#defining otherlink

[alterhumannerdygoat]

to BE voluntary or to DO voluntary

I think that otherlinking would be better off being characterised by the action of crafting the link, and not just by it being a "voluntary identity".

First of all, I've come to believe that solely dividing identities by whether or not they're voluntary isn't the best method. (Other members of the community have made excellent points about that already, also just. the quoiluntary label.) It forms an artificial binary whereas in reality, being somewhere in the middle is very common. Also, in and of itself, whether or not it's voluntary doesn't necessarily have a major impact on the actual experience.

In terms of 'linking being an action, (in my experience at least), you don't simply wake up and say "I've decided to be X." You actually have to link first in order for it to really feel like part of your identity. The linking can be simple and quick, but it's still something that you do.

This may not seem like a huge change, but in my opinion it would make a lot more sense for the distinction between otherlinking and other forms of nonhumanity to be framed this way. It seems a lot more accurate to the experiences I see, and personally I prefer the perspective of focusing on the linking.

Isn't the whole point of it being voluntary that you do the voluntary?*

(PLEASEEE if you have an opinion on this share it, this is some random thoughts of mine and I love, love, LOVE talking about 'linking!!!!)

*grammar is for the weak /silly

(also I don't know how common of a perspective this is, the otherlink page on therian fandom wiki kiind of gives of these vibes, but also is quite different from how I use the term lol)

[lombaxkin]

Figuring things out so far has awakened:

Domestic Calico cat theriotype

Lombax Fictionkin type

Absol Fictionkin type

Rivet (the Lombax) linktype

Phantom limbs including: cat ears, tail and...

Wings.

Usually feathered wings, but sometimes mechanical wings.

Where. The FUCK. Do the phantom wings come from.

Still got some figuring out and questioning to do I see.

[sage-of-ars-argentum]

>”I am Human” Captcha looms

>Sage, a sha, glances at Alrune, his blue anthro wolf headmate

>They both put on sunglasses, smirking like Duke Nukem cosplayers

>”As far as YOU know!” Sage shouts, checking the box as hard as he can

>Airhorns blaring, rgb lights flaring

This just hit me so damn vividly I had to put it somewhere

[actias-android]

I feel like now is a good time to remind everyone that...

Nonhuman is an umbrella term, but it is also a standalone label.

You do not need to also be otherkin, otherlinker, otherhearted, therian, fictionkin, alterhuman (which itself may be 100% human and nothing else) or anything else to call yourself nonhuman. You can, if you want to, just use it by itself. No qualifiers, no further explanation required, no definition beyond 'not exclusively human in some way.'

You don't need to identify physically as not-human. Plenty of nonhumans do, and plenty more don't.

You don't need to identify entirely as not-human. There are lots of nonhumans that are also human, plus whatever else they are. There are similarly nonhumans who are in no way human. The term encompasses both without contradiction.

You do not need to specify any amount of voluntary/involuntary adoption of your identity. You can in fact choose to just be nonhuman because you want to do that, or you can come to it after a long time searching and conclude it's the only explanation, or you can fall anywhere in between.

You do not need to be any specific thing other than some degree of not-human. You can be an animal, plant, object, concept, song, creature, shapeshifter, character, device, AI, color, emotion, or anything else that exists or doesn't, or any kind of mixture of those things.

You do not need any specific reason to call yourself nonhuman. It can be a psychological thing, a spiritual thing, a physical thing, a coping thing, a reclamation thing, even just a 'because it's fun and makes you happy' thing.

You do not need anybody's permission or approval to be nonhuman. There are no gatekeepers who have any say over what a nonhuman is or is not, aside from the definition of the word itself, which is incredibly broad and open to interpretation. This is by design. Anybody who tries to stop you has no right to do so.

Please don't forget that when defining 'nonhuman.' It is not just a big tarp to be thrown over other labels. It is also its own full identity with its own merits and concepts, even if it is a very broad and inclusive identity.

[interstellarsystem]

Periodic reminder that "alterhuman" means a lot more than "nonhuman", "therian", "otherkin", "fictionkin" and all of those combined.

