#kin: having a strong connection with a fictional being

[rainbowtvz]

i frickn. added beidou to my crushes list. 🙈

[lostloveletters]

You Can’t Start a Fire Without a Spark (Ron Speirs x Reader)

Summary: Night falls in Bavaria to victorious revelry, and at the goading of your friends, the lust you've been kindling in secret suddenly burns hot and wild to the touch.

Note: Female reader, but no other descriptors are used besides the slightest bit of backstory. Inspired by several Bruce Springsteen songs. This is based on the fictional portrayals in the HBO miniseries and not the real individuals. (Also, hi I’m Battie! This is my first Band of Brothers fic despite being a fan of the miniseries since 2016. Let me know what you think🖤) Do not interact if you’re under 18, are a terf or radfem, or post thinspo/ED content.

Word count: 3.6k

Warnings: Inherent power imbalance. Explicit content involving vaginal fingering and unprotected sex.

You weren’t sure how six of you managed to squeeze into a booth together in the Bavarian bar, elbow-to-elbow as you drank beer and shouted over each other. Sitting squished against Talbert, who was squished against Malarkey, one of your legs wasn’t even in the booth. On the other side of the table, Babe, Perconte, and Luz were in the same situation.

Victory in Europe had just been declared. The celebratory feeling filled your lungs with each breath despite the cloud of cigarette smoke that hung over the bar. With the war in Japan still raging on, the likelihood of those without enough points having to endure another drop remained up in the air. One night of fun wouldn’t hurt anybody. No one could say you hadn’t earned it.

Glancing around at your friends, the guys you lived and would’ve died for—even after the war ended, if you were being honest with yourself. You couldn’t imagine being closer with anyone else. Growing up without much of a family, passed around homes of distant relatives and near strangers until you had enough and ventured out on your own as a teen, you’d never had such strong connections before. The only reason you were even allowed to work so closely with Easy Company, was the absence of any next-of-kin, no one to cause a fuss if something went wrong while you were overseas. You were non-combat detail, of course, typing and running errands as needed, but more often than was likely ideal, you found yourself somewhere on the line with the medic training you’d gotten. 

You hadn’t been at Toccoa with them, only meeting most of the guys just before D-Day. After Operation Market Garden’s failure in Holland, they came around to you upon the return to Aldbourne, least surprising of whom was Talbert, ever so kindly taking you under his wing when he was recovering from being accidentally stabbed by Smith. The two of you became close friends, and though you heard of his exploits with women in just about every city the company passed through, he seemed hellbent on being your wingman, trying to set you up with at least half a dozen members of Easy to little success. 

With the taste of sweet victory and bold German beer on everyone’s lips, declarations of what and who everyone would ideally do to celebrate poured from your friends with little prompting. Knowing you well enough at that point, Tab took the opportunity to get you in on the conversation, the light mood and buzz in your system leaving you more loose-lipped than usual.

“Alright, our company’s eligible bachelorette,” Tab said, conspiratorial mirth in his voice. “Fraternization rules to the dust, which of Easy’s officers would you do your celebrating with?”

Your lips twitched, failing to suppress your smile as your drinking buddies awaited your answer. “Speirs.”

Finishing off the rest of your beer, you stifled your amusement at the clamor that ensued. Undoubtedly the least expected answer, part of Tab’s failure to secure a date for you among his comrades was your infatuation with the legendary captain—closely guarded, until you had a beer or two in you, apparently. 

“Speirs?” Babe repeated incredulously.

“No way,” Malarkey said, shaking his head. “No fucking way.”

“They need to get you to one of those headshrinkers,” Perconte said.

“Hold on a minute,” Tab said with an amused smile, trying to reign in the chaos. “Let’s hear her out.”

“You wanna know why?” you asked.

Ever since Speirs stuck with Easy Company after Bastogne, you worked closely with him as you did the other officers, taking notes and keeping memos for them. Speirs often requisitioned you to type up reports for him, finding it easier to dictate what he wanted written to you than typing them himself. Sometimes you found his attention drifting off when it was a more mundane report, his words trailing away while he looked at you, typically slouched on a chair or couch at the end of a long day. You would let yourself take him in, hoping the perceptive man wouldn’t notice the way your eyes trailed up his long, outstretched legs to his disheveled hair. 

He provided the most attention to battlefield exploits, and at times you couldn’t keep up with how fast he was speaking or would find yourself a bit startled by some of the gruesome details he relayed. You’d heard the rumors about him. Everyone had. But a disgustingly repressed part of you that’d emerged at some point during the war was secretly thrilled by them, almost hoping they were true. 

“Well, you owe us that much,” Luz said.

“I owe you all jack and shit.”

“What if I buy you another drink?”

“I think I’m gonna need another one after hearing this,” Babe muttered.

“Let’s see, why would I sleep with Captain Speirs,” you said, playfully tapping your chin in faux thought. “For starters, he’s fine as hell, which should be reason enough. I like that he’s a no-nonsense kinda guy. He has this intensity that I think is really sexy.”

The cacophony of bewilderment and objection that filled the booth met its slow death when the occupant of the booth behind yours got up. You weren’t sure whether to laugh or cry when you saw it was Speirs.

He made his way out of the pub, your light mood with him. 

“Oh my god,” you groaned. “Do you think he heard?”

“No way he didn’t,” Malarkey said.

“Fuck, I need to do something before I get demoted or transferred or something.”

Tab grinned. “Well, if you’re not walking straight tomorrow, we’ll know you did something.”

“Shut up, jerk!” you hissed. “I’m in this mess because of you.”

He gave you a mocking salute.

You flipped him off as you got up from the table, running after your CO who more than likely overheard you expressing to your buddies that you’d enthusiastically have sex with him. Of course it happened the one time you actually joined in on their vulgarity.

Unlike his silent stride, your boots pounded against the pavement, announcing your approach to him.

He turned around abruptly, and you nearly fell over your own feet as you stopped in your tracks. 

His intense gaze on you felt like being at the end of his rifle’s sight. “Are you drunk, Y/L/N?”

“No—no, sir.”

“Good. I could use your help with a report.”

You stared at him blankly. A report. At ten o’clock at night. “Of course, sir. Anything you need.”

The corners of his lips upturned for a split second. “I’m sure.” Fuck. He’d definitely heard you.

The two of you started off down the street, toward a more residential area wherein officers had requisitioned houses for the US Army’s use for the foreseeable future. Almost dreamily picturesque, tree branches waved at you in the cool night breeze, the surrounding mountains illuminated by the bright fullness of the moon. From the soft glow of street lamps lighting your way, something you’d previously taken for granted, you tried not to stare at him. In the warm glow of that balmy summer evening, however, he looked almost too good to be true. Hair slightly unkempt, the whisper of stubble along his jaw and cheeks, surely his face would feel like heaven between your thighs. 

Soldiers in all states of drunkenness ambled up and down either side of the street, hollering and singing in carefree celebration. Speirs placed a hand on the small of your back, guiding you past a group of men who could hardly walk straight. One of them walked right into you, his head nearly colliding with yours.

“Fuck,” the young soldier grumbled under his breath, shooting you a dirty look for being in his way.

Speirs wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you aside to stand in front of you. “Private,” he snapped, staring down the young man who looked like he was about to shit himself. “I advise you get yourself together and watch where you’re going.”

“Yes, sir—Captain Speirs, sir,” he said, turning his attention to you. “Sorry, ma’am.”

You nodded silently, and the private ran off after his buddies. 

Speirs turned to you, his hands on your shoulders as his intense gaze searched your face for any sign of injury.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine.”

In Hagenau, one of the replacements had been pestering you the moment he laid eyes on you. At first, you humored him, supposing he needed a friend, as the men who’d been through Normandy and Bastogne were understandably closed-off and tight knit. Thought the new guys were too green, too eager to do something stupid and get someone killed in pursuit of battlefield glory that was too haunting to exist. 

Then he started getting handsy, not enough to be outright inappropriate, but enough to make you uncomfortable. You weren’t sure what possessed you to mention it to Speirs when he’d asked you how you were doing one afternoon. His brow furrowed, he gave you a silent nod in response. The replacement had been transferred elsewhere the following day.

