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More from Kepler
This turned out to be a rather popular journal entry, so I'm preserving it hear in scraps:
So you are curious why I would choose perhaps the most unwelcome of animals (should you see one crossing your yard while hosting friends on the patio). A creature known the world over for two things: stinking and an uncanny ability to spray stuff from its rear.
Of course I am talking about the skunk, who else? And lucky for you the answer is obvious....
............... BECAUSE THEY ARE AWESOME !!
Duh..... But with that fact out of the way, maybe I can reveal more. Actually I could write a whole lot more, but I'm not going to bore you. What I will do is answer truthfully.
Some folks will say they are an X,Y, or Z because the markings look cool, or some other aesthetic reason. Which is fine, I totally respect that but in my case the relations always go deeper. The skunk for me is someone I relate with in a personal way. Sure they are cute, have super fluffy tails and a natural set of rally racing stripes.
What's not to love?
But there is much more. The mere name "skunk" conveys a sense of potency... of Presence. Yes with a capital-P. Skunks are one of few animals that don't fall well into a category of predator or prey. Skunk isn't out to get anyone. He goes his own way, meaning harm to none, but he is no pushover. Skunks have a lovable "devil may care" attitude in the face of an aggressor and will stand toe-to-toe with others tens or hundreds of times his own size... yet only if required!
A skunk's primary deterrent is his coloration and potent reputation. When threatened a skunk will stomp its feet and make a show before breaking out the juice. It is a jungle out there. With fangs and claws, spikes, venom and nasty quills, other animals are like thugs with knives and guns. What about the skunk? Well he has got his trusty can o' Mace in the face of all that injurious lethality. This method does not kill or injure, and does no lasting harm. Talk about an upstanding citizen and a wonderful example of assertive non-aggression.
Skunks are foragers living off the fat of the land, which I respect. They are affectionate and playful animals so people actually do keep them as pets in the few states where it is legal to do so. Personally I find a lot to like about the skunk's disposition. A self directed, brave pacifist gets my respect. Unfortunately skunks get a bad rap, even from sources inside the fandom. Skunk characters are often used in artwork (mostly by furs who are not skunks!) for some of their more raunchy material. This led to a perception that skunks are dirty or into strange kinks.
Let me clear up a matter, skunks much like other mammals are actually quite clean and practice good grooming! I for one appreciate and practice good hygiene myself. Here I will say even more: Yes skunks are musky, just naturally so, and that is not a bad thing! Smells, and our sense of smell are rather taboo but they shouldn't be. Smell is an indispensable part of our big five, and the sense most strongly linked to our memory ability. Did you know that?
Skunks remind me that not all scent is bad. I for one love the smell of my cat's fur, the smell of my own bed, the smell of the forest in Autumn. These things are part of our experience of the world and add to the richness of it all; to do without them would be like seeing everything in monochrome. How terrible. There is plenty in the wide world that smells downright bad to me, but I am one of several folks I know (the others are not furs) who don't include the distinctive musk of skunk in that list. We just don't perceive it as a bad smell for some reason. Again let me be clear, in no way would I ever want to be sprayed by a skunk! As I said, that stuff is Mace and way potent besides. Skunks themselves will not spray each other in a scuffle or spray at all, if they can at all help it, whilst confined.
But I digress. The ultimate answer is that I did not choose the skunk, skunk chose me. Much like other modes of self expression, sometimes there is a truth about yourself which you can either repress or express and this is your real choice. Say you hate pickles. There is nothing to say you can't eat 'em anyway and call it yummy. A fursona is the same deal for me: a simple occasion for honesty or fallacy. There is more to say in a future post. I feel inspired to represent myself a certain way without totally understanding why, but any other representation would be a lie.
So skunk I am, and proud to wear the double white stripes!
Have any thoughts to share, or something to say about your own species?
Thanks for reading
So you are curious why I would choose perhaps the most unwelcome of animals (should you see one crossing your yard while hosting friends on the patio). A creature known the world over for two things: stinking and an uncanny ability to spray stuff from its rear.
Of course I am talking about the skunk, who else? And lucky for you the answer is obvious....
