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Xander & Alkali discuss Super Mario Bros. 2, Arkham Horror, various board games, football, and magicians! BTW, we love feedback! Send your comments and questions to draggetshow@gmail.com 005 - Xander Hates Arkham Horror - Xander & Alkali discuss Super Mario Bros. 2, Arkham Horror, various board games, football, and ma...

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7306172 also the back story by the commissioner: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3138309/

submitted by CoyoteCookie
[link] [10 comments]

As you all know, the 2012 [a][s] Census and Survey is currently under way.  We’ve got quite a few responses already, and there’s a lot of really neat stuff being said about the fandom.  However, responses are currently only visible to the survey admins and, if you maintained a copy of your code pair, your own survey is visible to yourself.  We did promises that the fandom would benefit from the results, and they will indeed show up in the form of visualizations, articles, and so on here in the near future, but in the mean time, I’d like to share some of the direct results in a few short posts just to give a flavor of how diverse we all are!

For this first post, here are some responses to the question “Describe your process of character creation.”

The species came to my head without even thinking about it. Also, I think that German Shepard are a very beautiful race, full of personality…
Attributes, however are still a work in progress as I can’t figure out what special features my character has.

– XThe_GManX

 

I have never really chosen a species, I just “feel” it. It’s like looking inside, and seeing another side of oneself. I see a wolf, most of the time. It’s just there, I don’t choose.

– anonymous

 

I identify with my species through spirituality. Animal totemology.

– Toast

 

The species I wanted to be one from my home country (the US). I chose a raccoon because I think chubby raccoons are cute, and I wanted him to be a self-representational fursona and am chubby myself. They’re also easy to accessorize because of their coloration, and since I wanted him to be a Pokemon trainer I didn’t want it to be difficult to design his trainer outfit…there are some bizarre clothes in the Pokemon world.

– anonymous

 

I don’t actually recall anymore where the character of ‘Shakal’ originally came from. I have always had a strong affinity with felines. During college he became a complex mixture of both self-identity and self-idealization. In essence while being one of my strongest symbols for what I consider to be ‘me’, he also is an idea of what I want to be, a goal to push myself toward.

– Shakal Draconis

 

There was not really a choice. I felt drawn to wolves ever since I was a joung teenager. They were mentioned in a book I’ve read and immedeatly I recognised myself in those animals. I startet to devour every book about them I could get my hands on. So it was clear I would be a wolf. The other attributes… well I tried to depict my charakter as myself, only more… wolfisch. So he has a lot in common with me. And some things I discovered during my shamanic practises, like the fur pattern.

– Lutan

 

Don’t have a fursona.

 

Apperently it is very important to the furry fandom to have fursona.

– anonymous

 

Well, I started off as a generic wolf in Furcadia, but as I grew to identify more with the sub culture, I became a dragon, merely becuase I had a thing for reptiles. In time the dragon felt a little generic for me, and a little too majestic or strong. I was a person with weaknesses and flaws that needed to be reflected upon. One day while digging through IMVU i found a jackal skin and it just struck a chord in me. I tend to be loud, and annoying at times, possessing sharp tongue and mind. Jackals are seen as scavangers, which I tend to mooch sometimes, but trully keen hunters and can defend themselves from larger predators using witts. Highly undrestimated and ovrlooked.

– Iridon

 

I always liked wolves

– CS Silver

Some additional notes:

• Sample size is 368 at the time of writing
• The following terms were mentioned (partial match):
  • Totem – 2 times
  • Spirit – 6 times
  • Connect – 9 times
  • Represent – 21 times
  • Identify – 26 times
  • Personality – 43 times
• Some initial reactions:
  • Many referred to their character matching themselves physically or mentally
  • Many refer to their character in the third person (“He is…”, “My character does…”)
  • Character creation seems to be a pretty casual process, but a fluid and ongoing one
  • Furries are pretty casual writers, but pretty good ones overall
  • While character creation may be a casual process (‘pick’, ‘choose/chose’, and so on are used frequently), it’s still a fairly personal one, and there’s usually a reason behind the choice of species

Additional Notes

JM recently wrote about the concept of “priming” in surveys and how difficult it is to avoid.  One reader brought up a point about the concept of spirituality and how that might affect affinity with species.  I agree with him that there is often a spiritual sort of connection, however ill-defined, with the animal one associates with a character.  However, that question was not asked, and so it seems that we have a bit of a priming issue here on our hands. Due to the way the question was worded and the questions surrounding it (which are visible both in the electronic and paper versions of the survey), replies along that vein may have been minimized.  The upside is that the survey portion of the census and survey will change every year, while the census remains fairly consistent, and so this is a question we can elaborate on more in the 2013 [a][s] Census and Survey!

