Awwwwwwww....!! !!!!!

*chuckles* Yeah, kisses for the win!

^.=.^ Yush.

I wishes I could do thats with mah mate! But he liveth in Sweden D:

Awwww... Maybe you'll get to be with him someday. Me and KaniS have spent far too much coin flying me back and forth so we could be together, but my love always says it's worth it. And my dear is in Britain, so we can't share our snuggles in more than online, for now- but he is invited to the wedding, of course! I'll get to give him a much-deserved cuddle and smooch then.

lol nice. But yea. There aren't enough furries around me to even just snuggle ;_; and that's all I want! Sure I could go to furmeets here but I still feel different since everyone else are adults and I know they still look at me as a kid, which I hate -_-

Frankly, from what I've seen, the average age of the furs I've met here and elsewhere (both online and in person) is about 18. I don't think you'll be out of place, really. Just being a mite insecure, I'm thinking. *huggles you warmly* You want really out of place? Try being forty in a community made of up of mostly teenagers, with a few older folks sprinkled here and there. I'm an older dragon, and though I've only been part of furry fandom for a short while, I've been a member of various fan-groups for over twenty-five years- even there, I'm not "average": I'm either too young (SF Fandoms) or too old (places like here), too feminine (in a group mostly made up of males), or too masculine in my behaviour (just plain weird for a lot of folks, no matter who they are)...

lol *Nods* I don't know why but I get along more/feel more comfortable around adults. I guess it's because I expect them to (since a lot act like they know everything) already know how I feel and that I'm smarter than most with my actions (I've turned down a lot of things in my short time heh..) and around kids my age, its all about trying to show whose better and impress. But with adults (and cause of my submissiveness) I don't have to impress really much at all and they have control of the situation and usually have good judgement.
*Shrugs*
At times I think I should have been born at least 20 years early. I'd fit then cause of those points and I like oldie bands heh..

Heh- I hung around the older folks when I was deep into the SF&F fandoms- then I began to notice how the folks I thought were more mature really weren't- now I don't fit anymore- I've evolved, they haven't. I was younger, but with an older mind-set. Not in the sense of conservative, but a lot of things just didn't phase me (unless it was jokes at people's expense- I still have trouble with those. And teasing- I hate most teasing, even the supposedly friendly sort- too often, it's just plain mean). I get a lot of folks thinking I'm actually younger, because they have this broken idea that idealist=youngster.

Now i have the reverse situation- younger folks hanging with me, because they have a similar "older" outlook where they can't be bothered to go with the mainstream, want to rebel, but in a way that can actually make a difference, and they see me as an example of someone who's been on the edgey side of life and survived... Gawds, that's just weird to me- I used to be the gawky, unpopular kid no-one could ever think was cool...

Me, I just want to be able to live my life the way I'd like- weird or not and not be pestered by a bunch of silly nits with weird-ass agendas trying to convert me back to the conformist set. Blah.

Live how you want, hon, and don't worry about whether you'll "fit in"- there's a niche for you, even if it has to grow around you, first.

Same thing with the "older mind set."

*Nods* Yea guess so..

*snuggles and kisses and twines with the opal dragoness all naughtily and playfully*

I grok. Never fitted in, me, ever. Always too much my own person to fit in anywhere really with anything, face never fitted, attitude never fitted --- whatever. Am not quite so old as you, darling, this time around *grin*, but still in me 30s, and an Otherkin in a bunch of furry fans and a computer geek who isn't tech-mad, just to get started...

Eh. I'm me, and that's that. And Murra is Murra --- *looks at Murra, and his tailtip starts to twitch* .... thank the Gods! Rraaarrrrr! *jumps, springs and pounces a Murra, coiling around her and rolling her over and over and...*

*giggles as she's pounced, and playfully bats at your tail like a big cat, nipping gently at your paws, tail-tip and muzzle, licking at anything she can reach, chuckling the whole while* Yup, I know that one- here I am, doing more art than I have in decades, and enjoying it, because I have an audience to give it to! Yay! I'm not really into anime (though KaniS threatens to change that, but it's the older stuff he's been getting me into), nor am I a big TV watcher, so a lot of the current pop-culture stuff just goes right over my head. Folks get a lot of blank looks from me when they start going on (and on, and on, and on...) about this or that video-game: there's going to be a big chance that I've never heard of it, let alone ever actually played it. I played stuff like Galaga and Asteroids- Gears of War is just something I've seen in a commercial.

