#archetrope

What other symbols should I add?

I'm not sure about the clinical lycanthrope symbol. It's the upside down y / greek l. I just don't know if that's a symbol beings used by clinical lycanthropes.

I'm also not sure if the ink and quill symbol is the fictionkin or fictionfolk symbol.

Alt text / symbol explanation:

18 stickers that say "Here Forever". The symbols on each sticker are :

otherheart

plantkin

otherkin

plural

nonhuman

alterhuman

archetrope

therian

fictionkin

clinical lycanthrope

fictionkind

conceptkin

otherlink

fictionkin / fictionfolk

fictionhearted

objectkin

holothere

beastpunk flag

Yeah, you. Fictionkin, fictive, fictionhearted, fictionlinker, fictionflicker--whatever else you may be in the tags. I wanna get some potentially positivity and experience sharing going because there's some Stuff that isn't great in the tags right now but ALSO I think fictionfolk as a whole (and not just identify-as fictionfolk but yes those too) deserve a nice little platform to share their experiences. So, use this ask game. Or just reblog and answer the questions. Or post the answers yourself. Be free.

1. What's your fictional identity (hearttype, kintype, etc)?

2. If you have multiple, do you have one you're closer to than the others, or is more important to your identity overall?

3. How many fictional identities do you have?

4. What's your favourite part about being fictionfolk?

5. What's a positivie interaction that's happened as a result of your fictional identity?

6. Have you told any people in your offline life about your fictional identity and gotten a positive reaction?

7. Have you told any people in your online life about your fictional identity and gotten a positive reaction?

8. Is there anyone you've met as a result of your interactions in the community who's very important to you now?

9. What's your favourite thing about the fictionfolk community?

10. Tell us about a time you've experienced species/identity euphoria as a result of one of your fictional identities.

11. Do you experience any shifts (mental, phantom, dream, etc) of your fictional identity? Share a bit about those and how they feel!

12. Do you have any canonmates (if applicable)?

13. Do you have any sourcemates (if applicable)?

14. Do you wish to seek out canonmates/sourcemates? Why/why not?

15. Do you have a favourite piece of fanart/fanfic/etc that ties into your identity? Share it (with credit)!

16. Do you have any art/fic/etc specifically made for you as a fictionfolk of your specific identity (made by yourself or someone else)? Share it!

17. Does your fictional identity differ from source in any way/is it canon divergent? Explain a bit about that!

18. Are there aspects of your fictional identity that you previously questioned, decided weren't a part of your identity, but you still look fondly upon? (Past 'types, etc).

19. Do you have any spiritual identities? Explain a bit about that!

20. Do you have any psychological identies? Explain a bit about that!

21. How old were you when you discovered/chose your first fictional identity?

22. Did you ever take a break from the community, but came back later? What made you come back?

23. Have you ever considered fictionlinking? If you already have, what made you decide to do it?

24. If you decided to 'link a fictional character, who would it be and why?

25. If you decided to 'link a fictional species, what would it be and why?

26. Have you ever questioned being fictionhearted? If you already are, what started your questioning into that connection?

27. Do you have any fictional hearthomes? What are your favourite things about them?

28. Have you ever questioned being a fictionbased archetrope? If you already are, what's your archetropal identity?

29. Have you ever questioned being fictionkin? If you already are, what started your discovery of that connection?

30. Have you ever had a fictotype turn out to be a fictionflicker or vice versa? What was that like?

31. Do you have any fictionflickers? What are they, and how do they make you feel?

32. If you're a system, do you have any collective fictional identities?

33. If you're a system, how many fictional identities do you have across all of your headmates?

34. Do you have any soulbonds from a fictional source? Share a bit about that!

35. Do you have any memories/noemata around your fictional identity? Share some if you'd like!

36. If you do have memories/noemata, what's your favourite?

37. Does your identity intersect with your gender in any way? Share a bit about that!

38. Does your identity intersect with your sexuality in any way? Share a bit about that!

39. Is there anything you'd have loved to hear back when you were first questioning your identity?

40. Is there anything you'd like to share toward fictionfolk who may just be starting to look into the community?

1-King of pentacles, the world and 5 of coins.

Your Archetype: "The Emperor of the Earthly"

Examples of Characters that fit:

Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!): The perfect example. He was an orphan (5 of Pentacles) who used his intelligence to create a global technological empire (King of Pentacles) and now dominates the game globally (The World).

Nanami Kento (Jujutsu Kaisen): Someone who understands the value of money and work (King of Pentacles), who seeks total efficiency, but who is perfectly aware of the exhaustion and misery of the system (5 of Pentacles).

