I grew up on transformative work. The media's done, the show's over, and I will jump over to fan content. With my worldview and upbringing, alterrealities and multiverses are par the course. I've never seen canon as the One Truth.
It's just the one that got captured and put on the big screen, in major text, or in a huge stage play. Any form of published media, really. They are also for dramatics, focusing on the big moments, the impactful moments. Even the slice-of-life sort can be a bit like that. They transform themselves as well, or they couldn't even agree with themselves. Plot holes, hello?
"Canon" feels oddly heavy for a fictionfolk. A sort of rulebook, things to abide by, expectations to follow. Sometimes it's a chain in the form of guidance. After all, how are we to discover ourselves without some hint and clue? And isn't it convenient that it's all laid out in the form of "canon" events?
Probably ties a bit back to other alterhuman that have an earthen counterpart. You got something to work with, a template, more of a hint on where you can find more about yourself or your identity. But just like the issue with canon-compliant fictionfolk, there is a possibility that you come away, binding your own foot.
They really don't need to be put on a pedestal.
Identity is a fluid thing; it is also something that we have to discover and grow into. We came from culture, tradition, and history, and they gave us something to work with; they shouldn't be the frame that boxes us forever.
Either way, back to us. None of us are "canon compliant"; canon is just a suggestion, really. We are our own people, our experiences are unique to us, we are living, and we grow.
I had to figure out that my Naruto (hearttype) was from a timeline where he never grew up with Konoha. He was part of a nomadic Uzushio village-on-the-move. Even if at one point I had looked for ramen as if it's expected that I should like it. I don't hate it, and maybe my Naruto just didn't have that history with ramen. Granted, some fans like to headcanon that the Uzumaki really likes ramen, and I enjoyed that headcanon myself. Still, it's not my experience with my hearttype.
Stellus, the dream dragons' vaguelink, was never anywhere near the battlefield of Runeterra. But before finding Stellus, we had first looked to Aurelion Sol. There were awkward bits of moments where we thought we had to embrace the haughty draconic superiority ASol exudes on screen, but we didn't feel like that.
I'm skipping over Pokemon (paraarchetrope, vague-simile) and Digimon (vaguelink); the worlds themselves already have allowance for many universes and their many possibilities and divergencies. Heck, even singular universes have variations.
Lady is a greyscale rainicorn amongst many other rainbow colored rainicorns; the Celestial Duo's story came with so many possibilities, and had come here after the event of their show's first season. They even have multiple canons of their own that come in different formats. We don't really know what's up with Daisuki, but Digimon, enough said.
Does make things messy, however, especially when some of us do engage with our own source fan content on a regular basis. But hey, quite used to that we are, fumbling about in the dark, trying everything and then creating some, figuring out ourselves along the way.
While the direct connection to Stellus as a whole entity is a bit frayed, the star motif has taken over.
Stellus, or Somnivago Stelforma, is a vaguelink (intentionally made to be vaguetype) that is collectively linked by me and Akumu, my medianmate.
With Akumu currently unavailable, I cannot reliably call forth the star dragon without feeling like a actual imposter. A lion dance with one dancer cannot really happen. (It’s funny, this is the best analogy because there are two of us in this linktype, but this is a draconic identity)
But the thing that got called forth when we linked the star dragon? The thing that got awoken? Stars and cosmos and galaxy. We enjoyed them, we sometimes use them. They were sort of our vibe and aesthetics. After the linking of the star dragon established, it is as if these connections lit up. We can see the sky so full of cosmos matter now. It feels different, it seem different, anything to do with astronomy is much more meaningful. It seeped into every other connection on our web of identities. Our collective, our constellation, also got established with theme of stars and cosmos now.
11. Do you experience any shifts (mental, phantom, dream, etc) of your fictional identity? Share a bit about those and how they feel!
I’ve gotten a number of mental shift, or just general vague vibe of a shift.
I think it’s during the time when I feel mentally aligned as if me and my ‘type are in-sync, and I feel much closer to them. One time when I was particularlly bad in mental moment, I feel like I can empathize extra strongly with the canon Naruto, when he was shunned by the villager for being seen as monstrous.
