I was thinking that I should start with set design, if anything. But what should I expect for both roles of set design and acting? The good and the bad?
It's only a slight consideration right now, and I will definitely do more research (I have plenty of time). But I would like to hear from people who have done theatre in college, especially community college.
I'm not a fictionkin, but I feel like this would be a nice community to ask this question in. So I hope I'm welcome here :)
I am trying to get more into fashion, as I've only ever really worn whatever my parents bought me so far. I want to experiment and feel more like myself. I really love the look of smoke main coons and would like to embody that, so I thought it'd be interesting to ask this and see if anybody has any suggestions here!
I will wear both masculine and feminine things. I also don't mind whether the suggestions are really "out there" or if they are more subtle and casual.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions! ^^
I do not want any pants dirty or torn. Do I just need to buy super tall shoes?
I do not have a fursuit (or an official fursona) yet, so I think it'd be fun to see some other people's fursuits. I'll try my best to respond to every comment ^^
(TL;DR near the end!)
Pics in order: 1 Marbled Cat, 2 Marbled Cat, 3 Marbled Cat, 4 Jaguar, 5 Cheetah, 6 Clouded Leopard, 7 Ocelot, 8 Margay, 9 Leopard Cat
I don't think it's possible to make it completely obvious, since I'm pretty sure less than 0.1% of the population even knows that this animal exists lol. It'll be especially hard because many fursonas/fursuits are heavily stylized versions of their real animal counterparts, so people don't usually expect your design to follow the real animal's appearance entirely. But I still want to make an effort to make it as obvious as possible that it's a marbled cat. For context, the design will be leaning on realistic, including realistic eyes, but most likely lacking airbrushed patterns. So just solid patterns without any gradients or soft edges, unless I change my mind.
I feel like I could make it look less like some of the bigger felines just by focusing on keeping the face shape accurate; round with a small muzzle. And to make the pattern less like that of a clouded leopard, I'll make the pattern more like the first reference picture that I included in the post. Some marbled cats have a pattern that is thicker and very similar to clouded leopards, but the first picture I chose features a marbled cat with thinner black outlines that have a fuzzier, almost brindle-like, look. To be clear, I'm focusing on the flank/back portions of the cat's pelt.
One feature of the marbled cat that I find pretty striking is the broken stripe that goes above each eye, which I think could help separate it from other felines if I exaggerate that. But ocelots, margays, leopard cats, and many other small wild cats have these same stripes above their eyes, so it won't be that effective. All of these have rosettes, while marbled cats have marble splotches, but ocelot has fairly large rosettes, which tend to look quite similar to the marble splotches (made up term btw) that marbled cats and clouded leopards have. The main difference is that the black outlines of the rosettes on an ocelot are very clear, while the outlines on a marbled cat's pattern are more inconsistent and thin.
A physical feature that I also notice that stands out against those other felines, not including clouded leopard, is the giant tail that marbled cats have. So that could be another thing that I can exaggerate. Apparently marbled cats have some pretty long canines, even though they are not visible when their mouths are closed. So I may exaggerate that and add some fang tips poking out.
(Basically the TL;DR for the rest of this post)
In conclusion, I think that I will focus on giving my fursona's pattern thin and subtle black stripes, exaggerating the stripes above the eyes, giving it a very long tail, have the canines poke out of the mouth a bit, and keeping the face shape as accurate as possible. And I won't be devastated if I only ever meet people who think it's a cheetah or ocelot, but I still feel the urge to make it stand out from the other felines where I can lol.
I feel as if I've mostly answered my own question at this point, just by writing this post, but I'd still love to hear any ideas that you guys have! Especially if I didn't notice or pay any attention to a physical feature that marbled cats possess in a fairly unique way, compared to other felines. It's entirely possible that I missed some things!
(Not sure if this is the right sub to ask this, since this is alt fashion focused and I'm not 100% sure what that is, but I'm probably more interested in unconventional styles anyways? So I think it works)
I have searched on Pinterest and Reddit, but nothing really interesting to me pops up.
Problem with Pinterest is that it never really shows me variety, since unrelated things to my search keep trying to pop up because it's the type of stuff that I have looked at before (which is very unhelpful when I'm just starting to search for clothing styles), and in general it just doesn't show much when I search for different fashion styles or keeps showing me the same type of thing over and over again.
With Reddit I also feel like it's difficult to find a varied visual list of different styles for me to look into.
When searching for articles on Google, they show some styles that don't really fit the vibe I'm looking for, or they're just really plain (which I'm attempting to move away from).
I'd love to expand upon my style because I've never really had one. I've only really worn sporty stuff so far, and I want to wear things that look cool to me rather than just being comfortable.
