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CyberCornEntropic
CyberCornEntropic's Gallery (705)

Character Meme (BEWARE THE SQUIRREL! FEAR HER!!!)

Happy Norther 2011!
winterfur_interview_01.rtf
Keywords female 998771, squirrel 28452, fantasy 24419, weasel 5668, ermine 815, worldbuilding 288, interview 272, winterfur 48, baksrit 15, deidrei 5, deidrei leafbright 2
So spoke Azarae and the Great Phoenix found it good.  Thus the Great Phoenix wrought upon the world this journal entry.

Baksrit: That was a sorry excuse to make something sound like scripture.
Deidrei: A few whacks on th' head might improve it.
Baksrit: Or knock him out entirely.
Deidrei: Like I said, it might improve it.
Baksrit: Touché.

1. What is your character's name?
Baksrit:
My name is Baksrit of Albes or Baksrit Winterfur to Deidrei's clan.
Deidrei: I'm Deidrei Leafbright.

2. What is your character's name in another language?
Baksrit:
Technically, what we're saying here is a translation of our names into another tongue.  Otherwise, the original versions might not be entirely understandable to someone else.
Deidrei: How does that work anyway?
Baksrit: All I can tell you is that it's some form of magic.  Beyond that, I don't know.
Deidrei: That's saying something.

3. How old is he/she?
Baksrit:
When I met Dee, I was 19 years old, which means I was 20 when that whole Isen's Bane lunacy happened...and that makes me realize I'm close to being an old maid.
Deidrei: I'm a year younger than her.  My clan's all female, so we don' worry 'bout bein' old maids.
Baksrit: Lucky you.

4. What is your character's race/species?
Baksrit:
I'm a weasel permanently locked in ermine colors.
Deidrei: I'm a squirrel.  I'm mostly gray, but I got some red in my bloodline somewheres.  You can see it in my "tear-stains".

5. Do they have a crush?
Baksrit:
I'm presently being courted by this really nice weasel named Korin, a son of House Nerime.  We've been talking about getting engaged, but his finances and some worries about my fertility are slowing things down.
Deidrei: I don' think he cares whether you can have kits or not.
Baksrit: I know, but our families are annoying about when we'll be producing grandchildren for them.  Anyway, you haven't answered the question.
Deidrei: They're dead.  I don' want t' talk 'bout it.

6. Do they have many friends?
Baksrit:
Other than Dee?  I have a few when my studies and work allows it.
Deidrei: Hah!  E'en if they ain't friendly, most people respect Baksrit, 'cause she's a mage who don' treat them like a bunch o' idiots.  Me, I got friends all o'er in th' clan an' 'round th' village where Baksrit lives.

7. What planet is your character from?
Baksrit:
Planet?  As in those wandering stars in the heavens?  I don't do astrology.
Deidrei: Don' look at me.  I know diddly 'bout th' sky other than th' sun's in it during the day an' stars are all o'er th' place at night.  I can find th' North Star an' sort o' tell time by it, but that's it.

[Their world is provisionally named 'Crossways'.  Its location in space is unknown and irrelevant to the stories.  It's not meant to be an alternate version of Earth.]

8. Does your character like to eat?
Baksrit:
Not really, but trust me, it's better than wasting away from hunger.
Deidrei: Eh, I'm like Baksrit.  Eating gets boring once I got th' edge off th' hunger.

9. What's his/her favorite food?
Baksrit:
Oh, Pax, you're torturing me with this one.  My mother has this recipe for scalloped picayuna chops in curry and smothered in sauce.  I loved it as a kit.  But the accident turned me into a vegetarian.  I can't eat any meat without getting sick and throwing up.  It really irks me sometimes.
Deidrei: Hrm.  I really liked that carrot cake Thurry's wife made – Thurry's a hare who's retired from th' city guard o' nearby Loma, just so's you know.  I thought that was really good.  I'm goin' t' have t' see if I can take th' recipe back t' th' village with me.

