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Furfunding week in review: 6-29-13
Anthropomorphic strangeness from 1870 with The Taxidermy Wonders of Walter Potter.
First a quick callout to two familiar faces. Anthro: Animating the Soul is back for another round, after its last successful campaign for travel expenses. The film’s about a range of animated and “real life” anthro characters, and the people who love them. One of their stretch goals is to get to Anthrocon, which seems…well, pretty relevant. Also, for backers of the Pelted Primacy poker deck, DJKyota has returned for another chance at the brass ring–with cleaner artwork, beautiful pip cards, exciting high-pledge goals…good luck DJ!
This week, taxidermy. I know real fur is a contentious issue, but this one’s a look at a manifestation of anthropomorphic art from nearly 150 years in the dusty past. Victorian whimsy is almost as good as the whimsy we breed now.
And then a bunch of other stuff.
A disclaimer. Then, a bit of history.
The “animal rights” movement began in the Victorian era, hand in hand with the idea of pets, that an animal could be beloved. So the sheer number of…kittens…involved in this project may be a little disturbing, but at the time, we had a different relationship to animals. And we have the artist’s assurance that no animals were killed for his work.
The artist Walter Potter was a self-taught taxidermist who lived in England, 1835-1918. His career road the wave of Victorian whimsy. The people that brought us living tableaus, self-as-mummy portraiture, fairy art, Alice in Wonderland, and the fad diet, flocked to see his collection, “Mr. Potter’s Museum of Curiosities.” Potter made tableaus and dioramas like “The Kitten’s Wedding,” “Guinea Pig’s Cricket Match, ” squirrels at school, frog farmers, mouse laborers…as many as 10,000 specimens, many of them dressed in frills, jewelry, even bloomers. Check out some of them at Ink, Blood, and Magic, where I stole the illustration above.
Obviously, Walter Potter isn’t into crowdfunding. But Ronni Thomas, creator of the microdocumentary series of the dark, exotic, and flat-out weird The Midnight Archive, clearly is. He’s using Walter Potter’s story and art to launch into longer-length productions with his Kickstarter, and it’s a fascinating way to begin. Unfortunately, Potter’s work has scattered across the world, so there’s some travel expenses to cover. But this film, and a book released this September by one of Midnight Archive’s other principals, collects Potter’s corpus together one last time. Ronni Thomas’s productions have won their share of awards, and he’s certainly got a grasp on the morbid and darkly amusing. And the music! The score’s going to be by Real Tuesday Weld, a group with a quirky 20′s aesthetic that’ll work well with the subject. Furries: you should probably check out their animated music video, “Me & Mr. Wolf.”
All in all, a fascinating project with a great pedigree–and it’s already made its very modest goal!
(I usually try to keep the “just for fun!” stuff down to like five items, to avoid bogging the blog down with interesting-but-irrelevant stuff. This week, fun overload apparently.)
ArtPin-Up Babe with an Attitude (Ends: 7/2/2013)
Fun semi-anthro, lion-headed cheesecake. Hard to explain, click and take a look.
Masters of the Tooniverse podcast (Ends: 7/1/2013)
“Two highly animated nerds seek funding to aid in their quest to create the universe’s best cartoon podcast.” Help two nerds build their recording studio for a weekly cartoon–vintage and modern–review.
The Moscow Metro Dogs (Ends: 6/30/2013)
An exploration (book and blog) of the complex society of the semi-feral dogs of Moscow who have–really!–learned to commute and adapt to the city.
World of Afar: An Illustrated Story Collection (Ends: 7/10/2013)
Mysterious little aardvark-like creatures in a magical, illustrated world.
Is it furry? Eh, maybe a little, but the illustrations are as pretty as stained glass, so stretch with me here.
The Howl of the Dead (Ends: 7/12/2013)
The outlines are your basic zombie apocalypse novel–asteroid strikes earth, things turn cannibal. But this one’s zombie dogs, which is worth bonus points. And, great title.
“The Incredible Hare” (Ends: 7/20/2013)
Illustrated book/ebook project: Harold Hopper, Man to Rabbit to Reality TV Show celebrity. A gentle parody of fame, and a kid-friendly book about fame and the media.