Ciel Phantomhive (Black Butler): A child who was left in ruin and utter despair (5 of Pentacles) and rebuilt his family's honor and wealth to become the "queen's watchdog" (King of Pentacles/World).

Your Storyline: You are the character who started from scratch and now looks down on everyone. Your challenge is not to let the fear of losing what you have turn you into someone cold or stingy.

2- The chariot, the sun and 6 of coins.

Your Archetype: "The Sun that Guides the Way"

Examples of Characters that fit:

Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer): He has the determination of the Chariot to save his sister, the optimism and warmth of the Sun, and always helps those in need (Six of Gold).

All Might (My Hero Academia): He is the "Symbol of Peace" (The Sun). His mere presence brings security. His mission is to inherit his power and protect the citizens (Six of Gold).

Luffy (One Piece): Always sailing (The Chariot), bringing freedom and joy to every island he visits (The Sun), and sharing feasts and treasures with his crew and the oppressed (Six of Gold).

Your Story: You are the driving force of your group. Your story is about overcoming obstacles at high speed and becoming a beacon for those who feel lost.

3- the moon, the star and the 6 of swords.

Your Archetype: "The Guide in the Darkness"

Examples of Characters that fit:

Ginko (Mushishi): The perfect example. He travels constantly (Six of Swords), dealing with spiritual and hidden beings (The Moon) to bring balance and healing to those who suffer (The Star).

Rin Okumura (Blue Exorcist): He lives in a world of demons that others don't see (The Moon), but he fights to become a hope for others (The Star) while moving away from his destiny as the son of Satan (Six of Swords).

Chihiro (Spirited Away): She gets lost in a world of spirits and confusing rules (The Moon), but she maintains her essence and hope (The Star) while trying to find her way back home (Six of Swords).

Your Plot: Your story isn't about fighting, but about healing and understanding. You're in the process of letting go of fear to find your true purpose under the stars.

Dysphoria and euphoria are a defining facet of alterhumanity for many people, but the current prevailing terms, species dysphoria and species euphoria, are highly limited in scope and carry the implication that any alterhuman-related feelings of this kind worth naming are caused by identifying as a nonhuman living thing. This terminology fails to acknowledge dysphoria and euphoria experienced by human-identifying alterhumans and those with non-"identify as" identities, and can feel alienating for those who identify as something nonhuman that would not typically be considered a "species", such as an object or concept. It also does not provide any lexical framework to describe the wide range of alterhumanity-derived dysphoric and euphoric experiences often discussed in the community.

People in all alterhuman demographics deserve to have a way to distinguish their experiences from "typical" types of dysphoria and euphoria experienced by orthohumans (non-alterhumans), so I am proposing a new set of terms:

Alterdysphoria: Feelings of unease, wrongness, dissatisfaction, or alienation that stem from one's alterhuman identity.

Altereuphoria: Feelings of joy, comfort, catharsis, or affirmation that stem from one's alterhuman identity.

A dash may be added after the prefix (e.g. "alter-euphoria") for ease of legibility/pronunciation if desired.

EDIT 11/26: I've changed these to my original inclination of just using "alter", which I initially didn't use because it's a different root language than dysphoria and I was worried it would be misconstrued as dysphoria/euphoria experienced by alters, but after thinking it over I don't see that really being an issue given how well-used the word alterhuman is. It's a much more intuitive option than using "onto" but if people prefer that I will change it back!

Alterdysphoria and altereuphoria are umbrella terms that include species dysphoria and euphoria as well as dysphoria and euphoria due to being otherhuman, concept- or objectkin, otherhearted, fictionfolk, plural, or any other type of alterhuman.

Common types of alterdysphoria or altereuphoria someone may experience are:

Physical, related to one's current physical body

Ability, related to things one can or cannot do in their current body and/or environment

Mental, related to one's emotions, interests, or thought processes

Sensory, related to one's sensory experiences (or lack thereof)

Gender, related to one's internal or perceived gender

Cultural, related to one's cultural environment

Social, related to social interactions/relationships with others

Perceptual, related to how one is perceived by others

Environmental, related to one's physical surroundings

Reality, related to the contents, history, physical laws, etc. of one's current subjective or objective reality

Examples of each of these types is under the cut at the bottom of the post. When discussing these experiences in contexts where it is clear someone is referring to alterhuman-derived feelings, the "alter" can be dropped for brevity (e.g. reality dysphoria, perceptual euphoria). The distinction is for clarity of communication only. For example, a person who experiences height dysphoria due to their alterhuman identity could choose to distinguish it from transgender height dysphoria by using the phrase "height alterdysphoria".