As a reminder, you can always get in touch with us by leaving comments, contacting us on Twitter/FA/Google+, or shooting us an email: submit@adjectivespecies.com!

submitted by thereal_me
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submitted by Hicarbut
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Personally, if no one objected to it, fuck yes. Since i was a kid, i hated how i look and myself in general (bullying got me to that point etc.) so i always wanted to be something stronger and better than me.

I feel better about myself now, but i still think the answer would be yes. I'd choose a wolf, hell maybe an anthro dragon :D. What animal, fictional or otherwise would you choose?

That doesn't mean im uncomfortable in my own skin, it's just that being an anthropomorphic animal sounds so badass >:D

submitted by Enleat
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All of the important stuff is in the title, so I'll just ramble on about rambling in the text box.

submitted by emofrappuccino
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submitted by culmor30
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“It’s the literary equivalent of buried treasure!” That’s more than just publisher’s hyperbole. It might just be the best description of The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories, published last fall in hardcover by Random House. For the first time it collects together 7 original stories by Dr. Seuss that have not seen the light of day since they were first published in magazines from 1948 to 1959. From Amazon: “Seuss scholar/collector Charles D. Cohen has hunted down seven rarely seen stories by Dr. Seuss. Originally published in magazines between 1948 and 1959, they include ‘The Bear, the Rabbit, and the Zinniga-Zanniga’ (about a rabbit who is saved from a bear with a single eyelash!); ‘Gustav the Goldfish’ (an early, rhymed version of the Beginner Book ‘A Fish Out of Water’); ‘Tadd and Todd’ (a tale passed down via photocopy to generations of twins); ‘Steak for Supper’ (about fantastic creatures who follow a boy home in anticipation of a steak dinner); ‘The Bippolo Seed’ (in which a scheming feline leads an innocent duck to make a bad decision); ‘The Strange Shirt Spot’ (the inspiration for the bathtub-ring scene in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back); and ‘The Great Henry McBride’ (about a boy whose far-flung career fantasies are only bested by those of the real Dr. Seuss himself). In an introduction to the collection, Cohen traces the history of these stories, which demonstrate an intentional and significant change that led to the writing style we associate with Dr. Seuss today. Cohen also explores these stories’ themes that recur in better-known Seuss stories (like the importance of the imagination, or the perils of greed). With a color palette that has been enhanced beyond the limitations of the original magazines in which they appeared, this is a collection of stories that no Seuss fan (whether scholar or second-grader) will want to miss!” It’s also available as an audio book CD with stories being read by the likes of Neil Patrick Harris, Anjelica Houston, Jason Lee, Joan Cusack, and more.

image c. 2011 Random House

submitted by blueyoshi11
[link] [6 comments]

A nice fun relaxing episode filled wi- RRRAAAGGGEEE -th Shroud coming back, some nice emails, an awesome interv- RRRAAAGGGEEE -iew with awesome comic writers, and last but not lea- RRRAAAGGGEEE -st Mattox experiences some “RRRAAAGGGEEE.” Then afterward we… Wait, what just happened?

Download MP3

News:

• Blotch’s Skyrim fan-art sells for $5500 at FC 2012 by GreenReaper
• ‘Xanth’ arrested over bestiality video by Higgs Raccoon
• Furrystyle completes move to Europe after YiffyToys buyout by Suran
• FeralHeart servers down until Tuesday over ‘rape’ dances by banrai
• Mixed-venue survey delineates furries, therians, otherkin by GreenReaper

Interviewee:

• DreamKeepers Graphic Novelest
• Website: http://www.dreamkeeperscomic.com/
• Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SXkC4vyTao

Watch Video E-mails:

• Amy Midnight – “The Loss of a Friend”
• Lumi Kuma – “Semi-depressed bear”
• Mangetsu – “My First Email”
• Mandy Fox – “Fursona Problems”

FC-70 Bapa Pear - A nice fun relaxing episode filled wi- RRRAAAGGGEEE -th Shroud coming back, some nice emails, an awesome interv- RRRAAAGGGEEE -iew with awesome comic writers, and last but not lea- RRRAAAGGGEEE -st Mattox experiences some "RRRAAAGGGEEE.

