Kin Terms Glossary - Help Needed!

[Flyboy Fox]

Mystiq made a great suggestion for a Kin Terms Glossary to be pinned on the forum, and the admins have approved the idea. So, this thread is for compiling some terms! Since it's important to get input from a wide selection of people and their experiences, it would be great if you guys all pitch in with your personal understanding of what certain words mean. Even if someone else already defined it, go ahead and describe it in your own words. Once enough people have answered, one of the admins will consolidate the info and compile a list of terms and their meanings as a pinned post on the forum for newcomers and oldbies alike to browse.

Here's some to get you started. You don't have to do all of them - just the ones you feel comfortable/knowledgeable enough about to define. Also, please feel free to add any other terms not listed here!

Fictionkin
Fictive
Kin-type
Otherkin
Singlet
Multiple
Plural
Median
System
Headmate
Headspace
Walk-in
Host
Front
Co-front
Soulbond
Therian/theriotype
Tulpa
Shift
Canon/Source
AU (alternate universe)

Okay, have at it! Add other terms if you think of any!

 

[Espeon]

Otherkin - A belief that one is non-human in part or whole.
Fictionkin - A branch of of Otherkin that involves a kin-type having to do with modern fiction.  (Note: Some fictionkin have human identities.  This does not prevent them from fitting the label.)
Kin-type - An Otherkin's identity (i.e. dragonkin would have a kin-type of dragon)
Therian(thrope) - A branch of Otherkin that involves a kin-type of an earthly animal (including extinct ones)

 

[Zuko]

I hope this helps somewhat. If I made any mistakes, please correct me, so that I can learn too.

Singlet: The term used to describe one single being in one single body.
"I am the only person in this body, which makes me a singlet."

Multiple/Plural: A term to describe more than one being inhabiting one body.
"We are plural - there is three of us within this body."

System: More than one being in the same body, working or being referred to as a whole.
"I enjoy talking to that system, they are all very nice."

Headmate: One of the members of a multiple system (usually not the original.)

Fictive: A member of a plural system who's form and/or identity is that of something from modern fiction. Usually applies to those who are not the original or main being of that system.

Headspace: Where headmates go when they are not interacting with the real world.

Host: The original or main member of a multiple system.

Tulpa: A being who is consciously imagined and created within headspace.

Front: A term used to dictate that somebody in a system is currently controlling the body and interacting within the real world.

Co-front: See 'Front,' but with one or more other headmates providing input, overseeing, or otherwise also present.

Median: A 'kin with multiple kintypes.

Shift: Among medians, used to dictate which kintype is strongest. Can also be used as a verb.

Canon/Source: The fictional story that a fictive/fictionkin identity is derived from.

AU (alternate universe): Explains differences in the canon vs.  one being's individual experiences.

 

[Espeon]

Actually, I think a median is a system that pertains of facets of the original, rather than completely separate entities.

 

[Zuko]

Actually, I think a median is a system that pertains of facets of the original, rather than completely separate entities.

My definition wasn't clear on that, but I agree wholeheartedly with you.

 

[Espeon]

Like, I'm not a median, but I have multiple kintypes, which is why I said that.

 

[Old Owner]

Espeon is correct.

A median (originally called "mid-continuum"), is a type of plural system where the members are facets of the person in question, as opposed to completely separate individuals. A median system once wrote an essay comparing (at one point) being a median to the heads of a hydra.

I would also like to point out that multiples, medians, and singlets are all distinct types on a spectrum. It may be best if we didn't put:

Multiple/Plural

Instead, I would put:

Multiple
Plural

This way, people won't confuse these terms for being interchangeable. Plural is an umbrella term, and can include "multiple", "median", and anyone else who is "more than one".

This is an image from Astrea's web, denoting the differences between "Singlet", "Median", and "Multiple" in a fairly easy way to understand:

 

[S.H.]

I would disagree that all median systems are "facets" of one person. This implies that there is always someone who is "the top layer"/the host, which is not always the case. Sometimes there are multiple hosts who are connected in a median relationship but neither is more "original" than the other, or a median relationship can also exist between two (or more) members of a larger multiple system whom are not part of the host/original at all. Instead I would opt for a more broad explanation of median/mid-continuum as being a setup where the members overlap or influence one another more than in a multiple system, and may blend together frequently. (Any median systems are free to correct me!)

Medians are definitely not defined as kin with multiple kintypes.

I'll take this opportunity to link my terrible diagram I did a while back when explaining the difference in a thread on this forum. The Astrea's web diagram is very useful but I figure I might as well.

 

[Flyboy Fox]

Hmm... very interesting! Thanks everyone who's contributed and/or joined in with discussions so far ^^ Please keep them coming!

So, my understanding so far of the whole plural/multiple/median thing is this:

Plural: Any experience that is not strictly singlet (where 'singlet' = one body, one 'person' inside the body - multiple kin-types may still apply).
Multiple: A system of two or more identities that are distinct from one another (i.e. one body, more than one 'person' inside, with little to no overlap between them).
Median: Any experience that falls between the two ends of the singlet-to-multiple experience. Identities may be partially distinct, or lapse in and out of being distinct, but have some degree of overlap and/or symbiotic relationship to one another.

Also, my understanding is that a system can consist of both median and multiple identities (i.e. some are distinct/stand-alone, others are more closely entwined).

Please correct me if I'm wrong! I don't have any median experience at all, so I'm trying to get my head around it.

(I separated multiple/plural on the list, too, btw.)

 

[jabberwocky]

Fictionkin--One who identifies on a non-physical level, usually spiritually or psychologically, as a fictional character/member of a fictional race.
Fictive--A headmate who is an introject of a fictional character.
Factive--A headmate who is an introject of a "real life" person/being.
Kin-type--What you identify as, as an otherkin or fictionkin.
Fictotype-- A more recent term, similar to kintype, used specifically to denote what fictional character/race a fictionkin identifies as.
Otherkin-- One who identifies, on a non-physical level, usually spiritually or psychologically, as a member of a nonhuman species.
Animal/Other-hearted-- One who identifies strongly WITH a given animal/nonhuman species/fictional character, but not AS.
Singlet-- One person living in a body.
Multiple-- Many, distinct and separate beings living in one body
Plural-- More than one being living in a body, with varying degrees of separation between singlet and multiple, depending on the system.
Median-- One being with facets of themself sharing a body.
System-- A term for a collective of beings in one body.
Headmate-- Someone who shares a body with another.
Headspace-- A mental inner world.
Front-- To have control of the body in a plural system.
Co-front-- To share control of a body with one or more headmates in a plural system.
Therian-- One who identifies, on a non-physical level, usually spiritually or psychologically, as a member of an animal species from Earth, living or extinct.
Shift-- A change in behaviors or mentality aligning one with their therio/kin/fictotype.
Canon/Source-- A fictional work/series of works from which a fictionkin's fictotype is derived from.
AU (alternate universe)-- A world that deviates in some way from a canon one in a work of fiction.

 

[S.H.]

@Tails: Yes, that sounds much better.

Canon/Source-- A fictional work/series of works from which a fictionkin's fictotype is derived from.

Or which matches (though not necessarily wholly) a Fictive's memories of their life before arriving in the system.