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—Fyodor Dostoevsky

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I am fictionkin. I am 100% human. I do not insert myself into nonhuman-exclusive spaces, because they're not for me.

On the other hand, there are people whose kintypes include nonhuman characters, races, or species. They absolutely deserve access to nonhuman spaces (if they choose to identify as nonhuman).

Fictionkin is an umbrella term, like otherkin or alterhuman. Asking if it's a nonhuman identity as a yes-or-no question is less than useless: it's ridiculous.

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Isn't Hannibal a bad person though?

I can't think of anything bad he did

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I hope it goes well! If absolutely nothing else, hopefully it'll be a fun trip in the mundane way

Fictionkin- has anyone visited a city/place their source is based on and had it trigger anything? Did it help you remember anything? Anything strange happen? Genuinely curious

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The start of my awakening, or whatever you want to call it, happened years before my source show came out. I was flying from Minnesota to New York and happened to have a layover in Baltimore, a city I'd never been to before. Before the plane touched the ground, my nose was pressed to the windows and I was marveling at how much it felt like home.

I didn't (and couldn't have) known it at the time, and they don't really go into specifics about airports in the show, but I flew that same route easily a dozen times in my past life. It was always an incredibly emotional experience back then, so I suspect that's why it resonated so strongly even now.

I'm tired and rambling a bit, so it's hard to describe the intense feeling of almost-deja-vu. It was a homecoming to a place I'd never been and never cared about before. Literally: I never once thought about Baltimore beyond knowing its name. But I knew that city in my fucking bones, and it was bizarre because I had no reason for it at the time. It was only after my source aired, only after realizing I was fictionkin, that it made any kind of sense.

I've been planning to vacation there for years now, but I keep putting it off. I think of it almost like a pilgrimage. I don't know if anything will happen - if I'll remember anything or have any insights - but I think I owe it to myself to go.

Fictionkin- has anyone visited a city/place their source is based on and had it trigger anything? Did it help you remember anything? Anything strange happen? Genuinely curious

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The protagonist to healthcare worker pipeline is so real

I got a job at a nursing home where I can actually help people directly and I guess that's what I needed to reconnect with my fictotype. I'm Ben again for the first time since October last year

The feeling is still muted, not as overpowering as it was for the first 3 years post-awakening, but it's actually there

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Albert Camus, The Fall

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Just wanted to say hi! Such a relief to see another adult kin who sees it as spiritual/past life. Also a big fan~ hmu if you ever want someone to talk to about it. ~ Negan

Much appreciated and much obliged. We're few and far between, but by god, we're out here. (And apparently we're all spiritually connected to horror media, lmao.)

I'm always down to chat more - I'm trying to be more active in posting my own Unique Thoughts around here, too, so even if we don't connect hopefully you can at least relish knowing there's another guy out there going through similar things.

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The Sacrificial Lamb by Josefa de Óbidos, 1670

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This hints at a post I've been meaning to write since Othercon but haven't gotten around to yet. I've been seeing lots of people using alterhuman as a byword for non-human which, as a human fictionkin, fuckin sucks.

Human fictionkin don't fit neatly under the umbrella of "otherkin," where non-human fictionkin of all kinds can find, if not always an explicit home, then at least a place to hang their hat. But while I often use the term otherkin to describe myself, it isn't technically correct by the definition of the word.

If I want to find any kind of broader community with people who share 'kin experiences beyond other fictionkin, then that place is among alterhumans. But if any understanding of the word as "basically just non-humans" takes root, then it will become an uncomfortable place for people like me.

For a while, I was starting to wonder if I was the one in the wrong (despite being around the community when the label was really catching on), and so it's a relief to see human fictionkin listed explicitly as welcome under the alterhuman umbrella in the original coining post. But I worry about the way the term is being used these days, and where I'll be able to continue to find a community in the future.

