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Did you know there are canines in Starfleet? Huskies tend to end up in lower deck engineering and sometimes stuff does get a bit awkward as … huskies.  For the record about the short sleeves and the collar, In Starfleet they allow modifications of things like that if they are cultural and well given the fur.  Given the shedding problems tend to have to make early trips into the sonic shower and some blowing to collect excess before going on duty.  I can get written up for leaving tons of fur in the jefferies tubes.  This is also what happens when said huskies get their hands on the turbo lift systems and add elevator music.

(For the record I’m a complete dork that wastes way too much time trying to screw with old media, forgive me)

Huskies in Starfleet

Fox and Burger Podcast #5: The Making of Thaitails, Thai Furries, + More - Feat Kiyochii & Aulder. ---- We're bringing not just one but *two* guest in a first for the Fox and Burger podcast! Meet and Kiyochii and Aulder. For this episode, we're going back to the Land of Smiles to talk a little bit more about Thai furry fandom and Thaitails. Kiyochii is the con chair of Thaitails, Thailand's sole fur con. He is also a break dancing hobbyist as well as an adorable fox. With him on this episode is Aulder, the mischievous white wolf. Join us as delve deeper into the Thai furry fandom with a surprise at the end of the episode! ---- Social Media: Fox: https://twitter.com/foxnakh Burger: https://twitter.com/L1ghtningRunner Aulder: https://twitter.com/AulderWhitefur Kioychii: https://twitter.com/kiyochiithefox Kiyochii's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWyK112229YhH6HSMNzjEgw Thaitails official YouTube: https://twitter.com/ThaiTails ---- Footage Used: https://youtu.be/vNOgHnNtLE0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDYiO16TJaY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2MNlEBgFgw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWD8SFittsw&list=PL847iUOwj095jWR7_WGLnqKNt8FDzbcMo&index=1 https://twitter.com/i/status/1291929781009702914 https://youtu.be/kFnzFcYWb1A https://twitter.com/AulderWhitefur/status/1334137290403155968?s=20 https://twitter.com/AulderWhitefur/status/1307236268275687425?s=20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPDBkVDiNbQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY7odgBJJbE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKvsdd6mD8c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0eXKvExTT0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD_9KKVibKU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPRcHKF4Ci8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axsU2pnWQj4 Stock Photos provided by Pixabay.

Sábado, 13 de Marzo, 2021 de Nuestro Salvador Jesucristo, Guayaquil, Ecuador-Iberoamérica (Cartas del cielo son escritas por Iván Valarezo) The FATHER nailed with ISRAEL to CANAAN: ancient ISRAEL with angels bursts from heaven into earth instantly: Splendidly, our heavenly created

Looks like Culturally F’d is starting a new classic creature feature sort of review show.  Very classic look.

Do you revel in the worst? Do you delight in devouring d-list acting? Do you enjoy terrorizing your brain and your friends with the worst cinema ever put to film? Then meet our host Rattles, your carrion connoisseur, critic of classic c-list cinema and your concierge to THE BONE ZONE. A new series for Culturally F’d for B-Movie reviews!

Trailer: The Bone Zone

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BIPOC FURRY EVENTS

Back in February 2021 I sat down with Kavaeric a (Hong Kong)Chinese-Japanese Canadian immigrant divulging his time between art and learning how to use a dishwasher. He's not quite a human, not quite a dragon, and not quite a robot either! In truth he's a mix of many things, from his backgrounds, to his interests, and demeanor. Despite the oddball or permanent fish out of water syndrome he's gone through throughout his life he's learned to appreciate it about himself thanks to the furry fandom. 

He goes on to detail the cultures he's been a part of and how they differ from one another. Things get real when we get into a discussion of how BIPOC furries are framed in the fandom at large, and why more privileged furs are more inclined to take the hostile actions they do. Not to mention how North America at large treats Asian people whether they're Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and so on. If you've never heard the term "model minority" this might be the episode you HAVE to listen to. 

This was originally a 3 hour interview that got cut down as much as we could. Sorry for any weird noises! There were some audio-mishaps that couldn't get ironed out during recording. 

As always thanks for tuning in and listening!

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Interview With Kavaeric - Canadian Immigration, East Asia, & Ambiguous Identity

Dear Papabear,
​
My letter is part question, part concern. I know I ask a few questions in the latter, but can you try to answer them, or try to answer the general underlining question I am trying to ask?

Given the state of the world, you constantly hear how bad things are: poverty, rape, corruption, killings, etc. It seems nowadays that the only way to thrive in society and be successful is to put yourself first, to the exclusion of anyone else, and if you do not, you will get stepped over in life and miss out. Either be corrupt in your life and put yourself first, or live your life by what other corrupt people want you to do as they are in charge of society. There seems (from my experience, I could be wrong) to be no real benefits from serving others selflessly because no one writes about it any longer.

