I’d never even heard the word until a few years ago. My boyfriend –who I’ll call Draco cause I’m not creative- and I had been dating for maybe ten months. One night he asked if we could have a serious chat. Every girl’s dream am I right? I was worried he seemed nervous and I was afraid he was going to pull the rug out from under me.

“Babe” he says “do you know what Otherkin are?” What? No. My mind starts trying to make sense of it. Other, different or additional, kin, family. Honestly thought for a moment he was going to tell me he was married with another family. Stupid jump but in the moment it’s where I went.

“Okay well, do you believe in reincarnation?” Not sure, don’t really believe or disbelieve. Never thought about it. Life can be hard enough as is, don’t need to think about more than one.

“Okay well look at the numbers.” What? “There are more humans alive right now than ever. If reincarnation is real that means there are either new souls, or they’re coming from elsewhere.”

So he explained Otherkin. Somewhere out there in the universe, or another dimension, or history, or something, but somewhere out there are things other than human. Somehow for some reason some of those souls end up in human bodies. Then you have people who are humans but they’re also dragon souls? Or whatever they are.

I can’t say I understood it then. I can’t even say I understand it now. We talked about it for a long time, he had been afraid of telling me, and I got the basic idea but I didn’t get the whole picture. Why did it happen? How? How do you know you’re a dragon? What does that even mean?

By the end of the night we were fine with it. I didn’t really believe or disbelieve, but he believed, he was serious about it, and he was rational in his explanation about what he thinks it all is and what it means. His seriousness, and his well-thought out explanations convinced me it was important to him, if nothing else. Heck I’ve dated guys who aren’t Otherkin but their self-image was more bizarre and irrational than Draco being a dragon in a past life. I think “I was a dragon” seems more realistic than some of my exes and their pipedreams of fame.

He’s my dragon. I don’t always know what that means. I don’t necessarily know what I believe one way or another. I do know that sometimes he seems just bigger than his body, and sometimes when he stretches out of the corner of my eyes I might see something stretching out or flapping. I know it doesn’t matter really, because Draco is a good person, he’s doing well for himself, we’re doing well, and he is rational in his beliefs, even if they seem odd. When it all boils down, he’s a good person, and his identity doesn’t change that or affect anyone else, I don’t get why people online make a stink about Otherkin. It doesn’t affect you. He’s a good person, a great boyfriend, and apparently a Dragon.