Ah okay, thank you for clearing the terminology up a bit. So the distros are what have different names and have unique contributions from different people, the kernel is just the common 'core' they expand off? I think I got it.

I hear a lot of people mention Arch to the point it's a meme but I'll take your advice and steer clear. Ubuntu is the one I'm probably most familiar with on a name basis to the point I thought it and 'Linux' meant the same thing. I might start with Ubuntu only for the sake of documentation and once I get a familiar idea of how to do basic commands and troubleshooting, I'll give your Fedora a shot.

The only thing that's kept me from the switch is compatibility concerns. Lots and lots of people harp on about that and until Steam Deck I wasn't even sure I'd be able to game with it. I'm ready to break my Microsoft chains though.