The Dragon Princess (Ends: 8/2/2013)
A princess cursed to be a half-dragon, half-human creature looks for love to lift her curse.
Foxy and Quilly (Ends: 7/3/2013)
Educational animation project: the animals of the Empyrean Forest seek shelter as their forest home is invaded by big machines. Cute stuff.
Fans of South Park will know why naming your lead character “Foxy the Fox” is a bad idea.
Robot and Fox: The Amazing Journey (Ends: 7/10/2013)
Boy robot meets girl robot. They fall in love. Boy robot crashes ship on Earth, meets fox. That pretty much covers this book project. Really cute fox!
The fox’s cuteness is making me just a little ill.
The Great Safari Adventure Show (Ends: 7/13/2013)
A costumed, musical Las Vegas family production, with lots of chances for kids to get up and move. Plot: Child lost in Africa, finds magic talisman that transforms the local animals into exercise-obsessed mentors.
This would have been benefited by MORE exposure to the fandom, working through some anthro issues. Heart’s in the right place though!
The Tales of Shakespuss (Ends: 8/3/2013)
Stripped-down, lightened up, and retold versions of Shakespeare for kids, live action, theatre, and animated.
Halo Mini Illuminated Pet Collars (Ends: 7/26/2013)
LED-illuminated pet collars with deep color and flash mode.
I know, these are for dogs. But they’d match one of my costumes!
A Tiger’s Last Song (Episode 1) (Ends: 7/10/2013)
A graphic novel of the final days of the thylacine/Tasmanian wolf, in the talking animal-survival story genre.
The Digger Omnibus (Ends: 7/10/2013)
A dark fantasy graphic novel. Digger the wombat inadvertently digs her way into an underground world of hyenas, gods, and strange powers. A kickstarter for a bound edition of the original six-graphic novel series.
Great stretch goals and bonus items on this well-organized kickstarter!
Antarctic Press: Keeping it Cold in the Antarctic (Ends: 7/15/2013)
An ask from Antarctic Press to help restore their financial balance after some mass-distribution experiments and other financial challenges.
Before there was the Internet fandom there was Antarctic Press, makers of Albedo Anthropormorphics, Furrlough, Shanda the Panda…See also Radio Comix, who took on the furry mantle.
Kings of the Wasteland (Ends: 7/17/2013)
Action, revenge, and anthro dogs and cats in an apocalyptic wasteland
“Not Enough Rings” – A Sonic the Hedgehog Parody Comic (Ends: 7/19/2013)
A side-project of the Bittersweet Candy Bowl folks, a little romp through the wackier side of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Of course, you can already read the webcomic online, but lots of people have already made the book a success!
World War Kaiju graphic novel (Ends: 8/12/2013)
What if the ultimate weapon that ended World War II didn’t usher in the atomic age, but the Kaiju (giant city-crushing monster) age? Excellent video, great retro propaganda visuals, and bizarre immersive stretch goal toys.
“Furry” is a stretch, but there’s a lot to like here for fans of giant, Tokyo-crushing armadillos.
CANterlot, Ontario MLP Con (Ends: 8/9/2013)
Funding campaign for Ontario’s MLP convention in November
SOLO Cannibal World (Ends: 7/13/2013)
One rat’s war in a post-apocalyptic word. This isn’t Redwall. Check the artist’s blog (it’s in Italian) for more art and world.
This must be the buffest rodent ever. Now I have to learn Italian.
Three Dog Night: Animated Film (Ends: 7/15/2013)
A group of revolutionaries–Wolf, Coyote, and Fox–set out to liberate the chained cats and dogs and start a pet revolution.
Batweasel: The Audacious Animated Web Series (Ends: 7/16/2013)
A loveable nerd falls victim to reality TV and becomes a terrible ass. Until he’s rescued by an evil genetically-mutated batweasel. You know, like you do.
The Taxidermy Wonders of Walter Potter (Ends: 7/17/2013)
A documentary about the man who single-handedly made Victorian anthropomorphic taxidermy a thing.
Razor: The Hipocrisy Eating Hyena (Ends: 7/19/2013)
Comedy/horror/action about a one hyena’s crusade against lies and double-speak. Live action, animation, comedy, and a bit of splatter. And hyenas.
