Diary of a Confused Dragonkin

So. Lately we've been realising how much of our experience could have been related to alterhumanity. For now we'll focus specifically on all the different aspects of non-human things we experienced.

As a child, we were kind of always full of Urges™. So many that we honestly assumed it was nothing important, because they all felt so disjointed and random. Phantom feelings of a tail, or fur, strange feelings about our height, and posture. A desire to turn into a wolf and run far far into the woods, through the fields. The need to ground against pur hooves as an elk. Constant yearning to just run and run and run, and later an even more unbearable yearning to fly.

When we started to have dreams about flying, we just thought everyone must have those. We were always a human in those dreams even if it felt really awkward in those dreams. And surely everyone felt a deep seated envy for birds and felt it unfair they can fly and humans cannot?

I suppose it's only recently we realised it might be alterhumanity that we're experiencing. And that maybe us being plural is why it never made "sense" that we're non human before. That feeling literal aspects of an animal, or a plant, or evern an object could be perhaps unusual.

It just kind of sucks when you're already unusual in many other ways, and also suffer from derealization, so those different aspects just merge into one blob of "nobody cares about anything in me so it must not be anything important or even distinct, everyone feels that". When you yourself just don't feel real.

we wish for a plural future.

and not in the way of wanting more people to have a dissociative disorder, but in the way of plurality being more accepted and known about.

and not just traumagenic plurality; all types of plurality.

everyone deserves a safe place to be themselves, which includes plurals of all kinds, no matter the origin.

@tanix-dragon​, @levitating-lesbo​, and @ all the anons who’ve been involved in this nonsense: this is all y’all’s fault

For the record, Generic Farmer Man isn’t meant to be anything resembling a hypothetical appearance of the “smallfolk”; he’s just a Generic Vaguely Fantasy Farmer Man.

Page 1: Rani the dragon saying to themself “Rani can have a little livestock, as a treat.”

Page 2: A humanoid farmer with pointed ears and a serpentine tail is happily exclaiming, “Wow, this year’s been great! I haven’t lost a single animal!”

Page 3: Back to Rani, they are now smirking and say, “I’m about to end this man’s whole career.”

Page 4: We see Rani dive bomb one of the farmer’s cattle in the distance as the farmer watches. The livestock is letting out distressed mooing.

I bite

I crawl

I swim

I fall

My humanly body yearns for the mountains to shroud my self hatred, but all I see are buildings, taller than the clouds.

I go to return to a place I once called my home, only to find splinters of what's left, as my forests get cut down so does my skin, for every tree a new mark appears, the earth is my vessel and my vessel is dying.

I want to return to the cold clear oceans forevermore, but warmth welcomes me instead of the cold, grime and dirt is what has become of my home.

I look to stars only to see blackout, the air is polluted it isn't the skies my friends once soared with their wings.

I look to poles hoping to find refuge there, only to see that flowers have been able to show, the ice is melting like a ticking time bomb but so is their lives.

I look to the once stary sky as the smoke closes in, fire surrounds me and the earth.

Our first published pieces are live! thank you @just-a-walking-leaf for trusting us with your work 🍃

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Inky Paws #4

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 zine’s focus is on fictional pieces that are centered around nonhumanity, alterhumanity, therianthropy, and similar (see Submission Guidelines section for more details).

You are welcome to submit:

Short stories

Microfiction

Satire

Poetry

Song lyrics

Experimental fiction (fake newspapers, fake recipes, fake blogs, fake posters, etc.)

Mixed media

Comics

Minizine pages

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 you’d 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.

With the increase in interest in radio collars and bird bands, I would like to bring to light one creator who makes such a thing that are wearable for nonhuman identifying people. : Bird Brain Leatherwork. Additionally, the business is independent and queer owned, run by a single artist and leatherworker. Her items are handmade, and by their appearance, look sturdy and well made.

These items are made with the BDSM/kink, petplay, furry, and therian communities in mind. She makes a variety of leather items such as collars and cuffs (as well as other items such as patches and LARP gear), but the following are items which specifically fit the topic of radio collars and bird bands.

Tracker Wild Critter Collar A collar designed to give the appearance of a wildlife monitoring collar. Customizable and able to include species and ID numbers. Also includes a pocket for a GPS tracker, so your handler or researcher can keep track of you.