A nice fun relaxing episode filled wi- RRRAAAGGGEEE -th Shroud coming back, some nice emails, an awesome interv- RRRAAAGGGEEE -iew with awesome comic writers, and last but not lea- RRRAAAGGGEEE -st Mattox experiences some “RRRAAAGGGEEE.” Then afterward we… Wait, what just happened?

Download MP3

News:

• Blotch’s Skyrim fan-art sells for $5500 at FC 2012 by GreenReaper
• ‘Xanth’ arrested over bestiality video by Higgs Raccoon
• Furrystyle completes move to Europe after YiffyToys buyout by Suran
• FeralHeart servers down until Tuesday over ‘rape’ dances by banrai
• Mixed-venue survey delineates furries, therians, otherkin by GreenReaper

Interviewee:

• DreamKeepers Graphic Novelest
• Website: http://www.dreamkeeperscomic.com/
• Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SXkC4vyTao

Watch Video E-mails:

• Amy Midnight – “The Loss of a Friend”
• Lumi Kuma – “Semi-depressed bear”
• Mangetsu – “My First Email”
• Mandy Fox – “Fursona Problems”

FC-70 Bapa Pear - A nice fun relaxing episode filled wi- RRRAAAGGGEEE -th Shroud coming back, some nice emails, an awesome interv- RRRAAAGGGEEE -iew with awesome comic writers, and last but not lea- RRRAAAGGGEEE -st Mattox experiences some "RRRAAAGGGEEE.

A nice fun relaxing episode filled wi- RRRAAAGGGEEE -th Shroud coming back, some nice emails, an awesome interv- RRRAAAGGGEEE -iew with awesome comic writers, and last but not lea- RRRAAAGGGEEE -st Mattox experiences some “RRRAAAGGGEEE.” Then afterward we… Wait, what just happened?

.postlink:link { color: #ff9900; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; } .postlink:visited { color: #BB5500; } .postlink:hover { color: #ffBB00; } .postlink:active { color: #ffffff; }

Download MP3 (Right-click, Save)

News:

• Blotch’s Skyrim fan-art sells for $5500 at FC 2012 by GreenReaper

• ‘Xanth’ arrested over bestiality video by Higgs Raccoon

• Furrystyle completes move to Europe after YiffyToys buyout by Suran

• FeralHeart servers down until Tuesday over ‘rape’ dances by banrai

• Mixed-venue survey delineates furries, therians, otherkin by GreenReaper

 

Interviewee:

• DreamKeepers Graphic Novelest
• Website: http://www.dreamkeeperscomic.com/
• Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SXkC4vyTao

 

E-mails:

• Amy Midnight – “The Loss of a Friend”
• Lumi Kuma – “Semi-depressed bear”
• Mangetsu – “My First Email”
• Mandy Fox – “Fursona Problems”

FC-70 Bapa Pear - A nice fun relaxing episode filled wi- RRRAAAGGGEEE -th Shroud coming back, some nice emails, an awesome interv- RRRAAAGGGEEE -iew with awesome comic writers, and last but not lea- RRRAAAGGGEEE -st Mattox experiences some "RRRAAAGGGEEE.

submitted by r3drocket
[link] [8 comments]

submitted by baracudaboy
[link] [11 comments]

Dear Papabear,

I would like advice on the best way you think is to tell my family I’m a furry.

I’m not worried they’ll shun me or look down on me; I’m more worried they’ll tell me to stop. I have been a furry for six years and can’t think of my life without the fandom, for me I can’t flip a switch and be a non-furry, plus the fandom has almost been like a second family to me. It gave me a furry shoulder to cry on when sad and gave me a fuzzy perked up ear to listen when I needed to say something. I realize some people are probably tired of hearing about the whole “coming out” speech but i enjoy the fandom enough to see that it’s not just a hobby, it’s a part of my life.

Thanks for listening and i eagerly await a reply.

–Breakr

 

Dear Breakr:

This is a great question and one Papabear has come across a lot. As with coming out to a family when you are gay (although you do not mention whether you are gay or straight), it is a delicate situation that you can easily mess up if you take the wrong approach.

A lot depends on what kind of people your parents and other family members are.  Are they open-minded or judgmental?  Have they been supportive of you all your life, or have they treated you poorly?  You don’t really go into details on this, but you DO say that you don’t think they will shun you or look down on you, which is a good sign. Why they would “make you stop” when they seem to be understanding people is another question.