Watch the video on this one :)
The Walking Tedd (Ends: 7/25/2013)
A young 20-something juggles her life, job, romance, and the sudden appearance of a zombie version of her favorite stuffed animal.
Finally, one zombie project reaches out from underneath the pile of hundreds…
“I Was Loved by a Rat” (Ends: 7/29/2013)
A twisted off-broadway fairy tale of a lonely woman, a chivalrous rat shut behind walls all his life, and their ill-fated love.
This theater group has launched some amazing dark comedies, I’m curious to learn more about this one, not a lot of information though…
Fursona Non Grata (Ends: 7/30/2013)
A play written for the fandom by the creator of American Dragon: Jake Long. What happens when a young woman brings her fiancée home to meet her all-furry family?
“This will be awesome if you can make it to California” seems to be a running joke in the fandom.
Solrac Ventures (Ends: 7/30/2013)
Animated short series for the bronies. Ponies: you can make it happen.
The art on this one’s pretty high quality. Pony fans should definitely take a look!
Anthro: Animating the Soul (Ends: 8/27/2013)
A documentary look at beloved anthro characters and their creators.
Stitchfan has broken this project up into a series of small-goal IGGs, interesting model and I hope to see it succeed!
Tonaba: The Book of Secrets Strategic Card Game (Ends: 7/7/2013)
A richly-illustrated card game focused on small decks, agency over luck, and a theme of narrative, authors, and writing.
This is a well-planned Kickstarter, with a hefty goal. Good luck!
The Royal Dogs Playing Cards (Ends: 7/12/2013)
All pugs, all the time. Or at least all your card game. Whimsical, horrible little pugs in a Bicycle card deck.
Pelted Primacy (Ends: 8/12/2013)
A Bicycle style card deck with anthro court cards and paw-print pips.
More of the artist’s work on DeviantArt.
Little Moon God Plush (Ends: 7/24/2013)
“A soft huggable little moon god to call your very own!” A tiny little Miyazaki-esque plush.
Goatlings: Virtual Goat Petsite (Ends: 7/7/2013)
It’s sort of “My Little Pony” meets “Neopets,” but with cute candy-sparkle goats and their human (or anthro) friends.
It’s sort of the “sparkledog” concept, but with goats. Diabetics probably shouldn’t play this game.
ElPetz (Ends: 7/10/2013)
Your basic Farmville/monster-breeder/combat mobile & tablet game, but with a weirdly cute set of monsters, particularly if you like your wolves perfectly spherical.
I’m not feeling a lot of originality here. But you get to hit your wolf with a hairbrush, so that’s something.
Fleish & Cherry in Crazy Hotel (Ends: 7/11/2013)
An isomorphic period adventure game and puzzler set in a 1930s wacky black and white cartoon. Lots of anthro characters and dancing furniture!
It’s a neat role-reversal to have the damsel save her boyfriend, but unfortunately for fox-lovers, you have to play the human :( Maybe there’ll be a fan-mod someday.
BEEF (Ends: 7/14/2013)
Now YOU play a sentient, walking mutant cow! Try to escape Meatjoy the Butcher and his abattoir of doom in this first-person survival horror/humor game.
…weirdly atmospheric.
Pooka Pets (Ends: 7/14/2013)
A cute sandbox/exploration interactive pet game featuring shape-shifting fairies. Very MLP.
Okay, maybe too many “pets” games this week. But bondage wolves and the African wild dog skin sold me on this.
Questria: Princess Destiny (Ends: 8/18/2013)
A life simulation game with very familiar characters, human versions of the “mane six” from My Little Pony.
Dustbunny Pictures Comics (Ends: 7/17/2013)
A collection of five web comics, including Popiki’s Island, gearing up for an expansion and relaunch.
The Cyantian Chronicles (Ends: 8/11/2013)
A funding campaign for an online furry web comic.
I’ll take this entry down shortly, as this is an ongoing every other month fundraiser…
Naughty Dog Toys (Ends: 7/20/2013)
“new and exciting bedroom toys,” limited information on the IGG itself but you can check out their “Kaiju” model on FA, and more info in their FAQ/Blog.
