#do you know what a fucking hearttype is?

[possibly-eli]

once again posting a reminder (very gently, when you consider how fucking frustrated i am) that i am anti-kff! there are otherkin terms that people can use and, instead of educating themselves on this, they actively CHOOSE to belittle and bully otherkin folks, all while being a teensy tiny little bit ableist in how they go about it. its not a "erm these people are just minding their business and they're ALSO kin anyway" NO they are NOT. they are, by very fucking definition, either 'hearted or 'link (IF their connection is genuine ANYWAYS). that is NOT. KIN. and its kinda fucking telling if you think a community whose entire existence hinges on deliberate ignorance and harassment of a group is equal to the group theyre harassing and bastardising the terms and experiences of

[rubysparx]

feeling a particular way due to rereading a lot of uhhh well its embarrassing actually ifykyk. anyway its abt shapeshifters (kind of) and i just wanna say rn if you're somebody who doesn't chill w/ with the otherhearted and etc you may not like my blog (or me!) as much as you think . lol. also like half of you are from dungeon meshi so tbfh idk how you can't be chill with a guy saying "I'm a dog on the inside" and then throw ur little thirst tags into my notifs over Laios. lol. lmao. um anwway. yeah disclaimer the otherkin + therian and whatever label u use are safe here. me myself im otherhearted bc those labels just don't rlly fit me ya dig ? i won't pretend to relate to or understand everyones experiences but like, you deserve basic respect and i can promise you that brother. yk you respect me i respect you whatever whatever you get it

[edible-emerald]

gonna try and make a proper pinned post lmfao

LINK TO A THERIAN DISCORD SERVER THAT I OWN THAT'S SUPER COOL AND AWESOME AND YOU SHOULD JOIN

SYSCOURSE CODE: 👍/❤️🗯/📘/🔺🔶/🔵/🌘🌕/🟧/🌲/🌥️☀️/💭/🐊/🐌🐞/🐳

PLURAL CODE: ❓/❓/🔥/🌴/❓🐏/❓/⚡/ (We're still figuring a lot out)

A LOT OF THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE WE KNEW WE WERE PLURAL WE'LL UPDATE SOON I PROMISE MOST OF THIS APPLIES TO THE HOST

Howdy. You can call me Emerald, Calypso or Syren. My pronouns are she/they/xe/it. (Girlflux) Usually any are fine to use but they do fluctuate, so ask. Even if you use listed pronouns when I don't want you do I don't usually care all too much. I'm aromantic/asexual, possibly hypersexual, EXTREMELY romance repulsed, and a minor.

Because I am a minor, I ask that adults respect their own DNIs if they have that. If you don't, you may interact; but I get defensive, argumentative and anxious very easily, especially around adults.

Idk how I never added it but my mental disorders and disabilities are: ADHD (Diagnosed at age 9) Depression (Diagnosed at age 11) Social anxiety (Self diagnosed) Autism (Highly suspected/in the process of pursuing a diagnosis) Some sort of trauma disorder (Suspected, talking with my therapist about possible PTSD) OCD (Suspected) DID/OSDD (We're a sys(let) so the chances are relatively high, plus other symptoms)

We're desirdae! We use a lot of desirdae & dissomei labels, however some major ones are desirfakesui, desirpermateen, desirworsen, desirpermadaydream, and a few others.

On most websites I use the username edible_emerald, including discord and ao3.

Plurallet. I'm still figuring out this identity and questioning it so it's kinda a placeholder but keep that in mind. Simply plural is calypsoooo, if you friend me tell me your tumblr username when you do (I may decline sorry)

We're a Mixed Origin system! More specifically, Esogenic and our term, Hexabyssgenic. if you have a problem with it than block button is there for your convenience <3

I'm a therian, my theriotype is Northwestern wolf. I'm questioning Mermaid/selkie/siren and Lynx/wild feline, along with something winged. I’m also mermaidhearted and have other hearttypes that I’ve been too lazy to figure out but I will eventually

I post art sometimes

Also I like to write!! :3

I'm currently hyperfixating on MCYT, specifically KSMP, LSSMP, UU, Park/PVPciv, and Whitepine. Some previous hyperfixations include LU/TOTK/TLOZ, TOH, CSMP, KOTLC, TADC, HH, HB, MD, TOS (1 and 2), and chess. I write fanfiction a bit and you can find my writings on my ao3 account (edible_emerald)

I run a plethora of sideblogs, ask if you're curious

I can reclaim the slurs faggot, retard and tranny but I don't really use them very often, unless you talk to me in dms/discord than I do a little bit more lmfao

I will update this when I remember stuff lmao

I will try to respect your boundaries, but I may forget and accidentally misgender you, etc. Please correct me if I do! Also I tend to be petty a lot, so I will probably argue with people. If you'd rather I just leave it, you can let me know and I'll drop it. I'm too autistic to realize otherwise lmao

My only DNIs are that bigots and radqueers DNI. I also ask that Harry Potter and DSMP fans DNI *UNLESS* I interact first, then you're welcome to.

Also, astrothetherian supporters go the fuck away. We've been harassed by them and sent literal SA threats by them. If you think that's acceptable than stop pretending you care about trauma survivors BECAUSE WE ARE ONE.

As for my other DNIs, I don't have any, anyone can interact. You will want to keep in mind that I'm:

Pro endogenic/tulpamancer/willogenic systems

Neutral on the whole 'the term tulpamancy is cultural appropriation!' argument because i've seen different accounts from different people and some of them are Tibetan Buddhists and some of them aren't and idek what to believe atp

Pro self-diagnosing (with research)

Anti proship/conship <- shipcourse is really really stupid btw. Unless you say "fiction doesn't affect reality" i do not give a shit like at all. and if you respond "all proshippers think fiction doesn't affect reality" i will probably block you (unless we're moots) BECAUSE SHIPCOURSE IS STUPID AND I REFUSE TO GET INVOLVED.

Neutral on lesboys

Click the link below to help Palestinians in need. It's free and only takes a few seconds!

I really love these userboxes :3 below the cut is just a bunch more userboxes

[roadkillthefox]

INTRODUCTION

Hello, internet. You can call me Carrion or Roadkill. If calling me either of those makes you uncomfortable, Oath is fine. I use he/they/it pronouns. I am 20 years old. I am a perisex trans man who was AFAB. I am pansexual and demiromantic. I am alterhuman. My identities are as follows:

Melanistic “silver” red fox (past life, unsure on gender, but probably male)

Spotted hyena (past life, probably female)

Drake/wingless dragon (psychological)

Bearded vulture (copinglink)

Gray wolf (hearttype, along with canines in general)

Hellhound (psychological)

If you have questions about my nonhumanity, feel free to ask.

I first made this blog for venting purposes, mostly, so I’m still going to talk about a lot of things that impact my life. Depression, anxiety, imposter syndrome, chronic pain, PTSD, SA, SH, abusive parents, gender dysphoria, species dysphoria, etc. And I’m going to swear. A lot. This blog is for talking without a filter. I might even mention my problems with being hypersexual. This isn’t an 18+ blog, but it isn’t not one, either.

I have been diagnosed with autism, social anxiety disorder, general anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, ADHD, CPTSD, and fibromyalgia. I am part of a median system (each part/alter will have their own intro below).

If you have a problem with any of this, please don’t harass me. Just block me and move on with your day.

I’m also going to post song lyrics that I like, reblog stuff I’m interested in, and maybe share some art that I make, now that I’ve decided to use this as my main blog.

This is a safe space for everyone. Systems of all origins, those with personality disorders, those who use pet or age regression (just be aware that I do swear quite a bit). This is also a safe place for paraphilias that are not harmful (so all except those that involve children, animals, and the dead). Any hate or harassment towards myself or anyone in my comment sections will not be tolerated and will result in you being blocked immediately.