Though Speirs stared right at you, there was something far away in his eyes as he squeezed your shoulders. 

“I’m fine, sir,” you repeated. “I promise.”

“Hmm? Oh, right,” he said softly. 

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, not bothering to offer you one. You were in the minority of people who didn’t smoke, allowing you to leverage the packs in your rations to trade amongst the men. As time went on, you’d leave them on top of your finished reports for Speirs, especially if they were Luckys. You watched silently as he lit the cigarette in his mouth, a shining silver lighter in his hand. His eyes drifted from the flame back to you, though you noticed the slightest spark behind them.

The rest of the walk was uneventful until you reached the house. A few stragglers hung around on the street outside, their voices becoming the slightest bit more hushed as they watched you follow Speirs inside. By the time the front door shut, they’d already begun speculating why the two of you were going to his place so late. With the way the men spread gossip, you could hazard a guess as to what the tale would morph into by the morning. You silently bemoaned the prospect of the night hardly being as interesting as whatever they conjured up.

Following him upstairs, the makeshift office seemed especially cramped with the boxes and papers that were haphazardly spread around the place. It’d probably take weeks to sift through it all, especially since a glance at one of the files appeared to be in German. Getting help wouldn’t be the issue, but rather the fact that none of the members of Easy who knew German were particularly inclined toward office work, becoming restless after an hour or so. 

A problem for another time, however. Glancing at the clock, it was nearly half past ten, and you were almost inclined to ask Speirs about coffee, depending on how long he expected the report to take. You sat down at the desk, ready to begin typing the date when you noticed the ink was out.

“Is there any typewriter ribbon around, sir?” you asked.

He nodded. “Should be in one of the drawers.”

You opened the drawer immediately to your right, finding a mess of stationary that had clearly been shoved in carelessly. Or maybe someone had taken something out of it in a hurry. Digging through it, you came up empty, and moved onto the drawer below it. No dice. The one to your left didn’t have typewriter ribbon either, at least, you would have been surprised to find it tucked in with the loot that nearly filled the thing to the brim–shining silverware, glistening jewelry, and trinkets that someone with a keener eye than you had clearly decided were valuable enough to keep. 

His extensive looting was an open secret, but a glimpse of this treasure trove was a shock to the system. So entranced by the contents of the drawer, you didn’t hear him walk up beside you until his shadow fell over the necklaces and rings you silently coveted.  

He gave you a sly smile, wolfish in the dim lighting. “Haven’t had much of a chance to organize those.”

“They’re beautiful,” you whispered in awe, gingerly touching a pearl necklace.

“Try them on.”

“Are you sure?”

“Go ahead.”

You picked up the string of pearls, a nervousness washing over you at holding something so valuable, something of his. Walking over to the window, the nearest reflective surface you could find, you pulled the necklace on, garish against your uniform. You tried shaking off the odd feeling of playing dress-up in front of your commanding officer, a girlish whim he inexplicably allowed you to indulge in. His expression was unreadable when you turned around for him.

“They suit you,” he finally said, brushing his fingers against the pearls, slowly drifting lower to the exposed skin of your decollete. “Keep them.”

It wasn’t uncommon for him to bring you small gifts every now and then—typewriter ribbon, fountain pens, chocolate, trinkets. You knew better than to question where he got them, as he seemed to give them to you at the perfect moment. The stationary supplies when you were running low on them, chocolate and trinkets when you were feeling down. At times they’d be accompanied by notes from him. Usually short, but so sincere you treasured them more than the gifts. Whenever you’d try to thank him, he’d just shrug, almost dismissing the gesture.

This time, feeling bold in the cover of night, you pressed your lips to his cheek, uttering a quiet “thank you.”

He didn’t react. Disappointed, you moved to sit back down at the desk until he grabbed your arm, gently pulling you back to him.

“Were you telling the truth?” he asked, his voice a husky, demanding whisper. “Back at the bar.”

“Yes.”

“So if I said I’ve wanted you in a bad way since Bastogne?”

You kissed him, an explosion of warmth in your chest as you tangled your fingers in his hair. He settled his hands on your hips, squeezing them with a tenderness that betrayed his longing. Parting your lips for him, you allowed him to deepen the kiss, wanting to see how far he’d take it. 

Almost overwhelmed by his gentle intensity, you pulled away from his lips, though his mouth chased yours, capturing yet another kiss from you.

“Show me how you want me,” you pleaded with desperate kisses to his face, trailing down to his throat where you could feel the way he groaned in pleasure at your touch. 

“In my room,” he managed to say. “I wanna lay you on the bed and–”

“Anything, anything you want, Ron.”

His lips slightly blushed from the ferocity of your kiss, he parted his mouth as if to speak, but instead took your hand firmly in his. 

He led you straight down the nondescript hallway that nevertheless left you feeling turned around, dizzied by your desire for him. A door opened, and you were promptly pulled inside the room. The click of the lock behind you sent a slight shiver down your spine. 

Pulled into his arms again, you lost yourself in his fervent kiss, until you reached down, palming his hardening cock through his pants. He moaned into your mouth, the sound only exacerbating the heat between your thighs, the ache inside of you that up until that point had been abated by your fingers, always rushed, never satisfying the urge to be filled–by him, preferably. From the way he felt beneath your hand, he could do all of that and more. 

And after the months of silently, almost guiltily lusting after him like a nun, he wanted you too. The ego boost emboldened you. “Did you ever think about me when you were alone?” you asked, giving his bulge a gentle squeeze.

“Yes–fuck,” he groaned.

“Like what?”

“Besides keeping me warm in that goddamn forest? This–I thought of this,” he murmured against your lips. “But I didn’t let myself think of a future with you. I couldn’t have survived if I did.”

“And now?”

“I want everything you’ll give me, sweetheart.”

“Lucky you, that’s exactly what I wanna give.”

He smiled slightly, his hands hastily working to unbutton your shirt. “Lucky–except you’re wearing too many clothes.”

You reached for the pearls, about to take them off when he caught your wrist in his hand.

“Leave them on.” His voice was steady, authoritative, the closest he sounded to Speirs since he scolded the private who walked into you earlier. 

Weak in the knees, you acquiesced to the one and only order your captain would give you that night. You otherwise undressed, your uniform in a pile at your feet. Your bra and panties were simple, certainly not the sexy lingerie you’d fantasized about seducing Ron in, but his eyes blazed as if your body were hugged by an inviting satin set. A burst of confidence rushed through you, and you held his gaze as you discarded your bra and panties. 

You laid back on the bed as he undressed, watching intently until he was down to nothing more than his underwear, his hard cock straining against the fabric. He pulled them off, and you sucked in a breath at how big he was. Erect, at attention for you, all the more intimidating as he approached, joining you on the bed. His daring in the line of fire sure as hell wasn’t compensating for anything.

He straddled your hips, his eyes taking in your naked form with a primal intensity that made your breath catch in your throat. He reached down, two of his fingers circling your clit, your body trembled beneath his touch. By the way he studied how your face contorted in pleasure as a foreign-sounding moan rose from deep in your chest, you could tell it was payback for your teasing him just minutes before. 

His fingers shifted, slipping inside your wet core with ease. He pumped them in and out at a steady pace that made your stomach tighten and toes curl, but slowly bringing you closer to orgasm. You bucked your hips when he curled his fingers inside of you, blood rushing in your ears so loud that you could hardly hear the obscene sounds coming from your pussy. A lump formed in your throat, one that made you nearly howl in frustration.

“Who got you this worked up, sweetheart?” he asked, nipping the shell of your ear.

A whimper. “You.”

“What was that?”

“You.” Through a haze of lust-soaked desperation, you took his face in your hands. “Don’t make me beg, Sparky. It’s always been you.”

He pulled his hand from between your legs, and you nearly whined until he slid his length inside your pussy, your walls clenching around his cock. You braced yourself on his shoulder blades, your nails doing a number on him as you dug them into his taut skin while he thrust into you. Carefully at first, almost frustratingly so, until you cried, “More.”

