I've stayed up all night once again in order to get adjusted to my work schedule at Target, and in the past few hours been subjected to incredible frustration on TF2 servers I normally go to for casual relaxation. But I've been wanting to write about this one for a while, and it's been quite some time since my last pretentious journal, so here it is. Rule 34.

(Also I just noticed I have 69 submissions in my inbox. lololol)

I'm sure I don't need to explain to most of you level-headed netizens what Rule 34 is. But, if you're new on the block or among that group of friends who now count me among "that weird part of YouTube" due to my last explanation of this principal, Rule 34 of the Internet states that "If it exists, then there's porn of it." One of the other rules- I believe 35- also states that "If porn for it does not exist, then it will be made." In all my life, I have never heard truer statements. I defy you to think of exceptions. I'll even put a page break so you can find your place when you come back from the futile effort.

---

Couldn't do it, right? Both common sense and Google make fools of us all on this one. Grossed-out fools.

The rule itself is funny. Hilarious, even. It's both very hard to conceive, and a lot of the art in question is based in a specific fetish and stylized as such. But there is also hardcore porn of all your favorite characters out there, and it can cause some mental scars.

I'm not going to bash porn; that'd be ignorant. I (would) love to put my thing in her thing as much as any other guy and seeing it performed every so often is OK too. I'm not even anti-Rule 34: I'm fine with it existing, since we all have dark recesses of our mind that deserve to be explored. And if we all had artistic talent, then I'd wager we'd all also have a drawer full of pencil-sketched dicks and va-jay-jays somewhere. (Though if FA is any example, some people still have that without the "artistic talent" part.) We're all human and therefore like the sex. It's natural for this art to exist; and natural to enjoy it, too.

I did some thinking over how this comes to be (it's summer and I'm bored, shut up), and as someone who likes cartoons too much as it is, I used my own experience to gauge it. As far as I can tell, there are three "zones" of character affection:

1. Enjoyment
2. Affection
3. Attraction (aka AWWWW YEAH)

1. Enjoyment- "Liking" a character in its most basic sense. This is someone you enjoy seeing, or reading about, or playing as, or whatever. This is just any old character you see and like for whatever reason, and nothing more than that.

2. Affection- A step up from "Enjoyment," this is the phase where you have standouts. Characters you consider your favorite, though even then they might not make it into here. These are characters you really like, and identify with. The ones you'd want to spend an afternoon with, and have sweet bro time. You ever hug your pillow at night and wish it were a fictional character you like? That's affection. (...the fuck you mean, I'm the only one who does that?)

3. Attraction- Simply put? Lust. You like a character so much you want to do stuff to them. The good stuff. The stuff most of them lack the physical means to, come to think of it...

I'm sure we've all got a few that fall into the second and third lists; if not at the ready, at least if you had to pick. In fact, think of some! Just go ahead, let your mind wander. Imagine them showing up at your doorstep and saying hi. Going out for a walk, seeing a movie, having dinner. Going home, and kissing at the doorstep. The kiss lasts a little long... and then you invite them inside...

Congrats! You just created Rule 34. I'm so proud of you! Now go wash your hands.

The point of this journal is more for myself than anyone, as I caught myself complaining about certain Rule 34 pieces a few times in the past few days. But it's still a touchy subject with a lot of people, so I hope we can at least understand where people are coming from with a lot of this artwork. Though considering the source material for some Rule 34 that's out there, I'm still hopelessly confused. (Who the hell remembers "Brandy and Mr. Whiskers," and liked it to a point to draw porn of it? I swear, this internet... the front page has great timing.)

(This entire message comes with a personal disclaimer: In general I prefer to keep it in my pants, though that's my business. And what you do with your business is your penis. ...business. Whatever. I just want to affirm that I'm not advocating porn; just rationalizing its existence. It's big, strong... ever-present... existence... wait, what were we talking about?)

So upon going through my Steam library today after months of neglect (thanks, school and finals), I found that I had two games left over from the holiday sale/event that had gone unclaimed: "The Wonderful End of the World" and "Supreme Ruler: Cold War." I don't plan on adding these to my library any time soon, but I don't want them to just sit there.

That being said, they can be yours! Yes, you heard me right! I don't want to just give them away, mind you. (I did trade a few things to get them, after all). But, if anyone out there is interested then you're free to make an offer on them; a few TF2 items to derpy artwork to a few bucks if you're not feeling creative. Unless people have other ideas for what to do with them? I don't know, guys. These games need a home and I want to give them one.

It was an early birthday gift from the folks, and oh God why.

I've been playing for a half-hour and I've already been killed four times. So time to cower in a hole and cry for a while. Don't wait up!

Did you know hitting Enter in the Subject line can cause an unfinished journal to post? Because I didn't.

Anyway, events you may find relevant:

-I'm attending Anime Boston this year, and staying all weekend, so from the 6th to the 8th. Gonna be rocking a dime-store John Egbert cosplay the whole time. The Vriska costume one, since it's my favorite. (And because I already had the shirt.) All my spending money's being saved for it so I have enough cash for whatever silly thing I want to buy there. Commission silliness will return after. Unless I spend all my money on something stupid, but what are the chances of that?

-My birthday is in a little less than a month; April 26th, to be exact. I'm not going to explain that one much, since you all know what to do with it. (... what do you mean, "nothing?")

Holy crap, three journals in one week? It's like I'm making up for lost time or something.

