Newcomer Very new to this... but SO glad I found it.

[JakeTheDog]

Thanks, first of all to the admins for letting this frightened wolf in.
And a sheepish hi and uncertain wave to everyone on here.

It's going to be a bit of a journey for me, and frankly I'm excited and terrified to be taking this step.
I sort of suspected that there was something a little 'extra' about how I feel about things. Looking back on it now, I think that it's always been there and I'd shrugged it off as 'a bit weird'.

A couple of weeks ago I'd have described myself as fur-curious but that's evolved as I begin to get more comfortable with the new feelings that are really coming to the surface.
I'm a writer. I normally write in a different genre, but my publisher asked me to take part in an experiment. They sent me a detailed plot outline for a paranormal romance novel featuring a cute werewolf. I'm not going to go into details because:
A) I'm keeping the real me under the radar for now.
B) I think it's a bit rude to come onto a forum talking about my books like a bloody typical writer.

Maybe we can get onto that later when I feel a bit more confident and I've earned trust and respect.
I was a little unsure about this book at first, but oh my I just loved writing about this guy who turns into the most adorable doggo, and how a relationship with the woman he had initially ignored blossomed.
I'd fallen head over heels with the whole thing.

Of course, I'd done my research and found myself stepping ever deeper into the most delightful rabbit hole (no pun intended), discovering breath-taking works such as "Beastars", seeing Mr Peanutbutter in a whole new light, all of that.

What was happening to me? Why was I so bowled over by these characters?
I discovered that there was such a community as 'furries' - wow, so I wasn't the weird one. It wasn't strange that as a kid, I felt an ache in my soul when I saw Falkor the luck dragon in 'Neverending Story', Disney's Foxy Robin Hood... Okay, Bungle the Bear did nothing for me, so we'll let that pass!
Now, in my Fifties, those feelings are re-ignited. And you know what? It's comforting, I found myself smiling randomly at the thought. This is something new and exciting - where is it going to take me?

But to what end? A little research and uninformed, dumbass internet opinion shows up a kinky side to the furry fellowship. God! Did I have an unnatural fetish? 'Heck, look at the percentage of these people who are gay, pansexual and the rest of it. Is that ME?'
Time for some self-reflection. Okay, some of that soul-ache did spring from the loins, I guess it's safe to admit that here - if not then where?
I don't have a gay bone in my body (...behave!), that's okay isn't it? Sure it is, and I have no qualms at all with the colourful mixture that we have today.
You can't move for drawings of hunky wolf-guys on the internet and you know, maybe I'm just jealous - oh for a bod like that! LOL.
I'm comfortable in my skin - but maybe I'd be even more comfortable in fur?

Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you'll all accept a nervous noob while I find my feet.. Scratch that... Paws.

J
(Yes, I did adapt this from my intro on ukFur )

 

[Jack Foxtrot]

Haha, think we've all been there, my guy! For me I was originally a Brony (My Little Pony fan, "bro" and "pony") when I was a kid, and I think that was sort of the gateway into the furry fandom for me in my teens way back when. I do miss those days, though. I remember when ponies used to dominate the internet. Especially through memes and trends.

Greetings! Hope you enjoy your stay.

 

[JakeTheDog]

Haha, think we've all been there, my guy! For me I was originally a Brony (My Little Pony fan, "bro" and "pony") when I was a kid, and I think that was sort of the gateway into the furry fandom for me in my teens way back when. I do miss those days, though. I remember when ponies used to dominate the internet. Especially through memes and trends.

Greetings! Hope you enjoy your stay.

Nice, and thanks for the welcome.
I think I might know ALL the terms now. You click on one cute werewolf on Facebook and suddenly it thinks it's your whole life. Massive furry flood!
... but that's just fine with me.

