#Fictionfolk

[1awesome-sauce1]

"Your not alterhuman if-"

*very loud incorrect buzzer* WRONG

If you experience humanity is a way that isn't the norm/ see yourself as or feel a core part of your identity is based around a nonhuman creature or thing YOU ARE ALTERHUMAN AND YOU ARE VALID

If you feel like a certain label suits you or feels right then use it! It doesn't have to be exact as long as you aren't hurting anyone

No matter what causes your alterhumanity or nonhumanity you are so so so so so valid :D

I've seen a lot of people saying that alterhumans that are alterhuman bc of trauma aren't valid :<

So to anyone whose alterhumanity was caused by trauma!! You're super valid and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise!!!

You can be therian because of trauma! You can be otherkin because of trauma! You can be fictionkin because of trauma!

Alterhumanity caused by trauma isn't automatically copinglink or pet regression or whatever else!! We're therian, otherkin, and fictionkin, all because of TRAUMA!!! These aren't copinglinks or regression!! We very much see ourselves as our theriotypes/kins!! The fact that we do because of trauma doesn't mean we're any less alterhuman than someone who isn't!!

Respect kins and therians who are alterhuman because of trauma! We are alterhumans too!!

[thecrispydemon]

“I’m not sure if my identity is voluntary, or involuntary or not.”

If ya gotta ask the question it’s probably not babe.

[callsignsundance]

I’m a cat I’m a cat im autistic and depressed and I’m a catAnd also the wicked witch of the east but SHHHH

[fictionfolk-safehaven]

Shout out to the fictives from "cringe" sources by the way. Particularly those who have genuine moral issues with their source, when their source was seemingly mostly silly, badly written, or somehow a source that you wouldn't expect to have moral issues with.

My source was Minecraft Diaries. A silly little Minecraft roleplay that, as far as I know, was mostly geared towards a younger audience. We barely remember canon, it was an old fandom of ours in childhood, but what we do remember was mostly unserious or very trope-y. I was a villain. I don't remember my motives or actions in canon, but I do remember my personal canon. In my personal canon, I was terrible. I broke into people's minds to change their memories to manipulate them. I committed what would undeniably be considered crimes against the laws of nature, and I did so gleefully. My worldview was shaped by my home, and my home taught me that everyone was a horrible person and I acted accordingly. I viewed the world as a threat, so I became one.

Generally, I was a sort of "eldritch horror" in the sense that I was powerful in ways one should not be. In my source media, however, I was probably more like a cartoon villain. Once again; poor memory, just guessing.

So shout out to fictives who have similar experiences. There are others out there.

-Zane

[thecrispydemon]

This is how I describe how my mental shifts work. Because when I shift to my fictotype it’s not like I become a completely different person, where I have no control over my thoughts, and actions. The only draw back to the getting into character comparison is that I have to emphasize that it’s not a choice, I’m not sitting down deliberately trying to become a character, it just happens. I’ve dealt with this my whole life, and I had no way to describe what I was experiencing. Most of the time relationships with fictional characters were presented in a very dichotomous way, it’s either you’re deliberately pretending, or you’re delusional; there was no in between. Because of that it took me awhile to accept and acknowledge my shifts.

The parallels between actors immersing themselves so deeply in their roles that they begin to lose their core identity and the experience of fictional identity deserve deeper exploration. Many actors report a profound sense of becoming their characters, and this shift in identity bears striking similarities to those of us who identify as fictionkin.

It’s not uncommon for actors to seek therapy after particularly intense roles in order to reconnect with their prior selves. These experiences open an important conversation about identity fluidity and the ways in which selfhood can be shaped, altered, or expanded through identification with fictional characters. These are discussions we need to have.

[leviafin]

It's so easy, and fun!

[a-dragons-journal]

I am once again fucking begging the community to stop writing everything other than identify-as identities out of the word alterhuman and now fictionfolk too

Alterhuman does not mean everyone who identifies as nonhuman on some level (oh and maybe otherhearted people too). Please for the love of all that is good and holy stop saying that. It means anyone whose identity falls outside of society’s idea of “normal human” - anyone with an identity alternative to humanity or that’s an alternative form of humanity. It includes nonhumanity, yes, but also otherheartedness, hearthomes, archetropy, plurality, daemonism, furry lifestylers, othervague folks, constelics, and so much more. Here’s the coiner’s words to prove it.

