Otherkin

Otherkin believe, for many reasons, that they aren't 100% human. Otherkin know they're physically human, and don't believe they can physically shift into their kintype. Otherkin do shift in other ways. For example, mental shifting is the state of becoming more like one's kintype mentally, often with some mix of heightened senses, phantom limbs, having strong urges to act like one's kintype, etc. Otherkin can feel as though they are an animal (therians/therianthropes), a fictional character (fictionkin/fickin), or an object or plant. One's type is discovered through a process called awakening. Some believe they were their type in a past life, some believe they are in an alternate universe, some believe they are on a metaphysical level, or they may hold some other belief. There is no single "correct" way to be otherkin, so long as one identifies as, not with, something nonhuman. Otherkin don't think it's oppressive for non-kin to wear animal ears, plantkin don't care if you cut grass or eat vegetables, and therians don't act as their kintype in public, as they know they're physically human and must fit into society. They're just normal people, only a bit less human on the inside. You may have been served coffee by a dragon this week without knowing. You may even have friends/family members who're otherkin. They aren't inherently mentally ill, and they blend in with society just as well as anyone else.