Differentiating alterhuman-related feelings from other origins of dysphoria and euphoria does not denote a hierarchy or binary between alterhuman and non-alterhuman experiences. Many alterhumans have dysphoria or euphoria with unknown or mixed origins, and those experiences can absolutely be considered partially or entirely alterdysphoria or altereuphoria if doing so feels helpful. Any alterhuman who feels these terms are useful to them can use them in any relevant context.

Some examples of alterdysphoria not objectively covered by the "species dysphoria" term are:

Physical or gender dysphoria experienced by anyone due to a human kintype

Dysphoria experienced by those with nonliving kintypes due to being in a living body

Dysphoria experienced by those with non-corporeal kintypes due to being in a physical body

Social or cultural alienation experienced by those with a connection to other worlds, time periods, or societies

Disconnect or distress experienced by anyone with a hearthome due to their current surroundings

Disconnect or alienation experienced by those with a connection to a world/time period/etc with different flora, fauna, landscapes, or physical laws from present-day Earth

Disconnect or distress experienced by otherhearted people when others discuss/treat their hearttype in a dismissive or disrespectful way

Physical, age, or gender dysphoria experienced by system members while fronting in their host body

Disconnect or distress experienced by system members when they are presumed to be another alter/facet/etc

Alienation or distress experienced by plural systems when they are presumed to be a singlet

Disconnect or distress experienced by fictionkin/fictives when their personality or age is perceived differently from their identity

Disconnect or distress experienced by canon divergent fictionkin/fictives when interacting with their source or fandom

Distress or discomfort experienced by fictionkin/fictives when seeing or interacting with doubles

Disconnect experienced by anyone with exomemories/exotrauma (events that were not experienced by their current physical body)

Disconnect or distress experienced by endels when someone or something "reality checks" them

Alienation experienced by mediums or spirit workers due to having a different subjective reality from others

Any kind of alterhumanity-derived dysphoria experienced by nonhumans that feels unrelated to their species

Alienation or distress experienced by any alterhuman when they are presumed to be orthohuman

Some examples of altereuphoria not objectively covered by the "species euphoria" term are:

Affirmation experienced by anyone when dressing up or depicting themselves as their human kintype

Euphoria experienced by objectkin and conceptkin when engaging with their kintype

Joy or comfort experienced by someone with a hearthome upon visiting or looking at that place or somewhere similar

Joy or affirmation experienced by archetropes from doing activities that align with their identity

Comfort experienced by fictionfolk when engaging with their source media or fandom

Joy experienced by an otherhearted person when engaging with their hearttype

Affirmation experienced by a fronting member of a system when being referred to with their own name and pronouns (instead of the ones typically used for their host body)

Joy or comfort experienced by an otherlinker when shifting as their linktype

Any kind of alterhumanity-derived euphoria experienced by nonhumans that feels unrelated to their species

Euphoria experienced by any alterhuman upon having their identity affirmed by others

This is by no means an exhaustive list, alterdysphoria/altereuphoria is an inclusive concept and there is theoretically no limit to the types of situations these terms can cover.

I hope that this terminology can provide a clearer, more inclusive framework for identifying and discussing these kinds of experiences!

EDIT: Since I've been asked, if you are alterhuman you automatically have permission to use these terms wherever you want and don't need to credit me! My intention for this concept/terminology is that it should be community-owned and accessible, the only reason to link me to it would be to use this post to explain what it means :)

Example of dysphoria/euphoria types below:

New additions to the alterhuman pride symbols keychains collection!! Phytanthrope/plantkin, archetrope, conceptkin, objectkin, soulbonding, and dæmonism symbols are available at last ^^

These are also available in wood now btw if anyone's looking 👀

Not for whatever the usual suspect is, like, I don’t know, shame or want to hide it or nothing to talk about or writer’s block etc etc.

No. I grew avoidant because how much people make nonhuman equate to alterhuman. Nonhuman is alterhuman, but alterhuman is NOT nonhuman.

Maybe it’s spite, maybe it’s anger, maybe it’s “nonhumanity is overrated” in a way in terms of community topic—that’s a joke, it’s always fascinating to talk about.

But alterhumanity is so much more, and a big, inclusive umbrella. And I’m tired of my other identities being a footnote, or forgotten. I’m tired of my friends or fellow community members feeling like they don’t have a space, that they don’t belong, or aren’t welcome inside a space that is theirs and ours and for all of us.