#and since I want to eventually get/make a fursuit

[spotlightstudios]

Wip of Pharaoh (who I'll probably be renaming) my og Fursona!

[alizalayne]

Hello! this will be a quick process post so that you can see how I needlefelted a fursuit head!

I began by following the "bucket head" tutorial by Matrices, then added a layer of polyfill so that I wouldn't use as much of my merino wool. This is how I typically make a doll head, my "core wool" is often polyfill because it really likes to clump together and fuse.

Overall, this project took about two months of my spare time. This is the first fursuit head I have made, but not my first needlefelt project.

I would really like to encourage other people to try making masks this way! You can do any kind of subtle color with wool and the wool fiber is very cheap. If you wanted to make a fursuit head with the entirety of starry night flowing over it, or a head with tons and tons of complex colors, I think wool might be the best material. I also did not need to know how to pattern or sew in order to make this-- it was sculpture rather than sewing, which I am bad at.

The rest under the cut!

Another angle where you can see that I am building up the structure of the head.

I then made the ears, which are translucent because they're felted, just like real ears!

I wasn't happy yet with the proportions at this point, so I spent a lot of time figuring that out and deciding where and how I'd be placing the eyes.

I made a pair of sculpey follow-me eyes by using a little soy sauce dish as a concave circular mold and tried a foam clay nose and teeth. The sculpey eyes could be more successful, they took a lot of shaving and adjusting to get right and they eventually cracked from the strain I'd put them through while making them more shallow. For a while, I intended to make wefts of white wool to use on the sides of the head, but I ended up preferring a domestic shorthair head shape because it reads the most clearly as a cat vs any other animal.

I originally intended to have the eyes behind clear plastic domes and used "shaker domes" that people use to make greeting cards to cover the eye, but in the end they made the eyes too dull. I made foam clay housing for the eyes and painted it pink with acrylic paint. I used stick-on car window tint to create the pupils. My visibility inside the head is really good!

Finally, after fiddling, one of the eyes was deeper than the other and I had to re-set both to account for it. I added spot glitter on top of the acrylic paint on the eye using some gold watercolor paint I had, which was silly because I'll need to wash the head at some point. I will probably seal the eyes before washing and hope for the best. I intend to spot clean the head until it absolutely needs to be washed, at which point I'll remove some pieces or find a way to protect them while soaking the head in a cool dr. bronner's bath.

I glued down a layer of felt fiber on top of the foam clay "tear ducts" and then felted new fiber over the tear duct skin and cheeks to blend them into the face. I also removed the teeth and closed her mouth because I didn't have time to adjust the teeth as much as I wanted before the con that my friends and I attended. I would like to modify this head so that she can open and close her mouth.

Lastly, I added wire whiskers with little glass beads looped onto the ends and paper eyelashes that I also watercolored and sealed, like the insides of the eyes. Like I said before, it's gonna be a problematic wash, but I'm confident I'll figure it out, and I can always repair her or replace her lashes if something goes wrong.

Last thing, to keep the inside of the head nice and cool and prevent fogging since in the end I closed the mouth and had sealed eyes, I made a snorkel out of a snorkel mouthpiece fitted into two collapsible auto funnels.

I would say that realistically this entire project cost me less than $150. I had some materials lying around, like the wire and the beads and the sculpey.

I added two ear vents on either side of the head so that I had options on where to feed the snorkel out. If you look at the other pictures on the blog of me wearing the head, you mostly can't even see the snorkel mouth. However, it was a little problematic to let go of the snorkel to talk. it would be perfect for a silent suiter, but I'm lucky that so many people wanted to talk to me. I'd like to try and replace the snorkel mouth with something I can talk in, but I'm not sure what to use. It should be something that can create a seal to keep my breath out of the head. it's possible that I will be able to make something with a painter's mask.

I hid the "seam" between the head and my body with two yards of tulle tied into a big bow and sewn down onto the neck so that it wouldn't move around.

I hope that if you try making something similar you'll show it to me!

[punchspeedchunk]

Another Supanova weekend is over, and while I can't say it was one of the better ones, I did at least have fun dressing up.

Saturday was Cathilda Ceili, unfortunately incomplete since the waist apron did not arrive in time U_U hopefully it gets here before Winterfest. I need to also buy the orange slice gummies to give out to people lol.

Sunday (today) I nearly didn't make it to the con, because the Olympic Park has existed for 25 years and STILL THEY HAVE NOT UPGRADED THE PARKING AT ALL. So parking took 2 hours, and I had to walk 3km from where I eventually parked to the actual con. And then only spent like 3.5 hours there, but eh. Already purchased a weekend ticket, didn't wanna waste the money.

Amused that more people wanted photos with me in partial fursuit as an archerwolf than when I was Cathilda, but like, without the maid apron I just look like a bog standard pirate, so that's fair (I do so love that hat tho).

Pissed also because one of the locking pins on the front of that corset (which is new and this is the first time I've worn it) fucking broke off when I was changing out of it tonight. So if anyone knows how to fix corset hardware, HMU.

Also I am suffering because my arthritis wasn't impressed with the excessive walking. ;u; Also wandering along a pitch black bridge with barely anyone around while fursuiting is SO fucking surreal. I kinda dig it. But also they need more lighting because the accessibility to that carpark is straight ASS and they make vendors use it for the Easter Show as well and it's not fucking good enough to run a shuttle that has no timetable and is too small for mobility aids.

ANYWAY here's my loots

More stuff was got Saturday, then picked up the rest of the bad kids and found some oreo bois today. Those dice don't photograph well but they're VERY pretty.

Finally re-strung my charm chain since moving like 8 months ago to put up the new ones.

Gotta find the rest of them now too (Also rate my setup if you want I guess idk).

Anyway not sorry for pic spam, will have more Cathilda ones after Winterfest in July. If you're going, lemme know!

