This resource will be getting replaced soon. Most every alterhuman identity and experience is a complicated tapestry of ideas that can't accurately be understood through just a single definition. We're unhappy with how many people have come to cite this page as an authoritative source on what certain words mean, and are looking to rework how we present this information with our next website update. Since we're not maintaining it any more, we're aware that some links here may be dead. If you're still using this page, please make sure you treat it only as a starting point, and seek as many perspectives from people who use these words as possible.
Glossary
The term 'alterhuman' covers a lot of ground. Just because you've hung around one sub-community doesn't mean you've heard of them all, to say nothing of someone who's new to alterhumanity all together. This is a glossary of frequently seen terms for confused and curious parties. Terms highlighted in bold in a definition are defined elsewhere in the document.
Alterhuman
Having an identity that is alternative to the common societal idea of 'human'; a person who identifies as such.
Awakening
The period during which an alterhuman person realizes their identity. One can have several Awakenings, though a few folks prefer to use the term only to refer to their first time realizing their alterhumanity overall.
Daemian
A person in possession of a daemon.
Daemon
A mental companion which serves as the other half of one's internal dialogue. It takes the form of an animal based on the daemian's personality, often in relation to real life animal traits and behaviours.
Dysphoria
A state of great unease or dissatisfaction. Most relevant to alterhumans in the form of species dysphoria, that is, being distressed or uncomfortable about one's percieved or bodily species.
Extranth
aka: extranthropeA nonhuman member of a plural system; a person who experiences their body in headspace being nonhuman.
Fableing
A fictional identity facet in a median system, who has experiences and feelings in common with both fictives and fictionkin in a way that makes them feel somewhere between or adjacent to the two.
Fictionkin
aka: fictionkind, (older) otakukinA person who identifies as an entity from fiction. One could consider themselves a specific character, a member of a fictional race, or simply a being from a fictional world.
Fictive
aka: fictional introjectA headmate from a fictional source. Can be a specific character, of a fictional species, or simply from a fictional world.
Fictosexual
aka: fictoromantic, fictoExperiencing attraction to fictional characters.
Flicker
aka: fictionflickerAs it was originally coined, this referred to a fictional identity which is temporarily taken on, usually after consuming the media from which the identity stems. In more recent days it has come to mean any fictional identity phenomena which can't otherwise easily be categorized.
Front
The mental space from where a member of a plural system controls the system's body. When in control, the entity can be said to be "fronting" or "in front".
Furry
A subculture based around the appreciation of anthropomorphic animals. Some may consider themselves alterhuman if they identify as their fursona more than their earthly body. This is much more prolific in some parts of the community than others (see postfurry).
Fursona
An anthropomorphic animal character which is usually somewhat representative of its creator.
Godshard
A person who considers themselves to be a smaller, independent part of a still-extant god.
Headmate
aka: alterSomeone who shares a brain/body with someone else; a member of a plural system.
Headspace
aka: inworld, wonderlandA shared mental space where members of a plural system reside when not in front. The term 'wonderland' is typically used by tulpamancers.
Hearthome
A location, or type of location, real or otherwise, that a person has a strong emotional connection to, considering it 'home' despite not having been raised or spending much time there.
Median
Describes any experience that is in-between being singlet and multiple. Median systems exist on a continuum between being one person in a body and being multiple distinct people in a body.
Medusan
An orientation label for alterhuman/nonhumans who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to other alterhumans and/or nonhumans. this can mean monsters, aliens, or mythical creatures - any intelligent nonhuman creature.
Multiple System
A collection of entities sharing a body.
Nonhuman
In an alterhuman context, someone who identifies as something other than human. Can be used to refer to the otherkin and therian communities collectively, or can refer to someone who identifies as nonhuman outside of those communities.
Otherhearted
aka: animalhearted, fictionheartedHaving a strong identification with or connection to an entity while maintaining an identity separate from it. Is commonly described as a family-like affinity or being 'almost' the entity but not quite.
Otherkin
aka: otherkindA person who identifies on an integral level as nonhuman, specifically as a mythical or non-earthly creature.
Otherlink
aka: copinglink, c'link, c-link, link, purposelinkA more voluntary identity taken up for a specific purpose, generally animal, mythical or fictional in nature. Though the formation of the identity may be unintentional/accidental, it generally requires a conscious effort to maintain.
OS/OR
aka: objectumObjectum-romantic and/or objectum-sexual. Experiencing attraction to inanimate objects.
Plural
An umbrella term for median and multiple experiences.
Phytanthrope
aka: (colloquially) plantkinA person who identifies on an integral and subjective level as nonhuman, specifically as a kind of plant.
Polymorph
A specific kind of shapeshifting creature, typically defined by a lack of a 'true' form other than shapeless energy, and a habit of subconciously mirroring the traits of other entities.
Postfurry
A subsection of the furry fandom with a specific interest in pushing the boundaries of what it means to be furry. Many postfurries display an above average level of identification as/with their fursona, interrogative attitudes towards 'human' as a category, and an overall similar ethos to the alterhuman community.
Shift
A phenomenon in which a person's perception 'shifts' to be more like that of their alterhuman identity.
Singlet
Someone who is not plural.
Soulbond
1) A literal bond between souls, akin to the concept of soulmates or twin flames. 2) An external entity with which someone has a mental connection, usually fictional. Can range from being a 'muse' to an actual headmate. This version is typically distinguished by spelling it SoulBond, or simply calling it 'SB'.
SoulBonder
A person who is connected to one or more SoulBonds.
Switching
The act of one headmate in a plural system taking the place of another in controlling their body; changing who is in front.
Synpath
An entity that one identifies with or has a strong empathetic connection to. There is some debate as to what the difference between being otherhearted and having a synpath is - plenty of people use both terms and express an intuitive difference between the categories, but can't name what that difference is.
Therian
aka: therianthropeA person who identifies on an integral level as nonhuman, specifically a 'real', earthly animal.
Theriomythic
A person whose identity falls somewhere between otherkinity and therianthropy, in that it is a creature from mythology, but a wild, instinctual or unadvanced one.
Transhumanism
An ideology centered around transforming humanity with technology. Some people consider themselves alterhuman because of the way this ideology shapes their perception of humanity.
Transspecies
Some nonhuman-identifying folk use this label, often to denote that they have, will, or generally desire to modify their bodies to be more nonhuman/less human looking and are often motivated by species dysphoria. Others may use it to describe a feeling of "being [X species] trapped in a human body". Many who use the term do so because they are transgender and their species identity parallels this experience.
Tulpamancer
aka: tulpamageA person who creates tulpas.
Walk-In
An entity arriving in a body after its birth, typically with memories of being somewhere and someone else. Can join the 'original' as a headmate or replace them entirely, resulting in a singlet walk-in.
Xenogender
A gender that cannot be contained by human understandings of gender; more concerned with crafting other methods of gender categorization and hierarchy such as those relating to animals, plants, or other creatures/things. Often used by alterhumans to describe alter- and non-human experiences of gender.
