Author
Re: The Person Who Made This Site.
This is a short FAQ about the author of this site in regards to the focus of this site. If you're really somehow curious about my life outside of researching this stuff, well, then, I guess you can visit my stupid blog.
Are you part of any of these subcultures you keep talking about?
No, I don't self-identify as either an otakukin or a soulbonder. I do have a general fondness for Japanese anime (especially Death Note), but I don't believe myself to be a reincarnation of Raito Yagami, or anything. And I don't have conversations with any characters. I've had people tell me that they think I'm otakukin, or otherkin, or a soulbonder, or something of a similar stripe. Many have tried to say that, because I'm fascinated by these phenomenon, I must at least have some amount of identification with them. The thing is, however, that I can be fascinated by something without being a part of it. Everyone has had that sort of experience at some time or another. Have you ever studied a religion in school and found it interesting, but had no desire to convert? This is pretty much the same thing. Besides, I think I get the final say regarding just what I am. Don't you agree?
Do you believe in otakukin/soulbonding/otherkin/whatever else?
This is by far the most common question I get. The short answer is that no, I don't.
I believe in these subcultures online, and I believe that these people have very powerful beliefs, but I see no reason to go any further than that. I myself haven't had any experiences that resemble soulbonding, and have never felt anything like the otakukin believe they are. There's really no way for these subcultures to prove their beliefs, and (in general) there's no way for anyone to disprove them. So, I don't really have any reason to affirm the beliefs of these folks. The veracity of their claims does not really concern me, and at this point, I have no reason to for strong belief either way. Anything might be possible, and if I had a good reason, I might believe. Right now, though, I'm much more interested in the social impact of these subcultures.
Even if you aren't part of these subcultures, don't you agree that you're sympathetic to their claims?
I would say that I'm curious. Ultimately, I'm about as sympathetic to their beliefs as I am towards most other beliefs to which I do no subscribe. I guess you could say that I've got nothing in particular against them. I attend a Quaker school, but I'm certainly not a Quaker, nor a pacifist. I don't have any beef with Quakers, though, because they've done nothing to cause me grief. Similarly, unless these folks believing what they believe somehow makes my life more difficult, I'm not going to have any particular hatred for them. I certainly respect plenty of them. It should be obvious that I've talked to many otakukin and soulbonders, and some of them have become my good friends
A lot of people make fun of these subcultures, and you quote some of them. Why?
I realize that a lot of people online like to rag on otakukin and soulbonders for being "delusional" (or whatever choice words they use,) because they think it's hilarious. I've heard some quips that were genuinely funny, but, for this site, I'm more interested in why people think these subcultures are delusional, as opposed to whatever jokes they can make about it. I link to (and quote) some rather caustic approaches to otakukin and soulbonders on this site for the sake of completeness. Those who partake in either of these subcultures should already be aware that their beliefs are marginalized. This is, after all, the internet, and evidence suggests that there's absolutely 0% chance of everyone just getting along and not disparaging eachother's beliefs, and everyone needs to learn to cope with that. If I only presented sympathetic approaches to these subcultures, then I wouldn't be doing very thorough research, would I? I'm just an undergraduate, but even I know that.
Why is this site called "Thinking Enchanted Subcultures?" What is that supposed to mean?
Some people have interpreted this site's name to mean that it's a site for otakukin and soulbonders who think. People who think are welcome here, and welcome to contribute, as is everyone else, but that's not really what the site's name means. I purposefully didn't call the site "An Introduction to Online Subcultures" or "Otakukin and Soulbonders" because I didn't want to imply that my task is definition. I'm not a part of either subculture, and I think it would be rather presumptuous of me to try to give a detailed definition of something I've only experienced from the outside. Furthermore, these phenomena are constantly evolving memes that can be difficult to grasp. I chose to call this site Thinking Enchanted Subcultures because, rather than attempting definition, I'm just hoping to present a variety of ways (including my own) in which these phenomena can be thought.