One of my interests is vulture culture, or the collection of parts of animals (bones, antlers, feathers, etc), and I made a side blog for that specifically. You can find it at @scavengerlyfe

DNI (fuck off, get help, etc.): racists, sexists, homophobes, transphobes, acephobes, anyone who hates intersex people for any reason, ableists, zionists and supporters, pedophiles and supporters, zoophiles and supporters, necrophiles and supporters, anti endo, TERFs, people (dumbasses) who think that those with NPD and/or ASPD and/or any other personality disorder are inherently abusive (this falls under ableism, but I had to say it again), etc.

Note: I don’t care if you’re a religious person. Just don’t try to convince me that being myself is inherently wrong. I worship nature itself; don’t try to tell me I should believe what you believe. Same goes for political beliefs. I don’t care, just don’t harass me about it

PART/ALTER INTRODUCTIONS (We call ourselves the Fractured Mirror Collective, by the way. Unanimously agreed on it). Everyone in this system is an adult, but please don’t flirt with any of us, even jokingly (unless you know us irl)

Ilerei

Gender: female, uses she/her, but doesn’t mind being called they/them once in a while

Species: unsure, some kind of unique creature

Origin: host made an imaginary friend as a kid. That imaginary friend became real and basically the host’s sibling and voice of reason

General traits: caring, protective of the host, tries to keep everyone else in check

Moth

Gender: genderless, uses it/its

Species: winged demon-like being, possibly undead

Origin: unclear, literally just showed up out of nowhere, took control of the body and freaked out about the lack of wings and claws. That was 8/12/24, so Moth is very new here

General traits: angry most of the time, obsessed with wings and flying. Enjoys collecting feathers. Tends to say violent things

Haunt

Gender: unclear, but uses any pronouns

Species: Wenditcher (Hollywood’s bastardized version of the w*endigo)

Origin: not sure, possibly trauma-based

General traits: Quiet, mostly apathetic, hungry all the time. Enjoys collecting bones. Less angry than Moth, but talks a lot about how edible most living things are

[mads-is-a-bit-strange]

“You can’t skip chapters, that’s not how life works. You have to read every line, meet every character. You won’t enjoy all of it. Hell, some chapters will make you cry for weeks. You will read things you don’t want to read, you will have moments when you don’t want the pages to end. But you have to keep going. Stories keep the world revolving. Live yours, don’t miss out.”

- Pillow Thoughts 2 by Courtney Peppernell (found the quote on pinterest)

🎃TRICK OR TREAT ON THIS ACC🎃

Hi here’s my intro post>>>

Here's what you'll find here that will hopefully pique your interest☟

~Art

~Stories (fandoms or stories im writing myself)

~memes

~vents/updates (they are really fuckin random but stay with me on this)

~reblogs

Here's some things abt me☟

Name: Madeleine

Nicknames: mads, maddie, marie, mad, maggie, em, etc. (now some might be names of my hearttypes)

Age: minor‼️

Pronouns: she/her, or any fem pronouns

Sexuality: Bisexual

mbti test results: ENFJ-T (main character vibes😝✌️)

aura color: blue💙💙💙

Now some random facts abt me☟

💛i listen to music more than i should…(specifically my musical playlist with way to much heathers😆)

💛baby witch (i havent done any spells before but i do tarot a lot)

💛i love all of my friends <333 Im so lucky to have them and i would literally die for them❤️❤️❤️❤️and my mutuals idk how the hell i got those but i’m very grateful

💛i’m otherhearted!!! i have multiple hearttypes and my main ones right now are prob German Shepherd and Raccoon :3

💛cabin 3/6!!! (poseidon or athena)

🩷 “this is modern feminism talking” “i expect to rule the world in shoes i cannot walk in”🩷

💛"Everyone's pushing, everyone's fighting. Storms are approaching, there's nowhere to hide. If i say the wrong thing, or i wear the wrong outfit, they'll throw me right over the side. On the tiniest lifeboat."💛

💞V, K, H, C, E, A, B, J, E, E, A, S, L💞

🇵🇸river to sea, palestine will be free🇵🇸

💛Fandoms☟

Owl house, Craig of the Creek, Superstore, Gravity Falls, Amphibia, Big Bang Theory, She-Ra, Adventure Time, Harbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, PJO, etc. (ik ik i’m a nerd)

💛I do theatre and student council

💛DNI: DMs (im not allowed to talk to strangers online but if ik u irl then u can dm, or if you want to ask a simple question), Transphobes, homophobes, racist ppl, Z00s, N@Z!/neo-N@Z!, s3xists, p0rn bots (im a fucking minor), p3d0s, nsfw.

💛Links☟

𖤐Pinterest

𖤐Spotify

𖤐Tumblr Community

𖤐My post about my series i’m working on

𖤐The first chapter of The Killer Circus!

𖤐My userboxes are here: (im still working on it so i dont have a link 😔😔😔 srry)

Just remember that you are amazing <3 Like literally the best and i know that hearing that from a total stranger may sound crazy and creepy, but i genuinely care about my friends and mutuals. Have fun here, so yeah byeeee :]

[otherhearted-culture-is]

ok, brand new here, i have a question. I don’t mean this to sound mean or judgy at all, I’m genuinely curious. I was in the furry community a few years back and I know a little about otherkin because the communities overlapped, and I’m wondering what are the differences between being otherkin and otherhearted? what does it mean to be otherhearted? from what I’ve seen so far it’s really varied and different from person to person, so I guess I’m asking with the second one what does it mean to you? what does it feel like to you, how did you discover/come to the decision to use the labels you do? what parts of you do you feel they describe?

of course you can just not answer this if you want or skip over certain question, I’m really sorry if any of these read like I’m judging, this is just the most concise way I could come up with to ask what I wanted to ask. thanks for reading all this, I hope you have a good day <3

Don't worry, you didn't come off as judgemental at all. These are good and thoughtful questions, and I'll do my best to address each one individually. I apologize if any of these explanations become too rambly. The 'tism compels me. You know how it is.

What is the difference between being otherkin and being otherhearted? This one is simple, or at least it is on paper. The difference is identifying with vs. identifying as; otherkin are their kintypes, while otherhearted folks are not their hearttypes. I say that this is simple on paper because while it's an easy enough difference to explain, otherhearted folks and otherkin can have plenty of experiences in common*, so it's not always easy to determine which one you are if you're questioning it. It's difficult to put into words what that crucial being factor actually feels like, after all. *Mental/phantom shifts, noemata, desiring to species transition in some way, etc.

What does being otherhearted mean to me, the mod of this blog? What does it feel like? This might be the hardest question of all of them, as 'heartedness is notoriously one of the hardest alterhuman experiences to put into words. Maybe it's different in other languages, but both the languages I happen to know feel poorly equipped for the task. Regardless, I'll do my best. It says in this blog's pinned post, but for those who aren't aware, my hearttypes are spiders and Kris Dreemurr from the game Deltarune. My otherheartedness in involuntary and a mix of familial attachment, "me but not literally", and being, I suppose, a "Kris-themed" and "spider-themed" person on some fundamental level. I care deeply about my hearttypes, I want to be associated with them as much as possible, and I am ontologically adjacent to them (… if that makes any sense at all). All this stuff sits right next to my literally being certain things on the metaphorical identity shelf, even though it's not in the same category. I don't really get full on hearttype-related shifts, but I do get random impulses related to them sometimes. I don't get any body dysphoria from them or deeply long to look like them as I do my kintypes, but I certainly wouldn't mind looking like them and I occasionally find myself wanting that a little bit. I've previously written an in-depth post about being spiderhearted specifically, which you can read here if you're so inclined. I won't rewrite everything I said there. I never got around to writing an equivalent post about being Krishearted, unfortunately. My feelings about Kris Dreemurr ended up being even harder to put into words than my feelings about spiders.