He was bigger than you were used to, even before the war, but the slight discomfort was drowned out by the way his steady, deep thrusts filled you. He ducked his head down, taking one of your breasts in his mouth, his hand groping the other. Sucking on your breast, his teeth grazed your nipple, the hint of pain complimenting the pleasure. Your climax was so close you could see it if you closed your eyes, raw and vulnerable.

“Ron, I’m so close,” you moaned. “Don’t stop.”

He lifted his head, nodding. “Where should I–”

“Inside–fuck–I want you to cum inside me.”

And he did, with an erratic thrust that pushed him deeper inside you still. You kissed him as your pussy milked his cock, lifting your hips to grind against him for the slightest bit of friction to your clit. You threw your head back as you came, an obscene moan escaping your lips as pleasure spread across your body, white-hot like a star in supernova.

His name fell from your lips, laced with curses, over and over like a vulgar prayer. He pressed sloppy, open-mouthed kisses along your decollete, his lips brushing the pearls that stuck to your sweat-sheened skin until he shuddered, bottoming out in you. 

He pulled out slowly, his toned chest heaving before he collapsed next to you. Reaching over to the nightstand, he grabbed a pack of cigarettes, silently offering you one. You declined, and he placed one between his lips, using a nearby match to light it before taking you in his arms. You settled comfortably against his chest, closing your eyes for a few moments.

“So, what about that report?” you asked slyly when you’d finally caught your breath.

His quiet laughter rumbled in his chest, and he took a drag from his cigarette, his gaze betraying his adoration as he looked at you. “I might need your help again tomorrow night."

Knowing it was too risky for you to spend the night, he reluctantly let you leave around three in the morning, a slight pout on his face as you took off the pearl necklace and tucked it into your pocket. You left him with a passionate parting kiss, one that he used to nearly convince you to stay just a little bit longer until you quietly promised you’d report to him first thing. 

The streets were mostly deserted except for the men on patrol. You kept your head down, booking it back to where you were quartered, hoping your arrival wouldn’t wake anyone up, or at least raise any questions.

Just your luck, you ran right into Tab, a shit-eating grin on his face at your disheveled appearance. “I knew it."

[the-nonhuman-guide]

update

hey hello i already have some terms and there defenitions done if you want to see any terms added/think the defenition wording should be changed tell me <3/nf/gen

Therian- A being who identifies as an creature usually of this world(can be used as a umbrella term)

Theriotype-The animal(s) that a Therian identifies as

Otherkin- A being/thing who identifies as a nonhuman creature/being.(can be used as a umbrella term)

Kintype-The entity/thing/creature that you kin

Fictionkin-A being/thing who identifies as a fictional character/species(can be used as a umbrella term)

Synpath/Otherhearted/Otherkith- A character/creature/being which someone has a strong connection to OR identifies with but not as

C'Link- when a being voluntarily identifies as a fictional character(or thing/species) as a coping mechanism(your C'linktype can become a kintype over time)

Quoiian-a term to describe nonhuman individuals who have a confusing experience with their identity and if it's involuntary or voluntary.

Quoitype- Refers to what a Quoiian may identify as.

Fictionquoi- Refers to a Quoiian who identifies as a fictional character or species.

Aniquoi-Refers to a Quoiian who identifies as an animal.

Mythquoi- Refers to a Quoiian who identifies as a mythical creature.

Holothere-A self-identifier term for individuals who are physically and fundamentally nonhuman in every way.(find the carrd here)(also a thanks to @batsbolts-andfangs for reblogging this post with the link <3 it helped alot!)

Othervauge-*no definition yet*

Vaugetype-

[barkencyde]

hi!! im ben! im a 19 yr old (feb 2005) german shepherd therian, this is my lil corner of the internet to bark about all things alterhuman :-)

i am a therian, otherkin, fictionkin and otherhearted/animalhearted but i will mostly post about my therianthropy here. i prefer to keep other alterhuman identites of mine a little more private :-p this doesnt mean i will never talk about them though :-)

theres a little more about me under the cut, along with a list of tags i use to organise my blog! feel free to have a look around :-)

with that out of the way, WELCOME TO MY VIRTUAL KENNEL!

more about me:

u may also see me using the name kylo, its just a nickname :-) feel free to call me either ben or kylo or even make up other nicknames 4 me! i dont rly mind xD

i DONT have a kin list and dont plan to ever make one (at least not publicly) BUT if ur a no dbls fictionkin & concerned abt me doubling u feel free to dm me to check i dont b4 interacting with me more :-)

i dont rly have a DNI, if i am uncomfortable with you/the content you post i will just block you and move on. im pretty chill about most things though! my only real boundary when it comes to this blog is i do ask that people under the age of 16 dont message me/try to befriend me. im fine with likes/reblogs & brief interactions (e.g. in the notes of a post or in asks) but im not really comfortable talking to anyone younger than this outside of simple interactions

tags 🐾 - general dogkin - any post relating to dogs/being a dog [🐾🤎 - german shepherd kin - posts specifically about gsds/being a gsd] [🐾🤍 - borzoi kin - posts specifically about borzois/being a borzoi] 🎞️ media - any picture, gif or video i have posted 🎾 barking - any post i speak in 🗞️ mailman - asks/submissions 🦴 treats - posts i reblog that i especially enjoy/favs 🍂 otherkin - fictional species or characters i identify as 💗 otherheart - animals i feel a strong connection to/identify with but do not consider a theriotype/identify as

some fun graphics ive collected :-D (more 2 be added)

[irreverententity]

NAVIGATION › KINTYPES

♱ my nonhuman identity is extremely messy and intertwined. I am still navigating the community itself and trying to understand myself better to be able to articulate my experience. I am shapeshifterkinfluid.

★ = main types | ○ = questioning

★ demonkin ★ fallenangelkin ★ caninekin

★ synpath ○ cryptidkin ○ felinekin

note: I do not consider myself to be therian despite being caninekin because it’s not a terrestrial dog, it’s merely a favored form I often shift to. Specifically, I black haired german shepherd. (Same goes for felinekin)

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES + PHANTOM SHIFTS

I do not experience phantom shifts very often but I do experience mental shifts frequently. That being said, I almost always see or perceive myself as having nonhuman physical characteristics. All of my kintypes are connected in some way, one of the ways is is that they all share certain physical features such as: green eyes, white strands of hair, pointed ears, fangs. i sometimes have a human body with fluffy black dog-like ears on the top of my head (think alastor from hazbin hotel). Im not sure what kin this is coming from, it may be connected to being a demon but who fucking knows atp.

NON-TERRESTRIAL CANINEKIN

FALLENANGELKIN + DEMONKIN

note: my claws only exist during demon phantom shifts. I also have a demon ��heart’ speared tail that matches my flesh color.

i don’t have a photo that accurately portrays my wings so here’s a description: they are approximately 5 feet in diameter. dusty lightly spotted white fading down the tips which are black. they are slightly burned in areas and broken and battered everywhere else. I wouldn’t trust them to hold my weight as there are gaps of missing feathers.

SHAPESHIFTING

the way i experience being a shapeshifter is a. saying I ‘shift’ between my kintypes feels right to me because while they are all connected they all have different appearances and mental shifts that come with them. and b. along with my more talked about kintypes i also frequently identify with and as fictional characters and both fictional/real animals at seemingly random times but they are very strong. (aka being otherkith)

note: if i am misusing any terminology or you have any questions/comments/recommendations feel free to reach out!

SYNPATH/OTHERHEARTED

— Crowley (good omens)

I can’t quite tell if I identify with or as Crowley but there is definitely a connection. I believe them to be a kin or kith because their relationship with religion and how they view themselves being a demon/fallen angel is almost exactly the same as I do.

[dsafkinfessions]

I'm new to this whole kin idea thing, I don't think I'm one myself but I'm just curious

Would you mind explaining what the terms in your description mean? I want to know more about this topic so I'm less confused!! <3

Sure!! I was already planning on it actually :3 so here for anyone who doesn't know!!