 

[Katara the Sergal]

We've all (or mostly) had our denial phase, but it's always better late than never to have you onboard in the community. The furry fandom as a whole infamously gets nothing but flak from the outside world, and can make it especially challenging to feel remotely comfortable with getting into it all. There's massive amounts of misconception that surrounds the fandom that the rest of the world assumes to be true. Then you become one and realize we're not some cult of dog fuckers that everyone seems to think we are, and that really all the "terrifying" parts of us is (mostly) just the doing of extremist individuals every single community has that even WE largely shun. We're really just a community of nerds not unlike virtually any other corner of the internet, the only REAL difference is our whole culture revolves around anthropomorphic animals. Art of them, roleplaying as them, and of course, conventions and so on and so forth. Our whole world is just this. That said, though, it's actually a vastly better world than the outside world would like to think it is. We're actually not so scary at all, and from the inside looking out, it's extremely confusing why the rest of the world is so against accepting us or even humoring the notion that 90% of the hate we get is actually bullshit.

I myself have been in the fandom since very early 2013 - January, as a matter of fact. That's just officially. Unofficially, I knew of the fandom's existence for years before that. Ironically, I initially didn't like them, just as everyone else does. And then kind of came my denial phase where I kept finding myself looking at furry art, and unironically liking it, but I still wasn't open at all about liking it and was pretty closeted with myself about it. Eventually, it became more and more of a problem(?) that just grew on me, and it was undeniable that I wanted to be a furry, and so in January 2013, I came to terms with it and officially became one. I kind of just showed up on an adult chat forum/art site (it was an art site with a live chat at the time), originally as a minor lying about my age, and I was kind of a cringelord back then, looking back at who I was. I was only really a furry for the NSFW side of it all. But, I then joined a couple chat forums and honestly really came to enjoy the community aspect of things, and set the course of my evolution as a furry that made me who I am today. A couple years into being one was when I first joined this site, back on a very old account (I've had a few for reasons for another time). You can see how that turned out as I'm still here a decade later. So much has changed in the fandom in my time within it. So many old members that I used to know, here and on other places, vanished to the sands of time, off to wherever on some corner of the internet, or simply burned out of the fandom. So many really cool people that defined the early days of me being a furry that kept my interest in the fandom and truly made me fall in love with it and stay that just don't exist anymore. And that's on top of places like Discord, Telegram, ect coming onto the scene and all but wiping forums like this off the map. The fandom has vastly changed in my time, as has the outside world. It's not the same world anymore, neither within the fandom nor outside of it, and I kind of feel lost in both. But, this site serves as one of the last artifacts of my early days as a furry that I cling to, wishing I could go back to when forums like this were in their heyday, when all the classic long-timers that were here for many years were still here. That said, I'm happy to see someone else starting their journey within the fandom, to bring new life to it and to hopefully be starting countless years of their own memories of quite an uncertain future. I welcome you to the community, and I hope you find your place within it just as I did, and wind up staying for a very long time.

 

[JakeTheDog]

We've all (or mostly) had our denial phase, but it's always better late than never to have you onboard in the community. The furry fandom as a whole infamously gets nothing but flak from the outside world, and can make it especially challenging to feel remotely comfortable with getting into it all. There's massive amounts of misconception that surrounds the fandom that the rest of the world assumes to be true. Then you become one and realize we're not some cult of dog fuckers that everyone seems to think we are, and that really all the "terrifying" parts of us is (mostly) just the doing of extremist individuals every single community has that even WE largely shun. We're really just a community of nerds not unlike virtually any other corner of the internet, the only REAL difference is our whole culture revolves around anthropomorphic animals. Art of them, roleplaying as them, and of course, conventions and so on and so forth. Our whole world is just this. That said, though, it's actually a vastly better world than the outside world would like to think it is. We're actually not so scary at all, and from the inside looking out, it's extremely confusing why the rest of the world is so against accepting us or even humoring the notion that 90% of the hate we get is actually bullshit.

