Ok so I donāt know much about the whole otherkin thing but Iād like to learn. Problem is I canāt seem to get any answers on some things because it looks like some experiences are different across the board. Which is fine! I just want to learn more.
So for starters, whatās the difference between -kin, -heart/hearted, -link, and -lith?
I hope Iām not crossing boundaries or upsetting anyone, I just want to understand and learn more
Hey! Never feel bad for asking questions.
The basic definitions/explanations of those things:
Otherkin/fictionkin: identifying nonphysically as something other than human/a fictional species or character (respectively), partially or wholly. That can be a spiritual thing, a psychological thing, or something else entirely. Basically, if you consider yourself to beĀ something nonhuman/fictional, you fall intoĀ ākin. Some people will say it has to be an involuntary thing, but the line betweenĀ āvoluntary identityā andĀ āinvoluntary identityā is not as smooth as weād like and personally I really donāt care anymore. The thing you identify as is your kintypeĀ (or your fictotype,Ā in the case of fictionkin).
Otherlinker/copinglinker: someone who intentionally chooses to form an identity as something other than human or a fictional species/character, often but not necessarily as an intentional coping mechanism.Ā Hence the above note aboutĀ ākin often being considered exclusively involuntary. Despite the name,Ā ācopinglinkerā is not specific to coping mechanisms (thereās a history behind why itās named that, which we wonāt go into here). The thing you identify as is your linktype.
Otherhearted: someone who strongly identifies with,Ā but typically not as,Ā a species/character/etc.Ā This can manifest as feeling like [x] is family to you, feeling like youĀ āshould beā but arenāt [x], feeling a strong connection to [x], etc. - basically, a connection strong enough to be relevant to how you view/describe yourself, but without theĀ āI actually amĀ this thingā thatās a part ofĀ ākin. (...Unless you happen to have the same thing as both a kintype and a hearttype, but letās not go there.) The thing you identify with is your hearttype.
Lith:Ā a person who takes large interest in, and/or relates to a object, animal, character, deity, etc. Liths tend to take a creative approach with this bond they have and make art, names, pronouns/genders, and more regarding this interest. It's not super serious, you can do it for coping or for fun. (Direct from the coining post.) This is one of several terms coined partially in order to provide an alternative to people whoĀ ākin for fun,ā ie usingĀ ākin/kinningā to mean relating to, projecting onto, really really liking, etc. something without actually identifying as it (which is a whole Thing of drama that I wonāt get into here; if you want to read about it, I have a whole tag full of posts about the discourse on the subjectĀ - tl;dr, ākinning for funā came out of people misunderstanding what ākinā was supposed to mean and is now a rampant misinformation/misuse-of-terms problem). Synonyms/near-synonyms include click/clicking, cir/cirrie,Ā and constel/stel.

