[pokituu]

I’m so impressed with how many styles you have and that you use them regularly (realistic, semi realistic, 2d, and 2d, 3d & pixel animation)! How did you learn to balance this many and get so good in all of them?

THANK YOUUUU this compliment means so much to me because so often i feel so worried I will stagnate since I basically like to draw the same subject matter over and over again 😳 but I do like to periodically try new things that I'll become invested in for chunks of time.

i guess advice more than just 'practice' is to be willing to try out new things that you have an interest in, even if it doesn't work out at first and is frustrating. you gotta be persistent to learn something new BUT if you get bored then just move on! if it sucks hit da bricks.... I really like this bjork quote abt creativity

idk throughout my life in art i just try to learn about stuff i'm interested in and practice what i wanna practice. like i wanted to get good at pixeling when i was like 14 so i kept practicing and trying new ways to go about it until i started to figure it out. same with digital painting when i was 15 and i just kept trying again and again until it clicked, even though i was frustrated a lot, i never actually lost the interest when i saw people's pretty paintings and that feeling of 'man i wish i could do that!'.... so i literally couldn't stop myself from trying over and over at painting. it goes beyond just drawing too. planet earth is fun because ANYTHING u are interested in you can try........ i make fursuit heads and other crafts to see if i can! this year i started making my own songs and also learned leather-working because i saw a cool craft and wanted to try :3

part of it is letting yourself age too because as you get older you will grow interested in new things. i am 27!! i've been drawing since i could hold a pencil. that's a long time to encounter a lot of stuff to get obsessed about and wanna try out for myself. SUCCESS TIP!: i typically pursue things that are adjacent to other skills i already have invested in, like drawing to 3d sculpture to digital modeling, or start blending them like sculpture + coding skills = 3d animation rigging. The reason is because a lot of these skills are transferable and make it easier to pick up. like a skill tree in a video game... and you'll end up in weird places like sculpture to sewing to leathercraft. It's nice to have creative hobbies you can be sorta be mediocre at without attaching your self worth to it, but other people still often find it impressive anyways because it's stuff they've never tried to do. It's really healing and easier to like what you create And yourself by extension when you're just having fun and learning without having to worry about the end product being "good". Anything you try is not a waste because you are learning new skills and more often than not, something you've learned is transferable to some other area of your life!!!!!!!!! nothing is ever a waste of time.

this is also the secret cure to art block btw well actually there are two secret cures. a) is you have to embrace the art block and go get obsessed with some other creative thing for a bit. either that or b) go absorb other people's creativity to a bit and watch some shows and read books or talk to people. c) is a mix of both. eventually you'll return to art again feeling fresh and motivated if you're willing to give it a few months. I think art block really just means you're bored and need a change of scenery one way or another 🤔 that's just my onion though

TL;DR have fun pursuing things just because you like them. as you keep doing it you'll just get better at it through practice whether you really intend to or not.

[interpol-by-design]

Pelipper mail!

An old and very well loved life-size absol plushie, and a note.

"I knew this day would come eventually. Parnassos may not be a real absol but she can still give me a feeling when something's not right, and I finally got the feeling that it was time to pass her on to someone who needs her more than me. I don't even know you, but this is the address that popped into my head at the pelipper station. Take good care of her, now, and she'll return the favor, just as she kept me sane through my darkest years. I wish you all the best, stranger."

Thank fuck, a problem I know how to solve.

Look, I'm... not good at being gentle. The way you're supposed to be with these little guys. I mean, like, pretending it's a healthy and normal hospital experience, right? Count me out.

But I'm good at repairing them, so, here goes.

Whatever. Anyways, first I'm gonna open up a seam and empty out the stuffing. This is, frankly, past its prime, so we're tossing that out and going to my stash to figure out what to refill it with. We want something firm, so... let's go with the second firmest I have! That'll help it hold its shape. I actually have a selection of sample plushies to help me determine firmness, but we'll get to that later.

Now, the bath! This stuff is kiiiind of toxic as shit? Like, gives you chemical burns? But it's fine, it's industry grade and it's a hundred percent safe after you put it in the post-wash to neutralize it. Gonna agitate it for a while, then lift-- holy shit, I can see the color change already. That said, it's also stripped the paint from the nails, so we're gonna be replacing those. Which comes later in the process, I promise.

Next up is the rinse, and then the post-wash, followed by another rinse. I do take safety very seriously on the job, and customer safety is important as well. I'll be working on this with my bare hands long before the clients touch it, I promise. I'm actually.... okay, I'm gonna be honest with you guys here. I'm a perfectionist, and so I'm always scared to charge money for my services unless I can guarantee them to be perfect. I take a lot of pride in my work and in being professional and reliable. I guess that's why I like freebies better? More room to explore. Less pressure to be perfect. It's a pretty brutal industry. I need little things like this to keep me sane. I need to make nice things for people without having to be perfect.

Okay, so we've got a floppy skinsuit. Deflated lass. Time to gently brush the fur out, always moving with the grain rather than against it, and give her a gentle dry. Now, I'm going to turn her inside out and do some reinforcing of the seams. It looks like she's gotten a few repairs in the past, but I want to be extra thorough-- small, tight stitches everywhere, especially on the y-seams and such. These are especially vulnerable in plushies, and can be difficult to reach with a sewing machine, but I've got the experience and the precision to do it. Gods, why is sewing fur such a bitch of a unique beast-- I should really do more fursuit commissions, but it's such a tricky fabric to work with. The grain is more important than ever, and if you're not careful, the seams become glaringly obvious.

Now, with everything dried, I'm going to wrap it up in plastic-- you really do need to make sure everything is dry before this step-- and take a look at the claws. With all the fur out of the way, I can get some UV resin and mix in pigment-- note that pigment for epoxy versus UV curing stuff isn't the same-- and try to imitate that blue-black. Fun fact for you all! In punk circles, a specific combination of RIT dye-- two parts black, one part navy-- is used to achieve a deeper black. Personally, I use the powder stuff rather than the liquid, since you have more guaranteed concentrations that way. Precision is key; if you intend to mass-produce something, you have to be able to duplicate everything.

