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Slowly ebbing from the fandom...
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Rankin
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Joined: 03 Jan 2004
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Posted: 3/13/2004 7:28:14 AM     Post subject: Slowly ebbing from the fandom...  

With this note, my compatriots,

I must note that I am slowly ebbing from the fandom. It's turned from a fun, role-playing chat medium (which I originally equated to IRC with bodies), into less than an 'occasional fuck and such'. Few of my old friends care to speak with me, now that many know that I am CYD, and that trend once again thins further when they discover that I lack the general interest or inclination for typefucking.

So, here, my brethren, I proclaim, "I'm less furry today than I was yesterday; and tomorrow I shall be less! Saylah! Shalom!"

On Monday, the very last of my "furry paraphernalia" will be sent out, and I shan't purchase any more. All of my beloved non-fucked non-fuckable plushies have been placed in boxes, primarily for transport, but secondarily as a remider. Motherfucker, I'm bored, and I need some tylenol.

I swear I spent like 2 seconds looking for a title icon. Gawd..
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Michael Hirtes
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Posted: 3/13/2004 7:42:09 AM     Post subject: Re: Slowly ebbing from the fandom...  

With this note, my compatriots,

I must note that I am slowly ebbing from the fandom. It's turned from a fun, role-playing chat medium (which I originally equated to IRC with bodies), into less than an 'occasional fuck and such'. Few of my old friends care to speak with me, now that many know that I am CYD, and that trend once again thins further when they discover that I lack the general interest or inclination for typefucking.

So, here, my brethren, I proclaim, "I'm less furry today than I was yesterday; and tomorrow I shall be less! Saylah! Shalom!"

On Monday, the very last of my "furry paraphernalia" will be sent out, and I shan't purchase any more. All of my beloved non-fucked non-fuckable plushies have been placed in boxes, primarily for transport, but secondarily as a remider. Motherfucker, I'm bored, and I need some tylenol.

I swear I spent like 2 seconds looking for a title icon. Gawd..


Well, I do hope you'll stick around here, just to prove to the snivelers that just because you're not in furrydumb anymore doesn't mean you've went and joined a convent or something.
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m_estrugo
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Posted: 3/13/2004 12:33:13 PM     Post subject:  

My reasons for voting the latter are stated at http://www.aliceotter.com/gb.html , up for anyone willing to read'em.
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Rankin
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Posted: 3/13/2004 7:05:29 PM     Post subject:  

Well, I do hope you'll stick around here, just to prove to the snivelers that just because you're not in furrydumb anymore doesn't mean you've went and joined a convent or something.


I'd rather stick around to specifically arse off my detractors; but I lack the necessity or the time to do so for that purpose. The truth is, I don't really care to be "a thorn in the side of" furry, or any bullshit like that. It's time to move on with my life. However, I'll most likely be about and throwing my twisted two cents into subjects of which I've got relatively little clue, but still have an opinion about. ;)

My reasons for voting the latter are stated at http://www.aliceotter.com/gb.html , up for anyone willing to read'em.


Ah, yes. H'there Miguel. That'd explain why I hadn't seen you in quite a spell; although I have seen you here. :) I can empathise; sometimes I wonder why I even bother with the few people I still associate with - but they're thinning out as well; especally since I've been 'outed' as a CYD'er (oh nos!).
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Ole Sparky
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Posted: 3/13/2004 11:05:53 PM     Post subject: Re: Slowly ebbing from the fandom...  

