Howdy! I hope itโs ok to ask, but could you tell me a bit about what โlinkโ means? /gen q
Hello! It's no worries, I'd love to answer your question, thusly I will :]
Do note that I will be mostly talking about my own personal experience with Linking. Everyone's definitions and experiences will vary, so don't be afraid to ask around!
Now then:
I've seen the term "Link" have quite a few definitions. When I was introduced to it, I saw it referred to as:
"A character you identify with for coping/fun purposes"
Which for some folks, comes off as KFF (Kin For Fun), although it's more complex than that- at least for me.
In my personal experience, I would define "Link" as:
"A character you identify with for generally any reason; A character you consider to be yourself, in some manner"
In my personal experience, I tend to fall in and out of Link stages. Many days, I am just my normal self: Cody.
However, on other days, I feel my sense of self shift. While I am still me- I have not blacked out, nor do I feel revolted by the idea of my Cody-self- I don't feel like Cody.
I find myself wanting to talk through a character. Usually, as I talk on Discord a lot, I make myself a Tupperbox Bot. I find an image that fits how I feel. I assign it the name I feel, and the pronouns I feel. Here are some of my bots as examples!
(The "[Link {โ}]" on my bots is for moderation purposes in servers, nothing more :])
(Quick image ID just in case, I'm bad at these but I hope I did it right)
[ID: Seven Discord screenshots, all featuring messages made using Tupperbox bots. Each bot as the word "Link" and a coffee cup emoji in brackets at the end of their name, denoting that they're bots intended for Link-Shifts. Each bot represents six characters- all Homestuck characters, one character being doubled-up - and each has their own name and pronouns.. The first bot reads "Dualscar / Delfin (Avoid, Namself, Sea-Related). The second bot reads "Jake English!! (Any, Get Funky!). The third bot reads "The Orphaner Dualscar (He/Fin)". The fourth bot reads "Mituna", however his name is spelt using a typing quirk- making the "i" in his name be a "1" instead, doubling up the 1-I, and the "a" at the end being replaced with a "4". In plaintext, his pronouns read "(Any but she/her tbh)". The fifth bot reads "Rufioh Nitram!!", however the "i"s are replaced with "1"s. His pronouns read "(HE/RUF)". The sixth bot reads "CALIBORN", with fancy symbols around the name, his pronouns reading "(ANY/ALL)". The seventh bot reads "twinArgmageddons"- a mispelling of "twinArmageddons"- with his pronouns reading "[HE/IT, ANY]". Each bot has their own message, some with typing quirks and others without. End ID.]
As is visible in my screenshots, sometimes I take up typing quirks- as they feel like the proper way for me to talk. Sometimes, I don't.
My links can happen for multiple reasons. Sometimes I link due to stress. Sometimes I link because I'm jealous. Other times, my brain simply decides that it's time to link.
Also as is visible in my screenshots, I tend to link male/masc characters- it's something due to me not wanting to be viewed in a feminine way online :]
Linking could be mistaken for roleplay, however it's more than that! You feel connected with the character- like you are them in some manner (at least in my experience).
Unlike Kinning (at least from my understanding of Kinning), you don't feel completely like the character- you don't feel like a reincarnated version of them, or like the entirety of you is them.
You still feel somewhat like yourself during a Link-Shift. Your concept of self just changes, in some manner (Again, at least in MY experience).
I guess as a TL;DR, a good explanation of "linking" is:
"Feeling an identity-related connection to a character for reasons that vary from linker to linker."
