@volpi

Account for posts I want to keep separate from my main account.

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Wyvern-shaped software developer and hobby vector artist.

Pronouns

Website https://volpeon.ink/

Speaking German, English

Age 30s

Pronouns he / him

Main Account @volpeon

This user has migrated to a different account.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

I keep revisiting this post because the mind aspect in particular is complex. I think I'm getting my point across better now.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@foxovision It's getting late here so I'll read your post properly tomorrow, but I just want to clear one thing up before I go.

When I said "animal mind", the "animal" was intended to be a placeholder for the specific species someone identifies as, so in your case it would be a fox mind.
I understand that humans are as much animals as all the other, uh, animals.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@foxovision

I'm glad you liked my post.

I think not being particularly invested in any community places me in a very comfortable spot where I can discuss my views honestly without worrying about reactions of said communities.

There is no expectation on what fursonas can mean to somebody, so them "just" being roleplay characters isn't necessarily false. I say "just" because they still do reflect the person behind them, just less directly. I understand if you don't like it, but to me the positive side of this freedom far outweighs any cons since it also allows me to express myself freely.
When I thought about joining therian communities a long time ago, I always felt pressured on how to handle my "me" character. There was the expectation that everything is based on introspection and shifts, that you "discover" your character rather than create them, and so I reframed my identity to fit in. It felt like I was lying to myself.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@fudge_the_sphinx

I can relate, wearing a fursuit would be more about being an animal than anything else for me as well.

In my case, outward appearance is pretty important to my self perception. There are so many small ways people's behavior towards you changes if they perceive you as a creature, and that acts as an affirmation that I am that creature in a sense.
This mechanism actually applies to some other things for me. It explained a lot about my behavior once I realized it.

I think this also allows me to be more forgiving about not having a perfect sensory experience.

The idea with the sensors is super cool, though! As far as I know, the brain is pretty malleable when it comes to sensory input so I can easily see it make the fursuit feel like your body after a while.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@IceWolf

If that's how you want to handle it, then that's fine.

To me, this isn't a matter of wanting to call myself nonhuman. As I said, it doesn't make a difference to me. It's rather a matter of deciding if calling myself nonhuman would align with my values. If it doesn't, there's no point in doing it.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@ziphi

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

A small continuation of icy.wyvern.rip/notes/a2uua7tofjz5ac8j

Now that I highlighted why I like furries and the concept of fursonas so much, I'd like to dig into what it is that makes alterhuman communities not work for me.

The basic premise of those communities is identifying as nonhuman. And that simply doesn't apply to me.

My body is human. That's just a fact.

My mind is human. Or at least, I can't claim it's nonhuman.

When we think about minds, we can only look at them through the lens of our own experiences and observations. We might think we understand what's going on, but our assumptions are likely to be flawed and can easily turn out to be false. A good example of this is the disproved dominance hierarchy of wolves, but it happens all the time in our daily lives with other humans as well.
So when we think about, say, the "minds of foxes", what it really is is "our idea of the minds of foxes based on our observations of their behavior".

The implication here is that you can't even be sure you have a human mind. But I am at least certain that my mind isn't closer to animals than humans.
Animals don't sit in front of a computer and have discussions about identity and concepts, write software or draw vector art.
Nothing sticks out to me as inherently "nonhuman", and on the other hand the desire to experience life as an animal serves as an affirmation of my humanity.
Even if I were to find parallels to what I assume animal thoughts to be — the fact that I'm able to participate in this society on equal terms with humans and do things animals can't shows that my mind must be fundamentally different from a regular animal's.

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I think this section shows what my values are: I want to see the world the way it is, without obfuscation through my own feelings, interpretations, labels, etc.

Alterhuman communities, however, are very focused on building abstractions. I just don't find this fulfilling and rather explore my identity creatively and without any expectations via fursonas.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@colinstu Only the last paragraph

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

Another edit to characterize the last waves better.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@Zypheran

Now you got me thinking if convincing armwings would be possible, especially with movable digits instead of being all floppy. Paired with the stilts, the result would be amazing. Shit, I really want this now. The impracticability would be off the charts, though.