Because,
I exist in a real world, a world of laws, a society, not some fantasy Planet Furry.
A world were businesses and individuals are held to standards.
I exist in a real world where "ears and a tail", or "Furriness" is not an excuse or a pardon. A world where jerking the customer around leads a business to face the postmaster or the feds, with either massive fines or jail time to be faced. Rather than Furry, where it is demanded publicly that the customer apologize for being so gauche as to expect fair, competent, and professional conduct. A fandom, where even anyone who dares suggest or expect that they be dealt with to match the basic standards of business professionalism is told to get the hell out, customers such as that are unwelcome.
A world where violating a judge's gag order leaves a person facing contempt of court charges, and a business does not solve legal problems by calling forth in a public forum for the Furry Faithful to Jehad against a company to solve a legal dispute.
Yes, it really happened. In A.F.F. and I was surprised someone did not wind up facing contempt of court charges.
A world where civilized human beings put their faith in the courts to resolve disputes, and don't go to a Furry Forum and scream "Thief" at the top of their lungs when things are not going the way they want.
And, yes, again, it really happened.
I exist in a real world, were I relate with other people, who are as real as I am, who have feelings and needs, to be respected. A real world were if you want respect, you have to earn it with your actions, words and deeds.
A real world, where you are judged by the way you treat people, the efforts you put into the world arround you, the respect you show to others, regardless of how different they may be.
The real world, where you gain Karma by the good you do to strangers.
Furry, on the other hand, is like gag'o city man.
And as for me, well, all my plush and pretties are clean, virgin, know what i mean?
Worse yet, after the latest outburst of cub art apologists I have not even had the stomach or heart to write.
As to that quote, yeh, kinda leaves me drifting, years of work and effort and research and stories.
And worse, I was not really writing for Furry anyway. I was aiming my work at the mainstream world.
Furry is too small a market, sick, sad, limited, and puffing itself up by tearing down others. When I hear a Furry talk about "Hatemongers", the level of
hypocrasy leaves me wanting to vomit.
And Furry forgets, I don't need Furry to survive.
Furry does not own "Anthropomorphics". Furry has no license and no power, regardless of how they try.
But, with their enabling causes, political, sexual, whatever, they have made it hard to do anything worth while.
Sparky
With this note, my compatriots,

I must note that I am slowly ebbing from the fandom. It's turned from a fun, role-playing chat medium (which I originally equated to IRC with bodies), into less than an 'occasional fuck and such'. Few of my old friends care to speak with me, now that many know that I am CYD, and that trend once again thins further when they discover that I lack the general interest or inclination for typefucking.

So, here, my brethren, I proclaim, "I'm less furry today than I was yesterday; and tomorrow I shall be less! Saylah! Shalom!"

On Monday, the very last of my "furry paraphernalia" will be sent out, and I shan't purchase any more. All of my beloved non-fucked non-fuckable plushies have been placed in boxes, primarily for transport, but secondarily as a remider. Motherfucker, I'm bored, and I need some tylenol.

I swear I spent like 2 seconds looking for a title icon. Gawd..
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Dogthing
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Posted: 3/14/2004 12:11:52 PM     Post subject:  

Probably not, because on your way out, you'll realize how well off you are without the furry element in your life, and just kinda forget it.

GODSPEED, MAN. GODSPEED.

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Rankin
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Posted: 3/14/2004 5:22:30 PM     Post subject:  

...


Laslo. Laslo Hollyfeld... in his pajamas.
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Charisma
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Posted: 3/15/2004 12:11:40 AM     Post subject:  

i voted that i wouldnt go, I'm afraid! :D

The main interests of my spare time include art, cartoons and animals. So why not continue combining all three sometimes? And with perhaps a career in illustration, it seems that anthropomorphs will probably always be with me throughout my whole life.
I concider myself as a fan because I'm a member of places like VCL, so there's no escaping it really.
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O-Negative
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Posted: 3/15/2004 2:04:25 AM     Post subject:  

Yep, it'll be something I'll always be drawing.
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M0us3_Zero
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Posted: 3/22/2004 7:41:56 AM     Post subject:  

Well, I cannot necessarily say I'm in the fandom, I mean, I may draw the occasional hybrid, but I don't really consider myself "in".

I may draw or RP, but I think that is as far as I will go. Not to insult anyone, of course.
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ZenZhu
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Posted: 3/22/2004 7:55:22 PM     Post subject:  

My "inner furry" wound up in the morgue not too long ago. Despondent over the lack of time and attention I had invested in him over the past three years, he went and hurled himself over a bridge into the river. About 1 year ago, his body washed up on the riverbank. He persisted on life support until about 2 months ago, when he finally expired.