Gods, I'm so glad to be born in a time where idye poly and rit dyemore exist commercially. like i'm not trying to shill, I don't need their money, I just-- ah shit I got distracted.

So anyways-- once I've swatched my blues to make sure they're the proper color, I sponge on a bit of resin, filling in the gaps in the claws, and then sealing them up. If I get drips, I can sand then down, but I have to do that by hand. I want to make sure it's shiny, but also child friendly, and that all of them match.

Next step: the face! Now, she has a lovely face, but unfortunately she's seen better days. The threads holding her eye applique are starting to fray, so I'm going to grab my silk thread and replace it. Onto the embroidery hoop you go, like that one science fiction villain. Moisturize meeeeee! I've always thought that critiques of beauty and cosmetic procedures rubbed me the wrong way because they focus more on the idea of the modern woman as a grotesque spectacle of vanity rather than a victim of the body dysmorphia epidemic sold in bottles. Moisturize meee, Lucina, I'm dehydrating to death! Like, I'm not against the concept, but the execution sucks. I don't think Dolly Parton would approve.

After a quick poke with my wool stabber-- uhhhh shit what's the word. NEEDLE FELTER THAT'S THE BITCH! Yeah. After that, I've gotten some of the fuzziness resolved, so the eyes are pretty as ever! I've also reinforced the nose-- don't want it to be a choking hazard, after all. Silk thread is what you want for that; same with buttons. You want that shit to last. Cotton rots and polyester just can't measure up to the real stuff.

Whew. I think that's all the major repairs out of the way! Now, let's get her stuffed back up. Starting at the very extremeties like her horn, then work our way in... most people use a tool for this, but I've got a couple chopsticks. Any plastic can be a thermoplastic if you know a guy, I think, although I don't think this is food safe any longer. Eh, I keep my sewing supplies pretty separate from the rest of my things. I'd be a little fucked if I used my regular chapstick in the place of my thread conditioning chapstick.

One final ladder stitch to close her up, aaaand she's finished! Woo! Time to give her a kiss-- wait, shit, I'm wearing lipstick-- time to give her a kiss in spirit, then send her home!

[Pelipper mail: return to sender.

"To whom it may concern,

I take plushies very seriously, and thus I could never part you from your cherished. I've instead opted to give her a bath, and return her to you."]

[genderqueerdykes]

hi!! different person, but similar question to the person who asked about selling things online as a disabled artist. I would also appreciate an answer from anyone who has experience on this kind of thing, I will be keeping an eye on notes!! :3

I'm not really able to find work where I live, I don't have a diploma or a car and I'm physically unable to do food work. i am artistically skilled though and want to be like, a fandom artist? I want to make prints, stickers, shirts, charms, zines/doujinshis, and eventually more physical stuff like fursuit parts when I'm able to afford exploring that. also digital goods like adopts or YCH/commissions.

do you (or anyone in notes!) have resources or info or experience on selling like, trinkets and art merch? keeping motivation on developing into a freelance career artist?? I know it'll take a while but I'm willing to do the work & I'm willing to sacrifice myself and my art for the algorithm.

that's tough, i'm sorry finding work is so challenging for you in your situation. conventional jobs have been off limit to me for years due to lack of transportation, disability, and so on, so i totally understand that. the economy is harsh right now

the thing to keep in mind when starting is how many different kinds of supplies you will need. the different projects you can do are going to directly be limited by how many supplies you can afford. many hobbies use the same types of materials, wire can be used for wire wrapping, keychains, necklaces, and many other things. elastic string can make both necklaces and bracelets. acrylic paint can be used for a lot of things like altering clothing and objects as well as traditional paintings. thrift stores often times have large boxes of stone, wood, and plastic beads which can be used to make a variety of different types of jewelry. i've also found bulk perler beads, and other craft supplies!

i've always wanted to make fursuits as well, but i would need a sewing machine and a lot of fabric LOL. i'd be curious to hear from fursuit makers since that's been an interest of mine since i first learned about them

mailing things isn't too bad all things considered, you may be able to get free pickup for your outgoing products. also keep in mind that you will need to buy and print shipping labels for every order you ship. motivation is tough but i mitigate that one by allowing myself to try something new when i get bored. maybe i challenge myself to make a new type of jewelry or see if another craft is affordable and look into starting that. when you're your own boss you do get to decide what you do with your time and that's one of the best parts

any other disabled artists who make their own products and trinkets feel free to chime in with advice. sometimes this is what we have to do in order to survive and that's what it is. i'm definitely not a pro at what i'm doing so i'd love to hear from other more experienced folks as well!

[sybaritick]

my Friendship Advice for both online and in-person interactions, which I'm sure you've heard from many people before, is to just go ahead and talk to people like you're friends. Talk to them about a recent project of theirs. Ask how long they've been making fursuits. Tell them what you like about their writing style.

You can ask if they want to do an art collab or if they want to join your game of commander since you need a 4th person or if they want to get lunch when you happen to be visiting their city! Whatever you want!

but I think the oft-forgotten core of this is that you don't need to be smooth or socially adept to be forward! You can just do your best. Practice will only help. And the worst they can do is not answer or say they're not interested.

This applies romantically as well and the silly example that I like to give is that before I got together with my first girlfriend in college I literally asked her "Are you gay?" (I hadn't transitioned yet at the time so we were both women). Obviously I would not describe this as the best pickup line but it was certainly better than nothing because it eventually worked (lmao)!