But I am having trouble really figuring out what styles there are, and which ones feel right to me. I know that there are infinite combinations of clothing and styles, but I am looking for broad stuff that will help me narrow down ideas in the long run.
Another problem is the fact that I know basically nothing about clothing or clothing terms. I just know that there are shirts, shorts, pants, sweaters, jackets, vests, dresses, skirts, and suits lol.
So I will very much appreciate any help!
So it went well overall, I feel safe and loved, but just a little disappointed. For context, I still live with my family. Just referring to my parent as a they/them to remain more anonymous, but they are cisgender.
My parent does not understand why I would want to put myself into a box and label myself as nonbinary, instead of just doing whatever I want to as my birth gender. They also don't know why I want to use they/them pronouns, and find it odd to refer to someone as something "plural". I did say that they/them isn't only used as plural, though I do not remember their response (I think they began saying something, but changed their mind and asked me a question about something else, or maybe they were saying something about how they would need to take time to get used to it).
They do acknowledge how the whole thing is new to them and they may need time to adjust. But I would like some resources or ways to explain how I feel better, because it mostly just came down to me saying that it is what I "feel like", which isn't a great way to get someone to truly understand, since they do not also "feel like" this way.
I think that they are mostly concerned that I feel the need to put myself into a category or label that I don't need to be in. They asked me if I feel hurt or unhappy being called by my name and by my birth pronouns. I said that I like my name, but I don't feel perfectly happy being called a she. They also asked me what I think would have happened if I never learned that nonbinary people existed, or they just didn't exist at all. I said something like I wouldn't ever know whether I was a girl or a boy.
They told me that all of my feelings are valid and they will love me no matter what, but I still don't think I explained everything well enough. So any advice is welcome!
I want to start with why I'm making this a text instead of an in-person conversation.
I know that I will feel emotional while talking, because just typing this out is making me tear up lol. I cry quite easily, no matter how hard I try not to. And once I start crying, I will barely be able to speak anymore, since my breathing gets all messed up when I'm crying. So if I don't say everything that I want to fast enough, and I start crying, then it's over lol.
I also don't really like the idea of someone else in the family walking in on the conversation. I want only for this person to hear about how I feel non-binary, at least for now. I trust this person the most out of everyone else in the family, who clearly cares a lot about my happiness. So if they happen to be unsupportive for whatever reason (I don't really see this as possible the more I think about it, but I do want to take some precautions), I don't want any one else in the family knowing that I'm non-binary, since at that point it won't really work. Maybe I'll just come out to my friend if that's what happens.
So now I want to talk about what I'm planning on including.
I don't want to overwhelm my parent with too much info at the start. I also want them to understand why I feel this way and set some new expectations, if they are supportive of me.
I'll lead the text with the fact that I want to share something important that I have been keeping to myself for over a year. I'll tell them that I'm non-binary and explain why I haven't shared until now (doubt, fear, not sure how to explain, etc). Somewhere in there I'll also explain why I sent a text instead of talking to them in-person.
Then I will talk about what being non-binary is (in general, and how it relates to being trans) and why I feel like I am non-binary (personal experience). I'll talk about how I slowly learned that I was non-binary over many years before fully accepting it around a year ago.
I will go on to expectations. I only want to begin by changing pronouns (they/them) and kinship terms (child, sibling, etc). (I like to go by they/she/he, but I think it will be much more clear if I start with they/them, which I am most comfortable with anyways) I also want to be clear that I'm okay with slip-ups, since this is a very new thing, and I will be very happy just to see them make an attempt to stick with the new pronouns.
I thought about including how I will likely want to change my name to something more androgynous at some point, but I do not know if this is too much to start with. Or is it better to leave it in so that future considerations to change my name won't come as a surprise?
I'll ask them to not mention the topic to anybody else just yet, at least not until we talk about it more face-to-face (this may contradict against my new pronoun and kinship term expectations, so I will specify earlier that I'd like to start using the new terms once I come out to the whole family). Then I will invite them to ask any questions through text, or to come up to my room to talk to me (at this point I do not mind if I end up crying, since I already explained what I needed to through the text.)
So what do you guys think? Does this seem like an alright plan? I want to write it out in a couple of hours in the notes app, send it sometime next morning (when we are both at home), then cross my fingers lol
Red = Human foot
Blue = Material
Green = I'll cover near the end
Black = Intended look
I won't be able to get into fursuit making until years later, but I was thinking about this idea for a while. The bottom of your foot would have two separate "blocks," which are solid to keep you from falling down (could probably use some minimal padding right under the foot for comfort).