[Picayunas are small, woolly. llama-like nonsentient animals used in place of real world sheep.  The spellcasting accident Baksrit mentions occurred during her early apprenticeship and nearly killed her.  It also locked her colors into ermine phase and opened up her spellcasting abilities.]

10. What's his/her favorite drink?
Baksrit:
Fruit juice and water mostly.  Too much alcohol can affect a mage poorly.
Deidrei: As in things tend t' blow up or burn down when a mage gets schnockered.
Baksrit: Exactly.  But it seems to be worse with me.  I got some pretty bad nightmares when I drank too much wine once, and I didn't even get drunk.  I shudder to think what might have happened if I had.
Deidrei: I stick with drinks that don' give me a whammy in th' mornin'.  Don' get me wrong.  I used t' guzzle wine like nobody's business after Lori– well, once upon a time.  'Twas a horrible night when they broke me o' th' habit.  Except for a couple o' mistakes since, I don' dare touch th' stuff.

11. Is your character annoying?
Baksrit:
I hope not.
Deidrei: Only if I don' like you.  Heh heh heh.

12. What music does your character like?
Baksrit:
I haven't given that one much thought.  The monks of the nearby order have a pretty good choir, although the castratos bother me for some reason.
Deidrei: Easy.  Those Tinery dances Baksit's mother taught her.  I was floored when I learned she could dance.
Baksrit: Oh, that's right.  Those are pretty good.
Deidrei: Especially th' Fire Dances.  Her mother taught her them 'cause she can actually make fire for them!  It was bloody mesmerizing when I first saw them.
Baksrit: Thanks.

[Tineries are the gypsy analogues of their world.  Castratos once existed in the real world.  They were singers who had been castrated as boys so their voices wouldn't deepen when they grew up.]

13. Is your character loved?
Baksrit:
My family, of course, and Korin.
Deidrei: Family, friends.
Baksrit: Lovers.
Deidrei: Shut up.
Baksrit: Sorry.
Deidrei: No, no, I'm sorry.  [sniffs]  It just hurts when they die on you, 'specially when you can't do anythin' about it.

14. Is your character hated?
Baksrit:
Probably.  I've made a couple enemies over the years and can expect more in the future.
Deidrei: Heh.  Most o' mine're dead, lucky devils.  Heh heh.  Blah.

15. Is he/she emo/goth?
Baksrit:
Emu?  Isn't that a foreign bird?
Deidrei: What's a goth?

16. Is he/she straight, bisexual, or gay?
Baksrit:
I prefer males, obviously.
Deidrei: I thought I liked only other girls, but after Wally, I don' know.  Kyrinn says I prefer certain people rather than a certain sex.  I'm really confused about it sometimes.

[For the record, Baksrit is straight.  As Kyrinn, a mouse opossum in Deidrei's clan, noted, Deidrei is actually a gender-blind pansexual rather than gay or bisexual.]

17. Is he/she a virgin?
Baksrit:
Yes.
Deidrei: No, I was more curious on why e'eryone wanted me t' try a guy than anythin' else.  Before that, I'd count all those times me an' Lori fooled around, but no one else seems to.

18. Name 3 hobbies.
Baksrit:
Er, do my studies count?  I enjoy learning about new spells.  I've also gotten back into learning Tinery dances, and what else?  I can't think of anything offhand.  Pax, I feel like a one trick skoitsy, all of a sudden,
Deidrei: Readin', learnin' new things, makin' life miserable for those who deserve it.  You know, fun things like that.  [grins evilly]

[Skoits are horse-shaped litopterns (now-extinct hoofed mammals from South America) with short trunks and long ears.  As can be expected, they serve in place of nonsentient horses.  A skoitsy is the equivalent of a real world pony.)

