Some questions have been answered...but new ones have now arisen~

BBT, good evening!

I hope this doesn't come across as an odd set of comments and questions, but I expect you're probably the best person to ask about it at this point, with Lawrence (and a number of other characters I see in your Gallery) being part of Jevin's Neotrian/Requoran/Hayacastian universe, which, sadly, I report I am not familiar with.

I'm a +Watcher of Rehgan's (the fellow who drew this reference sheet for Lawrence, your tiger character), and when I came to your picture I said to myself: "Cloaker? Did he mean 'choker' or something, as in a piece of throat ornamentation clothing?" I'm glad I came here to your posting of the same reference sheet, which filled in a few blanks I started out with. The 'Cloaker', then, is some variety of mass and size artificial amplification tech that allows microfurs like Lawrence to maintain an otherwise 'normal' stature whilst amongst larger folk? I get the feeling there's a bit of size discrimination under standard operating rules, whether traditional to this society or some degree of governmental oversight on the topic. I honestly don't know the architecture of any of this, and I'm sorry for what must sound like a mess of cluelessness on my part.

I went to Jevin's FA page (sort of) shortly before posting you here, but sadly, it looks like sometime within the last couple of months he's shut it down/locked it and went on his way. Thus, I have no general reference points to ask anything about this world of Lawrence's aside from what I can gather in some of the descriptions of other posts you've made elsewhere in your Gallery. It was a bit of a sadness to see Jevin had left us; I remember more than one conversation very clearly I had with him, as well as his easily-recognizable Avatar, which I have no memory of his changing during the time I've been here and knew him thus. We hadn't spoken here for the better part of a year, but I do remember not seeing any updates from his Gallery or Journals for several months prior to when, I assume, he locked his account here. I don't know why he did, assuming it's any of my business to know.

In any case, I'm more than a little (no pun intended) curious to find out more about the world Lawrence and a number of your other characters live in. If that's something you'd be able and willing to help with, I'm all ears! :)

-2Paw.

What would you like to know?

Nouf, where to start? First off, I hope you'll accept my thanks for both the prompt response and offering what details you might provide. I guess I'd just like to know the basic conceptuals of Lawrence's world, as in the relationship between 'natural' microfurs and 'natural' normal (?) sized furs, and how this is reflected in governmental or societal policies there; along with rules regarding 'faking' your size, if any. I suspect that Lawrence intentionally presents himself as being a 'normal-sized' furson, although his natural size is much smaller; are there institutions or enforced laws in Lawrence's world regarding misrepresenting your size or stature, or is it more of a social norm (or the opposite, a taboo regarding what social contracts may exist regarding it) to maintain your 'real' size and mass relative to other people in his world? Lastly, as Lawrence seems to be an expert at the design and maintenance of size-and-mass increasing and decreasing 'cloaker' technology, is there any sort of 'underground' or 'resistance' amongst smaller furs that might have some subversive intent regarding their operating amongst larger furs, and might Lawrence have some significant stake in such an underground movement? I know that last part is only relevant if my assumption that there is some amount of legal imposition regarding any technology that would allow microfurs to present themselves practically as 'normal-sized' inhabitants of your world, though.

I don't know if what I'm about to say is something active in Lawrence's world, but I'm rather interested in the concept of future RL Furries being lab-grown bodies merged with human brain patterns using some form of future type of not-yet-invented neurosurgery (like Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0's 'Exotics') or even, to be more relevant to Lawrence's world, totally synthetic 'normal-sized' bodies driven by brains containing copies of microfur's brain patterns (or living brains after accelerated growth from their original mass). I do see what looks to be a 'Terminator' endoskeleton-like moose in your Avatar here, with part of the surface tissue torn away and exposing the metal endoskeleton beneath, so I have a feeling you might know where I'm coming from about that. ^_^

Again, thanks in advance for fielding my questions, and a pleasure to share space with you here on FA!

-2Paw.

While I can't speak for Jevin's original stories, the characters of Lawrence, Rangy, Elain, and Camohtli all live in an area of heat and dryness called Mirabeu. The territory is formally a part of a nation called Neotria, it's citizens Neotrians (in this case, normal sized folks). However, the land of Neotria is also home to micros, but because of the sheer size of an already massive territory (even for Neotrians), the micros present are wildly different and varied. So for instance, Lawrence here is a Requoran (where Jevin's stories mostly took place in a more temperate and green locale) while Rangy and Camohtli are Hayacastians (who call the dry badlands in and around Mirabeu their home).

It is also worth mentioning that there is a fine degree of time differentiating my characters and the events that take place in Jevin's stories. As a result, the tech and the perceptions within are more premature, especially when it comes to Neotrian-Micro relations. As it stands, the micros are seen as pests of one degree or another and are just ignored or removed. The cloakers are very much a Requoran (and eventually loaned to Hayacastian micros) invention, allowing once vermin to masquerade as Neotrians for several days at a time. As it stands, few Neotrians believe such technology exists. As such, Lawrence is keeping a secret to rival all secrets, not only to protect himself, but to protect all else who might have cloakers. Technically, if it were known he weren't a Neotrian, it would be an immediate "no rights no dignity" scenario, although Jevin's stories show that, in the future, that very well might change.

Lawrence and Rangy are both "underground" members since maintaining cloaker tech is a bit of a constant battle that cannot be conducted openly nor can it stop being a secret. However, Camohtli is a militant reactionary to the core and might attempt to utilize the tech for more nefarious ends.