UV is...furry?

[forgerofsouls]

Who knows? And no offense was taken, atleast not by me.

Plus now that I think about it...the reason might have something to do with a certain form of furry, which will not be discussed here. But, due to that form of furry, most likely many furry fans have been harrassed and thus overall a bad image of furry was created making people behave as such? But the main reason for my last post was because you said that the vast majority of characters here at UV were furry. It made it sound like you did some research on the characters here, but my own research differed on that subject, so all I was attempting to do before IE ate my post forcing me to repost it, was makeing a list of humanoid characters and finding out how many of them could be furry. The results of my research has already been posted, so I won't go back there. And sorry if my last post seamed a bit...overwhelming. When it comes to debates with facts involved I get kinda...anal...about the facts.

But this thread wasn't made to argue or flame others about furries. This thread was just to determine if UV was a furry site or not, because a when I made the thread UV at RPG Gateways was listed as furry. Which struck me as odd for most of the characters I knew that others used were not furry, so I wanted to research this and see how others feel. Sorry if that upset you (or anyone else).

[Pickle]

The thing is, as an aspiring creature & character designer I evolved as a Fur from the art & design side of the fandom (I also do a lot of costume performing, but that's not relevant here). And, in the art community, any animal or creature of human-like sentience is classified as anthropomorphic and therefore 'Furry'. Anyone who has a DeviantART account should be familiar with this. These days any artwork not depicting a real animal gets dumped into the 'Anthro' section no matter how much you try to avoid it!

So, in those terms, 'Furry' can be applied not simply those UV members with human-shaped animal characters, but anyone with an animal, creature or mythological beast (ie dragon, unicorn) character, of which I'm sure you'll agree exist in great numbers here. I'm not saying it's right, I'm not saying that's my personal opinion, but that's how you would be regarded by the vast majority of people familiar with the term 'Furry', nonetheless.

My own Gloom Wolf character, for example - the last thing I would want to call her is 'Furry'. However, I accept that she would probably be classified as such by most of the Furry community, simply because she talks, and displays evidence of having human-like thoughts and emotions.

As for cat-girls and fox-boys, humans with animal parts randomly stapled to them - they're not my thing personally, and I would agree with you that they're not Furry. However I'm not talking about my opinion - I'm talking about the general consensus of the Fur community, and I can tell you, from being part of that community, that most do put them under the Furry classification. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that it's a popular trend in the fandom to go around wearing ears, tails and the like.

At the end of the day it's all a matter of perception. It is all make-believe after all, so the rules can be twisted around to suit any one person's view. To cut a long debate short, I believe that it was the right decision to move UV to 'Fantasy', but I also believe that 'Furry', based on my experience of the culture, was an equally appropriate category.

[forgerofsouls]

You know whats funny? I actually know a bunch of furries in my area around me. So I talked to them. Most of them did not agree with how freely the term Furry is labeled to many things by certian areas of the Furry Community. Even they said its to broad and vague that way. One of them even went furthure to say that with that line of thinking that would meant that virtually everyone in the world would be a furry fan than. But this is not the case and sorry to say but you have been exposed to only a small section of the larger community. You have been exposed to what I personally would have to term as "Fanatical Furries".

In otherwords they have become so involved with furry that they have lost sight of the original meaning and views on the term. And they tend to also force this view on others. Cause by "any animal or creature of human-like sentience", that descirbes...everything in existance basically. Which in turn leads to a huge misunderstanding about what is and what is not furry. Aliens are not furry, but due to that little clause there...I think I used the wrong clause...eh...continuing...they would be conscidered furry.

As far as your own Gloom Wolf. Personally, I would put her into three catergories, starting with Gothic, followed by Supernatural, and than finally Furry. Gothic because she is dark, very dark and menacing. Supernatural because she does not display any traits that would allow her to be High Fantasy, same reason why the majority of ghosts would be labeled Supernatural, and Mythic Fantasy...well...think along the lines of demons, devils, angels, gods, dragons...and you'll see how she wouldn't fit there. And furry only because she is obviously a wolf...with a metal cone for a mouth/head.

All in all, I like your Gloom Wolf. Really neat concept.

But while some of the above is my own opinion, I also had input for others that are furry fans. So, like a coin, furry has two sides to it. Well...more than two...but...whoes counting past that?

