#yes this reevaluation period has been going on two months now and i'm not expecting it to be done anytime soon

[a-dragons-journal]

So you support factkin?

I’m... currently withholding and reevaluating my opinion on the subject. I have to be very careful and clear in how I word this, so it’s going to be a long response, sorry.

Previously, I’ve stated that my opinion on factkin was that it was a term and identity created and perpetuated by trolls, and that while I wasn’t willing to say no one legitimately identified that way, I had never met one, so I was relatively certain it was purely a troll thing - and that even if someone legitimately identifying that way existed, I didn’t feel it should be labeled with something ending in -kin.

Much of that is still true. It is a term that was created and has been largely perpetuated by trolls, and I’m still not sure I agree with labeling it as -kin, though I’m currently in the process of taking in new information and reevaluating my opinion on that part.

One important piece has changed: I actually did meet an individual who legitimately identifies as factkin and was generous enough to be very honest and forthright about why they do and their beliefs on the subject. Those of you who were at Othercon may or may not remember the individual; I won’t name them here at their request, but if you’re still in the Othercon discord server (not Otherconnect, but Othercon) you should be able to search “factkin” and find the discussion we and a number of other people had on the subject during that weekend.

It was a fascinating discussion, and one that made me take a step back and reevaluate some things. A lot of what was said about the individual’s experiences sounded a lot like how many fictionkin and otherkin describe their experiences - particularly the experiences predating knowing the “source.” I did get permission from them at the time to quote them anonymously in the future, so I’ll do that:

(Me:)  If I may be so nosy, and feel free to tell me I may not: why say that it's that person, and not just another life unique to you? Given that unless it's someone you know personally, you can't have the same insight into their thoughts and feelings as you would with a fictional character, and that with such a huge population of human beings it's very likely some of them will be very similar without being the same person?

(Them:)  My timeline is quite different from the one on this earth, but there are several key details and experiences that lead me to believe that rather than an entirely different individual, it is an alternate version of said person. (I mean, there’s the obvious things such as sharing the same name, occupation, and having a very similar physical appearance). I’ve been having sparse memories as young as five years old, but my experiences have grown stronger in the more recent years.  I can share a few specific memories, both ones that more or less occurred for this universe’s one and not, and probably will over the next few days.

And, later, in DMs:

For those of us who are factkin, there are typically two different “types”. Those who identify as someone in this universe who has already died, this is very similar and ties in with reincarnation, which is a belief accepted even by quite a few non kin. Then, there are the ones like me. Identifying as someone still living. Please put down the pitchforks. I like to explain this identity to other people as very similar to fictionkin. The only difference is that rather than the “original” source being from another universe, it’s this one instead! Many of our timelines/canons differ quite a bit from the observable lives of those on this earth. Again, we do not claim to be this planet’s version of those currently living people, that is almost universally discouraged among us.

I still don’t know how I feel about using the word “factkin” for this, nor am I sure if I personally believe in it - but even if I don’t believe someone’s right about their explanation for their experiences, I don’t feel it’s within my rights to tell them they’re wrong about themself, for the same reason I don’t feel it’s right for people to tell me I’m not “really” a dragon. I’d also like to think we can judge people based on their behavior, not their identity. If someone is acting in a way that hurts other people, that’s one thing, but if they’re being polite and generally decent while happening to hold an identity you don’t happen to believe in, that’s another ball game entirely.

So, I’m currently withholding judgement and keeping tabs on the new @ama-factkin blog that’s recently shown up. I’m rather strongly of the opinion that  anyone who calls themself "serious 'kin" has to also be willing to take in new information from someone who's clearly being serious and honest about their experiences and revise their opinions based on that. Taking in new information and evaluating & modifying your views, beliefs, and opinions based on that is a hugely important part of life and generally being a decent person.

As for why I reblogged their post, I reblogged it largely because I know a lot of the people who follow me are probably pretty strongly anti-factkin, and I’m curious to see both the arguments against it and how ama-factkin responds to those arguments.

So, take what you like, leave what you don’t from that, I suppose.

#rani talks #asked and answered #anonymous #factkin #yes this reevaluation period has been going on two months now and i'm not expecting it to be done anytime soon #i try to take a long damn time to make up my mind about complicated things bc once i have an opinion its hard for me to change it #so i want to take a long time to evaluate as many angles as possible before i settle on an opinion #so i'm as confident as i can be that i'm being fair #also i've ALWAYS been clear that if i ever met someone who legitimately identified that way i'd be curious to talk to them so there's that #that part shouldn't be surprising #i like talking to people with different worldviews from mine (within reason ofc we're not talking bigots and nazis here)