Here is an example. My dad is very self centered. He is the type that worked his butt off his whole life, was given no natural talents, his parents divorced when he was in high school, to which his dad left the family and his mom had to raise all of her sons, an environment that required dad to take an active role in helping supporting himself and his mom at a young age. He never talked about his life at all. I only know him during the years I was alive and with him. Today, his success seems to show: he has a rewarding job, money, his health, a girlfriend, lives in CA (his favorite place in the world), and I think he is happy; he even divorced mom because he thought he deserved better than her. The only thing that seems to be wrong in his life now is he has to work 60 hours a week to keep up. (He manages the entire development and production of medicine.) In other words, he looks, acts and more or less is the example of "work hard and success is yours."

However, he is a narcissist, self-centered and very egocentric. He acts like everyone who is not above him can be treated like an inferior and he can act however he likes. Including his family (old and perhaps new). To the point I want to believe that all the wrongs he has done will come back to get him one day, but now I am starting to think that this is life, and you can and will get away with wrongdoing. He is the reason I think karma does not exist that much.

When I was living with him and was working (I was living with him as he provided free rent and help when I was taking collage classes), I live with my mom because I thought college would be better with Mom. But at the moment, I dropped out and work full time as a delivery driver for a pizza place. He would outright discourage or forbid me from tithing. He says what money I make at my job I should save, spend it on myself, help pay for groceries, and, in his words, "If you want to tithe you can tithe to the house." Even if I did all he requested, he still says to keep what I make. When I asked him why not give money, he said it is unnecessary. (I can see his viewpoint: it is not essential to give to those in need as their lives will not affect your life in any way, and what good you do for them will not give you anything, and therefore it is not worth doing.) Though it does help them, it is not a requirement, is what he thinks.

For example (one of countless, this just demonstrates his personality), one point, when he tasked me with selling the garage refrigerator that was unused, I had a potential client, but rather than picking it up herself she wanted us to send it to her via delivery. She sent enough funds to pay for the fridge and a few extra hundred to pay for shipping, which we had to set up ourselves. Dad thought she was taking advantage of me and told me to decline her order and find someone else. He also read my emails to her and noticed how nice I was to her, expressing patience and understanding about her current situation. (I forget what it was now). He did not like that in the slightest, and several days after he said, "It is not your job to be nice to others, they will take advantage of you. You should only be nice to your family" (blood family, that is).

To summarize, my dad is who inspired me to give and be as selfless as I can. Not because he showed what good helping others can bring, but because he set such a bad example on what success is. I realized I did not want to be successful. The pleasure of success is not worth the price it costs others.

But as of now, I am starting to doubt being selfless is better. I feel like what I do is not enough. Currently, I am working full time at a job to raise money for the sake of helping someone with debt and living expenses, I ask for additional hours at work to increase what I can give as well as be of service more at work. (I try to go with the attitude of "what can I do for others, and what I make goes to my friend" (I keep almost none of what I make; I only take money for gas and occasionally $50 to treat myself, but everything else goes to my friend as I do not have any expenses for myself atm).

Is this a sign that I need to expand my efforts to other things and other people?

So on to my questions.

What good things have you experienced in life that was a direct result of serving others? Not just small things like feeling good for donating money or helping, but real treasures from sacrificing lots and giving lots? Is living selflessly instead of selfishly worth it?

What can you tell people who try to take active effort into serving others, when they feel like their work means nothing in the end, like what they do to serve others is fruitless in the sense of what they do does not help enough to make any real difference, and those who try to do good for others (selflessly without expecting anything in return, not out of wanting something back) that fear that they will wind up with nothing in the end.  In other words, do you think that living self-centeredly (if not immoral and greedy) would be best?

What do I do?

Anonymous

PS: I am aware that the law of generosity also says "give one season, receive another season" as in what works you do will not have any immediate rewards, it takes time. I am not writing out of distress.

* * *

Dear Furiend,

These are profound questions you are asking. Let's take it a step at a time, starting with definitions. What does it mean to be "selfish"? What does it mean to be "selfless" or "altruistic"? Selfishness means to only do things that benefit you in some way (financially, materialistically). Your dad seems to follow the path of selfishness, although even he will say that it is okay to help one's own blood family, so he's not 100% selfish. On the other hand, it is not selfish to make sure you are not being used by someone, and it is not selfish to make sure that others do not harm you in some way, or that by helping them, you hurt yourself. This is to say that you need to be sure you are financially secure and physically and mentally healthy first, because when you are not, you are of no use to anyone, including yourself. So, if you, say, don't give a few dollars to a beggar on the street because without that money you would go hungry, that is not necessarily selfish. But if you are well-to-do and have more than you need, then hoarding your money and refusing to help others is selfish. Your dad, apparently, went through a rough childhood, a very scary one in which he struggled to make sure he and his family could survive. This likely planted the seeds for his current attitude.