Okay.. seriously, I'm one of those that could say I never left the fandom, as I was never really "in" the fandom. I got into furries around 1988, after reading an issue of Amazing Comics that profiled anthro comics like Albedo. I started with said Albedo and began slowly drawing furry stuff myself. As time progressed, I became aware of other comics, like Captain Jack, Xanadu and the occasional titles like Mu comic's one-shot books. I broke into fan stuff through Scott Alston's little fan rags.... uh... Bestiary and something else, I forget. I came in contact with Terrie Smith, Steve Gallaci, and Tom Verre via mail. It was interesting, and did some informal collaboration with Gallaci on an idea he head for another comic with some kind of android. I did one paid shot doing some pencil work for Mu's Wild Kingdom. I kind of see that move in hindsight like the illustrative equivalent of a would-be actress making the mistake of starring in a porno simply to get some camera time, thinking the next job will be opposite Robert Duvall or something.

As the 'net began to really take off, I encountered other folks online... starting through FluffMUCK, and then other places like Furcadia and IRC. I actually stayed away from FurryMUCK because of the reputation it had, even back then, for being where all the freaks and pervos gathered. I never attended a con... having no desire to mingle with any group that focused on a recreational pursuit so intently.

Over the rise and fall of my furrydom, I had my share of pretty gooney periods. I had a stint with that whole "misplaced animal spirit" thing.. not so much seriously feeling that way, but seriously thinking it might at least be possible. There was the whole "I'm more in touch with my animal side than those human simpletons" thing for a while. I had a web archive of artwork for a while, but, when I moved to a new state, I took the old one down, since the server account would be closed, and never set up a new one. I've had some HUGE amount of hard drive space dedicated to furry art (yeah, even porn) in my day.

The only thing I really pursued, however, through all of it was trying to pin down what to draw myself as.. my "furry avatar." I never had a sense of an animal that I "was." Basically, I was looking for the furry equivalent of myself in a nutshell. My sketchbooks were littered with almost every animal imaginable.. real or otherwise.. in an attempt to hit upon a drawing that was "the real me." Not the real non-human me.. but a furry character that summed up the real me. A furry caricature of the human me.

I've always been amused at the sheer glut of foxes, wolves, and felines that furries claim are their "true" selves. How can a man that is 350 pounds and desires to do no more work than his part time job at Blockbuster fancy that a svelte black panther is his "true" self????? I could buy into the idea of misplaced animal spirits, true animal selves, and animal spirit guides if there were a few less wolves and a few more naked mole rats or banana slugs. Regardless, though, I always kind of envied the folks that could so easily say "I'm a lynx." or "A hyena fits me well." Someone once told me they thought a European lynx fit me pretty well... but, my ego would never let me use something as "cute" as a lynx to represent me (I look a lot like Michael Chiklis in The Shield).

I think, really, that my interest in furry art and the furry manifestation of my youthful "search for self" were really separate... the lines between them just blurred now and then. In retrospect, the right animal for an avatar was always right in front of my face.... my Chinese zodiac. For those that might not know, "zhu" is Chinese for boar, which is also my sign. It's always been a bit of a joke between me and my wife how the boar, as described in more detailed Chinese lore than you get on your average Chinese buffet placemat, fits me... even right down to best color. But, again, my ego wasn't THAT bad. "Well.. I'm not as attractive as a lynx, but not as ugly as boar, either." As I worked with drawing it, and studied the animal more, however... the boar became not such a bad choice. I mean.. they're homely by standard convention, yeah, but, really, they have a certain appeal to their demeanor. And, with cartooning, even a naked mole rat can look cute (e.g. Kim Possible's Rufus).