I'll try to find some examples, but I don't keep track of the fursuits I liked so for now, this is all I have:
bsky.app/profile/2pfoten.bsky.social/post/3kuuzlbdm3s2c

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@fudge_the_sphinx Oh yeah, I remember this! They were also considered strange, so at least things were consistent, I guess

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@vaartis Ironically, nowadays the label "therian" has changed so much that even people who only want to be their anthro fursona use it.

I don't think therian applies to me, though. In the past, it was because I didn't have any of the experiences that were considered common in the community. And nowadays, way too many discussions taking place are about extremely specific labels.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

If I had a fursuit, it would be the most impractical thing.

I mentioned in my previous post that the only fursuits that appeal to me are those having an "animal vibe". It's hard to put into words, but I understand my taste and that gives me an idea of the criteria my fursuit would have to fulfill.

It mustn't be completely impractical. I want to have at least a realistic chance to be in a fursuit without killing my back or other body parts after 10 minutes. So things like quad suits would be right out.

The species would be a were creature.
The problem with humans in costumes is that all they can really pull off are humanoid creatures. Trying to mimic anything else will inevitably look off, so I wouldn't even bother.
Fursuit makers have some tricks to adjust the perceived proportions of limbs without negative side effects. I think it's cool, but I would go one step further to really push it from the "anthro" into the "were creature" category: Stilts. I don't have the link anymore, but a few years ago I came across a project site to build stilts which essentially elongate your foot in a way that makes your legs look convincingly digitigrade.

And that's when things would become impractical, and I'm sure it would still start to hurt very quickly. But it's the most realistic solution I could think of to have a fursuit even I would be happy with.

Of course, having one would also require going to events with people because there wouldn't be much of a point otherwise, and that makes it very unlikely to ever happen.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

I feel more attached to the furry fandom than other communities you'd expect to be more relevant to me. After all, even when I joined furry forums for the first time, people who expressed a genuine desire to be an animal were considered weird — at least in the German corner of it. Someone once called me a "hardcore furry" because of it, a label which still baffles me because I'm not even interested in a lot of things furries usually are.

I don't care about fursuits. The only exception are those having some kind of "animal vibe" to them that I can't really explain. Here's an example: bsky.app/profile/2pfoten.bsky.social/post/3kuuzlbdm3s2c

I'm not very interested in anthro animals in general. On the scale I attached, my interest rapidly declines after 2.

I don't go to cons because I'm very much not a people person.

But it makes up for all of it with art and the concept of fursonas. I just love the creativity and directness of it. All it takes to be a furry is an interest in animal characters. Whether you come up with a fursona for yourself and how is entirely up to you. It's a creative and individual process without expectations on what your character means to you or what your thought process was. You may choose to make it a representation of yourself, your ideal form, an expression of your creativity or anything else. Whatever you do, the result will be an amalgamation of your choices which ultimately are an undiluted reflection of your personality, desires, likes, dislikes, all the things that make you you. I think that's awesome.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@fudge_the_sphinx I think I made that connection because the last story I read with this theme ended up doing exactly that. Transliterated could go in the same direction if it wanted to with the Beacons, but I don't think that will happen.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@sam Apparently Reddit has multiple communities, so that's that. I haven't checked them out myself (yet), though.

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@Legion495 I wish

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

@fudge_the_sphinx Yup, that's what I meant

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

Trust me, I can handle running multiple accounts

Volpeon (Bonus)

@volpi@icy.wyvern.rip

Some notes after some browsing:

- On a positive note, explanations of one's experiences and feelings still happen, so it would be wrong to claim it doesn't happen anymore.

- However, a big number of posts are focused on finding, establishing and discussing labels.

- There are indeed people who "identify as an animal on a physical level", albeit not many. The line of thinking is exactly as I had guessed.
Apparently, the Reddit community largely rejects this concept, but it's fine on Tumblr.

- I recognized some people, which is neat. Cameos are fun.

- The meta is as tiresome as everywhere else.

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