Fictionkin

Fictionkin or fictionkind are people who identify as fictional characters or species. For some this identity is often considered involuntary and nonphysical. What identification entails depends on the individual; the definition and purpose of "kin" and "kinning" has evolved over time. 
==History==
Fictionkin has its roots in elfinkind, a neo-pagan religion of people who believed themselves to spiritually be elves or changelings.Otherkin History on Wikipedia This group eventually split, producing a new group called otherkind made of people believing themselves to be dragons, werewolves and other mythical beings in a past life. At some point, the d was dropped and otherkind became otherkin. Also, otherkin was expanded to include people who identified as real animals or plants. 
An early term for fictionkin is Ota'kin, a combination of otaku and otherkin. It was coined by Kinjou Ten in 2001 at the latest, possibly earlier. A History of the Fictionkin Community
Otherkin and later fictionkin became popular on tumblr- first perceived as a serious and possibly oppressed religious minority, then as a coping mechanism for trauma (now known as copinglink), then as a jokey way to relate to a character and something that should not be taken seriously. Many fictionkin are frustrated with Tumblr definitions of fictionkin and push against the widespread casual use of the term. 
Whether fictionkin falls under the otherkin umbrella or is a totally separate thing rejected by otherkin depends on which otherkin person you ask.
===Final Fantasy VII House===
The Final Fantasy VII House was a kin cult active in the early 2000s.
===Yandere Bitch Club===
The Yandere Bitch Club were a group of white fictionkin claiming to be Japanese, while attacking other white people for being kin with anime characters, aka kinning outside their race. They also are said to have lied about their identity in other ways, such as claiming to be transfeminine or having mental illness or disabilities they did not have, etc. They doxxed people, sent them death threats and gore, and abused humans and animals alike. Most of their blogs and blog posts about them have since been deleted, but some call-outs and other details have been preserved on reddit.Yandere Bitch Club, r/DramaArchives
The Yandere Bitch Club is sometimes blamed for the present state of the otherkin community, on tumblr or in general, which is often mockingly called "tumblrkin."
==Terms==
* Kintype - What/who a person identifies as
* Double - Someone who identifies as the same character as another person. Some people avoid interacting with doubles.
* Kin memory - A memory from the life where one was/is physically their kintype.
* Kindating - When two fictionkin date who claim to have known each other in a past life. Can be related to shipping. Controversial in some aspects. 
* Kin drama - discourse or call outs in the kin community
* Kinshift - Another for mentalshifting - where a person thinks more like their kintype than usual.
* Drop - To no longer identify as something. Heavily controversial, as fictionkin is not considered an identity that can be dropped.
* Exotrauma - A broad word for trauma that did not happen to the physical body. Can include past life trauma, trauma that occurred in a system's headspace, or hallucinations. Originally coined by a system to replace the term "pseudo-memory" and is open to a variety of groups. Some people claim this manifests as PTSD and other disorders. Controversial.
* Kinsona - A sona made to include attributes of one's kin
===Related Concepts===
There are many concepts related to fictionkin, or vice versa, that may be mistaken for the same thing as fictionkin.
*Factkin - Someone who identify as a real life, living person. Can be related to RPF. Controversial within the otherkin and fictionkin communities, and often not accepted or treated seriously.
*Fictive - Someone in a system who believes themselves to be a fictional character as a result of complex brain imprinting, though some will believe spiritual reasons for their origins.
*Therian - Someone who identifies as an animal originating on Earth, sometimes also including fantastical animals. Therians have their own community which only sometimes overlaps with otherkin.
*Shamanism, spirit animals, totems, etc. - These are beliefs of indigenous people and unrelated to otherkin/fictionkin.
*Soulbonds and Tulpas/Thoughtforms- A spiritual and/or mental attempt to invite/recreate a character in one's mind- not to become it, but to share headspace with, like an intentional and advanced imaginary friend
*Copinglinker - Often shortened to c'linker. Someone who consciously chooses to identify as a character to cope with mental illness or trauma, this is called c'linking. It is different from fictionkin as being fictionkinkin is not a choice or changeable aspect of themselves.
*Alterhuman - Umbrella term for all homo sapiens who do not consider themselves human. Controversial due to including furries under it's definition.
* Alter - An individual personality within a body; a person can have multiple alters. Used by those with dissociative identity disorder, but some fictionkin as well.
* System - A collection of alters within one body, i.e. all of the personalities within one body. Used by those with dissociative identity disorder, but some fictionkin as well.
* Endogenic System/Endogenic Plurality - An alternate name for a type of system which is not caused by dissociative identity disorder. Controversial due to some with DID seeing endo systems as "pretending to have DID" when they really mean to kin or roleplay.
==Notable Fandoms and Individuals==
Some fandoms, such as Dangan Ronpa, had a reputation for having more fictionkin than others.
==Controversy==
Fictionkin are commonly perceived as cringe and are depicted in cringe compilations. There were many troll blogs. They were often mocked for appearing ridiculous or for appropriating Native American religions, mocking mental illnesses (such as DID), or for claiming to have "past-life" trauma they did not have. "Kinning outside your race" was a topic of controversy on tumblr. Some otherkin who identify as animals dislike fictionkin, finding them unrelatable or thinking they make all kin look bad. 
===Kintype Dropping===
Fictionkin were often pressured to "drop" problematic kintypes, which often considered to be is impossible due to fictionkin being involuntary in nature.
In response to an ask about dropping kintypes, fictionkinfessions replied:
Others shared the same sentiment:
Fictkinhelp, another tumblr blog for fictionkin, disagrees:
Others believe kintypes should be dropped in some circumstances.
Other thoughts:
===Tagging as Kin===
Another controversy based on tumblr involved people reblogging fanart or cosplay and tagging it as #kin, #me or #ID. Many artists and cosplayers were disturbed or offended by this for several reasons, often seeing it as invasive or creepy. As a result, many began writing "don't tag as kin" or similar warnings on their art. One post with more than 18,000 notes as of January 2020, states:
Responses:
==Links & Resources==
* Fictionkin.org
* Fictionkin on the Otherkin Wiki
* Fictionkin.net (archived link)
*Fictionkinfessions From Fiction
**Articles and Essays by Fictionkin and Fictives
* r/Fictionkin, a subreddit on Reddit
*Fictionkinfessions
==References==
Category:Spirituality & Fandom