#or a fictionkin (which I think is involuntarily?)

[ieaturanium]

u can rant in the comments :3

[untameddwildsunseen]

Introduction

Welcome to the untamed wilds traveler. Take a rest by the river and speak to this wolf all your worries.

Anyway, hello there! You all may call me The Fenrir, or Fenrir when not using formalities. I have many identities, but this one is where I will chronicle my journey with my alterhumanity. That, answer asks about our knowledge of the communities I inhabit, or just generally whatever alterhuman posts I am feeling like posting about.

I do not know everything as I am not a therian and I am not physically alterhuman (to my knowledge at least). So I cannot talk about experiences on those. I have only been awakened fully since this year. I presume I have been awakened longer, approximately 2-3 years, without knowledge of the terms. Though, topics I am open to talking about are what I am, which I will explain later in this post. I am also willing to talk about my own experiences and how my alterhumanity affects me and my day to day life. Though, I should warn that I will talk about the negative sides as well. Things such as negative shifts (as I experience them) and the negative sides to my alterhumanity. Though, I will combat those posts with positive ones.

Some more information, I am 21 years old and have several queer identities. The more important ones being that I am a (trans)demiboy, demiaroace, and polyam with 3 lovely partners.

Identities

In this portion I will be explaining my experiences with my identities. Is it a lot of labels? Perhaps. Though, I think it's generously also organizes each one. In each label I will explain what they are for anyone awakening or wanting to know about linktypes.

Otherkin

A basic understanding is that otherkin are those who involuntarily identify as something not of this world. Such examples include gods, aliens, elemental, dragons, vampires, zombies, et cetera.

Type(s):

Drago~ Specifically a chaos/space dragon. I get intense shifts, especially of the phantom and astral variety. I am naturally carnivorous and I have only experienced primarily good feelings during shifts.

Copingkin

To note: This is a term underneath the otherkin umbrella, as otherkin includes coping based identities. I prefer to separate these two terms due to how different my experiences with these terms effect my day to day life.

My understanding of copingkin in that one involuntarily identifies as a certain being as a means to cope. This could be for a variety of reasons. One can be a domestic breed of dog, another can be a character from Baulder's Gate 3, and maybe someone identifies as the nemean lion.

Type(s):

Fenrir~ Ah, what this blog is based on. Anyway, I intensely awakened as the fenrir this year due to what I perceived as severe betrayal where I reacted in a way similar to the Norse story "The Binding of Fenrir." I only Identify as the Norse myth version as it was the closest to my feelings and shifts. My shifts tend to be very negative. Perception shifts tend to be the most common and the hardest to come down from for me. It's not all bad though.

Fictionkin

Those identifying as fictionkin are those who involuntarily identify as a character from a piece of media. From books to shows/movies, to video games. Is it a fictional character one involuntarily identifies as? They could definitely be fictionkin.

Type(s):

Julian Devorak (The Arcana: A Mystic Romance)~ This is my oldest type surprisingly. His martyr personality and his fatal flaw of sacrificing himself and working himself into the ground is what made me connect and see me as him. Along with uncanny similarities between our lives. I don't shift often with him. It is more of a situation where if I see art of him, I just think 'Oh hey, that is me.'

Otherhearted

This is a touch different than a kintype as you involuntarily identify with something, rather than as that something. Can be anything, or multiple anythings. It's what you involuntarily identify with that matters.

Type(s):

Lucifer (Clado?)~ There is no real one depiction of Lucifer I do not identify with. Though the strongest ones tend to be closer to the biblical depiction and the Netflix show Lucifer. This is possibly because of my journey with religion (I am not Christian in any sense other than agnostic). I don't have a lot of shifts to my knowledge, but that's fine by me.

Otherlink/Copinglink

Note: I have combined them due to what I have now learned.

Otherlink and Copinglink are synonyms. Normally used interchangeably. These are terms when one links to, or voluntarily identifies as, something for any reason. I tend to associate copinglink with coping with something, but that isn't the case for all. Use these terms however you wish. Anything can be linked to for any reason, like if it is for the fun of it.

Type(s):

Anatolian Shepherd/Saint Bernard Mix (Copinglink)~ I aim to please and am used to wrangling others together. I linked specifically to a domestic mutt as a means to cope with my copingkin and the negative feelings it brings about at times. Seeing myself as a big, goofy, lovable dog makes me feel at ease. Especially with my eagerness to please. It is also due partially because of how I love, like a dog. Even if I'm hurt.

Telemachus (EPIC: The Musical/The Odyssey) (Otherlink)~ I took some time to read The Odyssey (still in the process of it as well) and have been listening to EPIC. Telemachus reminds me of myself when I was younger and had more of an optimistic and ambitious outlook on life. He is partially a copinglink as I envy he and his father's relationship. The way he looks up to his father was the same way I did with my own. I knew something was there, but it didn't fully connect as a hearttype or as a kintype. So, linktype it was.

Questioning/Considering

Considering (Linktypes): Odysseus (EPIC: The Musical/The Odyssey)~ I am currently doing research by finishing the book and waiting for the musical to finish, which will not be until the end of this year I would assume for the musical. This is because some of the things that happen to him in The Odyssey I have never experienced (besides fighting off monsters) personally. Though, there is a part of me that feels a connection there somewhere.

Questioning (Theriotypes/Kintypes/Hearttypes): None at the moment.

Boundaries

Now, onto important information on this blog. My boundaries are to be followed. I am not afraid to block if someone completely disregards them.

