Fictionfolk Identity
So my episode of my friend Harley's podcast came out, and upon listening back to myself, I have a few things I feel like expanding on, particularly about fictionfolk (a word I couldn't recall during the interview) and my experience with that community in the mid 2010s. There's a chance I may reiteract myself on this topic in a future episode of the Dreambubble Spacecast, but for now I'm simply doing so on this blog for my own peace of mind.
For one thing, during the interview, I absolutely underemphasized the element of BYFs, DNIs, and calling people out based on their kintypes. I didn't see it much in the beginning, but as time went on, I did see people making claims that a person with Vriska as a kintype was inherently a bad person because their kintype did bad things.
This is, succinctly, bad behavior.
No one deserves to be harassed when they haven't hurt anyone. Someone going by the name Vriska, saying "I am Vriska," doesn't mean they've suddenly got a history of trollslaughter or wreckless game playing. All it means is that, on a non-physical level, they identify as Vriska.
It's the same concept as xenogenders in that someone's identity isn't hurting you. End of conversation.
Another thing I want to expand on is how I view myself in regards to fictionfolk identity. Back then, I had a lot of what I would now consider either copinglink and synpath experiences, but I did at the time call them fictionkin- in part because some of these terms were only just being created around that time.
But the question remains. Do I identify as Homestuck kin? Well, kinda. My experiences weren't entirely unfounded. For one thing, I experience supernumerary phantom horns. Could there be other explanations for that? Sure, but A) I've already ruled mental health stuff out and B) why not let it be due to being a troll as seen in Homestuck?
This isn't something I say lightly or without a lot of thought. I do genuinely identify as a troll on a non-physical level. I get the supernumerary phantom horns, I find quadrants useful in conceptualizing my own relationships, I like using silly troll words, I'm entrenched in Homestuck fan culture. Why shouldn't I identify as a troll?
Genuinely though. Why shouldn't I identify as a troll? It doesn't hurt anyone, it gives me some kind of explanation for several things I experience, and it gives me an opportunity to go out and connect with people of similar experiences.
My only resistance at this point to calling myself troll kin is that I need to re-familiarize myself with all the various other fictionfolk identities to make sure there isn't one that's more accurate than fictionkin. So, until otherwise proven, yeah, one of my kintypes is troll. You have unlocked a Rainy secret. This should be unsurprising to anyone who knows me.
That's basically it for now. I'm sure I'll have more to say later on, but that's all I'm willing to write for the moment. Have a nice day!