Fictionflicker
A fictionflicker, sometimes shortened to "flicker",[1][2] is a temporary identification as a fictional character.[3] It is common for individuals who experience fictionflickers to experience them frequently, and as such, they may find identification within the label despite the transience of their fictional identities.[1][3] A fictionflicker may feel identical to a fictotype, with the only difference being the temporary nature of a fictionflicker.[2]
Experiences[edit | edit source]
The length of time a fictionflicker lasts will vary depending on the individual,[2] and might last anywhere from a few hours[1] to a few months.[1][2] As it can be subjective as to how long a "short-term" identity can last, it may be up to the individual on if they consider an identity to be temporary enough to be considered a fictionflicker.[1] A fictionflicker may be recurring and be experienced for multiple short periods.[2]
Although a fictionflicker can be any temporary fictional identity, they commonly stem from the introduction to new media.[2] It is common for a fictionflicker to last only during the period of time when an individual is consuming their source media,[2] or for a fictionflicker to fade at some point after this consumption is over.[1]
Individuals who experience fictionflickers generally focus on the temporary nature of their identities. Because of this, individuals may focus on the experience of being fictional in some way rather than the experience of being a certain character. Tumblr user bitcheshavebirthdays considers the fictionflicker community to be less judgmental than other alterhuman communities; because of the malleability of their identities, those in the fictionflicker community might be less focused on "proving" themselves to be the characters they identify as and more focused on connection.[1]
Experiencing fictionflickers has been compared to experiencing cameo shifts, or shifts not corresponding with one's phenotype, as both are temporary.[1][2] However, some differentiate the two, with the stance that one would identify as a fictional character during a fictionflicker, even if that identification was temporary, where an individual experiencing a cameo shift would not identify as the phenotype they were shifted into even during that shift.[2]
Etymology & History[edit | edit source]
The first known use of the term fictionflicker was on the profile of the Flickers of Fiction LiveJournal community, which was created in 2006. It contained the following description of the term:
"...a sort of nebulous experience of shifting identity through various fictional characters, of briefly (or extendedly) 'becoming' fictional people and the shift in identity and perception this may involve, with or without the experience of memories or past-life leanings (or any belief that such a phenomenon is necessarily spiritual or otherworldly in nature). If you've ever felt yourself "imprinted on" by a fictional identity, if you've ever spent a day or a week feeling like a character, if you've ever momentarily expected to see a different, yet familiar, face in the mirror..."[3]
Later, the term otherflicker evolved out of the above definition. It included both fictionflickers and flickers that weren't fictional in nature, such as temporary identities as different species. A nonhuman otherflicker might be similar in experience to a kintype or theriotype, with the differentiation being the short-term nature of an otherflicker.[2]