19. Is your character normal?
Baksrit:
No, that accident [see #9 above] changed me.  My spring shed doesn't give me my stoat colors anymore, plus I can't digest meat like I used to.  I've also been told that I look young for my age.  At least my spellcasting abilities have improved tremendously.
Deidrei: Who's normal?  In my family, Matty [Matreen, a red squirrel] is the most normal, but that's 'cause she's adopted.  Accordin' t' Baksrit, I'd have made a natural mage...
Baksrit: Perhaps better than me before the accident.  Dee's more sensitive towards spells than I used to be.
Deidrei: Yeah, it kind o' runs in th' family.  My aunt was trainin' t' be a mage when she died, and my cousin, Sybil's a seer.  She had a hard time controlling what she could see when she grew up.
Baksrit: Of course, that's less because she was using spells and more she was naturally using some abilities we mages have to build up as apprentices.
Deidrei: My other cousin Chloë, Sybil's big sister, has trouble keepin' her health up, but I don' know what that has t' do with anythin'.
Baksrit: Hearing that, I'm guessing she might be sensitive in her own right.  To what or even if she is, I don't know.
Deidrei: Then there's my baby sister Elsie.  Would you believe she's half skunk?  I couldn't either.  I didn't think it was possible, but there she is.

[Deidrei's bloodline may be partially inbred, through one of her male ancestors.  Her Artemin ancestors were far more conscientious about avoiding inbreeding.]

20. Is your character attractive?
Baksrit:
I leave that for others to say.
Deidrei: You bet Baksrit is!  There's reasons people think ermines're gorgeous.  But not only is she almost all pure white, she also looks young and her fur's really soft.
Baksrit: That bothers me when you say that.
Deidrei: Heh heh. [tail flicks mischievously]
Baksrit: One of my brothers tells me that Dee's very attractive for a squirrel.
Deidrei: Er, is that the younger o' your brothers?  I don' remember.
Baksrit: That's Jaiken.  He escorted you at my sister's wedding.
Deidrei: Now I remember.  He was an okay jack, I guess.
Baksrit: He'd be thrilled to hear that, actually.  Anyway, Dee's confident, fit, and well-groomed but not some sort of eye candy trophy wife material.  That's why he liked her.  She was more real to him than some girls out there.

21. How does your character handle emotions?
Baksrit:
That depends.  I think I've a little better control than normal, but then wham!  I get a sudden mood swing.  It only seems to happen when I'm under more stress than usual.
Deidrei: Oh, I figure I feel them as well as anyone else, but I don' show them a whole lot.
Baksrit: Squirrels are notorious for having a hard time hiding their emotions.  Their faces and voices can be as bland as any stoic, but their tails will betray whatever it is they're feeling unless they make an effort to keep it still.
Deidrei: An' that ain't easy.  It took me months 'fore I got my tail under control.
Baksrit: More so than with most squirrels.  Typical Dee, she didn't accept anything less than total control over her tail.  If you see her tail quivering, it's because she's letting it.  She might even be lying to you with it.
Deidrei: What can I say?  I got bored that summer.

22. Does your character have other forms?
Baksrit:
No, I'm not a were.
Deidrei: What's wrong with th' one I got?

23. Does your character overreact?
Baksrit:
Actually, I sometimes think I under-react because I can be overly cautious at times, and I have to be pushed to get things done in a timely manner.  It's a healthy trait when you're experimenting, but when you're on a deadline, it can be troublesome.
Deidrei: I don' think I do.  I try not to.

24. Is your character a criminal?
Baksrit:
No.
Deidrei: Same here.  Actually, in the village Baksrit's living in, I'm half o' th' guard, as if such a little village needs a guard.  Most o' th' time, you just grab some o' your neighbors an' do what needs doin' or you send someone out t' fetch th' road wardens or rangers an' get them to do it.  But it keeps Thurry happy, so who am I t' compain?

25. Does your character go to school?
Baksrit:
Most people are taught at home, then they're sent out to learn their trade from someone.  I went into wizardry for my trade.
Deidrei: I'm like Baksrit, only without th' wizardry an' trade bits.  Much o' what I learned is self-taught, but I'm learning a few simple spells from Baksrit.  I wanted t' be a mage when I was a kit, but that got nixed 'cause my aunt went 'round th' bend.

