Seraphyna Wrote:I think a lot of people who identify as wolf therians also identify with an anthropomorphic version of the animal. I don't know if I'd consider werewolfkin to be a separate animal so to speak. I'd probably just consider them to be therians who identify with an anthropomorphic version of the wolf.
Identifying
with something is not the same thing as identifying
as that same something. Yes, many wolf therians identify with werewolves, that seems only natural as werewolves are the perfect combination of wolf and human, but then I would also think feline therians identify with werecats the same way. Or bear therians with werebears, etc. etc. ad nauseum. That does not mean that someone who is a tiger therian is also a weretiger, the two are different creatures. Now that doesn't mean there cannot be overlap, I myself am one of those who identifies as a wolf therian and as a werewolf too.
But in general, I think wolf therians are more likely to identify as simply wolves, not as werewolves. They are obviously similar, but they are not the same thing. And being a furry or liking anthro art doesn't automatically mean someone is going to identify as a werewolf either.
Chimera Wrote:But that brings to mind the question, would they be werewolfkin if their identify as only an anthropomorphic wolf?
In my opinion, they'd be werewolves or werewolfkin, not wolf therians. It comes down to how you view your core self. If you see yourself as an anthro/bipedal/shapeshifter/etc. then you're a werecreature. If you tend to see yourself more as a four-legged animal, then you're the four-legged animal. See the difference? I tend to view myself as both, so I use both wolf therian and werewolf. However, they are not interchangeable.
Seraphyna Wrote:If you ask me they're the same thing *shrug*. The exception being identifying with werewolves of myth and legend that would regularly shift back and forth from anthropomorphic wolf or giant wolf to humanoid.
But coming from someone who identifies as both, they are not actually the same. True, they can be in some cases, but not usually. A wolf is a four-legged, proven to exist earth animal. A werewolf is an anthropomorphic hybrid of a human and a wolf that can change shape. Big differences in even those small comparisons if you ask me!
Think of it this way, are sanguine vampires the same as psychic vampires? No. The commonality is that they're vampires, but they get their vampiric needs met differently. Same thing here: wolf relates the two, but is then broken down into wolf therians
and werewolves. Again, overlap can occur (me!), but not even usually.