Draft:Endel

The endel symbol is a strawberry with a small, four-petaled white flower. It was created by Babydog.

An endel is an alterhuman or nonhuman-identifying individual whose identity has been influenced by, originates from, or is the result of a delusion. It is an identifier that may be used alone or combined with other alterhuman terms (ex. an endelic otherkin). Depending on the nature of the delusion, an endel may identify as physically nonhuman, but that is not a requirement of the label.

Etymology & History

Endel was coined on April 22th, 2021 by Babydog. It is a combination of the "en-" prefix, meaning "to cause," and "del" from "dēlūdēre," meaning "delusion." It was coined in part as an effort to refute anti-otherkin rhetoric which sought to use the stigmatization around delusions to collectively pathologize otherkin.

Symbols

The official symbol for endels is a strawberry with a small, four-petaled white flower. A strawberry was chosen due to the seasonal nature of fruit, with allusions to ripe fruits being representative of harmless, positive delusions and rotten fruits being representative of hurtful delusions. The flower is meant to symbolize how beauty can be found even in darkness. Endel strawberries may also contain small vines or runners, which symbolize intercommunity solidarity. The symbol was made based off of community input on Tumblr.

Alternative symbols for endelity include a black downward pointing arrowhead with a four-pointed star, and a heart with a four-pointed star or any colors.