How did I arrive at the labels I use right now? Before I knew about the term otherhearted, I was struggling for months over whether or not I was spiderkin. Was I a Caribena versicolor? Maybe a Theraphosidae cladotherian? Hell, maybe I was a fucking Araneae cladotherian. Maybe I was just all the spiders. That's like, 50,000+ species, but there was no denying I felt some connection to all of them, and even to fictional spiders. But… none of these actually felt right. And yet, at the same time, there was something there. Just saying that spiders were my favorite animal was woefully inadequate. Sure, that's technically true, but that description was so shallow compared to what I actually felt that it was almost painful to say. I kind of gave up after a while. It seemed like there was no answer for whatever was going on there. I don't remember exactly how, but some time after that, I discovered the term otherhearted. That prompted me to start thinking about the spider thing again, and it did take some more internal debate, but not a whole lot. I pretty quickly arrived at the conclusion I was spiderhearted once I knew the term existed. When it comes to Kris, it all started as a flicker. If you're not familiar with the term flicker, they're basically like... temporary kintypes. Usually a flicker will occur shortly after consuming the source material, but in this case it was after I hyperfixated extremely hard on the source for over half a year straight. The flicker lasted a bit over a week, and occurred in November of last year. It was pretty easy to tell when the flicker had ended. I no longer felt the emotions associated with Kris' story as literally my own, it didn't feel unnatural to refer to them in third person anymore, I stopped having dysphoria about not being a boss monster, and I stopped being weirdly obsessed with knives. But my identity didn't completely revert. I was left with something that I now did know the word for: a hearttype.

What parts of me do those labels describe?

I suppose they describe my proximity to other things? There's not any specific "section" of myself that I can point to and say "it's that" like I can for something like gender, species, or narrative identity. Otherheartedness is unusual in that way- it's an internal identity that is related to something outside the self.

Thanks for reading this very long post. And to Anon, I hope it answered your questions to a satisfactory degree.

[hypnosiacon-archived]

re

🐾 ☀️ 💪 💚 🗣 👀 🏔 🌈

🌊🐺 anon

🐾: What are your kintype(s)?

Oh yeah, I've answered this one without realizing. My kintypes are:

Demon

Corvid

Dovah

Mecha 1

Mecha 2

Bearded Dragon

The Eel

The most weird for me was the Eel because holy fucking god, it was a nightmare to came to conclusion.

💪: Do you experience phantom limbs?

Not really. I get them in the weirdest way possible. They are also sometimes not connected to my types at all. I was getting them the strongest in my first awakening. That was horns, tail, wings, everything! Now I don't get them that often and most of the time I need to force them up. So nope.

💚: What’s your favorite thing about your kintype? (The species, creature, etc)

Huh, Demon has a whole fucking past life, cool right? It's the only one I really have tbh. I love corvids though, but I love the variety of them. Like I am closer to these Magpies and Crows and Ravens, but JAYS are so badass, they are assholes! I love Dovah language, Dragon Tongue, I used it to reference some shit in the past, now I don't do that sadly. Two mechas... Well.... Uh, would it be appropriate that I love and hate the shit I've made in the past? And that I love how the other is called a god, though he's a mortal but also I agree that he's a god because in some way he is, just... not how people would interpret it (what was that word again). Idk what I love in Bearded dragons because I love the species itself. And The Eel has the weirdest place in my questioning list. It was siren kintype, then it was hearttype, then I wasn't sure what the fuck it was I moved it away from everything, then I called it Leviathan which wasn't making sense again, it was moved somewhere else AGAIN. It was a mess.

🗣: Does anyone know you are otherkin? Friends, family, etc? If so, how did you tell them?

My past abusers, my friends, my partner. Abusers know that because I trusted them and I was just talking about it because why the fuck not. And friends know that actually the same way huh.

👀: Give a controversial opinion/your stance on some type of discourse.

Transspecies is not Transid. KFF should get the fuck away and use different language. Kin is not a fucking verb, it's not something we do, it's something we ARE.

🌈: Talk about any other kin thing!

I am not comfortable using Otherkin language because I don't feel like that. Also stel just makes me really uncomfortable. Sometimes I know for a fact that some thing is a kintype, sometimes I know when it's something else, Sometimes I just know it's a part of me but I am confused in which one it is.

But sometimes, oh my god, sometimes it's a mess. I was questioning Tarn's type like a joke, you know? Because I noticed that my personality, my walk, even the way I look at people changes with these shifts. That's how I got to know Tarn as my headmate. I don't question him anymore because I found out what it was!

When I got into TF I knew it's gonna change my fucking life. But I forgot that I have things that make me easier to project myself into someone. What is more weird - I.... never really do that. I can say "he's bpd coded" for example - THIS is when I project myself. But when I say "He's me" THIS. THIS IS A WARNING.

I feel an autospec attraction to this one character which is fucking weird you know. I am having so much feelings from being this one character (two actually), but also GOD, I am median, can it be it? NOPE. IT CAN'T. Because if it was - I would want to be perceived as this one character, as someone entirely else. If it's a character I like - he's mine, and Mine alone, nothing else. If I project myself - I just... like him I guess. But if it's me, oh holy shit I feel so much different.

I've never felt that, not with any media I was into the same way I am into this thing right now. That makes me feel so weird. I am a thinker, I know how I feel and what I do when I have similar feelings or whatever, because Titmouse actually was the one who was managing my feelings etc.

I know how to separate my feelings, but that makes me so fucking scared. Because if I question these three for almost two years, and even when I got away from media for several weeks (month or more), and it haven't changed... .THERE IS SOMETHING VERY WRONG.

[sorensolsikke]

thank you for tagging :3 i gonna have so much fun!! your answers were so cool btw

🌈 - i have two, including my dragon kintype and my golden retriever hearttype. i have several linktypes, but i haven't figured them out to be REALLY sure yet.

🌌 - I AM PRETTY NEWLY AWAKENED, just in this augusttt

👾 - dragons are unfortunately don't count as real :(((

👽 - actually. actually i really enjoy it. i am not sure if that makes sense or not, but i feel like living a human life is a lot easier since i discovered my alterhumanity. tho the longing feeling is cruel.

🧷 - i am both a psychological and a spiritual dragon. i believe that no matter what environment would have i been born in, in which body or life, i would be a dragon regardless. BUT my obsession with dragons (influenced by my mom) since a very young age is also undeniable. on the other heand, i am only psychologically a golden, influenced by my neurodivergency, my perception of myself in social environments, plus the very fact that i had grown up surronded by this dog breed, as my parents were guide dog trainers.

💚 - i am not entirely sure. i was raised as a buddhist, went to a christian kindergarten and hyperfixated on wicca (religion) for a long time. i don't follow any of these beliefs nor i believe in a god (if you do, that's great!!! i'm not against anyone) but i definitely admire life and nature, and i believe that souls exist. in short, my worldview is pretty compatible with my identity, and these two don't really affect eachother.

⚧️ - great question! i have no fucking idea. especially that i am sure that MY type of dragon doesn't fit the gender binary (i think i am somehow both the egg layer and the fertilizer? but i can choose which one to do? but like, neither will affect my social state?). and if that wouldn't be enough, the perceptible gender of my golden type is changing regarding to my own gender, day by day.

🧤 - YES, I HAVE A DOG MASK AND A YELLOW BOWL AND PAW GLOVES AND A CHEW TOY, AND I'LL MAKE A DRAGON MASK TOO AND I MADE A BASEBALL HAT WITH HORNS AND SPIKES AND I HAVE DRAGON THEMED DIY SHIRTS AND PANTS AAAAA

🏳‍🌈 - of course! i am genderfluid poly panromantic pansexual <3

🌚 - a lot!! my phantom shifts are usually horns, spikes on my back, wings, teeth, snout, dragon-like legs and paws and sometimes tail. i also often get mental, sensory and perception shifts.