Alterhumanity is simply the state of not falling within your "societal norm" for humanity or what is considered the "normal human experience". That sounds maybe vague and broad, and that's because it absolutely is.

Is being otherkin or therian alterhuman? Sure! You're also more than welcome in the community. But if you're looking for a term to refer to otherkin, therians, and other people who identify as nonhuman? Well--just say nonhuman!

When writing something addressed to "alterhumans", be it a bunch of questions, or an experience post, or a survey, it should be addressed to alterhumans, not tailored to one specific group. Only explicitly talking about the therian or otherkin experience within an article or questionaire or similar things lends us to wonder why those aren't just labelled as therian/otherkin/nonhuman. That doesn't mean those groups don't belong in alterhuman spaces or tags either--this is simply a nitpick at how things are worded and seem to be sometimes misinformed about what alterhumanity is.

Alterhumanity includes (but isn't limited to):

Otherkin, therians, nonhuman headmates, nonhumans in general

Fictionfolk, fictives, fictionkin--including those who identify as human fictional characters.

Factfolk, factives, factkin.

Otherlinkers and other voluntary identities.

Otherhearteds and people with synpaths and/or hearthomes.

Plural systems of all origins--created, disordered, nondisordered, anything else.

Furry lifestylers.

Delusion-based and other neurodivergent and/or disability related identities, largely relating to the above points (such as clinical lycanthropes, systems due to psychosis, etc)

A lot of the above can absolutely include human identifying individuals (or systems). You do not need to be nonhuman at all to be alterhuman. You also don't need to "pick" one or the other--you might be both, or aspecies, or something else entirely. Humans can be included under the alterhuman umbrella, alterhumanity isn't the same thing as nonhumanity.

We've seen the claim that it's dehumanising (not to an individual's own tastes by the way, this was stated as an overall community fact) to be included under the alterhuman label, so more identites that include humans or are human-based need to be "written out". That is alterhumisia as well as nonhumisia and paints alterhumanity as an inherently dehumanising identity. You don't have to use any terms you don't like, but dehumanisation, alterhumanity and nonhumanity are all separate things.

Alterhumanity is as mentioned, having an identity that's alternative to the "societal norm".

Nonhumanity is identifying or the state of being nonhuman.

Dehumanisation is the act of treating a person/group as "less than" human. It is a form of discrimination revolving around the idea that you can even be "less than", and therefore are able to be treated without dignity, moral consideration and empathy. It's the denial of someone's human rights. (Attempt at summing up without going on for 5 paragraphs, please forgive strange phrasing).

Don't confuse them. They are different things. You might not like being referred to as alterhuman or nonhuman, and that's your right! But others including communities you happen to be a part of under that term doesn't strip you of the right to not take on the label itself, nor does it deny you your humanity in any way. You can opt out. Others opting in or being defined in from the start isn't dehumanisation.

And on a quick side note, we also noticed a distinct push to exclude systems from the alterhuman label in recent times or to say they never should have been included. While no one has to use the label if they don't feel it fits--you have to at least acknowledge that plurals were defined in from the beginning and many systems find the term useful and define themselves as alterhuman on the basis of their plurality alone. No one is forcing a label on anyone, but please don't leave systems out of your discussions of alterhumanity by default. Non-alterhuman systems don't need to participate in the community, and alterhuman systems don't need to be defined out of a term that had them in mind at its coining.

The coining post is linked here, for all who would like to read it. We know not everyone has, and we also know terms change over time of course--but the broadness is a huge point of the term itself. Don't make the box smaller. That's the overall point of this post.

[that-dreaming-dragon]

A silly funsie thing of my very rough, loose interpretation of alterhuman identities (just a couple of them) in a limited 2D visual representation.

Really, alterhumanity is probably 5D+ motion madness. At the very least, I'd imagine that constel is going around like its namesake.

(Posted as requested by @paracosmic-gt :D) (that grammar was weird, ugh. I donno how to fix it)

Terms below cut.