Masterpost about the meaning and origin of the word alterhuman

Folks have been getting confused about the meaning and purpose of the umbrella term and identity label "alterhuman." Often, people wrongly claim it doesn't include groups that it was originally created to let in. Another common wrong idea is that folks think they're personally being opted into it against their will (which is contrary to the word's design). I've even seen the word's coinage attributed to several surprised people who say they didn't invent it! This masterpost will stop this misinformation by linking to primary sources with dates and attribution. These links explain a lot about its meaning, so I recommend that you open and read each of them.

The word "alterhuman" was coined by Lio (it/its). At the time, it was writing under the name Malchior (username Phasmovore), which you'll still see on the original post. Lio is a member of the Crossroads System (XRDS or X-RDS). This is a link to the post where Lio originally coined the word on September 26, 2014, explaining about how the word does and doesn't relate to furries and plural systems. If you read no other link in this post, read that one!

Here are a couple more posts where the coiner of "alterhuman" explains the meaning of the word.

In this post from February 19, 2023, Lio explains about the intracommunity tensions that brought about the need to unite under this umbrella term.

In this post from May 27, 2023, Lio explains that the word does not equal nonhuman.

The group that popularized the word the most was Alt+H, an organization for alterhuman advocacy that was active from 2016 to 2023. Alt+H wrote this post on September 21, 2017, in which they explain about how "alterhuman" does not equal "nonhuman," and that it includes voluntary identities.

One of the former writers for Alt+H was Aster, the Flock of Changes. In this post from October 21, 2020, Aster explains that alterhuman is not simply another word for "otherkin," but instead is an umbrella term that includes many more sorts of identities and experiences than otherkin.

To make sure that we don't forget our history, so we quit getting confused about where the word came from, and so we have an occasion to celebrate being our authentic alterhuman selves in whatever creative ways we can, and solidarity with others who do too, I suggest that we start celebrating the date it was coined-- September 26, 2014-- as Alterhuman Day. This one coming up in 2023 will mark the ninth anniversary since Lio coined it. In 2024, the word will be a decade old!

- This masterpost is by Orion Scribner on September 3, 2023.

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— Managing Monsters, Marina Warner

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I had a real similar time realizing I was fictionkin as an adult. I was well into my 20s when I learned who I am, and had a hard time relating to the kids learning about and expressing themselves. (I still do, honestly, but it seems like the new youth craze is coming out as therian, lol. Fictionkin are too cringe for the kids these days.)

All that is to say: you're not alone! It's weird and wild discovering such foundational things about yourself when you think you've gotten it all out of the way already, but there's such joy and beauty in it, too.

I gotta say, realizing a large chunk of who you are isn't human in your 30's, figuring out some if the foundational stuff, and then coming into the therian community is one wacky ride.

Don't get me wrong, it's cool seeing how people I'm easily 15 years older than are engaging with related feelings. It's so encouraging seeing younger people living their authentic lives.

But holy shit we do not have the same experiences.

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I've never seen people saying that "doubles" is a system exclusive term. It's been used in the singlet fictionkin community for years, as far as I'm aware.

so like- doubles is a sys term right?? so we're not supposed to use it as fickins and the like.

but like, is there another term we can use that isn't system exclusive??? /genq

cause like i cant think of another word I've heard used for it and i feel like its good to have a word for that

correct me if I'm wrong about anything here I'm looking for answers

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Based on discussions from the Chosen Ones Support Group server, how would folks feel about "otherfolk" being used as a replacement for alterhuman and as an umbrella term?

Other coming from how many identities under the umbrella already use it as a suffix (i.e. otherkin, otherhearted, otherlink, otherhuman), and folk being based on the preexisting term fictionfolk. Folk also being a good neutral term to refer to a group without feeling inherently too human or too anti-human.

Tagging @calicoconstellation @digidrakncreature

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Please reblog? (if you want)

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“How much can you change and get away with it, before you turn into someone else, before it’s some kind of murder?”

— Richard Siken, Portrait of Fryderyk in Shifting Light