I do not want to deal with drama. If I am wrong, respectfully let me know by sending a message, by reblogging the reply, or by commenting. I am learning and some labels I do not know much about. I am constantly learning, and constantly pursuing my own self-education on certain topics.

I still bleed the same blood. Do not harass me under any circumstances. Respect me and I will respect you in return. I enjoy a good jest every now and again, but even every now and again I do find some things over the line. Do not joke at my, or others, expense for laughs.

Do not harm others who are on my blog without just reasons. I am one who believes in innocent until proven guilty. This is due to some issues in my own past. I do not enjoy drama either as stated before. So if something is going on with a certain user, respectfully let me know and I will fix what I need in the way I choose to do it.

When doing asks, keep away from NSFW topics. While I am above the age of consent, I do not want to go into that on this blog. Nor am I interested in sharing any accounts as such. What I do is private, and is not exactly appropriate for my blog.

If I say to quit it, I mean it. When I say "quit it" I mean to cut it out and act your age. As it may be seen in my boundaries, you must give respect to earn respect. We talk thing out if something happens. I will not argue if someone is acting like a toddler with their arguments. (For example: an Anti telling me to end it. I consider it childish, showing that you have the emotional comprehension for others on the same level as a young child who knows no better.)

If you interact with the ask box, please be kind. While I may seem to be able to handle those who are acting like pains, I can be surprisingly sensitive. Coming at me guns-a-blazing or keyboard warrior like, I get extremely anxious when reading them. I spiral quickly. I tend to understand if people are upset, but if I feel threatened, I will bite back with a block. No questions asked there.

DNI

This will be interesting. Lets see how many respect my do not interact list. I will block anyone who doesn't respect my interaction boundaries.

Harmful paraphilias. Those who claim to be MAPs or Zoos and other similar paraphilias. I find them disgusting. I do not care to know if you are in recovery. Stay off of my blog.

Anti-Alterhuman (and others like them). I believe this is reasonable since this is my alterhuman blog. I do not want to interact with you, and the same for you to me. Out of mutual dislike, simply do not interact with me and just block me. Simple as that than telling me how I identify.

Transmeds/TERFs/Transphobes. I believe me stating that I am trans and a demiboy is simple enough to understand why I do not want these interactions. Though for those who are wanting more, I find them ignorant. I have dealt with enough people disrespecting my gender identity to have a short fuse with them. Especially if they bring up Christian rhetoric to back themselves up.

Homophobes. I also group up people against polyamory here too. But because my sexuality and romantic orientation are more complicated then I have stated, I do not wish to interact with closed-minded individuals. I respect you, you respect me. Once again, Christian rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community are not welcome. As for those against polyamory, it's okay if you have been hurt or it is not your style. It does not mean you have a right to telling me how to live my life. I will not tell you how to live your life. Give me the same respect.

Proshippers and the likes. I find them disgusting as well. While it may be fictional, it doesn't make it morally correct. I do not like what is there or the impact it has on the youth. The possibilities of normalizing unhealthy dynamics is extremely harmful. I lived through the box office openings of Twilight and its fanfiction movie (I will not give out the name). This ruined how my generation saw love (Not everyone, but looking back at what was coming out at the time).

Racists and other harmful ideologies. I think this is pretty self explanatory. While I am not POC myself, I have friends who are and I will always have their back. Sentient beings deserve respect as much as the next. Let us respect one another in this shared space we call the internet.

Hardcore Christians (extremists, cults, et cetera). Seem weird or a bit ironic being Luciferhearted. Though I have good reason for this in my "Do Not Interact". I have dealt with Christian rhetoric before, and I don't exactly appreciate being told something I don't exactly believe. I'm agnostic/pagan. Abrahamic religion need to give me proof of their beliefs. Though I do believe their figures and god have a place. Though, I actively choose to believe more in the pagan gods of old. Such as those of the Nordic and Hellenic pantheons.

Minors (Below 18 years old). With me being 21, I do not feel comfortable being in an area around minors. Even though the blog is safe for work, I would like users interacting being a minimum of 18 years of age.

(User boxes made by: @/kthecritter)

[gokucarrot]

Introduction Post!

(I will probably update as time goes on)

Now that we've got that up above everything else lol, Hi! I'm Goku! My main pronouns are He/Him/Xe/Xim/They/Them, but I also use other pronouns! They are in a Pronouny in the About Me section of my carrd :3, but I also want to say that the Xe/Xim part is a full set (Xe/Xey/Xim/Xyr/Xir) but Xe/Xim/Xyr is what I mainly prefer from that set itself.

I will probably be posting art, fic updates, and Q&As if I ever get big enough for that lolll, maybe along with some other things like vents (I'll TW and c3nsor the best I can) or ideas or many different things that I can't post on Instagram lol.

My Interests!

Dragon Ball Series

Omori

Minecraft

Scene/Emo stuff (not the problematic stuff @~@)

Style

Aesthetics

Music

Art

Psychology

ofc queer stuff <3333

Kinda still FNAF

learning about nature, especially foxes, specifically arctic foxes!

What to expect when following me besides what I post:

I might need tone tags sometimes so if you ask a question, Dm, etc, please just go ahead and use tone tags! I struggle with Obsessive Love Disorder, possibly caused by BPD (Discouraged/Quiet) if I have it, so there's that. I also struggle with possible psych0sis (possibly linked to the same thing, but there are other possibilities to consider), or positive symptoms (not the kind of positive you're probably thinking lol) of such things. I also involuntarily (though sometimes voluntarily) age regress which- surprise, surprise- could also be caused the same darn thing ;-;.