🌝 - it's often makes me feel different, strange in this environment, in my family or school. my alteerhumanity affects my perception of my life, the society around me, and especially, my habits and hobbies (making dens, diving, collecting things, etc). it also contributes sometimes to my derealization episodes, which is unpleasent. other than these, it otfen feels more like an everyday adventure. tho i am a bit worried ab explaining my identity to my girlfriend soon (i don't want to keep it a secret, but i am not ready to talk about it either.)

💊 - the dawg in me insists on daytime. the dragon in me doesn't really care, as long as the days are cold. in summer, i am definitely nocturnal.

🤖 - i identified as a dragon since i was eight, i just didn't have the right words for it. and i got to know myself as a dog in the last three years.

🍁 - i was born as a dragon i'm sure, but to be a dog came later in life.

🧸- yes... i can't stop eating fish because it both makes me feel like a dragon and a golden + my goldentype loves duck more than life.

🛍- i have alterhuman mutuals, which is pretty cool!

🍂 - my natural habitat as a dragon is the fjords and pine forests in norway. but as a dog? anywhere my girlfriend goes.

🐱 - yes!

op, i loved the coding of the emojis :3

i am happy that i could play!!

@kip-has-fleas @the-creature230307 @wild-forest-critter @canines-crown @quite-fond-of-geckos

or anyone who wants to join

Alex's alterhuman ask game!

Reblog this post to let others ask you question(s)!

I tried to make this accesible to all alterhumans.

🌈 - how many _types do you have?

🌌 - when was your awakening?

👾 - is your _type real or fictional?

👽 - do you enjoy being a […] (therian, otherkin, ect. Just put your label here)

🧷 - what's the reason of your identity? You can say that you don't know. (Ex. "My theriantrophy is spiritual)

💚 - what are your beliefs? Does it affect your identity?

⚧️ - does your _type have a different gender/sex than you? Do you even know your _type's gender?

🧤 - do you own any gear? If yes, what is it?

🏳️‍🌈 - are you also a part of the LGBT+ community?

🌚 - do you experience shifts? If yes, what kind of shifts do you experience most often?

🌝 - how does your identity affect your everyday life?

💊 - is your _type more nocturnal or does it prefer daytime?

🤖 - for how long do you know about your identity?

🍁 - do you think that you were born with your identity or has it "started" during your life?

🧸 - does your _type affect your diet?

🛍️ - do you have alterhuman friends? If yes, in real life or in the internet?

🍂 - what is your _type's natural territory/home?

😺 - is your _type an animal?

That's all byeeee :3

[actias-android]

Okay, with the caveats that 1. so far I'm calling it a hearttype, but I feel like there's more to be sorted there and so I don't even have a full grasp on what the fuck I'm talking about, 2. I'm notoriously unreliable at doing these in order, and also 3. I probably won't have answers for some of them, why the hell not, right?

So,

1. Hello I'm Mega Man-series robot hearted. Not any specific character, and oddly enough I have different feelings between classic series robots (feels definitely not Me but also Important To Me) and X series reploids (hell of a lot harder to quantify and actually does feel vaguely Me)? So that's a mystery I don't have a ready explanation for.

BUT I'M BOUTTA DUMP ABOUT IT ANYWAY SO HOLD ONTO YOUR BUTTS

When I was a young boy my father took me into the city traumatized the shit out of me repeatedly and I definitely 100% had some kind of copinglink thing going on, because when you're undiagnosed neurodivergent as hell, already conceive of yourself as more like a computer than a child, and have nothing else to hold onto every other weekend when you have to stay at the guy's house with your younger brother, you do the thing that gets you through the days with as much of your sanity intact as you can. In my case this meant fixating REALLY REALLY HARD on the video games we got to rent from Blockbuster, which dates the story like hell but whatever, we know I'm old lmao.

I'm also a traumagenic system of some sort, which I'm being more open about lately, and I am pretty sure that I simultaneously had an alter of Zero in my head because that's just how it is on this bitch of an Earth. It's hard to say because nothing was cleanly delineated and I can't really go back and ask younger-me what was going on. Confusing shit. All I can do is point back and say as much as I've said about it already.

So I forgot about all of that for years and years and years and decided that I felt like learning PixelGameMakerMV so why not make a whole-ass Mega Man fangame to learn, right? One of my friends was like, hey have you heard of The Megas by the way, and I was like, no what's that, and they were like, god Nevi do you live under a rock for real (affectionate), how have you never...look, here, listen to this, and sent me a few tracks off History Repeating (which is a two-album set that covers the entire MM3 soundtrack in retro-vibey rock song format and is SO fucking good, you guys) and I went,

Ah. I feel Things? I have not felt these Things since...oh right, I did in fact feel these Things before, how did I forget that?

(Well, because DID/OSDD is a self-masking covert disorder that can and will use amnesia to protect you from even knowing you have it, and all the times I'd felt these Things were wrapped up ina lost time period, duh.)

(Okay, I'm going to stop making the Things blue because it's a pain on mobile but I think I'm clever to have color-coded the Things.)

Soon after starting making my game, which is ongoing by the way! I'm really making it and it's a cool feeling!, I realized that I haven't actually played all of the classic Mega Man games I'm cribbing from, which is a fucking crime, right? So I bought the entire Legacy Collections for that and MMX on Switch, since it was Cyber Monday, I was at my mom's place visiting, and I really wanted to get SOMETHING on sale.

The more I have played through them, the more I'm like, ah. This is also Me somehow. Not any specific character onscreen, though Proto Man is probably closest. (Did you know in college there was a time period that people were calling me that because I had a cool red and gray jacket, which wasn't enough alone, but then the Student Center had a big factory reject box sale, and I lucked into a perfectly good bright yellow cashmere scarf for a whole fivebux? Now you know. There was a definite resemblance.)

But then looking at background characters in the X series, I feel it a whole lot more strongly. Less 'this explains something about me' and more 'this EXPLAINS something about me,' but what exactly, I have no idea yet! Is this a psychological thing? A metaphysical thing? Is there that much of a difference when you're a multiple fae witch already? Mehhh???

So yeah I don't know. Maybe answering questions about it for a month will be enlightening, or at least everyone can watch me question something I've claimed in the past to "not believe in*," which is exactly the kind of poetic justice I deserve for having been kind of a jerk about it, if only in my own head.

*Obviously this is not the case now. I have since decided that gatekeeping is stupid in general and if you put in the thought and came to the conclusion, I kinda don't care a ton what the conclusion is, because what it is is your conclusion, based off your experiences, and it doesn't matter a bit if I "get it" or not. But I also do it get it a lot more than I used to, because I had my head on sideways basically and that's no way to go through the world.

[angelic-polar-fox]

I wish people would be more willing to accept that confirming kintypes and such can take a fucking long time and that there is no need to be right immediately. It’s preached everywhere but the sentiment hanging around in the air is still different. It’s another atmosphere.

I have this blog for almost 5 years now and since then I have my little “kinlist” which is basically just for me taking record about my identity, therefor it will change a lot. Things I was wrong about will be deleted or maybe written into another category, because sometimes it just is like that. I basically write everything down that I have the slightes suspicion to be something. Therefor it’s quite long, but even then it’s not only about kin- or fictotypes, it’s also about hearttypes, copinglinks, empeiriatypes and such.

