sirenobsessed:

An apology

To the otherkin community.

For as long as I can remember, my knowledge about otherkin and therians has been severely limited. I didn’t realize it was, because the concept is quite simple, no? “Humans who believe they are some sort of other creature.”

I’ve always thought this was a delusion, and felt bad for these people and hoped they would get the help they needed one day. This ‘feeling sorry’ got dismissed so often that my feelings towards them spiked to anger, where I could laugh heartily about the cringe compilations made about them because, well, I’d been treated like shit by them when I thought I’d only been empathetic.

A few days ago I decided to test my luck and interact with a few otherkin people. At first, my intent was 100% to see what stupid shit they would say. But I soon found them to be incredibly kind, and helpful, and it turns out my perception of what otherkin is (based on Tumblr and other mainstream online social media) was completely warped.

Actual otherkin and therians don’t act like that. All they have, is a strong belief that they are part-other creatures, through either reincarnation, misplaced souls or a psychological effect at a young age. They recognize and are aware that they have a human body, and most see it as a positive experience to live life as part animal while still having a human body. You can basically view it as a religion, really, but it’s not exactly that either.

A lot of what I’ve read up on involves otherkin with Paganism, using animal totems and other related beliefs to find their way in life. A few sources talked about imprinting, and the controversial topic of physical shifts. Meditation is used to find your name, and your animal. All of it is a really interesting process that I implore you to check out

(I’ll add sources to this post once I get out of bed, I just need to type this up because I’m overcome with guilt atm)

But what I really learned after all this time: whether it’s delusionsal or not doesn’t matter. It matters that they’re not harmful. To anyone. They’re just living their life, sharing experiences with others just like non-kin would talk about strange dreams we’ve had and interesting shows we saw on TV.

Those biting and growling and snarling in public, acting like a real animal and harming those around them in the process? Those people aren’t otherkin. They’re either delusional teens, or fakes. And a good portion of the otherkin and therian community seems to not like them either.

So I owe every otherkin and therian out there an apology. My view was warped, and frankly quite shallow and stupid. I’ve learned so much from simply talking to you guys that I’m ashamed to admit I ever thought differently and I’ll be more respectful of you guys in the future.

To anyone else who reads this and still holds biased views about otherkin: I highly recommend talking to one, or joining an otherkin discord to learn more about their experiences firsthand. You’ll find it fascinating, trust me. And feel free to share this message if you have any friends or family that are rude to the mere concept of otherkin. Misinformation can only be countered by sending out the right message.

Thanks.