Do I have a copinglink?

crittermonster:

1) What is a copinglink/purposelink/otherlink?

About a year and a half ago, what-is-paige on tumblr coined the term “copinglink”:

It was a term made to describe voluntary non-human identities. As people started discussing things, it seems matters of why links are made and what about them is voluntary are more complicated than they may first seem. People seem to create these identities for more than just coping, leading to the suggested terms purposelink and otherlink.

2) How do I know this isn’t a kintype?

You don’t choose to be otherkin. You can decide to embrace yourself or deny yourself, but you can’t decide whether or not that is part of you. There is a pattern emerging where linkers choose to have links but not what the link is, so that’s a bit of a fine line.

3) How do I know this isn’t a hearttype/synpath?

It can be both. Actually, some linkers do derive their links from their hearttypes. But you don’t choose to have a hearttype. It just happens. Also, a link is something you are. A hearttype is something you identify strongly with. Hearttypes can manifest as a feeling of being “adopted”, a yearning to be something you are not, or a myriad other ways.

4) What if I’m just making this up?

Then congrats, you have a link. That’s literally how this works. Without getting into technical details, otherlink opens up a new realm of discourse regarding the nature of the self. Self-indulgence is king. Desire is to be explored for its destination not its root. Etc.

5) Is this just a fancy fursona?

Yeah basically. There’s overlap. Not all people with fursonas identify as their fursonas, but some do, and those people could be called linkers if they chose to be. The vocabulary is contextual more than anything else.