⋆☆ 🌈 kin information 🌈 ☆⋆

there's a new trend going around called "kinning"

if you're here for kin information - kinformation, if you would be so inclined - you've come to the right place! as more and more people discover what kin is, both positive and negative, i've decided it was best to compile all the information i know into a handy carrd as someone who's identified as kin for far longer than you might expect; for the record, all information in this carrd is based off research, and is not my opinion - it's just fact!this carrd is perfect if you:
a) don't fully understand kinning!
b) hate kinning! who the heck are these "kinnies" (derogatory)
c) believe kinning is identifying with a character, or relating to them!
d) just generally want to know more handy information and terms associated with kin culture!

⋆☆ ⭐ what is kinning? ⭐ ☆⋆

more and more people are discovering what kin is! as such, sometimes information becomes muddled as it's passed from person to person, whether because they've been given incorrect information themself or because someone along the lines misinterpreted it themself - due to this, many people have the wrong idea of what kinning is, which is less than ideal. it's important to know what is and is not kinning in order to spread less misinformation, and that's just what i'm going to do!for sake of ease, i'm going to refer to all kins as "characters", as the majority of misinformation is related to fictionkin - that said, this applies to all types of kinning, including therian and otherwise!in very simple terms, kinning is identifying as a character - you believe you either are or were that character. kinning is not identifying with a character or heavily relating to a character - that has a different term, called a synpath! this is the biggest misconception regarding kinning; many people relate to a character and think "oh! kin!", when they don't actually identify as the character, only with! i'll cover this more in the next tab, though!"wait, how can you identify as a fictional character?!?! the media they're from just came out 40 seconds ago!!!!" i hear you scream. well, this part is entirely up to your interpretation, as nobody truly knows how the universe and spacetime work! some believe their kins are alternate timelines or worlds, some believe they're simply past lives (past being relative to their current life), and even still there are all sorts of different interpretations of kinning! for me personally, i feel as if media is a door to another world entirely, and even that world is made up of millions of different timelines - and, in one of those myriad of timelines, one of those was absolutely me!the biggest thing that many seem to not understand is you don't kin for fun, or as a bandwagon. you can't choose to kin - while you can choose to express it, you don't just wake up one day and decide "i'm gonna be a sylveon now", you either are or you're not, y'know? this isn't to say being kin needs to be taken hyper-seriously and whatever, and if you don't agree and you're angry, don't take this as me trying to gatekeep! it's just about making sure you aren't just doing it as a bandwagon - understanding the meaning behind the words you say and the things you identify as is incredibly important! and, most importantly - those with synpaths and other non-kin relationships to characters are more than welcome in kin spaces! not kinning doesn't mean you aren't welcome, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.people who're kin can have memories, and there's really no right way to experience these - they can be strong spontaneous feelings of things you feel happened, they can come from dreams, fanart, really anywhere! don't be afraid to believe in your memories. it's okay to just call them headcanons for ease of just talking about them with people who may not understand, especially if you don't feel like explaining - it doesn't invalidate them!

⋆☆ 💖 how do i know if i'm kin? 💖☆⋆

so, now that you've learnt what kinning means, how exactly do you know whether you're kinning something or just synpathing it?the easiest way to know if you're kin is to ask yourself this question:
do i identify AS or WITH this character / creature?★ if you identify as them, feel like you are or were them in some way - a past life, another world, etc, because that interpretation is built entirely on your own beliefs - you're probably kinning!
★ if you just relate to them, but don't feel like you are/were them, it's probably a synpath!for example, if i were to ask myself if i identify as or with sylveon .. i'd say as! i definitely believe i was a sylveon in the far off reaches of spacetime, so i kin!there's nothing wrong with realising something isn't or wasn't a kin, or that you aren't/weren't kin in general - everybody has characters they want their friends to relate to them, and nobody truly chooses the characters they're attracted to whether kin or not. it's also not bad to end up "un-kinning" characters because you've realised you actually don't kin them - this happens sometimes, not even right away, it can happen months or years after the fact! and there's nothing wrong with it. also, having a lot of kintypes isn't bad! i'm mostly saying that for myself because i know how self conscious i get about the number of kintypes i have but honestly, it's fine. i've experienced so many things over so many lives and that's just okay!the way you kin, the memories/feelings you might have for your kin or your canon, whether you have canonmates or not - none of that matters as long as, to you, this is you in some far off way. whether you kinfirm quickly or take forever, that's all up to you! if you're after advice, i'd advise waiting until you've finished the game, show, or whatever piece of media the character is from to kinfirm, and sometimes even a bit after if you're unsure - you could just be having a cameoshift, and i personally know how it feels to immediately think you're kin and then feel all awkward about it when you remove the kin after a while when the cameoshift wears off >___<

