Kind of annoying and unfair to otherhearted folk the way kff are just offered otherhearted as a sacrifice to get them to stop calling themselves kin.
Ok yes some of them may be otherhearted but the issue with kff is that it is entirely a fandom thing. If they are also otherhearted that is its own thing, and its like, fine to teach them about it in case they are alterhuman in this way and its good for more people to know what otherhearts are but it feels like sometimes it is just being used as a shield and a sacrifice for kin when the fandomy relationship with the character kff have is Also Not what Otherhearted Is. Just because its identify with rather than as doesnt make it not a deeply held important identity.
Otherheart is not a fandom thing either it is not just normal relating to a character either it is not stanning a character either it is not rping as a character either. Can we not just feed it to the fandom people as a sacrificial lamb ay-yuh
Specifically made for Auslan but I hope these can work for other sign languages too! Also just FYI: I am deaf so I am allowed to make up new signs.
All already-existing signs have links to a video of someone signing them and an explanation of what the sign means.
Identities:
[PT: Identities: End PT]
Alterhuman(ity): 'alternate' or 'alter' and then 'human'. I'm not too sure about this one tbh, I don't think either of the first 2 signs are good translations of 'alter' in 'alterhuman'. I think the second one is definitely implying transspeciesism as well.
Copinglink: 'cope/deal with' and then 'link/relationship'
Dæmonian/dæmonism: 'communicate' and then 'dæmon' (see below).
Endel(ic): 'alterhuman' (see above) and then 'delusion'.
Fictionflicker: 'fiction/fantasy' and then 'changeover/switch'
Fictionfolk: 'fiction/fantasy' and then 'people'
Fictionkin: 'fiction/fantasy' and then 'family'
Kin for fun/KFF: 'family' then 'for' and then 'fun'.
Nonhuman(ity): 'not' and then 'human'.
Otherhearted: 'other' and then 'one's character/personality/at heart'. Side note: I really like that last sign! I think it's very meaningful.
Otherkin: 'other' and then 'family'
Otherkith: 'other' and then 'friend(s)'
Otherlink: 'other' and then 'link/relationship'
Therian(thrope)/therianthropy: 'one's character/personality/at heart' and then 'animal'. So it means "animal at heart".
Transspecies(ism): 'transform' at then 'animal'.
'Types:
[PT: 'Types: End PT]
Endeltype(s): 'endel' (see above) and then 'type'
Hearttype(s): 'one's character/personality/at heart' and then 'type'
Kintype(s): 'family' and then 'type'
Kithtype(s): 'friend(s)' and then 'type'
Linktype(s): 'link/relationship' and then 'type'
Other:
[PT: Other: End PT]
Dæmon: 'other' but sign it next to the right side of your head.
Shift(s)/shifting: 'transform' and then the sign(s) for your 'type(s).
I may update this post with alternative ideas for signs or new signs. Please let me know what y'all think about these and if you have any suggestions!
'I kin x' is less clunky linguistically and we need to stop assuming people are kff just because they use kin as a verb. Its a very natural way to say it and I struggle to phrase it in other ways. In general people need to stop assuming that red flags for kff (such as kin as a verb, and ranking how much they feel their kintypes, saying kinnie) and assuming they definitely are kff. Languages and practices started by kff have been picked up by genuine otherkin especially younger ones who come into the community and dont know how to tell otherkin from kff. They still identify as their kintypes even if they copy kff practices.
People dont come into the community with a community history degree.
I actually do think that many 'KFF' people are probably alterhuman, they're just using the wrong term due to lack of education on the full scope of alterhumanity.
We've seen KFF adopt the term 'IRL' once they realise they are those things (usually fictional characters). They did this because that term was more talked about near their sphere whilst fictionkin wasn't and when it was they only saw negatives.
They don't know words like Otherhearted and Synpath and Funlink. They don't know how to explain their feelings other than the way they were told is correct by using 'kin'.
If you spend some time listening to how they talk about their 'kins' it becomes very cloudy as to whether it's just a regular orthohuman connection to a fave character or so deep they are having an otherhearted or adjacent experience.
If we are to accept that it's the latter and welcome them to come talk about their experience amongst us they'll either a) realise they're actually otherkin and find community OR b) find terms like otherhearted/Funlink and use those with greater community OR c) still use the word incorrectly but at the very least be educated
If we push them away we are pushing away a lot of our own.
yellow in the middle represents fun & joy , brown represents fauna , green represents flora , and black represents the hardships kff folk experience in the otherkin community
"how to spot a fake therian!" how about instead of hunting down "fake therians" you acknowledge that targeting random people online because you don't like how they act is not going to benefit or help anyone and in the grand scheme of things you should just let people live
