child of the wolf

𓆝 They/Them 𓆞 nonhuman

[barley-beak]

I feel like folks need to talk more about types fading. We grow up, we change, and we figure out our identity more. That doesn’t mean that what we experienced wasn’t real. That type helped us understand ourselves more and we simply no longer connect with it and that’s okay.

I recently lost my connection to Cloudjumper and no longer feel that I am him. I still love him dearly and what he represented to me as I was discovering my fiction identity will always be important.

I think with all of the younger alterhumans joining online spaces, there is a heavy want to know exactly who you are right at the start. That’s not how identity works. It takes lots of time and you’re gonna make mistakes. The internet has made it really easy for others to shame individuals who haven’t fully figured out their types or change their types. You are growing and changing so your types will change to.

Something might fit right now, but one day you may find out about a creature that represents you more so that connection to the old type fades. That doesn’t make the new type or the old type and more or less valid then the other.

Take your time. There is no rush to finding out who you are.

[hrairaawulf]

I hate the whole “if you think youre something but then later identify as something else then that means you were never that thing in the first place!!” like.. no, that’s not how identity works. Ppl change

[clawessout272]

With each day passing, I start to care less on whether I'm a spiritual, psychological, or whatever, therian. I used to be kind of passionate about it, but it has gotten tiring. I don't care for "what kind" if therian I am anymore.

"On what level do you identify as an animal?" "do you identify fully or partially?" "Are you a psychological or spiritual therian?" I don't know and I don't care. All of this is too confusing for me, so I'm throwing it out the window. I'm making my own kind of therian. From now on, I am identifying as a "Koda therian". I'm a therianthrope that goes by the alias Koda that expreciences therianthropy on a Koda level. I experience Koda shifts where I feel more like Koda, or going by the alias Koda. Koda therians don't identify partially or fully, but as a secret third thing.

Okay, that Koda therian part was a joke but hopefully you guys get where I'm coming from. I feel like I am just a therian or my own kind of therian. Not a psychological therian, not a spiritual therian, just a therian. I identify as an animal, that's it. I like calling myself a therianthrope, animal person, wolf person, wolfkin, wolf, or just an animal. I am an animal in my own way.

[stellar-foxheart]

Reminder that if you chose to be alterhuman, you're just as valid as those of us who didn't chose it <3

[patchface-noroi]

Friendly reminder that otherkin is an identity as ANY nonhuman creature, not just mythical creatures!

[burntassgeekbar]

acting like an animal for the sake of connecting with alterhumanity is nice and all but acting like an animal for the sake of being an animalistic human is wildly underrated

sure I'm going to act like a dog, because i am one. thats part of it. but more importantly im going to growl when im upset, for the hell of it. ill practice quads, because theyre fun. ill eat with my hands, because its more effective. i dont need a reason, screw off.

[baumarius]

Zoesthesia & Therianthropy

There is currently no word for "the experiences that give rise to therianthropy." The therian community has a million different terms for pieces of it - mental shifts, phantom shifts, sensory shifts, etc. I propose a new term. Hear me out:

Zoesthesia ("zo-esthesia", from the Greek "zōion" [life/animal] and "aisthesis" [perception]): "The subjective inner non-human animal experiences that give rise to therianthropy." Therianthropy is an identity. Zoesthesia is the root of that identity, and can include all forms of shifts therians have previously described. Zoesthesia can be experienced from a young age and can occur before one's identity forms, before one knows the words for what they're experiencing. It is the "happening" behind the curtain - instinct. Consider:

It's neutral, even if it sounds like it implies a neurological bias.

It doesn't replace "therianthropy" as a term.

It sounds similar to synesthesia - the crossing of the senses in the brain, which is not seen as a disorder.

It's a spectrum, just like synesthesia - everyone's experiences are different.

Using "zoesthete" instead of "therian" is possible, though it does not imply any sort of identity, nor does it imply that one interprets these experiences as belonging to any specific non-human animal. This is primarily to describe "therianthropy underneath the hood."

It is not exclusive. We could use it to account for spiritual experiences as well - past life memories, "auras," the whole nine yards. If you think about it, all of those things also occur in your brain. Literally everything does. Your brain is hallucinating its own version of reality right now, and everything "spiritual" that you believe is just based on something your brain experienced. And everything that appears to be "external" is a recreation of it by your neurons.