26. What's his/her IQ?
Baksrit:
My what?
Deidrei: What's an IQ?
Baksrit: Are you meaning how smart we are?  If so, I'd say above average.  It's pretty much a given considering I'm a mage and Dee bores easily.
Deidrei: Yeah.

27. Does your character have a disease/curse?
Baksrit:
I don't know.  I'm healthy and all that, but there's some doubts about whether I can have kits or not.
Deidrei: No.

28. Is your character dead?
Baksrit:
Uhh, no?
Deidrei: I think I would have noticed if I were.

29. Does your character have a family?
Baksrit:
Yes.  My father, Antenius, is the head of House Albes, a merchant family in the nearby city.  I'm his eldest daughter and third kit.  My mother, Jasmine, is his second wife, and I'm the  eldest of her three daughters.  My two brothers, Fendric and Jaiken are from my father's first wife.  Jaiken's the younger, and he has bad luck with the females.  Fendric is married with a son and twin girls.  Of my two sisters, the elder, Dinaali is married with a daughter.  Our baby sister, Kinaila, is still single.  I've yet to marry.
Deidrei: Artemins don' marry, an' many o' us don' know who our male relatives are, nor do we care unless they're a son.  Havin' t' give up a son when he's weaned is really hard on some o' us, especially my adopted sister, Matty.  Lucky for her, she can visit her sons any time she likes.  I hear tell my Ma also had a son younger'n me, but she don' talk about him much, an' I don' remember him.  About my Ma, Bekka, she's th' Diana o' th' clan.  The Diana is our leader, by th' way.  I was expected t' follow in her footsteps, but I don' measure up. [frowns unhappily]  Matty's goin' t' be Diana instead, I think.  Then there's our baby sister, Elsie, who like I said before, is somehow half-skunk.  I've got no kits o' my own yet.

30. Has he/she encountered any tragic times in life?
Baksrit:
My grandfather died after I became apprenticed.  He was really encouraging when I wanted to go into wizardry.  But the worst thing I can think of is the accident that nearly killed me as an apprentice.  We still aren't sure what happened, but I've since learned that somehow, it wasn't an accident, but I'm not privy to how that's so.  It took me months to recover and over a year for me regain my physical stamina.  I had to relearn how to cast spells, only to find they came easier to me.  Even all these years later, I'm still feeling the aftereffects of what happened.
Deidrei: Yeah, I have.
Baksrit: Her first love, a fellow Artemin named Lori, died saving her life, and she became a drunkard because of it.
Deidrei: Yeah, my family had t' put a stop t' it.  It was a nasty night.  I don' like t' think about it.
Baksrit: Then as if the AllCreator loves a cruel joke, there was poor Wally, but I think that's still too tender of a subject right now.
Deidrei: Yeah, it is.

31. What's the best time in your character's life?
Baksrit:
When I became a journeyman wizardess.  It meant I was free to study what I wanted to when I wanted to.  And I was finally acknowledged to have the power to stand up with other mages.  You don't know how good that feels.
Deidrei: When me an' Lori fell in love.  It was like walkin' in th' clouds that night, an' we didn' e'en get t' th' hanky panky for a while yet!

32. If you could name 1 friend, which would you relate to?
Baksrit:
I think it's fairly obvious.  Dee.
Deidrei: Baksrit.  She's a lot like a sister t' me.

33. Is your character single?
Baksrit:
Yes.
Deidrei: Didn' we already answer this one?  Artemins don' marry single unless they leave th' clan 'cause they want t' be with their sons.

34. Has he/she developed any relationships?
Baksrit:
Another repeat?  Or am I missing something?  Korin and I hope to be affianced one of these days.
Deidrei: I don' know if I can take another one.