Recently, when searching for ideas for picture commissions, I've been having trouble coming up with stuff. I used to have a running list of pictures I wanted to have made, but I've actually nearly reached its end, thanks to all the awesome artists and such here. I still have some commission money to throw around, though, and because of that, I wanted to put the questions forward:

To anyone: Do you have anything you'd like to see Duino doing/saying/being? I can't say I'll run out and get an artist to draw anything you say (especially if it's stupid (unless it's really, REALLY stupid and has to be done)), but surely one of my eighty-something millions of fans has a request or two.

To Artists: This is secondary, but I'm curious: do you like being told specifically what to draw, or do you have more fun with something like suggestions? Or even just being given a character and being told to "go crazy?" I've always wanted to do that third one to a few different artists, though I'm not sure if it's in good taste.

This semester I've been taking an astronomy class. It's actually really fascinating, since the topics of the lecture range from basic gravitational laws to theoretical physics at the drop of a hat thanks to my professor's excitement and two people in the front who ask awesome questions. I absolutely love the lecture part, but the lab has been frustrating.

For starters, my partner is a complete downer and negates every ounce of optimism I can muster. Second, our project- using a process called "photometry" to measure the light given off by celestial object- has run into issue after issue, be it anywhere from technical malfunctions to crappy weather. And on top of all that, on our third night up here, I'm struggling to never be away from my laptop for more than five minutes lest my Desktop Ponies screensaver goes off and forces me to explain to a professor of astronomy with a PhD in the subject how in their world the day and night are caused by magical talking horses.

And yet, every time the sun goes down and the stars come out, it's breathtaking. Even when there was heavy cloud cover, I could look up at the sky for hours. There isn't a lot to see thanks to the campus' light pollution, but it's way more than I could see from the ground level. Right now I'm just killing time until it's dark enough to find the asteroid Victoria, so I figured I'd do it offering some advice: if you guys can take an astronomy class, do it. The equipment is complicated and telescope viewing is tedious, but there's some fantastic stuff in the night sky and it's worth a second look.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to end this cheesy PSA and go find me an asteroid.

I have an art history midterm in six hours and I've yet to sleep. On top of that I'm still getting Alberti mixed up with Cimabue and it doesn't look like the issue will be fixed anytime soon. So you know what's it time for?

Time for a journal, motherfuckers.

Since I've been at school and living in a dorm, I've become really scarce online. I'm still around and talking when I can, but I've got a lot going on between classes and a real social life. Through high school I had really started to forget what spending a lot of time with people is like (you know, being a big recluse in all), so the transition took some getting used to. The weirdest thing thus far is communication. Now that I've fallen back into being online more often, I've been chatting more and getting back into the habit of updating things. But I'm still having real-life conversation, which is way different. And that difference lies in tone.

Text doesn't have tone until you read it. The connotation of words all have some implicit value, and which ones you use can really change what you're trying to say. So as a result, what may be a joke or an innocent opinion can come off as an insult or a declaration. In person, however, you also have your voice and your expression. How you say stuff in everyday life can vary in pitch, volume, speed- anything. One word takes on a million different meanings. There's a lot less emphasis on how you sound when you say something, because words are more flexible. I mean, how do you add that kind of variety to cyberspace?

:) :( :D :P X3 <--- LOOK MA I'M EMOTING

Doesn't work as well, does it?

Permanence is a factor too. What you say in real life can be taken back, negated, or explained quickly and immediately after you say it. In cyberland, it's only as fast as you can type. Sure, you can delete a bad-sounding comment, but FA will leave a billboard up commemorating its loss, so everyone knows something was there. Most of the time that's not a huge deal, but what about when it's important? Say you're trying to befriend someone whose profile you like, or come off as both witty and friendly in an art comment, or even thank an artist for work in a stream. You only get one shot at hitting that perfect cool/grateful/nice ratio, and if experience serves, that's not an easy shot to make. First impressions are everything, and some bad jokes gone awry have cost me a potential friend or two in the past. There's a reason we all hate breaking the ice, and at least for me, that's it.

The thing that has me thinking about it is the perfect mix of both mediums. A girl who lives down the hall and I have taken to texting each other between classes with jokes as well as hanging out for a while down time. (We'll call her "Annie.") While the texts I write are thought-out with delivery and purpose, the stuff I say is random, normally makes less sense, and always includes a "fuck" or two. There's an air of professionalism in the texts, whereas the jokes I tell in person are a little more... not.

The point of this journal (other than procrastination) is ultimately this: How you sound in real life is ideally the same as how you sound in real life. But you need to remember that some stuff sounds differently with all your personal expression removed. For example, I'm a bit of an asshole online and in real life; my sense of humor dictates it. But in real life I can laugh with a person and make it clear I joke because I like them. On the internet, it's a little harder to establish that, especially if you don't know me. (And if you don't, feel free to change that; sources attest that I'm quite "fresh.") So, that being said: IF I EVER OFFEND YOU WITH A SNIDE REMARK AND YOU DON'T KNOW ME, IT MOST LIKELY MEANS I LIKE AND RESPECT YOU AND WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND.*

*Unless you deserve it. You know who you are.

Now that I've sufficiently reminded myself why I'm an English major, I'm going to take fifteen more minutes with this studying thing and then hit the hay. The Renaissance may have a lot of nudity but FA's prepared me for way worse...

Let me get this out of the way off the bat: I'm not a fan of Halloween.