I have even introduced a bunch of my friends to new friends this way. Introducing people is a lost art. If you know A and B have a ton of interests in common but don't know each other, why not plop the three of you in a group chat and start discussing that shared [favorite book/Arduino project/mushroom foraging/etc]? It's fun and you're helping people find others like them!

You might worry that you'll embarrass yourself or look silly. And I think it's inevitable you occasionally will! I definitely have! I am pretty noticeably weird/neurodivergent, even more so in person than online. But I think the joy of meeting new and interesting people is more than worth the occasional embarrassment.

tl;dr: if you are socially weird sometimes like I am, remember that you don't have to be good at social interaction to do more of it-- just be bold and take a crack at it. it's worth it!

[contrastparadoxx]

What was the initial idea for perse? How has she changed over the course of making her?

Oh this is actually SUCH a fun question, because as only some of you guys will know, Perse actually started out as a different character entirely. My friend at the time had a story in the works called Brothers, and while the characters were actually human they were always drawn as furries. I made a joke about a furry wearing a “Ask me about my Skinsona” shirt and that paired with another then friend complaining about brightly colored eyesore furries resulted in this

She was married to one of the main characters, Lucifer, which is why she was named Persephone, or Perse for short. She was immune to a poison that could kill even gods, she stabbed first asked questions later (met her then husband for the first time because he tried to grab something and she pinned his hand to the table with a knife and he was smitten), and she was by virtue of being married to Lucifer, the queen of heaven. She was also a royal guard before she was queen, and I loved her! There were a few relatively minor design changes to her during this time period, none really worth showing

Then the friend and I kinda drifted apart. Originally they were going to purchase Perse from me for $50, but that fell through and she just gathered dust because I was ashamed for some reason. Another ex friend made an alien species that was very furry esq, and I was like oh I can rework Perse for this! And then this version of her was born

I still like that outfit ngl. She was similar in this iteration, still very stab happy, and I accidentally pissed the GM of a game off by playing her being flippent and having fun in a horror situation. Oops. This version of her did not last long because that “friend” got really nasty about me because I “hoard characters”, among other things. Do I eventually left that community and was once again left with a character I used to project on feeling like she and I just don’t belong. All of this is before I even knew the FTC existed.

And then I came here. I wasn’t going to make her, at first. I made a few trolls, I messed around, I was having fun! Then I was like lol what if I made an OC who is a human who hides by wearing a fursuit. That led to me going “oh wait I could use Perse for that, since she’s always had that Skinsona shirt! Wouldn’t it be ironic!” And so Perse the human on alternia was born. I eventually connected her to a few other furry OC’s, which led to her getting her best friend, Ashter. He was her handler at con’s before he was her moirail, you know.

And eventually I went you know what, I want her to be a troll. I had a few ideas for how I was going to do that, but the one I ended up going with involved her making a deal with a demon to get the body she wanted. Her troll form actually originally looked way different too! And I might revamp the old design and make it a different character

I would change at least some of the colors and probably the horns. But while I love this design it never quite fit right. Eventually I decided to just go you know what how about I design a troll version of her fursona (which also has a slightly different design now, but I do not currently have a ref of, I’m working on it) and that THAT finally hit correctly. Technically her design has changed slightly since then as well, but the final version is the one shown in her sprites as made by Roetrolls!

She’s slightly (slightly) less stab happy now, and instead of being immune to a poison that is deadly to literally everyone else, she is technically venomous/poisonous (it’s both), with a toxin that shuts off psionics, chucklevoodoos, anything like that. She’s a gamer now, which was honestly very close to her vibes originally, and still insanely loyal.

I’m sorry if this wasn’t what you were asking about and I’m happy to explain anything further that I need to!

[aphelion-alifer]

hellooo!

1 - i belong to both physical and non-physical types of nonhumanity!

2 - physically im an avian, spiritually i am a horned phoenix/some kind of horned bird as well as psychologically having canine/wolf-like traits, but i am not sure if it's spiritual or not.

3 - my most common shifts are phantom and mental shifts, i almost always have permanent phantom wings but sometimes i can get a phantom muzzle/beak as well as fangs that sometimes go along with my muzzle. i also get phantom bird tail shifts as well as a wolf tail shift sometimes. i tend to have canine-like mental instincts but i usually dont express it too much just because im not in the right environment at home!! my strangest cameo shift was when i had a full body griffin phantom shift out of nowhere, as well as a few phantom shifts where i had the face/muzzle of a crocodile

4 - i experience it through my random shifts that i get, as well as my calling to the sky that has been present since birth

5 - eh, im 50/50 with the community, sometimes it's great and other times not so much. my main issue is that i just wish we could all get along and agree to disagree in a polite way. at the end of the day, we're all nonhuman some way or another just getting by in life.

6 - i love wearing my converse shoes that i made to look like paws as well as wearing tails, my fursuit hand paws or ears! it brings a lot of euphoria to me. at some point i want to modify a backpack to have the wings i envision myself having, that way i can fully express myself wherever i go.

7 - yes, i have always had dysphoria about not having wings, i always have and always will. if there were procedures to make me have wings now (regardless of if they were functional or not), i would be the doctors first test subject.

8 - be patient and listen as well as show respect to your elders or older folks in the community. you will gain a lot of knowledge from others, both good and bad, and do the right thing by knowing who to trust. if something/someone seems suspicious, it might be. nobody can tell you what your species is except for yourself! it's not always easy trying to understand what you are in the beginning, but nothing is impossible either. just look out for any kind of shifts or instincts that you might have/express, and try to see what animal(s) it matches up to. this might take a few tries! listen to where your mind, heart and soul is trying to bring you.

9 - i have a few tails, but i eventually want to make a few masks as well, and i want to make a backpack with what i think my wings look like

10 - i believe my nonhumanity comes from spiritual and genetic origins ^^

11 - too socially anxious lmao

If you are a alterhuman, reblog and answer these questions!

(don't be afraid to write a lot, do what you want ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯)

1/ Which category of alterhumanity do you belong to?