I think I'm in a good enough headspace to talk about this, so if anyone is wondering; this is a *genuine* Identity Delusion, along with Fictionkin. I also use the term IRL to describe this. I do believe I'm a version of Son Goku, yes, but not all the time! Sometimes it's just me strongly kinning or having a very strong connection to him, probably due to neurodivergence (sorry if you hear that a lot XD)! I also want to say; just because there is no concrete diagnosis, does not mean the problem isn't there! So if you feel as though this is fake because I don't have one, trust me, I tell myself that allllll the time, but I've learned to realize that I can't ignore it simply because of that and that's why I'm so open about it. I am not going to share my real chosen name because I know what that might lead some people to do and, personally, I don't appreciate reality checks. Some of us do, some of us don't! I have few exceptions to reality checks and it'll be obvious when I need it, even if I can't say "reality check" in that moment.

If you're still reading, I'm so thankful for that ;-;

With all that said, and you reading at least the most important part of my carrd, I hope this account is interesting and you like it! <3

(I'll update this banner eventually)

(Edit from 6-5-23: Xe/Xim/Xyr*, minor grammar mistakes)

(Edit from 01-22-24: removed south park from interests, added minecraft)

PLS READ THIS BEFORE ANYTHING AT ALL WHATSOEVER

[spiritus-sonne]

The Plasticity of Otherkin

To clarify, in this writing I’m using “plasticity” to refer to changes that can occur, particularly psychologically, in the experience and/or identity of being otherkin (and related identities). This does not mean that such changes are by conscious choice (though maybe they can be in some cases) nor that they are easy to occur (in which plasticity as a definition can denote “easy to mold” but I’m not using it that way, this is instead something at least more similar to how it is used in neuroscience with the ability of the mind to change). It is generally accepted by otherkin that being such is an involuntary thing and that being otherkin is essentially permanent and life-long from whenever it begins.

It used to be a very common belief and ‘standard’ in the therian and otherkin communities that one must be born as therian/otherkin and any belief to the contrary was treated as invalid, sometimes with people stating that an individual always was therian/’kin from birth but just didn’t know it until later in life. Eventually such insistence calmed down in these communities, seemingly from people who adamantly spoke against that ‘norm’ and offered reasoning as to why it isn’t an invalid belief, myself included amongst those who spoke against it (specifically in my “Becoming a Therian” writing). There also tends to be a lot of people in the otherkin community who believe their own otherkinity is due to spirit-based reasons, and some of those people (though seemingly less so anymore) believe that such is the case for othekin in general. With that, they tend to believe that one’s spirit is anchored to a human body at or near physical birth and thus that the spirit (and therefore their nonhumanity) would be a part of them from birth. Which is a fine view to have but it certainly isn’t the only legitimate one and fortunately many otherkin in the community now accept other views including psychological ones.

When it comes to the debate about whether otherkinity can be voluntary or if it is only involuntary, I feel kind of grey about it, undecided as to which ‘side’ I take because, really, I think my view is somewhere in-between. I do hold that otherkinity/therianthropy are not choices in a simple sense nor that one can easily or quickly become ‘kin/therian or easily lose being such. But that doesn’t mean I view it as strictly “involuntary”. The matter is more complex than a simple black-or-white definition of “otherkin are only such involuntarily”. I totally get why these identities and experiences are viewed as involuntary, but to those who feel they fall in that grey area or to those who want to dive deeper into this concept instead of taking it at face-value--well, that’s why I’m writing this piece. It has just never sat right with me that otherkin-is-involuntary is treated as some factual truth that can’t be questioned.

So to start off, I’ll cover the concept of ‘becoming otherkin/therian’, though much more briefly than my essay I mentioned. It appears most common for someone to essentially have always been ‘kin/therian, from birth, but it does occur sometimes that an individual will develop their nonhuman identity and experiences at some point later in their life, after early childhood. A person’s sense of self and their personality can change quite significantly between their baby or toddler years and their near-teens, teenage years, and into being an adult. I, personally, can’t track back my nonhumanity to before I was 10 to 12 years old--a very critical changing point in my development as an individual and who I have been since then. Actually, I can even date back my monster-heartedness to early childhood but not my otherkinity. So why would I just assume those experiences were there when I can’t so far find the evidence to believe such? Just because some other people want to believe that every otherkin had to be such from birth? That’s not a good enough reason for me. That crucial pivot point of my life at 10 to 12 years old changed me in many ways as an individual, and causing me to develop my otherkinity was a big part of that. I don’t know *why* exactly my otherkinity developed, and when in particular certain ‘kintypes developed enough that I would now consider them ‘kintypes, but it did.

The mind is a plastic thing, with the level of plasticity dependent on various factors, including but not limited to: age or stage of life, social factors and influences, trauma and stress, and learning, among other things. And with that, the Self is also similarly plastic. It’s easy for people to take for granted the Self as being static because most of the time it develops so slowly it’s hard to notice the changes until one looks back at their memories or other people’s memories of them to find contrast to who they are at present and at different points in their life. The Self does have static, or at least mostly static, aspects, and the extent of such varies from individual to individual, but it also has aspects that can and do change on an individual basis. So it calls into question this concept of a “true self” that one’s otherkinity is a part of. I do believe that otherkinity is a deep, integral part of who someone is, that it is part of one’s Self. However, that Self can and does change over the course of one’s life, so why can’t one’s otherkinity necessarily change with it, including to the extent of either developing or losing whole ‘kintypes or their otherkinity entirely? That doesn’t mean that such happens by choice, let alone by some superficial kind of choice.