So, what is being selfless or charitable mean? It means to realize that you are not the center of the world, that the human race and, indeed, the world benefits when people work together as a community, helping each other to build a better world. It doesn't mean that you have to do this to the exclusion of your own health and well-being, but it recognizes that no person is an island. Selfless people give to their fellow humans and to their communities not in the hopes that there will be a payback someday but, rather, because when we create a better, kinder, more loving world, we all get to live in it and enjoy the benefits of that world.

A perfect example of the above is the United States of America. The current capitalist system and influence of conservative politicians has created a world in which the 1% have 90% of the country's wealth. They don't share this wealth; they hoard it for themselves. The idea of the "trickle-down economy" in which giving tax breaks to the wealthy and letting them build huge hoards of gold like dragons in caves does not work, as proven by numerous economists. What IS the result of such hoarding? Well, we now live in a country where people are literally dying from lack of money and health care, where the infrastructure that everyone uses is crumbling, and where there are high crime rates and drug use because people are desperate, depressed, and without hope. This lowers the quality of life for everyone. And it also creates political unrest and destabilization. Furthermore, on a worldwide scale, it has led to global warming, which is going to destroy coastal cities and lead to mass migrations, war, and water shortages that affect the wealthy as well as the poor.

When your dad tells you that being kind and generous to others offers no payback, that is because he is thinking in financial, materialistic terms. Will volunteering to plant trees earn you money? No. Will donating clothes to a charity buy you a new wardrobe? No. Will helping a roommate get through a difficult time in their life by helping to pay their bills or giving them a shoulder to lean on get you a job promotion or a university grant? Of course not.

The rewards of being a good, kind, generous, and selfless person are largely intangible. Imagine the kind of world we would live in if everyone followed kindly principles? We could literally eliminate hunger if billionaires decided to use their excess money to feed people. We could get rid of pollution and make the fear of climate change a memory if corporations were not so profit-driven to pollute so they could please their stockholders. There would be no war if no one tried to take over other countries or deny others their religious beliefs or ethnic background. Students wouldn't be buried in school loan debt if we made college education free, and this would lead to an economic boom, too. Yet, none of these acts would benefit the donors financially, materialistically.

The key to being selfless is not expecting a payback. It's not charity if you expect money or favors in return (and it's not being a good Christian if you are only nice to people because you expect to be rewarded in Heaven). How would you feel if someone gave you a birthday present worth $50 and then said, "Okay, that cost me $50, so now you owe me." Would you think that was a good friend or family member? Now imagine yourself giving someone a present that they truly didn't expect and that they totally love. Doesn't that put a big grin on your face?

Oh, and guess what? When you feel joyful for making someone else happy, that improves your mood and this, in turn, improves your health. Studies show, too, that happy people live longer! Isn't that payback? And that one is actually quite tangible! (Note: this benefit requires that the giver have empathy; some people lack empathy, sadly).

All this is not to say you should allow yourself to be used. No. This seems to be your father's fear, and perhaps comes from personal experience. He sees everyone out there as a potential user, and so he has built walls around himself to prevent outsiders from using him. The problem with this is that now he lets no one in and he has, frankly, become a big douchebag. He might look happy and materialistically successful on the outside, but it is rare for such people to have loving, caring relationships. They tend to have trophy spouses, have family that resent them, and are in constant fear of losing what they have (which is why he works 60-hour weeks). This is what engenders conservative politicians. It is the same mentality that creates dictators. Sure, the dictator is all-powerful, but he is in constant fear that he will be assassinated or overthrown and put in prison. That is not a happy life.

As to your concern that helping others won't make a difference, you are incorrect. I can understand why it might seem so. When we are overwhelmed by the media reporting wars, poverty, pandemics, global warming, political corruption, and on and on, it can be discouraging. What can one person do? 

A lot, actually. 

When you exert acts of kindness in the world, it has a cascading effect, the results of which you might not see or realize (at least, not right away), but they are there. Being nice to others can make the people you are kind to say, "Hey! There are good people in the world! This makes me happy, and now I want to pay it forward!" Like a pandemic where one person can infect three or four people, and those people infect three or four people, and on and on until millions are sick (maybe not the best analogy), so, too, do acts of kindness spread around the community and the world. And those acts of kindness can be seemingly tiny. For example, compliment a coworker or a restaurant server. Take the trouble to tell the boss at a fast food place that you thought Sarah at the cash register was very kind to you. It doesn't have to cost money to be nice and to put a lot of good vibes out into the universe.