35. Does she/he have an element?
Baksrit:
I know some elementalism, such as the spells needed for the Fire Dances, but I don't think I have a particular affinity for any single one.
Deidrei: Er, I'm in my element when I'm in a forest or among trees?  I don' know.

36. Do you role-play your character?
Baksrit:
What are you talking about?
Deidrei: Role play?  Why?

[Only when writing about them.]

37. Do you write about your character?
Baksrit:
I'm missing something here.
Deidrei: I know I am.

[Yes.]

38. Does your character have a bad temper at times?
Baksrit:
At last, something I can answer.  I'm fairly even-tempered unless I get pushed too far.
Deidrei: Word o' warnin'.  Don' e'er insult her maidenly honor.  She once punched someone in the groin with his beer 'cause he wanted 'tween her thighs.
Baksrit: Erf.
Deidrei: I don' fly off th' handle neither anymore, but if I do, someone's bound t' get hurt, an' it won't be me.
Baksrit: I've never seen you lose your temper except that once, but that was more like you going berserk.
Deidrei: Yeah, but I lost it a lot back when I got drunk.

39. Does your character get depressed?
Baksrit:
Some of my sudden mood swings get like that.
Deidrei: I'm havin' a hard time o' it right now, 'cause o' that whole stupid Isen's Bane business.

40. What's your character's favorite animal?
Baksrit:
I liked skoits as a little girl, but there aren't a whole lot of other animals about in the city.  In the village nowadays, there's these adorable little floppits out in the hedges.  
Deidrei: I don' know.  I never gave it much thought.

[Floppits are nonsentient rabbit-like mammals that fill the same ecological niche as real life rabbits.  They also serve the same role as pets and a food source.  Their exact taxonomic relationship to real life mammals has not yet been determined so they could be rodents, insectivores, or possibly even nonsentient rabbits from a lineage now extinct in real life.]

41. Does your character have any fears?
Baksrit:
Yes, failure.
Deidrei: Ghosts.  When I'm around them, I can feel their presence, like bugs crawling around under my pelt.  When they show up an' sometimes e'en 'fore then, I freeze up an' lose my mind.  It's terrible, an' I hate it.

42. Does your character have any weaknesses?
Baksrit:
Certainly.  I've found out that I can be thrown into a sort of trance if I'm not careful when dueling another mage.  It feels like I've been knocked halfway out of my body and into the next world.  I can't do anything with my body until I can pull myself back together.  It's very disturbing.
Deidrei: I dare not drink any wine, or I'll get drunk.  Most other drinks I can't stand anyway, so they're less o' a problem.  Also, I have a bad habit o' standin' up for people bein' bullied or o' pickin' fights with bullies.  I can get in way o'er my head.

43. Does your character look up to anyone?
Baksrit:
There's my mother Jasmine and my former magister Solomon.  Also my grandfather when he was alive.
Deidrei: My Ma, o' course.

[Magister is a title for a master wizard who's taken on an apprentice at some point.]

44. Does your character like music?
Baksrit:
Isn't this another repeat?  Of course I do, as long as the musician knows what he's doing.
Deidrei: I'd swear it was a repeat, an' I know I already answered it.

45. What's your character's favorite type of music?
Baksrit:
I know this one is definitely a repeat.
Deidrei: Someone needs a few whacks alongside the head, I think.

46. Is he/she impatient?
Baksrit:
Sometimes, if I'm not dragging my feet because I'm not confident about something.
Deidrei: I get bored easy sometimes, so more'n likely.