I think part of the problem is that many furries think that others will consider being a furry shameful, as if you are a deviant.  To begin with, you should not approach it this way when you discuss it with your family. If you go into the dialog with the notion that being a furry is no worse than being, say, a Trekkie, then your parents will pick up on this and not think it is so bad at all. If, on the other hand, you have it in your mind that you are a “deviant” this, too, will come across when you talk about it.

Body language is key here. Don’t go into the conversation with your head hung down, looking at your feet, mumbling and acting nervous. Look at them straight in the eye, as if you were asking them about what’s for dinner.

Bad Approach:

“Mom, Dad, have you ever heard about furries? Like, maybe you caught that CSI episode when a bunch of people in animal costumes were having sex? Well, I’m really into that.”

Good Approach:

“Mom, Dad, you know I like fantasy literature and stuff like Disney animated cartoons, right? Well, I really like that stuff, and I have been talking to some people online who also like it. They like to draw anthropomorphic characters—you know, kind of like Dumbo or Bambi—and write stories about them. Some of them call anthropomorphic characters ‘furries’ for short, and we all talk about it online. Anyway, I just wanted to explain that to you so if you see me drawing or writing about furry characters you know what it’s about. I’ve been making some friends online and I would like to also meet them in person. It can get a little goofy sometimes. You know, like a Star Trek fan wearing Spock ears, but instead sometimes my friends will wear animal ears for fun, stuff like that.”

And go on from there.  It’s all in how you approach the subject: act ashamed of it and your family will see that immediately in you and act like you are a drug addict; act nonchalant about it, as if it’s no big deal (which it shouldn’t be), and they will hopefully react to your news just as nonchalantly. Let them ask questions about it, and be honest in your replies. If they ask about “fursuit sex” or something like that, just say, “Well, a lot of these people are teenagers and, just like other teenagers, they might have sex, but that’s not what I’m about. I just like making friends.”

I hope that this helps, Breakr. Papabear is proud of you for being who you are.

Bear Hugs.

Papabear

* * *

Hi Papabear,

I was wondering something for a while. Ever since I joined the Furry fandom in 2009, I’ve been having trouble trying to figure out what kind of fur I am. I know it’s feline, but I’m not sure what race. I’ve figured out White Tiger but… I really don’t know. And I’m kind of tired of changing it so much. It’s gone from pink cat, to cabbit, to leopard, to fox, and now white tiger.

So my question to you is, do you know how someone could discover that part of them?

–Desphiria

 

Hi, Desphiria,

Papabear understands such transitions. When I was a little cub, I was a wolf; then, as a teenager and 20-something, I was a dragon, and now I am a bear.  I believe that many furries change species as they themselves change, which is particularly true as you grow through your teenaged years and discover who you are.

Don’t be upset if you can’t figure it out right away. One thing you can do, though, is learn more about the various species that catch your interest. Do some research on foxes, leopards, tigers, etc., and as you learn more about them you might discover which ones have traits most like your own.

Another, less scientific way is to think about your dreams. When you dream, do you ever dream about certain animals? When you do, do you feel a closer affinity to some rather than others?

You do not have to actually be dreaming, either, to feel a connection to certain species. While I am, of course, a bear, I have learned that I also have some connections to Owl because I’ve had personal experiences with them in my real life. This is not a bad thing. Indeed, if you believe at all in animal spirituality and the Medicine Wheel, it is healthy to balance certain animal aspects of yourself with other animals. I believe this is why some furries like hybrids.

So, Papabear’s advice to you would be to, first, relax and take time to explore your soul and your connection to other species. Educate yourself about animals and their behaviors. Be open to dreams and to your personal physical experiences as well. The more open you are to other animal spirits, the easier it will be for the spirit that most suits you to let you know that they are there for you, that they are your animal match.

Bear Hugs,

Papabear

Disclaimer
Opinions and advice expressed in the “Ask Papabear” column are not necessarily those of the Furry News Network, its staff, sponsors, or advertisers. Papabear is not a trained therapist, physician, or social worker, and the author of “Ask Papabear” will refer readers to licensed professionals in cases where such recommendations seem in order.

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I just recently got a lot more interest in anthro art featuring dragons and scalies, but I don't actually know any artists besides Narse and ReptileCynrik, and if there exists a community devoted to it then I'm unaware of it.

submitted by draguu
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With all the talk about SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, and a few other draconian copyright enforcement laws being discussed I'm wondering how this would affect the fandom if they're ever passed.

submitted by GrayWolfCoder
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submitted by captainbozo
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submitted by xDeluge
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