You ask me, directly, in your letter, "What good things have you experienced in life that was a direct result of serving others?" The letter you are reading is an example of what I do selflessly. I don't get paid for writing this column. I don't get awards or even, really, any recognition. Yet, I feel like it has done a lot of good for many people (cf. https://www.askpapabear.com/testimonials.html). You added, "Not just small things like feeling good for donating money or helping, but real treasures from sacrificing lots and giving lots? Is living selflessly instead of selfishly worth it?" Again, in this question, you are looking for evidence that selfless people get back "real treasures" for their acts, although you don't really specify what qualifies as such a treasure, though you assert that "feeling good" is insufficient reason.

Other than what I have noted above, writing this column gives my life a sense of purpose, and that is a profound reward. You see, I started writing this column right about when I was in my midlife crisis years, wondering what the hell my life was all about. It wasn't enough just to be doing okay, making money enough to live. I wanted a purpose, and writing this column gives me that. It is the most rewarding thing that I do in my life other than helping my disabled spouse and other family members. What is, after all, the purpose of life? Is it just to exist? Is it just to hedonistically pursue pleasure? I, for one, don't believe so. I have concluded that the only thing that truly brings me happiness is not material goods or money or even sex. It's making the world a better place as much as I possibly can.

I hope that answers your questions.

Bear Hugs,
Papabear

"Awoo, Who’s This?" is an intriguing anthology that takes a unique approach to the way anthologies are usually organized. The stories within are focused around a centered theme, but the theme itself is a trick. Essentially, this anthology is a group of authors trying to imitate each other. We, as readers, are simply along for the ride.

That’s about where the common theme stops. Since each author likes to write in their preferred genre, each story is completely different. The remaining product is a grab-bag of stories, starting with “Callie’s Luck,” allegedly by Rose LaCroix. An important note about each story is that the author listed on the table of contents is not the actual author of that particular story. (I like to mention the authors’ names in my reviews to make sure they get the credit they deserve, so I’ll be using the actual authors’ names going forward.) SPOILERS AHEAD.

“Callie’s Luck,” by Kuroko, is a tale of desire. It’s not too long, has two main characters, and is a pleasant start to the anthology. John, a coyote pilot, works as a cargo delivery dog in the deep recesses of space. The story starts off with him recalling the time he spent with Callie, a cat that stole his heart--and his old ship. When the two meet up again, Callie says she needs John’s help to retire. As they discuss what’s happened in their lives since Callie ran off, John has to decide if helping this cold cat is worth his time. The main thing I want to mention is the narrative style of this story. It’s set up to make John the protagonist which isn’t really a surprise until the end when a ‘You in?’ gets thrown in to make us, as readers, characters in the story as well. It’s subtle, but the story reads as an almost noir-style retelling of this cat that got away. You feel sorry for John, the same type of sorrow that you’d feel for a close friend going through a break-up. I really like how Kuroko worked this style into her piece, and I think it was absolutely perfect for a short tale like this.

Continuing along the sort-of noir-style theme, Bill Kieffer writes about a newspaperman named Clark Kenmore in his story, “Stay Dead.” Clark, a wolf, starts recollecting about a particular case involving a serial killer named Sweet Butcher. A series of murders has left the city scared. Everyone wants the killer to be caught, including the killer himself. Clark just so happens to be the one with the most verbal contact to him. Phone call after phone call leaves Clark more tired and more confused about the killer than before, and the police can’t seem to do anything about it. After a close-call with an imposter, Clark thinks he knows who the killer is, and he decides to take action into his own paws. I enjoyed this story for the most part. It was exciting, suspenseful, and well-written. I really liked that the killer was more complex than I originally thought. It had all the tension needed to bring a mystery to its long-awaited conclusion. However, it was the conclusion that I had a bit of a problem with. When I first approached the ending--when I started figuring out who the killer was--I felt like the cords of tension were being cut nicely. One after the other. But the knife didn’t seem to go all the way through, so I was left with feeling a bit confused. Things added up, stuff made sense, but I don’t think there was enough falling action to make it as satisfying as it could have been. The story definitely had the dark, solemn mood it needed, but it didn’t really follow through with all the problems and questions it introduced. I wanted to know about how the other characters felt about what happened, but I never got that.

“Caged Beasts” by Thurston Howl introduces us to a story about lust, passion, and desire. It’s Friday night at the Satin Menagerie--a mansion that fills itself with moans and grunts over the entire weekend--and Carmilla, a vixen, prides herself on entertaining her guests. Her pets, Damien and Nikki, are there to pleasure and entertain her. After their romp, however, Carmilla has to decide whether they did a good enough job to earn their freedom. This story was interesting, to say the least. I liked the beginning, but as the story went on I found it hard to enjoy. The intimate moments were written really well. Personally, I’m not a fan of dark sex, which wasn’t the majority of this story, but it did play a part towards the end. And that’s what killed the mood for me. I did enjoy the concept of a sex-filled mansion, however.

