Current mood:	annoyed
Current music:	Weird Al - The Saga Begins

Faeries, not Furries
Pooka are the most mangled faction of White Wolf characters played online, and I mean of all WW's Storyteller systems. Tribe, Tradition, Clan...all of them have had their 'innovators' playing against type, but none of them have compared to the extent I've seen Pooka twisted until they are nearly unrecognizable.

The reason? People want to play a character with animal features, something cute and fuzzy and sexy that everyone wants to cuddle. Presto! There are the Pooka, seemingly everything that they want in a character.

The problem? All the other rules of the Kith are overlooked as the player focuses on the animal features. In short, people use the White Wolf chats to play Furries, and don't understand why people like me used to jump all over their case for it (I've mellowed in my experience, trust me).

Furries aren't Pooka.

Furries are anthropomorphic animals, like in Dizzknee's Robin Hood, Tony the Tiger, Road Rovers, even Chester Cheetah. They are animals that walk, talk and act like people. There are entire sects of people who love the idea of Furries, some who think they -are- a Furry inside, and that's totally cool. There are Furry MU*s out there that cater to almost every aspect of the Furry fandom (I play in one and love it).

Pooka are Fae who look human, but certain features are animalistic in their Fae Miens. A Cat Pooka may have cat ears, whiskers and a tail, a Raven Pooka may have feathery hair and a beaky nose, but for all other intents and purposes they are human. They don't have all-over fur, retractable claws, cute little paw-hands, digitigrade legs or outthrust noses/mouths to give them a muzzle instead of a mouth.

Pooka have been a part of legend since waaaaaaaay back, and their purpose and Dreams have a place in Kithain society. Furries have not and do not.

Pooka lie. It doesn't matter -how- they do it, so long as they lie. They lie because it's their nature to deceive and prank, as shaped by the legends of Pooka in history. It takes a considerable focus of their will to go against those Dreams, and few do it often because, well, the truth hurts.

These are basic rules. To ignore the rules of the Pooka to play a Furry is NOT PLAYING CHANGELING. And while the Golden Rule may be cool for you to play a Furry-type Pooka in your tabletop game, using it online to make it easier for your sex bunny/kitten to say "I love you" or "Fuck me" is SO not cool. It circumvents the very Birthrights and Frailties that make up the Kith.

And to the people who have said, "But if it's not affecting anyone in anything -serious-, what's the harm in not lying? We're here to have fun, and this is how I have fun!" (this was paraphrased from an actual conversation with a Furry-player masquerading as a non-lying Pooka), let's look at that from another perspective, okay?

Say I want to play a Sluagh (I do so love Goth and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac), butu I don't like the whole toothless whispery stench-of-the-tomb aspect of them. So I make my Sluagh, but he shouts, is the lead singer of a Goth band and has a flawless, crazy smile. Would Sluagh players complain about circumventing the FRAILTIES of the Kith for my own ends? You be your ass they would, and they would ignore me/avoid me, even though it doesn't affect anything -serious-...except the very Dreams that make up the Kith.

Or if I wanted to play a Troll, but I didn't want to chance losing her Titan's Strength if I break an Oath. So I make a Troll, but when I'm bored with the relationship she's in and she breaks her Oath of Truehearts to Thorin Ironsoul, she doesn't suffer any loss of face or stats. Would other Troll players complain? You bet your ass they would, and again I'd be avoided/ignored.

Then why would you complain about people trying to 'stifle creativity' or knowing people who have been 'forced to stop playing a character' when people jump on your case OOC for ignoring the Kith Frailty?? It's the SAME THING. We're playing by rules in these chats, loose as they may be, and to ignore those rules just so you can play a Furry isn't fair to those who actually play Pooka and put a lot of thought into how they lie and their nature in relation to other Fae. Like me. Like a lot of players. It's not 'fun' for anyone when they see an aspect of a favorite game cheapened by players who only want their characters to be grabbed by the tail and boned to satisfy their fantasies, or who want to play something "different" from all the Appearance 7 Winged Red-Headed Lesbian Sidhe (A7WRHLS).

Do I like Furries? I -love- them. I've always loved animals, I love a lot of the art I've seen, and I play on at least one Furry MU*. I wish that Pooka looked like that because it would make them even more a blast to play than they are already.

Are Furries Changelings? NO.

In Changeling, I play the next best thing - Pooka, capricious Kithain with tongues of silver and hearts of gold (or lead, depending on which Court they embrace).

You want to play a Furry in the White Wolf chats? The outlet is there, the Dreams are powerful enough - play a sentient Chimera. Sure, it's not an eighty-year-old Wendigo Kinfolk (who looks 18) that kicks ass for both the Garou and for the Kithain, but I'm sure the players whose characters would fuck her wouldn't care. Sure, it's not flesh and blood, ears, tail and vaginal secretions (unless you want to play a Wyrded chimera and never leave the Freehold), but I'm sure the players whose characters would fuck her won't care.

You want to play a Furry with other Furries? Just do a web search and you'll find COUNTLESS Furry MU*s and other such diversions that will keep you just as busy, but there'll be no A7WRHLS or sex-starved Satyrs to seduce, only characters that look just like yours.

You want to play a Pooka? Play a Pooka, not a goddamned Furry.

I did get some great advice from another player about this, and to this day I love to implement it. If a Pooka character says something to your character, don't believe it no matter what the statement. FORCE the Frailty on the character and watch the fur fly. I've seen players and characters get all mad and not be able to complain without revealing that they/their characters don't lie. It's helped a lot to laugh at it instead of going off about it - try it yourself!

*cathartic sigh* Thanks for reading this far. I seriously have mellowed in my experience (going on 10 years now playing in the White Wolf chats) and have stopped getting so upset when I see Pooka mangled. They're still there too, in the form of a Cat Pooka who so rarely lies but keeps making references to her humongous boobs, or the form of a Hyena Pooka (an animal more prevalent in Furry fandom - BIG ears and contrast-y pelt) that I have -never- seen lie. I just sigh and play on.

It still gets to me on occasion, and I figured I'd share the rant here.

tanya