Kaiju sex toy. Awesome.
Neko Adventures: Real Cat Girl Porn (Ends: 7/29/2013)
DVD/web release of cat girls, free from their imprisonment on DeviantArt and sexing it up IRL. Not just for manga anymore.
Pocket Pussies: The Legend of Seven Purity Seals (Ends: 8/9/2013)
Zelda/Pokemon hybrid exploration/battling seizure monsters game, loaded with cheesecake pokemon, cat girls, and assorted anime-esque hotness.
Rat Realm: A Virtual Rat Sim (Ends: 7/16/2013): A virtual rat pet sim in development. I want to love this project but there is NO information available on it :(
“Meet the Mascots!” Animation (Ends: 8/18/2013): Relaunch of the “Mascots” project, teen angst with anthro sports mascots. No change to business plan, which already failed once…
Blue Wolf Sanctuary and Village (Ends: 7/6/2013): A sustainable community of simple houses with bed and breakfast, workshop space, etc, and a sanctuary for both wolves and humans.
Preservation of Dingo Records (Ends: 7/7/2013): Campaign to preserve archives of Berenice Walters, “The Dingo Lady,” a body of over 30 years of dingo research and preservation.
Save the African Wild Dog (Ends: 7/11/2013): Working to preserve the Wild Dog–veterinary costs, snare removal, tracking collars, research materials
Eeveelution Charms! (Ends: 7/15/2013): For the pokemon fans: A series of eevees in phone charms and tags by Peekingboo.
Cats Throughout History (Ends: 7/24/2013): Cats dressed as historical figures: The Calendar. For the social studies teacher/crazy cat lady in your life.
Undertale (Ends: 7/24/2013): A completely charming old-school RPG with a few cute anthro characters and a few good jokes. With art by Tuyoki.
Hammy’s Quest for the Golden Nuts (Ends: 7/25/2013): Green screen, falsetto hamsters, and a gangster bunny come together in this weirdly appealing trainwreck of a short film.
Heroes of Video Game Music album/dvd (Ends: 7/28/2013): New tracks, reworked classics, from across the history of video game music, from 20 masters.
Charcade: Burning Man 2013 (Ends: 7/28/2013): I wasn’t going to mention this totally-on-fire arcade in the desert, but…”Beat Beat Immolation,” guys.
Otakuware: T-Shirts for People who Love Snark (Ends: 7/29/2013): Anime and related fandom T-shirts. Add to your mildly ironic tee collection :)
Life-Size Godzilla (Ends: 8/15/2013): Godzilla as a washed-up actor living on a friend’s couch, a short comedy.
The Doctor Who Museum Edinburgh (Ends: 8/21/2013): I really can’t add to this. I guess that it makes sense that it’s in Britain :(
Furries for space! Sketch donation stream for ARKYD Kickstarter at 8 AM MDT! $10/character streamed live!
'Fursuits' and Power Rangers and singing and dancing! What more could you ask for?? ;P
Furaffinity Android App. Does Anyone use it?
FC-131 ArfCast - We totally didn't mess up the intro this time. Anyway, this week we discu--- HOLY CRAP ANTHROCON IS IN THREE DAYS. :D
We totally didn’t mess up the intro this time. Anyway, this week we discu— HOLY CRAP ANTHROCON IS IN THREE DAYS. ????
News:Thoughts on measuring the “furry economy” by Patch Packrat
First look: Furry play ‘Fursona Non Grata’ is the real deal by GreenReaper
Duck gets 3-D-printed replacement for foul foot
Emails:- Sylanna Maxwell – “Understanding of yourself?”
- Demyx The Cax – “HELP?! My mom thinks I am into bondage”
- Anonymous – “How does one sex!?”
- Anonymous – “In the words of wise baboon Rafiki, “It is time…””
- Mangetsu No Ketsueki – “HEYA!”
- Nightwolfaka – “Mostly a little help”
FC-131 ArfCast
We totally didn’t mess up the intro this time. Anyway, this week we discu— HOLY CRAP ANTHROCON IS IN THREE DAYS. 