47. What's something funny about your character?
Baksrit:
I don't know.  Dee?
Deidrei: Funny ha-ha or funny weird?  She's done a few things either way, but nothing that really stands out.  She normally just astonishes you with somethin' like dancin' or figurin' somethin' out that you didn' expect.
Baksrit: Dee's full of funny things, but she typically pulls them on other people.  Like this one time when a mink was flirting with us in an inn.  Dee pulls out her knife and starts playing with it as he gets more pushy.  She tells him she prefers girls, and he's all "I can change that, wink wink, nudge nudge."  Then Dee asks him if he wants to be her girl, all the while playing suggestively with her knife.  Let's just say he got the hint and got out of there fast.
Deidrei: [snickers]

48. Name 5 nicknames.
Baksrit:
Do I have that many?  There's "Baks" but that's only by my sisters.  "Winterfur" might count, maybe.  "Little bit", I hate that one.  I can't think of any others right now.
Deidrei: Of course I do!  My main one is "sir".
Baksrit: [laughs]
Deidrei: Haha!  O' course, there's "Dee", as Baksrit's been callin' me.  There's a few others, but they're not fit for public discussion.

49. Does your character curse?
Baksrit:
If you're talking about swearing, I do on occasion.  If you're talking about spell-type curses, the last one I did was convincing a rapist his, er, male parts were shriveling up.  Don't worry, I only planted the seeds of his delusion.  It wasn't long before he was doing it to himself.  Otherwise, I don't think cursing people is right.
Deidrei: Yikes.  I can't do th' spell thing, thankfully, but I do swear a bit on occasion.  It's hard though.  I used to swear a lot more 'til Ma tanned my hide.

50. This test is over, what does your character have to say?
Baksrit:
If we're getting another pseudo-scriptural line to round this off, I'm lending Dee my staff for whacking someone alongside the head.
Deidrei: Heh.  I was thinkin' maybe somethin' a bit more humiliatin'....

And 'lo the squirrel threatened unspeakable things to my person.  If you've got any questions for the characters, feel free to ask them below.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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The Woodcarver's Geis
The Winterfur Calendar
This is the result of a character meme I found on a friend's journal on FurAffinity.  Rather than answer the questions myself, I wrote it as if my characters Baksrit and Deidrei were being interviewed.  For those of you who are aware of my Winterfur stories, but want me to get around to posting something about them, this probably won't satisfy, but might be interesting.

Keywords
female 998,771, squirrel 28,452, fantasy 24,419, weasel 5,668, ermine 815, worldbuilding 288, interview 272, winterfur 48, baksrit 15, deidrei 5, deidrei leafbright 2
Details
Type: Writing - Document
Published: 13 years, 2 months ago
Rating: General

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dmfalk
13 years, 2 months ago
*grin* Squirrel. ;)

d.m.f.
(And I see you hit the same problem I hit-- A journal entry TOO BIG for Inkbunny's journal system... :P )
CyberCornEntropic
13 years, 2 months ago
Deidrei: That's me!  A good chunk o' th' clan an' many o' th' townsfolk in nearby Churls Falls are squirrels.  There's mostly grays, but a lot o' reds, too.  Then there's Elsie, but she's a special case.

[Arguably, Inkbunny's restriction was for the better, as this interview meme is a bit too long for a journal anyway.]
dmfalk
13 years, 2 months ago
There isn't much I could add or ask, I guess-- I do like squirrels (alot), and my main character, Amy (a mouse) is obsessed with 'em. :) Almost as much as panties. ;)

For me, if I had squirrel dreams, most of them were with large red squirrels-- I should relate a recent dream I had, someday... :)

As for journals, they're meant for thoughts of the day and things to share and talk about-- Memes fall in this. They shouldn't be submissions, which should be a more permanent representation of one's creativity and inspiration... On the other hand, this could fit here, but still, I wish journal limits were MUCH bigger than they currently are, PARTICULARLY for memes just like this and the interview meme I posted, too.

