im really confused and troubled lately because i think im kin with some characters but im genuinely not sure if my feelings are valid but fictionkin seems to “fit”, if that makes sense?? i feel a lot of kin things except memories. i see those canonical happenings as an outsider and i do not feel like i am present or part of them occurring. at the same time, theres a familiarity and longing that’s present?? im not sure what im feeling. it’s a strong feeling, but im not sure what it IS exactly?

There are two possibilities here.

One is that you are kin with someone from that ‘canon’ who was never shown on screen. Basically a ‘background character’ or ‘extra’ Someone who lived in the world but was not a part of what became the story in this world.

The other possibility is simply that you aren’t kin with these sources.

Fiction exists to touch our hearts and make us feel connected to it. Good fiction puts us emotionally in the middle of the action, sharing the joys and sadnesses of the characters, and experiencing their adventures as our own. Its normal to find stories that resonate with your heart, that you feel connected to on a deep level, and still not to be kin of them.

You don’t have to be kin to a character or story, for it to be meaningful to you. Sometimes characters trials and heartbreaks are much like our own. Sometimes they strike a chord deep inside us. Sometimes it is so much that we weep openly. And that is a wonderful thing. Stories connect all our hearts, and help us share the experience of what it means to be a person.

I love the movie and book, The Last Unicorn. I would go so far as to call it my favorite story, and its deeply meaningful to me. I cry every time I watch it, sometimes even when I hear the music, or a line or two from the movie. I feel deeply connected to the characters on a human and intimate level. I see my own struggles and fears reflected in theirs. But none of them are me. I never came from there, never saw that world with my own eyes, never spoke to any of the people. But that doesn’t make my connection with it any less meaningful, deep, or special.