But what of people choosing to gain or lose a ‘type? Copinglinks and otherlinks are essentially experientially the same as otherkin and fictionkin with the key difference being that ‘links are formed voluntarily--by choice--unlike how otherkin are believed to form. Yet there can be a grey area here, in that some ‘linktypes may develop in such a way as to become completely involuntary, regardless of whether the individual with the ‘type likes it anymore or not. And the question is whether these now-involuntary ‘linktypes could be considered ‘kintypes? Personally, I think they can, but that it’s ultimately up to the individual experiencing such to decide if they feel otherkinity, fictionkinity, therianthropy, coping/otherlinking, or whatever fits their experiences and identity better. It’s not up to other people to decide for them, and that does not make the matter insulting or disrespectful of otherkin and related or types of ‘linking. I believe that it also is possible to voluntarily lose one’s otherkinity, though I figure it is very difficult to do and would likely take an extensive time to complete, along with it quite notably changing core aspects of the individual’s Self, including in ways the individual couldn’t predict. As to whether anyone has done such, I don’t personally know, but I would like to see the communities open and respectful of the concept, at the least.

I’ve known of people before who have lost one or more therio-/’kintypes over time, not that they were actually “just wrong about being those ‘types” but that they felt they legitimately lost them for whatever reasons. And I believe that such can similarly happen to the individual’s full nonhumanity or fictionkinity, even if it may be a rather rare occurrence. And that’s, as a concept, okay. The individual has the place and right to believe they lost that part of who they once were, whether they wanted to or not, whether they even liked that part of them or not, and they shouldn’t be shamed, disrespected, or insisted they are wrong about it because of it. These cases, in my opinion, aren’t ruining these nonhuman and fictionkin parts of alterhumanity, despite how some people may act like they are. It’s especially problematic if these people do exist and for any of them their loss of their nonhumanity or fictionkinity is a bad, emotional part of their life. Or even if they consciously chose to lose such, their reasons behind making that choice could be surrounded in rather negative parts of their life and previous self, so people shouldn’t be making them feel bad about it because others are viewing their experiences as “invalid”.

The point to all this is that otherkinity and related are still highly subjective things and we are learning more about the vast diversity in the experiences and identities of such over time, so our communal knowledge needs to remain open to certain extents and willing to let that knowledge grow when new information emerges. Otherkin is not necessarily a for-life static thing in various ways and we need to be more careful to view it not through a black-or-white lens but through a whole spectrum of possibilities before we decide what exactly is set-in-stone about it. And doing this does not render the definition of otherkin meaningless.

[a-dragons-journal]

my friend made a carrd on kin terms and wants to make sure terms are correct as they aren't that interactive with the community yet being in it for years, the url is kinform. carrd. co ( I am not sure if links work )

- and in case my tumblr messes up again I wanna stay anon

A’ight, let’s go through this!

First off, I want to say: I really appreciate the effort your friend is putting into this, including going to the effort to have other people check their work! It’s a well-organized carrd, and I appreciate that they included a lot of less well-known labels! That being said, there’s definitely quite a bit of misinformation here - which is totally understandable, the misinformation has spread unfortunately far at this point. But hey, that’s why I’m here!

Incorrect info:

- “alterhuman: a general term for anyone who identifies as non-human, whether it be 'kin or 'link” (on Terms) “Alterhuman” is a much broader term than that - “Having an identity that is alternative to the common societal idea of 'human'; a person who identifies as such.” It covers anyone who has an alternative experience to humanity, or who experiences humanity in an alternative way from “normal”. It’s intentionally an extremely vague and broad term - it covers ‘kin, ‘links, ‘heartedness/kith/synpaths, plurality, daemonism, furry lifestylers, real vampires, endels, probably voidpunk, etc.

(There’s a whole conversation to be had here about how the alterhuman community was supposed to get away from centralizing the otherkin narrative but somehow ended up with that being a huge problem anyway, with it often feeling like it’s about nonhuman identity even though it’s not - but that’s a pretty long conversation, so we won’t go there xD)

- “astral limbs: the sensation of a body part that is not there in real life ; not to be confused with phantom limbs which is used by amputees” (on Terms) Astral limbs =/= supernumerary phantom limbs =/= phantom limb syndrome. What you’re defining is supernumerary phantom limbs, not astral limbs/shifts - astral limbs/shifts are where your astral body changes to match that of your kintype, which a) doesn’t always coincide with phantom shifts, and b) requires belief in astral bodies/the astral plane in the first place, which many ‘kin don’t hold.

Supernumerary phantom limbs is the sensation of having a body part that is not and never has been physically present, as opposed to phantom limb syndrome which is referring to limbs that have been amputated. It’s not “appropriating” language from amputees or anything like that like some people have tried to claim - supernumerary phantom limbs is a medical term. Astral limbs isn’t an accurate, adequate, or necessary replacement.

- copingkin: identifying with or as anything under fictionkin or otherkin for comfort and/or coping ; also referred to as comfortkin ~ also see copinglink (from Kin) I would strongly suggest removing this; it’s not an accepted term and pretty much never has been as far as I’m aware. You’re either copinglink, someone who chose their identity for coping purposes, or otherkin who happens to have a psychological explanation, if your identity came about as an unconscious/involuntary coping mechanism.

- fictionkin: identifying with or as a fictional character or race. (from Kin) Remove “with or”; it’s identify-as. If you don’t identify as them, you’re not ‘kin. Identifying strongly with, but not as, is ‘heartedness, not ‘kin. I would also suggest swapping “race” for “species,” if that’s what you meant, since that’s a pretty loaded term out of context.