............... BECAUSE THEY ARE AWESOME !!
Duh..... But with that fact out of the way, maybe I can reveal more. Actually I could write a whole lot more, but I'm not going to bore you. What I will do is answer truthfully.
Some folks will say they are an X,Y, or Z because the markings look cool, or some other aesthetic reason. Which is fine, I totally respect that but in my case the relations always go deeper. The skunk for me is someone I relate with in a personal way. Sure they are cute, have super fluffy tails and a natural set of rally racing stripes.
What's not to love?
But there is much more. The mere name "skunk" conveys a sense of potency... of Presence. Yes with a capital-P. Skunks are one of few animals that don't fall well into a category of predator or prey. Skunk isn't out to get anyone. He goes his own way, meaning harm to none, but he is no pushover. Skunks have a lovable "devil may care" attitude in the face of an aggressor and will stand toe-to-toe with others tens or hundreds of times his own size... yet only if required!
A skunk's primary deterrent is his coloration and potent reputation. When threatened a skunk will stomp its feet and make a show before breaking out the juice. It is a jungle out there. With fangs and claws, spikes, venom and nasty quills, other animals are like thugs with knives and guns. What about the skunk? Well he has got his trusty can o' Mace in the face of all that injurious lethality. This method does not kill or injure, and does no lasting harm. Talk about an upstanding citizen and a wonderful example of assertive non-aggression.
Skunks are foragers living off the fat of the land, which I respect. They are affectionate and playful animals so people actually do keep them as pets in the few states where it is legal to do so. Personally I find a lot to like about the skunk's disposition. A self directed, brave pacifist gets my respect. Unfortunately skunks get a bad rap, even from sources inside the fandom. Skunk characters are often used in artwork (mostly by furs who are not skunks!) for some of their more raunchy material. This led to a perception that skunks are dirty or into strange kinks.
Let me clear up a matter, skunks much like other mammals are actually quite clean and practice good grooming! I for one appreciate and practice good hygiene myself. Here I will say even more: Yes skunks are musky, just naturally so, and that is not a bad thing! Smells, and our sense of smell are rather taboo but they shouldn't be. Smell is an indispensable part of our big five, and the sense most strongly linked to our memory ability. Did you know that?
Skunks remind me that not all scent is bad. I for one love the smell of my cat's fur, the smell of my own bed, the smell of the forest in Autumn. These things are part of our experience of the world and add to the richness of it all; to do without them would be like seeing everything in monochrome. How terrible. There is plenty in the wide world that smells downright bad to me, but I am one of several folks I know (the others are not furs) who don't include the distinctive musk of skunk in that list. We just don't perceive it as a bad smell for some reason. Again let me be clear, in no way would I ever want to be sprayed by a skunk! As I said, that stuff is Mace and way potent besides. Skunks themselves will not spray each other in a scuffle or spray at all, if they can at all help it, whilst confined.
But I digress. The ultimate answer is that I did not choose the skunk, skunk chose me. Much like other modes of self expression, sometimes there is a truth about yourself which you can either repress or express and this is your real choice. Say you hate pickles. There is nothing to say you can't eat 'em anyway and call it yummy. A fursona is the same deal for me: a simple occasion for honesty or fallacy. There is more to say in a future post. I feel inspired to represent myself a certain way without totally understanding why, but any other representation would be a lie.
So skunk I am, and proud to wear the double white stripes!
Have any thoughts to share, or something to say about your own species?
Thanks for reading
Category Story / All
Species Skunk
Size 120 x 94px
File Size 211 kB
Funny to think that when I favorited this art for the first time, I was a pair of raccoon dragons. Now I'm a spotted skunk dragon. Honestly, I wanted to be a skunk for a while. At first because I just really liked their markings, but as time went on, I gained an appreciation for their spray. When I was around other skunk furs, I would think about how they live with this "weapon of m'ass destruction" under their tails. It was a part of their identity, and I wanted to have that.
