Welcome to Gaia! ::

Well..Even though I may not be authorized to answer this topic..I'll attempt to do so anyway..Since, even though I'm unsure if I am actually otherkin or not, this topic still technically applies to me.

Well, I guess since it's always easier to look at the glass as half empty than half full, I'll start off with the cons:

-Depending on your therio/kintype, you may or may not experience mental shifts. These mental shifts could basically bring on an impulse to hunt(and possibly the desire to tear into something), a desire for the consumption of raw meat, and possibly a bloodlust of sorts. There's also random urges to just drop to all fours and run or something like that. Much like the aforementionned impulses to hunt or to tear into things, dropping to all fours and attempting to run, isn't exactly an impulse that you want to act on. Just imagine what people would think if you did!

-You can experience mood swings related to the lunar phases if you're a wolf therian, and this even applies to other types of kin too, based off things I've read.

-You may or may not have a delayed circadian rythym, that's to say that you may not get tired at all until like 3AM, which means you have to try to force yourself to sleep earlier than that to revolve around a Diurnal schedule even though you yourself tend to be Nocturnal.

-Then, there's sensitivity to the sunlight. HLVs in particular tend to find that the sunlight is too bright and it makes them too warm.

-There's also the fact that sometimes(for certain kin) you can have little quirks based on your Kintype(with reference to therians and certain otherkin other than HLVs). These little quirks could involve growling, snarling, hissing and barking, but that's only a small list.

-I can't forget to mention how HLVs get this hunger for energy. This hunger can get pretty bad, and food can't satisfy it. Only energy consumption can.

-Sanguinarian HLVs have to look really hard to find a donor, then they have to get that donor tested to ensure that they don't have any diseases that are transmittable by blood. Sometimes, if you're a sanguinarian, you have to go awhile without a donor while the hunger progressively worsens.

-You have to be uber careful about where you discuss this sort of thing. If you're not careful, you could get yourself targeted by various people including "Hunters" and Bible Thumpers.

-You can't talk about Otherkin to just anyone. I've tried to do so with some of my friends. They don't really care to listen and won't remember a thing you told them a month and a half later.

-There are certain prejudices tied to certain names of kintypes. Like, the Americans decided not to name their peace keeping troop/missiony thing "Unicorn" because the word apparently had a homosexual connotaion. It's kinda like if a Bear therian was an older man and he just said "I'm a bear", people would automatically think that he was a kinky old man based off how Society warped the word out of context. gonk

-Some therians find a place among the "Furry" subculture..which is also targeted and labeled wrongly. The CSI episode is a prime example of this.

-HLVs are sometimes looked at as people who've spent all their time indoors playing White Wolf games in their mother's basement so long that they now think that they are Vampires since they've been playing V:tM for so long that they now have no concept of reality.

*takes a breath* Hoo boy..That was a lot..I think I left some things out though. @.@;;

Well, now I'll move on to the Pros!

-Despite the possible negatives to having Empathy, it can also come in handy. It can help you to help others and to understand them. It also helps you to feel better after helping someone when you know they're genuinely happy.

-Psi-Vampires have the abillity to read auras, as do other otherkin, from what I've read.

-Psi-Vampires are good at energy manipulation from what I've read, but then again, they have to be.

-Some Therians and Otherkin have heightened senses. Though this can sometimes lead to sensory pain/discomfort, it can also be useful. Good nightvision is an asset if you like to go camping or like going out in the woods..or even going out at night. Heightened hearing can help you out in that people can't usually sneak up on you..assuming you're not in a crowded area. Heightened sense of smell could mean that you reach the burning roast in the oven that much quicker. Heightened sense of smell would technically mean heightened sense of taste which would technically mean that food would taste better too.

-Although it can be creepy the first time it happens, and possibly annoying after that, Phantom limbs could actually be pretty cool. It would feel like you had wings or a tail or different ears..etc. Mind you functionning with these phantom limbs could be bad. Like, trying to wear a backpack while having phantom wings.

..That's all that I can think of for now..@.@;;

Otherkin by definition is people (humans) who think they have a soul that isn't human. That means they are human with out any special features or weaknesses unless it is a human on. Vampires is an exception though. I have also heard that otherkin with wings can feel a pain if someone walks through their wings.

sweatdrop Eh?..Well..

...

I just know certain things, that's all. ninja sweatdrop

Besides, I only want to be helpful. So, I'm kinda glad that my posts are useful. 3nodding

Hm... My strongest side is dragon.. For the pain-with-the-wings thing, I always get really paranoid and nervous when people are near my back unless i want them to stare And I have the annoying habit of when I'm in my classes, i can usually see out the window, and my mind makes meh feel like i'm flying there, and flying, and not paying attention... One time someone had to whack me on the head with a book (OW! gonk ) for me to 'come out of it' whee . I know people complain about having "rude awakenings" but i feel if you have good self control you should be able to control your awakenings. Mine is slow and steady, ont all at once, so i only sometimes have exaggerated mood swings. For some otherkins in their teens i think they might occasionally mix up hormones with 'Otherkin mood swings'. I can also sometimes 'live the life' of my other side, good for when i'm having a crap-ish day...

I wonder if I'm otherkin, though my problem is kinda weird. At times I can imagine wings on my back, and I often dream of flying, which makes me think I could be fairy.
But then I can meow well enough to confuse a cat... From what I see I have a lot of characteristics of a cat.
Is it possible that I'm fairy and feline otherkin?

(side note : also, I can drain energy from others, does that make me a vampire?)

*shrugs* I'm not completely sure about this..which is kinda sad considering all of the reading up I've done on vampirism..But..Here goes..

The drawing of energy from outside sources to fulfil a dire energy need within themselves is in a nutshell what defines an HLV. They have no choice but to resort to this as they have an energy leak of some sorts,(often theorized to be a broken chakra,) and as an end result, regular food consumption cannot fill that need.

All people draw energy from their surroundings and other people every once in awhile, like when they're sick for instance, and they need that extra bit of energy to help them fight off their illness. Considering that it happens naturally, I'm guessing that anyone who does enough meditation and energy manipulation and the like would be able to control it, or rather, to do it at will.

..So..I guess what I'm saying is, the ability to draw energies from others isn't what makes the HLV, but rather, it's the NEED to draw energies from others that is. Taking energies that you don't NEED to take from other people and things, is generally frowned upon in HLV circles from what I could tell based off the things that I've read.

However, there are also sub-consious psi-vampires. These are psi-vamps who haven't awakened yet, or haven't fully awakened yet, and they're completely unaware of the fact that they're draining others energy..I wouldn't really know if that was the case with either of you..I'm not really good at figuring that sort of thing out..

..But, I hope that this post was somewhat helpful.. sweatdrop