I myself have been in the fandom since very early 2013 - January, as a matter of fact. That's just officially. Unofficially, I knew of the fandom's existence for years before that. Ironically, I initially didn't like them, just as everyone else does. And then kind of came my denial phase where I kept finding myself looking at furry art, and unironically liking it, but I still wasn't open at all about liking it and was pretty closeted with myself about it. Eventually, it became more and more of a problem(?) that just grew on me, and it was undeniable that I wanted to be a furry, and so in January 2013, I came to terms with it and officially became one. I kind of just showed up on an adult chat forum/art site (it was an art site with a live chat at the time), originally as a minor lying about my age, and I was kind of a cringelord back then, looking back at who I was. I was only really a furry for the NSFW side of it all. But, I then joined a couple chat forums and honestly really came to enjoy the community aspect of things, and set the course of my evolution as a furry that made me who I am today. A couple years into being one was when I first joined this site, back on a very old account (I've had a few for reasons for another time). You can see how that turned out as I'm still here a decade later. So much has changed in the fandom in my time within it. So many old members that I used to know, here and on other places, vanished to the sands of time, off to wherever on some corner of the internet, or simply burned out of the fandom. So many really cool people that defined the early days of me being a furry that kept my interest in the fandom and truly made me fall in love with it and stay that just don't exist anymore. And that's on top of places like Discord, Telegram, ect coming onto the scene and all but wiping forums like this off the map. The fandom has vastly changed in my time, as has the outside world. It's not the same world anymore, neither within the fandom nor outside of it, and I kind of feel lost in both. But, this site serves as one of the last artifacts of my early days as a furry that I cling to, wishing I could go back to when forums like this were in their heyday, when all the classic long-timers that were here for many years were still here. That said, I'm happy to see someone else starting their journey within the fandom, to bring new life to it and to hopefully be starting countless years of their own memories of quite an uncertain future. I welcome you to the community, and I hope you find your place within it just as I did, and wind up staying for a very long time.

... wiping a little tear. No, just dust in my throat, honest. That was beautiful, and 100% resonates with what I feel.
For me, (boomer! forums are better because you can write this kind of thing. I'm in LondonFurs telegram but it's mostly benal chatter, long live LONG FORM forums.
thank you... thank you, I really feel like I'm now being honest with myself here.


BTW: profile image got removed for being AI, but my publisher has agreed to get their artist to draw me one (they want a new werewolf book! lol). Feeling VERY loved right now!!!

 

[Katara the Sergal]

... wiping a little tear. No, just dust in my throat, honest. That was beautiful, and 100% resonates with what I feel.
For me, (boomer! forums are better because you can write this kind of thing. I'm in LondonFurs telegram but it's mostly benal chatter, long live LONG FORM forums.
thank you... thank you, I really feel like I'm now being honest with myself here.


BTW: profile image got removed for being AI, but my publisher has agreed to get their artist to draw me one (they want a new werewolf book! lol). Feeling VERY loved right now!!!

I'm something inbetween, being comfortable in both places like Discord and old school forums like these. I've been in a ridiculous amount of adult furry servers years ago, and am just kind of used to it all. That said, I still seriously miss old forums like these, because of the sheer nostalgia they evoke for me, remembering so long ago in the fandom. I wonder if it's more the people I miss than anything. I mainly just want a reunion with all the classic members of the fandom I used to know and have so much fun talking to back in the day, and this was where they used to be. It's kind of a shrine to them in my heart. The old days of a bygone time. It was just a special time and place that Discord and so on, and for the most part the communities of, just don't capture for me, and likely never will. The old days just used to feel closer-knit I guess. Something that's hard to get with the very disconnected era of chat apps.

I never even saw your original pic, but I wish you luck with your new one. Mine ironically isn't even all that accurate, having been done years ago by a foreign artist who I had a lot of communication issues with.

 

[JakeTheDog]

I'm something inbetween, being comfortable in both places like Discord and old school forums like these. I've been in a ridiculous amount of adult furry servers years ago, and am just kind of used to it all. That said, I still seriously miss old forums like these, because of the sheer nostalgia they evoke for me, remembering so long ago in the fandom. I wonder if it's more the people I miss than anything. I mainly just want a reunion with all the classic members of the fandom I used to know and have so much fun talking to back in the day, and this was where they used to be. It's kind of a shrine to them in my heart. The old days of a bygone time. It was just a special time and place that Discord and so on, and for the most part the communities of, just don't capture for me, and likely never will. The old days just used to feel closer-knit I guess. Something that's hard to get with the very disconnected era of chat apps.