Likeness - What's on the tin, whatever you "share a likeness with". archive.md/2023.10.30-142647/https://extranth.tumblr.com/post/680195890861998080/okay-so-this-is-my-coining-but-again-its-not

Simile - "A simile (in the context of alterhuman identity) is a character, animal, concept, or object, which reflects or otherwise represents who you are, without actually being a part of your identity. A simile may be described as a metaphor for who you are."

Vaguetype[1][2] - An alterhuman identity that may fall into multiple categories, or if one has uncertainty or simply prefers not to define what all goes into a single identity.

Archetropy - An identity in which one performs the role, the title, the trope, or the narrative space one occupies and embodies.

Cameo (Shift) - A shift not of one's 'type. otherkin.wiki/wiki/Shifting

'Flicker - A brief, temporary identity.

Hearthome - "A place, whether real or imagined, to which a being has a deep and meaningful emotional connection, considering it their 'home.' This connection is strong, even if the being has not been raised or spent a significant amount of time in that particular location."

web.archive.org/web/20240907223441/https://blog.alt-h.net/post/154524344385/heart-is-where-the-home-is

Mirrortype - "A reflection of the ideal self".

Paratype - "an identity facet that only exists in relation to a preestablished identity".

Kardiatype - A past life [in] which [your] experiences had such an impact on you that it [wholly or partly] formed your core identity and personality, even to this day, [but] … you [DON’T] identify as the being from your past life anymore.

Constelic - Individuals "that adopt an identity(s) throughout their lives. Constelic individuals can have any number of constelic identities, and the amount might fluctuate throughout their lifetime. They aren't typically there at birth, instead being found and adopted later in life, and they oftentimes aren't permanent, though they can last a very long time." web.archive.org/web/20230519124625/https://constelic.carrd.co/

Heartedness - Identifying with something instead of as. To fully understand what that abstractness entails, I highly recommend reading Part I of Poppy's Simile essay.

Synpath - Something you identify with on several levels, which could be a concept that resonates really strongly with you, an animal or mythological creature you feel you act like, or a person or character you share a lot of common behaviors with, among other things. This often is used in synonymous to heartedness, but many do use it differently than hearttype.

'Linked - A intentionally made connection towards an identity, and can be later dropped as needed or desired. Usually, people only link identify-as identities, but there are folks like me who go beyond and link all sorts of alterhuman identities on the spectrum. web.archive.org/web/20180325235532/http://victiim-of-changes.tumblr.com/post/170162038800/otherlinkers-are-not-kin-but-voluntary I'm also avoiding the usage of "voluntary" because that's a whole mess within the community. A linked identity is the connection that you intentionally bridged, that's it.

Kinity - In which one identifies as a nonhuman species or character. otherkin.wiki/wiki/Otherkin

Therianthropy - In which one identifies as an animal. Essentially the same as being otherkind or fictionkind, just of different focus. Just in case, therian does mean any species that has animality within.

Any links that aren't embedded are due to external links not being able to be reblogged into the community. Please put the links directly into your URL bar or add https:// at the front.

[mechanical-sunchild]

Otherlinking as an origin as well as an identity

I don't think there is anything wrong with otherkin and/or therians defining their identities based on involuntariness. For many of us, it is a deep profound involuntary identity, possibly with no known origin or real reasoning, just that Knowing inside.

Our 'types being tied deeply to who we are has been a part of the community for decades and cannot/should not be ignored as valuable and important not just to the founding of certain terms, but to the phenomenon in general.

It is important to respect this, and to understand why the involuntary part is important or the most widely seen kind of otherkinism/therianthropy in general. There's no use getting aggressive and bitter about involuntary alterhumans just because you feel yours is voluntary and can only be such.

But that does not mean that voluntary identities are lesser, or cannot belong under certain labels. I do think many of us are very rude about voluntary alterhumans and the labels they feel fit them. Some of us don't even know if our identities are voluntary or involuntary! If we stopped battling so hard to drawn thick lines between the two, I think we'd be on to a healthier community.

Voluntary alterhumans are not the same as 'KFF' or people using the term therian but not identifying as.

The word Otherlink and all variations, is in and of itself a valuable identity worthy of respect and to be taken as serious as any other.

But what if it's...more than that?