I could take it or leave it as a holiday, to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I've had some great Halloweens: I can't remember a time I was closer to my cousins than that night when I was 10, for example. And there are of course the positive aspects: getting to see "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is always a treat. Plus, lots of candy to mooch. And I didn't have a particularly bad experience as a kid; my parents were always really in control, my neighbors friendly and generous; I don't think I've even ever had a sugar hangover the next day.

But for some reason, whenever October 31st rolls around, it's always left a sour taste in my mouth. And it wasn't just from that sugar free chocolate they give out on the corner (though if you're doing that, stop. You're destroying the dreams of children everywhere).

This displeasure isn't new. While I like free candy, Halloween lore, and all that good stuff, even since I was a little kid I remember having a sort of dread to this night. I can pinpoint it to one concept, and one concept alone: costumes. I know, I know, it's weird. But give me a minute to explain myself.

I love pretending. Earnestly and truly. I made up my first imaginary friends long after other kids got rid of theirs. Heck, now I'm aiming to make a career off of them. (You might know one of them; his name is Duino.) So naturally, a holiday that's based around costumes and making the fake real should right up my alley. But I've always been gripped by hesitation.

See, costumes are an implication. It's a statement of how seriously you take something, and as such you're expected to know something about the topic you're representing. So while I have things I like enough that I'd love to dress up as them, I'm also nervous that I wouldn't do them justice. I respect and adore every fandom I'm a member of (save the obligatory porn, no one's proud of that), and as such I want to represent it with gusto. But my innate perfectionism stops me from doing so, because no costume I could cobble together would ever be quite right, in either aesthetic or adherence to topic. I rarely even make the attempt any more, since I know I'll only end up bogging myself down.

It's the same sort of thing with all things that involve dressing up. I've all but given up on clowning since the concept of actually getting dressed up and thereby having to stay in character for an elongated period of time is absolutely horrifying. I have no inhibition to cosplay at anime conventions or buy a fursuit, since again, I don't think I could do them justice.

I've tried explaining this to friends before, and I'm consistently met with a single response: "It's not that big a deal. Just relax." That's just it- it's a massive deal. I've only really started understanding why, however.

Pretending is all I do. It's my life. Everything I do comes back to my characters or my fandoms, endlessly creating or imagining scenes, scenarios, and whatever else I can think of. But when Halloween comes, I see people in elegant costumes and in perfect character, the proverbial lives of the party. I want to be able to pretend that well; it is my life, after all. But I always see people much better at it- much less shy about it- doing it to degrees I really never could.

So long story short, I'm really jealous of anyone who has fun on Halloween, because I'm too shy to do so myself. And I'm not looking for moral support or ways to change my viewpoint; rest assured, I've gotten plenty of that before. This is just another vent/thought compilation journal. I'm sorry for doing two in a row; I promise, I'll try and post something silly next time around.

Danke for reading, and to all who managed to get through my rambling: Have a Happy Halloween.

I felt like I needed to write a journal today. There's nothing in particular that made me want to do so that stands out in my mind, but then again, I normally make my most profound statements by accident. I was in the Walgreen's located within walking distance from my dorm buying a large bottle of Coke (for about the same price as one a third of the size in the university's vending machines, I may add) when I decided that some kind of declaration had to be made. I was halfway through mentally writing it before I realized it was yet another series of ponderings based upon ponies. (I blame this on the deluxe Fluttershy figure in the toy aisle I almost bought, she being my favorite non-Spike character.) While I know none of you want to stomach that a third time, I'll include this list of events for the approval of any person interested:

-My best friend John (whom I'm sure I've mentioned before) started watching MLP and is an even bigger fan than I am.
-He and I geek out about the show as he progresses through the episodes
-Thanks to him I consider myself at "brony" status, though it's still far from a psychotic obsession
-A fit of boredom on Thursday made me create my very own fanpony, aptly named "Rotten Tomatoes." He's Equestria's premier insult comic and is a mix of Charlie Chaplin and Groucho Marx in pony form. He's also kind of a dick.

There's your daily dose of ponies. Details on either event are available upon request, though I don't blame any of you if you let that sit where it lay.

It's also recently come to my attention that I have some 79 watchers on this account. That, frankly, is amazing. Most of those watchers I know in some way or another, be it from FurryTeens, FA networking, or other sources, but several I don't. Those are really the ones that interest me most. The only things this account does is serve as an archive of whatever Duino art I might amass from the nether regions of the internet and as a soapbox to perch myself upon when I feel like I need to speak. Experience tells me those whose watches I've "earned" based on content I imagine come here for the prior, though since most of what this account puts up receives little attention, I can never really be sure.

Like most if not all furries, I love attention. I've discussed that in another journal prior to this one, so I'll again spare you all the ramble. But while a lack of attention on the artwork I submit is understandable, I'm normally disappointed when my journals fail to spark discussion in ways I was hoping. Every comment is a godsend, though when I muse on something I'm honestly extremely excited to get feedback. I may take offense to it sometimes (I'm like an apple- sweet, red, but easily bruised), but the fact that someone read all I had to say is quite an honor. I know I skip over journals half the time myself since I have "better things to be doing," and I respect other's right to do the same.

So, here's what I suppose the "point" of this journal should be:

If you watch me and have never commented on anything I've submitted, please do! I love hearing from people and I promise to respond to anything you have to say. And if you read this entire journal, but have nothing to say about it, you can just comment and say you got through it. If people really find these a pain to read, I promise I'll stop. :3

I think that's all that needs to be said for now. If this journal proves anything I think it's I need to get some sleep. It's too bad- I had such a great streak of coherence going.

