Spectre 👻

You can still be alterhuman even if you acknowledge parts or all of your humanity.

You can still be alterhuman even if you find comfort in human rituals, culture, etc.

You can still be alterhuman even if you display human behaviors and characteristics.

You can still be alterhuman if you look or act nothing like your 'type.

You can still be alterhuman without dysphoria, euphoria, or both.

You can still be alterhuman even if you never plan to transition or present physically or socially as alterhuman.

You can still be alterhuman without blowing hundreds of thousands of dollars on gear.

You can still be alterhuman even if you aren't queer (surprisingly common misconception by the way!)

You can still be alterhuman even if you don't find the furry community appealing.

You can still be alterhuman even if there weren't 'signs' of alterhumanity in your childhood.

You can still be alterhuman even if you find aspects of alter/nonhumanity uncomfortable or scary (and this may change as you discover yourself!)

You can still be 100% alterhuman and 100% human at the same time.

You can still be alterhuman without misanthropy.

You can still be alterhuman without a spiritual connection to nature or a religion pertaining to nature.

Even if you aren't alterhuman, it's okay to be human.

Even if you aren't alterhuman forever, it's okay to recognize your humanity afterwards.

No seriously, it's okay to be human in some aspects or all aspects.

You don't have to constantly strive to be the 'most nonhuman thing possible' and you don't have to try and reinvent the wheel coming up with a new term thats 'more nonhuman' or 'further than humanity' than the last.

There are infinite ways to be alterhuman and you may never find a term to define yourself. You might not even find a species to label yourself as.

On the same coin you may find that your experience is painfully common, or not 'original' enough to warrant a 'true' experience. You have to remember that it's okay to be one of the gazillion black wolf psychological therians out there and that it is functionally the same (and has the same moral weight) as having brown eyes.

It's okay to be unlabeled.

It's okay if you wouldn't be considered alterhuman by the old standards from the days when alterhumanity was mostly on independent forum boards.

Grills and grilling aren't relevant anymore and it's better to block people that try to bring that back.

They're based on the esthetics I associate with the specific species the most ♡

(from the upper left to the lower right)

you have to be kinder to people who are slow processors.

you have to be kinder to people who don't understand your jokes.

you have to be kinder to people who forget important dates.

you have to be kinder to people with cognitive decline.

you have to be kinder to people who were always this way, too.

It’s okay if you don’t particularly like / or hate something you kin. You’re allowed complex emotions around what you kin. Being nonhuman/otherkin isn’t usually a voluntary experience. It can be from trauma or just simply being a part of yourself natural. Being complex makes us alive. It makes us real.

It’s okay if you aren’t always happy to be otherkin/nonhuman. It’s okay to be sad, our sadness and rage is as important as our joy.

It’s okay if you don’t want to live in a forest or where your kintype lives. It’s fine if you like / want to live in cities! Or on the beach or in the mountains. It’s okay if you like modern things like phones or cars that your kin might not know about / like.

It’s okay if you don’t have memories of your past lives or if your past lives weren’t impressive or if your past lives were traumatic OR if you simply don’t believe in past lives at all.

It’s okay if you don’t have any dysphoria or if you have crushing dysphoria around your nonhumanity/kin.

It’s okay if you aren’t all ‘aesthetic’ ‘pretty’ and ‘perfect’ around your kintype/nonhumanity. You can be exactly how you are.

like, i'm glad you feel represented by "autistic-coded" characters, but like... i want representation for level 2 and 3 autistics, low masking autistics, autistics who need caregivers, autistics who use aac (and not just high tech aac), multiply disabled autistics, autistics who have severe meltdowns, intellectually disabled autistics, autistics who need visible disability aids, autistics who need to be heavily accommodated or helped by others, etc etc etc.

it's okay to like autistic-coded characters, lower support needs characters, etc. i love those characters too! that kind of representation is also important! but i also think it would just be really nice and healing to see myself and my higher support needs autistic friends represented in media outside of just like, kids shows.

1. If you have a lot of trouble with brushing your hair dry, but you have an okay relationship with showering, brush it with conditioner in! You’ll get softer hair, it won’t hurt as much, AND any hairs that fall out will be washed away so they won’t be on your clothes!

2. If you are having trouble eating, do LITERALLY anything to make your brain happy at the prospect. Watch a video while you eat, pretend you’re eating with your favorite character, get on all fours with jungle sounds in the background and eat like a dinosaur. Seriously. ANYTHING.

3. Drink water and iced drinks in enclosed, nonclear containers so your brain doesn’t reject them like a mama bird. Water smells like wet dog to me, so making sure I CAN’T smell it is a must. Get a container with a straw, preferably.

4. If you drink a lot of sugary drinks (like me), use a straw. This will help you decrease the risk of getting cavities, especially in your two front teeth. Also, NEVER wash the toothpaste out of your mouth (spitting out the excess is fine), as leaving it on your teeth with make them cleaner and give you more room for error. Sensodyne is great, as it helps sensitive teeth and has a mild taste.

5. Go outside. Please. I know it sucks, but if you walk around for even fifteen minutes your brain will surrender so much fucking dopamine. Also, keep your curtains open if you can, so that you’re not in a casino-esque state of timelessness.

6. If you feel bad, ask yourself the following questions:

- Am I at a comfortable temperature?

- Have I eaten in the past five hours?

- Have I had water?

- Have I seen another human person recently?

- Have I bathed?

If you answered “no” to any of those questions, fix it and come back. You’ll probably feel better, at least marginally.

7. Don’t try to fix everything at once. When it comes to current events, pick something that you care about, and focus on them. Or maybe two. But if you try to give your money and time to every cause, you will burn yourself out.

8. If you are walking on the street, don’t try to make eye contact with everyone. I had to unlearn this after working in a grocery store and being expected to be approachable all the time. Look ahead at something, or look near the sidewalk/floor. That’s mental energy you could be spending elsewhere.

9. If you don’t know what to say, use a compliment. People fucking love those. Especially about clothes, hair, and/or accessories. Not about their body, though, that’ll make them feel weird if you don’t know them well.

1. Clean up litter from your local parks, creeks, and roadsides