.

• puwa Tanpopo from Japanese tanpopo, which sounds cute and wouldn’t even receive alteration.

• puwa Tantelijan from plain old dandelion, probably the most obvious answer—but it only became my very favorite once I realized I could tweak the vowels a little to make it into a stealthy little pun. li jan means “is a person”.

I’m sorry if I rambled a little more than expected; I’ve been enraptured by silly translation stuff lately.

I love this! Especially the pun. :) Have my blessing to play with it and post anything you're happy with. 🩵

(Come to think of it, I have no idea how translators will cope with the sonnet in the sequel, but let's worry about getting that finished first...)

[frameacloud]

A list of some alterhuman identities and groups (uncut version)

About this article

This article is a five-minute read. It gives definitions and sources about (in alphabetical order) alterhumans, constelics, daemons, dragons, endels, furries, fictionfolk, nonhumans, otherkin, plural systems, therianthropes, tulpas, and vampires. These alterhuman community historians, archivists, and writers wrote this article together in August and September 2023: Orion Scribner, House of Chimeras, Page Shepard, Dinocanid, Ryuu Yumemoto, Draconic Wizard Workshop, and others. You have permission to repost this article, if you keep the list of authors, don't change what the article says, and don't use it for money. This is shared under this type of Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND).

Alterhumans

In 2014, Lio of the Crossroads System created this word as an umbrella term and identity for anyone who feels they have an identity beyond the scope of how one might typically think of “being human.”^1 Later, the alterhuman advocacy group Alt+H popularized this word. According to the coiner and Alt+H, it includes but is not limited to nonhumans.^2 Some groups who can opt-in to considering themselves under the alterhuman umbrella are otherkin, therianthropes, fictionfolk, plural systems, daemians, vampires, voluntary identities, furries, and more.^3 This umbrella is very broad because its purpose is to give these communities something to unite under without erasing their distinctions.^4

Constelic

Coined by Extranth in 2021, a person who is constelic identifies with or as one or more entities, objects, concepts, species, items, or characters throughout their life.^5 A constelic may collect or hoard any number of these identities for any number of reasons, as their identities are non-inherent and are considered to be entirely extrinsic.^6 Constels may be voluntary or involuntary identities,^7 and can be intense or casual, but they are often non-permanent.^8 

Daemians and daemons

Daemians are people who have daemons, which are most often described as mental constructs or a part of an individual’s consciousness which has been assigned a unique gender, form, and personality.^9 Some daemians consider themselves plural.^10 Their community started in 2002, inspired by Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials fantasy novel trilogy.^11

Dragons

The dragon community started in the 1990s in an online group called alt.fan.dragons.^12 They identify as dragons for spiritual or psychological reasons. They are draconic, and they refer to this part of themselves as their draconity.^13 In the 2000s, the dragon community started to mingle with the other communities: with dragon otherkin (dragonkin)^14 and dragon therians.^15

Endels

Mental health experts say that being alterhuman isn’t the same as being mentally ill.^16 For alterhumans who do have mental illnesses, that can be an important part of their everyday life and their sense of self. Endel is a word for alterhuman identities that are rooted in or greatly influenced by delusion. Babydog coined this word in 2021, by and for delusional alterhumans.^17

Furries

The furry fandom is a large subculture that began at sci-fi conventions in the 1980s.^18 It’s for creating and enjoying art, stories, costumes, and roleplay about fictional human-like (anthropomorphic) animal characters, called furries. Many fandom participants choose to represent themselves as their furry persona (fursona), which can be just for fun, though it can be meaningful about who they are.

Fictionfolk

Fictionfolk is an umbrella term for many sorts of identities that come partly or wholly from fiction.^19 Fictionkin identify as characters or species from fiction,^20 and their community started in the early 2000s.^21 A plural system member with origins from fiction is a fictive, which psychologists call a fictional introject.^22 When someone has the brief experience of becoming someone or something from fiction, that’s a fictionflicker, which psychologists call experience-taking.^23 

Nonhumans

An umbrella term for those of us who identify as partly or wholly not human: therianthropes, otherkin, and more. Many nonhumans opt to include themselves under the alterhuman umbrella.