When it comes to drama, there's no bettering FA. With a single picture they've thrown what seems like every user into hysterics. It's absolutely delicious. (Yeah, it's a banner journal. So what, want to fight about it?)

To get the point out of the way, I'm a fan of the show, and the banner. I'm by no means a rabid, obsessive fan; just someone who enjoyed the show and all the jokes that flow from it. And on a website that houses thousands of pony-based images, covering all sorts of mediums and subject materials, it seems appropriate that homage is to be paid. Of course, as I'm sure any one of us can tell about the number of journals based around it, not everyone feels the same way.

Drama is not new to FA. Not at all. Hell, the fandom and even the internet in general are sources of it. But it's a natural byproduct of things like this, where information is exchanged so rapidly and on such a grand scale. We're all looking for different things, and when we find stuff we're not looking for it makes us a little upset. That's why historically FA has been known to be prone to a flurry of "srs bsns" that we all get tired of hearing. In an art site that houses both a large variety of clean and pornographic art, with each having similar tags, streams are bound to be crossed. I can't tell you how many times I'll have stumbled upon fanart of my favorite TV show (Tiny Toon Adventures) only to find a comic of Babs giving a strip tease and Fifi being puffed up to the size of a blimp. Or worse.

I'm a firm believer in "to their each their own." I don't necessarily agree with a lot of the stuff out there, but hey, if you're into it, go for it. For a majority of users here, I think the same is true. Disputes get raised every now and then, and from what I've seen it's from been something somewhat understandable- snide comments over art quality (looking at you, Alexx) or the aforementioned porn. So the conflict of interest is natural, and visible in all walks of life, not just the internet. But what makes things blow up like they have over MLP?

The answer, in a word, is visibility. I've played a game with my friends where we turn off the mature filter on my account and refresh the front page, betting how many times it'll take before we get a page where the twelve most recent submissions don't include something pornographic. (We've only played a few times but I don't think we've ever been successful.) These days, a similar game could be played with pony-based images, and I think the same results occur. However, you don't see nearly as much hatred for the porn as you do for ponies. Based on what I've observed, I think there are two mane main reasons:

1. The people doing the hating: A good part of the time, it seems to be someone on this website for pornographic purposes. Or at least, people who like "serious" art. People who don't like the porn here can turn it off and go about their lives, innocence intact. You can't turn ponies off, however, so if you don't like it, then you're just going to be bugged endlessly by it being shoved down your throat. If not for the mature filter I would have stopped browsing on this site a long time ago, so I can see how distasteful stuff everywhere would be frustrating. It's not a fair comparison to make, I'm aware, but it at least puts things in perspective a little. So with a group not accustomed to being frustrated to user content, they're bound to be more outspoken.

2. Artists are drawing ponies, not original stuff: This is secondary, but something I've seen. A lot of artists I like have done some pony stuff, and it's both entertaining and refreshing. But again, if you didn't like ponies, it'd suck to see artists you liked suddenly doing nothing but just that. I know if people I liked started drawing dick all the time I'd be upset. I can't help but refer to the case of an artist whose work I love, Thorn, who posted beautiful pony art (check her scraps), and subsequently journals apologizing about it based on negative feedback. Frankly, that sucks and shouldn't happen. If you want to be butthurt, don't do it to artists who enjoy things enough to make fan-based pieces. Keep fighting in the comments so much and we'll start to look like YouTube.

So, what's to be done? Well, there are two obvious courses of action. First, we could all grow up and learn to respect each other's differences. However, there's no way in hell that'll happen, so we'll have to settle for something simpler: We keep opinions to ourselves. A speaker they brought in to address my freshman class said "If you can't accept something, at least tolerate it." There's a lesson there the internet could stand to learn.

TL;DR: Ponies are such a hot button issue because it's everywhere on FA in the same way porn is, but even more present due to its clean nature and lack of a filter. So, with people's inherent distaste being aggravated into full-blown hatred over seeing it everywhere, drama results. We all need to learn to just stop ourselves from starting, or at least fighting, flame wars. If you hate drama in general, don't start it, or even bring the subject up. Toleration is a beautiful thing.

I'm being hypocritical in regard to my own advice in that last paragraph, but it still holds true. I couldn't sit idly by without making a journal no one would read about the subject, so here you all go. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some hunting to do for the first episode of season two. May all your days be happy and your future drama-free.

As opposed to most of my other journals, I'll try and keep this one brief. If there's one thing college has taught me (aside from the difference between a statement and a proposition), it's that people have a lot of stuff to do a lot of the time.

The purpose is rather obvious, too: I've been using Steam extensively since I found my new computer can play a large menagerie of great games, and a few friends in my dorm have added me there. I considered joining the FA group on there, but considering my previous forays into furry groups on non-furry sites, I'd rather connect with people I already know a bit then the internet's version of strangers. I've had enough of the awkward conversation where I have to explain I don't give head, I hit them with mallets.

I've gotten one or two adds on Skype from dormmates too, making it my messaging service for people I actually "know," aside from Facebook, whose IM system I've grown too annoyed with to put into use. So if anyone would like to add me on there, feel free. I'm not always the most chatty person, or for that matter the best social gamer, but I'm more often than not able to throw a solid conversation or ass-whooping your way upon request, respectively.

Man, even my short journals are long... stupid English Major powers...

EDIT: My username on both is earthsoul49. You know, in case the lack of response was to that. (Probably wasn't, but just making sure.)