For me, the furry fandom is comfort-zone because Otherkin seem to be accepted in this community more than in the now almost mainstream SF&F crowd, I'm into the art-scene (though not so much the pronz aspect), and fursuits are something I adore as a costumer. How can I not "fit in" in a place like this? Even my slightly odd sexuality seems to work, here, with all the folks being bi, homo or various fun points in between- bondage, S&M, all kinds of fetishes (some that just make me go "whut?")- my own weird yen for dragons, fursuits and plushies practically go un-noticed. Brilliant, I say.

*chuckles as his tail is bapbapped and he deliberately sways it back and forth for Murra to play with*

Heh... you know what's ironic? I'm doing a computer programming degree with an emphasis on games and I must play the fewest computer games out of the whole class. Everybody else is waxing lyrical about fantastic new games with wizzo graphics and stunning, ear-popping sound, and my response is along the lines of, "So?" :P I can't stand most modern television, I don't watch films so much any more... give me a good story, some nice music and a cup of tea -- or, even better, a nice dragon(ess) to be with... ;)

I agree with you that the fandom is a comfortable place for Otherkin to be; the corollary is that most people don't realise the difference, or even that there is one, and so they assume that anything that walks like a duck must be a duck, even if it is a goose in a duck suit, to use a truly dreadful analogy. And yes, sexuality fits, attitude fits, the yen for scales and wings fits --- one can even talk about one's true form and how uncomfortable car seats are for long periods when one is seated right on the tailbase... I agree, dear Murra. Brilliant is the word.

*hugs Murra tightly, snuggling and kissing and all sorts* ;)

That's actually hilariously ironic! *chuckle* Most TV bores me to death, barring a few science shows, some sf&f programs and fun things like Mythbusters or Prototype This. Toss in the odd forensics series and I'm done.

Never thought about it, but do many dragons have lower back problems? I have osteoarthritis in my lower spine from standing for long periods and a definite swayback- it's like I want to be on all fours, instead of bipedal. Never questioned that it might be nothing more than poor work or exercise habits... Heh.

*licklicklicks the beautiful platinum, hugging him warmly*

*grins* I like a good murder mystery, and some food programs - not surprising! *laughs warmly and licklicks warmly before nibbling naughtily* Must cook for you when I'm over for the wedding, yupyup :)

I like sci-fi, certainly. :) And a show we have over here called "Grand Designs"... it's all about people building houses for themselves, and there are all sorts of weird and wonderful designs come up. They're filmed several times over a period of months as the build continues... it's wonderful. Sigh. Wish I had enough money to make a proper lair.

I don't know about lower back problems... well, h'rm. Maybe. I know I can be in considerable pain after standing up for long periods of time - and even short ones if I haven't slept well. And my back is ferociously tense at all times, from coccyx to first vertebra, and my shoulder-blades are like stone...

... heh. Yeah. Quad dragons in human bodies definitely have back problems!

*licknibblekisses the wonderful, gorgeous opal dragoness and purrrrs deeply*

Oh, yeah, I like learning new recipes.. If I could ever afford it, I might consider training to be a chef, even at my age. The problem with my settling into a career is that I'm interested in far too many things!

Back problems are fairly new for me, and the doctors mostly pin it on my wieght and lack of enough activity. But I've been doing more exercise- hiking and stuff, and the lower back thing is still there. I even have to sleep on a special pad to support my back or I'll be in pain all night. Owwww. Can't lay on my stomach, anymore, either- same reason.

Yeah, sci-fi is too fun- been enjoying Sanctuary, and Primeval, lately. Never heard of the building program, but it does sound pretty cool. I get an absolute chuckle (and the occasional wince) out of How Clean Is Your house? It's bloody amazing what some people will live in. Ugh. What pigs- their "homes" look more like the lair of an uncivilized animal than a sentient being... And it distresses me how badly my own lair would compare.