Vincenzo Pasquarella brings us a tale of horror in his piece, “Horror.” Not a very creative title, but I liked the story. Joshua, a fox, wakes up to see the house he’s in basically destroyed. With a looming fear that he was the one that caused the destruction, he searches the burned rooms for his friends, only to find their corpses lying on the ground with blood everywhere. A voice breaks through his terrified mind, but it doesn’t belong to anyone he knows… As short as this story was, I really enjoyed it. There isn’t much of a plot, but the hints we get from the voice talking to Joshua give us a haunting nightmare of what could have happened to him in the past few hours. I like that it’s all aftermath; we never get told what actually happened, only what might have happened. Joshua’s solemn self-doubt, as well as the horrifying descriptions of his surroundings when he wakes up, give this story a wild start that immediately captivated me. The ending is just as scary, leaving me with all sorts of possibilities as to how Joshua will live his new life, if he even has a say in it.

“The Prince with Obsidian Eyes” by Rose LaCroix is a longer story about a wolf named Preston that has the power to see into one’s past through physical contact. After he retells a story from his college days, he gets a hit on a gay messaging app from a so-called ‘Black Prince.’ Wasting no time, he sets up a date with the Black Prince and finds out what it means to be dominated...but not in the way he’s used to. Things turn dark when the Black Prince orders him to put someone in mortal danger. Preston has to decide whether being a sub in this instance is worth the danger, but he might not even have a choice. I felt that this story was going one way in the beginning, and then takes a completely different turn halfway through. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the way it’s written makes it feel contrived and unnecessary. The introductory story about Preston’s aunt serves as foreshadowing, which is okay. But then it goes into Preston’s story about how he lost his virginity, which doesn’t really need to be there in my opinion as it only serves as a long-winded explanation as to how his power works. I enjoyed it, but I enjoyed it because I thought that’s where the story was going. Halfway through, the Black Prince is introduced and the whole mood of the story switches from hopeful to creepy. I really liked the concept of Preston’s power, but felt the story didn’t really make use of it as much as it could have. Overall, I didn’t really like it because it felt too much like a mash-up of concepts that never had enough time to flesh themselves out.

Alison Cybe writes about a rabbit captain named Aeyon in their short story “Nine Shots.” In a deep space battle against pirates, Aeyon comes to learn that each hit on her ship kills another member of her crew. When the key jobs are no longer functioning, she has to take the initiative to try and save the ship and the remaining crew. But the situation is looking bleaker and bleaker as the battle continues. Soon, the pirates manage to dock with her ship. Aeyon is doubtful she’ll get out of this alive, but she’ll be damned if she doesn’t try. There isn’t much plot to this story either. It feels more like it’s written to be a scene, but it’s definitely an exciting one! I’m a sucker for tragedy--those moments when it feels like there’s no hope or things are crashing down all around the protagonist probably capture my interest the most. That’s what this story does very well in only a few pages. There’s an immediate threat that’s met with an immediate hope, which in turn creates immediate tension that I can latch onto. Granted, there’s no real resolution and no real climax, but the sad descriptions Cybe gives us through Aeyon’s eyes really add to the bleak mood of the piece. Wish there was more to read!

The last story in this anthology is “Rewrite” by Nathan Hopp. It’s a short story about two young adults, Matt and Leaf, that meet in secret at a Hatsukoi Motel--a motel that manages its rooms with a rather nosey A.I. The year is 2056 and AniGens--a hybrid species of humans and anthropomorphic canines or felines--live with humans as the dominant species on Earth. Matt, a human, meets up with his boyfriend Leaf, an AniGen, for the first time since they’ve gotten together. Shortly after the two embrace, Matt orders the A.I. to shut down its projection, leaving it to simply observe the intimate moments that follow. The next morning, however, leaves Matt with doubts. In a world where discrimination against AniGens exists, how will his future turn out if he decides to be with Leaf forever? He confronts Leaf with his doubts when Leaf returns with breakfast, only to have the moment soured in an emotional argument. Now, Matt has to refer to the A.I. for help in addressing this situation, a solution he never would have considered if he hadn’t reserved a room at the Hatsukoi Motel. I greatly enjoyed this story! The main thing I liked about it was the creative use of the A.I. perspective. It felt intrusive when it needed to be, and it backed off at specific points that allowed me to be more of an active consumer of the story. I also liked that the A.I. had a personality and wasn’t a completely neutral figure. Leaf and Matt weren’t the most interesting characters, but they didn’t really need to be. I felt they were used more as vessels to convey the conflict, which was fine for a short story such as this. It was nice to see a different use of ‘furry’ as well. Making them hybrids and giving them their own history spruced up the worldbuilding which I always appreciate in a story.