A few months ago I was finally goaded into watching the first episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic by a few friends. Thinking it was OK, I said I'd watch more later. After all this time I finally figured I'd make good on that promise and watch the second half of the Nightmare Moon saga. I finished it about a minute ago and figured I owed a response.

Am I going to spout off on how it was amazing and the best thing I've ever seen? No.
Am I going to rip into it and ramble about why I don't understand the internet's love for it? No.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Yes, I groaned at the somewhat predictable and cliche plot elements. Yes, I made a series of dumb jokes to myself throughout the episode. And yes, it was sickly-sweet to a point that I had to pause it every so often to do something serious to balance it out. (Planning an action scene for Royvas, my fire-magic using swordsman badass, proved to be a good selection.) I thought it was funny to finally see some of the original animation that's been turned into a flurry of memes and jokes, and might have a few of my own to make at this point.

However, it got me thinking. Every reaction I've seen to the pony craze has been either extremely positive or extremely negative. People will either be shooting off quotes, gushing about the characters, and being in general very giddy about the whole topic, or telling people to shut up, bashing every aspect of it, and generally being very butthurt about it. This kind of thing is common in a lot of fandoms around media- the furry fandom is a prime example, and I've seen it around other internet fanbases, such as Homestuck, or even anime.

Polarization on the internet isn't new. I mean, there's a reason YouTube changed to a Like/Dislike system. People either rated five stars or one star, and the average rating as a result was relatively useless to determine a video's quality. It's true that you either like something or you don't, regardless of degree. However, many don't take the time to access how much they actually like something, and so narrow it to the two options. We've become locked into the idea that we can either love something or hate it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (and it certainly makes conversations about it more interesting to have/read), but it leads to these kinds of disputes extremely often.

I'm all for being a rabid fan of something. And I'm extremely happy to see the internet excited about something because its good for once rather than spreading around things that are popular because they're know for being awful. And it's satisfying to see a TV show get such a dedicated fanbase. But my ultimate thought here is that there are always going to be people who enjoy something too much. In the furry fandom it's typically the lonely teenagers who claim to have "furry pride!" and are rejected by friends and family alike due to the fact they like to wear a tail; in the MLP fandom, I'd say it's anyone who seriously refers to it as a cult (sorry, "herd") and believes that everyone must see this show as if they're some kind of divine profit, sent to spread the holy word of Lauren Faust throughout the land. These people will exist no matter what, and while I respect their beliefs- and I'm sure most of us really do- we'd really just appreciate it if they calmed their tits a little. It's really annoyance that leads to internet hate- sure, something can be good, but if you hear about it every waking hour and just think it's OK yourself, you're bound to have some negative feelings grow in strength.

To summarize, I enjoyed this show, and I'm probably going to go watch some more after this journal is posted. However, I also know that enjoyment should be taken with a grain of salt. If this had been another journal about how it's the best show ever, I'm sure it wouldn't have gotten a lot of intelligent response. (Then again, judging by comments on previous journals, this still won't.)

So there you have my thoughts on the subject. I'm frankly pleased watching this gave me something to chew on. I've needed that lately. Thank you, My Little Pony.


Your semi-faithful fan,

Duino Duck

Part One:

For those of you who seem to enjoy my antics commonly portrayed in art obtained through various means, you'll all have noticed a some eight pictures were added to my gallery today, having finally gotten around to remembering I hadn't uploaded those articles yet. There's not much else to say on the matter (other than you all really need to go shower  oceantiger11 for having survived so much work created for her by me), though it did bring about a thought. (Yup, it's one of THOSE kinds of journals.)

A common term I hear among furries is "art whore." I don't know how universal it is, as I don't hear it often outside my circle of contacts, but the definition I've come to accept is "one who is obsessed with getting art of their character." I've used the term to describe myself jokingly before, and I'm sure we can all think of someone we've seen on FA who always seems to be in those "free art" submissions that normally gets this label attached to them. Is there anything wrong with it? I don't have any issue with those people; no serious one, anyway. Maybe if they take an opportunity away from someone who needs more reference material as opposed to their hoard, it becomes a problem, but that's another story.

The fact of the matter is, I've never met a furry who didn't want art of their character. Or at the very least, wouldn't mind being drawn. The connections people make between themselves and their characters vary drastically from person to person, be it merely a character they write for, a symbolic representation, or even something spiritual. But on some level a fursona is a good part of you. As such, when people draw that part, it's essentially the same as being recognized and acknowledged. And every comment on that submission and every favorite only adds to that acknowledgement.

I'm not trying to be deep here, it's just coming out that way. I guess all I really want to say is that I find it odd that I enjoy comments and favorites so much, when all I really do is repost things other people have done for me. It sometimes feels like I'm taking credit, or something of that sort. The reoccurring thought is "I didn't do much to earn this attention, and yet will still enjoy it." It's not something I lose sleep over, and I'm thankful for every watcher, favorite, and comment I receive, but I'm interested in people's thoughts on the subject.

Part Two:

We all have aspects of the fandom we hate. And for most of us the list is anything but short- I know mine includes the fact that a common mantra of FA is "You can never have enough wolf penis" and that I can't go two steps without seeing childhood cartoon stars I love engaging in acts that still haunt the scariest recesses of my mind. But I can complain about those some other time.