2/ What/who is/are your type(s)? (if you have any)

3/ Do you experience shifts? If so, can you tell us your most common shifts and your strangest cameo shift (if you've ever had a cameo shift)?

4/ How do you experience your alterhumanity in everyday life?

5/ What do you think of the community?

6/ What are the things that make you most comfortable and euphoric in your alterhumanity?

7/ Are you experiencing species dysphoria?

8/ What advice would you like to say to a young alterhuman who has just awakened?

9/ Do you have/want to have gears?

10/ Do you know/have any theories about the origin of your alterhumanity? If so, tell us! (all beliefs are legitimate)

11/ Tag someone/a creature to answer these questions!ㅤᵕ̈

[zablionsea]

Hi, welcome to Zab getting autism blasted. Today, it slipped back into a special interest in puppetry and watched like 3 hours worth of puppetry videos before taking a wrong turn and ending up watching footage from an old fursuit dance competition, reigniting her desire to eventually get a partial fursuit.

Now, I'm stuck wanting to blow all my hard-earned savings on an arm rod puppet or partial fursuit :(

No, Zab, you cannot spend on those things; you see, there is this thing you must prepared for called "moving out and never looking back."

Don't make me get out the spray bottle.

Also fun me fact: I've been a furry since I was 12, sooooooo, that's about 8 years now, wow!

[luxgalador]

NO LITERALLY i figured out i was nonbinary and just slowly got into more furry stuff. trans to furry pipeline REAL!!!!

For me? Honestly? I've liked furry stuff since high school.

Part of me openly sharing and exploring that interest and engaging with the community/fandom now I think is related to a wider comfort/acceptance of my truest self, which obviously involves my transness.

It took until this time last year to finally accept that I am a woman. I had been slowly pushing myself there between identifying as nonbinary and socially/medically transitioning, but it still took me that long to get all the way there.

There's a lot of shame and embarrassment I've had to work through. Heck, even publicly talking about the music I've always loved didn't happen until my mid 20s. My life has predominantly been about making as few waves as possible. The logic: if I hide my likes, desires, and self from everyone and just try my best to do what I'm told, I won't be ridiculed or shamed for it.

I had a father who really really wanted me to be like him and he made me suffer when I wasn't like him. And I was never gonna be like him. I had a mom who wanted me to heal the generational wounds caused by the men in my family, particularly my father. That's a lot of pressure to put on a child, let alone one who's actually a little girl (I have a better relationship with her now and she is fully accepting of my womanhood). Hell I went to an all boys high school where fitting in and avoiding abuse meant muting almost every aspect of myself to fit into a masculine social dynamic. AND THEN I was in a college program that functioned as a cult where any deviance from the team values meant ostracization and expulsion (which happened to me after they almost killed me). It takes a long time to get out of that shame. But I got there.

So yeah, silly Cat Lux pictures and paws and eventually a fursuit and funny animal people seems just like a silly thing, but talking about it and sharing that joy and not being embarrassed is indicative of a lot of growth.

Because if I can own the stuff I like that's weird or on the fringes or cringe or whatever, then I've come quite a long way. I used to have panic attacks when people would ask me what food I liked. Part of why YouTube was such a good medium for me is that I could curate what I shared with the public only up to what I was comfortable with. So yeah. I'm a lesbian and a woman and also a goddamn furry! Fuck you! I'm here to enjoy life and have a little fun and whimsy on top of all the other stuff I like to do.

[itsdetachable]

what's it like wearing a fursuit? is there some kind of standard that the person who creates it is expected to hold up to? i remember as a kid watching a yt video of someone in a quad Epona costume walk around a convention on all fours/stilts and always wondered how it was possible.

Fursuits have an absolutely fantastic history! The first fursuits were acts of absolute love towards the characters they represented - made of really whatever ppl could get easily. Faux fur, upholstery foam, mascot suit materials. Over the decades fursuit makers have been making HUGE advancements, and these days fursuits come in a variety of materials and styles. It's wild.

One of the oldest fursuit resources on the internet is Matrices.net and Matrices has been in the Fandom since 1998ish. There's tutorials on the site that show various methods of making fursuits. I'm talking about this bc it's important since you're asking what it's like.

There are some basics to making the suits. Faux fur, of course, and you want better quality fur. Minky or fleece for pawpads and claws and tongues etc. For the head, bases can be made from plastic canvas mesh (though the plastic eventually becomes brittle), upholstery foam (pretty standard), or a resin base (these started popping up a decade? Maybe a little more ago and are pricier). There are also various styles, such as realistic, cartoons, stylized (like my suit, Asher, the suitmaker has a unique style), kemono (Japanese inspired, animated huge eyes with small cute muzzles) and oftentimes how comfortable a suit is is a combination of material and style.

A resin based, toony style head is going to be more breathable than one that is made of foam most of the time, because often the resin form allows for more room in the head for a person's head. Realistic style heads can be stuffer and slightly less comfortable, resin or foam, because the only air holes in the head are the tear duct viewing holes and the mouth. Kemono heads are notoriously stuffy because they often have little air flow (they have huge eyes, but the eyes often have plastic coverings to make them shiny).

Are fursuit makers held to a certain standard? Yes, I mean not like legally I suppose? But the furry Fandom does hold makers to a standard. If your suits are uncomfortable, you'll hear about it. If your service is bad, you'll get bad reviews. If you use poor materials or half ass the construction of your suits, you WILL be called out on it. There are, of course, popular makers that have avoided being dragged for things they should have been, but in general if you're doing a bad job and your suits are shoddy, people will not buy them and will also tell others about it. Sites like FursuitReview allow ppl to submit reviews for makers in one place making it easier to see if the maker you're thinking of is a good choice or not.