Otherkin

Otherkin are elves, dragons, or other beings, usually from mythology. It’s always an important part of who they are throughout their lives, not role-play for fun.^24 The community started in the Elfinkind Digest mailing list in 1990, when they started calling themselves otherkind or otherkin.^25 Their reasons for being otherkin are often spiritual, for example, from reincarnation.^26 However, otherkin is not a religion.^27

Plural systems

Plurality (or multiplicity) is an umbrella term for all experiences and identities in which more than one entity, consciousness, or pseudo-consciousness exists within one physical body,^28 for systems who are or can be diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID), formerly called multiple personality disorder (MPD), as well as systems who do not meet those diagnostic criteria. Plurality and multiplicity as terms have always been inclusive of systems regardless of their origin or diagnoses.^29 Some plural systems have members who aren’t human or who are fictional characters or species.^30 Multiplicity can be an interchangeable synonym for plurality, or multiplicity can mean a form of plurality in which more than one person, self, or identity is within a single body.^31

Therianthropes

Therianthropes are people who have a lifelong identification as a certain species of animal on an integral, personal level.^32 Some are other species than animals from Earth.^33 The therian community started in 1993 in an online group, alt.horror.werewolves.^34 They developed jargon about shapeshifting to describe feeling more animal-like at some times. These changes are mental or spiritual, not physical.^35 Some have sensations of phantom limbs.^36 Some feel consistently animal-like at all times.^37 In the late 1990s and early 2000s, therians started mingling with the otherkin community.^38

Tulpas and tulpamancers

A tulpamancer is someone who practices tulpamancy, which is the act of creating tulpas.^39 A tulpa is an autonomous conscious entity who shares the body and brain of their creator.^40 Tulpamancy is often considered to be a part of the plurality umbrella.^41 

Vampire Community

The vampyre or vampire community (VC) is for people who identify as vampires and require sustenance.^42 Those who drain energy are energy vampires or psi-vampires.^43 Sanguinarians drink blood.^44 Hybrid vampires need both.^45 Vampire lifestylers and donors are in the VC, too.^46 

None of the above

Some participants of our communities are not themselves alterhumans. However, they’re here because they’re curious, or they’re our friends, family, and partners.

-

Endnotes

1. Lio of the Crossroads System (September 26 2014). "This will probably be my last post on semantics..." Phasmovore. https://phasmovore.tumblr.com/post/98482696958/

2. Lio of the Crossroads System (May 27, 2023). https://x-rds.tumblr.com/post/712949341799727104/ Alt+H (September 17 2021) “What does alterhuman mean?” Alt+H. https://blog.alt-h.net/post/165592493965/what-does-alterhuman-mean

3. Kiera Ember. “Alterhuman Dictionary.” Beyond Humanity. https://www.beyondhumanity.net/alterhuman-dictionary/dictionary-a Ana Valens (September 25 2020). “Otherkin are the internet’s punchline. They’re also our future.” Daily Dot. https://www.dailydot.com/irl/otherkin/  Alt+H, “FAQ” https://alt-h.net/educate/faq.php

4. Lio of the Crossroads System (February 19, 2023). https://x-rds.tumblr.com/post/709694807213211648/

5. Extranth. “An Introduction to Constelic” https://web.archive.org/web/20230519124625/https://constelic.carrd.co/

6. Extranth (May 19, 2021). “Constelic!” https://extranth.tumblr.com/post/651652168396472320/constelic-1-whats-constelic-constelic-or

7. Constelic (May 27, 2022). “How are Constelic and Otherlink different?” https://constelic.tumblr.com/post/685380822139813888/how-are-constelic-and-otherlink-different