It terms of 'psychological origins' for otherkinism/therianthropy - can 'voluntarily otherlinking (for any reason)' not also be an origin?

That one could absolutely be otherkin or therian based on the nature of one's chosen 'type or whichever one likes more - because one chose to become that thing. The only thing someone really needs to be is serious about themselves being their 'type, not just liking it or relating to it a lot. Otherlinkers, and those who otherlink to become therians/otherkin (the line between defined by the individual and their comfort with certain terms), are still 100% that 'type.

So, 'linking as an origin to therianthropy/otherkinism. Worth a thought.

[unetherian]

some alterhuman terms and their definition✨:

(some of these terms can be considered under the nonhumans or alterbeing umbrella, it depends on the experiences of the individual)

otherkin: an otherkin unvolontarily identifies as a imaginary creature with more or less characteristics similar to humans such as the use of a complex and evolved language to communicate, more or less primitive civilization, etc. This is most often a non-physical identity, but some otherkins are physical otherkins.

theriomythic: A theriomythic unvolontarily identifies itself as a imaginary animalistic being. It is often considered a subcategory of therians.

therian: a therian unvolontarily identifies itself as an animal. This is most often a non-physical identity, but some therians are physical therians.

fictionkin: a fictionkin unvolontarily identifies as a character, species, magic, from a fiction.

Note: if a fictionkin identifies as a very animalistic creature from a fiction they can choose to call themselves theriomythic or fictionkin or even both at the same time

plantkin: a plantkin unvolontarily identifies as a plant or as partially a plant. I don't know if there are physical plantkins, there must be.

naturesoul (new term): a naturesoul identifies as the primordial soul, that which is found in all living beings. This is a fairly complex term, so you can ask the creator of this term, tamashii--0--naturanimae.

otherlink: an otherlink chooses to identify as an animal(animallink)/creature(otherlink)/ object(objectlink)/ect for any reason.

funlink: a funlink chooses to identify as an animal/creature/plant/etc for fun, to test new things. This is a subcategory of otherlink.

copinglink: a copinglink voluntarily choosing to identify itself as an animal/creature/plant/concept/ect to face difficult life situations. This is a subcategory of otherlink

copingkin: a copingkin unintentionally identifies as an animal/creature/ect to cope with difficult life situations.

otherhearted/otherkith/synpath: an otherkith has a huge connection with an animal (animalkith) or/and a creature (otherkith), a fictional character/species (fictionkith), ect.

cambikin/cambiheart: individual whose identity fluctuates between a kin identity and a kith identity. The cambitype does not change (there may be exceptions ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯)

Obviously there are even more terms, but I can't define them all in one post (sorry to all the conceptkin, kinmyth, songkin, constelics, objectkin and to all those I haven't mentioned)

Hope this answered some questions :3

[myceliumforum]

hello im confused🙃

is there a term for when you dont feel like a specific charicter, but that you were supposed to live in a specific place?

i feel like im from oz (from the books), and i dont know if thats what hearthome means or if thers another name for it.

also kinda feel like an embodiment of the oz books (by l frank baum atleast)

but this could all just be an escapist want due to the oz books being my special interest

or is it possible to kin a charicter thats a difrent sexuality? im still learning about alterhuman/otherhuman stuff

I can't provide the answer for your questioning as your identity is something only you can define and I can only be a guide so you can understand a little bit and find the answer

First of all, labels aren't necessary! I know wanting to label yourself is a good way of self understanding and to make sure others can understand you, but it's important to remind yourself that you're not obligated to label yourself and if you want to go out and don't use labels at all and just go around explaining how it feels and is to be you or not even try to explain it is totally valid

Now back to the topic, you do multiple questions so I'm going to go one by one and then give my own conclusion

Hearthome

Meaning: a term for when you feel a strong, familiar connection to a place, real or fictional, in which the place/location feel like home

So to make it simple, hearthome is a way to describe a familiarity and connection to some place to the point it feels like home

Genderbodiment

Meaning: a gender system related to being the embodiment of something, can also be a gender by itself relating to being the embodiment of gender

So to make it simple, this is an umbrella when your gender identity feels related to something specific to the point of being the embodiment of that something

Eiment

Meaning: an alterhuman / nonhuman term for being an embodiment / embodiment of something

So to make it simple, is an umbrella term for alterhumanity when you feel/are the embodiment of something, someone, somewhere

Emsoul

Meaning: a term for when you are the embodiment of something or you view something as the embodiment of you.