Fictionfolk does not mean anyone who identifies as a fictional character. It means anyone with an alterhuman connection to fiction of any kind. It includes fictionkin and fictives and such, yes, but also fictional hearthomes, fictionheartedness, soulbonders, fictional vaguetypes, fictional constelics, and much more. Here’s the coiner’s words to prove it.

To collapse these words down to basically be synonymous with otherkin and fictionkin is to utterly defeat their purpose. Please stop defining us out of our own communities. Please stop erasing the existence of everyone outside of “identifies as nonhuman and/or fictional”.

EDIT: boy I wish someone had told me I accidentally used the same link twice before this hit triple digit notes LMAO. Here’s the actual fictionfolk link

[nyctohyloph0bia]

Did a template for you to put your fictotype in a nutshell! I encourage to edit to fit your own needs! Go crazy with it!

Below are the transparent vers!

[2healing2]

Fictives and fictionkind deserve to be treated like normal people.

Fictives and fictionkind deserve understanding.

Fictives and fictionkind deserve to not just be reduced to their source if they don't want to.

Fictives and fictionkind deserve to have their feelings taken seriously.

[insectoidvoid]

if you're fictionkin, there is a very, very high chance you have a little metaphorical devil on your shoulder that constantly yells at you to downplay and minimize your identity for everyone else. and I am here to tell you that you must grab that little devil and dropkick it into an industrial shredder.

[russ14n-r0ul3tt3]

guys I found the fictionkin shirt of all time

[apotheosick]

It's not inherently harmful to want to have unconventional or non-human body parts. Your body is your own, do what you like with it.

[sympathiez]

BE NORMAL ABOUT FICTIONFOLK

fictionfolk who are their source in every way are VALID.

fictionfolk who are uncomfortable with doubles are VALID.

fictionfolk who have dysphoria are VALID.

fictionfolk are VALID and there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.

[the-crystal-femmes]

I think fictionfolk should get free reign to mischaracterize who they are because it's literally them. I don't want to hear a fandom goer getting all mad when I post things "out of character" about Draculaura when, motherfucker, I'm literally her and I know myself well thank you very much. And I think my headmate should be aloud to adamantly claim that Pearl has autism because she's Pearl and definitely has autism

[frameacloud]

Fictionfolk aren't necessarily fans of their fictional sources

by Orion Scribner, January 24, 2025

For fictionkin, fictives, fictional introjects, fictionflickerers, fictherians, and other sorts of fictionfolk and people who have experiences of deeply personal connections to fiction, one's source in fiction is not necessarily one's favorite story or something that one "vibes" with.

Many fictionfolk feel uncomfortable reading, watching, or playing their source because it feels uncanny to see their truth turned into pretend entertainment, or because the canon feels like it got things half right and half wrong, or how it portrays them. That can feel sort of like seeing something misreported on the news that you know didn't happen like that, or overhearing strangers talking about your private life. For people whose memories from another world turn out to be similar to a piece of fiction in this world, one can feel uneasy about the mystery of how that happened.

Some fictionfolk participate in the fandoms for their sources... carefully. Fans can get uncomfortably personal if you say you are one of the characters, so fictionfolk often choose not to talk about that in fandom spaces, only in alterhuman spaces. Seeing how fans reinterpret you in art and discourse can bring up all sorts of feelings. Some fictionfolk decide they won't look at their source's fandom.

There are fictionfolk who wish they didn't feel that connection to that piece of fiction. There are fictionfolk whose source is a story they always disliked or found offensive. Maybe they have a lot of thoughtful criticism, or maybe it simply feels disagreeable to them. Sometimes recognizing one's connection to fiction starts with exploring why a story bothers you so much.

There are fictionfolk who dislike the authors of their sources.

Some fictionfolk are experts on their fictional sources. There are also fictionfolk who recognized that their memories and feelings have the strongest similarity to a piece of fiction that they have had never even watched and would prefer to never watch. Or they watched just enough of it to recognize it and then "nope out" on watching the rest.

Funnily enough, it turns out that feeling a profound connection with a piece of fiction doesn't have to come along with liking the piece of fiction at all.