IRL / DA(delusional attachment): Someone who genuinely believes to be a fictional character due to an identity delusion caused by psychosis, schizophrenia, ecc. Identifies AS the character, meaning they can't separate themselves from media. Might or might not have memories.

Fictionkin: Someone who has such a strong connection with a character to the point of identifying as them. Or someone who believes they were said character in a past life. They're aware they aren't actually the character themselves (at least not right now) therefore they can separate their identity from their media-self. Might or might not have memories.

Copinglink: Someone who identifies as a fictional character to cope or just for fun. They're aware they aren't said character in reality. They don't have memories but they can make them up if they wish to.

Fictive: Alter of a system based on a fictional character. Is NOT the character themselves. They can separate themselves from media completely. Might or might not have memories. (I'm not a fictive myself so please correct me if I'm wrong here).

“What's a system?”

A system is a psychological condition caused by multiple personality disorders such as DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) where a person has two or more separate identities called “alters.” It is often caused by trauma or severe stress in early childhood to protect the person from further harm. The alters have their own personalities, beliefs, preferences, behaviors and may also differ in age, gender, preferences, and other aspects. They can also be aware of one another, or the person may have no memory or awareness of their alters. Alters can be brainmade (created by the person's brain), fictives or factives (based on real people).

Kin: General term used to describe any of the above.

Kinnie: Someone who simply relates to a fictional character. (You guys can't confess here, sorry).

Mod note: please be aware that reality checking/fakeclaiming is always harmful and should never be done. If you think being any of these is harmful for someone's well-being, kindly offer them to seek professional help.

[a-wildkinventure]

Hey there!!

@a-wildkinventure here! you can call me Venture!

[I know this post is long, but please read till the end!]

I use he/they pronouns.

In addition, I also use it/its [I use neos but don't list here]

I am part of a questioning [not currently diagnosed] sys, in addition to being polykin and therian so... chaos will ensue.

Although this blog is dedicated specifically to kin chaos.

[in specific I am a c-linker/c-kin in addition to non-linking kin with fictionflicker and exotrauma experiences as well as having a very strong connection to kinmems]

please try to understand that this is my only safe place to talk about kin stuff... so I really, REALLY just want to exist... and even here I'm not sure how 'safe' I feel...

What I'm cool with doing:

[On a scale from 1 to 10]

Chatting with other fictionkin [or kin in general, other, fiction, etc.] - 10/10, definitely! talk with me peeps!

[especially if you are from my sources!!! Fallout 4, Kong Skull Island or Kaiju in general, Murder Drones, Sally Face, Metal Family, Coraline, Chikn Nuggit, Tangled the Series, Carrion, UTMV, Dumbo, etc!!!]

[Trying] to make moodboards - 7/10, I am kind of shit at these but will still try!

[Trying] to make stimboards - 2/10, I am total shit at these and probably won't try, but I'd love to learn!

Talking with doubles - 9/10, might weird me out a bit at first, but hell yeah, dude!

Offering kin help - 5/10, I can try! I'm actually pretty new to understanding that I am kin, so I might not be good.

Anything NSFW in asks - 2/10, depends on context... I'm usually VERY sex and sexual/sexuality repulsed, but within REASON I can handle NSFW stuff. Just don't go out of your way to be a horny freak ig? [Not meant to be negative, but I've dealt with too much sexual shit in my life...]

All The Kin-formation!

High Kin(s):

HABIT

Evan Myers

Alex Kralie (Canon Compliant)

Alex Kralie (Vampire AU)

Alex Kralie (different AU, unsure as to which)

The Observer

Josh

Tim Wright

Slenderman

Jack Nyras

Hansel

Medium Kin(s):

Lordy / Lordi

Swampy

Harold Biddle

Gustav Shvagenbagen

Bezel

Carrion

Sal Fisher

Jane Doe

Low Kin(s):

Heavy

Hvitur

BEN DROWNED

Alice Liddel

Chesnok

Catnap & Catfeine

Dormant Kin(s):

[Label used for kintypes that I have not had shifts for in a long time, to the point where I am unsure what happened to them. Something I attribute to fictionflickering]

Template

Toby Rogers

Casey Junior

Wyborne Lovat

Varian

Zombie Drone

Disassembly Drone

Skullcrawler

Glowing Deathclaw

My Kintypes [all]:

Glowing Deathclaw, Skullcrawler, Zombie Drone, Disassembly Drone, Sal Fisher, Chesnok, Lordy / Lordi, Wyborne Lovat, Bezel, Carrion, Varian, Template, Casey Junior, Heavy Shvagenbagen, Catnap & Catfeine, Gustav Shvagenbagen, Tobias "Ticci Toby" Rogers, Jack "Eyeless Jack" Nyras, BEN DROWNED, Hansel, Alice Liddel, Slenderman, Tim Wright, Hvitur, Harold Biddle, Jane Doe, Josh, Swampy, HABIT, Evan Myers, Alex Kralie (Vamp AU), Alex Kralie (Canon Compliant), Alex Kralie (some other AU), Indigo Chinese Pangolin, The Observer

(Copingkin types: Heavy Shvagenbagen, HABIT/Evan)

(Copinglink types: BEN DROWNED)

Kinsidering Kintypes:

Lif (Metal Family)

You can see me on the fictionkinfessions blog, I use 2 emoji combos for my confession signings. Here are some of them!

(aka ones I've used for submissions)

🎀💔 (Lordy confessions), 🍻🌟 (now for Chesnok confessions), 📼🎸(Sal Fisher confessions), 🐈‍⬛🌫 (Wybie confessions), ⏱️🌌 (Bezel confessions), 🥩🪱 (Carrion confessions), 🧪⚡️(Varian confessions), ✒️🔄 (Template confessions), 🚂🎪 (Casey Junior confessions), 🐾🗺 (Pokémon??? confessions), 🤘🐱 (Heavy confessions), 📏🎼 (Gustav confessions), ☀️🌘 (Catnap/Catfeine confessions), 🩹🌲(Toby Rogers confessions), 👁🔪 (Jack Nyras confessions), 💾🎮 (BEN DROWNED confessions), 👗🎠 (Alice confessions), 🍜🤳 (Ennui confessions), ⚫️🫀 (Venom confessions), 🌲👔 (Slenderman confessions), 🚬🍂 (Masky / Tim Wright confessions), ❄️💎 (Hvitur confessions), 🚺🎢(Jane Doe confessions), 📹🛤 (Josh confessions), 🐊🛀 (Swampy confessions)🐇👾 (HABIT confessions), 👽🗡 (Evan confessions), 🩸👓 - (Alex Kralie Vampire AU confessions), 👓📼 (Alex Kralie no AU confessions), 👓🎧 (Alex Kralie *unknown AU* confessions), 🎀🦔 (Indigo Chinese Pangolin Google Doodles, Pangolin Love confessions), 👓👁 (The Observer confessions)

( ps. I use I/me on this blog instead of we/ours because kin related things are ONLY associated with me [the core], I seem to be the only kinner *I think I'm wording that right?* as well as the only therian. hence the I/me. also, fakeclaiming syscource people... fuck all the way off, please. I just want to EXIST and BE MYSELF. Like, I'll stay off your posts, respect your DNIs but if you come to ME, I WILL block you... I just want a space to feel free to have my identity, because apparently I can't just "Be Myself" as people always told me anymore. Like... I'm not claiming to be endo, I'm not claiming to be tulpa or willo, or traumatically formed.. I don't I'm know WHY this happened.. just saying I have experiences, even though they won't really be talked about here, my shitty anxiety wants me to try to safeguard myself against fakeclaiming and hatred because I just want to go through a day feeling a bit okay about who I am for once... like... feeling okay about ALL of me, not just some cherry-picked "socially acceptable" aspects... )

more ps. PFP does not belong to me that is someone else's art... I belive I found it on Pinterest, but I do not remember the poster.

In addition, my banner is an edited / compiled version of two moodboards that soldier-requests made for me. So again... not mine, technically.