Frankly, I don’t really understand the appeal of the ‘imitation’ theme of this anthology. I’ve had the opportunity to read only one of these authors prior to this book, so the game of guessing who wrote which story didn’t really entertain me. The idea actually confuses me a bit because I’m not sure which author of a certain story to look up if I liked their work. Do I look up the author who actually wrote it? Or do I look up the author they tried to mimic? It just left me tilting my head to be honest. That being said, I don’t think this anthology was meant to be super serious. It felt more like a group of authors just having fun. Nothing wrong with that. But that leaves me questioning why this particular anthology was set up to be a fundraiser for the Furry Writers Guild (especially since ‘Guild’ is misspelled on the front cover--not a good look). I couldn’t get a good taste of any author’s writing style. Having read "From Paw to Print" just last month, I felt that "Awoo, Who’s This?" paled in comparison. The personal strengths and interests of each author in "From Paw to Print" were way more captivating and would have definitely gotten me more interested in the guild than this anthology. "Awoo, Who’s This?" has a few typos here and there, though none of them are too distracting. My main gripe with this anthology as a whole is the lack of consistency with the length of the pieces. Some of them are complete short stories whereas others feel more like scenes. Neither of these are inherently bad, but I think the anthology would have been better if it stuck to one style or the other.

I think this book would only really appeal to fans of the authors involved. There’s no real overarching theme that’s easy to latch onto, and the lack of consistency in the length of the pieces really threw me off as a reader. I would suggest that anyone under eighteen not pick up this anthology since it does contain sexual and violent content.

Awoo, Who's This?, compiled by Thurston Howl

Do you revel in the worst? Do you delight in devouring d-list acting? Do you enjoy terrorizing your brain and your friends with the worst cinema ever put to film? Then meet our host Rattles, your carrion connoisseur, critic of classic c-list cinema and your concierge to THE BONE ZONE. A new series for Culturally F'd for B-Movie reviews! Merch, Sweet Tees and stuff: http://www.culturallyfd.com https://teespring.com/stores/culturally-fd-merchandise Support Culturally F'd: https://www.patreon.com/culturallyfd Plus a Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/gsz8us7

TigerTails Radio Season 13 Episode 03. Join the Discord Chat: https://discord.gg/SQ5QuRf For a full preview of events and for previous episodes, please visit http://www.tigertailsradio.co.uk. See website for full breakdown of song credits, which is usually updated shortly after the show. Backing music by Sanxion7.

Updates! We love updates! A couple years ago we told you about a new animated film in the works call Koati, directed by Rodrigo Pérez Castro. Well now Animation World Network has some recent news: “Grammy Award-winning artist Marc Anthony and his Magnus Studios team are partnering with Sofia Vergara on her new animated feature comedy, Koati.  Produced by Upstairs Animation, Latin WE Productions, and Los Hijos de Jack, the film follows three unlikely heroes: Nachi, a free-spirited coati; Xochi, a fearless monarch butterfly; and Pako, a hyperactive glass frog, as they embark on an adventure to stop a wicked coral snake Zaina (Vergara) from destroying their homeland and friends. The soundtrack includes 10 original songs performed by notable names in Latin music.” Looks like this film is wearing its Latin American pedigree loudly and proudly. Keep your ears open for news on a release date!

image c. 2021 Upstairs Animation

Furry punk song from BlackLynk…  It’s honestly nice to see furry punk.

Boss PUNK SONG – “Big Boss Man”

One of the more celebrated (if difficult to find) anime series in recent years as been Interspecies Reviewers — a high fantasy intended for a decidedly adult audience! Well now we’ve discovered that Yen Press has released an artistic tribute manga for the series, Interspecies Reviewers Comic Anthology: Darkness. “Haven’t had enough succu-girls? In this collection of art and short comics, talented Japanese artists such as Okayado (Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls), Ganmarei (Monster Wrestling: Interspecies Combat Girls), and coolkyousinnja (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid) come together for a loving tribute to the monster brothel adventurers of Interspecies Reviewers! Whether it’s new species or old favorites, this anthology has enough hot and steamy action to satisfy any fan!” Well there you go. If you’re old enough to order it you can find all this and more over at Amazon.

image c. 2021 Yen Press

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YouTuber Misha B. Barkin drops in for a visit. Bearly caught that stupid Covid, why is it 'novel'?  We discover we didn't garner enough nominations to be considered for an Ursa Major Award (tear leaks from eye), A new Furry Word is accepted into the official lexicon with the support of the bureau of public greetings. Bearly recaps Season 1 Episode 8 of Cobra Kai (fast forward if you don't want spoilers). Taebyn rants about YouTube. The Potatoheads make the news, and the jokes are truly really really bad this week. Join us for a great episode!

