Are humans special?

Earlier today, I came across an intriguing question -- do other beings have human-type otherkin? Now, if you were to take that other beings exist in alternate dimensions and more and manage to somehow incorporate themselves into a human body, does this mean that a human can incorporate themselves into the other being's body? Are there fae out there with a human spirit?

And, on another note, concerning Therians -- are they human specific? Simply from what I've observed, Therians have animals that are only present in this dimension / existence, not in another. Perhaps, it is an ambiguous form that latches onto an animal that shares its characteristics most closely? Perhaps, as a human, a Therian may be a simple house-cat, but as a fae, it could be something that is very remote yet harbors the same characteristics that the ambiguous form is looking for that made it choose "house-cat" as a human.

Let us also consider the possibility of otherkin-ness in other beings. I question the ability of a Shadow adopting the spirit of another being, but for things such as Fae (just going off of my own), it seems more likely. Are humans the "one-size fits all"? I look at the broad degree of Otherkin -- demons, fae, shadows, therians, just to name a few -- that humans can harbor, and it is actually rather startling. Is there another being out there that a human cannot hold? If that is the case, why? Are there some characteristics that would make it incompatible? And, if there is no being that a human cannot hold, then why can other beings not be "otherkin", as well? Will I find myself as a multiple of a fae, one day, sharing my experiences of horrible school lunches? =P

If humans were the "one-size fits all", then wouldn't that make being harbored by a human a *good* thing? Nay, not just a good thing, but a *very* good thing? This could essentially be a very educational experience -- there are so many different beings in this one realm that you could learn a great deal about all of them in one lifetime. The human world would, in itself, be a great collection of knowledge, because so many diverse beings could gather there.

This would also give a reason for celestials to "guard" this dimension, as it is, in itself, rather important! I do not know of celestials that guard other dimensions or realms (though this is just myself), so perhaps they are here to "keep the peace" and let the diverse beings exist in a conducive environment.

Just something for me to think about.

The question seems a bit anthrocentric. We don't know much about otherkin inhabiting other species, because we're not there, we're here. And if you ask among the celestials, human isn't really all that good of a 'fit' to begin with. But one thing that humans excell at is being human, and if you want to experience that, there's only one place to go. The ability for abstract temporal thought is rather nice, but it comes with the downside of being a bit unstable.

I think I did incarnate into a hawk before, but I didn't think about being otherkin. I just thought about being a hawk. Very relaxing, really.

I recognize that I, at least, am unable to say whether or not another being would be able to be "otherkin" due to the insufficient ability to observe it. This is why I focus primarily on the *theory* that other beings can't while taking into account that this may not be the case.

And, really, this is just extra. I don't have any major plans to pursue the answers, I just like to do this in my spare time and decided it would be interesting to hear other thoughts on it.

Well I believe otherkin is a state of the soul, so any being with a soul could end up in a mismatched human. Thus, I believe that there very well may be physical beings out there with human souls. Why do I say physical beings? Well, energy beings differ from souls proper in quite a few ways, thus I do not believe that a soul could end up say as an angel...it just doesn't work.

i think that one of my cats is a reincarnated human. sadly, i cannot ask her if she feels human-kin. well, i can, but i don't think there would be any point in it. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_razz.gif" alt=":P" title="Razz" /><!-- s -->

as for beings guarding other beings on other planes... why shouldn't that other plane have some kind of god with their own celestials? or why do you think "our" celestials are not responsible for other planes? (this would be a good question for terro. i'm not an angel, after all.)

I think it's possible that there are other species running around with human souls. Like Kahoku, we have a dog that feel was human once.

As for the guarding other planes, there are probably other celestials that guarded other planes and places because it would make sense. I chose to guard humans and the animals of this planet because I found them interesting. (Motley, I beg to differ on what you said; I'm a celestial and I like being human, it fits me).

--Gabriel

I have to agree with the overall consensus that humans aren't especially unique as physical containers for souls, except for the whole "cognitive thought in this dimension" kind of thing. Human-kin are probably all over, except that it's a little difficult to discuss a rabbit's human kinside with it. Besides, it probably has better things to think about, anyways. Besides, even when I was a dragon, I was kinda-technically polymorph-kin. The line's a little fuzzy, of course, but that's the way I see it.

Ah, yes, I forgot to take into account that you do not have to be sentient in order to be "otherkin", just that you may not realize it.

Although I do find it interesting that human otherkin can manage to communicate with each other freely (thanks to the interwebz, primarily), and wonder if it is that way for other beings.

How would a Dragon go about explaining a "human" otherkin? I'd find that pretty humorous, myself. =P

According to the lore, alfar stole humans and made them alfar, and humans sometimes recovered them and turned them back into humans. This suggests to me that the "container" might matter but it is in the end just that: a container. The perception of humans as the happy medium may come from the fact that there is only so much we can perceive and understand as humans; maybe there are races that would be better hosts for 'kin of a given type than humans, but their compatibility with humans is so low that we don't know much about them.

-Rhun

"I feel as though my neck should be shorter, my tail should be gone, and that I should be squishy." "Dude... if you were like that, you'd be as good as dead, you know that, right?" (My explanation for a human-kin dragon)