User:Concerned Reader: Difference between revisions
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Now I know this is a "Furry" story archive, but personally I don't recognize myself as a furry. I have no fursona, fursuit, or fur-anything. Well, I have a cat and dog, but other than that, my life is furless. The only furry I have known was the quintessential gay rabbit who was in it for the yiff. He went to my high school, wore a bunny tail and ears every now and then, and generally told everyone in earshot that he was furry. Needless to say, he left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Before you say anything, do two things. One, get your mind out of the gutter. Two, realize that I'd been exposed to the furry subculture years ago. | Now I know this is a "Furry" story archive, but personally I don't recognize myself as a furry. I have no fursona, fursuit, or fur-anything. Well, I have a cat and dog, but other than that, my life is furless. The only furry I have known was the quintessential gay rabbit who was in it for the yiff. He went to my high school, wore a bunny tail and ears every now and then, and generally told everyone in earshot that he was furry. Needless to say, he left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Before you say anything, do two things. One, get your mind out of the gutter. Two, realize that I'd been exposed to the furry subculture years ago. | ||
Most anyone on the internet has seen some side of it, either from the bowels of 4chan and Encyclopaedia Dramatica, or just in passing on a forum. I somehow happened onto [http://Transform.to Transform.to], which lead me to the Transformation Story Archive. I read through some of it, and was intrigued by the wide range of genres that were brought together by the underlying theme of Transformation. | Most anyone on the internet has seen some side of it, either from the bowels of 4chan and Encyclopaedia Dramatica, or just in passing on a forum. I somehow happened onto [http://Transform.to Transform.to], which lead me to the Transformation Story Archive. I read through some of it, and was intrigued by the wide range of genres that were brought together by the underlying theme of Transformation. The Tales from the Blind Pig setting grabbed my attention, and I soon was crawling the web, looking for more of it. I found [[User:Michael_Bard|Michael Bard's]] archive, and read almost everything on it. My favorites include most of [[User:rabbit|Phil Geusz's]] stuff, along with Wells, J. Channing, [[User:cubist|Quentin "Cubist" Long]], and Hallan Mirayas. | ||
This was back at the start of high school. Recently I went and reread a lot of TBP stuff, and it's still one of my favorites. It saddened me that it had died with so little noise. I did some more digging, searching around for authors and such. This lead me to Cubist's net zine, [http://anthrozine.com/ Anthro] and from there I joined the TSA-list. Which is how I found out about both the [[Pig and Whistle]] universe, and shifti. A concerned reader, worrying that this new universe would collapse much like TPB did, I made an account and inquiry about the setting. After being promptly answered by [[User:ShadowWolf|ShadowWolf]], I decided to get in on this new setting. Thus my first short story was started. | This was back at the start of high school. Recently I went and reread a lot of TBP stuff, and it's still one of my favorites. It saddened me that it had died with so little noise. I did some more digging, searching around for authors and such. This lead me to Cubist's net zine, [http://anthrozine.com/ Anthro] and from there I joined the TSA-list. Which is how I found out about both the [[Pig and Whistle]] universe, and shifti. A concerned reader, worrying that this new universe would collapse much like TPB did, I made an account and inquiry about the setting. After being promptly answered by [[User:ShadowWolf|ShadowWolf]], I decided to get in on this new setting. Thus my first short story was started. | ||
Revision as of 13:31, 28 June 2009
 | Works by Concerned Reader on Shifti |
About Me
I'm just what the name says. A reader. I grew up on Science Fiction and saturday morning cartoons. In the 90's transformation was commonplace in toons. From Digimon to Beastwars to my personal favorite, Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century. I read Philip K. Dick Prolifically, and am just starting to get into Scott Westerfeld's stuff.
Now I know this is a "Furry" story archive, but personally I don't recognize myself as a furry. I have no fursona, fursuit, or fur-anything. Well, I have a cat and dog, but other than that, my life is furless. The only furry I have known was the quintessential gay rabbit who was in it for the yiff. He went to my high school, wore a bunny tail and ears every now and then, and generally told everyone in earshot that he was furry. Needless to say, he left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Before you say anything, do two things. One, get your mind out of the gutter. Two, realize that I'd been exposed to the furry subculture years ago.
