otherkin

n., sing. or pl. A person who holds the belief that they are not entirely (or not at all) human. Usually a spiritual belief pertaining to one's soul and the reincarnation thereof, but may also be a belief that one's genetics are descended from, for example, the Irish fae. The word Otherkin was coined to describe people who felt a connection to mythological humanoids such as elves and faeries, but has expanded in recent years to include dragons, gryphons/griffins and other supposedly mythical beasts as well as animals, angelic/demonic beings (angelkin/demonkin) and in some cases extraterrestrials.

adj. Of or relating to Otherkin.

See also therianthrope, were.

Those individuals who believe that although born human, their souls are those of a non-human being, animal or mythical creature. Many believe that they are reincarnations of such beings and are able to access memories of previous lives.
The movement is the source of much controversy, ranging form philisophical/intelectual and spiritual debate to mud-slinging, derision and name calling. Some 'kin are happy to lead what the great majority of people would describe as "normal" lives, finding solace, support and companionship amongst their fellows, free to explore the nature of their seemingly paradoxial existance. While others may appear eccentric, arrogant or insane to the bulk of the populace. It must be noted that as with all groups, organisations or belief systems the actions of a few can lead to a negative perception of the group as a whole in the eyes of others.Indeed some Otherkin view themselves as superior to "mundane" humans, blaming the modern ills of society and the world as a whole on humanity.

"Otherkin" is not a proper noun, although it is sometimes capitalised.

An otherkin is a person in a human body who either:

A) Believes that, mentally and/or "spiritually," they are not human;

B) Believes that, in a past life, they were not physically human;

C) Believes that they are a human vampire who needs a supply of energy to remain healthy.

Typically, an overweight web designer (i.e. unemployed) adolescent who discovered the reason they were bullied as a child was due to the fact they are spiritually a reincarnated dragon, angel, vampire and/ or cack-faced unicorn demi-god, and not because almost all children are bullied at one stage or another.

Many otherkin have a deep resentment for humanity and preach mankind’s tyranny, while simultaneously claiming all discrimination is bad. Otherkin believe themselves separate from society and above the mundane stresses and problems of normal life. Otherkin generally believe themselves to have superior intelligence and see themselves are truly above our evil consumerist world.
Unsurprisingly, the number of otherkin popping up out of the woodwork after the advent of the Internet has swelled their ranks considerably.

A group consisting of people too weird even for the furry fandom... if that's physically possible.

Crazy people on the internet who desperately try to make themselves seem cool by claiming to be a reincarnated version of some kind of popular, charismatic animal or a monster they heard about in a roleplaying game. Usually they justify this by insisting their daydreams have some kind of bearing on the real world. It generally does not work, except with fellow otherkin and of course furries.

Lately the otherkin have branched off into even more mind-bogglingly insane territory with the otakukin movement.

A person or persons who identifies with something other than human, be it a wolf, a cat, a tree, a blobfish, a dragon, an empty pepsi can, an asteroid; the possibilities are limitless. It's been around for about a decade, but it only became well-known--aha, sorry, a trend--a year or so ago (take note of the date this definition was posted) via Tumblr.

Upon visiting a site which is swarming with these delusional people, mostly Tumblr, DeviantArt, or FurAffinity, one may suddenly realize that they are the reincarnation of a half-dragon half-plant and join their ranks.

Otherkin claim that their struggles are on par with those of trans* individuals and similar, when in reality they just want to be a special snowflake. They often tell people to use pronouns such as kin/kinself when referring to them. Which sounds kind of stupid when you use it in conversation, to be honest.