But because of the lengths of that list, despite the nature of it, I sometimes start to wonder “Am I just faking?” - logically speaking it would make no sense for someone who ist just faking to be dedicated to a blog for 5 years and also coin their own term for something. But I still wonder sometimes, because of that sentiment:

You shouldn’t change your types (I was questioning them and realized I was wrong, I didn’t “change” a type or dropped it). You can’t have so many types (but most of these are not “confirmed” or anything in the slightes, it’s not that I actually DO have 20+ kintypes)

Like, I get where it comes from. Seeing all these KFFs having lists miles long containing basically every character/thing they ever liked in their whole life and then being like “Oh yeah, it’s just what I relate too” and also the fact that it’s probably hard to imagine that there is someone who actually identifies AS more than 20 different beings/characters...

But it’s still making me anxious to know that there will be people who’ll question me just for a “longer kinlist” even though it’s a different situation entirely

I don’t even know if there is any solution to this situation, it’s just something that bugs me

[shadowfae]

(It's probably going to be screamingly obvious who I am, but anon is on anyway due to the subject matter) I've yet to be harassed over noemata in particular, but the kithtype noemata I have pertaining to one specific character are definitely not puritan-friendly to say the least. My kithtype is a knight, and so just today I was hit with a memory of hearing injured men screaming in pain on the battlefield. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, really. I also know far more about the specific

brainwashing techniques that were used on him than anyone would care to... I've gotten enough shit with regards to having him as a hearttype at all, I would never feel comfortable discussing this somewhere my name is immediately attachable.

Step one accomplished: I have not a single clue who you are, you’re all good. (If you wanted this private, uhhhh, can’t do that on anon. ^^;)

But that sort of stuff deserves to be talked about. I was in a major Ranisson shift coming up to the US election last year because my asshole brain had gone “yeah but what if this is a repeat of WWII and you have to volunteer to fight?” and all I dreamt about for over a month was war I’d experienced, as Ranisson and through the eyes of I-swear-to-the-Avatar every fucking other person in the hivemind. I slept like shit, anon. I get it. (Fortunately I didn’t have to do that, but wow, the sound of those guns will probably never leave me. It wasn’t exotrauma I’d previously dug up. Not a fun way to discover it was there.)

Things get messy, and nobody really signs up to feel this way - at least, not entirely knowingly. This sort of stuff is always unexpected and largely unwelcome, for good reason. Talking about it can help, and tbh we need more places to do that.

[talon-dragonbeast]

took me forever to answer these but i was so excited to see this post, and love the idea of questions for otherhearteds!

What are some misconceptions about being otherhearted that you hear all the time?

probably that a hearttype is somehow "less than" a kintype. like, if i had a penny every time someone said "maybe youre just otherhearted" in response to someone questioning a 'type, id be rich. no, fuck you, im not "just" otherhearted. my hearttypes are just as important to me as my kintypes.

How strong are your hearttypes in your daily life?

theyre more or less always in the back of my mind. im lucky because my town is full of crows and magpies, so im always interacting with them in some way :}

What are some otherhearted stereotypes folks tend to believe that annoy you?

that we're not alterhuman? for some reason? i mean yeah, we're not nonhuman, but we still fall under the AHPI umbrella. alterhuman ≠ nonhuman yknow, and im tired of folks assuming otherwise.

Do you ever get jealous of nonhumans who are your kithtype/hearttype?

yeah i do. i wish i was a crow, i wish i was spacekin. but being 'hearted is pretty cool too so. no complaints here.

Do some of you dislike your kithtypes, but find it hard to control that feeling of connection?

no, i love both my hearttypes.

What is the most exciting thing about being otherhearted?

probably the times i get to see a corvid in the wild. my brain just goes 🫵🐦‍⬛ friend...

Do you have shifts as an otherhearted individual?

only for my corvid hearttype! i get cameo wing shifts, a tail very rarely and mental shifts sometimes.

How did you find out you were otherhearted?

my corvid hearttype was the first 'type of any kind i discovered. i used to be in a small server for queer people only, and one day the topic of alterhumanity came up. there was a channel for spiritual ppl and altho i didnt know i was nonhuman at the time, i was aware of my phantom wings. i brought it up and someone told me i could be otherkin or otherhearted, as phantom limbs are a common experience in that community. i basically chickened out, said "haha maybe" and that was that. i didnt think much of it until a few months later, when my wings were so strong i couldnt ignore them anymore. i started researching phantom limb syndrome, but was frustrated at the lack of resources for people like me, who wasnt an amputee but still felt extra limbs over my body.

i joined an otherkin server, and described my limbs (wings, talons, sharp teeth and feathers, as those were the only ones i experienced at the time) in the questioning channel. i also mentioned my strong connection to crows. someone suggested i could be a crow therian. i thanked them and then joined yet another otherkin server, this time for bird people only. i never talked in that server. i just felt very out of place, like i was lying to myself. i still felt strongly connected to crows, but being one just wasnt right, even if i knew i was some kind of nonhuman. i left all those servers and basically ignored all that for a few months.

of course, i eventually found the term otherhearted and started identifying with it. but it was a journey.

Do you often feel unseen in the alterhuman/being community, since nonhumans are often at the center of attention?

yeah, a bit

Do you feel as though your neurotype affects your otherheartedness?

for my spacehearted identity, yes! when i was a kid i adored space and so i would obsessively read all about it. i wanted to know everything; how the universe was formed, what were stars made of, how did black holes work... i absorbed all of it. it was one of my first special interests that i have memory of, so i hold it very close to my heart (pun intended)

Have you ever mistaken a hearttype as a kintype/theriotype? If so, how did you distinguish it to actually be a hearttype instead?

yup! had to do a lot of introspection to figure it out, and the whole process took like an entire year lol. i had to discover my draconity first before i could even start considering a hearttype, so yeah.

as for how, i kinda just knew? that it wasnt a kintype? so my thought process was basically: i experience phantom limbs + i feel nonhuman + i identify with crows = i must be a crow therian -> wait being a crow feels wrong -> maybe i am not nonhuman after all -> i still experience phantom limbs and feel nonhuman tho???? -> WAIT i feel like a dragon -> i am dragonkin :D -> i still identify with crows tho -> oh wait the crow feelings feel very different from the dragon feelings -> oooh its identify-with, not identify-as -> im crowhearted!!! :D

Otherhearts, I hardly hear from you, and I find that somewhat disheartening. I find you guys' ability to resonate so strongly with something pretty beautiful.

You don't have to answer all of these questions all at once, you can pick and choose.

What are some misconceptions about being otherhearted that you hear all the time?

How strong are your hearttypes in your daily life?

What are some otherhearted stereotypes folks tend to believe that annoy you?

Do you ever get jealous of nonhumans who are your kithtype/hearttype?

Do some of you dislike your kithtypes, but find it hard to control that feeling of connection?

What is the most exciting thing about being otherhearted?

Do you have shifts as an otherhearted individual?

How did you find out you were otherhearted?

Do you often feel unseen in the alterhuman/being community, since nonhumans are often at the center of attention?

Do you feel as though your neurotype affects your otherheartedness?

Have you ever mistaken a hearttype as a kintype/theriotype? If so, how did you distinguish it to actually be a hearttype instead?

[shadowfae]

Chiming in with my two cents, but I think maybe the reason so many ‘linkers who only know the term “kin” cling to it is because there’s definitely a stigma with changing labels or admitting you were wrong about how you initially labeled yourself. It’s absolutely possible to get attached to a certain label just because you’ve used it for a long time, and then keep using it whether or not it actually fits your experiences solely because it’s familiar.(1/2)

(2/2) I can sympathize with this to a degree because often, letting go of one long-held label means that you have to pick up another that you’re not ready to come to terms with- or even admit that you don’t know what label fits your experiences. I’m really glad this dialogue about ‘linking has been happening, and I hope it helps some people find the word that best describes what they’re experiencing- especially if that word isn’t “kin”. -Faolan

The funniest thing is, on the first read, what immediately popped into my head was me figuring out I was actually male.