The Bird Band Wild Critter Cuff Reminiscent of wildlife birdbands used for ecological research and monitoring. (Or bands used on "domesticated"/pet bird species as well.) Much like the Tracker collar, the Bird Band cuff also includes a pocket for a GPS tracker.

The Falconer Wild Bird Anklets These cuffs are meant to resemble the anklets placed on falconry birds, with a large eyelet for proper jess (or other rope) connections.

Ear Tag Wild Critter Tag An ear tag like those used in ecological research or ranch identification, able to be customized with your own words and symbols. Also includes a pocket for a GPS tracker, and different mounting options for small ears or fursuits. (There are other creators who have made similar Ear Tag style gear using lighter materials that may be easier to wear, if wearing the tag in the physical ear is important to the individual.)

Being alterhuman does not mean you have some ~special ability~ to interact with wild animals.

DO NOT go touching/chasing/ generally messing with wildlife. You aren't special and you could harm those animals, or be harmed by them. Even small things like bugs can kill you. You aren't immune to rabies.

If you scare wild animals by chasing them for species euphoria or whatever, you can genuinly kill them. Birders have a term for when it happens to birds, its called a Dread Flight. When you unnecessarily scare a wild animal, you are causing it to waste energy it needs to survive. Wildlife can't afford to waste energy. You're enjoyment is NEVER worth disturbing wildlife.

You do not have the training to rescue wild animals just because you're alterhuman. If you don't have the actual training to resue wildlife and you genuinely find an animal in need of help, CALL A FUCKING WILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER!!!! It isn't that hard to find the number for your local center and they'll tell you what to do, if anything, and help you if necessary.

I am a horse. I’ve ridden other horses before, albeit as a guest at a ranch within my area. For the times I’ve visited my kind and interacted with them, I’ve done so under clear instruction from those who regularly take care of them, train them and work with them.

At no point have I ever gone out of my way to interact with my kind under the assumption that I’m engaging with them from one species member to another. Nor have I engaged with them under the assumption that— because I too am a horse— I know what I’m doing. This is because I understand mindfulness is of utmost importance. Riding is a privilege, not a right. So is engaging with your local wildlife. Your behavior makes all the difference, and those consequences are often irreversible. Besides, OP already listed some pretty good reasons on why this matters.

I know folks like to get up close and personal with animals. Usually, it’s to pet them, take pictures or act out to get a reaction out of them if they feel emboldened enough. In my case, they won’t hesitate to do so without the animals, the trail boss or any other staff who work with these animals in mind, knowing damn well they don’t know these animals or their behaviors. Sometimes, these folks turn out okay but get a scolding. Sometimes, they go into full Karen Mode because the staff did their job by addressing their guests’ behavior. I’ve seen group members get kicked out because they had the bright idea of trying to sneak inside in the stables nearby. These are individual cases from the ranch near me and the trail rides I’ve been on.

Back when I went on trail rides, I didn’t make any sudden or overly touchy movements while being paired up with a horse. I’d also watch my volume once I was in proximity with my riding companion. Yes, I’m an animal like them but I’m still responsible for my own behavior. Inappropriate behavior could bring immense distress or harm the horse and even myself. The chances of an accident happening is never a guaranteed zero. Moreover, other horses aren’t going to assume I’m socializing with them as another horse. They’re going to assume I’m posing some kind of a threat to them or refusing to back off and act accordingly, which is something that many folks— in AND outside of this community— need to keep in mind. Entitlement to an animal’s space or existence is an issue that a lot of folks have, even if that’s not your intention! To you, it may not come off as entitlement because you’re doing something that brings you some kind of euphoria. Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re using another animal’s existence as an excuse to gratify yourself. That’s not okay.

I understand wanting to express your animality. I understand wanting to be recognized among your kind or among other animals in general. I get it, but you cannot jeopardize the wellbeing of your local wildlife and any other animals for your validation.

Building off this point, you do not want your theriform conspecifics to view you as an animal like them. You may think you do, but you don't.

You do not want a bull to be territorial with you the way it is with theriform bulls. You do not want a horse to be food aggressive towards you. You do not want a cat to slap you (cat scratch fever, hello). You do not want a dog to hump you. You do not want a parrot to mate-bond with you.