Now, sorry this is very long winded, for my suit Asher, it's decently comfy though stuffy. I did a bad job measuring my head before ordering and the fit is very snug. Not uncomfortable but stuffy. The eyes are a decent enough size to see through, and the mouth is open enough to breathe ok, so overall it's a nice time. The only thing is that, since the head is foam with a faux fur covering, it gets WARM. And there is SWEATING. So Much Sweating. That's par the course for a fursuit, so taking frequent breaks and drinking plenty of fluids is a must. I wore Asher for almost three hours today, took a few breaks and drank water on them.

I'm sorry this was so long. D:

[quotes-ig]

Sleepy Bois Inc Batman au

okay hear me out

Phil is Batman. he’s got the dad vibes and a chronic addiction to adopting chaotic children and their friends. he seems like he should be the most responsible one, but this dude runs around in a fursuit fighting crime every night, he’s not as mature as he paints himself. always trying to give his kids advice but they never listen to him, so the poor man’s just struggling to contain the chaos.

Kristen is Catwoman. she’s a mischievous queen, always causing trouble for Phil when she gets the chance. logically she seems like she should be the mum, and the kids love her, but she’s ascended beyond the need for children and leaves Phil to clean up their messes.

Wilbur is Dick Grayson, the first Robin and current Nightwing. he’s the oldest and has been with Phil for the longest, got best friend vibes with Techno and accidental mentor vibes with Tommy. he takes pride in his appearance and his fashion, and has called himself a pretty boy. he’s stereotyped as the nice one on the surface but is highkey unstable. got the most friends among the rest of the caped community

Techno is Tim Drake, the third Robin n current Red Robin. he’s a fuckin neeerrrrrrd. socially awkward dude who accidentally made friends with a ton of extroverts and has been suffering the consequences ever since. smart and dedicated when he cares, but he often doesn’t. the least chaotic, but mostly just because he’s completely dead inside at this point. would beat up TommyInnit without hesitation.

Tommy is Damian Wayne, the current Robin. his literal nickname is demon brat, need i explain more? also, gets way too attached to animals (cough cough Henry)

and then Niki is Cassandra Cain, the second Batgirl and Batman’s only legal daughter. she’s essentially part of the family, but is a competent enough adult to not need parental figures and so doesn’t often get involved with the petty drama. quiet and sweet, but can and will destroy you if need be. any moral ambiguity can be eliminated by just fighting for whatever side she fights for. she is always in the moral right.

like, it all makes sense. Tubbo is Jon Kent, the current Superboy. he’s Tommy’s best friend and spends half his time with SBI; he’s the only metahuman they’ll let in Gotham. he’s super sweet but powerful af (hacks irl), and will play up the innocent persona to get away with chaos. and then Superman would be Sparklez; a veteran in the field and Tubbo’s father. fond of but also eternally done with SBI’s bullshit. stays the hell away from Gotham.

Then you could round out the Batgirls with Minx as Barbara Gordon (scary, always angry and usually with good reason, good leader but bad taste in men) and SophieTexas as Stephanie Brown (chaotic, strong moral code but willing to get her hands more dirty than SBI is, good friends with Techno n Niki). the girls on the gamer girl smp are the Birds of Prey. Poki is Wonder Woman.

the first Teen Titans were Soothouse, and Tim’s Young Justice group is Techno’s 2017- friend group: Hanna as Cassie’s Wonder Girl cause she’s an ascended fangirl, Skeppy as Impulse because duh, Calvin as Kon Kent’s Superboy cause he’s cocky but for bloody good reason, and Tapl as Slobo because it’d be funny. also, black nail polish rights. BBH is Arrowette but with a gun. he made the mistake of becoming friends with Skeppy and has been struggling ever since, but at least he’s close with the new Green Lanterns. people usually underestimate him, but he has a fucking gun so

Tommy’s new Teen Titans group includes Tubbo, Wisp, Deo, and Drista. Wisp is Maya Ducard’s Nobody; great at combat and with strong oldest-friend vibes. Deo is Emiko Queen’s Red Arrow, cause whenever he shows up the violence escalates significantly and rapidly. and then Drista is like that new Teen Lantern girl, the kid who wasn’t actually chosen but hacked into the Green Lantern rings’ power source cause she’s a gremlin child.

Squid Kid was just a big brain Gotham dude who thought it would be cool to challenge Techno’s title of ‘World’s Greatest Detective’. Techno took this personally, and the two took turns trying to outdo each other by solving the biggest cases the fastest. Squid, though, was a student, and so to fund this feud he accidentally became head of Gotham’s biggest drug empire, in charge of the city’s supply of a new chemical colloquially called ‘potatoes’. it’s non-addictive but does give you temporary super strength, which is inconvenient in a city that pumps out a new supervillain every week. the rivalry still continues, though, and - despite Squid turning from wannabe vigilante to criminal mastermind - the two have almost struck up a friendship, or at least an mutual admiration for each other

Schlatt runs the Suicide Squad, alongside Minx’s Oracle. they broke Quackity, Fundy, and Eret outta jail and got bombs in them, to force them to pull off the most dangerous missions. Quackity was there in the first place because of Schlatt, but is now having second thoughts. i kinda want him to be Harley Quinn, cause he has a similar vibe with the SBI boys that she has with the Bats. Eret was there because he betrayed some heroes a while ago for personal gain, and hasn’t had the chance to atone yet. Fundy was there because he used to be close with Wilbur, to the point that he was often mistaken as his sidekick. he got sick of Wilbur always needing to be the leader and turned to the villains’ side. the two haven’t spoken since

finally, the Dream Team are Earth’s Green Lanterns; super powerful and with a lot of galactic clout. they’re pretty new to the scene, though, and so initially clashed with SBI, cause they kept trying to get involved in Gotham’s business. powers are strictly prohibited in Gotham. eventually, this beef culminated in a duel between Dream and Techno: if Dream won they could actually uphold their oath and protect everyone on Earth, if Techno won then they had to stay the hell outta SBI’s city. Dream still hasn’t recovered from the fact that he was beat by a guy with no powers, but it was close enough for Techno to enjoy teaming up with the masked man every now and then since

i’ve been thinking about this all night, man. i knew all this obscure comics knowledge would be useful one day, to make...an au...about minecraft youtubers...maybe useful was a strong word, actually