Over the years, I often tried being a skunk (once even a skunk raccoon dragon), but it just didn't click. Not until last year, when I finally gave being a spotted skunk a try. After seeing videos of them performing handstands, and zooming around and even being able to climb things, I knew I wanted to try being one. Not to mention, their fur pattern is especially exotic.
And, having been a spotted skunk dragon for over a year now, I'm honestly surprised... how normal it is. Having this spray under my tail is so much a part of my identity, I don't often think much of it, anymore. It's as normal to me now as having hands. Still neat, to be sure, and it's by no means a factor that gets ignored, but it's nowhere near this huge defining factor that I expected it to be. And I like that.
Over the years, I often tried being a skunk (once even a skunk raccoon dragon), but it just didn't click. Not until last year, when I finally gave being a spotted skunk a try. After seeing videos of them performing handstands, and zooming around and even being able to climb things, I knew I wanted to try being one. Not to mention, their fur pattern is especially exotic.
And, having been a spotted skunk dragon for over a year now, I'm honestly surprised... how normal it is. Having this spray under my tail is so much a part of my identity, I don't often think much of it, anymore. It's as normal to me now as having hands. Still neat, to be sure, and it's by no means a factor that gets ignored, but it's nowhere near this huge defining factor that I expected it to be. And I like that.
Skunks are one of those animals I've been drawn to since childhood. I don't identify as one, but I have some skunk characters dear to my heart. I've had a hard time putting the species' appeal into words, and you helped. I particularly appreciate the paragraphs about assertive non-aggression, fearless personality, and the unique ecological niche that skunks occupy.
Echidna personas are rare in the furry fandom but extremely common in the Sonic fandom, which is where my character originally came from. I had a fascination with Knuckles and other echidna characters, not so much with actual echidnas. As time went on I distanced myself and my character from the Sonic fandom and felt more of a connection to real echidnas as I learned more about them.
There's several echidnas traits that I'm drawn to and relate to: They're "odd" creatures, they're solitary, they're very quiet, and they're unobtrusive and unaggressive. They aren't "pests" in any sense, they don't overbreed and overpopulate. When threatened they bury themselves in the ground so that only the spines are exposed, which can be a metaphor for how I deal with problems. They aren't rare but they remain enigmatic. There's still a lot of unanswered questions about them, and researchers who study them are continually surprised by them. They're "primitive" because they're the only egg-laying mammals besides the platysus, so I see them as a link to the ancient world, sort of a living fossil. They cannot be collared or lured into traps, and they're difficult to contain. They're physically strong and long-lived.
There's a bunch of scattered thoughts for you. It would probably be good to organize them into a small essay, similar to yours. With skunks you have to correct misconceptions, with echidnas you often have to explain to people what the heck they are in the first place.
There's several echidnas traits that I'm drawn to and relate to: They're "odd" creatures, they're solitary, they're very quiet, and they're unobtrusive and unaggressive. They aren't "pests" in any sense, they don't overbreed and overpopulate. When threatened they bury themselves in the ground so that only the spines are exposed, which can be a metaphor for how I deal with problems. They aren't rare but they remain enigmatic. There's still a lot of unanswered questions about them, and researchers who study them are continually surprised by them. They're "primitive" because they're the only egg-laying mammals besides the platysus, so I see them as a link to the ancient world, sort of a living fossil. They cannot be collared or lured into traps, and they're difficult to contain. They're physically strong and long-lived.
There's a bunch of scattered thoughts for you. It would probably be good to organize them into a small essay, similar to yours. With skunks you have to correct misconceptions, with echidnas you often have to explain to people what the heck they are in the first place.
Proud Skunk Fur here! And all of that y'all said sounds right to me. ^-^
I've been asked why my Sona is a skunk, but I never could formulate a real answer. Every time I just thought what my Sona would be, for over a decade, I "ALWAYS" came up with a skunk. It was just the thought of what the animal really was that made me think 'bout myself that made me pick one for my Sona. <3
I've been asked why my Sona is a skunk, but I never could formulate a real answer. Every time I just thought what my Sona would be, for over a decade, I "ALWAYS" came up with a skunk. It was just the thought of what the animal really was that made me think 'bout myself that made me pick one for my Sona. <3
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