Once that clicked into place, things kind of slid downhill. I really had no more interest in drawing, as most of my sketching had been of "furry avatar" candidates. It had been a long time since I had drawn an image just for its own sake. The one story that has always beat around my brain began to take form in manga style... without furries. My creative expression shifted from the drafting table to the kitchen (I am Ming Tsai's bitch). My free time previously used for drawing shifted to either sneaking around, killing ninjas with Tenchu on the Playstation or getting back to a regular fitness routine. Of course, then there's that whole marriage thing, which gives you much better alternatives than using the analog controller to push Rikimaru around.... such as movies on the couch under a comforter, trips to the botanical gardens together.... or far, far better alternatives to some jackass on Furcadia using a Mark Parsons picture as his avatar and you pretending to be slutty bunny who likes to give footjobs simply because you're glad to have found someone, after an hour of searching (trolling for yiff is a lot like fishing, no?) that will give you enough attention to stain a few Kleenex. :lol:

A couple of months ago, I decided to peek in on VCL, which I had not done in a long time. Used to be I could slog through all of the crap on there for hours looking for the few furry gems that would leap out. But, those gems got fewer and farther between. The competent artists became outnumbered by the incompetent hacks that were chasing their 15 minutes of fame by taking what modicum of talent they had for producing semi-coherent scrawls and trying to use that to appeal to the masses by drawing hermtaurs deficating on each other or Invader Zim ripoff characters with ears and a tail slicing their wrists with the lyrics to some NIN song scribbled in the background. I got about 5 pages into the VCL archives when I suddenly could go no further. My furry cup ranneth over, and messed up a good pair of shoes. Just like how the witer rises in a blocked-up toilet until there's enough volume to force the crap through and empty the bowl, my furriness left. The ebbing beeps of the heart monitor echoed in the silence, until my inner furry flatlined, and I flipped the machine off.

When I left the hospital that day, I think I saw the world for the first time in a long time as it was. The furry-colored glasses I had been using to look through had had a purpose at some point in time, but I had been long overdue to cast them off. The sun seemed brighter and warmer. The gentle waft of the trees in the breeze seemed more alive and detailed than they ever had when I tried so hard to imagine them waving above a medieval village populated by nonexistant animals that walked upright and talked and behaved like the humans that surrounded me now. I walked lighter, having realized what a weight furry had been around my neck. Even at its most mundane, to live in the real world was far better than to dwell on any imaginary utopia populated by creatures that would never be in my lifetime.

Occasionally, I hold a seance. I look in at some of the remaining competent artists on VCL to see if they've done anything new. In weeding out the garden of furry images I had on my PC, I didn't get rid of ALL of them. I still read Kevin and Kell, though I never really considered that a "furry" comic. If I draw a silly cartoon depicting events at work, I draw a morph boar (bald just doesn't work in manga style). But, these days, I don't watch Inuyasha because he's a half-dog demon.. I watch because I enjoy the story. If I find any collection of ink and paint to be a hottie.. she's at least human (i.e., anime babe).... well, okay, I still have a thing for Darkstalker's Felicia. But, anime catgirls are about as furry as I go now. I no longer enjoy a picture simply because it has a morph in it.... it's just part of a greater whole. I went to see Brother Bear because I try to see all Disney movies once in the theater... not because it was a "furry" story.

And between you, me and the fencepost.... I had to shudder at the whole hippy bear commune scene. Alas, furry has left a few scars... such as what kind of porn that was gonna spawn among the lardassed, hairy gay furries.... or how long it was gonna be before the captain from Treasure Planet popped up on the 'net in various compromising positions.

So, that's my story.
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Jerry Collins
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Posted: 3/22/2004 8:06:12 PM     Post subject: ...  

Welcome to the ranks of the blessed damned !welcome!
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Computolio
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Posted: 3/23/2004 1:26:58 AM     Post subject:  

I love the endless brain-drain cycle of furrydumb. Anyone with A. sanity, B. talent and C. lack of fetishism is gone within a few years of joining.

Granted, there are many exceptions to this pattern but I couldn't help mentioning it.
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Khroan
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Posted: 3/24/2004 1:11:29 AM     Post subject:  

Interesting thread.

