Pup Serpen Taki 🇮🇹

Contact Taki:

"Two elements must therefore be rooted out once for all, - the fear of future suffering, and the recollection of past suffering; since the latter no longer concerns me, and the former concerns me not yet." - Seneca

Photo credits: Pup Serpen Taki

PW: Ciao amico! Welcome to the Woodpile! Tell us a little about yourself.

TAKI: Hi, my puppy name is Taki. I am a computer science student. I am 23 years old and in my free time, I am a photographer. Also to earn some extra money, I live alone, but I am trying to become independent.

PW: What does your pup name mean?

TAKI: The name Taki comes from when I was a high school student. I started using it as an online nickname by adding it as a suffix to my old nickname, which was Serpent. From there it went to my furry name, and finally I used it for my puppy name. Taki sounds very simple, short, and easy to identify.

PW: How and when did you get into pup-play?

TAKI: I discovered the world of pup-play shortly after entering the furry fandom. I have always been curious. And finally, after a month of the breakup with my ex, I went to a pride event and met other puppies. After seeing the pups in person, I was hooked. From there, a series of meetings led me to meet others. I must say that I was always very reserved. But after making various acquaintances, having many interesting conversations, and getting into some strange situations, I became more open. and meet many good puppies and explore more and more events.

PW: When in your pup headspace, what kind of pup do you become?

TAKI: I am not a handler and I like to be walked. As for the puppy, I thought a lot about which one I could be. In the end, I decided, since I am Italian, to go with the Maremma sheepdog, which represents my character a lot.

PW: Where do you live? Is that a good place for pups? Is your city lgbtq+ friendly?

TAKI: I live in Italy near Venice. I'm actually quite nomadic, and for various reasons, I move around, so I consider my main city Rome. Italy, at least at a European level, is a bit behind on LGBTQ+ rights, and especially for pup-play. Pups can be found, but if we compare a Pride in Germany, where there are numerous puppies, to the last Pride in Padua, we were six. Obviously the people in Italy who are part of the pup world are really nice and very friendly, but compared to abroad, we are a small community. Having been abroad in Germany and Austria, I recommend those places much more for puppies.

The city of Padua is considered very LGBTQ+ if compared to other cities in Italy. But there are many more open cities. For example, Milan. Then again, there are many more closed cities. I am in contact with a boy who had enormous difficulties in coming out to his parents. I know several peers who continue to be thrown out of the house because they are gay. I myself am afraid with my father. In general, in Italy, the north is definitely more LGBTQ+ friendly than the south, but you can find communities there too. Comparing Italy to other European countries, unfortunately, we are very behind in this respect. We cannot adopt children nor get legally married, and our current government seems to be against us.

PW: I see from your Instagram account that you like to travel. How do you satisfy your wanderlust?

TAKI: Actually, many of the trips I take are due to university conferences and work, sometimes also to the family I have to take care of. When I travel for fun, I go abroad or to small Italian villages. I feel the need to isolate myself from colleagues and people to be more myself, but also to experience new ways of life. For example, this year I visited Essen in Germany. It was my first trip abroad alone without knowing the language, and I managed to survive enjoying and have a great time.

PW: It looks like you have a nice group of friends. Are they also pups?

TAKI: After I got over my COVID-19 depression and anxiety (I was terrified of getting sick and dying), I started going to my city's universities more frequently and watching the lectures in real-time. It was there that I met two colleagues who have been extremely important to me since they helped me start to appreciate life a little more and realize how important teamwork is in fields like computer science. From then on, I began to meet other individuals, like a DJ who introduced me to the Italian LGBT community and helped me learn about other countries. I went to Vienna and met plenty of other people there, including puppies. I had met a few of them abroad at the Regular Table in Essen and The Hive in Vienna. However, I had the opportunity to personally meet a lot of Italians at Pride events and in the clubs where the DJ took me.

PW: What do you find most attractive about pups?

TAKI: It is weird to say, but I think it is nice that I can talk to people without feeling embarrassed—the hood really helps with that—but I am drawn to the mutual respect and behavior that makes us puppies. Even with strangers, I have always found mutual respect—both emotionally and sexually—despite having had a boyfriend in the past who beat me and wounded me a lot, even after I asked him to stop.

PW: Are you single? Partnered?

TAKI: I am not dating right now. I am not interested in dating. There are a few people I would like to get close to, but circumstances prevent me from doing so, such as my plans for after college and whether or not to travel. I have been in three past relationships, but they did not work out. We broke up a few months in.

PW: I met you, as fate would have it, at a time when someone was scamming your IG account. That can be very frustrating and upsetting. Can you tell us what happened?

TAKI: After a trying day at the university, I was about to go to bed when I noticed that Instagram had a copy of my profile with some of my private photos posted. The account had been private at first, but it later became public. What worries me is that this lunatic had written to a few friends, acquaintances, and university colleagues; they obviously knew I was a puppy, but they did not care to see those photos. The same way that I was unaffected by their publication. I immediately asked all of my friends to report the profile, and I spent the entire night observing the new followers and pleading with them to do the same. Clearly, throughout this whole process, a lot of people assisted me with the reports and were very kind to answer me and comfort me, also because I was alone and I was very sad. Now that I have figured out the profile, it was closed after 11 hours of activity—even more if we include all the reports—and I was able to identify the offender, who, in my opinion, has learned his lesson and will now also have to deal with the police. The ones who lost the most were the evil people who acted out of jealousy towards me and recognized that he had made a very foolish mistake. In the end, all that remained were decent people with whom I still communicate, true friends, and anecdotes to tell. Regretfully, I also paid, embarrassed my parents, and lost a few friends who disgusted me rather than supporting me. However, this is great since I feel more confident in myself now. If someone is trying to take your identity, it must indicate that you are awesome in the end, right?

PW: What advice would you give other pups, on and off of social media?

TAKI: For timid pups, I would say that social media is a terrific method to meet people who share your interests, but if you have the chance, go to events and meet people in person rather than just getting to know each other online. But be cautious—not everyone is good. Avoid unpleasant people, learn when to say no, and ask for assistance when you need it. In my opinion, live gatherings are safer than those that take place virtually.

PW: Where will your life take you in 2030?

TAKI: I am not sure yet, but I have a lot of chances right now. I hope to have a decent job and my university project will be successful. After that, I hope to be abroad because there is where I find a lot more freedom.

PW: What’s your favorite food? Do you cook?

TAKI: It is hard for me to pick just one favorite dish because I love so many different kinds of pasta. If I had to, though, I would say my favorite is the "pici ai 3 caci" that I had in Tuscany. For the second course, I would go with the "arrosticini abruzzesi" or "l'abbacchio alla romana," and for dessert, there is nothing better than tiramisù. Even though I still have a lot to learn about cooking, I have to do it because I live alone. Sometimes I make spaghetti for my roommate, and he cooks something for me in return, so we switch off.

PW: If you could have 24 hours for a fantasy date with any person from reality or fiction, who would it be? (all expenses paid)

TAKI: Oh my goodness, I have no idea. Whenever I have arranged nice dates, they have always gone south in some way. Let us just say that if I were dating someone in real life, I would pick an acquaintance since, in all honesty, I would prefer not to mention him. As a result, I choose a fictional one and pick Sosuke from the well-known visual novel "Lagoon Lounge," one of my first crushes. Because of our similar behaviors, I know that I would prefer to be with someone who is different from me, so I pick Gou from the same visual novel.