d.m.f.
CyberCornEntropic
13 years, 2 months ago
Deidrei: Really?  What sort o' person-type [species/race] are you?  Unlike a few other Artemin clans, we're not a bunch o' male-haters, an' some o' th' older females can get lonely for a male sometimes.  Heh, my Ma had a few nights o' fun with that skunk healer, an' she didn' expect t' get knocked up, not that she's complainin', o' course.
Baksrit: I didn't realize it at the time, but I gave Bekka an artifact commonly called a crossbreeder which she wore when she and Jaims – he's the skunk healer who's Elsie's father – when they – well–
Deidrei: Brightened her leaves! [snickers]
Baksrit: –Right.  Elsie was the result.  Of course, a crossbreeder doesn't make a person fertile.  It just allows two already fertile members of two different peoples to produce fertile offspring.  So if you're a female at the wrong time of month or a castrato or something, you're out of luck.  No one alive knows how they work nor how many there are out there.
Deidrei: An' like I said before, we got plenty o' reds though they tend t' be just a little bit shorter an' not as numerous as th' grays.  We e'en have a flyin' squirrel.  O' course, just 'cause some get lonely don' mean they're goin' t' jump th' bones o' any old male they run across.  None o' us are that desperate.

[About memes on journals, I felt this particular one was too long for my FurAffinity journal so I converted it to a regular story submission there.  I guess it just depends on personal preference and the sort of meme it is.]
dmfalk
13 years, 2 months ago
Deidrei-- I'm just a run-of-the-mill white human male (although a bit on the short side), although my fursona is a reddish-brown (cinnamon) furred skunk, and my main character (Amy) is an almost-completely-grey mouse, who is also a bit on the short side for her species. Amy is lesbian, whereas I (and my fursona) are both straight & transgendered.

The squirrels of my dreams- Which I've had since at least 1990- have been larger-than-usual red squirrels, all about the size of large pet housecats or just a bit larger, and almost always female- At least the main ones, anyway, in my dreams. One of the first was introduced to me as an "alien species", advanced enough with medical knowledge and technology that's about 100-200 years ahead of present human levels, yet almost completely non-morphic, physically. (This squirrel was to fix the more life-threatening aspects of my health that I've lived with since I was born.)

The squirrels of my dreams often could read & write (yes, write) English with at least basic college-level understanding, but couldn't speak it- Just chitters, clicks and squeaks, although a pseudo-English, using said chitters, clicks and squeaks as substitutes for phonemes and core words could be developed... And they were very friendly and easy to get along with.

d.m.f.
CyberCornEntropic
13 years, 2 months ago
Deidrei: Hnh.  Your fursona, whatever a fursona might be, might be welcome.  After Elsie was born, my cousin Sybil got this idea int' her head that my baby sister shouldn't be alone.  After Sybil fell– well, she convinced her mother by that time, an' some o' th' older gals say they're thinkin' seriously 'bout it.  A cinnamon skunk might appeal t' someone in th' clan, assumin' your pal's personality passes muster.
Baksrit: I didn't know skunks came in cinnamon colors.  I guess it's a bigger world than we expect, and I grew up in the very cosmopolitan city of Loma.
Deidrei: Your friend Amy probably won' be as lucky, 'less she goes for flyin' squirrels.  One problem with bein' an Artemin is that there's so many myths 'bout us.
Baksrit: Male-hating savages is the worst one.
Deidrei: Yeah.  One myth is that we only like other females.  That ain't true.  Sure, sometimes a young one might experiment a bit here an' there, but overall, an Artemin like me is considered, well, I can't really say "wrong".
Baksrit: Perhaps "too unusual"?
Deidrei: Maybe.
Baksrit: Mind you, most people [in our part of our world] consider preferring one's own sex to be unnatural.  After all, you can't produce heirs and replacement workers that way.  Artemins, however, are more tolerant.  They may not like preferring one's own sex, but they tend to turn a blind eye to it as long as the person in question behaves herself.
Deidrei: Accordin' t' my Ma, it's 'cause sometimes girls will be girls, and without any boys around, you either grin an' bear it or find a less satisfactory outlet.  Comin' back t' your friend, Amy, she'd be accepted, though she might be coolly treated 'til she's proven herself.  It can happen.  There's Thanda, a flyin' squirrel who joined th' clan a couple years ago 'cause she ran away from someone.  She won't say who, though Kyrinn's told me that she was runnin' 'cause she likes other girls an' like Baksrit said, that's a big no-no t' some people.
Baksrit: Kyrinn was also surprised that Dee didn't know that until recently.
Deidrei: Yeah, not my type, though, e'en if I was interested in another relationship.
Baksrit: That leaves who?  Ah, you, Mister Dmfalk.  Dee, do Artemins go for humans?
Deidrei: I haven't th' foggiest.  Not many stopped at Churls Falls, an' none really appealed t' my sisters in th' clan.  Maybe you'd be th' first.  Maybe not.  I don' know.