I never even saw your original pic, but I wish you luck with your new one. Mine ironically isn't even all that accurate, having been done years ago by a foreign artist who I had a lot of communication issues with.

I find it hard to connect on the more 'ephemeral' platforms. This is just my pace.. old dog and all that.
Just heard from the publisher, they've contacted their artist and she'll draw my fursona (or at least profile pic)... think I owe them a book then.

 

[Katara the Sergal]

I find it hard to connect on the more 'ephemeral' platforms. This is just my pace.. old dog and all that.
Just heard from the publisher, they've contacted their artist and she'll draw my fursona (or at least profile pic)... think I owe them a book then.

As someone with a horribly screwed up attention span, I take well to places where I can just pop in randomly to say something funny as people are chatting, and then go about playing whatever game I'm playing on the side, but unlike a lot of people on those platforms, "too slow" is not really a thing for me, having been used to old forums like this LONG before said chat apps ever came to the mainstream, and so I'm a hardy type that can happily exist in either place. Serves me well in these times. But if I could choose forums OR chat apps, I'd obviously choose the revival of forums, just for nostalgia sake. That's great about your pic, and I wish you very well with your book. I'm not much of a writer beyond roleplays (even then, not "story" roleplays 99% of the time), but I have done a few short stories out of boredom, if that really qualifies me as a "writer". It's something.

 

[JakeTheDog]

Would it be a safe bet that just about EVERY ONE has seen "The Fandom" on YouTube - full documentary.

Started it last night and it hit me harder than anything I've seen before in my life. So many happy tears. I'm a total wreck.

 

[Pomorek]

Hello and welcome! Greetings from the resident hoofer from faraway land. Glad that you found us, and it seems to be a culmination of quite a journey indeed.

I'm probably the one outlier who hasn't seen "The Fandom" but otherwise I'm one of the strange types who have been "furry-like" basically always. I still remember the shocking surprise when what I've been considering my own weird quirk turned out to be widespread on teh interwebz...

I'm also very displeased with the downfall of the forums. It's about the only form of online communication that I can handle. Chats are too fast, I can't formulate anything coherent without thinking first.

So, you're a writer. Is your current assignment specifically furry-related? I mean, there can be werewolf stories completely outside the fandom.

Overall I find the situation with furry-related writing to be puzzling. Seems like there definitely are books being published in the fandom. But posting stories online attracts very little attention. And it can't be just quality issue, I've seen it happening to many people, some seemingly quite experienced.

 

[JakeTheDog]

Hello and welcome! Greetings from the resident hoofer from faraway land. Glad that you found us, and it seems to be a culmination of quite a journey indeed.

I'm probably the one outlier who hasn't seen "The Fandom" but otherwise I'm one of the strange types who have been "furry-like" basically always. I still remember the shocking surprise when what I've been considering my own weird quirk turned out to be widespread on teh interwebz...

I'm also very displeased with the downfall of the forums. It's about the only form of online communication that I can handle. Chats are too fast, I can't formulate anything coherent without thinking first.

So, you're a writer. Is your current assignment specifically furry-related? I mean, there can be werewolf stories completely outside the fandom.

Overall I find the situation with furry-related writing to be puzzling. Seems like there definitely are books being published in the fandom. But posting stories online attracts very little attention. And it can't be just quality issue, I've seen it happening to many people, some seemingly quite experienced.

Thanks for the warm welcome.
The new book. Obviously an element of that is to put crunchy crunchy biscuits in my bowl every day. We all gotta make a living.
The new one isn't SPECIFICALLY about furries, but I thought that given my new obsession, I could use that to drive me forward in a new project. It's a continuation of a loose series and a main character that I wanted to bring to the front of stage - she wasnt even born in the last book. She's a werewolf, she finds herself lost and confused in a dangerous city but is befriended by a clan (what's the proper term?) of furries. I also want to help spread awareness and POSITIVITY of the culture and will be dismissing misunderstandings about an overly kinky side.