Does meditative vision count as a form of dream shift or a memory? Dream shift/memory is just plain funky to categorize. I had one time, between me snoozing and about to fall asleep enter a sort of trance, and this vision of a young Naruto running amongst the Uzushio nomad ran through my mind’s eyes. I questioned a lot if it is a headcanon or “fever dream” or what have you, but it feels too, natural? innate? Who knows, it could be a cumulation of all the fanfic I’d read. I’d like to think that a memory of sort tied to my hearttype, which I’d question if a kardiatype once upon a time.
Other shift I can’t really define, they are as vague as the vaguetype itself. The star dragon Stellus that share a species with Aurelion Sol from LoL took the combined effort of me and Akumu to maintain. We maybe linked to intended that way? It’s like a dragon/lion dance done by two of us. Except we are both dragons ourselves 🤣
Anyways, shifts. It’s too subtle at times to fully call it any specifically termed shifts, and kinda comes and goes in terms of “do we feel closer or more like this dragon” or “we feel more inclined towards stars and galaxy symbol or theme today” or “we feel the urge to create stars”. It’s almost like mirage under the eclipse? Which is a weird analogy but that’s what crossed my mind.
Talking about shift with archetrope is a really weird one. You are actively being and embodying that thing, is it a shift every time you feel like fulfilling what that role entails, or is that just the way of your lifestyle? Either way, my Mew archetrope is a paratype from me as a dream dragon(kind), so I’m always embodying the Mew paratype-archetrope. “Perma shifted” I guess.
15. Do you have a favourite piece of fanart/fanfic/etc that ties into your identity? Share it (with credit)!
OMG I WAS WAITING FOR THIS. Do I? DO I?!!
Ahem.
Mind the tags. Check the summaries. And yeah they are all similar in tropes.
For Naruto hearted:
Of Harrowed Hearts by Sable_Scribe
The Fox Kit by CaptaInCynophobIa
Stormborn by blackkat
An Invincible Summer by ShanaStoryteller
For Somnivago Stelforma vaguelink:
this one done by yours truly ;3
Cause ngl am pretty proud of this one.
💬 0 🔁 4 ❤️ 12 · Personal alterhuman art, do not repost. Do not use. · Below cut is me and Akumu's collectively linked vaguetype <1> <2>
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27. Do you have any fictional hearthomes? What are your favourite things about them?
I’ve got a para-hearthome with the Hisui region of Pokemon, mainly due to my (likely) Joumon period ancient Japan hearthome. Other than that, I vaguely have some feeling towards Moana’s general setting and island due to my Naruto’s strong ties towards Uzushio, and that Uzushio being seafaring folk. So yet another paratype hearthome(ish).
They are all tied to the general vibe of my hearthome that’s tied to my kardiatype—ocean. And I like that ocean makes me feel calm, and comforted. I also like that they are all connected. I like when my identities are connected, is the Bond Weaver in me!
30. Have you ever had a fictotype turn out to be a fictionflicker or vice versa? What was that like?
I have a hard time distinguish what exactly was going on with the Flammie flicker, and thus I slap a vague- in front and call it a flicker that is a vaguetype. I like it, it work the best that way.
Haven’t really encounter any specific fictotype that turned out to be a flicker. I tend to chew on feelings at least a good while before I pin a label (or three) on there.
Hearing about other star and cosmos beings talking about their experiences makes me feel wistful, and a hint of that imposter self doubt.
It doesn’t make my experience any less real, where I make meaning out of weak links. Pun intended.
Maybe it is because I’m having a hard time feeling Akumu’s presence recently—the already vague, even if intentionally so, linktype is very hard to grasp on the best of days. I feel like wearing a falling mask that is only attached on one side.
And it’s difficult. The process has been tricky. It helped us, but it is also a struggle to maintain because there are so many other identities to contemplate on, and so little time to actually sit down. Stars and cosmos are important to us; we made them a key part of us, but maintaining a whole star dragon that feels larger than us, or sometimes with the star dragon being slightly more than a sentient asteroid—it’s like a puppet show with many strings missing.
Maybe it is also the components that make up the vaguetype, with the component of kinity, heartedness, symbolism/conceptuality, archetrope, and a bit of mirrortyping. It is messy, it is confusing, it is chaos. Which makes it hard to latch onto.
I feel embarrassed by the urge to “sit at the cool kids’ table” amongst the other astrological creatures. Even if I know the particular group of folks would welcome me still.