Thoughts on measuring the “furry economy” by Patch Packrat
First look: Furry play ‘Fursona Non Grata’ is the real deal by GreenReaper
Duck gets 3-D-printed replacement for foul foot
Emails:- Sylanna Maxwell – “Understanding of yourself?”
- Demyx The Cax – “HELP?! My mom thinks I am into bondage”
- Anonymous – “How does one sex!?”
- Anonymous – “In the words of wise baboon Rafiki, “It is time…””
- Mangetsu No Ketsueki – “HEYA!”
- Nightwolfaka – “Mostly a little help”
FC-131 ArfCast - We totally didn't mess up the intro this time. Anyway, this week we discu--- HOLY CRAP ANTHROCON IS IN THREE DAYS. :D
We totally didn’t mess up the intro this time. Anyway, this week we discu— HOLY CRAP ANTHROCON IS IN THREE DAYS. ????
News:Thoughts on measuring the “furry economy” by Patch Packrat
First look: Furry play ‘Fursona Non Grata’ is the real deal by GreenReaper
Duck gets 3-D-printed replacement for foul foot
Emails:- Sylanna Maxwell – “Understanding of yourself?”
- Demyx The Cax – “HELP?! My mom thinks I am into bondage”
- Anonymous – “How does one sex!?”
- Anonymous – “In the words of wise baboon Rafiki, “It is time…””
- Mangetsu No Ketsueki – “HEYA!”
- Nightwolfaka – “Mostly a little help”
FC-131 ArfCast - We totally didn't mess up the intro this time. Anyway, this week we discu--- HOLY CRAP ANTHROCON IS IN THREE DAYS. :D
We totally didn’t mess up the intro this time. Anyway, this week we discu— HOLY CRAP ANTHROCON IS IN THREE DAYS. :D
News:Thoughts on measuring the “furry economy” by Patch Packrat
First look: Furry play ‘Fursona Non Grata’ is the real deal by GreenReaper
Duck gets 3-D-printed replacement for foul foot
Emails:- Sylanna Maxwell – “Understanding of yourself?”
- Demyx The Cax – “HELP?! My mom thinks I am into bondage”
- Anonymous – “How does one sex!?”
- Anonymous – “In the words of wise baboon Rafiki, “It is time…””
- Mangetsu No Ketsueki – “HEYA!”
- Nightwolfaka – “Mostly a little help”
Upcoming furry comics for July 2013 (Previews and Marvel Previews)
Rocket Raccoon Remembered
With the recent success of Marvel Comics’ Guardians of the Galaxy title (and much anticipation for the upcoming film version), lots of folks are suddenly becoming interested in the character of Rocket Raccoon — in fact, he’s considered to be the breakout star of the series, along with his friend Groot the tree-man. Well now, Marvel is finally revisiting the origins of Rocket Raccoon with a new full-color trade paperback due this August, Rocket Raccoon: Tales from Half-World. As written by Bill Mantlo and illustrated by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola (with a new cover by Steve McNiven), this collection brings together issues 1 – 4 of the original Rocket Raccoon series, highlighting his adventures (with his walrus pal and his otter girlfriend) as the guardian of the Keystone Quadrant. At one point, Bucky O’Hare even makes a guest appearance! Marvel has more on their web site. Also, the rocket-booted procyonid plays a big part in the new Nova: Origins Premiere Hardcover — also in full color, and also coming in August. Rocket Raccoon and Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy teach young Sam Alexander the art of being a super-powered guardian of space and time! Check it out at Forbidden Planet.
image c. 2013 Marvel Comics
I want to make my first tail. What type of tail would you recommend to a person with no crafting skills?
I want to make a fox tail that can easily clip onto a belt loop but i have never made one before. What type of tail would you recommend? And what types of materials would I need? Thank you.
submitted by Furry_Walrus_Anus[link] [9 comments]
Husband Doesn't Support Her Furry Art
I have a question regarding my husband. I have been active in the furry fandom since I was a teenager. In truth I sought it out because the idea of creating characters and seeing them come to life interested me. I've always loved animals and so when I found anthros something just clicked. I like to draw them and create new species or cross breeds all the time. I have a strange love for the art aspect behind it.