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Third Research Scientist of Love Lab

Debut: Rhythm Heaven (DS)

Another post about a Rhythm Heaven character! There are so many Wacky Rhythm Heaven characters we can talk about. But it’s not every day we get to talk about Rhythm Heaven. It’s loosely attached to Mario, through WarioWare, but it’s just enough of its own thing that it is out of our field of view. This is not Super Mario’s Super Mario World. Getting to talk about Rhythm Heaven is a major event. We must savor the Funky Fridays we get to spend our elusive Rhythm Heaven points.

We’re using this Friday to talk about some dude in a squirrel suit.

He appears in Rhythm Heaven in the minigame Love Lab, which is actually one of my favorite games in the series! That’s right! I managed to get invested in a guy and a girl falling in love, something unexpected from my usual lesbian self. I can’t help it! I just love scientists. “Weird scientist” was like, my whole online persona way back in the day. (And besides, these two are both obviously bi. Look at them.)

Anyway that’s enough time talking about those two, they’re both regular humans and while I respect them and their relationship, they aren’t nearly as interesting as the third guy who is also there.

What, you didn’t notice him? Well, it makes sense, I suppose. (iiiiiii suppose, yeah!) He’s just off-screen, catching the flasks You’re throwing. They realized it would be dangerous if you were throwing around chemicals and no one was catching them, as if throwing around chemicals isn’t dangerous in its own right, so they added this guy, and since he’s barely visible, why not make him Wacky? You’ll be so busy paying attention to the cute scientists and good tunes that you won’t even notice him.

The guy’s fully-sprited, but is tough to notice in-game considering how off-screen he is. He is so dang off-screen. Fortunately, you can get a better look at him if you get the Try Again screen!

Yeah! Good job sucking at Love Lab! Your reward is Squirrel Man face reveal!

Or if you don’t want to ruin their relationship, you can just wait for the end credits where he also pops in during the cast call.

Hello!

We know very little about Squirrel Man, but I think that’s kind of the point. They hid the guy off-screen, he doesn’t have much lore, I think his entire purpose is just to exist and be weird, which I think is delightful. I like the philosophy of whoever decided this minigame about scientists falling in love needed some guy who always wears a squirrel suit.

At least, that’s assuming this is a squirrel. Could be a chipmunk. (though scientifically speaking, chipmunks are a type of squirrel)

The main reason I say squirrel is because “Science Squirrel” is apparently a common trope in Japanese media? At least according to Mod Chikako, I know Risukuma from Puyo Puyo and Himari from Precure as a couple examples. And Sandy Cheeks from SpongeBob, though that’s probably a coincidence, given that all the other examples have Japanese origins. If we’re to go with this, then that gives a little more explanation to this guy, but not too much. I think there’s still plenty of room to theorize what the heck this guy’s deal is.

And that is EXACTLY what I’m here to do! It’s half the reason I’m writing this post in the first place! Below the cut, is various theories about what this dude’s deal is.

1. He’s a furry, that’s his fursona.

Let’s get the obvious (and boring) one out of the way first, which is that this guy is a furry, that’s his fursona, and he always wears a fursuit for some reason. I mean, it makes some amount of sense, if we assume he’s that dedicated to the whole furry thing, then sure, why not wear his fursuit to the laboratory? The thing is, this theory is just such low-hanging fruit. It’s too obvious. Look at the guy. The explanation I think obviously has to be something weirder.

2. Genetically engineered Squirrel Man

This is probably the most obvious “more interesting” direction, and it’s not like it doesn’t make sense. The whole minigame is set in a laboratory, and if we take into account the characters’ blatant lack of lab safety, this isn’t your ordinary laboratory... Who’s to say there isn’t a bunch of weird science going on behind the scenes? I mean, one day they’re trying to figure out what love is, the next day they’re building a squirrel guy. Just your average laboratory shenanigans.

While it is stated in-game in the Lab Journal that he wears a suit, this is purely from the perspective of the green-haired girl, who is said to be new to the lab. Maybe she just thinks he’s wearing a squirrel suit. Maybe she doesn’t know the full truth.

Of course, I don’t think he HAS to be a squirrel man to be interesting...

3. Back on that comment about lab safety,

Full-body protection. While these other two are throwing around flasks full of chemicals without even wearing GOGGLES, this guy is making sure to protect every last inch of his body by wearing a squirrel suit. And maybe he’s wearing goggles under the suit, just for good measure!

Maybe this whole experiment wasn’t even about love, maybe it was about lab safety. Maybe this guy noticed how much his lab partners were smitten with one another, and were too distracted to pay attention to things like wearing proper gear in the lab. He theorized that their relationship had something to do with their total disregard for safety and he was right.

4. School mascot gone rogue

His uncanny full-body uniform is weird for a scientist, but perfectly normal for a school mascot. Maybe he was originally cheering on the university sports team, but eventually got tired of sports and decided to pursue a life of high science instead. Why doesn’t he take the suit off? Tough to say. Might loop back around to the lab safety thing.

Alternatively, in the Rhythm Heaven universe, maybe schools just have mascots for their labs alongside their sports. You know! To... help keep the science fair going?

5. He’s the one dude’s ex

The idea is that he’s simply the first scientist’s ex, they broke up on good terms, and so he still gets to stick around in the Love Lab. Does this do anything to explain why he’s wearing the squirrel suit? No, not really. Maybe the first guy just fell in love with the school mascot (see theory 4) and the squirrel guy just wanted to take interest in his boyfriend’s passions and so he signed up for a job at the Love Lab. And eventually they broke up but he decided to stay around the lab because now he was invested in learning about love. Something like that.