8. Constelic (April 12, 2022). “The wild thing with stels for me is how sometimes…” https://constelic.tumblr.com/post/681308197084135424/the-wild-thing-with-stels-for-me-is-how-sometimes

9. The Daemon Page, “Introduction” https://daemonpage.com/introduction.php

10. Daemians & Daemons (March 18 2023). “Hey there! This is a bit of a discussion question…” https://www.tumblr.com/daemians-n-daemons/712142103972560896/hey-there-this-is-a-bit-of-a-discussion-question Rani (June 21 2022). “Okay so I was right dæmonism is turning into my…” A Dragon’s Journal. https://a-dragons-journal.tumblr.com/post/687725978250870784/okay-so-i-was-right-d%C3%A6monism-is-turning-into-my

11. House of Chimeras (October 8 2022). “A Timeline of the Daemon Community” pg. 3 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GVSBMvwKIyTvDIqyqXy2C_7Q4Qx4UK3A/view 

12. ExistingPhantom (October 3 2001). “Alt.Fan.Dragons Frequently Asked Questions.” Dragons Must Be Here. https://web.archive.org/web/20050219002348/http://www.dmbh.org/dragonfire/IndexFAQ.html 

13. Baxil (December 1999). “Draconity FAQ.” Tomorrowlands. http://www.tomorrowlands.org/draconity/faq/index.html  Orion Scribner (September 8, 2012), Otherkin Timeline, version 2.0 http://frameacloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Scribner_Timeline2p0.pdf p. 36

14. Orion Scribner, Otherkin Timeline, p. 53.

15. Daski (August 17, 2022). “Therian: Dispelling the Earthen Animal Myth.” The River System. https://theriversystem.neocities.org/essays/EarthenMyth.html  

16. Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (February 22, 2015). “Understanding the otherkin.” The Kernel. Archived March 18, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150318110839/http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/11866/otherkin-tumblr-definition-pronouns/ 

17. Babydog, “Endel” https://endel.carrd.co/ 

18. Fred Patten (July 15 2012). "Retrospective: An Illustrated Chronology of Furry Fandom, 1966–1996". Flayrah. https://www.flayrah.com/4117/retrospective-illustrated-chronology-furry-fandom-1966%E2%80%931996 

19. Poppy (January 24, 2023). “Quick guide to fictionfolk terminology.” Aestherians. https://aestherians.tumblr.com/post/707370073217695744/ 

20. Mordax. “What is Fictionkin? An exploratory definition”. From Fiction. https://web.archive.org/web/20220728060858/https://fromfiction.net/index.php/what-is-fictionkin-an-exploratory-definition/ 

21. House of Chimeras (June 21, 2021). A Timeline of the Fictionkin Community, Version 1.0. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w4vGsWkiGPjYtXvTe4PyCcZsPba1kb_p/view?usp=sharing Page 4.

22. Ryn (Aristocrats) (October 18, 2021). “Fictives: A short introduction” https://pluralsoapbox.wordpress.com/2021/10/18/fictives-a-short-introduction/  Sark (The Interstellar System) (August 9, 2021). “Fictive and Factive FAQ”  https://interstellarsystem.weebly.com/fictive-and-factive-faq.html 

23. Geoff F. Kaufman, Lisa K. Libby (2012). “Changing Beliefs and Behavior Through Experience-Taking.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2012; DOI: 10.1037/a0027525 https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0027525

24. Lupa (2007), A Field Guide to Otherkin, Stafford, England: Immanion Press, pp. 27, 108-109.

25. Arethinn (September 6, 2021). “A brief(ish) history of the word ‘otherkind’.” Mythsong. https://www.mythsong.net/history/wordhist.html 

26. Lupa, pp. 57-66, 287.

27. Lupa, p. 30; and Devin Proctor (May 2019), On Being Non-Human: Otherkin Identification and Virtual Space. The George Washington University. https://search.proquest.com/openview/e156c24bf65c4efb0918a8db37433cce/ pp. 94-95.

