hello! i was wondering what the difference is between being a therian and being kin with an animal (like being a fox therian vs being foxkin)
Hello, wolfkin here. They are the same thing pretty much. Only difference I view is they're more embedded into who you are.
Therian means you experience traits that are not normal human traits, or one of much higher level than is normal. It can come with all sorts of 'shifts', or altered states—the common ones being phantom (feeling phantom limbs like ears/tail/wings) and mental (anywhere from small instincts to a totally different mental state).
For therians, these things do NOT go away even if you do not get any exposure to animal-related things—I. E. if you try to live a completely usual human life, they still affect you. And, even more important, you do not have to LIKE these things—you could get shifts aligned with an animal you dislike or felt little outside connection to.
Kin, on the other hand, is self explanatory: it means you feel kinship with something. Kinship, in simplest terms, is belonging—you feel as if something is "your people" or "your kind." You could experience this alongside therianthropy for the same thing, but most of the times it's simple kinship without therianthropy backing it. Kinship can create sensations similar to being therian, but without exposure to said focus of the kinship, it won't be there.
(2024-01-02 17:03)Werewulfra Wrote: [ -> ]Therian means you experience traits that are not normal human traits, or one of much higher level than is normal. It can come with all sorts of 'shifts', or altered states—the common ones being phantom (feeling phantom limbs like ears/tail/wings) and mental (anywhere from small instincts to a totally different mental state).
For therians, these things do NOT go away even if you do not get any exposure to animal-related things—I. E. if you try to live a completely usual human life, they still affect you. And, even more important, you do not have to LIKE these things—you could get shifts aligned with an animal you dislike or felt little outside connection to.
Kin, on the other hand, is self explanatory: it means you feel kinship with something. Kinship, in simplest terms, is belonging—you feel as if something is "your people" or "your kind." You could experience this alongside therianthropy for the same thing, but most of the times it's simple kinship without therianthropy backing it. Kinship can create sensations similar to being therian, but without exposure to said focus of the kinship, it won't be there.
that makes a lot of sense, thank you so much !!!
(2024-01-02 16:43)B3W1tch3dSparr0w Wrote: [ -> ]Hello, wolfkin here. They are the same thing pretty much. Only difference I view is they're more embedded into who you are.
do you mean the animal is more embedded in therians or kins?
ending with "kin" also comes from otherkin(d) and is often used interchangeably with "type" as it rolls off the tongue easier, i.e. "I'm a foxkin" as opposed to "I'm a foxtype" or "My theriotype is fox." As a noun/verb by itself refer to what Wulfra said.
(2024-01-02 20:16)Siris Wrote: [ -> ]ending with "kin" also comes from otherkin(d) and is often used interchangeably with "type" as it rolls off the tongue easier, i.e. "I'm a foxkin" as opposed to "I'm a foxtype" or "My theriotype is fox."
I've always thought this was all it was.
LP,
Dusty
(2024-01-02 17:27)foxmarrow Wrote: [ -> ] (2024-01-02 17:03)Werewulfra Wrote: [ -> ]Therian means you experience traits that are not normal human traits, or one of much higher level than is normal. It can come with all sorts of 'shifts', or altered states—the common ones being phantom (feeling phantom limbs like ears/tail/wings) and mental (anywhere from small instincts to a totally different mental state).
For therians, these things do NOT go away even if you do not get any exposure to animal-related things—I. E. if you try to live a completely usual human life, they still affect you. And, even more important, you do not have to LIKE these things—you could get shifts aligned with an animal you dislike or felt little outside connection to.
Kin, on the other hand, is self explanatory: it means you feel kinship with something. Kinship, in simplest terms, is belonging—you feel as if something is "your people" or "your kind." You could experience this alongside therianthropy for the same thing, but most of the times it's simple kinship without therianthropy backing it. Kinship can create sensations similar to being therian, but without exposure to said focus of the kinship, it won't be there.
that makes a lot of sense, thank you so much !!!
(2024-01-02 16:43)B3W1tch3dSparr0w Wrote: [ -> ]Hello, wolfkin here. They are the same thing pretty much. Only difference I view is they're more embedded into who you are.
do you mean the animal is more embedded in therians or kins?
Therians. I feel more comfortable with my wolf identity and it's mixed in with who I am. This includes actions, thoughts, desires, and way of living.
(2024-01-02 17:03)Werewulfra Wrote: [ -> ]Therian means you experience traits that are not normal human traits, or one of much higher level than is normal. It can come with all sorts of 'shifts', or altered states—the common ones being phantom (feeling phantom limbs like ears/tail/wings) and mental (anywhere from small instincts to a totally different mental state).
For therians, these things do NOT go away even if you do not get any exposure to animal-related things—I. E. if you try to live a completely usual human life, they still affect you. And, even more important, you do not have to LIKE these things—you could get shifts aligned with an animal you dislike or felt little outside connection to.
Kin, on the other hand, is self explanatory: it means you feel kinship with something. Kinship, in simplest terms, is belonging—you feel as if something is "your people" or "your kind." You could experience this alongside therianthropy for the same thing, but most of the times it's simple kinship without therianthropy backing it. Kinship can create sensations similar to being therian, but without exposure to said focus of the kinship, it won't be there.
I've never heard of this specific dichotomy before. I'm curious; is this your personal view on the relationship between therianthropy and otherkinity, or is this a more widely held opinion that I just haven't come across before now?
(2024-01-02 22:02)DustWolf Wrote: [ -> ] (2024-01-02 20:16)Siris Wrote: [ -> ]ending with "kin" also comes from otherkin(d) and is often used interchangeably with "type" as it rolls off the tongue easier, i.e. "I'm a foxkin" as opposed to "I'm a foxtype" or "My theriotype is fox."
I've always thought this was all it was.
LP,
Dusty
so is it just a difference in preference of terminology? sorry, im a bit confused 
(2024-01-03 1:49)foxmarrow Wrote: [ -> ] (2024-01-02 22:02)DustWolf Wrote: [ -> ] (2024-01-02 20:16)Siris Wrote: [ -> ]ending with "kin" also comes from otherkin(d) and is often used interchangeably with "type" as it rolls off the tongue easier, i.e. "I'm a foxkin" as opposed to "I'm a foxtype" or "My theriotype is fox."
I've always thought this was all it was.
LP,
Dusty
so is it just a difference in preference of terminology? sorry, im a bit confused
Yeah, it's basically a preference in terminology. There are also those who think otherkin are non-Earthly animals (whereas I think mythological animals can fall under therianthropy as theriomythics) and that therians are Earthly animals.
Just depends on what you prefer to call yourself.