Awoooo!!

a history of chud (also soyjaks, wojaks, etc), for those who don't know

ANIMAL is a new independent literary magazine devoted to featuring works by individuals with animal identities, including furries and animal-identifying alterhumans. We are seeking literature and art from individuals who identify with or as an animal in any capacity, be it through gender, spirituality, or/and another one of the many ways one can be animal. As a catch-all for such communities, we use the phrase furry&alterhuman, with a non-spaced ampersand to represent animals who exist around, between, and in both communities.

Our mission is to build a community founded on the celebration of animal-made literary works. Through this project we hope that we can further understanding and respect for our communities.

ANIMAL is based on Substack at animalmagazine.substack.com. Take a look at our website to find submission information and to learn more about us.

I made these three paintings about my experience with my therianthropy. They are titled Dysphoria (blue), Equilibrium (green) and Euphoria (pink/gold). They show how being nonhuman comes with the bad, the neutral and the good parts. These are made with acrylic and oil paints.

We’re trying to decide which of these is a better option:

or

Yes, you ARE a creature but you still need food, water, and hygiene

Because if they can truly pretend to be plural, say whatever they want, and have people take their word for it, treat them like they’re plural, and respect them, that means anyone who’s actually plural should be safe.

Obviously there’s nuance to this. But if a singlet could just. Decide to roleplay any form of plurality they wanted and have it treated with total sincerity and respect, I feel like that’s a world that I could actually be safe in.

I feel like this is true for many other things as well. Disability. Alterhumanity. Queerness. Like again there’s nuance but if someone could just decide to fake being trans and not experience any transphobia from that then that probably means any real trans person will be safe and respected. If someone could just fake being disabled for benefits and not experience ableism then that probably means actual disabled people have incredibly easy access to the support and care that they need.

If I met someone who pretended to be autistic. Just decided they were going to do that one day. And they did all sorts of ‘stims’ without anyone commenting or staring and had fake meltdowns for attention but everyone around them treated it seriously I’d be like. Holy shit. Holy actual shit this is a place where I can actually unmask and be openly fucking autistic. I’M SAFE HERE.

If someone told me “this sound mildly annoys me so I’m gonna pretend to have misophonia about it” and then everyone made an effort to not make that sound around them, apologized when they did, gave warnings and heads up about upcoming fake triggers I think I’d cry. Because I could actually tell people about my very real misophonia without having to be afraid. Same thing with if someone decided to fake a phobia.

Idk just like. For every actual faker getting fake claimed there are 100 other people who just got told to their faces that what they’re experiencing isn’t real. And in the case of plurality, that they themselves aren’t real. Also if someone does fake something in today’s day and age then they might actually get a taste of the bigotry some people actually experience every day and come out with greater understanding of and compassion for that minority. It doesn’t always happen but it could. Maybe.

Not sure why I’m bothering since everyone will kill me over this one but once again I’m speaking in broad strokes and not saying that faking plurality/alterhumanity/disability/queerness is always okay in every circumstance ever and should be unconditionally tolerated.

As someone who has epilepsy and used to have several grand mal seizures a day, I’d also like to add that “offer help” can range anywhere from keeping the person calm to explaining to them where they are and what they were doing to even just telling them they should sit and rest for a while longer (lack or coordination is common, and it can be hard to walk straight or see clearly).

It’s okay for them to take up to a half hour to fully regain their bearings and sort out what they were doing prior to the seizure. Just answer any questions calmly and be there for support.

If they come around and you start to panic or shake them or ask them what the heck is wrong with them they are going to freak out and panic too.

I cannot stress it enough that this is bad.

DO NOT CALL THE POLICE. I’m dead fucking serious. I had a grand mal in public once and the POLICE were called and imagine coming out of the seizure, feeling like you got smacked in the head with a sack full of bricks, confused, dazed, in desperate need of some sugar to boost low blood pressure and some DIPSHIT has called the police and I was being threatened with being ‘drunk and disorderly’. It took a phone call to my doctors office to get them to back off. The police cannot properly deal with sick people. 

Offer help can be:

assuring person where they are/what time it is

getting them something to drink if they can; seizure burns so much energy and does cause a blood pressure drop

getting them safely to transport or a carer

getting them some dignity like a blanket/towel [loosing control of your bladder and bowels is fucking horrifying]

ensuring they have a way to get home. Someone who has just had a seizure should NEVER DRIVE straight after

calling emergency services if you notice any of these symptoms because they may have stroked out.

Why you shouldn’t put anything in someone’s mouth: they will choke. Yes, they may bite their tongue but I can assure you it’s less traumatic than cracking your jaw on someone’s greasy wallet or choking on a spoon.

Because PNES seizures aren’t caused by the same thing as epileptic seizures, they can look similar but people can be semi-conscious during them, generally do not lose full control of their bodies (bladder/bowels and other reflexes remain), and importantly, they can last longer than 5 minutes (even hours) without causing long-term damage.

The “do not call the police” point was especially vital for them, because people with PNES are more vulnerable to medical abuse by professionals who think they are “faking” because the seizure isn’t epileptic, and a person with PNES may have medical trauma from being treated cruelly by doctors, family members, etc. while seizing in the past. This study looked at stigma around PNES (also called functional seizures; I’m using PNES because its what my coworker called it):

Literature suggests that it can take years for patients to finally get a diagnosis of FS, but once they receive the diagnosis, it is often met with negative stereotypes and perceptions that lead to stigmatisation and treatment resistance. […] Moreover, with 34 of the 70 included data sources reflecting HCP [healthcare professional] stigma, one of the main themes that arose from this review illustrated the importance of HCPs’ acknowledgement and acceptance of their role in both perpetuating and reducing FS stigma. From our review it became apparent that HCPs’ negative attitudes towards patients with FS persist in the health community, often because of a lack of knowledge, general awareness, understanding and medical training with regards to this disorder

For my coworker, they expressed that one of the most important things for them was to just not be alone, to have someone verbally saying they were with them and it would be alright, and then to be supported according to their needs once the seizure ended. Their seizures were often triggered by stress, or from trauma triggers, so being treated with compassion, having their body respected, and having a calm environment during and after the seizure were very important.

no pressure to draw us at all, but thought we'd offer up our wolf body for the sketching

Absolutely friend :3 here’s a doodle!

I can’t promise that all of the doodles I do will be this complex, it’s purely based on my time/creative energy and I’m using this as a bit of an exercise to get back into drawing regularly. But this was fun! I’m excited to get onto the next ones ;3c

Zeus

Poseidon

Hades

Hermes

Apollo

Dionysus

Hephaestus

Ares

Hypnos