- otherkin: identifying with or as non-animal/non-human and mythical creatures ; some have their own label such as songkin. (from Kin) Remove “with or”; it’s identify-as, as above^.

- kin is often involuntarily & spiritual, if you consider yourself kin but don't do these, see hearted or synpath (from Kin) ‘Kin is involuntary, full stop, but it’s not necessarily spiritual. Nor is the distinction between ‘kin and ‘heartedness/synpaths the voluntary/involuntary aspect; it’s that ‘kin is identify-as and ‘heartedness/synpath isn’t.

- aeslink relating to anything for aesthetic reasons ~ "i am angel & palace aeslink" copinglink strongly relating with a fictional character for comfort and/or coping. (from Other) ‘Links are voluntarily choosing to cultivate an identity as something else - character, species, or otherwise. It’s still identify-as, not “relating to,” it’s just voluntary where otherkinity is involuntary. It’s not any less serious or any less identify-as. 'Linking or otherlinking is defined as “voluntarily choosing to identify as nonhuman/a fictional character or species”.

- synpaths: strongly relating to a fictional character or race that you see a lot of yourself in, but not as strong as kin. (from Other) Remove “not as strong as ‘kin”; ‘kin isn’t “relating to” something in the first place, it’s identifying as that thing. I would also suggest swapping “race” for “species,” if that’s what you meant, since that’s a pretty loaded term out of context.

- therian: identifying with or as an animal or other living thing. (from Other) Remove “with or”; it’s identify-as, as with fictionkin and otherkin.

Suggested edits:

Things that aren’t necessarily wrong, but which I would suggest edits to anyway for clarity/accuracy.

- awakening: the moment one realizes they identify as a kintype/theriantype (from Terms) I would posit that an awakening isn’t necessarily a single moment in time; much more often it’s an extended process that can take weeks, months, or even years. There’s some overlap between “awakening” and “questioning” that way, imo.

- They also said “theriantype” multiple times where it should be “theriotype,” but that’s more of a typo thing than a content error.

- otherkin: identifying with or as non-animal/non-human and mythical creatures ; some have their own label such as songkin. (from Kin) Songkin is probably not a great example if this is intended for outsiders who are new to the terminology, since conceptkin is kind of hard to explain to begin with, but that’s my personal opinion.

- Cladotherian, therian, theriomythic, and phytanthrope should all be on the ‘Kin page, as they all technically fall under ‘kin.

-  identity/ID, kinnie & kinning won't be added as they are terms created by the more newer kin community and aren't recognized/accepted terms for older kin, though some older kin may be okay with these terms. (from Terms) Personally, I don’t like calling them “the newer kin community” - the “kin for fun” people aren’t ‘kin, they’re misusing our language, that’s the entire point. “The “kin-for-fun” community” or just “terms being warped as part of misinformation” would probably be more accurate.

- Synpath can probably be included on the ‘hearted page, since synpath, kith, and otherhearted are basically all synonymous.

Suggested additions:

- A resources list may be worthwhile! Things like personal websites and perhaps a few trustworthy blogs/posts could be worth adding to that list (I have a kin resources tag here that may be useful to them if they want to do that!) This gives people a place to go if they want to learn more.

- The term otherlinker is probably a good one to add, given that copinglinker and a specific type of ‘link (aeslink) are both present but the larger umbrella term presently isn’t.

Out of curiosity:

not edits at all, I’m just curious, ha

- kintrope: a trait found in most of ones kintypes. (from Terms) I’m really curious where they found this term, it’s not one I’ve heard before!

I think that’s about all I can find - like I said, I really appreciate the effort being put into this carrd! There’s a lot of good terms on here, just some definition fixes that need to be made - it’s well-organized and very aesthetically pleasing, which is more than I can honestly say for a lot of carrds xD

Hopefully that’s all clear enough to be helpful - I’m more than happy to chat further about this or provide clearer definitions/suggested resources, if your friend wants! :3

[prettygirlgerard]

I’ve seen someone say “if you believe you’re a character involuntarily not for spiritual reasons and you do have psychosis it’s a delusion, if you do not have psychosis... then u may actually have it and it is a delusion” and “kinning is actually voluntary only unless it’s spiritual and it’s actually a delusion and u just don’t realize it if u believe yourself to involuntarily be a character” and at this point I’m so confused because for the longest time I’ve known otherkin and fictionkin to be involuntary belief of being a character but now DAs are given the same definition so now idk how to tell if I’m experiencing a delusion or not? /gen

i have a draft of the other ask you sent ill work on that one later

in short, i have no idea how to tell if its a delusion or a kintype because i don't experience delusions.

i've had people adamantly tell me that i am delusional for being fictionkin which isn't true in the slightest?? like i personally know that i don't have psychosis or any delusional disorder.

i guess it just comes down to the person? I mean, true kinning *is* involuntary but i guess the main difference (based off my knowledge of DAs and fictionkin) is that with kintypes you can separate yourself from the character, you recognize that you aren't said character all the time. I think. Idk hope this helped?

