Message-ID: <43564asstr$1059167403@assm.asstr-mirror.org> Return-Path: From: LadyCyrrh@aol.com X-Original-Message-ID: <195.1da4c122.2c52a901@aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 11:38:41 EDT Subject: {ASSM} {REVIEW} The Annex Reviews, 7/25/03 Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2003 17:10:03 -0400 Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail X-Is-Review: yes Approved: Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories,alt.sex.stories.d Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d X-Archived-At: X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation X-Story-Submission: X-Moderator-ID: RuiJorge, dennyw The Annex Reviews, 7/25/03 by Lady Cyrrh (ladycyrrh@aol.com) Website: http://members.aol.com/ladycyrrh I've been wanting to do a special review series of fur stories for a while. Fur stories are those in which the protagonists are anthropomorphized animals (such as one might find in Disney,) humanoid beings with animal characteristics (such as werewolves) or sentient animals. The genre has grown tremendously over the past few years as its fans, or furries, have taken to the net and discovered each other, creating archive sites like Furnation.com for fans' creative output, robust databases like Fur Central, and well as dozens of mailing lists and search engines for specialty interests. There are even furry conventions, of which Anthrocon is the most famous. As a genre, furry overlaps into both vore (creatures eating each other, with sexual overtones) and transformation (creatures transformed into other creatures, with sexual overtones) with mostly science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural themes. The genre is a tolerant one, with all sexual pairings finding acceptance, if prone at times to cliquishness and polyamorousness. There seems to be a 60/40 split between males and females, with many of the males being gay or bisexual, which is interesting. The subject matter of fur stories truly runs the gamut. As in regular erotica, many stories are simply sexual encounters made more interesting by the fact one partner is a wolf, the other a fox. But other stories strive to be something more, differing little from straight fic except the protags are anthropormophized animals. In many cases the writers try very hard to treat this concept seriously -- which they must, because unlike human sexual encounters, no matter how bizarre, fur encounters are a total fantasy -- and this earnestness and seriousness of tone is one of the genre's great flaws. Often the earnestness becomes belabored, and many stories seem to devolute into something resembling a rewrite of a role playing chat log, which many of them could be. But others are delightful. Here are reviews of some stories I've culled from several sites with a variety of pairings and subject matter. The Stories: Tanj's Tale, Parts 1 - 4 (Kittiara): M/F, M+/F, F/F, fur, cheetah, bond, D/s, mc, slave, SF, humor Making the Passage With a Friend (Will A. Sanborne): M/F, rom, fur, dog Birthday Surprise (Divigon): M/M, cons, fur, cetacean Scaley (Divigon): M/F, fur, dragon, mc, slave, herm, SF Herbal Lupine (Narzil Blade): M/M, cons, fur, werewolf, magic How Coyote Married a Man (Aethan): M/M, cons, fur, coyote, tg, Native American myth, humor Sealoque - The Begining (Moon Dragon): M/F, F mast, oral, fur, dragon, viol, mystery DVD Review: Bjork's Greatest Hits, Volumen 1993 - 2003 Tanj's Tale, Parts 1 - 4 [A] Where found: The Collected Tanj Stories URL: http://www.silverglass.org/kittiara/toc.html Author: Kittiara Type: M/F, M+/F, F/F, fur, cheetah, bond, D/s, mc, slave, SF, humor "Tanj's Tale" is one of the more famous -- or notorious -- fur stories out there, spanning several "books" of many lengthy chapters each. It was originally called "Trouble's Tale" and still may exist in that form on some sites, but the name of the protagonist was changed because of problems with a certain science fiction author. The story is one of those where fur crossbreeds with bondage and D/s, specifically the slave story, and it's a space opera slave story to boot. But such combinations are common for fur, which pretty much crossbreeds with everything. (Another fur space opera/BDSM tale can be read at Maureen Lycaon's Velan Archive.) Tanj is a cheetah fem, an engineer aboard a junky space transport which has very bad luck: the crew is stranded in a spacedock without a means to pay their moorage, which means they are sold into slavery. Tanj winds up in a coffle headed to a sex-slave training facility where she is subjected to sex deprivation and sleep deprivation, mental conditioning, canings and whippings, various bondage positions, and enforced sex with multiple partners, of multiple species. Despite the heaviness of the scenario it's very lighthearted, very fun, reading like the author wrote it over a long period of time without any literary goal in mind besides a descriptive one. In other words, it's episodic rather then novelistic. Here Tanj completes her "final" in Bondage 101: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The "Graduation Ceremony" was more of the same, conducted this time, in the Academy's lobby. Tanj was strapped tightly to a padded stone block, her rump barely at its edge, her legs pulled back and shackled to either side, exposing her sex. Her body was bent back over a rounded edge, her collar locked to the front vertical face of the block, her upper torso upside-down. Her arms were drawn along either side face of the block, and shackled to her ankle cuffs. She was blindfolded, and a thick rubber-coated ring gag filled her mouth. Apparently the block of stone was carefully sized, as a number of furrs had fucked her very exposed sex from a standing position, with little difficulty, while on the other side, kneeling furrs found her mouth at just the right height for her to service them that way. Her muscles were strained and cramped, and yet, as time went by, she realized there WAS a delicious component to it all. The way she was tied, she must be a sight! And she had to admit, she'd rather pass the time, using her tongue on some furr's sex, male or female, or better yet, have some anonymous male work his cock in and out of her pussy, than simply hang there, with nothing to distract her from her sore limbs and back... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I thought the author's voice was fresh and enthusiastic, without the labored seriousness of many fur stories, or the polished seriousness of BDSM ones. Its imagination and humor, in fact, are more reminiscent of a naughty cartoon or furry comic. I liked it, but the stories don't lend themselves to being read in one long draft. By the time I got to the self-bondage scenes in Chapter 3 I was mighty tired. But in small doses the story is very enjoyable and I found myself forgetting the characters were furries after a while, save for the offhand mentions of paws or pelts. A furry, on the other hand, might see those same mentions as keeping the animal nature of the characters in mind. Recommended, even if you don't normally like furry stories, because it is the biggest and best furry space opera slave/bondage story on the net. Making the Passage With a Friend [A] Where found: Will's Creative Writing URL: http://users.primus.host.com/~was1/Stories/PASSAGE.htm Author: Will A. Sanborn Type: M/F, rom, fur, dog If is Kittiara is sprawling, undisciplined, and unpolished as a furotica writer, Will A. Sanborn is the opposite: his stories are very tight, controlled, and comparatively uncomplex. He is the more polished writer, but in fur, and in erotica in general, this isn't always to the advantage of a story, as excess of all kinds is what makes neterotica interesting. Alfen is a young dingo, or Australian wild dog (once the domesticated pets of the aborigines) making his "walkabout" through the Australian wilderness, a journey familiar to anyone who's read the "The Celestine Prophecy" or seen the great Nicholas Roeg film of the same name. He has his fears and doubts about it, but is able to gain confidence when he kills a wild boar with the aid of a mysterious Dingo fem. Later the two become lovers, bedding down for the night: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Their kiss lasting a small eternity, she slowly pulled away from him to look up at him once again, a quiet desire and admiration flickering in her eyes. Smiling at him, she silently reached out to play with the laces holding his tunic closed. Pulling at the knots, she slowly undid them one by one, stopping at the one at his waist, to then part the folds of the leather and reveal his fur to her. Working the garment over his shoulders and down his arms, being very careful of the tender wound there, she soon had him bare to the waist. Running her fingers gently through the white fur of his belly and chest, she giggled as he moaned softly to her touches. Running his hands through her hair once again, playing with the soft, light-brown locks that ran in gentle, flowing waves, he scratched behind one of her ears and smiled back at her. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This was a more simple tale than the Tanj story, as many of this author's fur stories seem to be; he has written at least 50 of them, many of them presenting different sexual encounters between species, such as a man kidnapped by alien wolf fems, or a young mage forced to serve a humanoid dragon. Though all were well done for what they were, particularly the descriptions of the furs, there was something missing in them for me. Perhaps they were too edited and labored over (from his site he also writes for mainstream SF publications) without the individuality of authorial voice that there was, perhaps inadvertently, in the "Tanj" tales and the Divigon stories below. However, this less -- extreme, let's say -- style would be appealing to readers who may not like the more wild or cliquish aspects of furry fandom, such as the rampant polyamory, the cartoonish plotlines, and the in-jokes. What he writes are basically romantic encounter stories with protagonists who are a little bit different, and they are recommended if you like the idea of fur but are unsure of where to start. Birthday Surprise [B/B-] Where found: Hedonism's Ophidian Haunt URL: http://users.transfur.com/Hedonism/stories/d_birthd.htm Author: Divigon Type: M/M, cons, fur, cetacean Scaley [B+] Where found: Hedonism's Ophidian Haunt URL: http://users.transfur.com/Hedonism/stories/d_SCALEY.htm Author: Divigon Type: M/F, fur, dragon, mc, slave, herm, SF In my reading I've found that most fur stories concentrate on animals that can be easily translated to anthropoid terms, those who have entertained us through centuries of legend and myth, and Disney and anime offerings in the modern day. Generally, this means mammals with prehensile limbs like raccoons or squirrels; animals related to those kept as pets, like canids and rabbits; and glamorous predators known for their fur, like snow