*kisses you warmly and lovingly, purring in loud, rumbly chuffing* <-- learned that from some friendly tigers.

*Laughs* interesting to read *snickers*

*bats at your muzzle* Behave, you... *giggle*

That was meant for Heh...

*giggles and nibbles warmly over Murra as he reaches down to pull her close, his eyes shining*

Oh... but I am behaving... this IS behaving, for me... *evilgrin*

Oh wow its beautiful!

Thank you, hon! Still working on it- the full painting is four times this size. When it's done, I think will have kittens. I figure I'd better do a bang-up job- he's paid enough for it!

:3

^.=.^

Awww.
It's very nice.

*grins, all happy about it* yeahhhhh. Such a comforting looking little place, that...

Nice ~! I can't wait to see the finished product!

Well, I have permission to post only portions- I'll definitely post a detail of their faces when the final is finished, but I'm afraid the complete and whole piece must remaina private, as he requested. I'm glad you like it- I'm kind of surprised myself at how well it's coming along.

Beautiful and awesomeeeee ~! GOOD JOB S'FAR LADY !

*blushes bright scarlet* Thanks, babe...

^__^

>^.______.^<

*has been staring at the pictures now for a long time in silence... first the one of the cave alone, and now this one... then the first again, and now this... And when he tries to speak, he cannot; and when at long last it seems he remembers to breathe and to blink he finds that his breath comes ragged to his chest and his eyes are full, and yet he smiles*

... it's beautiful, Murra... _niHan... oh, Gods...

*reaches out and pulls the opal dragoness to him, holding her and crooning, licking and nuzzling as he takes in the image in front of him*

Home... oh Gods, Murra... you drew home... *runs out of words, and smiles, tears of a hundred emotions running down his muzzle as he kisses the opal softly* _niHan... oh _niHan... thank you... thank you...

*she blushes and smiles, her eyes wet as she whispers* I'm glad you like it, dear Niih'yaan... *she just holds you close, knowing that her heart sings when she sees it, too-* It does look a lot like my valley, too... I remember these wonderful trees with flowers all over them, so tall and so big that TaanRren looked small next to them... We could perch like birds...

Oh... I had forgotten those! *laughs softly* H'ant trees -- ggannt trees, in your time? Not many of them down in the City where we are, they're very much mountain things... and I have a nasty suspicion, like so much else, they were smaller when I was alive...

*trills and crooooons as he licks Murra's beautiful face, seeing the tears in her own eyes at the sight of home* You know, I can smell it... you know, that scent when the wind was coming down in the evening, not pine, not flowers but somewhere between and how it would just catch and tickle the sinuses?... that smell itself that said 'summer evening', just before the tree-flowers closed and the crickets (for want of the right word) started to sing?...

Rrrrrolwwlwlll... Murra... home... *smiles and kisses and nuzzles*

*purrs happily, sniffing at the faint and familiar perfume, loving it and missing it* Yeah, something like that- I hear a word more like Thurhaant'en or Duurhaant'en... The intial sound is a very soft "th" or "d" sound... Sounds a bit like "der-CHOWNT-en" Maybe they survived to your time? Something like a flowering Sequoia? I have a scent that makes me think of them- a bit like jasmine, cedar and a hint of herby and earthy soil smell like patchouly to it... Hmm, might be why I like patchouly so much...

*grins* You need a reason?... :) I adore vetiver, sandalwood and frankincense the most, although loads more I love... for some reason the scent of meadowsweet is just... rrrrr... beyond divine. Those scents just lock into my head somehow, and... rrr... I can smell meadowsweet right now, and I know there's none around...

