I am loyal. I suppose that is the first trait of a relationship not only necessary but that I treasure most. Perhaps that overlaps with devotion. With devotion one is loyal. One can feel devotion. It's both intangible and felt. A strange dichotomy, yet real.

Honesty is borne of these traits. You can't have a relationship that will last without it. Nor will it be built on anything substantial without this foundation. Lies begin to crumble that foundation until everything collapses. It's too easy. Even small lies begin the fall.

Romance is borne of the previous traits. The more loyal and devoted, the more honesty is felt, the trust that builds allows for a sense of romance simply from the resulting comfort. Keep the romance alive. Never stop showing it to one another. It's significant. If it starts to falter, look to the other traits. Something might be amiss. Romance peaks and then levels off, but it should never drop away. It's simply a part of being when mates.

Love. This is the key. Bringing everything together, and yet somehow its own entity. You can love without the other characteristics, but it will falter, bring hurt, and the pain will create resentment. Love is created through experience with another. Loyalty, devotion, romance - trust is born. Trust allows for a paradox, everything circling in some great entropy. As with much in life, all things are mutual. If mutual, the feelings inspired are intense. Shared love, upon the foundation of entropy, will leave one giddy. You'll wake up years after your relationship reached this level, and you'll think ... this person who I love really loves me back? This is Christmas. This is every day. This is real? Pleasure like orgasm, only of the soul, will overwhelm you. Each time these thoughts occur, you'll feel like it's Christmas morning when you were a cub.

I say all this in a stream of consciousness post, in the end just to tell of my own thoughts on the subject. This is love to me. Loyalty. Honesty. Trust. Monogamy. I know that last one might not be normal for a lot of furs. So much has changed that the fandom is full of different types. Me, I'm old fashioned. I like to be with one mate for life. I don't seek out or even have an interest in others after that. I can tell if someone is attractive, but I have no desire to be with them, if that makes sense. None. I don't tire of my mate either. They're who they are. They are mortal. They age as I do. They are imperfect as I am. I actually find flaws, vulnerabilities, similar strains of humanity (I know, that term, right?) endearing. Because they are commonalities. I love unconditionally, but it can be hard.

I don't show much affection to those outside my mate. That's just who I am. Everything is reserved for that singular soul. IRL I'm fairly reserved when it comes to affection. I barely feel comfortable hugging family. So letting the walls come down for someone this much is a big deal. Physical proximity all told. Still, online it might be virtual, but for me it feels real. We often build relationships of an intellectual sort here first. We meet after the fact, later on, once the building blocks of a relationship have already formed. That's in stark contrast to the average relationship formed in the physical world, often based on initial infatuation from a chance meeting or circumstance. People even date based on simple attraction. So I do think relationships forged first through the minds and hearts have the potential to be stronger. I suppose it's yet to be seen whether this is true. The realm of the internet and this type of relationship building is relatively new.

I'm a weird sort. I admit that much. I don't mate around, or sleep around, whatever you wish to call it. I've never done that, even in my younger days. Not that I'm old. I still feel as yiffy as ever, if you want the truth. I'm male after all. I don't seek pleasure in others. I've had opportunities, but love. ... First, I can't betray my love. Second, physical intimacy doesn't feel intimate to me without love. It's like an aphrodisiac. Except it's all encompassing and enduring.

In all this said and thought out, I don't know that there's a point. Intimacy for me must be intimate. Is that normal? It's not just about yiff. It's not about pleasure. Maybe I was meant to be a girl. Guys aren't supposed to need love to feel sexual. I don't even like reading stories where they're just yiff. I want depth, character development, intimacy of hearts. It has to be romance, not erotica. I probably imbue art with much the same idea, reading into it what I think should be. If that makes sense?

I love love. I love being in love. I want to feel it always. I can't imagine life without it. For me, as long as I've been grown, I've felt this way. Love has been the greatest thing in life, the one goal worth having above all else. Money and material gain are fine, but neither will profit you in the long run. Nor do they provide a sense of fulfillment. You can be happier in love living in a shack than alone in a mansion with everything money can buy. Just ask the rich and famous, for whom love is rarely true or lasting.

All I want is love, as the song goes.

So hello, dear readers. In closing, I introduce the most romantic, devoted, loyal, honest, trustworthy, dependable, faithful, insert other words of equal fare, cat you might ever come to know. I'm neurotically loving, and it's really what matters most to me. I'd give up all my earthly possessions for that dream. Call it crazy. Most probably would. Me, I call it priorities of life. Life being the key word. In life love makes everything worthwhile. Love makes life living.

~Snowcat out