What I really want to say here is that I'm thankful for my friends, and the fact that they're understanding. Having been on the Furry Teens forum for so long, as well as a few things on FA, I've heard my fair share of horror stories about friends and family hating the furry in question just because of their involvement in the fandom. Granted, I'm fairly sure there are multiple other reasons for these feelings and even then those accounts are aggrandized, but that's neither here nor there.

My friends are at the very least tolerable of my interest in the fandom, most of them not caring one way or the other, which is frankly the reaction most people have. Granted, I have to explain the fact that I'm just in it for cartoons a good portion of the time (yesterday was one such occasion, which is what brought this part of the journal on), but that just comes with the territory.

But my best friends are some of the coolest guys I've ever met, are oftentimes more receptive than others, enjoying it when I shove artwork in their faces and even making duck puns and furry jokes at my expense, which I revel in. They understand the fandom is just an interest, same as their obsession with history or video games, which is how it ought to be.

Let me put it this way: it's become a joke that whenever we spend the night over someone's house, we take a break from Halo to log into my FA account in order to shut off the mature filter and look at the front page. And FA never fails to disappoint to amuse our small bad of 18-year-old males, as we laugh at the fact that some artists use a ballistic missile for reference on the male anatomy.

And of course there was the night I was driving my friend John- who is the most receptive of all my friends and eager to see art much more often than everyone else, I might add- home from a concert and ended up explaining the fetishes that made it past the mature filter. I'll never forget his reaction as I had to explain vore... good times, man. Good times.

Anyway, you all have lives to get back to, so let me sum it up:

TL;DR: I might be enjoying attention I don't rightly deserve, and my friend's reactions to the fandom are some of the funniest memories I have with them.

Thank you, and goodnight.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/t.....2011/fowl-wind

Am I one of those furries who posts anything in the news that has to do with their species?

You bet your sweet tail I am.

No, you don't have to click on another journal or repost this anywhere or any of that crap. Though I bet half of you wish you did- because then you wouldn't be getting the offer of art from me.

Long story short, I've been spending today getting all kinds of chores done, and one of them involved using my scanner. Much to my amusement, I found the original copy of this: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5707055/ still on the glass. So, I had an idea: why not offer people more derpy and terribly done art of their characters?

I've still got some stuff to do, though I've finished most of it, so I can probably pass the time with these tonight. If anyone's interested in masterpieces like the above, please speak up. I just hope if you do want one you've got the lowest of expectations, because that's about where I can meet you. Post refs and the like too. There's no limit for entry as of now, and hopefully it'll stay that way, since this sounds like it could be hilarious. So, everyone, get to requesting!

TL;DR: I'm going to draw people and I think it'll be funny since I have no skill, so go ahead and request.

I was talking about this with Klein a while back, as well as a real life friend of mine who has been my go-to on all matters Duino. It's kind of a trivial matter, and I'm sure to lose interest before long. But if you actually showed enough initiative to click on a journal by someone as long-winded as me with a title as disinteresting as that then I suppose you were expecting a snoozefest anyway, so... on with the show!

Duino's name comes from a series of poems by a German poet, the series being named after the city most of them were written in- Duino. Never having been one for international phonetics, I've always pronounced it with a hard i sound, as if there were an accent on the i. However, according to our own resident German nurse otter, the u and i sort of roll together, a w sound emerging. So, long story short:

How I say it: Dew-EE-no
How she says it: DWEE-no

At the very least I finally know where she got "Dween." That took a lot longer to realize than it should have...

But anyway, thoughts on this? I'm just curious as to how people see this on paper and read it. I prefer to have it read the way I say it, for the record; no offense to alternative views, but I've spent over a year saying it like that and refuse to change. So it'd be helpful in deciding if I need to add an accent or something somewhere in there.

Everyone sufficiently bored to tears? Good. You're free to get back to your lives now. Have a nice day.

I don’t post my thoughts enough. So I’mma go ahead and rant some.

During my treks across the internet I’ve met a lot of interesting people. Luckily for me, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to talk and get to know some of them. However, to do that I’ve always had to come up with a reason for actually saying hello and connecting with them, not to mention mustering some kind of courage to actually do it. At its best I’ve met some of my best friends like this; at its worst I’ve been spurned completely and felt like crap for a few days after.

Personally, I’ve always wanted it to be socially acceptable to simply say to someone “You seem cool and I’d like to get to know you better” and not come off as some kind of wingnut. But internet communities work like real-life ones: there are cliques and groups, we judge people solely by appearance, and saying the above phrase is most likely to not go over well.

And, if the fact that the introduction part wasn’t hard enough, then you actually need to get to know the person through engaging with them in small talk. This is a pretty extensive process, and even with people I talk to constantly I can still know very little about. So, if anyone cares (and because it’s 5 AM and I’m bored as anything), I figured I’d post a laundry list of facts about myself in the unlikely anyone had ever wanted to get to know more about me that goes beyond what they can read on the info tab. I’m doing it off the cuff, so let’s see what I can come up with…

-I’m an incoming college freshman, majoring in English with a concentrate in writing
-There are very few things in this world I care enough about to fight for, those being limited to friends, family, and my characters
-I believe that I am funny, and that if people aren’t laughing with me it’s because my sense of humor takes getting used to
-I’m engaging, interesting, and thoughtful, even though I never give myself credit for being so
-I make fun of myself mercilessly, both because I half-believe what I’m saying, but also to let other’s know I’m aware of my faults so they don’t insult me for them
-My biggest fears are being incorrect, being thought of as stupid or being disliked, and making an incorrect choice on a major decision
-Meeting new people is one of my favorite things to do
-By default, I think people either don’t like me or find me annoying
-I constantly second-guess my own motivation for doing things
-I hate making people worry about me, yet always call attention to my bad moods, which only worsens the situation and my mood
-I have self-confidence issues and deal with sporadic instances of depression that never lasts more than a few hours
-By making this list I already feel pretentious and like I’m wasting everyone’s time, and while I want to delete it, will try and post it anyway.
-I believe cartoons are both a fine art and intelligent entertainment if viewed properly
-I desire to live in a cartoon reality, where every problem is black and white, every issue is resolved simply, and there’s no such thing as extensive worrying or fear of the future
-I realize how childish that last entry sounds, and if you’ve been following the list thus far, here’s an example for essentially everything I’ve explained.