The curved block at the front of the foot will be taking most of the weight. It brings more height to the foot to emphasize the heel portion of the feet-paws, since animals have longer heels than we humans do. I did not draw it this way, but I think it should be more blocky/flat at the bottom to avoid the risk of rolling onto the front of the foot-paw and losing balance, even if it makes the paw look less round when lifted from the ground.
The triangular block is there to emphasize the digitgrade stance and make it so that you can lift your heel from the ground less than you'd need to if the shape were to be hugging the bottom of your foot. It also allows a smooth transition into the other block.
One of the most important things is that the blocks must be able to rotate from each other. So that you can go from digitigrade to plantigrade whenever you'd like to, especially if you are losing your balance or need a break. The blocks are made in a way that your heel would rest closer to the ground than your toes. So for a "break" you get the option between bringing your heel all the way to the ground, which may be difficult since it stretches your calf (shown on the right side of each image I posted), and the option of keeping your foot horizontally straight, like normal, but still requiring you to balance since the foot-paw is only contacting the ground through the curved block, the triangular block raise off the ground so that you can keep your foot straight (not drawn in any of the images I posted). The second option would be something like standing on an up-hill; possible to keep your feet "straight," but only your toes are contacting the ground.
I would need to make a balance between it looking nice aesthetically and it being easier to rest whenever you'd need to, especially when you don't have convenient resting options. This is also assuming that I'd train/exercise my legs to be able to use something like this before ever going out with it for a long time.
A now for the green circles with question marks. I have no idea how you'd make those two blocks be able to turn. I thought of the idea of having a circular/cylindrical shaped block, but realized that it wouldn't turn because the top and bottom portions of the main two blocks (which are now cut into crescent-like shapes because of the circular turning area) would just collide and not be able to move at all. I'm no engineer, so I don't have any ideas at the moment.
I am also wondering if anyone has ever made anything similar to this before. If so, I'd love to see them!
Thanks for any comments! :)
Hello, I am non-binary AFAB and want to make my voice more masculine. So far I have been practicing through humming rather than speaking, because I do not want to alert the others in my house of my transness lol (and I have always hummed songs normally, so it's easy to do that without someone raising any questions).
What I have been doing so far is attempting to make my voice deeper as well as lowering the larynx. To lower my larynx, I try to move the back of my throat backwards, as if I were yawning (without actually setting off a yawn, because it's unstoppable once it starts and wastes a few seconds lol), which makes a part of my throat near the front feel like it is moving downwards.
One thing that confuses me is that apparently lowering the larynx has nothing to do with pitch. But whenever I heard examples of a normal voice and a lowered larynx voice, both at the same pitch, it sounds like the lowered larynx voice is actually at a much deeper pitch. I tend to have trouble with guessing pitches in general, so that could be it maybe? I'm not sure.
But anyways, when I hum for a long time while trying to maintain a lowered larynx, I tend to yawn a lot, which is quite dizzying and makes it difficult to continue, it just keeps interrupting me. My throat also feels weird, and I can't tell the difference between it just feeling uncomfortable from doing something new or it being actual pain. I am very scared of permanently damaging my throat, but I don't want to avoid doing something if it's perfectly fine. I feel like there'd be no way to tell unless someone experienced was watching from inside my brain to tell me whether the feeling is normal or dangerous.
My throat also gets quite dry from practicing for a while. I try drinking lots of water hours before I start, but all that helps me accomplish is more bathroom trips lol. I try to drink water while I'm practicing my voice too, but to no avail.
Some mornings I wake up with my throat feeling sore, as if I had gotten sick. I actually do not know whether this is caused by me trying to voice train, or because I had actually almost gotten sick lol. But if it is the former, I do find it concerning.
Also one thing that is EXTRA confusing for me is the fact that they tell you to lower your larynx but also to keep your throat relaxed? To lower my larynx my throat needs to be tense and held at that position. If I try to relax it, it just goes back to normal. Am I lowering my larynx wrong? Or relaxing my throat wrong? These seem to directly contradict each other!
Thanks in advance for any help!
Hello, I am non-binary and planning to get a binder sometime in the future.
I was wondering what it feels like to wear a binder? Does it hurt? Is it uncomfortable? Is it difficult to breathe? Do they limit your movement? Do you get used to or adjust to them over time, or should you expect to feel the same way as you do the first time you try it on? Is it dangerous to wear in any other way? What does it feel like, overall? Are they easy to return in case they aren't as you expected?
Thank you for any answers!
I was thinking that I could just go to a barber and ask for their opinion, but I really would rather have time to decide, and not have to decide on the spot. Or do they just let you come in for advice and then get a haircut some other time? Thanks for any answers!