So to make it simple, is being the embodiment of something/someone/somewhere or viceversa, something/someone/somewhere being the embodiment of you

Placekin

Meaning: pertaining to all of those who identify as a place, be it real, extinct, fictional, spiritual, conceptual, etc

So to make it simple, is an alterhuman identity when you identify as a place or location, not entirely being the embodiment but being the place, if that makes sense

Copinglink

Meaning: a type of otherlink adopted as a coping mechanism for trauma, stress, mental illness, or any other ailment

So to make it simple, is an otherlink identity when you adopt the alterhuman identity of your choice (character, species, object, place, what you want) for coping purposes

Xenonature

Meaning: when someone has a strong connection to something to the point it becomes part of them

So to make it simple, this means the connection you have with something is so strong it becomes part of who you are, doesn't matter what it is

Otherspin

Meaning: an alterhuman identity that's influenced by someone's special interest, it can be used with another alterhuman labels

So to make it simple, this means the influence of your spin into your identity, this is more of a descriptor as you can use it like "I'm a therian otherfix" or with some other labels

Kin with different orientation

Your alterhuman identity isn't linked with your sexual or any kind of attractional orientation, there's no thing such as a rule on how you can feel or perceive your kinning, so that's not a rule

You can have different sexuality, gender, orientation, likes and your own individual identity separate from your alterhuman one, so don't be scared of saying "My kintype is x thing" just because you don't align with certain things of your kintype

As I said, I can't give you the answer on who you are, I gave you some labels/umbrellas I think you might fit or so you can search for a foundation to start searching by yourself

Also yes, you can have multiple terms and umbrellas at the same time, so if you feel connected to all of this terms I just described you you can use all of them, after all is your identity and it isn't harming you or anyone, plus an alterhuman identity can be so complex and unique as you want

I don't know more terms that can fit into your criteria as I'm not a complete expert on the topic, tho if you want a more specific term you could ask me and I'm willing to make a new one

I hope this did help and sorry for taking so long to answer, have a nice day/night!

[a-dragons-journal]

Is 'link and 'hearted the same thing? I can't remember.

Nope.

Otherlink = a nonhuman or fictional identity that is consciously created (often defined as "voluntarily identifying as nonhuman," but honestly I'm going back to "consciously created" because of the way "voluntary" seems to mean eighty different things to different people). The person is an otherlinker; the identity is a linktype. (Copinglink and otherlink are, contrary to popular opinion, perfect synonyms - copinglink came first and includes all consciously created identities, not just those taken on as a coping mechanism. The only reason the word otherlink exists is because people didn't like how copinglinker implied that it's inherently a coping mechanism.)

Otherhearted = identifying strongly with, but not as, something nonhuman and/or fictional, often described as a family-like connection. The person is otherhearted; the thing in question is a hearttype.

[spwarkledogz]

happy pride month to literally every therian, otherkin, fictionkin, otherlinker, copinglinker, etc ever. yeah thats right, all of you. even you, therian who is strictly cishet. you could be the most cishet person ever and if ur otherkin/alterhuman i still consider u queer. queerness is not defined by just sexual/romantic orientation or gender orientation/presentation. it is being different and strange and proud.

i think we're pretty different, strange, and proud of it.

[nabbit-unmasked]

An important message about validity and gatekeeping in the therian, otherkin, nonhuman, and alterhuman (etc.) communities.

Read if you're feeling invalid, because I promise you that you are valid.

As a placekin, I have a very complicated relationship with some places.

When I first discovered I was placekin, I thought I was 4-5 different places, those being: Kongo (DRC), C.A.R., Tristan da Cunha, Riyadh, and Mauritania.

I ruled out Mauritania as a kin pretty quickly, but the others (besides the CAR) were slow to go. They didn't feel the same as my connection to/identity as the C.A.R. did.

