Re-entry

[altivo]

Erg! Still tired, trying to pick up all the threads that were dropped for MFF...

I see with considerable astonishment that the reader count for last year's NaNo excerpt has now exceeded 10,000. This is moderately surprising, since it contains no pr0n, and is only an excerpt without the full conclusion to the story present in the online version. The limited amount of feedback I actually received on it hasn't inspired me to polish it for actual publication, and the fact that it continues to garner additional readership is, well, interesting.

I'm too busy to have PCD. I'm too busy to... Aww, I've got it. Bad. It's making me want to sit and stare into space while stroking plushies or else pound my brain into oblivion with Muppet movies or something. I'm particularly bothered that I missed so many friends who were actually present at MFF. I dunno whether it's a good thing that I only have two workdays this week, or not. The schedule is so busy anyway because of tomorrow's holiday that I don't have time for "melon collies," and I want some anyway. Heck, even a doberman would do. ;p

In a sense, this is inevitable, I guess. Furry is a youth culture, and unfortunately it came into public visibility a bit too late for me. Many elements of the milieu are alien (gaming, late nights, dance music, unabashed sexuality, for example) and yet the common shared interest, the yearning for that fantasy moment is still there and very powerful. My long term interest in theatrics and anthropomorphic characters is stronger than ever, which makes the whole thing irresistible to me even though I end up in orbit around the outside of it all, never quite an insider.

It's hard to work now rather than browsing all the convention photos as they pop up on the web, but I have to do it. Yesterday I continued to rub the wound with salt by wearing my Argos sweatshirt and "the bracelet" to work, and displaying the first available photos of myself in suit to a willing audience. That only prolongs the ache, though. I have real work to do and should get some of it done today. Thank goodness we shortened the hours for the eve of Thanksgiving, so it's not going to be the usual Wednesday horror.

Comments

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

I am sorry you're feeling down after cons. PCD tends to affect me months later down the line. It's mainly seeing people who up until then are only text on a screen. And don't worry about feeling old. Even I feel remote from some of the more shall we say "anime" type aspects of the fandom, and I am just 30.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. *hugs*

I'm text based. Not a gamer, not a video fan, not wired into popular dance music. There are a few with whom I can share that of course, but relatively few. Classic furry literature (of which there really is quite a lot) is the core of my fantasy.

Note that I'm not complaining about "age discrimination" here. There really is such a thing in the gay subculture, but I've noticed far less of that in furry fandom, which is really nice.

[soanos.livejournal.com]

I guess we are a bit alike, aside for the text based bit. I used to read a lot until I got hooked on the internet and chatting.
Before that I used to be a social recluse, an outcast among people who no-one knows or remembers. The invisible man.
I guess those years left their mark on me.

I don't like loud dance music. I don't like loud noises in general. I don't care for crowds.
I don't furpile, I don't do that giggle-pounce-stuff many seem to like.
I prefer sitting down with a drink and talking about random things and discuss about different points of view,
and maybe watch a movie (non-furry) or play a nice game across a local network with a couple of friends, or play a game on a console.

But sadly I don't really have any friends like that.
I'm a child of the 70's.
I feel lonely.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Even at my age I can stand the pouncing and the furpiles (at least, non sexual ones) but yes, we have a lot in common.

Fursuiting is nice because, in a way, it maintains that invisibility thing. It's not you, after all, but the character who engages in silly antics. I can do that. ;D

By the way, I see you will be passing me soon in the us_furries scoreboard. You've really piled on a lot of points quickly. You have very fast machines, I guess. I just got myself back to 16th place after being passed by foxyboxers a couple of months ago, but you may pass me up before the end of the year at the rate you're moving.

[soanos.livejournal.com]

Hey, you're same age as me then. I feel like an outcast, too. Furries like to have me around, but then again, I just feel like an outsider sometimes.

[corelog.livejournal.com]

PCD? Really? I thought you were much too experienced and even disdainful of large events for something like that. At least, I've never seen you enjoy a big crowd of the sorts of people that furries tend to be. Oh well, guess there's a first time for everything. :)

I'm still bound and determined to see you come to RF one of these days, preferably as the writer GoH, your protestations to the contrary. GoHs gets free transport and membership, as I recall.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

PCD really. And no, it's not a longing for the crowds, nor for the ghastly parking and environment of suburban sprawl. It's the physical contact. When you can get more hugs in two days than you've had in a whole year, many of them from people you know and care about...

There was one fursuiter going around with a clicky counter and clicking off each hug he got. I'll bet he broke a thousand. I didn't do that well but even so, it means a lot.