For context, I am AFAB and have felt not entirely female since I was pretty young. At first it was just the fact that I was more interested in "boyish" things like dinosaurs, transformers, that sort of stuff. I also was extremely embarrassed by the fact that I liked traditionally boyish things once I was in school, and it took me years to become more open about my interests to other people. No idea where that embarrassment even came from, since my family was completely fine with me having whatever interests, but it felt like such a huge deal to little child me.
Later on, once I was on the internet, I learned about trans people. Thought that I was trans maybe, but I didn't know about non-binary being a thing yet. I don't remember when I learned about non-binary people though. I went by they/them/any pronouns online just for safety, but soon I learned that I really liked it. It's been 3-5 years since I have vaguely had the idea that maybe I wanted to be non-binary. Then like 1 year ago I began considering it a little more, actually thinking that I could become non-binary. For the past few weeks it's really been on my mind.
So now I am wondering how I'm even supposed to come out to people that I know? I think I want to start with my parents, then siblings, then friends soon after. I don't even know anyone's opinions on trans people minus my bff, which they haven't talked about directly, but they respected the trans pronouns of someone who they disliked and generally are non-judgmental to peoples' lifestyles. But I don't want to come out to them first because I wouldn't like to pressure them to hide the fact that I am non-binary from our families.
How would I go about figuring out my parents' opinions on trans people? I remember asking one of my parents why the bible calls being gay a sin, when I kept hearing about stuff like that online. They just responded that it isn't a sin and that you can't change your sexuality; you are just born that way. So I am not super worried that they won't support me being non-binary, but it still would be nice to figure out their thoughts about it first, since being trans and gay are still separate things. The only thing I know about my other parent is that, when they were watching the news, the laughed about the fact that gay marriages were being legalized. But I don't doubt that they changed they're thoughts on the subject. I know nothing about their thoughts on trans people though. I imagine that their opinion on things could change on some thing when they realize that their child is a part of said thing. But how do I start a conversation with them about trans or non-binary people without having them suspect that I am non-binary before I am ready to say it?
I would write more right now but I gtg. I may make another post with more questions later. I appreciate any answers! :)
First of all, I am AFAB and my main goal in being nonbinary is to be androgynous. The idea of being androgynous is very appealing to me and I've been at least vaguely thinking about it for the past 4 years maybe. I'd want to be primarily they/them but also she/he. Like the main three pronouns are great, but I want to come off as androgynous when I first meet someone in person. I've been more seriously thinking about being nonbinary for about a year, and even more often than usual in the past few months. But the path to being androgynous and nonbinary just sounds like too much trouble, so it's making me question whether I want to actually do anything about it, despite having some mild dysphoria.
I do not know what to do with my name. I like my current name, but it is very obviously feminine, while I want to be seen as androgynous. There's a super similar version to the name that seems to be between fem and masc, but more masculine leaning, which I'd be alright with since it's away from my AGAB. But changing my name feels wrong or kind of disrespectful because of the fact that my parents chose it and I love them so much.
I also have no idea how to explain nonbinary to family. Like why wouldn't I just want to be an androgynous female or androgynous male, why pick neither and both at the same time? I currently don't know my family's thoughts on trans people, let alone nonbinary, so I probably have to start some conversations first to figure it out. I have no idea how it works legally either (USA/Poland). It all sounds complicated to try and go through with, so idk if it's worth the effort. But yeah I'd appreciate some ways of explaining the concept of nonbinary to parents, whenever I will attempt to do that.
There are also the physical changes. I like having long hair, even if it's annoying sometimes lol, but I like the look of it. My goal is to be androgynous though and that would really be working against me. I would go ahead and try short hair if it wouldn't take months or years for my hair to grow back to the same length, in case I wouldn't like having short hair. I also would consider top surgery if only I wasn't so scared of surgeries. Idk if the recovery challenges and money is worth it, it kind of sounds like a waste for something that doesn't affect my life so much. And I heard that binders are painful. I think that having a deeper and more androgynous voice would be awesome too, but I don't know if I want to take stuff that'll change my body, with similar concerns to surgery. I don't even know if I want the other changes, like facial hair. I think I'd rather not have facial hair. I've tried practicing a deeper and more "opened" (?) voice when no one was around, but it just sounds very silly and like a sleepy cartoon character, not something I'd ever use to talk to someone seriously. And I'm very scared to permanently harm my vocal cords trying stuff like that, since my throat muscles have gotten sore multiple times from humming deeply before.
So if I don't want to make any changes how could I possibly make myself androgynous?? My wants seem to conflict completely. Idk if this is a common situation. Any help is appreciated :)
Also I am leaving tomorrow for around 5 days. I am likely to check messages before I go, but I may or may not have time to respond to them. I'll get back to you whenever I get the chance to though!