I spent probably two years as a demigirl, and three or more as simply nonbinary. And during the latter part, I had Hiyama Kiyoteru as a copinglink, because my sexuality was hitting me full in the face. (I had previously identified as biromantic ace, because I had some form of attraction and it wasn’t sexual, but it didn’t feel romantic either but I didn’t know what romance felt like, so it had to be that, and was now abruptly realizing that it was the precursor to an adult’s actual sex drive.)

Because the way to cope with that budding sexuality and sex drive was to figure out how to handle it safely, and the strangest part of it was that I never, ever wanted to be the bottom in any way, in every fantasy I wanted full control over every single action that happened. Part of that was ‘oh fuck this is new I don’t like it what do I do’ like every other teenager.

The rest of it was me awkwardly stumbling through realizing I was male. And being Kiyoteru helped that, because he had a band and we all know that’s just code for a harem of boys for different dynamics of relationships. So being Kiyoteru and having that link seriously helped me understand my gender and my sexuality, and come to terms with it. I was a boy as Kiyoteru, until I was finally ready to accept that I was just a boy in general.

Being Kiyoteru helped with a lot of other things - /gestures to Pale as a sort of ‘I’m Pale but an AU Pale where nothing bad happens and everything is fine’/ - but like... I never would’ve really figured out what I was without that, or at least, it woud’ve been a lot harder.

Having a copinglink was probably the best way to go about that. And you’re noting that dropping kin and picking up another label is difficult because it’s home and now you’ve got to move, and I kid you not, I literally was like “Yeah make a copinglink to help you bridge the gap there”.

Yeah. That’s my theory. Make a copinglink to help you deal with being a copinglinker.

So now that I’ve made that clear, I actually think it’d work. Make another copinglink! Experiment with your identity! Use a completely harmless, completely voluntary and for fun identity to experiment with how you feel, so when you do it for realsies to help with a different issue (for lack of a better term, having your identity thrown into disarray is a nightmare of an issue), you have the experience and now you’re actually on familiar territory, instead of just suffering the entire time and not knowing how to deal with it.

Though, now that I think about it, being Yukari as a ‘link did seriously help since that was the first thing I did when the word was invented. I didn’t know I could experiment with my identity like that, because I’d spent so long eschewing anything that wasn’t a kintype or a hearttype. I absolutely went “Yeah you’re not kin or hearted and you’re for fun and that makes you fake”. Obviously, I’ve learned better, that it’s the words that are the issue, not the experiences.

But once I could experiment that way, loosen up a bit and figure things out entirely at my own pace by quite literally debugging my identity, shoving random variables in until I got what stuck? It absolutely helped. Being Yukari helped me with highschool, because I could completely rearrange how I thought for a little while, knowing it wasn’t permanent, knowing that I could do it without fear of future consequences and what if I can’t let it go, because it was never meant to be a permanent, static fix to any problem, and it was exactly as versatile as I needed it to be, and I didn’t have to worry about contradicting myself as I grew and changed.

Copinglinks are incredibly useful. They were the landing pad I used when I needed to make a big jump. We cannot, and should not, shame them for that. So I mean... If people aren’t sure about their identity, or don’t want to deal with the fact that they’re a linker and not ‘kin...

Yeah, make a(nother) copinglink to help you deal with being a copinglinker. I can’t really think of how it wouldn’t work, so I think it’s an actual solution?

[shadowfae]

3. How did you discover (and confirm) your hearttype?

I have two hearttypes, shadowhearted and faehearted, and they were actually the first identities I figured out! To no one’s surprise, they make up my url, because when I first started this blog, I thought I was ‘kin of both of those things, and was still trying to figure out the rest of my identity.

For being shadowhearted, my best guess on discovery is that I always felt like I was made of shadow. How much of that was unrecognized Absol and Luteia emotions, I don’t know, but I went my entire childhood wanting to be and voraciously projecting on anything that was shadow-aligned in element, looking for something I couldn’t name. 

You could strip away every part of me and leave me bare, and I would still be with shadow. I can be gentle and gracious and helpful, and I will still be with shadow. It’s so intrinsic to who I am and how I was built that while I can’t say I am a shadow, I can say that the nebulous concept of it is what the rest of me was built on. I read Cat Valente’s A Monstrous Manifesto and wept, I still have it memorized, because it struck me right in the shadowhearted feels. None of them were me to a T, but they were family, they were friends, they were known to me, and I could see bits of myself in them. I’m not any one cut and dry monster, but I’m a monster, because I was built on shadow.

For being faehearted, I spent way too much time reading Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg (did you know it’s a trilogy??? I didn’t!!!) and wanting to be a part of that. I didn’t really recognize the shape my wings took, but I could feel them, I knew faeries were always going to be the gateway to understanding myself, even as a small child. So when asked “Well you’re more than just shadows, and you don’t like winter shadowy places and go Nope!, why’s that? Why do you feel at home in the green, if you’re shadow?” my answer was “Well I think it’s because faeries are a lot like me? I think I’m fae?” and it settled better than anything else in my life ever had, but wasn’t an exact match.

Even with my kintypes fully aware to me, part of me still goes back to the fae. I mistook it for my Ranisson kintype and had to sort that whole shtick out and it wasn’t fun. It literally wasn’t until I met a trollkin at Othercon last year who was trollkin because their surname was literally “Valley Champion” in the local language because one of their ancestors was a troll who had championed that valley where they lived and I was like “Hey dumbass! You’re not quite Fair and will never walk away from them because you’re fucking Celtic!” and that answered that, I think. (I’m Irish and Scottish on my father’s side. My mother’s a lot of different types of European, my dad is English, Scottish, and Irish. His mother was half Scottish half Irish, and his father’s mother was the same; so if we go by amount of heritage, those two have the most, and it looks like they won out.)

I’ve always known that if as Luteia I hadn’t been a demon, I would’ve been Fair, and just being made of Kcalb’s magic doesn’t make me any less tilt-your-head-and-squint-and-you’re-Fair. And I can’t say I don’t know if I’m only faehearted because the summer’s brief romance that is my humanity is trying to claw its way back to its roots, or if it’s only thanks to Luteia, or if it’s a mixture of the two or something else entirely.

But I’m pretty sure it’s my heritage yelling at me. I’m also pretty sure I won’t find out until I take a trip to Ireland and Scotland and see the hollow hills for myself. I’ll find out if I sit upon the moors and weep because I found my way home. It’s a while off yet, but I’ll do it. I may not have all the answers yet, but I know how to find them, and that’s reassuring enough.

[shadowfae]

Hi im pretty sure I'm kin but I have doubts and shit because I have multiple kintypes. How do you know you're kin?

Okay, I’m home, time to jump right in. So, we’re gonna do this in two parts like we did the first guide I did on this. Part one: What Is Otherkinity, What’s Related To It: A Crash Course To Terminology. This is gonna be so we’re clear from the getgo on things. Part two: A Few Methods That May or May Not Work To Figuring Shit Out. This is some of the ways I know - but your experience will be deeply personal and unique, so don’t worry if you don’t stick to any one method, and it’s not about following the method so much as it is finding the answers and being satisfied with what you know.

This guide, however, will not go over most community things, like history and culture. That requires [groaning noises] sourcing things, and I hate doing homework. That you can hunt down from folks who have been here much longer than me. It also isn’t a comprehensive guide on experiences, because trying to mention everything would quite possibly kill me and requires a lot more teamwork and surveys and interviews and chasing down books that are no longer in print. So yeah, don’t expect everything.

I could just link the first guide I made, but it’s good to make a new one a few years later. Under the readmore, but let’s go!

Part One: Otherkinity, Related Experiences, and A Quick Guide To Terminology.