[neopronouns]

(shapeshifter anon) ok well damn maybe i am alterhuman ?? i dont know enough about it though. are there any sources about it?

i can give you some basic info! this is partly based on my own knowledge of alterhumanity and partly based on this blog post, pages on the otherkin wiki, and the alt+h glossary.

alterhuman refers to any 'altered' experience of humanity. this includes not identifying as human at all (often called nonhuman), partially identifying as human and partially as something else, fully identifying as human while also having other species identities, or otherwise having a nontraditional experience of humanity. alterhuman identity can be very integral to one's identity and sense of self, fairly casual, or anything in between.

many other less broad terms fit under alterhuman. here's a few examples:

otherkin: typically involuntary, often very serious/important personal identification as something nonhuman (including real animals, fictional creatures, mythological beings, concepts, songs, etc.) or a character

therian: identifying as an animal that exists/existed on earth. therianthropy generally fits under otherkin identity (can be seen as another word for 'animalkin', essentially)

otherhearted: having a strong connection to something nonhuman or a character that impacts one's sense of self. this is often not an identification 'as' something (ex: 'i am a wolf') but identification 'with' something (ex: 'i feel a deep connection to wolves')

otherlink: voluntary, chosen identification with something nonhuman or a character

copinglink: otherlinking specifically done as a form of coping with something

constelic: some form of identification with something nonhuman or a character. a constel can be chosen or involuntary and are often hoarded, 'picked up' and 'dropped' over time due to varying interest/intensity/etc., and can be less casual than a lot of other alterhuman identities

otherspin: an alterhuman identity caused by one's special interest in the thing they now identify as (ex: a special interest in horses causing one to develop a horsekin identity)

otherfix: same as above but with hyperfixations

trauma nonhuman: an alterhuman identity caused by trauma

and many more!

also, plurality may also be considered an alterhuman experience (typically on an individual basis). all nonhuman system members fit under alterhuman, but any member of a system may consider their experience alterhuman.

here's some things an alterhuman may experience:

awakening: the word for discovering one's alterhuman identity

species dysphoria: unease, dissatisfaction, or distress caused by the fact that one doesn't identify as (fully) human, but has a human body

phantom limbs: when one's mind perceives the existence of a limb that is not physically there (ex: feeling wings on one's back)

hearthome: a location that one considers their home despite not having been raised there/lived there. may be real or fictional

shifts: when one's perception, personality/actions, etc. 'shift' to be more similar to their alterhuman identity. this may trigger species dysphoria, cause phantom limbs, alter one's speech patterns or behavior, etc.

memories of being one's alterhuman identity (ex: a memory of being a cat). often called 'kin memories', as otherkin seem to have a higher likelihood of experiencing this.

belief that one's alterhuman identity is caused by something spiritual

belief that one's alterhuman identity is a memory of a past life

belief that one's alterhuman identity is a memory from another universe

having one's alterhuman identity affect one's gender, orientation, presentation, etc.

basically, if you feel your experience with humanity isn't quite what it is for the average person, you can be alterhuman! you also don't have to use any more specific labels than that, i just wanted to list some common alterhuman experiences.

shapeshifters and similar beings are fairly common in alterhuman spaces, from what i've experienced! i personally am a polymorph, which is a being that can shift to any possible form and doesn't have a 'true' form that it returns to after shifting.

[demystifiedstardust]

Voluntary Personal Lore

I like (read: hate) how "I have memories of being (Tou//hou Project) Yukari Yaku//mo's shikigami" would be totally normal in kin posting but "I think of myself as Yukari's shikigami because I roleplayed it consistently for so long outside of personal context that it somehow got subconsciously added into my personal lore in spite of my attempts to distance myself" would be super controversial.

Anyway, I've settled into some weird conflicting personal lore that isn't as strong as the stuff that just spawned into my heart without further context, but like, I don't feel like it's good to dismiss it just because I stumbled into it voluntarily through roleplay. It still has a strong inclination of "ah yes this is indeed my personal history".

(Readmore for length)

A few examples of the Weird Lore:

I've been her shikigami for years prior to becoming Aether, for years before Gen//shin was a thing, and it carried over.

Lumine is not a shikigami to my knowledge, however, and never has been.

My last fictional identity was also a noncanonical shikigami. Even though I personally changed, I didn't stop being a shikigami and my connection to Yukari persists.

This makes Ran Yaku//mo sort of like a senior coworker that I've never met?

I'm not on Ran's level and I likely never will be, but by virtue of being directly under Yukari (yes, she has sub-levels of shikigami; it's shikigami all the way down), it feels like it would be more coworkery.

Ran is so cool. I would bet every shikigami looks up to her, for good reason.

Even though this would technically be a 'crossover canon', in practice there's so much unexplored and nebulous traveler-twin history that it's Gen//shin-compliant until you look at the actual IP copyright. So like, it is, but it's not exactly AU either. I don't know.

I semi-regularly ask her for guidance now in a spiritualish way. I don't recommend anyone else do this; Yukari is a masterclass troll.

Don't get me wrong, she cares. She's just a troll about it.

[ms-all-sunday]

Part 2:

I think you're in a weird place if you're a One Piece kinnie/fictive, for those of you who don't know:

kin/kinnie = The process of heavily identifying with a fictional character. Can be done for many reasons, sometimes for coping sometimes for spirituality.

fictive/introject = You have OSDD/DID and one of the people in your head is from a piece of media or story.

(They're similar concepts, but not the same. Go read part 1 if you want an in depth explanation.)

Anyways, I think you're in a weird place if you're a One Piece kinnie/fictive, and I think that's tied to one piece's older base demographic. In most fandoms (younger people mainly) in my own experience, the process of acknowledging kinning is heavily tied to media analysis, but within the context of One Pieces fandom because of the demographic being older and kin culture being heavily based within neurodivergent youths (at least for now, put a pin in that.) one piece's analysis demographic and one piece's kinning demographic (which as self identified is unusually small for what one piece is.) are separated, because the analysis demographic is older than the kinnies. Which is weird because they usually feed off of eachother for obvious reasons. (You want to read part 1 so. Bad.)

If you have such a strong connection to a story you will analyze it. And kinning, is just a type of relationship you can have with a story. It is inherently media analysis but is more intimate and specific to your experiences.

I think it's probably inevitable that the two communities merge more heavily as One Piece grows a younger and younger fanbase with it's continued popularity. But I propose a more immediate, tantalizing solution: adults should self identify as kinnies more. It's not like One Piece kinnies who are adults don't exist, it's more-so that they don't self identify.

And that's the problem. Kinning is inherently a introspective action and because of the divide the resources to self reflect aren't as readily accessible. They don't have the connection to analysis that is so titular. If kinning is a self-soothing mechanism there has to be stuff to feel seen about, people who can help you grasp that strong connection to the media in question. And it's a damn shame because I feel like people have these strong reactions to One Piece because they kin a character from it but don't know what to do with that information and there isn't public collaborative space online to explore those feelings.

TL:DR It's 2024. Adults into One Piece start fucking kinning be cringe and free. I don't care how old you are.