I couldn't confidently say "I am [place name]" and call it a kin. All these strict definitions of what kin means and gatekeepers discouraged me from doing so, anyways.

So, I dropped the label of "placekin" for all these places except for the C.A.R. and tossed them into the "otherhearted" category, as I've been taught to do. Taught that if there's one aspect of your identity that doesn't fit someone else's definition, you're supposed to put it into being otherhearted, otherlink, a furry, cosplayer, or just throw it out entirely.

I felt that my experiences were invalid in the realm of kin because of how others tried to define me. Because their own views must be the same as mine, they have to. My identity is their identity, right?

There were so many restrictions on what counted as kin or not across the majority of the nonhuman community. Your theriotype has a name or pastlife? You're a fake! You don't have a past life? You're also a fake! You drew your own kintype? You must be a cosplayer then. You're young? Silly kids, it's just a phase! You're fictionkin? No, you're just delusional. You only started to identify as kin after a hyperfixation? You're probably just otherhearted or otherlink, you're not kin and you never will be.

I was distancing from online therian and nonhuman communities because I was tired of hearing the same old story. The same old "sounds like otherhearted or otherlink to me" spiel.

During my time away, I opened up my perspective on what it means to be something other than human. I didn't have anyone over my shoulder talking about how myself and others couldn't possibly be kin.

The truth is, only you get to decide your identity and your label(s). If you say you're kin, then you are. If you say you're otherlink or otherhearted, then only you can truly say if you are. It doesn't matter what kind of mental gymnastics other people are forcing on you, because they do not know what's going on inside your head. If you have genuine intentions for identifying in a certian way, then that is enough. Even if you feel like you gaslight yourself into believing that you're kin, I can assure you that you are still kin.

(If it seems like this ended abruptly, it's because I wrote this like a month ago and drafted it. Sorry about that -w-)

[therian-and-nonhuman-polls]

ok idk if I can submit polls but

A poll about otherlink and like how people feel about them or something

hope the options are satisfactory, anon!

please keep all discussions on the topic respectful! :)

otherlinks are defined as “a voluntary identity as an alterhuman or fictional being, adopted for various reasons.” (definition from otherkin wiki)

[therianconfessionsblog]

My feeling on this are complicated, but RE: some of the previous anons…

Fakeclaiming is bad. Full stop. You will not help anyone by fakeclaiming. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, doing that will likely only make the person you fake claimed see you as rude and not make any progress towards education , and it will further divide the community. My personal opinion about this, you should kindly suggest they look at other terms if you think they’ve gotten something confused, and if they refuse to listen just block and move on. Getting a definition wrong isn’t rude, so you shouldn’t be rude back.

Secondly, are some interests involuntary, if not all? I know for myself, I could not force myself to be interested in something, even if I tried. I don’t know if I could force myself to be UN-interested in something either. My passions are part of who I am. When I was younger I was heavily interested in cats and would read nonfiction books on them in my free time. So much of my time was spent thinking about cats, acting like a cat, and even wearing ‘gear’ — ears, tails, makeshift collars with bells… I would say that then and even somewhat now, even if I’m not as connected as I once was, I am a cat because of this heavy interest. And my identity was in no way voluntary — even when middle school and early high school hit and I tried to force this interest and identity away, there were private moments where I would put on my tail away from prying eyes and everything would feel right.

None of that was voluntary. I suppose you could argue that I was a cat before the interest began, but that raises questions over why you deny this being therianthropy for others who describe their experiences in a similar way. Loving an animal so much you become them is not inherently voluntary because interest , especially to the extent of seeing yourself as that thing , is not inherently voluntary. Otherlink describes the experience of intentionally forming a bond or link with a creature, there is effort made to form you identity to them. If it comes naturally, is it otherlink or therian/otherkin? The line between voluntary and involuntary is often unclear and undefined. At what point is a choice not a choice? And when you are likely not keeping track, how are you supposed to determine if the identity or the interest came first?

