by Adnarel

Otherkin. There are so many of us out there: Once attempting to become immersed in the Otherkin community, you’re often forced to first try and distinguish who is real, and who is doing it to get attention. Genuine otherkin types vary widely, and can be creatures both native and non-native to this plane of origin. If an individual suspects him/herself of being otherkin,. But doesn’t know what kind they feel they are, they could easily get lost in otherkin field. It’s a broad based community so members are often separated by great distances, and because of this, and limited resources, most otherkin typically run into the problem of not being able to discover their true nature. Finding your kinship can be just like pushing a boulder uphill. There are many things that stand in the way of otherkin finding their kinship, so many obstacles to overcome. It is not unlike growing up in human society. Awakening in the Otherkin community greatly resembles coming of Age.

One of the biggest barriers of being otherkin and trying to discover who and what you are is the ever-present Human. In general, they react to our kind in one of a few ways. A) We are mythical beings that never really existed, save for in fairytales and stories, B) That were somehow crazy in thinking that we could have origins not of this earth or plane, or C) they think were doing it to get attention, which seems to be the most common view of the majority of mundanes (everyday people).

Rising to A), this first view is one of the most harmful. Everything, every creature that is sentient, need to have its basic right to exist acknowledged. Have you ever had someone pretend you don’t exist? Its very harmful, and most Otherkin of a more exotic, unearthly bent deal with this issue ALL THE TIME. ” Dragons can’t be real,” “There’s no such thing as vampires,” ” Unicorns exist only in stories.” Its like someone’s pretending your not there, only its not one person, it’s the entire human race, aside from a few select individuals, who are actually open minded enough to even to try and understand us. (Interestingly enough, these few individuals usually wind up being otherkin themselves.) This is simple: as Otherkin, we are faced with the fact that mundanes, ordinary, everyday people, dismiss us as ever having existed. Those we love, trust, and confide in can choose to believe us and believe in who we are. However, for the most part, we hide what we are to avoid the persecution and negativity that comes from mundanes denying that we are genuine.

The important thing to remember if you are otherkin, is not to let this drag you down. Take a moment to analyze and reflect on the situation. Otherkin in general have made such an impression on humans, that we play a vital part in their history. The stories of the greatest of our kinds have spawned human myth, religion, stories, and fairytales. We have also played a vital role in human development, our stories helping them to develop understanding of concepts such as divinity, rebirth, life and death, love, hate, good, and evil, and everything in between. (Speaking of development, I for one am a big fan of the human invention commonly known as the CD player. And the music that goes with it.)

Coping with the prospect that not all mundanes will believe in us for who we are leads many otherkin into hating or disliking and distrusting most mundanes. Mundanes constantly telling us, the otherkin, that we don’t exist Is VERY disheartening, and makes many of us (myself included) very bitter and resentful. Oftentimes, this will lead an individual into the “Hate Humans” pattern. For the most part, otherkin are cautiously wary of mundanes, and prefer not to tell mundanes what we are. We tolerate mundanes skepticism with a slight air of indifference, and maybe a little bit of annoyance, but we get along. For most otherkin, mundanes baffle us with their confusing habits, ever-changing slang and language, and their weird customs. (I will never understand the human sport called golf). Some otherkin, though, loathe the human form they have been given, and destructively so, but there are benefits to being human. Think about it: If humans saw you in your real form, depending on your otherness, chances are they would FREAK OUT. At least being in human form allows us to be ambassadors and scientists for our kind; studying mundanes in their natural habitat, trying to understand them. (In the case of the Vampires, mundanes are needed for sustenance) Kind of sad isn’t it? We freely interact with them in disguise, and they have NO IDEA what’s going on around them. We can guide them and enrich their lives with a wealth of experience and our knowledge of otherworldly things. (and make sure they don’t blow themselves all to hell while were at it.)

On to point B), on people thinking were crazy. Well, a lot of the time, they do and some even go so far as to wish us physical harm. Why? I don’t know. Does the prospect that something higher up than humans frighten them? It’s a possibility. Why would they dismiss us as crazy for something we believe? Do you call a Christian crazy cause he/she believes in God? No. Why would you call us crazy for believing we are who we are? There should be no problem as long as our beliefs aren’t hurting anyone. It would be calling us crazy for having faith in something, and if having faith in something is crazy, then I have nothing to say to them and their priorities are *&#$ed up.

On point C), they think were doing it to get attention. Some otherkin are, but these aren’t even really otherkin. They are the self-proclaimed otherkin that say they have extraordinary powers. They can say they can do things such as shape shift, things we know to be physically impossible (on this plane at least). They go around, boasting these powers, and then offer no proof that they actually have them. You can tell the sincerity of an otherkin by the way they conduct themselves. Most serious otherkin don’t go around professing what they are to anybody and everybody for the reasons previously mentioned in this article. These people who claim these powers give the rest of us a bad name, and leads many of us true, well-meaning otherkin to be persecuted. We don’t need our lives to be more difficult then they already are.

In conclusion, we are told that we don’t exist. Sometimes, when we trust somebody, they laugh at us, or because we believe something different then the mainstream view, they think that there’s something wrong with us. Being otherkin can be hard, but it can also be a beautiful thing. Please: once again keep in mind that we have inspired humans for thousands of years, and helped to bring them to new heights and levels of experience. After all, even If we are crazy, even If our beliefs aren’t true, isn’t it worth it?