What is kinning?

A Simple Explanation

About

The base form of kinning is called Otherkin. When it comes down to it, someone who is Otherkin believes in the concept of souls and past lives and the idea that they have a connection to one or more of those past lives.

One of the more recent and popular forms of Otherkin is called Fictionkin. People who are fictionkin believe that in one or more of their past lives, they were a fictional character.

Overall, kinning is a spiritual thing. It is not roleplay or coping or just feeling very strongly about a character or something like that, which is a very common misconception. It is a firm belief that in a past life you WERE that thing, whether it's a fictional character, an animal, ghost, robot, elf, whatever.

People who are kin generally have memories of their past lives and sometimes even occasionally feel effects like phantom limbs. It is different for everyone.

Kinshift
There is another aspect of kinning called "kinshifts". Basically, when people kin more than one thing, it is common for them to feel closer to one thing than another at certain points. When this happens, this is called a kinshift.

So there you have it. Those is the basics of what kinning is. It's not ALL there is and it's only a very simple explanation of it, so if you feel the need for more information or clarification, feel free to ask!