I myself have never really been "in" the fandom. I usually just floated in and out of it like an idiotic fly. At times the window was closed, and I made some 'furry friends'. However, 2 out of 3 of these people are just not my type. A few I still talk with. I had been drawing anthromorphic animals before I found out about furry, and I just called them animal-people. Occasionally I'd log into Furcadia or FurNet. After seeing all the really screwed up stuff in the fandom, I just left. Gone. I still draw the pictures, but no more of the labels.

Rankin, you should probably just drop the label altogether. It's nothing but trouble, and genuinely nice (and non-creepy) people in the fandom are rare.
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KnightRaider
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Posted: 3/24/2004 7:03:28 PM     Post subject:  

I haven't left the fandom, but then I haven't really been in it either. I've got some furry art on my walls, as well as pictures from my days in the Army. I occasionaly read furry comics, but subscribe to Car Craft and Hot Rod. I mess around on mucks that are mainly furry, not because they're furry, but because it's cheaper to talk to friends I've made across the world that way than by calling Australia, Austria, Germany, etc. I've flown across country to go to a furry con not because it's a furry con, but because a lot of friends would be there, and there were things in that city that I've wanted to see for a long time. It's a hobby, and as long as you treat it like that, it's easy to manage. I feel sad though for someone who's entire world revolves around fantasy critters that don't and never will exist, they're missing so much out of life. But then, their choice.
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mouse
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Posted: 3/27/2004 12:39:48 AM     Post subject:  

I did one paid shot doing some pencil work for Mu's Wild Kingdom. I kind of see that move in hindsight like the illustrative equivalent of a would-be actress making the mistake of starring in a porno simply to get some camera time, thinking the next job will be opposite Robert Duvall or something.


I have WildKingdom #1...I didnt think it was so bad. In fact Gallacci's story in there is pretty good. I guess I don't understand why people do things they dont want to do. If you really don't want to do the porn and its going to make you uncomfortable the rest of your life...don't do the porn.

Once that clicked into place, things kind of slid downhill. I really had no more interest in drawing, as most of my sketching had been of "furry avatar" candidates. It had been a long time since I had drawn an image just for its own sake. The one story that has always beat around my brain began to take form in manga style...

I got about 5 pages into the VCL archives when I suddenly could go no further. My furry cup ranneth over, and messed up a good pair of shoes. Just like how the witer rises in a blocked-up toilet until there's enough volume to force the crap through and empty the bowl, my furriness left. The ebbing beeps of the heart monitor echoed in the silence, until my inner furry flatlined, and I flipped the machine off.

Even at its most mundane, to live in the real world was far better than to dwell on any imaginary utopia populated by creatures that would never be in my lifetime.

If I find any collection of ink and paint to be a hottie.. she's at least human (i.e., anime babe).... well, okay, I still have a thing for Darkstalker's Felicia. But, anime catgirls are about as furry as I go now. I no longer enjoy a picture simply because it has a morph in it....



I also fail to understand this line of reasoning. If you didnt like furry then, why get involved in the first place? And why change now? If a story changed from furry to manga in your mind, I dont think thats a good sign either. The only reason I did hang around furry fandom was because there is some stuff I liked. If I didnt see anything I liked that would have been the end of it almost immediatly. Fuck most furry fans, the art was fine, Ill say that over and over again. I really dont see the problem with adult art and porn either. Its the people who took it too far and too fucked up. Thats where I draw the line. The rest of it doesnt really matter.

Furry porn = Anime porn = western 'non-anime' cartoon porn = porn

you can say ones more fucked up than the other ..and on a case by case basis that may be true sometimes ...but the statement on its own is flat out incorrect


There is a different style found in furry fandom ..I like variety. While I like funny animal comics the most, I also like the semi realistic characters once in a while and some stylized stuff. The morph or hybrid or whatver is something you dont see as often in media I dont think. And art that I like really wont change.

