Hermaphrodite Haven
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The Hermaphrodite Haven is a furry phenomonon that has spread to most MUCK servers. Most of this article refers to the entity on FurryMUCK, though public areas with the same name exist in many other places. The variant on Tapestries is owned by DragonFire; the Hermaphrodite Haven on Sociopolitical Ramifications is owned by JanJan, the Herm HQ (often dubbed Hermaphrodite Haven) also exists on Second Life. All are characterized as 'old-fashioned' construction of stone, pillars and statues, hosting rules encouraging sexual behavior but strictly banning negative commentary or violence. Its counterpart on Sociopolitical Ramifications is The Flagon's Tale, which has a slightly more modern look (in places). None of these establishments appear to have any connection to each other. Centres or areas dedicated to supporting hermaphrodites have led to the rise of similar establishments within other fictional lands, such as Goldfur's Herm Haven, based in The Chakat's Den website and Forest Tales series of stories.[1]
FurryMUCK - Hermaphrodite Haven[edit]
On FurryMUCK, the Hermaphrodite Haven (usually referred to as Herm Haven) is one of the busiest social areas. It is dedicated to hermaphrodite ('herm') characters, and (along with the West Corner of The Park and The Purple Nurple) one of the few areas where one can expect occupancy 24 hours a day. The Haven was created by Tulip, but is now administrated by Shadow.
The Herm Haven is set on one end of Wolf's Run Road. The central area of the Haven is actually the 'foyer' to the Haven; most of the Haven's social activities take place there. The Haven also has a dance club (the Swing Club), apartments (Hermaphrodite Estates), a lake (the creatively-titled Lake Hermy), an inn (Swan Maid Inn), a mall (the HH Mall), and a section specifically for transgendered or crossdressing furs (The Satin Rose).
Herm Haven has a reputation for being one of the yiffiest and spoogiest public areas on FurryMUCK - as a result, it is strictly an adults-only area and characters who are not set to "adult" are not allowed.
The regular participants at the Haven are also known for treating its "yiffy" reputation with a sense of humor. They often revel in the Haven's notoriety, and they jokingly suggest that intimate TinySex takes place in public there, while other furs in the same room casually engage in pleasant chatter without batting an eye. This attitude is seen as both a positive and negative aspect: it enforces the liberal attitude furs take towards IC behavior (as opposed to RL), while critics of furry fandom and yiffy behavior single out the Herm Haven as a prime example of "what is wrong with the fandom."
Tapestries - Hermaphrodite Haven[edit]
Like the Hermaphrodite Haven on FurryMUCK, the Hermaphrodite Haven on Tapestries (usually referred to as Herm Haven) is one of the busiest social areas. It is dedicated to hermaphrodite ('herm') characters. The Haven was created by DragonFire and other then sharing the same name as the one on FurryMuck, has no other relation to it.
The Haven on tapestries is a smaller building then the one on FurryMuck, the general look of the building would be a large mansion converted to a Hostel type setup. The main two rooms that are occupied are the main living room and a secondary room setup specifically for Hyper characters inventively called the Hyper room.
The main living room area contains dozens of couches, chairs, tables, a large fireplace, a bar/kitchen set to one side of the room, doors to the other rooms and stairs to the second floor and basement. Other rooms of note are the library, which contains an automatic yiffing machine and the entrance to the Non-consensual area "The Greenhouse". The truth and dare room contains a spinning bottle script and a bell to summon those who have signed up for the truth and dare games that take place in the room.
The second floor contains private rooms that can be locked from the inside for privacy. The third floor contains rooms for residents who live at Herm Haven, and rooms are freely linked to Herm Haven by contacting DragonFire.
Herm Haven is located on Mink Boulevard, on East Mercer Island, but is almost always reached by its teleport pattern T hermh.
In Fiction - Herm Haven[edit]
The name and concept of a club catering to hermaphrodites has also crossed into fiction; for example, the Forest Tales of Bernard Doove's Chakat universe. Two or three of his stories mention the "Double H" club, located in Melbourne, Australia in a fictional future world; this club is known to its habitues as the "Herm Haven". Membership and access to the club facilities is strictly limited to hermaphrodites. In a fourth-wall breaking manner, the club also functions as a gathering point/character list for fanon and non-canon characters in the Chakatverse. Although the Melbourne location is the only one discussed in detail, it is implied that it is one of many in a global chain of such clubs; there is also a possibility that there are off-world branches as well.[2]
Within the context of the Chakatverse, the club adheres closely to the conventions of other hermaphrodite clubs - it's described as being elegant and comfortable, and provides facilities to support and encourage social activities and sexual encounters between its members. The building is described as 'modern but understated building with doors lettered with the words – The HH Club – in letters five centimetres high.' The lobby is as far as non-members can go; there is a reception desk and the administration office to the left. Access to the remainder of the club is for members only, through a pair of double cherrywood doors each adorned with a large capital 'H' in brass.
The members-only portion of the club is not completely defined, but certain features are explicitly stated. Past the double doors, the corridor makes a dogleg to the right; this is specifically identified in the story as being done to prevent anyone in the lobby being able to see into the club interior when the doors are open. There is mention of an elevator to other floors; some facilities are identified (function room, accomodations, etc.). The corridor then opens into a lounge (which includes a bar) with seating groups for easy socializing. The lounge also provides access to a restaurant, a restaurant and another room identified as "The Green Room". Nudity and offers of sexual liaisons are permitted in there, and there are private rooms off it for couples to make use of.[3]
The kitchen for the restaurant is located so that it can also cook for cafe located next to the club, and which is open to the public; this provides a venue for members to mix and socialize with non-member friends and family. The Herm Haven club actually owns the entire block of buildings and leases many of them to other, usually hermaphrodite-owned, businesses. The accommodations at the HH are described as being apartments, but exactly how they are laid out, and what type (studio, glorified hotel room, etc.) is not known. The club also offers a gymnasium on the top floor of the club; the gym opens to an open-air deck around a roof-top pool. There is also a first-aid facility on the premises, though the nature and scale of its capabilities is not described.[4]