#of this post seem unusual or questionable. I'd rather be corrected than misunderstood.

[squiddleknitted]

Based on my experiences in fictive spaces on Tumblr and Discord, combined with what I've witnessed of fictionkin spaces on those same platforms, I don't particularly relate to or understand the strong negative attitudes towards fictionkins from fictives.

There is definitely value in establishing that being a fictive and being fictionkin are different things, with different experiences, but I have found that in general there are more similarities between the two identities than most fictives like to admit. The communities often seem to function very similarly, and the experiences have enough overlap that people frequently misidentify as one or the other. I know the tendency to emphasise the differences is a response to very dangerous and ableist misinformation, but there are ways to correct that misinformation without throwing fictionkins under the bus as less worthy of respect than fictives are.

To be rather blunt about it, I've noticed that a lot of the negativity towards fictionkins reads as plain unkindness, or even something rooted in ableism. There's this idea that fictionkin experiences aren't to be taken seriously or respected, in some cases because they're not tied to a specific diagnosis, and in other cases because they're potentially an indicator of an untreated and undiagnosed disorder.

I've spoken to systems who feel negatively about the fictionkin community based on the assumption that many of them are undiagnosed systems themselves, or perhaps people experiencing psychosis, and that participation in this community impedes the discovery and diagnostic process. I've not found this to be particularly true. The fictionkin community was (and still is) important to our host in figuring out who ne was, feeling comfortable with nis identity, and finding healthy ways to engage with that identity and the source. It was not the right time for nym to become aware of and come to terms with being a system, but the fictionkin community was able to meet nym where ne was at in terms of self discovery, and offer nym support ne otherwise would not have received. And, while fictionkin spaces are not exactly the best resource on system experiences and do not always handle the topics of fictives gracefully, mixed fictionkin/fictive spaces were useful in bridging the gap between the two identities, exposing our host to the concept of systems and plurality so that ne would have resources and supports when ne would make further discoveries about nymself. I believe that the fictionkin community had a positive impact on our healing and self-discovery, rather than impeding it.

I also don't believe that every experience of identifying as or with a fictional character is a symptom of a disorder, nor do I believe that it needs to be one to be respected. I've found that it is safer and kinder to assume someone is telling me the truth when they tell me about themselves, and provided they are not spreading misinformation, I let that be their own business.

I do think there are issues in fictionkin communities with ableism, misinformation, and abusive behaviour. Some amount of wariness is reasonable, but we cannot let negativity be our primary attitude towards these communities. It's dangerous to pretend that our own communities and spaces are not also vulnerable to many of the same issues, and we risk alienating a group of people (and potential allies) with similar experiences who may benefit from the same resources as us. Surely it would be more rewarding to try to remedy these issues than to dismiss all fictionkin spaces as a lost cause?