I’m already noticing that this community is becoming increasingly saturated with both children and adults who put “spiritual kin” in quotation marks, as if Otherkin/Kinning didn’t originate as a Neo-pagan belief. Over time, that origin has been diluted and reframed into a hobby or simply having a strong relationship to a character, animal, or concept, something that in most other contexts would be received as immensely disrespectful or dismissive of a religious or spiritual practice.
The spiritual concept of Kin along with its original meaning has effectively been pushed out of its own space by Tumblr users and hobbyists. This mirrors what’s now happening with Miscefolk, which is being reinterpreted and reshaped into “Misceverse” by a similar demographic. In both cases, the terms are drifting away from their original intent and audience, displacing the people they were created to represent. We’ve already seen this happen with Kin or Spiritual Kin, which is now often referenced in a derogatory or trivializing way. It’s disheartening to watch the same pattern repeat with Miscefolk versus Misceverse terminology.
I am not afraid to say I think many people have either misunderstood or deliberately misinterpreted the original coiner of #Miscefolk ‘s post, reducing it to scare monger claims that “they just hate alterhumans, therians, kinnies, or systems.” From personal experience interacting with them on more than one occasion I know this is completely misplaced slander.
The term Miscefolk (along with related terms like miscecanis and misceanimalis) was coined to describe people who still identify as human but experience strong, involuntary Non Human Earth-animal instincts that mirror the Omegaverse.
The use of “-verse,” shorthand for “universe” or “AU” (alternate universe), comes from fictional writing and roleplay spaces. Applying that language to Misce makes it sound like a fictional genre, or something tied to constructed narratives, faux memories of alters/parts of DIDOSDD systems, or past lives of Kin individuals. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with those frameworks using them in misapplication can overshadow and confuse the experiences of Misce+ individuals who are describing this present universe and lived realities of people who do not choose these behaviors or identities as a hobby.
If you’re looking for a broader term to describe Misce alignments and species considered fictional or originating from mythology or folklore you may find this post helpful, I’d encourage others exploring those.
My intention here isn’t to start conflict just to share an observation. As an adult, I’m not interested in engaging in drama or arguing with minors. This isn’t meant in bad faith; it’s simply a perspective based on what I’ve been seeing.
