Conjoinment

Conjoinment is a fictitious process by which two or more individuals are joined bodily together. The process can be partial (one or more body parts fused) or complete (a total fusion of the individuals into a single entity, with or without the original separate consciousnesses).

On-line culture

This joining (also called merging, grafting, or mesing) is often the subject of erotic interest even when the process does not lead to actual sexual activity and even when the fictional participants in the process are indifferent to or repulsed by what has occurred. The Internet is home to a large amount of conjoinment-themed erotica in the form of stories, original artwork, and manipulated images. Conjoinment is also a frequent theme of online roleplay.

Methods

Conjoinment can occur through various means: [pseudo] scientific experiments, industrial accidents, freakish natural phenomena, and magic are often cited as the mechanism by which people are conjoined in fiction.

The direct mechanisms of conjoinment may include the following:

* An adhesion of the skin after contact
* The engulfing of a person or part (such as legs) by a conjoined mass. Sometimes includes the idea that normal coitus might become permanent. However, this is surprisingly rare.
* Liquification. Prevalent in Japanese culture, the logic appears to be that for blending to occur, the participants must first be reduced to a fluid or liquid state. In the translation of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) we see the game "Live A Live", only released in Japan but available in translated form from the various abandonware sites, which in one of its episodes, features a conjoinment. It is also reported that the anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (in its various film and television incarnations) also features a mass conjoinment using the same method.
* Off camera, the conjoinment occurs but the mechanism is not specified or implied by the artist or author.

Distinct subcategories of fans

The conjoinment community is not a unified group. There are several distinct tastes and driving motivations.

Clashing personality taste

A fairly popular school focuses not so much on the act of conjoinment, but rather on the clash or harmony of personalities who come to share the otherwise normal two-headed body.

Odd anatomy school

This group focuses on the awkward and often fantastical altered anatomy of the conjoined being.

Blending school

The blending school of merging/conjoinment is probably better described as a subset of the furry transformation fetish where two formerly separate beings of (possibly) different species are perfectly blended into a new being which blends the traits of the two participants.

Mass-conjoinment school

A somewhat less common school of conjoinment focuses on beings composed of many or even uncountably many formerly separate individuals. There are several explanations of this school. One is that it is a variation of a size or inflation fetish where the main interest is in the mass and bulk resulting from large conjoinments. Another explanation is that it is a manifestation of the not-so-uncommon desire to have several partners. The body clearly belongs to one or two owner participants as a result from the many participants. It could also be linked to a vore fetish where an entity composed of many individuals would have the capacity to swallow whole additional participants. Still other theories include feelings of intense loneliness which are not primarily related to sexuality.

Relationship to similar fetishes

There are several fetishes that share similar themes to conjoinment but are distinct. Vore fetishists fantasize about the act of swallowing other human beings (or being swallowed), and are distinct from conjoinment fans because the victim of such an act is subsequently digested. Conjoinment fantasies of a similar theme are distinct in that the result of the conjoinment is that the victim/participant becomes incorporated into the other entity and is neither killed nor metabolized.

"Stuck" fetishists tend to focus on the adhesion aspect and no biological unification takes place.

Multi-limb or "multiples" fetishists do not necessarily fantasize about the joining of two formerly separate individuals, instead focusing on the altered anatomy.

"Unbirthing" fetishists are distinct from conjoinment fetishists in that conjoinment almost never includes age regression and the result is a permanently blended entity and not merely a return to living in a womb and subject to subsequent re-birth or absorption.

Real-life examples

The real-life phenomenon of conjoined twins does not fall under the rubric of conjoinment.

While parabiotic experiments have been used in animal research, no human conjoining has been recorded. For obvious reasons and for the fact that the majority of conjoinment, fans are interested in fantasy only. It is unlikely it will be attempted in the foreseeable future.