That’s probably enough personal stuff for now… without getting into the trite “favorite color” territory, that is. If you’ve read this far, congrats! I’m not sure your motivation but I’m thankful for it. I also realized the other reason I never post my thoughts online- I think the happy stuff sounds cheesy, so anything I find profound comes off as sad. But that’s another rant for another time…

Alright, random update time!

First of all, I'm sitting on another small stack of art I want to chronicle, so be on the lookout for that stuff soon. If anything it's been really neat seeing Duino evolve over the past few months with my gallery being a testament to that, but I'm happy to finally be getting a consistent look for him that I'm actually happy about. Yay!

Second, it's summer. So expect me to be around a lot because I have a lot of free time that needs killing. So creeping on all y'all's profiles is going to double, at least. Hide your submissions, hide your favorites, and hide your shout boxes because I'm bored everywhere out here.

Third, I have college orientation starting tomorrow morning and going into Friday, so I most likely won't be back until tomorrow evening. I'm not taking the laptop, so now Yahoo/Facebook/FA/FT or any of that stuff for a while. Being an addict, it's weird to think about. You guys had better give me cool stuff to look forward to in the meantime, alright? Alright.

Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow!

...that's the best title I had? Alright then.

So today I was driving home from school around noontime (I get out early due to senior privileges, be jealous) and I turned onto the street my house is on. It's a fairly well-traveled street, not to mention a lack of sidewalks and trees all along it, so you don't see a lot of people walking on it. That's why a couple strolling down the side of the road caught my attention. I watched them for a bit, thinking nothing of it. But then I happened to notice something interesting.

The female of the pair was wearing an usual hat, which I first thought was a pair of Homestruck troll horns, and while I don't read the comic myself I have several friends who do and I figured they'd get a laugh out of it. However, upon closer inspection, I saw that the hat was actually a black and white knit cap, furred and with cat or wolf ears on top. And as if that weren't enough, a pair of goggles.

That's when I passed them, a little dumbfounded. My next thought was "...I bet she has a tail." And after checking the rearview mirror, I found I was right.

I considered turning around and trying to say hello, but there was really no way to have done that without furthering the "furries are weird" stereotype if I had. ESPECIALLY if these people weren't furries, but only had a unique fashion sense. I never got a good look at the guy anyway, so I can't even say both of them had the same style.

Still, you really never know. There may very well be fellow scourges of the internet living in my town- even just up the street. I gotta say, that's kind of an interesting thought.

Watch out, this might become a thing. (Probably not.)



What do you call a serf that got crushed by a window?

"Peasant Under Glass."

Today, I am a man.

...as far as the American government is concerned, anyway.

Yup, I'm 18 years old as of 9:37 AM. How am I choosing to commemorate the event? By gambling, of course! I'll be getting one $1 scratch ticket. My financial future is secure!

I also find it ironic that I'll be picked up at school by Mom today. "You're an adult! Now get in the passenger seat and buckle up." That's what you get when your car's "Check Engine" light comes on...

Oh, and Duino is also 1 year old as of today. So that's neat.

If anyone needs me, I'll be eating cake.

Taking a quick break from our regularly scheduled programming for... vulgarity!

"YOU JUST WOKE UP NAKED IN BED NEXT TO ME..... using only 3 words, what would you say to me??"

Forced upon me- er, "stolen" from  kleinflammenwerfer and  taily

What do you call it when a doctor doesn't have any help delivering a baby?





A midwife crisis.

Yup. Came up with that in English while not paying attention to a trite discussion about some prose passage that got ripped to shreds. (Metaphorically, of course.) Enjoy your daily dose of Duino.



P.S. My birthday/furiversary is three weeks from tomorrow. (They're basically the same day so I'm going to count it as such.) So, you know. Get ready to shower me with gifts.

It's 3 AM, I can't sleep, and I need to get that meme off my page. So let's do this.

As I'm sure all of you are aware by now, I enjoy cartoons with a shameless passion, and enjoy writing them to some degree in my free time. Well, I was chatting with a good friend of mine tonight, whom you all might know as  nightmarethestallion, who said he wanted to start doing a cartoon weekly along with his serials. So, I had an idea.

What we (me and Nightmare) would be doing is making the toony adventures we go on more formalized and begin writing them for others to see. (Yes, WRITING. Neither of us can draw for beans.) So, essentially, it would lead to a series of submissions a lot like this. I can't promise it'd be a regular thing, seeing as I've been trying to write another full one like that for months to no avail, but even then it might prove interesting. Cameos and such would of course be welcomed and encouraged, if anyone would be interested. I mean, as long as you're a fan of shtick.