Are your gripes with therians who define their experience this way a matter of them being legitimately fake or a matter of semantics? Is my experience described above more acceptable to you because I elaborated? Is you problem with them defining their *own* experience this way, or with them describing *all* therian’s experiences this way? Are they simply not nonhuman enough to you, all because they may have chosen the wrong words?

I don’t doubt that there are some in the community who are ‘faking’ for whatever reason. With a community this big, it’s inevitable. But most of the times people fake claim eachother for the wrong reasons, and I want to make one thing very clear: getting the definition of therian 100% right or describing your experience perfectly are NOT part of the criteria for being a therian. The only thing that makes you a therian is involuntarily identifying as an animal in some way, whatever way that may be. I know that is likely controversial, but I am serious. We have to stop fakeclaiming eachother for the stuff we post online, even if someone gets something wrong. It’s ridiculous. Education and blocking over fakeclaiming, please.

-🦮🌓 / moondog

🐾

[fictionkinfessions]

@ the vanillamayhem anon from /post/736438326155001856

You might've meant this rhetorically, or just as a vent, but if you were genuinely asking I can offer up my understanding of it at least.

Having a copinglink (what people mean when they say they're copingkin) is something you choose to do. You consciously decide to take on a copinglink as an identity and could consciously decide to give it up at any time. The copinglink refers to the character or entity in question; the individual choosing to identify as them is usually called a copinglinker. This terminology was first coined and defined this way within existing otherkin and alterhuman communities in 2015, and is related to otherlink terminology.

Being fictionkin is something involuntary that you have no control over. You cannot consciously choose to stop having a fictionkin identity, you can only choose whether you accept it or try to ignore or repress it. The individual with the identity is usually called fictionkin as an adjective in this case; the character or entity they identify as is referred to as their kintype or sometimes fictotype. This terminology and was first coined and defined this way within existing otherkin and alterhuman communities in 2007, and had roots spanning from the earlier 2000's going back as far as the 80's and 90's.

Spiritual fictionkin are defined by having spiritual or metaphysical beliefs about the sense of identity they are experiencing. But there are also psychological fictionkin who are defined by believing their experiences aren't spiritual in nature but a product of their own psychology instead. It's not uncommon for psychological fictionkin to believe their kintypes are something their brain is doing to cope with the circumstances in their life. The difference between a psychological fictionkin experience and a copinglinker experience is simply whether it was voluntary or not.

If someone did not consciously choose their fiction-sourced identity as a coping strategy, and have the belief that what they're experiencing is due to spiritual or metaphysical reasons, then they would fall under the definition of spiritual/metaphysical fictionkin.

If someone did not consciously choose their fiction-sourced identity as a coping strategy, and have the belief that what they're experiencing is due to psychological or neurological reasons, then they would fall under the definition of psychological fictionkin.

If someone did consciously choose to take on their fiction-sourced identity as a coping strategy then then they would fall under the definition of a copinglinker.

Most importantly, all of these experiences are equally valid and respectable fiction-based identities! Just slightly different from eachother. The reason why they're considered distinct is mostly to preserve the definition of fictionkin and, by extension, otherkin as an involuntary experience; something which has historically been an important aspect of the definition of the term.

That's the community history I'm familiar with at least. Sorry if it's way more info than you really wanted, but I hope it helps anyway. And if anyone notices I'm mistaken about any of this please feel free to correct me!

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[canis-constellate]

sometimes we/Oakley gets confused on whether a kin or therian identity of Oakley's applies to the collective as a whole or if it's just Oakley, simply because Oakley is usually somewhere in or near enough to front

however, because i (Twitch) have done the most work in trying to separate myself as a mask from Oakley, i've gotten practice in being able to define "me" vs "not me", which has helped us realize that "our" recent fox therian identity is so like. unstable in terms of look is because like. while yeah, we are a fox on the whole, Oakley has its own fox therian identity separate from the collective fox identity. we're fairly sure the collective therian identity is red fox, and maybe otherlink with silver fox and platinum fox (both regular and gold varieties) while Oakley specifically is a champagne fox

anyways i think it's very fun that i (big strawberry tiger therian) am dating Oakley (tiny domestic ("domestic") champagne fox therian)