6. He’s lonely

Do you realize how tough it is to stand out in this world? And in a lab where everyone’s researching love all the time, how heartbreaking it can feel when you see everyone around you falling in love while you remain alone? He wanted to make sure everyone would notice him, so bam! Squirrel suit!

But that isn’t to say it was effective. If we go back to the Lab Journal, it took the green-haired girl three days to notice him at all, and he spends the entire minigame off-screen! Not even the CAMERA felt like keeping him in focus. Maybe if you see the squirrel guy at the Love Lab any time soon, you should give him a hug. Maybe he deserves it.

7. He Just Looks Like That

Some people just look like squirrels. It’s rude to stare.

Maybe none of these theories are true, maybe multiple of them are. We don’t know. We’ve never gotten much lore for this guy, but I’m kind of glad about that. This sort of intrigue breeds curiosity, and honestly the more wacky theories that can be proposed surrounding this guy’s existence, the better! It’s part of the reason I fall so in love with minor and obscure characters. You’re given just enough information to get an idea of what the character is, but are given a lot of room to let the creative juices flowing. That’s why I think Third Research Scientist of Love Lab is one of my favorite Rhythm Heaven characters. Congratulations!

[kapenkoiwrites]

Get to know me better tag

I was tagged by @memento-morri-writes! Thanks! :D

Relationship status:

Single and ace demiro! ✌️

Favorite colors:

So hecking many. Anything blue, green, black, red, and certain shades or purple

Favorite food:

Probably homemade Mac & cheese or katsudon

Song stuck in my head:

Icarus by bastille and Raging fire by Phillip Phillips

Last thing googled:

Huh... either blunt cardiac injury (for fanfic purposes) or liquid oxygen (also fanfic and I didn't know this existed and thought it was cool)

Time:

2:57

Dream trip:

Japan or Costa Rica. I've gone to Costa Rica before but I'd sure as heck love to go again!

Last thing I read:

Fanfic: Lost Soul by dietcokeislife on ao3

Physical book: Burn Down Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Last thing I enjoyed reading:

Both from the last question, but captainbrookworm's Land of The Living on ao3 has been my favorite in the last month.

Favorite thing to cook/bake:

I can bake chocolate zucchini bread if I have the recipie and I love cooking katsudon! My baking and cooking skills are spotty at best but I make good katsudon.

Favorite craft in my free time:

Any miscellaneous craft I feel like doing at the time I guess. I tend to get into costume making around this time of year. I don't have any materials with me since I'm in my college dorm but I hope to start working on a fursuit eventually (yes I'm a furry, bonus fact)

Most niche dislike:

... I don't really know. Probably someone inviting me to something even though they know I'm busy?

Opinion on circuses:

Idk. Acrobatics are cool, but I don't like how the animals are often mistreated.

Do you have a good sense of direction:

In a building, city, or populated area? Absolutely not. In the woods, nature in general, or in minecraft? Yes. Its oddly specific.

No pressure tags for @destinysbounty @cherrybombfangirlwrites @worldstogetlostin @jacquessayshello and anyone who wants to join!

[nonbinaryshotgunman]

GIVE US THE OC

⚡You two are gonna love thiz guy⚡

Presenting... Andrew Laniger!

Andrew is the current C.E.O of fazbear entertainment, having bought out the company after pizzeria sim. Andrew was, in all honesty, a prick. There was only a small kernel of him that wanted to run a genuine kids entertainment business, he was, like most CEOs, in it for profit. He wasn't entirely terrible, however! He cared a lot about his family, namely his daughter, who he was no longer allowed to see after a divorce [He's not a bad dad his wife just had better lawyers], and like I said, kernel of good. He'd eventually open the pizzaplex. Security Breach Spoilers From This Point Onward. Andrew wasn't a respected boss, by humans or bots. Only guy who gave a shit about what he had to say was Glamrock Freddy. Andrew didn't just try to dispel rumors about fazbear for publicity, he genuinely believed nothing sinister was going on there. He grew up growing there as a kid and present day refused to believe Afton was anythin other than a businessman. The missing kid incidents were tragic, but they didn't have anything to DO with freddy's, they were strings of bad luck.

Andrew was proven wrong in the most gruesome way possible. There was something draining power under the building and not trusting Vanessa to go down there Andrew went to investigate himself. He found the crusty fursuit that is our beloathed homeboy Willy A, who shoved him in a springlock suit. His death was not quick or pretty.

Andrew came back with an incredible adeptness for possessing electronics and a deficiency in making himself visible otherwise. [He CAN do it! However, it takes up a LOT of energy, he can only do it for a little bit and not often.] He's trying to run the company by possessing devices to get messages out, attend meetings out-of-person, etc. To the public all that's happened is he's become a sudden recluse. He doesn't want anyone to know the truth. Then something happens and there's a lost kid in the pizzaplex and the bots are on the fritz. Bad enough, but then his daughter breaks in, looking for him.

[Extra info + drawings under cut! CW for scopophobia]

- Andrew is bi and uses he/him!

- He's got a soft spot for kids, especially ones with "moxie." Makes him think of his own daughter

- The reason the daycare attendant looks Like That! He designed em. It's one of his favorite bots, along with Roxanne.

- would possess a staffbot to follow gregory and freddy around. Hes worried about them :(

- the in-universe voice provider for dreadunit!

- He likes weird al and musical theatre

- kinda like a cross between onceler, queen from deltarune, mr krupp, and flint lockwoods dad

- ex-wife is named Linda, daughter is named Ava.

- Used to drink and smoke on occasion, stopped both when he heard Linda was going to have a kid because he wanted to set a good example for the little'un. Has picked up smoking again since the divorce.