Rose Red Doors
Jun. 7th, 2026 11:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeI've spent much of the last few days ill with some sort of coughing fever. It reached its peak on Friday and Saturday, essentially scuppering most of my weekend plans. I had intended to go to the furry night at Qualgeist then meet up with Al Song for the Italian Food Festival today, but being unable to walk too far without getting dizzy put paid to all that. Furthermore, we ended up having to skip the PladeLu Festival in the end too. This was always going to be likely - we had booked this thinking it was going to be in early January, but then they shifted the dates without notifying us, allowing us to find out on the day itself. This left a rather bitter taste in the mouth and with this weekend having loads of other things going on, getting to the event was always going to be unlikely. Alas, it was also non-refundable despite the date change, which I think is pretty disgusting as it was clear the contract we entered into initially could not be fulfilled. Still, there we are, and I suppose that was the end of it. Being too ill to be able to go anyway just meant I didn't feel guilty about not bothering with it.
This weekend has been Furality Ultra though, the latest iteration in the Furality con series. This, at least, has given me something to do without the fear of infecting anyone so I have spent most of my time over the last three days in VR. For me, the 2000s video game console nostalgia theme was one of the least interesting, and certainly not as grand as some of the others they have run. Still, it does seem to have been popular and the main Ultravox hub was quite intricate, so much so that it didn't open until well into Saturday which was Day Three of the convention. With so many achievements to unlock, including having to build a cake in one section, this wasn't surprising and they were still adding to it today, with a pew-pew shooting game around a crashed spaceship being particularly fun. There are also loads of achievements to unlock such as picking up files (although I fear the standing on grass for 10 minutes was a troll as, believe me, I tried it), while the Dealers' Den was also replete with over 500 booths. As I am not particularly interested in getting a new avatar or accessories, the most interesting aspect here was the Other section, which had a load of cool stuff. My favourites have been Sockpuppet.band, whose video is one of the most brilliant 60-second clips I have ever seen, and Rei Caiffe, a pop-punk artist from the Philippines. Going through all of the stands highlighted just how much creativity and wonder there is in the furry fandom and I spent a good number of hours bouncing around making sure I saw most of them.
Another aspect of creativity has been some of the events. I went to the incredible WHSPRS set once again, only marred by it crashing halfway through (there were other issues - the sound and the subtitling system wasn't in sync often either), while the Skits'n'Bits Improv Show started off slowly but really came into its own towards the end. The prompt 'All Furrys are Grey Wolves with RGB Grading' was perhaps my favourite. The opening ceremony was particularly heartwarming as there was a whole bit on introducing the founder of the Resilient Hearts Animal Rescue Charity to VR, including showing her the dedicated space inside the Ultravox Hub which had models of some of their earliest adopted pets. The whole con is based around the made-up Ultravox Hub, a games console that launched 20 years ago and whose servers are being turned off this weekend. This 'one final weekend' of nostalgia seems to be a powerful one with furs, but the phrase said in the opening ceremony 'that many of you would have first pressed start on a games console 20 years ago' made me feel incredibly old.
The highlight of creativity was, of course, the Community Showcase which had some funny and some very poignant videos. A few were goofy, but the ones that stuck were those that were darker, whether they referenced the Soviet Space Program, suicidal ideation, or mourning the premature death of a brother. My eyes are welling up just thinking about it and I know that some of these videos had a strong effect on people. There was lots of references to the power of VR to make friends across the globe and I'll admit I still don't really feel this. I find it much harder to make friends in virtual reality than in real life, but I know I am not alone in this. Indeed, in the early hours of Friday morning, I noticed Ratchet was struggling with this too, having mentioned this in passing on Bluesky. I suggested we meet up and I spent much of the next few hours bouncing around worlds with her. We have spent a bit of time with each other since, while I have at least reconnected with a few people in VR too. It seems far more effortless for Wolfie though and I wish I felt a little more connected to the medium. This was particularly the case in the meet-up zones - there were a few that I could have joined, the writing ones in particular, but not knowing anyone was prohibitive considering I don't have the confidence just to be able to walk up to a conversation and barge my way in.
Aside from this, last week was a busy week, albeit not where I expected. My 2025 tax return got completed, allowing me to put my application in for permanent residence. Both are currently in limbo. My accountants gifted me another hefty bill which, alongside my tax, is going to hit my bank account quite significantly. This is particularly bad as this is the first month of reduced earnings, but I have on-boarded two new clients while a friend of mine would like me to edit their novel for them, giving me a little more money too. I am hoping to just about break even over the next couple of months provided I don't go mad with spending, which at least this weekend has allowed me to do. However, what with being ill, I do feel I am a little behind with where I want to be regarding my projects and so I'm hoping to get back up to speed next week. In the meantime, though, I intended to rest up and shake off the rest of this cold and enjoy the final few hours of Furality Ultra.
