questions about my otherheartedness

post by @otherkyn

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?

reblog by @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