Most anyone on the internet has seen some side of it, either from the bowels of 4chan and Encyclopaedia Dramatica, or just in passing on a forum. I somehow happened onto Transform.to, which lead me to the Transformation Story Archive. I read through some of it, and was intrigued by the wide range of genres that were brought together by the underlying theme of Transformation. The Tales from the Blind Pig setting grabbed my attention, and I soon was crawling the web, looking for more of it. I found Michael Bard's archive, and read almost everything on it. My favorites include most of Phil Geusz's stuff, along with Wells, J. Channing, Quentin "Cubist" Long, and Hallan Mirayas.
This was back at the start of high school. Recently I went and reread a lot of TBP stuff, and it's still one of my favorites. It saddened me that it had died with so little noise. I did some more digging, searching around for authors and such. This lead me to Cubist's net zine, Anthro and from there I joined the TSA-list. Which is how I found out about both the Pig and Whistle universe, and shifti. A concerned reader, worrying that this new universe would collapse much like TPB did, I made an account and inquiry about the setting. After being promptly answered by ShadowWolf, I decided to get in on this new setting. Thus my first short story was started.
Science Fiction, to me, isn't just fiction with science in it. It has to bring something new to the table. Present a new idea, and make you think about how things are in the present. The fine line between fantasy and Science Fiction doesn't matter. I once wrote an essay defending the opinion that Shakespeare's MacBeth was Science Fiction. The work just has to bring something new to the table.
I view Transformation Fiction as an extension of Science fiction. Much like Science Fiction isn't just fiction with science in it, Transformation Fiction isn't just fiction with transformation in it. It has to present a new idea, or draw parallels to the real world all the same. The Transformation can't just be a plot device, it has to further the development of the characters. The transformation in good Transformation Fiction stories isn't of the body, but the mind.
I'll see if I can find my Macbeth is science fiction essay and post it here. It includes a much more in-depth look at what makes science fiction.
- Edit: I found it: Slipping Realities.
Recomended reading
- Evolutions Darling - Scott Westerfeld
- A story about a space ship AI that grows to Turing completeness. This classifies it as human, with human rights. The captain, not wanting to lose his ship ai, tries to erase it, leading to its escape and evolution over time. A word of caution. Most of Westerfelds earlier, non Young Adult, work has very vivid and violent sexual imagry
- The Midnighters Trilogy - Scott Westerfeld
- The story of a girl who stumbles into the world of Midnight in Bixby, Oklahoma. Trapped for the thirteenth hour every night in a frozen time where Darkness comes alive, and thirteen is a powerfull number. The series, Westerfelds first foray into Young Adult fiction, is well built. A strongly developed mythos and world that is inhabited by well developed characters. If all you care about is transformation, the second book in the series will interest you, but I recomend reading the whole thing.
- So Yesterday - Scott Westerfeld
- Any book that can incorperate the siezer inducing episode of Pokemon, and still make perfect sense has to be good.
- Peeps and The Last Days - Scott Westerfeld
- A fresh and scientific aproach to the common vampire story. Parasites and STD's oh my.
- His newest work to come out. "Set in a future post-scarcity dystopian world in which everyone is turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery upon reaching age 16. It tells the story of teenager Tally Youngblood who rebels against society's enforced conformity, after her new found friends Shay and David show her the downsides to becoming a "pretty"." From the Wiki. The series as a whole is very good. Definitely an eye opener.
I'm tired of summarizing, and Dicks work is very hard to sum up, so I'll treat you to the wiki pages.
- A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
- This was made into a movie by the name of BladeRunner. Perhaps you've heard of it?
- [The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick] - Philip K. Dick
- In these collections, some of the short stories to look for are:
- And a few shorts, probably more than I know, use transformation as a device for greater character development:
I highly recommend picking up one of his short story collections. Several of his shorts are public domain, and can be read on google books.
work in progress
I'm currently attempting to write a short in the Pig and Whistle universe. It's not just my first short on shifti, it's my first short ever. I have no experience with writing narratives, and suffer from what I call "Block of Text Syndrome." So be warned, it will be a bit hard to read until I patch it up.
To help keep track of the technology and politics in the PAW universe, I whipped up some timelines.