(this entire answer could be not true for all i know, i am not the number one source for any of this so if any other kinfolk or delusional people wanna chime in please do <33)

[crescairis]

hey, this isn't a hate ask or anything, why wouldn't you like "kinnies" interacting? im genuinely curious bc i haven't seen anything wrong with the term thus far, and would like some education if there is something wrong with it! thank you! ♡

hi! essentially, a lot of people in our system are spiritual fictionkin (though i’m not; i’ll be saying we/our/us regardless), and the term can be very upsetting to us for a couple reasons:

a) it originated on a troll blog (we can’t remember the url, but it had the word nonny in it) and was used in a mocking way from the very beginning. we don’t feel comfortable “reclaiming” it it because:

b) it feels...infantalizing and belittling. we don’t want to sugarcoat or make light of our experiences in that way, especially because our alterhumanity ties very directly into some of our traumas! calling ourselves “kinnies” would just feel like we’re making a mockery of our own past lives and the weight we put on those memories. these things are essential to our understanding of our identities and we really would not be the same people without them. (not to say that we don’t make jokes about them in private/with trusted people, but it just feels like we’re opening ourselves up to jokes from people we do not know and would not be comfortable joking about this stuff with.)

c) a lot (not all, but still a large number of) people who refer to themselves as kinnies...do not respect the subculture of otherkinity or even alterhumanity as a whole. far too often, we’ve seen people who refer to themselves as kinnies making fun of serious ‘kin (psychological or spiritual) and either saying they’re “taking it too seriously” or outright calling them delusional. we’ve experienced this ourselves, and it really hurt! we’d rather not experience it again!

d) kinnie is a term that’s also used a lot by people who “kin for fun”, which we think is a misuse of the term ‘kin and always will be. yes, language is constantly changing, but if people who aren’t seriously, involuntarily, spiritual/psychological kin co-opt these terms completely, then...what do we have left? we’d have to write essays to get it across that These are Our Lives. We Truly, 100% Believe That We Were and Are These People, while people who don’t can just say “oh i’m kinning this character :)” and have it be that. it just feels unfair that these terms are being taken from a community that’s been around since the 70s! (look up the silver elves!)

disclaimer: we are aware that there are spiritual/psychological ‘kin who use the word kinnie for themselves and others. we just do not want to do that for ourselves, and would rather not have to see the term any more than we already do! we also have no problem with copinglinkers/otherlinkers who understand that their relationships with their links are not ‘kin.

[viadescioism]

Otherkinity: Basics

So I wanted to make this overview post on otherkinity primarily because when I first started my Tumblr blog I wrote a post on otherkinity, and got my first hateful comment as a content creator, which almost made me delete my blog back then, so I'm back to make the post correctly, hopefully using the skills that I've learned from my time making posts in order to produce something better, and I also hope that I can help educate people on what otherkinity is.

Introduction:

Otherkinity is more than what you probably have heard about it. It is something that many people are, and work with on a regular basis throughout their life. Despite common belief this understanding did not originate from Tumblr, though it has found a community there, and it actually has a full history that will not be communicated here. An otherkin is a person who experiences identifying with some form of nonhuman entity. The identity in which the person is connected to is referred to as a kintype, though in connection to therianthropy (which is a form of otherkinity), it can also be known as a theriotype. The kintype is not a separate, or external part of the individual, and an otherkin can have multiple of these kintypes. Because, we truly do not know what causes someone to experience otherkinity individuals may have different ways in which they perceive their identity. Individuals can identify with there kintype in a spiritual, psychological, and/or neurological way, and all of these different ways may have different elements that one believes contributed to them being an otherkin.

Types of Otherkin:

This is a list of some of the more common types of otherkin, and not all of the types are listed here.

Therian - Are individuals who identify in some way as an animal that exists, or has existed.

Mythkin - Are individuals who identify in some way as a mythical creature.

Plantkin - Are individuals who identify in some way as a plant.

Fictionkin - Are individuals who identify in some way as an entity that is fictional.

Awakening:

Awakening is the term that is given to the process of realizing that one is an otherkin. This process can happen at any time, though it has been observed to usually happens earlier during the teenage years of one's life. An individual can use self examination, and reflection in order to truly know if they are an otherkin, or not.

Shifting:

Shifting is the process of becoming more like your otherkin identity for a temporary amount of time. Not all otherkins experience shifting, but this process can happen voluntarily, or involuntarily. Involuntary shifts can be triggered through emotions, or being in a situation that connects you to your otherkinity. Voluntarily shifts are shifts that are brought on by the individual. Some other cans also believe that they are in a constant state of being shifted, and because of this they do not shift, but they are always presently shifted.

Types of shifts:

This is a short list of the basic types of shifts. All the types of shifts may not be listed here.

Mental Shifts, or M-Shifts: Mental shifts are shifts where the individual gets in the mindset of their kintype. Most of the time this results in individuals simply experiencing a process of thinking that they would associate with their kintype. It could also result in the individual then making sounds that mimic their kintype, and doing  other things that their kintypes would do.

Phantom Shifts, or Ph-Shifts: Phantom shifts is much like the understanding of phantom limb syndrome. This is where the individual will feel phantom aspects of their kintype, such things as tails, ears, wings, fur, and teeth, along with other things will be felt by the individual. One or multiple of these things can happen at a time, and it also can feel slight, or quite intense.

Dream Shifts: Dream shifts are shifts into your kintype within your dreams. This can happen within a state of lucidity, but it can also be brought on simply in your normal dreaming state.

Astral Shifts: Astral shifts are shifts into your kintype on the astral plane of existence. This is a spiritual shift that changes your astral form into that of your kintype and this process will occur in out of body experiences, and astral projection.

[shadowfae]

I've recently stumbled across the word "otherkin" and it seems to describe certain feelings I have, but the tumblr tags seem to be full of unuseful information and, well, silliness. I'm sort of looking for people to talk to while I try to sort myself out, without making too much light of it. Do you have any advice on sifting through everything?

Besides going ‘AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA’ and never doing anything about it?