[eirian]

i think a lot about how much ive grown and changed as a person, not the least of which being how i went from a super heavy kinnie to someone who hardly kins at all

my journey with kinning was like...idk. it started with learning about what otherkin was, and i realized that damn i have a super strong connection with demons for some reason, and i genuinely wished i was an actual demon. this was in 2013 ish. that was my first time calling myself a kinnie

then my first experience with fictionkin specifically was with...unfortunately, prussia from hetalia lol. that was my first fictionkin. then shit got out of control from there bc then i proceeded to keep tacking on fictional characters onto my identity until they BECAME my identity.

i became a kinnie at a very interesting and formative part of my life--the mid-teen years. and honestly? i dont think it was the healthiest thing for my growth. b/c my identity sort of became...nonexistent for a while? i based my whole self around fictional characters. i didnt want to be myself because i didnt know who "myself" was. and unfortunately this lasted into my...well, mid-20s. im 26 now and it took me until i was ABOUT 24 to actually find my real core identity outside of fictional characters to the point of where i was proud and happy to know myself and call myself just...dan. thats me! im not dan plus fu, kidou, raditz, etc....im just dan. and thats enough!

so for me, being a kinnie was a result of not knowing who i was and using fictional characters to sort of fill in that hole in my identity. i wanted to be them b/c i didnt know who myself was, or maybe i didnt like who i was either and wanted to replace myself with them. i loved fu and lots of other ppl did, so i wanted to be him so i could be loved like that. i wanted to be funny like him. i wanted to be strong like raditz. i wanted to be smart and athletic like kidou. i wanted to be cool like dan phantom. i wanted to be anything but the real me and that hampered my growth as a person for a very, very long time

it took me a long while to reach the point im at right now--where im confident in my identity and dont need to use fictional characters as a crutch. and im not necessarily saying being fictionkin is inherently bad--it can be fun or even used to cope with situations such as trauma, i understand that--but when it came to me and my own situation, i excused it as being a "spiritual" thing and sort of clung to the idea that i was "soul-connected" to fictional characters who existed in another universe at the same time as me...which in retrospect was kind of a reach lol. but like. idk. it ended up not being spiritual at all even though i convinced myself it was. it was due to identity issues and, to an extent, actual real delusions--i genuinely thought that i HAD to uncover and piece together my "canon" lives to the point of obsession. it was super unhealthy for me and brought me so much unnecessary stress, everyone around me could see it too.

so uh. what am i tryna conclude here. i guess like. be careful? if youre a fictionkinnie, especially a young one, please take the time to do some introspection. is it just for fun? is it a lighthearted thing? or are you so intensely deep into it that its a huge part of your identity to the point of where you lost your actual self? to the point of having breakdowns over doubles? can you function in life without the kin part?

for the record, i still consider myself generally otherkin--i do still heavily identify with demons and have dreams of being a demon and all that good kin stuff. but its not who i am. i have a list of fictional characters i kin still--hidden and not advertised anymore--but its at the back of my mind now and is more of a casual "oh yeah im raditz haha" kind of thing if that makes sense? its not affecting my life as much as it did anymore and im happy about that

i hope nobody takes this personally lol. im just basically airing my thoughts about my own kin journey out and sharing my experience and thoughts abt the thing as a whole. end text post

[thatdogmagic]

can i ask why you're against kin tags? is this because they are your oc's? cause that is fully understandable. just curious as to why you think it's harmful, i'm not being malicious but i tag wolf art i reblog with specific tags (not kinning per-se) & i want to interact with your work with respect but also if you're against kin in general i'd just want to hear your reasoning if you do feel like explaining.

As I understand it, kinning/soul-bonding where it applies to a specific character is an overt statement by someone that they take a vast degree of ownership over that character. On the basis of saying they quite literally are that specific character, or are "headmates" with them, or whatever.

To be clear, I get why it happens. I have felt a strong connection to fictional characters that are not my own, over my lifetime, and I actually can understand just how easy it would be to feel like that connection transcends mere coincidence. That being said: I've watched this play out between artists and audience before, and it can get draining/overwhelming/fucking obnoxious/outright alarming in a hurry.

It is, frankly, very difficult to tell the difference between someone "kinning" an artist's characters, and an active stalker. And I don't see much difference between the two, since they both presume a frightening degree of entitlement to a person, be it their personal work (kinning), or their whole person (stalker).

There is also the simple fact of forcing your beliefs on someone else. Because kinning is a belief. It is blind faith in a concept that cannot ever really be proven, and sorry/not sorry I refuse to respect anyone who tells me that they are literally the embodiment of one of my characters.

[fallensnowfan]

My favorite One Piece chapters of 2022. 1036-1070 released during the year.

1036 - Bushido is the Way of Death: First, that title is cool as hell and perfect for a chapter which focuses on contrasting the negative side of the resolve of the samurai against Usopp's survival instincts. Whitebeard division commander, retainer of Oden, and Kiku's older brother Izo arrives and acknowledges God Usopp before the two say some meaningful words about the samurai's way of life. My second favorite scene of the Raid.

1041 - Komurasaki: Raizo brushes off the heat of the fire, calling it nothing, and outlasts Fukurokuju. Orochi is trapped under the rubble and Hiyori reveals her identity. An injured Izo makes his stand and dunks on the cp0 agents, killing one and heavily injuring another. Usopp continues his brave rescue of Kin and Kiku. That panel of Luffy rushing Kaido is raw as hell.

1043 - Let's Face Death Together!!! Nami standing up to Kaido and him respecting her for it, I love it so much, this is the chapter where Nami cemented herself as my favorite character in One Piece.

1044 - Warrior of Liberation: Hiyori catharsis. Gear 5 Luffy humiliates Kaido, that cowardly liar, with cartoon physics-driven attacks. Great payback for him making Oden dance for all those years.

1046 - Raizo: Raizo and Jinbei teaming up to put out the flames of Onigashima castle is great. Raizo's having the water stored, his reason of wanting to prevent a similar disaster to Oden Castle being burned from happening again, shown in a short flashback on Zou, is a perfect motivation for someone who has been through what he has.

1048-1050 - Twenty Years, The World That Should Be, and Honor feel like one long chapter: Kaido is defeated and Orochi's final head is severed. I love the volcanic eruption as a send off to their tyranny. Toko changing the message on her lantern to thank her dad, ahhh she is so brave. I very much got teary eyed over that. The flashback showing a bit more about Toki struggling to send everyone to the future/part from her kids, just heartbreaking. She's so strong-willed and I see where Kiku and Hiyori got their own bravery, kindness, patience, and resilience from.

1051 - Shogun of Wano Country, Kozuki Momonosuke: Seeing the Akazaya, Shinobu, and Hiyori lined up is incredible after everything they've all been through, I was in awe while reading. Love Kin'emon being proud of Momo. Kin definitely wrote his speech, Denjiro probably helped.

1052 - A New Morning: Kiku being happy in the women's bath, Nami having accepted her request, is a very sweet interaction. Who has a bigger bust size? Zoro or Yamato?

1053 - New Emperors: The party is in full swing! I'm very much looking forward to the anime adaptation of these end of arc chapters.

1055 - The New Era: The Akazaya, Momo and Yamato working to defend the Capital/Luffy is awesome. Why was Kiku absent though? The Old Wano reveal is perfect. Wano's mainland is one of my favorite settings in fiction and the fact that there was still more to show in the final chapters of the arc is mondo cool.

1056 - Cross Guild: Samurai family being cute and having down time. Love Kin being a huge simp for Tsuru and everyone's differing reactions to it.

1061 - Future Island Egghead: My favorite new character of the arc, Hibari, is introduced. She's got a goofy and expressive face and her connection to Koby is fun. A simple reason for liking the chapter but it's mine. Drake where u at?

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

so how does one go about figuring out a "friendship" with what would be referred to as a "fictional character" ? do you think it is bad to find comfort in these things, or to want to meet them? is it even possible to truly determine who is "blorbo-ing" out of a genuine sense of connection, and who is simply "blorbo-ing at the tv" as you said? and how do we go about confirming if we've even met them when there's no physical way?

for example, i literally grew up at the same time the characters from homestuck did, while i was following their stories. and genshin impact has both mirrored and healed a lot of my personal history and the struggles i went through in life. what's the difference between my experience, where these interactions over my life meant a lot to me, and the people just looking for the latest blorbo?

i agree the people we write or read in fiction are as real as real can be, considering our conversation even being possible. (i find that really heartwarming by the way, and it's nice to meet you.)

but many other people would disagree based on semantics of physical reality, and what constitutes things being "real" in the first place.

i'd love to know more of your thoughts if i could. it feels lonely to care about this.

Yes, I think there are a lot of different ways to think about this, and that some of them are really difficult to disentangle, but I'm going to try.

First, some disclaimers: I'm no psychologist, so some of what I say here is going to be speculative. Also, if your "blorbo" is from a show/book/whatever that you "don't even like that much" or something, your relationship with it is different from mine, and that's fine!