⋆☆ 🎶 kin definitions / terms! 🎶 ☆⋆

★ KIN / KINTYPE ★
a creature/character/etc that you identify AS. this could mean a variety of things depending on the person; it could be a spiritual thing relating to past lives, it could be something like "in another timeline/world, i was/am this character", etc etc. you don't choose your kintypes, and it is NOT simply "relating to a character" or just liking them a lot - that's a synpath! this is a common misconception and has become increasingly more prevalent in the kin community so it's worth noting★ SYNPATH ★
a creature/character/etc that you identify WITH, or relate to. fictionhearted is another less common word for this. literally everybody in the world has these, they're just not called anything by people outside the kin community or people unfamiliar with the concept generally! if you don't identify AS the character, you're synpathing them, not kinning - you're still fully welcome in kin spaces, of course!★ THERIAN ★
someone who identifies as an animal or otherwise non-human being - generally, it's an animal that does/has existed on earth but some people include fictional animals, i'd say that's pretty much up to you; i personally consider real animals and mythical creatures as therian, such as dragons and pegasi and such, but not things like pokemon, but ultimately it doesn't matter all that much★ FICTIONKIN ★
someone who identifies as a fictional character or creature (such as pokemon). these can be from an anime, book, movie, pretty much anything fictional!★ COPINGLINK ★
a subset of fictionkin, copinglinks are characters you identify as o with as a coping mechanism due to trauma/illness/disability, etc. i say as OR with because this can be either a kintype or a synpath! many of my kins are also copinglinks, and i synpath many characters that are copinglinks for me as well!★ FICTIONFLICKER ★
a temporary change in perception to that of a fictional character that is not a kintype. this normally happens after consuming media and can feel a lot like kin feels, but often turn out not actually being kin feels - this is why it's always best to wait to kinfirm until the initial "flicker" wears off. it's like "puppy love" but with kins★ SHIFTS / KIN SHIFTS ★
shifts, to put it simply, involve sort of strongly vibing with one or more of your kins. this can involve acting more like your kin, seeing yourself more as the character/creature, things like that. usually when i'm in shifts i consume a lot of fan content of the media they come from and post/draw content for them! on occasion, shifts can come with dreams, which may or may not be interpreted as memories - it depends, as most things do★ CAMEOSHIFTS ★
usually related to fictionflickering, cameoshifts describe "shifts" to a non-kintype. let's say you just binge watched some anime and found yourself attached to the protag! you might feel the equivalent to a kin shift into that character because you're flickering - a temporary, strong imprint on a character or world. cameoshifts can happen either when fictionflickering OR with synpaths or copinglinks!★ DOUBLES ★
two or more people with the same kintype. some people don't like seeing other people with the same kin as them - this is valid! it could be for a lot of reasons, and it isn't your place to ask what the problem is. it's completely okay to be uncomfortable with doubles. but, of course, please don't hurt others over it - don't be passive aggressive. i feel like as a community we've gotten a lot better at being supportive of others, but please understand the effect your words might have on other people. ;w;★ COMFORT CHARACTER ★
i feel like this is self explanatory, it's a character that brings you comfort; this isn't necessarily kin related, but is used in kin spaces, which is why it's here★ FICTIONAL OTHER ★
a less-used term, this can refer to two different things: firstly, it can refer to characters that your kins were in some sort of relationship with, generally romantic in nature; this is obviously dependent on your own feelings, memories, and canon, so make of it what you will! secondly, it can refer to fictional characters that you as a person love in some sort of romantic way.★ FACTKIN ★
someone who kins with a real life person who actually does or has existed. this is looked down upon GREATLY because.. it's gross. don't do this. it's bad. very bad. don't do it and don't support anybody who does.★ FICTIVES ★
while not kins, the word is used often in kin spaces so while I'm not really a good resource to explain what it is and what it entails (i've never experienced it and i don't want to talk over those who have, but was asked to include it).. fictives are alters in a multiple system that are fictional species or characters. people with DID can have alters that, instead of being just your average human beings, they're actual characters related to a fictional source, generally brought on by trauma. these are fictives. fictives grow and change like any other real person, and because of this, fictives can be completely different from the "canon" character and many are even uncomfortable with being associated with that canon character (e.g. people assuming that because they're a certain character, they have the exact personality of that character). as stated before, fictives aren't kintypes themselves, but fictives can have kintypes.
*that's probably a word salad for a lot of you, so it might be a good idea to look into people who have fictives and reading about their personal *experiences!

⋆☆ 🌈 extra stuff! 🌈 ☆⋆

if you read all that.. well, congrats! i hope you either learned something or at least got a healthy amount of laughter over it - it's certainly not my place to tell you what to believe! that said, keep in mind that everything contained herein isn't my opinion (except where i've clearly stated otherwise, of course) nor is it my own interpretation, it's just here to spread the correct definition of kinning and help others understand as well!please don't dm me asking for validation - it isn't my place to judge anyone (nor do i have the spoons for it) and i'm not about to tell you whether you're valid or not! if you think you're valid, you are, and that's what matters! ★