[Pickle]

Well, in a way, everyone is the world is a Furry fan. Mankind has been obsessed with the idea of humanised animals/animal guides/animals that talk/magical animals/humans that transform into animals, since the dawn of time. The only difference between the Furry fandom and everyone else in the world is that Furs admit their obsession with this concept, while everyone else is still in denial. =P

But that's a whole different argument right there, that quite frankly I don't want to get in to. I'm still just trying to get across the very simple point that I made in the first place;

'The word 'Furry' is slang for an anthropomorphic animal or creature (either in appearance or mentality). UV is composed largely of said anthropomorphic characters, therefore UV is primarily Furry. I'm not quite sure how much more plainly to put it. It doesn't mean you have to be part of the fandom, you don't have it like it or agree with it - it's just how you are perceived by internet culture, that's all.

It's like this whole subculture on art communities where teenage girls are dreaming up all these Sparkle animals and calling them their 'fursonas', which is a term taken straight from the Furry fandom, yet if anyone were to say to them "oh so you're a Furry then" they get all "omg ewwww like no wai". Sorry girl, but if your personal character is a dog that talks, wears nail-polish, and has facial expressions, then it's Furry. =P Sparkle Dogs have their own page on Encyclopedia Dramatica, where they are lumped in with the rest of the Furry fandom (anyone wanting to check this out please be warned that the site is not a pleasant place for the young or easily offended) - further evidence of the perceptions of internet culture; not necessarily right, and in this case definitely not positive, but there all the same.

For the record, I've seen quite a few people dressed up at Furry conventions as creatures from video games, sci-fi and fantasy films, including Aliens and Predators, so yeah, I'm afraid nothing is safe. X3 Some people even base their fursonas around such creatures. Don't even get me started on 'Avatar'... Oh and Pokemon - I see tons of Pokemon-based fursonas...

I'm not quite sure if we're arguing, debating, agreeing or disagreeing here (probably a combination) and I've pretty much reached the limit of my persuasion - I can't possibly make the point any clearer so if people still want argue, count me out. I will retire gracefully from this topic and make no further comment, though I hope at least that those lurking but not posting have learnt...something...or not, I don't know, I think we're all far to opinionated to back down.

P.S. For what it's worth, Forger, I'm glad you like the Gloom Wolf. ^^;; I does mean a lot to me to hear that, and regardless of the various opinions expressed in this topic, I hope to meet you in RP at some point. :3

[forgerofsouls]

I guess you can say that we were arguing, debating, agreeing, and disagreeing all at the same time.

Yeah, it would be fun to rp with you. But with my current characters and how the Gloom Wolf is, I forsee blood shed. XD

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

This isn't about persuasion or deciding who is right or wrong, just sharing opinions ^_^

All I have to add is that a lot of characters fall into several categories, like Gloom as Forger used as an example. My personal view would be that Gaeva for example would fall in the Fantasy section (whichever) first because she's a unicorn, and the Furry one second because she talks and thinks. If I made her stand upright however I would lump her into the Furry section first and the Fantasy second. But both would still be present. Anyway, with this view the Furry section would be used very often to categorize the characters here, but it would often come in second place.

[Blue]

Definitely agree with Gaeva XD and I think that's the basis a lot of people are voting on :3 is the break-down of their characters.

I guess the only thing I do want to point out XD considering that this is one area I had to learn about in college is that if you want to get short and get technical Anthropomorphism is a far better term to use when talking about animals with human characteristics. It's a very large, very technical term, but it seems like "Furry" is a loaded gun XD I know I don't care much for my characters (Tenedras and Siltharyn) being said to be Furry since they come from another world I imagined as evolving differently then our own Earth. Don't get me started on Rishcath, as I have no freakin' idea what he's really made out of still. He's a can of worms no one wants to open XD

But again. That's the main reason I think this place fits into "Mystic" Fantasy :3 because most characters here come from whole other worlds where "Furry" does not technically exist. Many are based in magic or extreme Sci-Fi (such as Norad, which I think we're going to have to first dismantle, cast a shrinking spell on the parts, package them up, and then smuggle them through the boarder patrol on the edge of Mystic Fantasy XD ). And the members have a right to refer to their characters as "Anthropomorphic" which is technically what they are.

