User:Concerned Reader
Works by Concerned Reader on Shifti |
Contents
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. I've been around the outskirts of the fandom for some time now, and have seen just about every aspect of it.
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.
I've recently begun writing on Ficly, a flash fiction archive. Here's my userpage: Concerned Reader.
My definition of Science Fiction and Transformation Fiction
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.
Finished Stories
work in progress
Progress on this stuff will be slow for a while, as I am starting college.
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.
Rebuilding --Part one of my first foray into writing, as well as the Pig and Whistle story Universe. Really just an introduction to Allan Willson as a character. Some world building for Texas as well.
Revenge --Part two of Allan's first story. Will focus on the time after Allan has gone through college, and has joined the Texas Rangers. Should have more Action.
Resolutions -- Part three of my short series, But only if I don't finish it in part 2.
Lotka Volterra -- A new story set within Pig and Whistle This is mostly in the conceptual stages now, but it'll introduce two new characters that I'm pretty happy about. Just my attempt to stretch the limits, and see what crazy things I can get the universe guidelines to support.
To help keep track of the technology and politics in the PAW universe, I whipped up some timelines.