Fictionkin

In depth

Fictionkin identify as someone or something first met in a story: a named character, or a kind of creature that exists only in an invented world. As with therians and otherkin, the claim is about identity and not about enthusiasm. A devoted reader loves a character. A fictionkin says, with some care, that the character is in an important sense who they are.

Explanations differ from person to person. Some hold a spiritual view, for instance that stories can echo lives lived elsewhere. Others take a psychological view, in which a character gave shape and language to something already present in them. The wider community has not always been at ease with fictionkin, and the question of where they belong is still discussed. This library records the term as it is used and does not sit in judgment on it.

In practice

• A person who identifies as a dragon of a kind described in one particular invented world, and nowhere else, may call themselves fictionkin, or a fictherian if they think of the dragon as an animal.
• A person finds that a character's history feels remembered and not merely read, and that this has stayed constant for years after their interest in the story itself has faded.

Common questions

Is fictionkin the same as being a fan?

No. Fandom is admiration from outside. Fictionkin identity is described from inside, and it tends to persist whether or not the person still enjoys the source.

Is it the same as saying "I kin" a character?

Not as the older community uses the word. The casual phrase usually means "I relate to this character." Fictionkin identity is a lasting sense of being, not a passing likeness.

Related terms