First things first. You’re new, so we’re going to divide this into two parts. Part one, crash course on otherkinity, alterhumanity, and the little branches of it you should know about. Those words and terms will help you figure out what’s what. Part two is great, you know all these terms, how do you sort through the mess that is kinfeels. 

Under a readmore because long, since I ramble sometimes. I’m glad you asked, and if you have any further questions, hit me up again and I’ll do what I can.

Part One: What Even Is Otherkinity

Otherkinity is identifying involuntarily and nonphysically as something nonhuman. You aren’t saying you are physically this thing (as you are physically human), you cannot choose to be this thing and can’t choose not to be this thing, and you do not identify as human 100%. 

The modifiers: Fictionkin means you can be something that is human, but it must be fictional (like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson or smth). You can be a member of a fictional species that isn’t human (like the Elf Queen’s Daughters of the early 70s that started the fictionkin community). It is still involuntary and nonphysical.

Otherkinity is divided into three ‘main’ branches: therianthropy, otherkinity, and fictionkind. Therians (or therianthropes) ID as an animal that has been or is on Earth. Like dinosaurs or foxes. There are an absurd amount of wolf therians here on tumblr. Those that are obviously faking or haven’t questioned enough for even themselves and just went with ‘wolf’ because it’s cool are called wolfaboos. Usually I just don’t talk to them, since to each their own and they’re not actively being annoying, but please don’t just “oh I’m not human clearly I’m a wolf” the moment you get kinfeels. Things don’t... work... like that...

Anyway. Otherkinity as a sublabel of itself generally has within it our conceptkin (I’m calling it that for now. Things like voidkin or starkin), theriomythics (fantasy animals within mythology such as unicorns and youkai), draconics (draconity, which is dragons and pretty self explanatory), the vampire and were____ communities, and probably a few others.

Fictionkind I already went over. I have three kintypes that are fictionkind in nature. They are called fictotypes for this reason. (Kintypes is the label for all of them, but there is also theriotypes and fictotypes for therianthropy and fictionkind.)

Those fictotypes are Pale Noël from the Evillious Chronicles, a noncanon Devil from DSP’s works, and an Absol from Pokemon. As I have more than two kintypes, I am in what we call ‘polykin hell’. Though tbh, most people put themselves in polykin hell when they’re up past five. Poor guys.

The things that are close to otherkinity but not actually it!

Copinglinkers- They ID as something voluntarily to cope with something. Usually trauma or mental illness. While not otherkin, they are alterhuman and do belong in our community. They are also called copingkin, which is a bit outdated but since copinglink is a new term, I’ll let it slide. (It was coined by @who-is-page, actually, and they are a delight to follow if you want to see antikin absolutely dragged through the mud.)

Otherhearted- Those who identify not as something but with it. As an example, I am faehearted and shadowhearted. I identify with those things because one of my fictotypes did, and that carried over. It is very easy to mistake heartfeels for kinfeels. Regardless, like c’linkers and ‘kin they are alterhuman and totally rad.

Synpaths- Tbh I’m not quite sure what’s the difference between synpaths and ‘hearted. (I have heard it is ‘ID with this’ versus ‘I want to hug that’ but you should not be asking me; as I don’t have a fuckin’ clue.) Either way, if you think you have a synpath go research that. Please don’t ask me, I don’t know. All I know is that they exist and they do stuff, so they’re worth mentioning.

There are also ways to be otherkin, for lack of a better term. Ways you explain why you identify as these things. There are two main ‘branches’ to this: spiritual and psychological. There are also religious, cultural, and probably a few other reasons, but let’s go with the ones off the top of my head.

Spiritual- Can be anything from ‘my soul is this and my body is not’ to ‘I was this in a past life, and it is still relevant’. (You can have past lives that aren’t kintypes. The difference is simply how much they affect you. I do believe I had a life a fuckass long time ago in second age Senntisten, but as it isn’t relevant outside of vague memories of fire, it isn’t a fictotype of mine.)

Psychological- Anything from ‘I used this as a c’link at one point but it is now irreversible, and I am this now’ to ‘My brain decided to be wired weird and now I ID as this’. Essentially, you have a psychological reasoning for being kin or hearted or whatev. Psychological otherkin get thrown under the bus a lot because really angry copinglinks insist they’re kin and we’re “gatekeeping ableist jerks”. The difference is that c’links choose and can drop their identity. Psychological otherkin cannot. The line can be pretty blurred, and in that case you’d best just slap down “I am this, currently questioning if c’link or kintype”. Literally nobody can yell at you for that. I’ve had to do it before. Never did figure out what it was, but it doesn’t matter now.

Religious- I don’t see this one as often, but I think it’s something along the lines of ‘my God wants me to feel like I’m this for X reason’? Or maybe it’s a past life thing that your religious says you have. (I think Buddhism does that, but I am no religious scholar and I might be wrong.) 

Cultural- I’ve seen this mostly in Native American folks, but I’m sure they’re not the only ones. What I have seen is ‘my family have always been crows, so I am a crow therian’. I don’t know much about Native cultures, despite having grown up around them, so I suppose if you had cultural reasons, you’d already know? I do believe spirit animals play into this, but I’m what we call ‘exotic white bread’ and I am not the authority. But I also don’t know who to redirect you to about this. Hm. I’m gonna have to go asking around.

And of course, to finish off part one: multiplicity. That’s a fun one.

Multiple systems aren’t kin. Not hearted either or anything. They’re the other ‘main branch’ of being alterhuman. They are usually several people trying to pilot one body. They use terms like fictive, which is not fictionkin(d), though the two get confused an awful lot. A fictionkind person is someone who IDs as someone or something fictional. A fictive is a part of a multiple system who IS that person, with usually no other identity. 