What's The Point?

I suggest this because of the latest happenings globally within the therian community. A lot of young people in China, for example, think that "therian" is a fandom they can join. Younger folks globally should know that becoming more aware of the happenings in their consciousness is the point - not joining a fandom or getting likes on TikTok.

I believe that the way we do that is by turning the focus beyond identity, toward the inner experiences that lead to that identity. Time and time again, I've heard non-therians say "You can't identify as an animal, that's just not possible." There are significantly more convincing ways to talk about the experiences we have. Zoesthesia has my vote.

A more general, similarly neutral version of this that would apply to all alterhumans would be "allosthesia," from the Greek "allos" (other) and "aisthesis."

What are your thoughts?

I'd use it!

Nah.

Voting ended onMar 26

[ecotherian]

I unfortunately have come to the conclusion that no one will truly understand me in the way I want them to.

In the way I crave another wolf’s teeth on my nape, the intertwining of tails, brushing wingtips against one another’s, a gentle chuff as we bathe in the sunlight, paws outstretched, in the chase of a pack, butting shoulders together as we run.

I love the people in my life so dearly. But they will never understand me in the way I want them to. And honestly?

That aches. It tugs on my heart and my soul.

I’m not meant to be here in this way, and it shows.

[coastalclaws]

did a teensy tiny ritual on my pocket altar today.

does any other alter human have an altar honoring their identity?

[hrairaawulf]

I do now this is genius

[caveat-canine]

THERIAN TIPS [REALLY WORK!]

1. Clean up litter from your local parks, creeks, and roadsides

The earth is our home. Help out where you can to keep her clean and livable for critters now and forever. And as always LEAVE NO TRACE

[hrairaawulf]

Hot take that shouldn’t be a hot take: I don’t care if zoophilia is technically classified as a disorder, they still have no place in the therian community

[katkina]

therian community we desperately need to come together get the zoophiles OUT of the community

being a therian requires a respect and love for fellow animals and no one should EVER abuse an animal like that especially therians.

I've noticed more and more that people in this community are open zoos. this shit is HORRENDOUS

please please PLEASE learn the signs and symbols to avoid zoos in this community

[deepintheboundlessforest]

Fictionkin but I’m not a specific already existing character, I’m just fictional period

(bonus when im feeling a certain type of fictional, like movie fictional, book fictional, manwha fictional etc.)

[hrairaawulf]

This might be the realest post I’ve ever seen omg

[archivekin]

There’s no such thing as apolitical nonhuman identity. As long as people are dehumanised because of their race or ethnicity or immigration or housing status or disability. As long as that gets people killed, either directly or through inaction and negligence. As long as atrocities are justified because “they aren’t as human as us”.

You cannot “keep politics out” of declaring yourself not to be human when people must fight to have their humanity recognised.

[hrairaawulf]

Idk who needs to hear this but someone not liking you or your specific niche community doesn’t make them a bigot and yes therians this is directed at you

Identifying as an animal is weird, don’t lie to yourself we all know this, and it’s totally ok to be weird! It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you or that being a therian is bad, it just means that not everyone is going to like you and you just have to get over it.

Calling people bigots over every little thing waters down the meaning. Unless someone is genuinely bullying(key word bullying, not just expressing their personal opinion or choosing not to interact with you) you specifically for how you identify, they’re not a bigot. People are allowed to not like us, it’s fine.

[lime-jello-poltergeist]

anyone else feel like because felines are associated with femininity and 'cutesy/cringe' stuff and the idea of catgirls/catboys is so much more sexualized than doggirls/dogboys that felines in this community aren't taken as seriously or is that just a me thing

[sugarcoatedjinx]

You know how people say they have a "gaydar"? I have one too but I also can tell whenever someone is an otherkin/part of the alterhuman umbrella. I can sense it and it's the funniest thing ever. I immedietely get the vibe from hidden otherkins like I know what you are, I just can't prove it yet.. (-otherkin who's been "awakened" for almost a decade)

[hrairaawulf]

I swear my baby cousin is a cat in some way, probably cathearted. I can’t wait for me to be right when she grows up

[hrairaawulf]

THERIANTHROPY IS INVOLUNTARY.

IF YOU CHOOSE TO IDENTIFY AS AN ANIMAL YOU ARE AN OTHERLINK NOT A THERIAN.