"Furry" to me has always seemed more Human then Animal. I guess the reason it comes like that to me is I could never imagine Siltharyn in clothing. She'd be so uncomfortable poor thing. Her culture believes in remaining as flexible as possible, and after all. She has fur? Why need clothing other then enough to keep one's modesty?

[forgerofsouls]

No no no no. Its easy to fit Norad through. You just have the forest's most powerful mages cast certain spells on the Norad, with these certain spells, it will make the Norad radiate magic and thus would be considered a magical artifact, armed with magical constructs, flying magical golems, magical cannons, and magical nucleur warheads. Thus, while you would still need to dismantle the Norad first and package it up, you wouldn't need to smuggle it through.

And yeah, for the most part I was just applying the most appropriate labels to characters. For as I said in my very first post, many characters could fall into other catergories. My own Klinge, for example, fits perfectly into the Mythic Fantasy realm, but, due to his draconic heritage, despite the truth that dragons are not true furries, since many people do conscider them to be furries, Klinge himself would be furry. At first if you looked at Lyrial, one would think that there is no way she could be labeled as furry. She looks human, with elven ears, and eyes that swirl with colors. Also her power level (which is indeed over 9000...ah...sorry for the bad joke...couldn't resist) would place her firmly into Mythic Fantasy. Put if you only look at her as she is now (sealed), and forget her true nature, than you would forget that her human form is her SECOND form. Her real form is that of a 50ft tall silver skinned humanoid with draconic features, such as her head being a dragon's head with three eyes, and she has massive black feathered wings. Thus she to would be furry...though knowing her she would deny such an aquisition. Silver...well...horse sized wolf with many qualities that makes him more than just a horse sized wolf (wings, unicorn's horn that gives him the ability to speak and sing and to even mimic noises). So he is kinda obvious.

IC:
Forgerofsouls walks over to Lyrial. She looks at him trying to figure out why her RPer would suddenly appear in front of her. "Lyrial, me and some others were talking about furries." Lyrial's eyes narrow. "And because of certain things I'm sorry to say that one of your character type labels will have to be furry. So please..ERK!" Forgerofsouls tried to say to Lyrial before her legged shot straight up and connected with Forger's family jewels. Forgerofsouls collapeses and rolls on the ground in horrid pain as Lyrial stomps off in anger.

ooc:
And there you have it.

*Puts some ice between his legs.*

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Girl power, Lyrial! ...I mean, poor Forger >.>

When I hear Anthro(morphism) though I only tend to think of creatures that walk upright on however many legs they have. And yeah, wearing clothing, lol. Then again, what's the definition of clothing, because to me even a little flap of cloth qualifies as clothing. You're not naked if you're covering even the tiniest of bits on your body. (Though "clothed" wouldn't really be a good term by then either...). But anyway, I prefer anthro, but not because of the bad label "furry" carries -which in truth I only relatively recently found out about- but because then it can also cover non-fur wearing beings, like reptiles, insects and the birdies. More of a technical thing really. Instead of "furry" they should have chosen something like "talky", because more furries have speech in common than fur XD

[forgerofsouls]

But than "Talky" would include robots that can speak...and I dare say ship AIs. So if Talky was the true thing about what made furries...than that means...that...*Shock* Viz's Norad is indeed Furry!

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Omg, it has been proven...now who will tell Viz?

[forgerofsouls]

Um...I vote...Ebb...

[The_Vizir]

Norad... is... what?

...

...

*The_Vizir vanishes through a portal in a panic*

*a motone voice sounds out around the thread*

Nuclear Launch Detected

[forgerofsouls]

XD

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Run for cover XD

[Windra]

Don't worry Viz, you can come out of the furre-closet now!

[The_Vizir]

*Takes out an overly large and overly steampunked gun out of hammerspace*

Wanna come closer and say that, zombie molester?

*Further digs out his old NOT A BLOODY FURRY t-shirt and glares at the lot of you*

[forgerofsouls]

Wow, a T-Shirt a closet furry wears! I have always thought those to be a myth!

[Gaius]

Honestly, Viz, we're your friends! Why would you put on a shirt that spreads such blatant untruths directly to us? I thought you had enough respect not to deny what's plainly obvious to the naked eye! I mean, there's not even a speck of red on you, and since there is precisely one definition of 'bloody,' well...

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Rofl XD