Monday Update: The final hours of Furality Ultra were really chill and I ended up staying online past 7am, partly because there was an hour delay in the closing ceremony. This was quite nicely done, although perhaps a little too self-congratulatory. The final scenes when they talked about closing the servers of the UltraVox, with the main dog character Max asking what will happen to him were heartbreaking. The narrative of living on in memories resonated hard, particularly as it was related to the ending of the convention itself. I will be online a little later to check out the frequently delayed fireworks display, provided my headset behaves (it crashed 20 minutes into the closing ceremony). I also saw the charity auction, which was initially great as they went through the cool items on which you could bid, but as it was a fully online thing, the final 45 minutes was just a back-and-forth chat detailing how well the items were doing at random. It was heartwarming to see the charity receive over $100,000 in donations too, as was watching their founder Erin explore the VR worlds once again. I also got to explore the main UltraVox hub again along with the Dealers' Den, while I also went bird spotting in the meeting world (it took me a long time to realise there was a dedicated in-world camera for this rather than having to use the general VR chat one). I even checked out a few concerts too, with Naku Nurture Live being particularly good. It was also great to hang with friends again and I bumped into so many. The weekend was a little odd - a mix of company and being on my own - but I do feel more enthused about VR again. I just hope my headset can survive as I have little money to be able to replace it. Having unique clothing also helped with this too, with a neat pink visor and crystal wings sprouting from my back. It was one of the standard templates that Wolfie customised for me, but it was cool and really added to my love of the convention.
Tuesday Update: It's just a cartoon dog in a made-up gaming system that I hadn't heard about until last Thursday. This is what I keep telling myself, yet I cannot help feel distressed at the thought of the UltraVox System being shut down. The fireworks display, which I saw last night, was another example of high emotion. The 25-minute event was stunning, building up by highlighting all of the games you could have played on the UltraVox (something that looked like DDR, Guitar Hero and a racing sim game). The final five minutes, where the four buttons representing the console, swirled around each other before disappearing into a shaft of coloured light, ending with the phrase 'Thank you for playing' and the servers being turned off was highly emotional and I'm welling up just thinking about it. Fair play to the writers, musicians and designers who did this to me. I don't think I have ever felt this sad to leave a convention and I have now done sixty, but then I have spent over 24 hours on VR this weekend now, which must be some sort of record. I may check out the very last rendition of the fireworks later this afternoon as a final send-off.
This weekend has been Furality Ultra though, the latest iteration in the Furality con series. This, at least, has given me something to do without the fear of infecting anyone so I have spent most of my time over the last three days in VR. For me, the 2000s video game console nostalgia theme was one of the least interesting, and certainly not as grand as some of the others they have run. Still, it does seem to have been popular and the main Ultravox hub was quite intricate, so much so that it didn't open until well into Saturday which was Day Three of the convention. With so many achievements to unlock, including having to build a cake in one section, this wasn't surprising and they were still adding to it today, with a pew-pew shooting game around a crashed spaceship being particularly fun. There are also loads of achievements to unlock such as picking up files (although I fear the standing on grass for 10 minutes was a troll as, believe me, I tried it), while the Dealers' Den was also replete with over 500 booths. As I am not particularly interested in getting a new avatar or accessories, the most interesting aspect here was the Other section, which had a load of cool stuff. My favourites have been Sockpuppet.band, whose video is one of the most brilliant 60-second clips I have ever seen, and Rei Caiffe, a pop-punk artist from the Philippines. Going through all of the stands highlighted just how much creativity and wonder there is in the furry fandom and I spent a good number of hours bouncing around making sure I saw most of them.
Another aspect of creativity has been some of the events. I went to the incredible WHSPRS set once again, only marred by it crashing halfway through (there were other issues - the sound and the subtitling system wasn't in sync often either), while the Skits'n'Bits Improv Show started off slowly but really came into its own towards the end. The prompt 'All Furrys are Grey Wolves with RGB Grading' was perhaps my favourite. The opening ceremony was particularly heartwarming as there was a whole bit on introducing the founder of the Resilient Hearts Animal Rescue Charity to VR, including showing her the dedicated space inside the Ultravox Hub which had models of some of their earliest adopted pets. The whole con is based around the made-up Ultravox Hub, a games console that launched 20 years ago and whose servers are being turned off this weekend. This 'one final weekend' of nostalgia seems to be a powerful one with furs, but the phrase said in the opening ceremony 'that many of you would have first pressed start on a games console 20 years ago' made me feel incredibly old.