However, my husband is unsupportive. Every time he finds me drawing one he loudly exclaims "Eew gross." Or sighs deeply and leaves the room. I've tried talking about it to him, because this is just part of who I am. I have a tattoo of a wolf girl on my ribs. It's not like I ever tried hiding this aspect from him. However, whenever I bring up the subject and ask for just a little artistic support it turns into an argument. Usually this leaves me feeling hurt. I can't get any kind of feedback from him that isn't negative.
How do I approach the subject in a manner that let's him know that all I want is a little positive reinforcement for my art? I already feel like I'm not good enough as it is. I question whether or not I should even be going to art school for this. I just need a little push that says I can do it. That says I have potential. I don't want someone to lie to me, but I want someone to be there when I need the feedback. Someone to tell me... “I think you should shorten the arms on that one or I think the eyes should be a little bigger or even the shading isn't quite right it should be darker here.” I have tried everything thus far. I have tried asking him not to look at the content and to just look at the art, but he still seems to get agitated. Part of me knows it's because of an experience that he witnessed with another furry.
I feel like he judges me based on her extreme case. She did some not very moral things and I feel like he associates all furries with that kind of thing simply because he met a bad egg. I know he knows I'm not a bad egg, otherwise he wouldn't have married me. It's just sometimes I find he can be difficult and I feel a little hopeless.
Can you help?
Luci
* * *
Hi, Luci,
My first reaction is to say shame on your husband. A central part of being a good spouse is to be supportive of the one you supposedly love. You have shown him that your art is not about anything immoral; you have talked to him (so, it’s not like this is a communication problem on your part), and I’m sure he realizes by now you are hurting because of his lack of support. I’m sure, too, that you have shown him that there is a lot of furry art out there that is decent and G-rated.
Because I do not know your husband or his background, it is hard to say what is happening here, but I can suggest some possibilities:
1) He thinks he’s being funny, when he actually isn’t. Does he ever make inappropriate comments about things other than furry art? His insensitivity could be a character flaw on his part.
2) How would you describe your relationship in other ways besides the argument about your art? Is he generally unsupportive? Does he dismiss other things you do in life? Is he one of those people who thinks he is right about everything? Could just be that your husband is an ass, plain and simple.
3) He might just be stupid, and, even after you have explained repeatedly what your art is about, he doesn’t get it and draws conclusions based on the one bad experience you said he witnessed. Might sound harsh on my part, but it’s another possibility. Sadly, you can’t fix stupid.
4) It could be that he is actually attracted to furry porn, and this makes him extremely uncomfortable and so he lashes out at it, even in it’s more benign forms, in order to distance himself from what he feels is a socially unacceptable attraction. You see this phenomenon in other situations in life, such as cases of politicians or coaches or the clergy saying they hate gay people or pedophiles, only to later be discovered with their hand under the bathroom stall or “teaching a child proper hygiene in the shower.”
Being a furry and a furry artist is part of who you are, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. If your husband rejects something in you that is at the very core of your being, then I would suggest you seek some marriage counseling from a professional. It makes Papabear wonder why he married you if he is so offended by what you do, and also why you agreed to marry him when you knew you were a furry and that he didn’t like furry art, unless that came after the marriage?
The two of you have a serious couples problem that will take much more advice than Papabear can offer in an online column.
You should not have to give up who you are for the sake of your marriage, and you will not be comfortable in your marriage until your husband accepts you for you.
Please do some research on marriage counselors in your area and try to meet with them with your husband in tow. Here’s a link that can help you get started: http://www.goodtherapy.org/marriage-counseling.html.
In the meantime, if your husband is falling down on the job you can seek out the support of your furry community. There are a lot of art sites out there where people talk about their art and offer some feedback, like http://furry4life.org/group/artisticfurs and https://www.facebook.com/groups/2210952911.
Good luck!
Papabear
The Importance of Role-Play – Part 1
Sexual maturation is a process that, I would argue, lasts easily ten years, if not more. Sure, the body may be just about done with the surge of hormones after a few short years, and you probably stop growing (and start shrinking) at around eighteen to twenty years old, but the process of maturation is far more than physical. Even if it were to take an additional year to digest each year of puberty\’s changes, a generous estimate, that still only gets you to about twenty. In my case, I would say that it took another five years to fully grow into myself as a sexual person; that is, as someone who was not only capable of having sex, but someone who was capable of sexual interaction, in all the ways that implies, with others around me.
