posed a questionaire

1. How did you discover this fandom?
my mom kept a subscription to Vanity Fair. For some reason i felt compelled to flip through the issue with julianne moore on the cover (serendipitous it was that very one, since i had never previously had any interest in it). i surreptitiously read the article several times with abject fascination. i can remember pretty vividly the sense of connectedness i had with the oddballs in the magazine.


2. Did you participate as soon as you could, or did you "lurk" for a while? If so, how long?
as soon as we got 56k internet in my house i went snooping. i've never been very computer savvy, so instead of BBS MUCKS i started out roleplaying in (horror of horrors) aol chat and aim. i read and kept up with any furry comic i could find. i really began to understand the fandom and my place in it when i discovered VCL. With VCL came furry porn, and with furry porn came the realization that i totally like dudes. thanks?!

3. What was your first contact with another furry in person?
i made friends with a girl in high school who openly identified as furry way before i was comfortable with it. she was from a poor family, messy house with small rodent odor, talented, shy, interested in taxidermy, played lots of video games. we would come in to school very early and chat in the debate room. i remember having a very intense crush on her for exactly one day with an accompanying (highly confusing) sexual dream. i got along with her very well, though after a year it was increasingly apparent that i was outpacing her in social skills and emotional intelligence, so we drifted apart, like i unconsciously drifted apart from all of my "nerdy" friends in favor of my "artist" friends.

4. What is you level of involvement with the community? Do you do draw, write, build costumes, participate in forums, etc.?
i don't make any bones about being a big ol' furry in the self-serious indie comics circle i travel in. i'm commissioning a fursuit. i look forward to MFF and AC and FWA ALL YEAR.

5. Did you like anthropomorphic animals before you found out about the fandom?
OH MY GOD yes. My whole childhood revolved around animals, real and imaginary.

6. Did you begin creative activity (drawing, painting, writing, music, etc.) or greatly increase your creative activity after finding the fandom?
Oh yeah, i started drawing my own furries around the same time i found vcl.

7. Counting both online and offline interactions, do you spend more leisure time with furries, or with friends not involved in the fandom?
i don't really calculate these sorts of things.