Furry, or Not Furry?

[AnaKhouri]

Let's just say that I am daydreaming about constructing a Kzin (from Larry Niven's Ringworld universe, the Man-Kzin Wars, etc.) costume.

My husband says this makes me a furry.

I say alien races cannot be furries. Furries are only real animals, albeit sometimes in strange colors.

Who is correct?

[chrislb]

Depends on the reason why you want to make and wear it. If its just for the hell of it then probably not. If its for your alter ego, then you are a furry.

[AnaKhouri]

It's 'cause Kzinti are badass and I bet no one in the entire world has ever had this idea before and it make me Queen of the Geeks.

They're not like my totem or anything.

(I don't care about being called a furry either way, I was just curious what others thought)

[chrislb]

are they like giant two legged cat warrior? I misremember exactly. If they are then that would be awesome to see someone dressed up like one.

[AnaKhouri]

Giant bipedal tigers with rat tails and armor, basically. And nasty attitudes. And the warriors were all make because females were nonsentient, but if I'm in a full-body suit no one could tell anyway.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

hmm... have you read Codex Alera? Awesome series, by an amazing author. There's the Canim in there... 8 feet minimum of badass right there.

[Plaidman]

Furry is a lifestyle, wearing a costume for fun is wearing a costume for fun.

[LillFilly]

Furry is a lifestyle, wearing a costume for fun is wearing a costume for fun.

I agree, but some people's furries can be a mix of animals, both real and mythical. You'll see some wild ones in this comic! Written by furries, for furries. If anything it gives you some funny concepts...

http://www.graphxpress.com/cgi-bin/w...?date=19970701

Or this; not sure what the purple bunny creature is, but it's a funny video!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CWJgT5NTWg

[MoonCat]

hmm... have you read Codex Alera? Awesome series, by an amazing author. There's the Canim in there... 8 feet minimum of badass right there.

Jim Butcher, who also writes Harry Dresden (next book coming out in 2011. March?)

[Jack T. Chance]

Ah, the Kzinti, one of Larry Niven's most famous and enduring creations!

Did you know that Niven wrote an episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series that introduced the Kzinti into the world of Kirk, Spock & McCoy?

Here's how they looked in that episode:







Here's one blasting Lieutenant Uhura with a phaser/Kzinti ray gun:


Here's a montage showing what the Kzinti ship looked like in the episode:


Here's some other artistic depictions of the Kzinti...

this one seems to be the basis for their appearance in ST:TAS... or maybe it's fan art that was inspired by it?


Here's a Kzinti wielding a variable sword, one of Niven's signature SF weapons


More images can be found HERE.

I'm a self-described cat person (I've always kept cats as pets and cats seem drawn to me. I make friends with them very easily.) raised on a steady diet of science fiction, so I've always loved SF stories that feature feline races such as the Kzinti.

[Andara Bledin]

Most people would likely consider the Kzin to be "furry."

My question, however, is why the hell does it even matter whether it would or not?

Seriously, the freaky reactions people have to furries baffles the hell out of me.

^-.-^

[Kittish]

I'm going to go with not furry, but way cool!

There's one thing you may or may not have given thought to tho. Kzinti generally run from over 6 feet to almost 8 feet tall. The kzinretts are alot smaller, and not ALL of them are non sentient. If you've kept up with the man-kzin wars novels, you might have spotted the occasional evidence that even modern kzinretts are smarter than the male kzinti believe them to be (ok, admittedly they're still not terribly bright by most standards). Then there are the undoubtedly sentient kzinrett from the zoo planet, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were other stocks of kzinti (both male and female) held in stasis or by other means from before that particular breeding program went into effect.

[Mikkel]

Then there are the undoubtedly sentient kzinrett from the zoo planet, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were other stocks of kzinti (both male and female) held in stasis or by other means from before that particular breeding program went into effect.

The ones on Ringworld even has a small vocabulary (Ringworld Engineers).

[AnaKhouri]

Thank everyone, to be honest I haven't been able to keep up with Niven's world so I didn't know about the females!

My husband reminded me that Kzinti tend to be very, very big. I told him I'd be a runt, and all the fiercer for it!

Honestly though, this will probably never happen. I simply don't have the skills to make a costume and I definitely can't afford a custom fursuit (or to modify a fursuit). It was just a daydream.

Husband was just joking about being a furry, based on the negative reputation furries seem to have; he doesn't really care what other people do as long as it is legal and they are happy. I asked about it here because I know there are some furries here and I was curious what they thought. I am not a furry myself but the subculture interests me. My other daydream (which will also probably never come true) is to travel to different furry conventions and interview furries, then write a book called Furmerica: The Hidden Subculture of Anthropomorphism in the USA.

I think Plaidman really hit it on the head though: 'furry' seems to be a major personal commitment, while wearing an alien cat costume for a couple days because the alien cats are cool is just being a geek.

[Amanita]

You could probably get a partial fursuit- just the head, paws, and perhaps the tail, which is far less expensive than a full body suit, not to mention much cooler to wear. The rest appears to be variations on clothing and armour, which might be easier to make or cheaper to buy.