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Thanks to all our listeners and to our staff: Bearly Normal, Rayne Raccoon, Taebyn, Cheetaro, TickTock, and Ziggy the Meme Weasel.

You can send us a message on Telegram at BFFT Chat, or via email at: bearlyfurcasting@gmail.com

Bearly Furcasting #46 - Misha B. Barkin, Covid, MooBarkFluff, Media, Math, Really Bad Jokes

Dear Papabear,

I am having some complex issues with my long term relationship, and I was hoping you might give me your opinion or perhaps your advice. Sorry in advance for the length.

First, I want to say I love my partner James. I’ve never loved anyone more in my life. He was the first person I came out to, and he told me on the spot that he “wasn’t sure if what [he felt] was love just yet, but there is definitely strong attraction [towards me].” We promised that if we were ever single at the same time that we would date. I went through several traumatic relationships that left me with more baggage than I could imagine. But he was always there for me, he helped me feel like me again. After a particularly nasty break up he put my shattered pieces back together, and in that moment I felt like I finally wanted to try with him.

It’s necessary to mention that when James and I started dating it was as a closed polycule of three; James, myself, and my existing partner Rile. Things went well for a while, the three of us even started living together when Rile’s home was undergoing renovations. Everything was great until Five months into dating, when James woke me up to break up with me. Much, much later he told me that he was frustrated by being in a closed relationship. Two depressing months later we got back together under two stipulations, being an open relationship, and having his privacy. We agreed, being poly it was easier to understand certain needs. For me I just wanted my two boyfriends and nothing else.

Rile started spending a lot of time away from home after we all moved back in together. He thought I started falling more in love with James than him. Much complication aside Rile and I parted ways, and I felt myself shifting more towards closed monogamy. All I wanted was James, and for him not to slip away from me. I started to think that him finding someone else would drive a wedge between us, and I would end up feeling just like Rile had towards me. I spoke with James about it, he promised me time to figure things out, but being closed was only temporary as it was one of the conditions of us getting back together. It was appreciated but not the reaction I hoped for or needed in that moment.

He seemed genuine about giving me time to figure out my sexuality, that is until I heard a notification and wanted to bring him his phone. That’s when I saw all of the dating app notifications. You name it, he had it. I just fell to the ground and stifled a pained moan. He had been cheating on me. He promised me that he never did anything in person, but that he did cheat by talking to others and leading them on sexually. He told me that leading people on gave him a sick kick, but it wasn’t entirely sexually motivated. He even admitted that doing so behind my back gave him a thrill.  (This was 10 months after getting back together Nov 4th.)

He told me that if I wanted to break up it was entirely understandable. He also offered me a proposition; though it would be hard for him, he would try to be monogamous for me. That I would be able to look through his phone anytime I wanted to, that I was encouraged to for us. He showed me proof that he had deleted every dating app and his entire camera roll. This was after promising to show me every message he sent another person. Somewhere along the way he decided to change that and delete everything before showing me the phone. Probably to save me from my own anger, and increase the likelihood of me staying with him.

All of this sounds terrible and makes him seem like an awful manipulative person, but I do have genuine romantic feelings for him. Through our years together in and out of relationship, we have shared so very much, and I would be honored to call him my husband one day. For a while after that we were fine, and monogamy was followed through on as promised. I still wanted to check his phone, but I never found the courage to overpower the social awkwardness to ask.

When I did finally check up on him using his Facebook and Twitter accounts. I saw countless RP’ing convos, and more "lead on" conversations as he claimed them later. In particular there was where he told an old friend “I’m stuck in a relationship I can’t get out of.” When I confronted him he said that was mad that he made that promise to me initially [Nov 4], but had grown to support the decision since then [Dec 1], and that this whole thing was a slip up. Again he promised to let me see each convo, and instead blocked and deleted them, before I could see everything. We agreed that he could still RP as long as he told me or asked me.

I checked his open phone another night and found many more RP sessions he didn’t tell me about. In particular I found a conversation where he texted/rp’d? about cuckolding me by having sex with someone else in front of me. This seemed to be (out of character speak) too, he and Vlad constantly specified about talking when I wasn’t around which made it all worse. He claimed that it was just RP, not real, and not sexual, even though he sent messages about riding his dildo to the convos with Vlad. He promised me that he RP’ing with Vlad in particular was off limits, which I know now didn’t stand. I keep seeing messages from Vlad on his phone.
There was even a time where I made an RP account to test him, he took the bait and started RP’ing me while laying in bed next to me pretending to sleep. When I confronted him and told him it was me, he immediately refused to RP with me, and still refuses today.