Using myself as an example: I am fictionkind, and one of my fictotypes has green hair. I do not have green hair right now, and that fictotype is not my entire identity. A fictive is more like “hi I’m Harry Potter and I live here now, in your body, with you”. That would be his entire identity: he is Harry Potter.

Factives are close to that, but real people that do or have existed on Earth. That’s like “hi I’m Shakespeare and I live here now”. It’s possible to have system members that are neither. That’s chill.

Supposedly, multiple systems can be both trauma-born and not-trauma-born. The latter is usually called endogenic, I think. DID/OSDD are two disorders that cause multiplicity, but as far as I know they are not the only ways to have multiplicity. You can soulbond and things, which is like the copinglink for multiplicity as in you bring someone in voluntarily. (Tulpas are also a multiplicity thing.)

Part Two: How Do I Deal With Maybe Being Otherkin Without Just Screaming Into The Void

First things first. My way is not the only way to do it. It is one method, but it tends to work for lots of people so here’s the method I know. It’s chill to ask around and figure out what others do, and then find the method that works for you.

Second things second. Do not ask a pendulum or divination blog to kinfirm something. It is a terrible method. You can divine yourself, but do not ask anyone online. Nobody’s divination is always right, and when you’re doing it online, the chance of being right drops exponentially. Bad method, 0/10 do not recommend. (You can totally divine for yourself, though. My tarot deck is particularly sassy about my own god complex from kinfeels.)

And the actual method.

1. Go create a sideblog. Name it whatever, find a nice theme you like. Make sure it is readable and not just pretty.

2. Make a tags page. I suggest doing this over a couple of days, because you are going to forget what tags you need. You want to sort between ‘angry vagueing about nothing making sense’ from ‘feels related to this’.

3. Document EVERYTHING EVER. If you think it is kin related, write that down. If you have vague memories of something, write that down too. Tag it appropriately, if only so you can find it later. (’tag later’ is a good tag if you’re on the go and know you’ll forget if you don’t write it down now.)

What I also do is fill this blog specifically with images that resonate with me. I use a queue and tagging system for this. (White blossoms is the tag for gentle TLW things; whereas black blossoms is General Edge(TM).) You should put images that resonate with you in a Particularly Kin Way on that blog. If it’s art or anything, remember to source it, though. Reblog, don’t repost. 

Also, if you’re into requesting things from kin blogs like stimboards or aesthetics, have a reqs tag for them! Keeps it all in one place and you know where you got them from. I like JUST put in mine and I am angry I didn’t do it before.

Then, self introspection. You need to ask why on everything ever. Question things. Do you do insertthinghere because your parents said so, or does it seem like you just have to? 

If questioning feels very upsetting or uncomfortable, stop for the day. I don’t recommend any more than an hour and half in one go. Your brain will confirm things that aren’t true in order to work with you. (Confirmation bias, I think it’s called.) Keep the questioning to short bursts, even if you’re on a roll.

If you must go longer, document document DOCUMENT. Writing things down makes them clearer, and halfway through writing you’ll go “oh shit that’s why that happens”.

It’s okay if your writing is messy or only makes sense to you. This is all your own, and how you go about it is entirely your decision. 

Questioning should take you weeks or months. There are a few outliers who can kinfirm something in two days and be right, but let’s be honest here: nobody likes them because we all envy them and want to be them, so we don’t like them. All jokes aside, keep it to a pace you can handle and don’t bite off more than you can chew.

Got all that? Good. Now do a shit ton of research. If you’re questioning, say, harpykin, chase links across Wikipedia and read everything you can get your hands on about harpies. You might come across something else that’s close to it: off the top of my head, the Maximum Ride series, for example, is close-ish to harpies. Check that out too, but if it doesn’t resonate, don’t push it. If it ain’t a thing and you know it isn’t, don’t bother with it, it’ll get you nowhere.

Ask around! Don’t be afraid to ask someone “hey do you think this could happen?” Nobody’s input is the end all be all, but if they’re someone you think is educated on the matter, take it into consideration. (You would not believe how much of an idiot I felt like while doing research on demonology and a friend pointed out that Christianity is not the only religion with demons. It’s obvious, but never occurred to me. You will get that feeling at some point. Happens to the best of us.)

Lastly, go at your own pace. And if you have done all of this, it will be several months from now. Go back and look at your oldest kin documents. You will understand it all so much better, and you’ll mentally high-five your past self for knowing so little, but being so full of hope anyway.

Of course, if after all of this someone tries to invalidate you, it won’t work. You’ll have done the research, the self introspection, the grueling grind of “why why why?”. They can’t tell you the sky is red if you’re not colourblind. If they try to grill you for your information, you can point them nicely towards your probably-a-trainwreck of a sideblog and they will see your documented adventure of ‘what am I?’. And then they will stop talking, because you have proven that you know what’s up.

And as the very last piece of advice? You will be wrong. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. You can be questioning. You can say “I don’t fucking know!!”. You are allowed to have bumps and wrong turns in your journey. They will happen. It’s okay. Take a deep breath, see where you might have made a mistake, write that down, and keep going. Progress is progress. You’ll figure it out eventually, no need to know it all right this very minute.

I hope this helps, little anon! This is how I came to find out I was- and I’m not done yet, either. I have some oceanic kinfeels that I know exist but don’t know what they are: fuckers better show themselves to me soon because I’m onto them. Who knows where that adventure will take me.