So, would anyone out there actually be interested in reading this kind of stuff? Because it's probably coming anyway, so take this as a warning rather than a promise of things to come. But it ought to be fun, if I can buckle down and do it. Encouragement is... well, encouraged! Thanks in advance for the feedback, guys.

Yeah, it's a meme. I've never done one because I find them... annoying, but heck. It's 2 AM and this looked like one that might be interesting to read if you were interested in me at all.

...no? Well, too bad, I'm doing it anyway. Taken from .

• × • ALL | ABOUT | ME • × •
____________________________________________________________________________

- Name: Duino
- Single or taken: Single (Forever alone)
- Sex: Male
- Birthday: April 26, 1993
- Sign: Taurus
- Hair color: Red
- Eye color: Blue
- Height: 6'
- Are you straight/bisexual/gay?: Straight. ...Yeah. Yeah, let's just go with that.
____________________________________________________________________________

• × • F A S H I O N | S T U F F • × •
____________________________________________________________________________

- Favorite place to shop for clothes?: Kohl's
- Favorite designer: ...my straightness prevents me from having an answer.
- What is your sexiest outfit?: Maid outfit. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
- What is your most comfortable outfit?: Undershirt, overshirt, no pants.
- What do you usually wear?: See above.
____________________________________________________________________________

• × • S P E C I F I C S • × •
____________________________________________________________________________

- What kind of shampoo do you use?: The... dandruff kind.
- What are you listening to right now?: Klein's snickering
- Who is the last person that called you?: and
- How many buddies are online right now?: Facebook says 23, I say like... 4?
____________________________________________________________________________

• × • F A V O R I T E S • × •
____________________________________________________________________________

- Food: Pizza
- Girls' names: Rachel
- Boys' names: Donald (Didn't see that coming)
- Subjects in school: Creative Writing
- Animals: Ducks, Owls, and Rabbits
____________________________________________________________________________

• × • H A V E | Y O U | E V E R • × •
____________________________________________________________________________

- Given anyone a bath?: No.
- Smoked?: No.
- Bungee jumped?: No.
- Made yourself throw up?: No.
- Skinny dipped?: No.
- Ever been in love?: Yes.
- Made yourself cry to get out of trouble?: Yes.
- Pictured your crush naked?: Yes.
- Actually seen your crush naked?: No. (You're such a pervert for asking.)
- Cried when someone died?: Yes.
- Lied: Yes.
- Fallen for your best friend?: No.
- Used someone?: Yes.
- Done something you regret?: Yes.
____________________________________________________________________________

• × • C U R R E N T • × •
____________________________________________________________________________

- Clothes: Ill-fitting black shirt with a witticism on the front, jeans, and white socks.
- Desktop picture: Minimalist Duino.
- CD in player: "Immersion" by Pendulum.
- DVD in player: A Red Skelton compilation.
____________________________________________________________________________

• × • L A S T | P E R S O N • × •
____________________________________________________________________________

- You touched: Dad. MANLY FISTBUMP BEFORE BED
- Hugged: Mom.
- You kissed: Non-family? Uh... no one.
- You IMed:
- Talk to online: and and
- You sexed it up with: Virgin. Aww yeah.
___________________________________________________________________________

• × • A R E | Y O U • × •
___________________________________________________________________________

- Understanding?: Yes.
- Open-minded?: Yes.
- Arrogant?: Pretty much, yes.
- Insecure?: Uh... yes! I mean no! Uh... can phone a friend?
- Random?: Hey, macerena.
- Hungry?: Yes.
- Smart?: I like to think so.
- Moody?: Yes.
- Organized?: For the most part.
- Shy?: Sometimes.
- Difficult?: Yes.
- Bored easily?: I'm already bored with this.
- Obsessed?: I'm obsessive, if that's what you mean.
- Angry?: Almost never.
- Happy?: Yup.
- Hyper?: Yup.
- Trusting?: Yes.
___________________________________________________________________________

• × • R A N D O M • × •
___________________________________________________________________________

- In the morning I: Roll over and go back to sleep.
- Love is: By Bo Burnham.
- I dream about: Life in TECHNICOLOR
- Sexual preference: I LIKE THE FEMALES
- What do you notice first in the sex you're into?: Sense of humor.
___________________________________________________________________________

• × • W H I C H | I S | B E T T E R • ×
___________________________________________________________________________

- Coke or Pepsi: Coke.
- Flowers or candy: CANDY.
- Tall or short: Tall

___________________________________________________________________________

• × • W H O • × •
___________________________________________________________________________

- Makes you laugh the most: Pretty much every friend I have. That's why I'm friends with them. Also my father.
- Makes you smile: Everyone. Everywhere.
- Gives you a funny feeling when you see him/her: I dunno. Plenty of people.
___________________________________________________________________________

• × • D O | Y O U | E V E R • × •
___________________________________________________________________________

- Sit on the internet all night waiting for that someone special to IM you?: TOTALLY
- Wish you were a member of the opposite sex?: I like to dress like one sometimes.
- Wish you were younger?: Younger. So I could watch MORE CARTOONS.
- Cry because someone said something to you?: Yes.
___________________________________________________________________________

• × • N U M B E R • × •
___________________________________________________________________________

- Of times I have had my heart broken?: Not really sure.
- Of guys I've kissed: 0.
- Of girls I've kissed: 0. (STILL FOREVER ALONE)
- Of Cd's I own: Several. I dunno, 30 maybe?
- Of scars on my body: I bumped my shin on a fence once and still have the bumps to prove it.