Thread by @skunktaur

Okay, lets try another one of these bandwagons ;)

1. In the fandom 23 years denying my furry side, but then this year gave myself permission to actually make a sona and participate! Yup, I'm old.

2. I discovered the fandom online, but its more appropriate to say I discovered furries through a friend's copy of CU Amiga magazine with a special on Eric Schwartz and his digital illustrations. Clarisse Cat. Then went online and discovered his webcomic & art archive. I was ~15.

3. Favourite aspects of the community are how accepting and friendly is! It's got flaws, but y'all are striving to be better! As a mature noob to interacting with the community (instead of just admiring it in secret) people are just so creative and inspiring, in and out of sona!

4. Juniper is my first fursona to get a debut, and he's the culmination of 23 years of admiring everyone else's fursonas from afar. He's a skunk, a taur and has multi-fur aspects, all favourites I've gained over that time.

5. Juniper is a wholesome extroverted introvert who excels in making friends, helping his friends, and being encouraging and supportive. Positive vibes only, he relaxes by reading, listening to music, and chatting online with friends across the multiverse.

6. Juniper is a skunk because I thought Sabrina the Skunk was sexy as a teen. She still is. I also found this skunk in the yellow dress a while back and thought I could RP as a taur multi version of her, but ended up making a sona that matched my own gender.

Here's the FA page for foxxinabox's oc Sylvie the Skunk furaffinity.net/view/6457387/

7. I am not Juniper, but Juniper is me, because he's part of me. The best parts of me, and the final form of parts of me that need improving. His physical form aside, Juniper's personality is me without all my hangups; the person I wish to be and strive to be IRL and online.

8. Favourite art? Okay! I do this literally every day but let's go :)

8b.

8c.

9. So I can't be a skunk any more? Squirrel. Only species with a tail anywhere close to the majesty of a skunk butt!

Failing that: tiger, deer, cow, noodle dragon, naga.

10. I would LOVE a fursuit. Only months ago I was extremely on the fence... But I think at least doing an plain anthro version of Juniper would be a lot of fun. I'd love to have a multi taur suit, but until I see a convincing taur suit, and a great 4 arm suit, simple will suffice

11. Never been to a furry convention! New Zealand con FurCoNZ is running in Feb, maybe I'll go, if my family lets me ;) It's a cabins and campsite summer camp type affair, I'm told :) way different from US or AU fur cons...

12. Not really brought anyone into the fandom. Not that I know of...

Shout out if Juniper inspired you on something for your fandom debut!

13. Paws or Maws?

Paws. All the way.

Tails though, that's where its at.

Extra limbs though... Sign me up!

14. Miles "Tails" Prower the Fox. Of all the pop culture anthros I've wanted to be or meet, Tails is best boy.

Here, have some Tails! deviantart.com/kenket/art/Tai…

14b. Who's that hiding in my sleeping basket?

15. Biggest furry pet peeve? NSFW ivory towers. I'm struggling to stay SFW for me and y'all - I'm married to a non-furry IRL - it sucks that a lot of the fandom chooses to hang out in NSFW only areas, like NSFW telegram rooms, discord servers and beyond the filter curtain on FA.

16. How did I choose Juniper? Probably took it from @juniperfoxx. It's a unisex name, and there's also a St. Juniper too! I picked it because I wanted a cool name with lots of meanings. Call me *Juni* for short please, not Jun or June ;)

17. The fandom has grown quite a bit over the 23 years I've been in it. Its even started to almost go mainstream now... I like the thought that pretending to be animal people online is way more fun than this shitty late capitalist society we live in, and I was an early adopter!

17b. The fandom is just a hobby. Yes, any hobby can be sexualised, and hecc, thats how I got here: giant fuzzy squirrel boobs. But the fandom is still an accepting place to be, and we gotta fight to keep it that way. Support SFW furry creativity!

18. We can be a better fandom by not looking down on anyone. Accepting people as they are, making sure we're not getting entitled to being treated any particular way, or demanding attention, and just being awesome to each other. The fandom is not for egoists or the power-hungry.

18b. We must learn to be kind to one another. Learn to be gracious to those who need grace, and some of all y'all be needing some damned grace. Learn some mental health first aid and suppirt your friends - being a helpful, supportive friend is what gets you friends!

18c. When someone helps you, be gracious to them. Not everyone is a great communicator, and they may accidentally say something wrong that hurts unintentionally. Take time to clarify intent before taking offense: people are usually trying to be kind and helpful!

19. My happiest moment in the fandom was being invited to a den party here in Wellington and meeting so many IRL furries for the first time. I'm an INTP-T so I was hecking worried about being on the outside of a clique, but furs were genuinely interested in getting to know me...

19b. ... And I them. I went home from that party feeling validated, welcomed, cared for, part of the local community, and like my shortcomings were ignored. And my brain didn't play back any of my failures from the night. Which for me, was all a really big deal! I'd never felt...

19c. ...that anywhere before. I felt like I'd found my people, and like I'd come home. I wasn't broken at that party like I feel at so many other normy social gatherings. I was weird, sure, but here, that's completely normal!

20. The fandom to me is a safe place for me to be creative and be myself, but not the broken me; the best me. We are lonely and trying to escape this shitty human world and long for that accepting, understanding world of friendly animal people living together happily ever after…

20b… and we're making it happen! Help each other, especially those being jerks without realising they are. Be the wholesome animal person you wanna be. If you are friendly to all, I love you and want to be YOUR friend :)

Thanks for getting me through all the questions! If you have any questions for me, ask em here or on curiouscat.me/skunktaur or just DM me on Twitter, Telegram or Discord (links in profile)

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