leopards and tigers. There are a fair amount of serpent, crocodile, and dragon folk represented, and avian ones such as hawks or griffons; horses and unicorns are seen occasionally, but you don't come across anthropomorphized pigs very often, or salamanders, or shrews. This story was unusual in that it featured cetaceans ("phins.") As with every story featuring fur protags certain liberties must be taken with nature to anthropomorphize them and in many cases these attempts were more interesting to me as a reader than stories themselves. This being a story about cetaceans, the author had a lot of postulating to do, not least of it how these creatures communicate by sonar and have sex in an underwater setting. Alas, the author wasn't quite up to the challenge, and the phins came across more like human beings wearing dolphin masks with pointy fins glued to their backs: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Happy Birthday!" he shouted, blowing the party whistle through his blowhole. The orca took a step backward in surprise. The sight of a dolphin in a party hat not exactly what he had expected. "Devon, what the hell do you think you are doing?" he asked gesturing for the phin to enter. "Just wishing you a happy birthday," said the perpetually grinning dolphin. "Surprised to see me?" The dolphin put the present on the table then gave the orca a tight hug. "How you been old boy?" he asked, sliding his hands over the larger mammal's sleek back. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I was mightily mystified by this opening passage, as cetaceans do not have hands and arms, or (later on) shoulders and biceps, as far as I can see. And how the hell can they walk around and sit on a couch if they don't have legs? Or wear a pair of speedos if they don't have hips? I realize, not being into furry fandom myself, that I don't have the right to dictate how furries should "see" themselves when role-playing their respective personas, but if you're going to write a story about it that others might read I suggest you make it clear from the get-go exactly what kind of creature you are, so readers don't get confused. OK? I don't mean to rag on the author too much, though, because he does try for the unusual and has one hell of an imagination. The creatures were better delineated in another short story he wrote on the same site, "Scaley," where a Terran man is kidnapped by a reptilian alien princess and transformed into a hermaphroditic, mind- controlled, dragonoid bondage slave, complete with lactating teats: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Oooh," she giggled. "Mammalian, how cute..." Tom suddenly became aware of a tautness in his chest and his attention was reluctantly drawn away from the scent which held him captive. Looking down he watched his chest swell, pushing out into a definite pair of feminine breast with large nipples made from tiny scales which stuck out proudly before him. For a moment he was strangely happy, then he became aware they were still growing... Finally they stopped, a huge pair of tits protruding form his chest, pulling down on him. He let out another meep of surprised and watched as a dribble of milk ran down the cracks in his scales out of view. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The Hedonism site, on which both these stories were found, seems to specializes in the more extreme sorts of furry tales; one of them, "Baeral Milkmaid" (written by Hedonism himself) features humans enslaved by furries and scalies and reduced to a form of intelligent barnyard animal to give both milk and egg products; there's unbirthing scenes as well -- unbirthing being a comparatively new form of fetish featuring adult organisms climbing back into their mothers' wombs -- and various transformations between humans and animals, even a bit of mind control. You can't get any more wilder than that, can you? Herbal Lupine [A-] Where found: Narzil's Transformation and Satyr Pages URL: http://users.transfur.com/narzil/stories/herbal.html Author: Narzil Blade Type: M/M, cons, fur, werewolf, magic Kyle and Simon are a gay couple who like to get away from it all at their country cabin on the weekends. On one trip they stop at a country store to pick up extra supplies and spot a mysterious box of tea called Herbal Lupine (a pun on the flower and the Latin word for wolf I suppose.) It's obviously magical because the store manager can't remember putting it there, but the two buy it anyway. Later, when they each brew a cup on a moonlit night, its effects become known: "They pressed their eager muzzles together, tilting them, licking and nibbling one another's faces; slipping their long canine tongues into each others' mouths and across sharp new teeth... They could smell the closeness of their bodies, the warmth of their mate's fur, the strength in their shoulders, arms and chest." Compared to the phin fantasy the story was a more successful handling of the various permutations between (gay) human and wild animal, and how each of those stages experiences its sexuality. Most of the story was, in fact, taken up with these permutations, so it couldn't be said to be much of a story. But the writing was detailed enough to be interesting, if overearnest in the way I have found many fur fics to be. When the two have changed completely, >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Together they sped, out of the living room, through the bedroom. Onto the bed, across to the open window, and out. The storm front had passed, the dark clouds pulling away to the east, leaving open sky behind. Beautiful stars glittered like diamonds, brighter than they had ever seen them before, and the moon, the oh so beautiful moon, making their hearts sing in the night. The two wolf lovers chased one another, horny and lustful, dashing, running, growling, howling. Across the fields and through the forest, wet grass under their paws. They knew they would have to return before dawn. But tonight, they were wolves, and would be as wolves as much as they could, a new life. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Awww, what a *happy* ending! How Coyote Married a Man [A+] Where found: Furry Pleasures URL: http://www.yiff.nu/Gay/coyote.txt Author: Aethan Type: M/M, cons, fur, coyote, tg, Native American myth, humor This was one of best fur stories I've read. Not surprising as Native American myth contains all sorts of references to supernatural sentient animals, as well as a dreamtime past when all humans had some qualities of animal in them. These myths are custom-made for fur. This story read so smoothly and completely like one of those myths it almost could have come from a book of them; the author did an outstanding job of capturing the tone, subject matter, and even the crazy sense of humor. He or she must have studied those myths very closely to come up with a pastiche like this. Coyote is the trickster of Native American myth, a godlike being nonetheless prone to the venal human emotions of pride and greed. Wanting to have a tribal feast in his honor (for he likes food and is always hungry) he spies upon an Indian brave, Proud Elk, who has been refusing the suit of the young women of his village. Wanting to take him down a peg or two Coyote disguises himself as a maiden named Laughing Fox to seduce him; Proud Elk, being closeted and not realizing it, falls for the "princess" hook, line and sinker. Apparently his people lack good sex education, for he doesn't realize Coyote is male even after their wedding night: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Proud Elk smiled, a little coyly. "I have never seen a woman naked," he admitted. "What are you like under your clothing?" "Oh, uh...much the same as you," Coyote said with a nervous grin. He stroked his paw along the large shaft in his hand. "Only smaller." "Show me!" Proud Elk commanded, lust in his eyes. Coyote meekly obeyed, stripping out of everything. Proud Elk was fascinated. "Why you're just like a man!" Coyote blushed. "I'm pleased," said Proud Elk, drawing him closer. Coyote succumbed to his "husband's" caresses, his back arching when Proud Elk's hands slid down to caress his buttocks. Almost involuntarily, Coyote began to kiss and lick at Proud Elk's throat. Some part of his mind kept insisting, "Just to make the trick better!" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mistaken-identity hilarity ensues, as well as realization from both characters that they enjoyed the encounter. Later the story develops truly touching qualities as the two fall in love, the promiscuous, bisexual, immortal Coyote realizing eventually he's unsuited to life with the mortal brave. This was very good story for both its pastiche qualities and its human ones; it tried to be something more than a furry encounter, something greater. After reading it, though, I'm still not sure if the tale is an actual one or not... perhaps, at one time, passed around by the elders of the tribe after the kids had gone to bed. Sealoque - The Beginning [B-] Where found: Moon Dragon's Erotica URL: http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/MoonDragon/www Author: Moon Dragon Type: M/F, F mast, oral, fur, dragon, viol, mystery Sometimes you find fur -- or in this case, scale -- in the strangest places. This was found on an author's site who as far as I know is not affiliated with any of the fur ones. It's the first part of a longer novel about two weredragons, Sealoque and Neila, lovers who can take on human form, and their modern-day battle against Blakfyre, an evil druid. It read very much like a legitimate fantasy novel, one that perhaps the writer had been workshopping for a while, a supernatural urban fantasy with touches of mystery, romance, mythical creatures, bid a' wee Irish and Celtic themes, and suspense. This sounds like a sure fire recipe for commercial success, but the author couldn't leave things alone and inserted a number of gratuitous sex scenes: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Neila jerked her hips as the tongue as thick as three of her fingers thrusted in and out of her slick pussy. She was close to the edge, and when the dragon's tongue pulled out of her trembling cunt to make tiny circles around her clit she nearly went all the way over. She had always been impressed by her clit, when she was aroused it peeked out of its hood and swelled as big as the end of her thumb. She hadn't ever seen another womans pussy to compare it to, but she understood that hers was slightly larger than average. Regardless of its size it was now the target of a relentless attack as Sealoque beat a steady rhythm with his tongue. "Mmmm! Ooh yeah," she moaned, "I want ye to make me cum baby. I'm almost there. Do it baby, do it for me. Make me... Ungh, ungh! Aaaaaaaaah!" As her pussy began to spasm wildly, Neila wailed out her climax and her thighs locked around the dragons face, with her hips jerking out of control until her orgasm subsided. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sheesh, is she dead from pleasure yet? Anyway, I said gratuitous in reference to the sex scenes because they were so disconnected from the rest of the story -- and the mainstream tone the author was careful to build up -- that they came off as ridiculous, smacking of the most tired, stereotypical porn cliches out there, the kind where the characters are cumming buckets and scream it. Later a jarringly introduced teenage character, the would-be ward of the weredragons, masturbates herself for no reason at all, observed by the female weredragon (whose speech patterns resemble those of that annoying Irish chick on "Touched by an Angel") who masturbates in response, also for no reason at all. This was an acceptable idea for a fantasy novel that could have been either commercial-mainstream or erotic, but not both, at least not in this way. The passages involving the human and dragon were unusual, but dull compared to the other fur I've read, which, while it can be silly at times (as in the phin story) can also display some truly creative erotic writing. The filler material, on the other hand, wasn't erotic or sexual at all and read like it came from a different book. In sum, the story wasn't bad, but the attempts to sex it up were, as the author didn't seem to know what he or she was doing. DVD Review: Bjork's Greatest Hits, Volumen 1993 - 2003 If there was ever a recording artist said to be fur it would be Bjork. Her videos from the start have shown a fascination with the erotic qualities of the natural world as well as a playful use of state-of-the-art CGI effects, with a wink or two along the way at "National Geographic" type television documentaries; much of the imagery also evinces a tension between civilization and nature, nature and man's computer simulations of nature, and conscious, stylized eroticism with basic animal reproductive urges. I don't know if all these makes any sense, but it does make the videos weirdly watchable, true works of art in a way that very few rock videos are these days. All are worth repeated watchings even if you are not a fan of Bjork or her music. Who knows, she may grow on you. I was not a fan of hers, but after watching the DVD, I grew to appreciate her a little more, and will be checking out her recorded material. If a video can inspire you to do that, it's done its work. The DVD was a collection of videos from the years 1993 to 2003. Seeing them together one becomes aware of the repeated images in her work: light bulbs, flying insects, bears or bearlike wild creatures, mouths and teeth, cyborg limbs, the liquid excreta of the body. Some of these themes are evident in her earliest video, "Human Behavior," which shows her being menaced by a Godzilla-like felt Teddy Bear who later eats her; another video, "The Hunter," features a Bjork in a baldcap who periodically sprouts, via CGI effects, metallic blue armor over her face which gradually coalesces into the visage of a high-tech grizzly bear. In this video she keeps an impish smile on her face throughout despite the intensity and seriousness of the song, as if reveling in miracles of computer technology and what it can do. Other nature themes occur in "Nature is Ancient" and "Ioga." In "Nature is Ancient" two microscopic pond organisms (again, sophisticated computer simulations) perform what seems to be a tentative mating dance, surprisingly sensual in an odd way, which leads at the end to the generation of a fetus inside one of them with Bjork's features. "Ioga" also uses high-powered image generation to create a series of landscapes reminiscent, with their tundra, ice bogs, and volcanic ridges, of Bjork's native Iceland, the effect again surprisingly sensual. Not only does Bjork do fur, she also ranges into other fetish genres. She is not afraid to bare her body for purposes of artistic expression, though with the years she has become more Earth goddess than spright. "All is Full of Love," with its two humanoid industrial robots, each with a seamless integration of Bjork's face, does for ASFR what "The Hunter" does for fur, showing the robots kissing and caressing each other as pointed instruments lube their joints. It's at once touching and spooky, grandiose and winsome. "Cocoon" (directed by the great Japanese production designer Eiko Ishioka, who did art direction for the movie "The Cell") does the same for mummy fantasies: a nude, geisha-wigged Bjork, powdered to look like one of the members of the Butoh dance troop, generates twirling crimson lines out of the nipples of her exposed breasts like animated redvines, the strands cocooning her toe to head throughout the song, which by her gestures she seems to welcome. In "Pagan Poetry" the fetish is piercing: in one of those CGI effects she loves, video images are run through a Sobel manipulation giving tantalizing hints of nipples being pierced with beaded strings. At the end there's a closeup of a back pierced with parallel rows of rings, a ribbon laced up corset-style between them. Definitely recommended for some interesting watching. ____________________________________________________ Comments to: ladycyrrh@aol.com Website---> http://members.aol.com/ladycyrrh -- Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated. +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | alt.sex.stories.moderated ----- send stories to: | | FAQ: Moderator: | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d, look for subject {ASSD}| |Archive at Hosted by | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+