A Letter, addressed to whomever will read it.
Inspiration
Here I am, finding myself writing again.
And why? Because a video game inspired me to do so.
Okami. A roommate of mine had it, and although I had beaten it once before, I had forgotten much of the storyline, because I had rushed through it. But at the very end of the game, an artist, who had run from his own craft, found the resolve to return to his brush, through the power of a very dear friend.
It immediately made me think of myself. For years I wanted to write and draw, because I wanted to inspire people to do great things. But while I gave up on that dream, I never did give up on that hope. That hope, that someone would go out and do something great, and in return, in spire me to return to that which I have forsaken.
I believe the fandom is meant for greater things, in its current state it seems stuck and I honestly believe it's because of the focus of the fandom. At first, it was like a super-secret club, only for select members, and the first rule of the fandom was, of course, not to talk about the fandom (at least, not in public.) But the fandom's grown substantially, and I believe that it's time to break out of those bonds. What am I talking about? It's not about fursuitting, that's for sure.
The fandom attracts a lot of young people. We've got a lot of talented artists, talented minds, and talented people. However, that talent is running rampant with no real goal other than it's a fun past time, that makes a bit of side cash. How many conventions have you gone to and ought something awesome, created by someone that you felt should be working for a company?
Furry has a promising potential to grow into something huge, something hip, something new and trendy. People loved my Bad Dog Books T-shirt so much that I choose to give it away, just to get it out there. Of course, how embarrassing would it be to find out that that awesome T-shirt led towards a website that dealt mainly in adult books. Wouldn't it be awesome to have a company, compromised of furry artists that specifically sold furry swag? Come on, you can't tell me that if you had a cool enough Fox mascot on a hat, that you wouldn't wear it around everywhere just to show it off and represent the fandom - in a good way.
But I'm not talking about just clothes. What about a furry themed Internet Cafe? Heck, a furry themed coffee shop. Something more than just a group of furs, chilling in someone's living room, sharing a piece of pizza, but a place where more than just furs can gather and share a cup of joe and chillax, you know, listen to some cool music by furry artists, and enjoy the artwork on the wall.
We've got a lot of very talented people, just longing for something more than just catering to a picky crowd of commissioners. I'm sure there's a lot of college graduates looking to invest their time and skill into some kind of greater project. And before you attempt to tell me that creating a furry themed company is an impossible dream - then just take for example the success of Varka and Bad Dragon. You've got a group of furs, collaborating together to the point that they are actually accepting applications for EMPLOYEES.
There is an absolute wealth of creativity just waiting to BURST OUT from the fandom, but what's holding us back? It's shame and it's fear. We're afraid of the public, we're afraid of showing our faces to people and saying. Hey, this is who we are. You don't like it, deal. We're afraid of getting ridiculed for what we enjoy and what we believe in. And, you know, it's kind of understandable. Majority of it, is porn. But the fandom shouldn't be about porn and more so, we shouldn't let that hold us back one bit.
The fandom is full of dreamers. We are all dreamers here. Isn't it about time that someone steps up and says, "Hey. We need to wake up." Because if I were an artist, I would gladly fly my ass out to the middle of nowhere, just to paint something on someone's restaurant wall, if just to get my art out there and represent this fandom. If I were a musician, I would gladly pass out my albums on the street if just to get people to listen, and if I was a writer, i would gladly post this letter, in hopes that someone out there, would read this, and be inspired, and get out there, and pursue his dreams, if just to show people exactly WHO WE REALLY ARE, AND WHAT WE'RE REALLY MADE OF.
Even in the face of the potential embarrassment. Because in the very end. as a writer, all I ever dreamt of, was the ability to inspire people to pursue, to do, to be something greater than what they are now. And to think, that the a single scene from a video game was enough to drive me to write this very letter right now, but understand this. Behind that video game, there was a collaberation of artists, of writers, of musicians, of programmers. And you cannot tell me that the fandom isn't chock full of these kinds of people!
What we need right now, is someone to take the fandom, which has already began to bud and grow, and lead it into something new and great and AMAZING. It absolutly has all the potential to do so! I just hope that someone out there hears me. That in spite of all this, something sparks, SOMEWHERE, and that it drives them forward - forward, into something better.
And to everyone that stops to read this poorly written letter,
Thank you.