So, here's my thoughts:

(1) I have a complicated relationship with fiction, which I'll discuss below in my next post. (For now, note that I'm talking about the sorts of fiction that I read for fun/enjoyment, not things like "pornographic fiction.")

If I want to have "a relationship" with a fictional character, it has to be different from my relationship with a real person. This is true for reasons of ethics and common sense, but also for reasons of physical reality. There are a lot of people who have had a much more intense "experience" of real people than I have (I've never met the people in Homestuck, but have met hundreds of the characters), which means they can have very strong, very personal relationships to the characters in fiction.

In fact, I think that's even more likely to happen as we age. When we're teenagers, it's difficult for our minds to separate fiction from reality, but when we're older, we have experienced more of the world. We know other people, their flaws and their virtues, and maybe we even understand the world we live in better than we would in the abstract. We're able to appreciate fictional character's flaws in a way that we could not as a teenager.

(2) It is certainly possible to form relationships with fictional characters that have no physical reality at all, but (as I said in another post) this is because the distinction between fiction and reality is broken by the medium (no matter how much the characters may want it otherwise). It's not because there's something essentially unreal about fiction that it would not feel "real" to a teenage boy watching porn.

There are many different ways in which fiction can be "unreal" -- I mean, not just "unreal" as it compares with the world in its fictional world, but "unreal" as it compares with the world we live in. In some cases this may not even be "unreal" in the sense of being different from the world, but "unreal" in a more fundamental sense -- e.g. the way in which a song can feel "more real" than a real person. Even if we are able to experience music with the same kind of intensity as we experience a face -- to experience it to the point where it feels that everything in the song was real for a little while, except for the lyrics of the song itself -- we will still never experience its beauty fully.

With the kind of fiction I'm thinking about -- for instance, the kind of "weird fiction" or fantasy that I was reading when I was a teenager -- there is, typically, some element of the fictional world that "feels more real" than the world you live in. To speak very roughly, you can treat the characters of these stories the way you treat real people. They will have feelings, but not as you would expect them to have feelings, because their stories aren't real.

This is true not just for "weird fantasy," but for any kind of fiction, even ones you might not think of as having much fantastical element to them (e.g. Harry Potter). Of course, many of these "unrealities" are hard to describe; you can compare the way you might feel about, say, a person who is "real" and just not your person (or at least, not in a way that matters to you) and a person who is not "real" and therefore not any person (or in some important sense, the kind of person you would want to be).

Fiction can feel real in many of the same ways that real people can, in many, many different ways. It might not seem as if there is an important and clear difference -- it's hard to make a line between fiction and reality without breaking it -- but that doesn't mean there isn't one. Fiction can be more than one, and sometimes it may even be many things to the same person, at the same time.

(3) I think it might be helpful to understand fiction in a more cognitive science sense. This is the sense that says "we make up our own minds, our internal state doesn't have a simple, physical relationship to the outside world, and people's brains are full of weird tricks that are very hard to fully explain."

It's a sort of weird, internal "game," which has its own rules. In fact, the rules of this game are, again, very difficult to state, but can be intuited if you are willing to look.

Think about what I said about the "unreality" of fiction. Think about what I said about fiction's internal "rules," and how difficult it is to state those rules. Think about how I said that people's internal states about things "like" physical reality are a certain way and not another -- that we know this and we don't know it, so you can sort of imagine the rules of this game, but only sort of.

These things -- "unreality," "internal rules," etc., and the difficulties of talking about them, are the same sort of things that happen in the human mind when we make up a game. In fact, the internal rules of the game are very close to rules that have been developed by cognitive science, e.g. "Bayesian reasoning" and its close cousin.

In a game with its own rules, we can do many different sorts of things with the internal "game pieces" that make up the rules of the game. We can imagine the rules of the game from the inside, or from the outside. We can play with rules that we have set, or with rules that are not yet set. We can have emotions that are internal to the "playing" part of us, and not caused by things outside the head. We can have experiences that are not dependent on real things, not even dependent on real people. We can have intense relationships with imaginary people, and feel as if the relationships were intense in some way, even if we know the experience of the relationship is not the same thing as the experience we'd have with real people.

This sort of thing is a part of what it means to say that "the distinction between fiction and reality" is really broken, just like the "distinction between my internal state and my surroundings." We can put our internal states into relationships with physical objects. We can have our experiences play with the rules of the mind itself, and have them become real in a way that they could not in the real world. (Or the real world, if you happen to prefer to live in a world where we can understand "real objects.")

These things are just some of the reasons we have for saying that reality and fiction

[divine-elixir]

Once again, I write about my experiences. This time, about acknowledging something about myself and some discoveries.

I've acknowledged my identity as not being fiction based in the past, but recently I'm starting to reconsider this. What with some thinking and recent discoveries about myself.

I know myself, and a small amount of others from my home realm, to be world travelers. So, traveling to other realms and worlds for fun and potential learning is quite natural for us. And as I've written about Teyvat and Adepti in the past, I think this is where my connection to Teyvat/the Adepti came from and why I feel such strong feelings of nostalgia & longing when I play Genshin.

I haven't recalled any memories of other worlds, besides my home realm and Teyvat as of yet. But memories (or noemata) of these two places come to me so easily and so naturally. Though, as I consider them both home this ought to be natural. I would assume.

I remember forging a deep connection with the Adepti during my times in Teyvat due to the strong similarities between them and I/the beings of my home realm. And there is also the memory of the deep connection between I and a particular individual among them that developed, which still remains to this day. As I do still interact with Teyvat, since my identity is technically a parallel life. Although I consider it my truest self, and my life here on earth is just a little detour. Vacation perhaps?

However, besides Teyvat. I've observed some interesting parallels. Among the beings of my home realm, we acknowledge the existence of a great tree that connects multiple worlds, universes, bubble worlds, ect. And it is generally considered the origin of all things and also acts as a storer of memories and happenings.

Now as I like to go poking around on the internet, I found myself taking an interest in other games developed by the same studio as Genshin. With a bit of digging, I found the concept of the imaginary tree. Which, in the Honkai series, is considered the origin of all life, universes, and worlds. I understand coincidences exist, but this feels right and it lines up to well. (There is also the Irminsul tree in Teyvat, which store memories and information. But I won't get into that.)

If my home realm shares an origin with Teyvat, then I think it makes sense that there would be similarities between some beings there and in my home. And possibly beings from other worlds in the Honkai series, Star rail, and maybe Hoyoverse's other games.

It's all so exciting to feel like I'm figuring more things out, and a tad nerve racking too. But I can honestly say, it's a step up from how I felt years ago. Insecure about potentially having an identity connected to anything considered fictional in this world. With seeing how some spoke of such identities back then, or even now, it made me feel such identifications were less real than others. So, I guess that fear traveled with me for all those years I have been in the nonhuman community. Regardless of how active or talkative I was.

With all that said, I feel very thankful. Not just for the experience of discovery, but for a particular adeptus whom really stirred things in me when I first laid eyes on him in the game. I think the feeling of deep familiarity does things to you.....(and I think he is potentially also a soulbound, but that is a topic for another time.)

Anyhow, any Genshin kin out there. Please interact. 😔

[katyspersonal]

002 for Mico and Rom both please?

Oh!!!!!!! Hell yea!!!

(Asks from this ( x ) meme)

002 I Give me a character & I will tell you

• How I feel about this character

For Micolash: I feel a LOT of things about Mico. He is genuinely one of the most important fictional characters that I ever had in my life. Not just that, but there were many bizarre and significant dreams connected with him, and even some things transcending into waking life.

I actually feel a bit reclusive to elaborate as these are very intimate matters (that also touch upon spiritual matters and mental health). I'll just say that this character means A Whole Bunch for me, and I gave up trying to reason why I am not scared or repulsed by him despite the sheer depth of comprehending his insanity. Though can a hard-core fan of FromSoft games truly be sane? Hehehe~ Also I love his appearance and I want to kiss his face, and I want to give him a motherly hug and wrap him in a comfy blankey

For Rom: Roughly the same things apply; a very important character, a lot of connection with dreams, spiritual experiences and mental health profile. In fact, I sort of kin this character. It is just hard to convey since within canon she is almost a blank canvas, yet I don't even feel connected with my portrayal of her specifically. It is just A Rom. There are only a few boundaries, such as strong sense of her being one of the students. But I love all the takes on her!