Honestly, I matured as a sexual being primarily online, and it was through text and within the context of furry that I experienced many of my most formative sexual experiences. Role-play, TinySex, cybering, type-fucking, co-authoring erotica – whatever you want to call it, the sharing of sexual acts and ideas across distances and through text does play quite a role within the furry fandom. And, for better or for worse, I think I\’m hardly alone in the style of my coming-of-age.
I rather like the term \”coauthoring erotica\”, myself. It really does come down to a process of playing out a fictional sex scene, except that rather than being between two characters with only the agency of one author behind them, each character has their own player with that player\’s own agency driving their actions. However, given the personal nature of many people\’s characters, it\’s really more autobiographical than this makes it sound. It comes down to a sort of subjunctive autobiography: a way of describing what we would do in such a situation.
Role-play of this sort is a stellar example of the interaction between fantasy and real life, as one\’s actions in a primarily fantastical space can be tied to the way one feels and acts outside of that space. One notable example surrounds orgasm in sexual role-play, and the idea that if one is planning on orgasm in real life as well as online, they ought to happen at around the same time, thus \”lining up\” the sensation for both the player and the description of what\’s happening with the character. I\’ll be careful to note that this usually is discussed in the negative: due to the refractory period, many find it difficult to so actively consider sex as to continue, thus an awkward idle-out or perhaps excuses leading to ending the session early being seen as an indicator of getting off too soon.
This also plays into the interaction that is going on between the two players, who may strive to reach climax at the same time, consciously or not. This is aluxury of the medium, of course. The shared moment of climax is seen as an ideal. It isn\’t always as common in physical sexual encounters as it is online, but more on that later.
So how exactly does all of this work? There are obviously countless different styles of RP, and there is hardly one common anatomy to a session. However, there are several common tropes that show up in sexual scenes.
- The Romantic: of course, sex and romantic love are often entangled, and this is hardly challenged by the fact that the sexual act happens to be taking place in a (semi-)fictional setting on the Internet. This is of notable importance for couples separated by long distances. It\’s one way to experience the shared pleasure of sex even when the physical aspect of that is not possible.
- Not everything is so tied to two individuals in a romantic relationship, however. The Mysterious Stranger is a trope surrounding one-off encounters between people who don\’t necessarily know each other, similar to a one-night stand, but often with rather less flirting or drinking than might be involved in one of those offline. The common factor here is that the two individuals may not know much about each other than their interests, and the thus the flirting phase may be abbreviated (or even absent).
- Between these two extremes lies the Just Between Friends trope, which involves a relationship between two or more people who, while they may not necessarily be in a romantic relationship, still participate in sexual role-play with each other. Sex is often part of friendships, but when the sex is light on consequences and heavy on a sense of fun, it\’s particularly easy to work into many more relationships than one might ordinarily, but again, more on that later.
- The Sex Scene is just what it says on the tin. With role-play that lasts longer than a single session, such as those that involve last over the period of weeks involving several characters and participated in by several players, a sex scene can happen and still fit within the overall arc of the plot being enacted. This can be as vaguely defined as a sort of guild or school that generally does things together (again on Tapestries, the St. Mary\’s School for Wayward Furs is a good example) or as tightly controlled as playing out a plot defined in advance.
Again, these are hardly universal, though they may show up often enough to be seen as common tropes. There are many different variations, including even well-defined events centering around sexual RP such as Kitseve, a fertility festival held on the Tapestries MUCK once a year.
There are a few other commonalities that I\’ve noticed in a lot of sexual role-play that are worth mentioning. For one, most every scene leads to climax, often for both (or all) parties, which is often less-common offline than it is online. This may be due in part to the sharper distinction between what is sexual and what isn\’t in a text-base role-playing situation than in person. Additionally, penetration of some sort seems to be more common online, as well, perhaps due to the relative ease of typing about the process as compared to the physical process itself, and perhaps due to it being \”more interesting\” compared to other forms of sexual interaction.