Side note - this is not a comprehensive guide of the terminology, there’s far too many terms and I am literally writing this entirely off the top of my head. If I forget stuff, don’t @ me unless it’s a glaring issue. :p 

Otherkinity: An ontological experience in which a person identifies wholly or partially as a nonhuman or fictional entity, on a nonphysical, involuntary, and profound level. Every one of those words is important. It is not necessarily spiritual or psychological, though it can be. You ID as the thing, not with it. It is you. You are the thing. It can be nonhuman or fictional or both, but not neither because that just leaves humanity. Some identify partially, and some identify wholly as nunhuman/fictional. I don’t ID entirely as nonhuman, but I do identify wholly as fictional, for example. (I’ll get into that later). It’s nonphysical, you can’t physically shapeshift, obviously. It’s involuntary, you don’t choose it. This isn’t a roleplay, this is identity at its base. It can be changed, but not easily, and not really voluntarily. It is also profound. It is a part of you, it’s never going away, you aren’t exactly who you are without it.

Therianthrope: An ontological experience in which a person identifies wholly or partially as a nonhuman, physically real Earth-based animal, on a nonphysical, involuntary, and profound level. Otherkin, but for Earth animals, like dogs or dinosaurs or bugs. 

Fictionkin(d):An ontological experience in which a person identifies wholly or partially as a fictional entity, on a nonphysical, involuntary, and profound level. Often considered the other side of the Venn diagram to therianthropy. This is where you’re a fictional character or entity or member of a fictional species. Harry Potter or a Pikachu, it’s all fictionkin. 

Fictionkind is a bit of an older term, and there has been a push to use it more as ‘fictionkin’ has seen more use amongst those who think it’s a form of roleplay, trading cards, or who have figured out that they can misuse community terms into their purity cults in order to control others. As well, otherkind was one of our first terms, but you’ll rarely see it used. They both share an ending of -kin, which is not from ‘kin as in your blood family’ but -kind, as in mankind, elvenkind, so thus otherkind, fictionkind. It’s not a relating to, it’s a being of.

Theriomythic:An ontological experience in which a person identifies wholly or partially as a mythical nonhuman animal, on a nonphysical, involuntary, and profound level. This is for those of us who are unicorns, griffons, dragons, etc, all the nonhuman animals that do not physically exist but are not necessarily under what’s considered fiction. It’s one of the prettiest words we have, in my opinion. 

Phytanthrope: An ontological experience in which a person identifies wholly or partially as a plant-based lifeform, on a nonphysical, involuntary, and profound level. Otherkin, but you’re a plant. I’m including it here because it’s a very pretty-sounding word, and although not as common, certainly real and not something you might recognize. It’s completely interchangeable with ‘plantkin’, but it sounds cool, so.

Otherhearted: An ontological experience in which a person identifies wholly or partially with a nonhuman or fictional entity, on a nonphysical, involuntary, and profound level. Like otherkin, but you are not the thing, you ID with the thing. It is close to you, it is what you’d be if you weren’t what you are. The difference, to put it in layman’s terms, otherkin is #me and otherhearted is #god i wish that were me. But like, way more profound. Are you the thing, or is it just incredibly close to you? Both are a part of your identity, just slightly different. 

Synpath: Like otherhearted, and was made by someone who didn’t know the word for otherhearted. It caught on and the difference is mostly accepted as linguistic: if it’s a general noun it’s a hearttype, if it’s a proper noun and thus is a name or requires a capital, it’s a synpath. Tl;dr: you can be unicornhearted, but you’re a Harry Potter synpath.

Otherlink: An ontological experience in which a person identifies wholly or partially with a nonhuman or fictional entity, on a nonphysical and voluntary level. This one’s a little more recent. It is like a kintype, but it is voluntary, you can choose it, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Big Thing like otherkinity. You will also see ‘copinglink’, which actually came first - that one’s an otherlink made to cope with something. (Both terms were made by @/who-is-page, aka a person you Need to be following if you’re gonna be on the tumblr community with us.) Otherlink and copinglink are incredibly handy terms, and when you need ‘em, you’re glad they’re there.

Shifting: An experience in which something ‘shifts’ in the mental or emotional shape to a different state of being, related to otherkinity and/or any related experiences. This one is such a common term, and hard to properly define without going into nuances. Mental shifts are when your mental state shifts to align better with a kintype, aura shifts are when your aura does that, shadow shifts are some sort of astral projection, astral shifts involve the astral realm, berserk shifts are extreme mental shifts that typically involve violence or loss of reason, etc, etc. Most of the time, if someone says they’re in an X shift, they mean mental shift. 

Multiplicity: An ontological experience in which a person is not alone in their body. Before someone @s me, I know it’s badly worded here. This is DID, OSDD-1, and endogenic systems, alongside a few other things. A kintype is you, a multiple is not you but also in your body. I won’t be going over this much as I am not multiple, but it’s good to know about. It’s not otherkinity, nor really related, but if you’re gonna learn about otherkinity, it helps to know about multiplicity. Also see soulbonding and tulpamancy.

Alterhumanity: An overarching community term for all those who do not feel completely, 100% human; or rather those who feel an altered version of humanity. Basically, someone got really tired of saying ‘otherkin, otherhearted, otherlinks, OSDD-1 and DID, endogenic systems, etc etc’ and made a term for everyone. It’s controversial on just who it defines as it also includes transhumanists (those who wish to physically become nonhuman, even if they ID as human) and many other things in a gray area, but as someone who’s gonna be typing otherkin, otherhearted, otherlinks, systems, etc etc a whole lot in this post? It’s handy. 

Phantom Limbs: An experience in which a brain maps out limbs that do not physically exist. This is originally a medical term, but it’s also incredibly useful. It refers to all limbs that don’t exist but you’re still pretty sure are there. Amputees experience this, and you know the rubber hand experiment where they hide your arm and trick your brain into thinking a plastic arm is your arm, and then hit the plastic arm and you feel pain? Yeah, phantom limbs. There’s also supernumerary phantom limbs, which is the Extra Bits like fangs and wings and horns and tails. Astral limbs, however, refer to the astral realm, and that’s a magic and spirit work thing, not an otherkin thing.

Paratype: An identity that is related to one’s alterhumanity but does not precisely adhere to any known definition. This was made by @/aestherians as a ‘fuck it you’re related and I don’t really know how but you’re worth mentioning’. It’s a ‘misc’ term, when you’re not sure if it’s a hearttype or something else but is important to your identity. It doesn’t always mean you’re questioning it, but it’s there. It’s new and does need to catch on, but it’s pretty handy.

ID: Short for ‘identity’ or ‘identify’. Occasionally used as shorthand. Be wary of someone who insists that an ID is ‘more you’ than a kintype. A kintype is an ID. So is a hearttype, or a linktype, or anything else. ‘ID’ is just an umbrella term that has been occasionally misused.

Kintype / Theriotype / Fictotype / Hearttype / Linktype: The noun versions of being otherkin, therianthrope, fictionkin, otherhearted, and otherlink/copinglink respectively. You are otherkin, you have a kintype, you are fictionkin, you have a fictotype, etc. If I catch you using ‘kins’ after this I will eat you.