I picked interest in her almost instantly, but I had a dream about being her before I knew ANYTHING about her and only saw the design. She was, and is, such a blast to develop from my very first days into Bloodborne. She is as important for me as Micolash, just except that I do not have a crush on her. It'd feel too awkward... xD

• All the people I ship romantically with this character

For Micolash: Edgar, Damian, Laurence, Rom (not my version of her though, since mine is his sister), to an extent Kos and Wet Nurse (they are weird ones since they're gods)... Yeah, I think that's mostly it! I could like some others though? For example, @saint--adeline had a ship of Mico with Adeline and like... gfjjjfjyug cursed but it actually makes hella sense, you go girl xD

For Rom: Ebrietas, Julie/Yurie, Edgar, Micolash (see above), Damian, Adeline, Maria, Willem (cursed, I know), Patches

Naturally, I am not rotating all of these ships in my brain all the time, hahaha! I just like to explore different opportunities in fiction, and these are the ones I think of!

• My non-romantic OTP for this character

For Micolash: It is hard to choose one... I think him and Archibald work well! Archie probably would simp for Micolash, though, but I just don't see them becoming a couple. However, they would work together and get along juuust fine like two mad inventors, plus Archie is basically THE chief of Yahar'gul hunters. And one of the few mad lads that was loyal to Micolash genuinely until the end.

For Rom: Which one would not become a ship, hmmm... She sure has friends, but 'platonic OTP' is a very honorable status, you know! I think Caryll falls here the best; my particular version of Caryll distances from Byrgenwerth a bit soon, but in general they are the highest Insight scholars on the block (Micolash drools and hisses and cries and throws up from envy)

Honorable mention: My versions of Rom and Micolash themselves! They are siblings separated at birth that found each other thanks to Rom's intuition and unique devotion to finding her lost brother. They went though everything together, and were close and loyal to defending each other until the end. In fact, they are SO close that arguably none of their romantic ships could rival this bond. Very codependent family bond does that sometimes...

• My unpopular opinion about this character

For Micolash: Not an opinion, more like 'then do it yourself if you're so goddamn smart' moment. But I think he should have been involved in Research Hall (very likely as one of the doctors), and I think this is not explored often enough! Just like him being a necromancer and being able to teleport is not something I see addressed often enough. Basically my opinion is that there are more sides of him to simp for appreciate than just him being Weird Guy and a cult leader. The dude got TALENTS, okay? x)

For Rom: I prefer to think that her being intellectually disabled and, I quote, "childlike", was not a side-effect of ascension but natural traits for her in life! (Her title in Japanese original uses the word 'hakuchi' that is very directly a way to describe profound mental disability, as opposed to the more vague English word 'vacuous'). No, takes along the lines of Rom being a super genius so smart that she deserved eyes for that alone are cool, I am just very biased on my way of taking her title. In my case since she is a student, it is selective disability: academically smart but very helpless otherwise. Can see everything throw raw intuition but gets none of it. Can conduct incredibly complex research on the Universe but might not know how to button her shirt or count to ten. Along those lines!

I'll say though: the day someone makes Rom not a scholar and not a teacher but a secret third thing (Willem's baby daughter) is the day I will EAT that take /pos

• One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

For Micolash: I'd LOVE it if Micolash was a friendly NPC in the Nightmare for some time (basically temporary Doll, or maybe giving us helpful updates for Insight points), and then "betrayed" us by jumping in the Lake that'd serve as teleporter to the Lecture Building. x) Inspired by the cut idea for him in beta version where he DID do that. Him being a useful NPC is just my idea to lead up to it. Maybe he'd even make lamps conveniently not work in the Nightmare to force us to interact with h- lol yeah I just wish we got to interact with him more.

For Rom: A way to reveal Mensis Ritual without having to kill her and her babies. Just a split way of acting where if you kill her you get this, if you use roundabout way you get that... I just... I can't describe the feeling from that battle, it felt like bullying a child... even despite the fact that she has like 500 of her own children. But yeah, a FromSoft game that let's you be safe from anguish is not a FromSoft game...

• my OTP

For Micolash: Micoedgar! Edgar fell in LOVE with Micolash and he ruined his mission because he was GAY for him and he WILLINGLY gave Micolash his soul and he protects him because he is SIMP and I'll die on this hill!!!! But no, seriously, I feel like the two have the best potential. I largely characterized Edgar as someone not quite fitting with the Choir's limiting, toothless ways, and his brilliant and inquisitive mind simply found more of a kindred spirit in Micolash; the 'insane' and 'evil' guy that Choir told him to not trust and stop at all cost. And I think Micolash likewise appreciates Edgar; someone both smart (and brave) enough to listen to him and question things like him, but also an individualist enough to doubt him and concur his own thoughts if needed. Edgar refuses to wear a cage, now doesn't he? They are just equal, in the best way possible.

For Rom: I could not choose between Robrietas or Yurom/Julirom. Ever. Like yeah I know Rom has two hands (16 in her ascended form, actually), but balancing a human and a GO is hard... I think my preference will SLIGHTLY skew towards Rombrietas though, since Rom is destined to ascend anyway..

I concluded Ebrietas is a half-human herself (adult version of a celestial larva), so both Rom and Ebby would hit a very strong bond of being 'between' the mortal and the divine. Ebrietas also mourns Rom's petrified real body. I always felt like Ebrietas would much rather have Rom stay safe within the guidance of Stars and Moon, but Rom just.... HAD to go above and beyond, HAD to become a Spider (Amygdalae affiliation), HAD to secretly help Micolash... There is very deep emotion and conflict, and Ebrietas also having the Grinch heart moment; as a 'paleblood' Great One she nonetheless cries red bloody tears, as a sign of her feelings Rom 'sullying' her purity.. but also letting her touch upon her human side for the first time. Her theme and Rosmarinus both have 'why do you cry, fair maiden' bit but Rom altar has candles, so they must know WHY, right? But maybe it is because it was the first time Ebrietas cared about someone being lost to a ritual....

There are just so many layers to the two, I could go on all day....

• my cross over ship

For Micolash: I don't know... I have a suspicion a character from ER might fit, but I'll need to learn more about them before.

For Rom: I once had a weird fever dream where she met Gwynd0lin and they were talking about their experiences, and then Rom (still human-ish enough) had to run away carrying him in her arms when Suly appeared and beckoned Aldr1ch with the bell ggjhkgkyhj It is hard to describe but the emotions of both of them, and the impending horror, felt so real that I now physically can't unsee the two having a good chemistry. I've been imagining them interacting in a crossover a few times by now.

• a headcanon fact

Damn, I did not notice upon first reading the meme that it had this oxymoron, hahaha. Like... so, a headcanon OR a fact? I'll interpret it as 'a headcanon I am firm on' because I don't see any other way x)

For both: The description of the first Brain Fluid you find mentions a man that wanted to become a doctor, and so his sister volunteered to be his patient. I believe that the mentioned siblings HAD to be Micolash and Rom; Research Hall's connection with peeking into the Sea, the fact that eventually Research Hall does become Choir's base, the fact that this description is too random otherwise.....

You pick this Brain Fluid from a female head that is guarded by a guy, sure, but not only he is lower ranking Black Church doctor/hunter (that'd probably not do experiments on ascension, unlike White doctors)... But also, his internal name is 'lover npc'. So yeeee.

I'll give some pointer though: it could also refer to maybe Laurence and Adeline (Laurence does hold Eye Pendant and Healing Church WAS interested in internal eyes through water at its first days). Or maybe Micolash and Adeline? I just think these being Rom and Micolash comnects the things way better, Rom being the zero patient from whom that research started just... just completes things so well, and explains her fate more... That Rom was honored by Kos, when other patients turned to the Stars instead of the Sea or just went mad... argh.

Thank you for the ask, it was fun to reflect on so many things! These two are indeed my favs!