So. Realising how many different versions of Grian I am, I’ve decided to rank them by how much I connect to them (or.. how high of a kin they are)
This is partially for myself, but also partially for anyone curious of which series I’m likely to have more memories from!
Note that Grian, as a whole, is my ID. All of these are me, and most of them connect or are the same in some way. Just because one is lower doesn’t mean it’s a low kin! Just means it’s a lower connection with me.
so about the possibility of a monstrous nightmare kintype:
i was wrong, its actually been there for a lot longer than 3 ish years, it just wasnt as prominent yk when i was young other than my LOVE for all things fire(my family used to call me a "fire bug")
so in the past few years ive always thought "i should have horns and wings and fangs/sharp teeth and some sort of fire power(used to drink hot water from the sink cuz it made my mouth warm yk) and i should have a tail and scales and spines on my back"
but i always it was some sort of demon thing(long before ik about the community or what a kintype even was) but the like smooth red skin and other demon things never really fit. i should be covered in red scales not skin. i should be able to withstand hot temperatures(i hate the heat tho, ironic isnt it?)(if you get that ref high five) and i should be able to fly and that sort of stuff
they sound how i should sound, whenever i "growl" its at lot more breathy(despite my wolfdog theriotype i can growl like that if i try but this is like a "base line without thinking too hard" type a thing)
if i close my eyes and picture a habitat its one similar to a monstrous nightmare(looked up some info ngl actually) our preferred diets are even super similar:Apple
Corn
Crab
Fish
Mutton
Rat
Wild Boar
Yak
Sea Slug
love/its alr/never had it
think thats it
this might be one of my first recorded kintypes(if that makes sense) and i think it might not be like just a possibility it might just be reality
Don't let ANYONE make you feel like shit for your kintype(s). Even if it's "weird." Even if it's "common." Even if they call it "cringe." I don't care if you're a comic book villain (I can relate) or you identify as Jesus Christ himself - identity is a complex thing, and kin or not, we're all trying to figure ourselves out. The people who judge you are just like any bully or abuser. They hurt you because they hate themselves. It's cliche, but it's the truth.
I'm 27 years old now, and I am OVER this shit. In July of 2016, years of mild hallucinations/delusions evolved into full-blown schizophrenia... for years, I was on the fringes of the alterhuman community, but it was during a two-year long psychotic episode that I discovered a number of the kintypes that I continue to identify as today - Sunday, May 23rd of 2021.
The "worst" one? The most "cringe?" I occasionally shift into "Dark Knight Joker." I'm not imagining this or trying to be "cool" - in all seriousness, I experience remarkable personality changes. The way I walk changes. The "voice in my head," the voice of my inner monologue changes... and it doesn't matter what you, me, or anyone else thinks about this fictotype - it is what it is. And if you're dealing with a kintype/fictotype that people want you to be ashamed of, that people laugh at to make themselves feel better - fuck 'em.
I see the videos people share on "cringe" subreddits. They HATE us... from the teen wolfkin wearing fingerless gloves and howling out of pure joy to the 30+ year old angel mourning the loss of their heavenly bodies, still trying to make peace with the human in the mirror... vulcan, fae or otherwise, they're going to mock you - and do you want to know why?
Because we're outcasts, and yet we don't hate themselves like they do. They have killed every last inch of themselves to fit in, and it's still not good enough - they still can't stand to even LOOK at themselves, inside or out... if I've learned only one thing in life, it's that most people died a long, long time ago because they were afraid of being alone... afraid of being hurt. Afraid of being rejected.
Please hold your fucking head up high. I'm Joker. I'm a trickster god/alien named Key who hisses and has floppy ears. I'm a "spirit of death" that loves hoarding pretty rocks and talks like an old crone... I'm a coyote. An angel with eyes adorning my arms, from the back of my hands to my shoulders. Sometimes I'm the Crow, still grieving the suicide of my first love... sometimes I don't know who or what I am - but in those moments I feel ALIVE. I'm not ashamed of myself... and whether you're a teenager taking your first steps or a graymuzzle loved all over this little community, you deserve to LOVE yourself - in spite of everything and everyone.
And know this: I love you, too. Love is a hard thing to come by in a world that treats us like we're a joke, like we deserve their laughter and scorn... all for daring to believe in and be something more than human.
And I pray that one day we feel like ourselves again... I don't know about you, but for me this hurts like hell. Stay strong.
Hello I hope I'm not bothering you. I saw on a post you were doing research into the history of therian. I've been wanting to look into older terms of the different communities like kind, therian, were, etc and was wondering if you had any links or advice or even a list to help me get started? The main goal for me is that I don't understand many of the modern terms but I came across a couple old ones and their descriptions that made more sense to me so I wanted to dive further. Thank you -Panax
no bother at all!
first and foremost, i would definitely recommend starting with HouseofChimera's Timeline of the Therianthrope Community, it's where my research began and is incredibly comprehensive, they do a lot of good work keeping our history!
i'll put links that i have pulled so far under a cut, tho i do want to forewarn; there's a LOT of old 'net personal websites that are eyestrain and/or flashing, and that they're a product of their time; we've come a LONG way as a community on understanding alterhumanity, so some of the sites may be outright hostile to thoughts these days.
i'm also going to be presenting a lecture on this exact topic at Othercon22 where i'll have it more comprehensibly laid out and all the links that i've gathered for the community's perusal
Specific question for the fictionkin community (spiritual and otherwise)! Has anyone found/done any clear research or studies on what it is that draws the line between simply relating to/projecting on a character and actually being kin? I know some people who struggle with figuring out their kin identity because they can't find many resources on this topic. Some people have a hard time figuring out where they belong in this community without a lot of hard facts and a more logical approach, if that makes sense... What makes the difference between a headcanon and a memory? What does being kin feel like in comparison to just connecting with a character that is relatable? If anyone has any thoughts or even articles on this I'd love to read! I may even put together an essay of my own based on y'all's accounts! Thank you!
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.)
.
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.
made in a post because my asks! seem to refuse to send!! this is a canoncall im pidge from voltron legendary defender and i am looking for anyone but keith really because ive already found him !! but id especially like to find matt and lance. i have a list of memories >here< to check out and if anything seems familiar please message me ! im very anxious so i will not message first but i am otherwise friendly i hope:’3