The highlight of creativity was, of course, the Community Showcase which had some funny and some very poignant videos. A few were goofy, but the ones that stuck were those that were darker, whether they referenced the Soviet Space Program, suicidal ideation, or mourning the premature death of a brother. My eyes are welling up just thinking about it and I know that some of these videos had a strong effect on people. There was lots of references to the power of VR to make friends across the globe and I'll admit I still don't really feel this. I find it much harder to make friends in virtual reality than in real life, but I know I am not alone in this. Indeed, in the early hours of Friday morning, I noticed Ratchet was struggling with this too, having mentioned this in passing on Bluesky. I suggested we meet up and I spent much of the next few hours bouncing around worlds with her. We have spent a bit of time with each other since, while I have at least reconnected with a few people in VR too. It seems far more effortless for Wolfie though and I wish I felt a little more connected to the medium. This was particularly the case in the meet-up zones - there were a few that I could have joined, the writing ones in particular, but not knowing anyone was prohibitive considering I don't have the confidence just to be able to walk up to a conversation and barge my way in.
Aside from this, last week was a busy week, albeit not where I expected. My 2025 tax return got completed, allowing me to put my application in for permanent residence. Both are currently in limbo. My accountants gifted me another hefty bill which, alongside my tax, is going to hit my bank account quite significantly. This is particularly bad as this is the first month of reduced earnings, but I have on-boarded two new clients while a friend of mine would like me to edit their novel for them, giving me a little more money too. I am hoping to just about break even over the next couple of months provided I don't go mad with spending, which at least this weekend has allowed me to do. However, what with being ill, I do feel I am a little behind with where I want to be regarding my projects and so I'm hoping to get back up to speed next week. In the meantime, though, I intended to rest up and shake off the rest of this cold and enjoy the final few hours of Furality Ultra.
Monday Update: The final hours of Furality Ultra were really chill and I ended up staying online past 7am, partly because there was an hour delay in the closing ceremony. This was quite nicely done, although perhaps a little too self-congratulatory. The final scenes when they talked about closing the servers of the UltraVox, with the main dog character Max asking what will happen to him were heartbreaking. The narrative of living on in memories resonated hard, particularly as it was related to the ending of the convention itself. I will be online a little later to check out the frequently delayed fireworks display, provided my headset behaves (it crashed 20 minutes into the closing ceremony). I also saw the charity auction, which was initially great as they went through the cool items on which you could bid, but as it was a fully online thing, the final 45 minutes was just a back-and-forth chat detailing how well the items were doing at random. It was heartwarming to see the charity receive over $100,000 in donations too, as was watching their founder Erin explore the VR worlds once again. I also got to explore the main UltraVox hub again along with the Dealers' Den, while I also went bird spotting in the meeting world (it took me a long time to realise there was a dedicated in-world camera for this rather than having to use the general VR chat one). I even checked out a few concerts too, with Naku Nurture Live being particularly good. It was also great to hang with friends again and I bumped into so many. The weekend was a little odd - a mix of company and being on my own - but I do feel more enthused about VR again. I just hope my headset can survive as I have little money to be able to replace it. Having unique clothing also helped with this too, with a neat pink visor and crystal wings sprouting from my back. It was one of the standard templates that Wolfie customised for me, but it was cool and really added to my love of the convention.
Tuesday Update: It's just a cartoon dog in a made-up gaming system that I hadn't heard about until last Thursday. This is what I keep telling myself, yet I cannot help feel distressed at the thought of the UltraVox System being shut down. The fireworks display, which I saw last night, was another example of high emotion. The 25-minute event was stunning, building up by highlighting all of the games you could have played on the UltraVox (something that looked like DDR, Guitar Hero and a racing sim game). The final five minutes, where the four buttons representing the console, swirled around each other before disappearing into a shaft of coloured light, ending with the phrase 'Thank you for playing' and the servers being turned off was highly emotional and I'm welling up just thinking about it. Fair play to the writers, musicians and designers who did this to me. I don't think I have ever felt this sad to leave a convention and I have now done sixty, but then I have spent over 24 hours on VR this weekend now, which must be some sort of record. I may check out the very last rendition of the fireworks later this afternoon as a final send-off.