28. FreyasSpirit (Lucia Batman) and Irenes (Irene Knapp), “Plurality Playbook” https://freyasspirit.com/plurality-playbook/ 

29. LB Lee (May 28, 2020). “Quick'n'Dirty Plural History... Part 1 (1811-1980ish)” https://lb-lee.dreamwidth.org/1111069.html  LB Lee (June 30, 2020).”Plural History part 2: The Memory Wars” https://lb-lee.dreamwidth.org/1116190.html  LB Lee (July 30, 2020). “Plural History, part 3: Usenet and its spin-offs and Soulbonders” https://lb-lee.dreamwidth.org/1120824.html  LB Lee (August 31, 2020). “Quick'n'Dirty Plural History, part 4 (LJ, the Genic Slapfight, and THE END!)” https://lb-lee.dreamwidth.org/1129216.html 

30. House of Chimeras (May 1, 2021). “A Collection of Mentions of Nonhuman and Fictional-Based Members of Plural Systems” https://drive.google.com/file/d/17TKE_8Lx2ljuTpHNclvaXqvA5AAlkG90/view 

31. Manchester Metropolitan University, “Understanding Multiplicity” https://www.mmu.ac.uk/mmud8/media/10605/download 

32. Sonne (2008). “Terms and definitions.” Project Shift. https://projectshift.therianthropy.info/terms-definitions-by-sonne/ 

33. Daski (August 17, 2022). “Therian: Dispelling the Earthen Animal Myth.” The River System. https://theriversystem.neocities.org/essays/EarthenMyth.html  

34. House of Chimeras (19 November 2021). A Timeline of the Therianthrope Community, Version 1.1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jDmjl78hQ2BiQtzQMTV3yRQkrIgB9eUZ/view?usp=sharing P 9.

35. Clegg, H., Collings, R., & Roxburgh, E. C. (2019). “Therianthropy: Wellbeing, Schizotypy, and Autism in Individuals Who Self-Identify as Non-Human.” Society & Animals, 27(4), pp. 403-426. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685306-12341540

36. Jakkal (October 6, 2001). “Therianthropy- an overview." Shifters.org. Archived 2002-11-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20021101165313/http://www.shifters.org/overview/therianthropy.asp

37. Akhila (April 2005). “The Contherian FAQ.” https://akhila.feralscribes.org/2005/the-contherian-faq/ 

38. House of Chimeras (November 19, 2021). A Timeline of the Therianthrope Community, Version 1.1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jDmjl78hQ2BiQtzQMTV3yRQkrIgB9eUZ/view?usp=sharing Pp. 27, 56.

39. Tulpa.io, “Terminologies” https://web.archive.org/web/20160405214050/http://tulpa.io/terminologies 

40. Luigi.exe/The Dragonheart Collective (January 12, 2020). “Tulpamancy FAQ” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Yb6dfm4JxR5u_oNpHrttJyJHc0NvMhkKUP4Btc4jPc/edit#heading=h.h3onkkn

41. Tulpa.io, “What Is A Tulpa?” https://web.archive.org/web/20160318054103/http://tulpa.io/what-is-a-tulpa 

42. Jayden Night, “What is Vampirism?” https://web.archive.org/web/20080511200648/http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org/articles/jn-vamprism.html 

43. Fvorboda, “Psy Vampirism” https://web.archive.org/web/20080513030621/http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org/articles/dyscracia-psivamps.html 

44. #Sanguinarius IRC (May 26, 2007). “A Discussion of Sang and Psi Vampires” https://web.archive.org/web/20080108215555/http://www.sanguinarius.org/articles/sang-and-psi-disc.shtml 

45. Enygma, “Real Vampires” https://web.archive.org/web/20080511201408/http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org/faq/most-enygma.html 

46. Sanguinarius: The Vampire Support Page, (July 4, 2006). “Sainguinarus Terminology & Lingo” https://web.archive.org/web/20080521005735/http://www.sanguinarius.org/terminology.shtml