*smiles warmly and kisses, nuzzling and kissnibbling* TeHa'ant... that's it. The TeHa'ant - the'hha-ant tree... *smiles and grins* "Kissing trees", we called them... couples on Seclusion or up in the mountains just 'cos, sitting on the lower branches or on the ground, and --- well, you guess *chortles merrily*

All that sweet smell... cedarwood and rich aromatics from the rosins that seeped out in the summer --- And we made into long sticks, rolling between our paws, and used to nibble on through the winter... *laughs, and nuzzles, and wonders if that rings any bells for the opal*

I don't recall eating them, but we did like to sniff over them or lick them and rub them on our cheeks and the like... Mostly, we'd just let it sit in our furs to scent them. We'd pick the globs off the bark and roll them into little balls that we'd then coat in the leafy bits from the same tree (or another with a nice smell) to keep the sap from sticking to other things. Flat "cakes", too- those would be laid in the furs, under the hides or in between layers to keep them sweet. Aromatic grasses made great padding, too, and we'd weave loose mats or bags and stuff them with more grasses and stick the flat resin cakes in there- kept the bugs away... The furs would go on top. We'd burn them in coal braziers in the winter, both to heat our caves and to give them a warm scent.

Heh, "kissing trees" cool name for them- the flowers were five-petalled things the size of your paws, soft pinks and yellows, speckled in deeper orange and reds. A lover would weave them into their sweetheart's mane or make garlands... *puts a Duurhaant'en blossom into the floof of her tail and brushes it across your nose* We'd play in the big trees as children, climbing with our claws, and some of the branches were big enough you could actually run on them. Some folks liked the trees so much, they made homes in them, weaving living branches together for walls and a canopy and clearing out the branches below the tree-cave and leaving a "drop-door" for quick exits into the air.

Incense smells... Hmmm- copal resin- that stuff is wonderful in it's smell- kinda piney, but sweet, too.

*chuckles* We didn't nom them straight down, the treats we made. They were for nibbling on, for the taste of the summer in the midst of winter. And aromatic sweet grasses made wonderful padding for beds, yes... heh. Furs or no furs, they were wonderful to lie upon...

*inhales deeply of the blossom as you floofle his nose with it and grins, shivering... oh yes, the heavenly scent of summer days that lasted forever* Heh... we lived in the City by then, when I was young, and the TeHa'ant were largely out in the mountainous valleys... but it's a smell you never forget, no never... Diving down from the sky into a stand of them and falling out, covered in flowers...

Heh. Different times... the same scents. *bites a flower delicately from the tree and, holding it by its stem between his forefangs, nudges it offeringly at Murra*

*she smiles demurely, accepting it in her lips, then ties it inot her mane, still running the one on her tail over your hide* I was in a valley full of them, with clearing in between for the few crops we farmed- we mostly hunted and fished for our food- gathered what plant-matter we ate, too. Rustling grasses smelled so gooood when you lay on them- *rustles some grass under the furs snuggling up to you, her tail floof already scented with the deep fragrance of the flower attached to ther tail-hair*

AWWWWWW its SOOO CUTE!!!1

*chuckles and huggles you* Thanks, hon!

tsk tsk I never see you round no more dear your so scares :(

Scarce, indeed! Not up late enough in the night, anymore, to use the IMs and I'm working on art a lot, lately. KaniS and I drive around a fair bit, too... I'm still alive, even if it doesn't seem like I'm around. *huggles*

nice very nicely done

*bows, happily surprised herself* Thank you, pretty blue!

Background is epic . . . can't wait to see the final piece!

Thank you so much! It took a while to build. Guh... Finishing the dragons, now... SeHT's asked that the final be a private piece, though, but I can and will post a detail of the final when the dragons are done.

Your style here = Awesomesause and Wincakes (if not Awesomesause on Wincakes).

Weee! I'm working on getting even better, if possible. My art seems to hit a wall every now ant then, where I can't seem to learn more techniques. That'll prevail for a while, then something will come along that fascinates me, and BAM! New levels of ability come out my ass.. Dunno what's up with that- must be some kind of unconscious assimilation thing.

*Leeches your abilities.* >:3

Nuuuuu! I just GOT those! Baaaaaaawwwwww! *cackles*

But now I can haz draw!

*steals her powers back, giggling*

Awww...was fun while it lasted...
*Snurggles*

*chortles in triumph and prances around like a doofus*

*Giggles and claps his paws, easily entertained.*

*Glee*

awwww so beautiful

Thank you, dear!