Awakening / Questioning / Kinfirmation: A few terms to describe one’s journey through understanding their alterhumanity / otherkinity. Awakening is generally the moment you start feeling alterhuman or otherkin. For some of us, we’ve always been like this, for others, we just suddenly notice it. Questioning is whole journey from awakening to understanding and being sure of things. You’re never really done questioning, but when you’re happy with it, technically you’re done. Kinfirmation is a controversial term, sure. It’s otherkin + confirmation. Basically it means the opposite of awakening - the moment you’re sure, you’re done questioning, you’ve confirmed that this is a kintype. Awakening is how you start questioning, kinfirmation is how you finish. It’s controversial because it sounds stupid. But I like puns, so I’m keeping it. (You can slap ‘kin’ into any word and make it hilarious. That’s why I use a ‘kinformation’ tag. :p )

Banned / False Terms: kinning, kins, kinnies, etc - just don’t. Please, just don’t. This is how you make sure nobody takes you seriously and you get dismissed as a troll. ‘Kinning’ as a verb implies that otherkinity is a choice, which is prevalent and dangerous misinformation, and most of the community says burn it with fire - and for good reason. ‘Kins’ is just what people say when they don’t know the word ‘kintypes’, and implies you know very little about this. ‘Kinnies’ is a term made by antikin that’s quite controversial. On one hand, it’s hilarious to use to spit back at them, on the other hand it’s rude, on one foot like ‘kins’ it makes you look stupid, and on the other foot for a fair amount of folks it looks too much like ‘tr*nnies’ to give anything but a gut reaction of horror. (‘Kinnie’ is not a slur and does not hold the same societal weight, but as a gut reaction if you’ve had ‘tr*nny’ thrown at you, ‘kinnie’ isn’t going to make you feel all that great either.)

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Part Two: A Few Methods That May or May Not Work To Questioning Kintypes and Related Alterhumanity.

So we’ve learned terms, and now there should be little confusion in what we’re talking about here. If you were expecting a step-by-step list, you will absolutely never get one, not from me or from anyone else.

Your journey through awakening, questioning, and ‘kinfirmation will be your own. It will be unique. You will never start in the same place as someone else, you will never finish in exactly the same way. The questions you ask will not be the questions I will ask. You do not need to justify it to me. You only need justify it to yourself. A second opinion always helps, sure, in case you missed something, but it’s not my job to tell you what you are. That’s yours.

So let’s take a look. At this point, one should hope you’ve awakened. It has occurred to you that you’re not quite human, you’re not quite what you physically are. You are aware that this is not a common experience. There are lots of things that could draw you to this. Homesickness is the big one. Memories, sometimes. Habits you shouldn’t have. Methods of thinking that don’t have a reason that makes sense. A feeling of belonging, of hiraeth. Your identity is not entirely your experiences in this life, this moment. Shifts are also a pretty big indicator. And so, so much more that I can’t possibly put a name to.

You know you’ve got Stuff going on here, but you don’t know what, it may be multiple things, it may be one thing. You said it may be multiple things, and fuck, it sure might be. It is for me, and lemme tell you, when those things like combining that makes it harder to sort them out. But you kind of have to, if you’re here and asking these questions.

You’re done questioning when you’re happy. You don’t need to know everything, and tbh you never will know everything. That’s okay. You just need to be happy with what you’re sure of. 

So you’re not entirely human, or you think you might be fictional. Shit happens. But you’ve got to figure out what you are, if you’re not that. For some of us, it’s obvious. For some, not so much. I’m the sort of ‘stare it in the face and not recognize it’ person, because I’m stupid, but that’s a way to do it. 

Your first step, of course, should be to take every sign you’ve got of this, every indicator that makes you think the craziest thing of all, ‘oh shit I’m not human’ / ‘oh shit I’m fictional’. Because kid, this isn’t a conclusion you immediately come to. Think about it, for a moment. If you’re actually here, with this conclusion in mind, there’s a reason you think that this is it. So gather all the reasons you’ve got, notice a few more and grab those too, and stick them in a box. Or write them down. Just put them somewhere and take a look at what you’ve got.

Now figure out if X habit here is related to Y homesickness of Z aesthetic, if that’s a Normal Human Thing or a Odd Alterhuman Thing. The lines will blur. You will have something that’s a Normal Human Thing, but in context is possibly an Odd Alterhuman Thing. Note that it’s both depending on perspective, and continue.

Try not to define stuff too much. Before you say you’ve got wings as supernumerary limbs - do you have wings, or just a weight on your back? Because those ‘wings’ might be wires, or a saddle, or gods know what else. Note that it’s a weight, check to see if it’s not a normal human thing medical issue, that you think it’s wings, what it feels like other than a weight, if it’s just there like clothes or if you can feel through it like your hands, and whatever else you’ve got.

You should probably figure out what you’re working with before you start putting it together. If you’re sorting by colour or by shape, essentially. Question things. Do you know it’s this because that’s just your first reaction, or do you know because that’s what it is and you’re not arguing the sky is blue? 

Do not, and I repeat, do not overkill it. Keep questioning to a quiet thing, if you must sit down and dedicate time, do not do more than an hour or two. Brains do confirmation bias. You’ll see shit that isn’t there, or make things up to fit the puzzle you think you just solved. When you do sit down to question, write down exactly how you got from point A to point D. Take some time away after, and revisit it, see if point C still holds up on its own.

Try not to question too little and assume things, try not to question too much and make yourself full of doubt. Some things just are, okay? You don’t have to convince yourself it’s not That, that you aren’t sure, that it can’t possibly be. Sometimes it’s just like That, and that’s okay. It’s all right to accept the impossible. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t, you’d be dismissing me. Don’t take things at face value, but sometimes, what they are inside is exactly what it says on the tin.

This is going to be long, and great at times, and sucky at times, and downright confusing. If you turn to divination like tarot and pendulums, ensure they work before using them on this, and like all things, take with a grain of salt. Tarot that someone else does on you? Yeah, okay, it’ll work. Asking someone on the internet to use a pendulum for you? No. Do not. That is not going to give you a good answer on anything.

If you can do it for a different part of your identity, you can do it for this - as a decent rule of thumb. 

You may want to ask why you’re like this, if it’s spiritual or psychological or how it happened. Key word may. A lot of us do ask why, and sometimes find answers, but if you’re “Idk, I’m just an elf, don’t ask me,” then that is also completely fine! So long as you’re happy with that answer. 

Multiple kintypes can make questioning an utter nightmare. Tackle them one at a time, use elimination methods, check if X is a symptom of Y kintype or Z hearttype or gods know what else. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t effin’ know, and deal with it later. You won’t get this overnight. You’ll be questioning for at least a month. Anything less and ehhh, you sure, buddy? You might be right, but under a month and you might’ve missed something critical - it just isn’t enough time to be absolutely sure. Like marrying someone, this takes time to understand and learn. Bad example, but it works.

You may be questioning for years. Happens to the best of us. My friend Gryph spent five years asking ‘is this a hearttype or a kintype’ and was only sure after I used the ‘#god i wish that were me versus #me’ comparison and it made enough sense that they figured it out on the spot. That was like, three years ago. It was actually kind of funny considering Gryph was like, twice my age at the time. 

Point is, this takes time, sometimes you just know, sometimes you really don’t. It’s weird, it’s unique, it’s personal, it’s an adventure and if you’re here you’ll probably be glad to go through it. Some of us are actually not happy with being otherkin, and would trade it away if they could. This is also normal. Not as well-spoken about, for obvious reasons, but it happens.

The key is introspection. It’s not divination, it’s not what someone else says - though that can help. It’s introspection. It’s about you, it’s what you are. It’s what’s right, what is true to your story. It’s a truth of the world, something you understand a split second before it defines itself, something that really just doesn’t give itself easily over to words.

There’s no step by step guide to otherkinity, to alterhumanity. Nobody could make one. But if you’re sure that this rings true, that this is the key to a part of you, then to you I say only two things.

Welcome to our subculture. I hope you find what you’re looking for.

Luteia 💚

[moved-to-darkplanets]

Involuntary hearttype and partial thoughtform edition, a misanthropic warlock who helped fucking kill God, leading to the deaths of millions, because he's obsessed with his getting back at his childhood best friend , pretty much doing the "if I cannot have your love I will have your hatred" thing. Said best friend returned his feelings and he'd have found that out if he'd just fuckign said something instead of, you know, selling his soul to the devil and destroying the world.

What's not to love? He's the main reason I'm opposed to antis.

I think every fictionkin should compete for who has the most problematic fictotype