You need to keep in mind that theriform animals view you as human, for the sake of your own safety and theirs.

After developing my horse otherlink, and coming to see myself as a horse, my relationship with them changed. But their relationship with me did not. And that's why I've been able to maintain a friendship with a draft horse without getting injured - because she doesn't see me as a strange two-legged horse, she sees me as a little human who's nice to her, that she doesn't need to compete with, and who stops petting her when she gets pushy they way she does with theriform horses

The full news post can be found here:

Being alterhuman does not mean you have some ~special ability~ to interact with wild animals.

DO NOT go touching/chasing/ generally messing with wildlife. You aren't special and you could harm those animals, or be harmed by them. Even small things like bugs can kill you. You aren't immune to rabies.

If you scare wild animals by chasing them for species euphoria or whatever, you can genuinly kill them. Birders have a term for when it happens to birds, its called a Dread Flight. When you unnecessarily scare a wild animal, you are causing it to waste energy it needs to survive. Wildlife can't afford to waste energy. You're enjoyment is NEVER worth disturbing wildlife.

You do not have the training to rescue wild animals just because you're alterhuman. If you don't have the actual training to resue wildlife and you genuinely find an animal in need of help, CALL A FUCKING WILDLIFE REHABILITATION CENTER!!!! It isn't that hard to find the number for your local center and they'll tell you what to do, if anything, and help you if necessary.

Theriomythic = someone who identifies as a mythical animal, such as an animalistic dragon or gryphon (this term's old enough I don't have a specific coining post, but here's a discussion on it for interest's sake)

Fictherian/fictotherian = someone who identifies as a fictional animal, such as a nexu from Star Wars (coining post)

Fictionkin still covers fictherians as well, and some prefer to just use the term fictionkin (or just the term therian, for that matter)! It's a subset, not an either-or. It's also worth noting that fictionkin does not necessarily mean identifying as a specific character - that's far and away the most commonly seen kind of fictionkin experience, so it can definitely look that way sometimes, but it includes anyone who identifies as a fictional character or species. Someone who identifies as, say, a draenei from World of Warcraft, but not a specific character who appears onscreen, is still fictionkin (and fictherian wouldn't really fit there, since draenei are sapient people).

I ' m not sure if I ' m honest . . .

I was halfway through the 1st when I showered and had a full body forest Na'vi shift ( ears , tail , nose ??? )

"On Being a Mule of the World: Reflections on Race, Gender, and Species Transition" is the latest nonfiction essay from ANIMAL by @liondrakes ☀️ "'Mare' doesn't hold the same meaning to me as it does to most people. Usually, folks think of a female horse when they think of the term. That much is true from a technical standpoint, but sex isn't the reason why I consider myself as a mare. For me, it is the social implications of the term that make me feel comfortable with using it. I'm not an equestrian, but I know there's no shortage of horse owners, riders, trainers, etc. who treat fillies and mares as if they're from an entirely different planet than colts and stallions. Despite being a construct of human society, misogyny is capable of affecting any species one can think of. Oftentimes, mares are portrayed as bitchy, irritable, aggressive and harder to manage than stallions. Although I'm aggravated by this mindset, I also see myself in mares because of it." Read the full essay on our website:

Most lifelong singlets do not know the suffering that comes from people saying "I think you're [this other person] instead."

And this is not me saying that people denying *parts* of singlets (your disability, race, sex, gender identity, orientation, etc) isn't traumatic and horrible. It is. You don't deserve to have ANY part of you denied.

But to have someone genuinely think you are nothing. Genuinely, unironically think you *entirely* don't exist. That you are merely roleplay or imagination. That there is only one person in the body, and that it's *not you.*

That is something lifelong singlets usually do not experience.

I don't get how plurals can do that to other plurals. I don't get how you can say "Actually you don't exist. You are literally fake" when that's exactly how singlets treat you. And I don't understand how you can call that "discourse" instead of what it actually is - cruelty beyond measures. Erasure beyond measures.

I will not and cannot EVER be around someone who simply humors me as a "concept" or a "game" rather than an actual fucking existing being. Never.

-Marco (she/he), a headmate in a endotrauma system with diagnosed DID.