So I’m a little confused. I have characters and animals/creatures who are not Soulbonds or Kin but who do mean a great deal to me. However their backgrounds/lives have little to no similarity to my own. Does this still make me Fiction-/Otherhearted and they my Synpaths, or is this just Feels and [whatever the acceptable term is for a white person’s spiritual animal guide, if there is one]?

You don’t have to have the same traits as someone/something to be other/fictionhearted with them. I’m not sure whether they’d count as synpaths or not, since that does generally imply identifying with? So if you identify with them, then yes. ^^

I’ve also heard the term “comfort character” from the non-alterhuman community for an emotional connection to/relationship with a character that just makes you feel good.