Each year I leave thinking it's enough and I won't have to go back again, but within a month or two the pressure builds up and I register for the next year. I'm seriously thinking of trying FCN this spring because it's much smaller and more "laid back" by all descriptions, and still not far enough away to require commercial travel. I like fursuiting, and I like being around others who do it. Many of the other "con activities" leave me cold, such as 2's on-stage antics or the endless hours of dance music. The "fanbois" at MFF are getting pretty irritating too. Still, there's no substitute for the contact with friends, as I know you understand all too well.

Being older and having always been pretty much a social outcast means that I can go a long time without being much bothered by it. Taking a sudden dose of excess happiness all at once is a shock to the system that requires recovery time, though.

Is Furry A Youth Culture?

[saythename.livejournal.com]

I'd imagine it might be, but I think its more prone
to...

Okay, its a youth culture.

Thats why old men like us enjoy it so much.

*hands you the "freaky old guy" badge*

XD

Re: Is Furry A Youth Culture?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Actually, though, I dislike and avoid much of the "youth" part, as mentioned above. The dances may look cool on video but the sound repels me like dragon farts would. I avoid crowds like the plague. Can't take them. Fanbois running around with painted faces and greasy hair? Ewwww. Jun food at 2 am? Never.

In the end, many of the people I go to see are staff and we get little more than a chance to wave or hug once.

Re: Is Furry A Youth Culture?

[soanos.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear, I am all with you with that statement! :)

*hugs tight*

*polishes his own "the grumpy old guy" badge and issues 'Tivo his own.*
Wear it with pride ;)

Re: Is Furry A Youth Culture?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* We can be grumpy together. Even though you may not be quite as old as I am, you've definitely had the experience I think. *sucks on a lemon to get the right expression* ;p

Re: Is Furry A Youth Culture?

[soanos.livejournal.com]

*noms on a lemon, too*

Mmmm, nice. A bit sweet, but nice... :->

Sure, we can be the grumpy equines :)

Re: Is Furry A Youth Culture?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*has an idea*

How about if we mix tequila with the lemons?

Re: Is Furry A Youth Culture?

[cozycabbage.livejournal.com]

...Can I have a "the grumpy young guy" badge??

I like writing, I don't like dance music, and I'd prefer to wake up early than to stay up (though the whole 'getting to bed' part eludes me).

Hm, do they have sitting-around rooms for people of skill? Where you can weave and people do their things?

Re: Is Furry A Youth Culture?

[soanos.livejournal.com]

Sure *hands a badge, too*

Re: Is Furry A Youth Culture?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heh. Youth culture doesn't have "sitting around" for anything. It's all uncontrolled energy I think.

[quickcasey.livejournal.com]

Evem though I had Monday with Smrgol and Innerwolf, I was useless at work on Tuesday. MFF kept playing in my mind.
I finally got up to speed after lunch today, and put in some overtime to make up for the time off I took for the con.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I had the problem that everyone I work with knew exactly where I'd been and wanted to see photos and hear about it. Some had read about it in the newspapers already. I still got some work done yesterday and today, but not as much as I should have. The boss came by my desk before 4 pm and told me I might as well go home, since she knew I had to cook Thanksgiving dinner tonight and "it was quiet" anyway. I thought about it but didn't go. It wasn't quiet by my standards, and got more busy as 5 pm approached since we were closing early at 5. I suspect she was aware that I wasn't much use and was just letting me off easy.

[soanos.livejournal.com]

I hope the comments and media coverage have all been positive. :)

And I hope you will have a great thanksgiving your herd *hugs tight* :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I haven't read the media commentary yet.

Thanksgiving will be hectic as usual, but once the sun goes down I'll get to relax.

[cozycabbage.livejournal.com]

lulz @ "melon collies"

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Be careful. They get grumpy. *hands you the leash*

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Are they watermelon collies?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Actually I think they are citron collies. Relatives of those Citra guys Adam Wan dreamed up, you know. Or maybe you'd prefer Citroen collies? But they shed all over the upholstery when they go for a drive.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Citron collies relatives of Citras o.O ack I don't think I could keep up with them. Eww fur on seats.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Citrons are bitter and sweet at the same time, you see. But citras just bend into all sorts of twisty shapes like pretzels, and no, I couldn't keep up with citras either.

Do they still make Citroens?

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Yes they still make Citroens :)
Still as funky as ever with slightly dodgy plastics, something the French never seem able to get right.

[t-h-squirrel.livejournal.com]

Haven't been to MFF yet.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It's getting so big that no one will be able to say they've been to the whole thing.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

*watches your icon's tail mesmerised* It just keeps moving O.O

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

PCD? Isn't that the spacing between wheel studs on a hub?

Shouldn't you feel happy and uplifted from the con rather than depressed o.O

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I feel happy and uplifted while I'm there. Afterwards I feel depressed because it's over and I won't see all those friends for a while, maybe even another year.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Awww *strokes your mane* Horses are often social peeps.