Ever since I got out of high school Ive kept my life to an absolute minimum level of bullshit at all times. I have never enjoyed any furry art under 'false pretenses' (for acceptance, for success, for friends...no other reason than my own interest)
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ZenZhu
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Posted: 3/27/2004 1:15:35 AM     Post subject:  

I have WildKingdom #1...I didnt think it was so bad. In fact Gallacci's story in there is pretty good. I guess I don't understand why people do things they dont want to do. If you really don't want to do the porn and its going to make you uncomfortable the rest of your life...don't do the porn.


It didn't make me uncomfortable then. It doesn't now. I do kind of look back and think, "Well, that was silly." But, I did a lot of silly stuff in my youth. I do wish I had thought it through a little more, but, I was a pornmonger then. One of my many youthful indiscretions from that time period of my life. I've still got a few megs of stuff on my hard drive, though very little of it is furry these days. I still have a large number of Brian O'Connell's stuff, as it's good stuff. Say what you will about the guy himself, but I do like his artwork.

I also fail to understand this line of reasoning. If you didnt like furry then, why get involved in the first place? And why change now?


Uh... I think you're misinterpreting my words. What some of us are saying is we liked furry then, but no so much now. Some like myself were pretty heavy into it. But, people change. I used to build a lot of model kits. I don't now. I used to watch Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Thundercats religiously back then. I couldn't stand to watch 5 minutes of any of them now. It just happens. I used to love furry stuff. I don't now. I like some furry stuff, but I no longer like something by virtue of the fact that it's got an anthro in it. Why change now? Because change happens. I used to hate zuchini. I don't now. Why change now? Change happens.

you can say ones more fucked up than the other ..and on a case by case basis that may be true sometimes ...but the statement on its own is flat out incorrect


I'm assuming this is a general statement, as nowhere do I say one form of porn is more screwed up than another. All I'm saying is I personally am not so keen on the furry stuff anymore. I'd much rather download Asian babes from Kimochi-ii.com or J-List than Max Black Rabbit pin ups from VCL. Change happens. Doesn't mean its for the better or the worse.. just that it happened.

There is a different style found in furry fandom ..I like variety. While I like funny animal comics the most, I also like the semi realistic characters once in a while and some stylized stuff. The morph or hybrid or whatver is something you dont see as often in media I dont think. And art that I like really wont change.


It may or may not. Everything changes. You can't force or prevent change. Nothing wrong with it either way. Like furry 'till the day you die? Great! Don't like it 5 years from now? Equally great! Either way, it's just what is. Not good or bad.

Ever since I got out of high school Ive kept my life to an absolute minimum level of bullshit at all times. I have never enjoyed any furry art under 'false pretenses' (for acceptance, for success, for friends...no other reason than my own interest)


Well, that makes two of us. I liked furry art because I really liked it. We're talking over 10 years of my life here.. not like I discovered furries 2 years ago because it was cool, and now I'm all "ewwwww" because that fad has faded. Over time, other things have drawn my attention more and I've gravitated away from furrydom. It's just what happens. Some folks enjoy something all of their lives. Some folks enjoy something during a period in their life, but move to other pursuits at some point. Neither course is better than the other.
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Rankin
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Posted: 3/27/2004 11:32:04 AM     Post subject:  

Prologue: All of the porn's been recieved, as as if it's not that I've compiled enough hatred from the fandom: Two people paid with personal checks, despite the fact that I stated I only accepted money orders. Of course, at least ONE of the people had to complain as one, who was more than happy to purchase my comics in bulk (think copy-paper sized box), was unhappy that two of them in the series was missing. Being wise to my oh-ho-ho ways, asked for compensation. This came out to roughly $6, giving the benefit of the doubt. I'd put the cash in the envelope, but instead, I think I'll send a personal check.

(Of course, this way I have record, but I can't end my prologue all cute and wrapped up like the standard writing and comedy routines I've decrypted do. Shit. Ignore everything in these parentheseseseses.)
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