# Is it furry? Or is it simply fantasy?



## Auramaru (Jan 21, 2014)

I've been asking myself this for some time now, and I've decided to come to the forum and ask it.  But first, I need to explain why, simply because the question is confusing... (at least to me).

I'm very much so into dragons, and I enjoy them in fantasy books and I especially enjoy when they actually have intelligence and depth rather than being some fire-breathing asshole-beast who kill people.  My dilemma is that I would like to write stories with dragons (and some characters I've been imagining up) that are *feral *_(four-legged, *NON*-anthropomorph), _which brings up the question: is what I'm writing even considered "furry"?  

I suppose I'm just nervous that I'll work hard on a first draft and then get people saying "This isn't even furry, where's the anthropomorphic stuff", which I'm not really interested in I guess.  I have an affinity for dragons and other animals and how they have a main role in stories.  However, I like to keep things out of anthro simply because I like to keep a solemn tone and a strong sense of realism in whatever fantasy writing I'm doing.

So... 

Is writing feral-dragon-furry stuff just... "fantasy" or what?


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## Duality Jack (Jan 21, 2014)

Really it is whatever you call it.
Something being anthro can imply being part of the fandom, but unless intended to be part of it it isn't.
I think this is especially true for feral stuff overlapping into fantasy.

So It's up to you.


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## Konotashi (Jan 21, 2014)

There's a lot of non-anthro stuff that furries flip shit over, like Balto. And Alpha and Omega apparently, according to how often I see furries plaster them on FB. 

I think if there's any type of personification to an animal, furries will be happy as long as it's not a total piece of junk. Whether it's anthro or a dragon with human intelligence or a wolf that just talks.

ETA: I don't quite know why, but I sang the title of your thread like Bohemian Rhapsody.


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## RedLeFrench (Jan 21, 2014)

Konotashi said:


> ETA: I don't quite know why, but I sang the title of your thread like Bohemian Rhapsody.



Ahah, same thing here !

Anyway, I consider that there are various degrees of "furryness", be it full anthro or just human-like thinking animals. As such, if your dragons can think, you can consider it as something that fits. Even then, people have very varied opinions on the subject, soooo... Do as yer like matey !


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## Batty Krueger (Jan 21, 2014)

Dragons are considered scaleys in this fandom.
Creatures with fur=Furries
Creatures with scales=Scalies
Creatures such as whales or dolphins=Fins or 'Phins'
Creatures that are wild, or 'feral'=Ferals(doesnt matter the species)


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## Auramaru (Jan 21, 2014)

Konotashi said:


> There's a lot of non-anthro stuff that furries flip shit over, like Balto. And Alpha and Omega apparently, according to how often I see furries plaster them on FB.
> 
> I think if there's any type of personification to an animal, furries will be happy as long as it's not a total piece of junk. Whether it's anthro or a dragon with human intelligence or a wolf that just talks.
> 
> ETA: I don't quite know why, but I sang the title of your thread like Bohemian Rhapsody.


Thanks for the tips, and I noticed that the title had a ring to it afterwards and shrugged it off as me being weird 



d.batty said:


> Dragons are considered scaleys in this fandom.
> Creatures with fur=Furries
> Creatures with scales=Scalies
> Creatures such as whales or dolphins=Fins or 'Phins'
> Creatures that are wild, or 'feral'=Ferals(doesnt matter the species)


I know this much, I just didn't know if Ferals had a spot in "furry literature" lol


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## Lobar (Jan 21, 2014)

Caught in a furpile, no escape from depravity.


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## Aleu (Jan 21, 2014)

Just because the creature is on four legs does not mean that it's anthro. Anthro only means human characteristics. That can be from looking humanoid to thinking like a human.

anyway don't care so much about people whining and complaining it's not furry enough. It's your story so write it as you see fit.


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## BRN (Jan 21, 2014)

Aye, pretty much what Aleu just said! Anthropomorphication refers to more than just base 'looks'. It's more about a whole human relatability. If your dragons are intelligent and aloof free-thinkers, they're still relatable from a human perspective... just grander and 'better'. 

That's still anthropomorphic, they just have 'feral' bodies. It's why PokÃ©mon has such a niche in the fandom.


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## Auramaru (Jan 21, 2014)

BRN said:


> Aye, pretty much what Aleu just said! Anthropomorphication refers to more than just base 'looks'. It's more about a whole human relatability. If your dragons are intelligent and aloof free-thinkers, they're still relatable from a human perspective... just grander and 'better'.
> 
> That's still anthropomorphic, they just have 'feral' bodies. It's why PokÃ©mon has such a niche in the fandom.



Thank you for clearing that up everyone.  I had this idea that the fandom was all about Anthropomorphication and thought THAT was what everyone liked, and so I sort of felt slightly alienated for a while.  So thank you very much for the clarification!


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## Nikolinni (Jan 21, 2014)

Well really if you wanna be techincal, something is anthro when you give it human-like characteristics. An animal like Balto or Bambi, for instance, could be considered to have a dose of anthroism because they talk, show complex emotions, and so on. However that's usually not what people think about when they use anthro; usually they mean the folk who stand on two legs and all that fun stuff. 

To me, and a few others, something is considered "Furry" if it's something that furries would enjoy; again, movies like Balto or Bambi would be considered furry, as would a decent amount of Disney movies; Books like Brian Jacques' Redwall would be considered furry due to its all animal cast, and so on and so fourth. 

If people come along and complain that it isn't furry enough, then just ignore them. It's not furry enough _to them_. To their own personal tastes or definitions. As long as you're happy with what you're writing, go for it.


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## Conker (Jan 21, 2014)

It is what you make it, though if I saw a book with dragons on it that contained mostly dragons, I'd assume fantasy. Furry wouldn't even cross my mind.

I wrote a first draft to a novel filled with talking animals, and I don't think it's furry.


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## soak (Jan 22, 2014)

Add in some hot erotic scene, it'll probably fly better.


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