Fictosexual

Sexual attraction directed primarily or exclusively toward fictional characters, typically with a strong emotional attachment. The attraction is to the character (or a 2D/non-human representation of them), not to an actor who portrays them. The romantic equivalent is fictoromantic; "fictophilia" is the broader academic umbrella for both.

Latin fictio (a shaping, a feigning) + sexual. The modern label emerged in online communities in the mid-2010s. The Japanese term nijikon ("2D complex") describes a closely related attraction to anime and manga characters.

Often dismissed as a recent internet phenomenon, attraction to fictional and mythic figures is documented across centuries. The contemporary fictosexual label crystallized in fandom and a-spec online spaces in the 2010s. A 2021 study (Karhulahti & Valisalo, Frontiers in Psychology) examined fictosexuality academically. Fictosexuality is frequently situated on the asexual spectrum.

• "Fictosexuality isn't real / it's just having a crush on a character." Most people experience passing fictional crushes; fictosexuality describes a person whose primary pattern of attraction is oriented toward fictional characters.