[Before any reader goes bananas over the attitudes towards homosexuality, they should remember that the Winterfur world is set in a late-Medieval/early Renaissance timeframe.  In Gloomhaven, the kingdom Baksrit and Deidrei live in, homosexuality is highly frowned upon, although probably not as highly as in our own Middle Ages/Renaissance.  Just as in our world, some areas are unfortunately worse, even condoning torture in an attempt to "fix" the "abhorrent", while other areas are open and even encouraging towards it.  It hasn't been an issue in the stories as Deidrei has more than enough brains to not flaunt her sexuality, and Baksrit prefers not to think about it.]
CyberCornEntropic
13 years, 2 months ago
Baksrit: About your dream squirrels, how big do you mean by "large pet housecat"?  By "pet", I assume you're not talking about any of the cat folk out there.  Tigers can get over seven feet tall while wildcats are in the four to five foot range.  Dee's just over four feet, and I'm just a little bit taller than her.  Does that help any?
Deidrei: Just so you know, that makes her about the same height as her brothers and taller than normal for a weasel jill.  She's actually a touch taller than Korin, believe it or not!
Baksrit: Indeed.  Now, normally, I'd probably dismiss your dreams as being just that – dreams.  Despite all the prophetic mumbo-jumbo and symbolic what-not attributed to them, the vast majority of the time they're just wish-fulfillment or simply random images thrown together by the sleeper.
Deidrei: Or your fears out t' plague you.  Nasty things, those nightmares.
Baksrit: Exactly.  But I can't rule out prophetic or meaningful dreams.  I've had a few dreams that, while not prophetic, ended up helping me figure out the answer to a problem I had been chewing on at the time.  I've also had a recent experience with an entity that calls himself a djinn although I doubt he was one.  Mages in my part of the world prefer not to associate with otherworldly entities.  It's a dangerous enough world without worrying about some demonic thing you think is under control suddenly get lose, eat your face, suck out your soul, and kill you, in no particular order.
Deidrei: Yuck. [shudders]
Baksrit: But on rare occasions, sometimes we have no choice.  In my case, it was because he had business of some sort with me.  I consider myself lucky he was friendly.
Deidrei: So you're sayin' that these funny-lookin' versions o' Mattie are some sort o' bein's?
Baksrit: Maybe they're there to help Mister Dmfalk for some reason and appear as squirrels so he can accept them.  Or maybe they're just dreams, and I'm reading too much into them.
Deidrei: Hunh.  'Least I can read an' write, too, although not this English you speak of.  In fact, I'm one o' th' very few in th' clan who can do either.  I've e'en been learnin' 'bout Rhydian numbers from Baksrit.
Baksrit: They're a lot easier to use in math than the older Imperial numbers, so merchants and scholars have been using them more and more since they were introduced a century or two ago.  As I'm a daughter of a merchant house, I learned to use them as a kit.

[Domesticated cats, either anthropomorphic or feral, don't exist in the Winterfur world as such.  The closest anthropomorphic-wise they have are wildcats.  I don't know yet what their equivalent for a real life pet housecat would be.  Either way, your description confused them (even though I know you were addressing me instead of them ;p ).  Rhydian numbers are their version of Arabic numerals, including 0.  The closest equivalent to Imperial numbers are Roman numerals.]
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