TinySex, sexual role-playing, has played a formative role for me in my own sexual maturation, leaving behind a sort of coming-of-age story of my own sexual maturation (a Bildongsroman, if you will) in the form of logs and memories. I don\’t think I\’m alone, either, in finding sexual satisfaction in the form of writing about it with at least one other person. For many furries, even for many who just grew up with the Internet as their companion as furries are hardly alone in this act, sexuality burgeons easily online for many reasons.
One of these is transgression. It\’s interesting to note the ways in which we act that align with what we think of as popular culture, and the ways in which we transgress against that. Kink is, in a lot of ways, one of the bigger and more structured ways to do so. It goes beyond just performing sexual acts online, which is perhaps transgressive in its own way (though less so now than it used to be – the decline in use of the word \’cyber\’ is something of an indicator here). With role-play, consequences are greatly reduced from similar acts taking place offline, and so it acts as a facilitator in a way, allowing greater and wider exploration into interests and kinks that one might not have the chance to do otherwise. Further still, there are things one can do in TS that are simply out of the realm of possibility in real life, relying heavily on the framework that furry provides to guide these plot lines. From something as common-place as canine knots to acts such as vore, furry helps give these both context (canines have knots, predators eat prey), and structure (we are canines, we are predators or prey).
Another important reason is the concept of consent. I believe that defining consent on a situational basis is one of the biggest parts of leading a sex-positive life. With role-play, though, consent relies heavily on participation. Power dynamics are softened by the fact that not consenting does not necessarily put one in danger; not consenting can simply mean not participating. This isn\’t to say that there are no power dynamics, that there aren\’t any abusive relationships due to this reliance on participation as consent. Rather that there is an easy way out of a situation one doesn\’t want to be in: logging off. One avenue that this helps open up is a safe way of exploring consent and agency through fetishization of the same. Both can be played with safely as part of the plot of the scene.
Of course, it\’s also still personal interaction on a level that is deeply important for many. There\’s a lot to be said for shared experience, and thus a lot to be said for the comfort in shared fantasy. Writing a story and expressing one\’s fantasy in words does cover quite a bit of ground, but it lacks that interaction, and this co-authorship helps to provide that. The solo act of writing doesn\’t always satisfy that need.
I know I\’ve been waxing rhapsodic about just how neat and awesome typesex is, and I really do enjoy it (or did, at least, it\’s been a few years since I\’ve been really into it), but I can\’t posit an idea as something worth studying and only look at the good sides. It\’s not that there\’s some sort of huge, sinister aspect to RP, of course, but it\’s worth considering that the being able to work with fantasy in such a way is a means to having ideal sexual encounters.
The fact of the matter is that sexuality in real life rarely, if ever, includes such scripted perfection. We can\’t pause and decide what would be the ideal – hottest, most well written, best for furthering the plot – next step offline nearly so easily as we can online. There\’s a lot to be gained from realism in terms of getting off, what hurts, and all that goes into a sexual encounter. There is certainly a place for sex within a relationship, and it\’s worth the potential pain of real live physical contact to understand one\’s partner. The unrealistic understanding of consent in TS is strange, of course. It doesn\’t apply one hundred percent outside of that context. Still, it\’s hardly a bad thing to play around online. An outlet is an outlet, and we all need those.
Role-play is most certainly not a furry-only thing, of course. Intentional role-play has been a part of life for most of human existence, I\’m sure, and sexuality is a logical extension of that. Even online, it\’s very much not restricted to furries alone: after all, the word cybersex wouldn\’t have been this big, scary thing for my parents to warn me about back in the late nineties without there being some type-fucking going on at the time. However, we already have the benefit of interacting through our intentionally constructed avatars in the context of furry. Adding sexuality in as an aspect only serves to further that for a great many people.
So, all you online gamers out there
I have been playing League of Legends for... A good 2 years now, and all my other friends have stopped, are there any furs out there wanting some tips, hints, or just someone to redularly play with?
Also, im looking for other games to play, so, if you guys have any other games i could play with some friends, or with yall, that would be fantastic. So... Yeah ;
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