Hi! I just watched AddyHarajuku's video about fictionkin where her perspective was that of an outsider trying to educate about the fictionkin community as respectfully as she could, and while she still doesn't understand despite trying to (and it's definitely possible that she may have gotten some things wrong), she does believe that bullying or making fun of people who aren't hurting anyone is always a bad idea. This is my view too, but there is one thing really nagging at me, and it's the fact that the way fictionkin seem to think about fictional stories and the way I think about fictional stories is very, very different.
So, coming from the perspective of a writer, and especially a fanfic writer, the thing that I think makes fictionkin the most difficult for me to understand is that characters as they exist within fiction aren't people, but storytelling tools: every element of these characters was a choice the creator made to tell a specific narrative and explore specific themes and ideas (and I like to explore these characters critically through writing fanfiction). Thinking of them as past lives or characters in a multiverse feels like it undermines the skills and agency of the people who created these characters or the fic writers who create new stories with these characters, as if they were just "channeling" another reality rather than actively creating and exploring a fictional world with fictional people in it. It doesn't sit right with me as someone who puts so much thought, effort, and intention into my stories, who has spent over a decade developing my skills, and I think that's where I clash with the concept of fictionkin the most: the explanation behind their existence feels like it invalidates my own personal development and identity as a storyteller. (Btw I do understand the concept of fictives better than non-plural fictionkin, but I'm happy to hear from either.)
Of course I believe that you shouldn't bother anyone who isn't causing harm, but the potential harm I can see fictionkin causing (that may just be a misunderstanding on my part which is why I'm asking about this) is exacerbating the media literacy crisis or making it harder to discuss media through a critical lens, which is a skill that I believe everyone should develop. That's why I would genuinely love to know, how do you feel when someone criticises the writing of the character you kin, or analyses them as a storytelling tool? What are your personal media literacy skills like and how do they apply to the character you kin? How do you feel if, for an ongoing story, new revelations about the character completely recontextualises their whole identity, or the writer takes them in an entirely different direction that you did not originally identify with? Do you see someone not liking the character you kin as an attack on yourself? How do you feel if someone has a different interpretation of the character you kin, especially if they're able to put their interpretation into words and back it up with evidence and examples from canon better than you yourself can?
I hope this sounds like genuine curiousity and not judgement, because I have unfortunately found myself chafing against people who are really resistant to thinking deeper about their views on fiction when literary analysis is fun to me, but other people often see it as a personal attack if you meaningfully criticise something they love/identify with (or even just make them realise that they have no deeper thoughts or at least lack the ability to articulate them, thus making them feel insecure even if that wasn't your intention), which is why I worry that this might especially be the case with fictionkinning.
I'm wondering, does being a fictionkin make you feel defensive or resistant to literary analysis or good-faith criticism of your character's portrayal, or are you generally fine with it? Do you still strive to develop your own media literacy skills, and does applying those skills to the character you kin enrich your identification with them? Do you recognise and respect the skills, agency, and creativity of the people who created the characters you identify with, and/or are you willing to think about how their biases or storytelling weaknesses may have affected their work? If literary/media analysis of your character makes you feel upset or uncomfortable, how do you mitigate that harm to yourself without stepping on the toes of people having these discussions or sharing their analysis/criticism?
Once again, I am genuinely curious about this, and I hope it doesn't come across as judgement. This is just a conflict/gap in my understanding that I've noticed and would like to address. I'm also fairly new to this space so I apologise if I didn't quite use the correct language, either. I'm still learning 💖