Lastly, there is the issue of his sex drive. The first and only time we have had sex, aside from two botched attempts, was our very first date years ago. James has been going through a dry spell as he calls it, where he wants desperately to bleed me dry every day, but now is embarrassed and unmotivated due to his lack of a sex drive not aligning with his desires. I have always tried to be understanding of this issue when poaching the idea of sex. But the way he has shot me down countless times now makes me feel disgusting and unwanted. My will to try having sex with him is completely broken, to the degree that I openly fear discussing any of my own sexual desires with him. On top of that is that I am a switch, he is a firm bottom. The few times I slip into a submissive mindscape I want or need him to take on the role of a Master. Recently, I slipped and called him Master, to which he promptly refused to ever accept the title. Hearing him say that broke something very deep inside me, and I haven’t been able to think of him the same since. I love him with every part of me, beyond anything or anyone I have ever known.. and yet, I don’t trust him.

I can’t stop invading his privacy, I am constantly checking his phone, Facebook and twitter. It constantly seems like he’s covering up his mistakes as soon as I find them. I feel sexually unwanted, due to his “dry spell”, and constant RP sessions with everyone other than me.
I feel disregarded and hurt for my occasional need for him to take on a “Master’s” role. Some nights I go to bed distracted by how much I love him, or from us just having a good day. But there have been just as many times I have stayed up unable to sleep next to him.

I don’t want to leave, I don’t want a break, I don’t want to be broken up with.
I want him all to myself.
I want to stop feeling like the bad guy.
I want to stop feeling ashamed of what I want out of this relationship.
I want to be able to trust him again.
I want to be able to call him Master when I need to.

I don’t know how to tell him any of this. I don’t know where to start at this point. I constantly fear that I’ll reach his limit of how willing he is to work anything out, and that he’ll break up with me again. I fear that he will see the real depth of how much he has hurt me, and how much he continues to hurt me, and that he will panic. I’m so scared that one day he’ll wake up and think how much better I would be without him. I’m utterly terrified.

Please let me know what you think, and how you think I could move forward.

Thanks for listening,
Lindell Fox

* * *

Dear Lindell,

Your relationship with James is severely broken, as you know. This is a case in point in which, when two people are not sexually compatible, it can easily spell doom for that relationship. This just happened to someone very dear to me who is now getting a divorce after a long, monogamous marriage because the other person wanted to suddenly go poly and began ignoring her spouse in favor of the new third party. Poly relationships can work. Open relationships can work. But ONLY if everyone is on the same page and there is no jealousy and mistrust. Reading your letter, there is mistrust all over the place; there is lying; there is cheating; there is bad communication; and there is sexual frustration because you are, frankly, incompatible in the bedroom.

The biggest mistake that people in an incompatible relationship try to do is make the other person change or (incorrectly used) "grow as a person," which just means, "change so that they do what I want." Look, Lindell, you have four choices here:

1. Keep the status quo, which will likely make you and James both miserable.
2. Keep insisting that James change, and though he might try it is highly doubtful he will be able to permanently suppress his sexual urges.
3. You could try changing to be more like a sexual partner he wants, but that would make you miserable.
4. Realize that you are not compatible as lovers, and either accept that and remain together as partners with no sex life, or don't accept it and part ways (hopefully, as friends, which is possible)

Of these choices, the only one that has a chance of helping you and James to find a satisfactory sex life is the fourth one. Now, is sex everything in a loving partnership? No, it is just one facet, though a big one. Sometimes sex is not a factor at all, but that is usually not the case with young, healthy couples such as yourself. The reason you are fighting this inevitable conclusion is that you want to keep James in your life because other than this one issue, you love him. I can certainly understand that you don't want your partnership to change. For the most part, it's comfortable and familiar and cozy.

I wish to stress that you are not the "bad guy" and you shouldn't feel "ashamed" for what you want. There is nothing wrong with the things you want; it's just that the things you want do not coincide with what your partner wants.

Your letter likely helped you work out some of the thought processes and emotions running through your head. Hopefully, my reply will help you wrap that process up and finally come to a conclusion as to what you should do.

Hope that I've helped you figure it out.

Hugs,
Papabear

So…. Ryan Reynolds isn’t a furry …. BUT.

It’s a simple playbook, people: Cartoon mascot ✅ Jingle ✅ Delicious product ✅ Blood, drug, bodily function jokes ✅

HighKey Adorable

Nostalgia comes out of its shell again… Recently Dotemu and Tribute Games brought us Shredder’s Revenge — a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game notable for its look, based heavily on the oh-so-popular 1980’s animated TV series. “Get ready to take control of your favourite pizza eating and butt-kicking turtles, as Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael gear up to take down Shredder and the Foot Clan in TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge!” Check out the trailer on YouTube, and check out the game over on Steam. Cool!

image c. 2021 Tribute Games

Resources, Social Media & Donation Links
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BIPOC FURRY EVENTS
STOP AAPI HATE!

Back in February I met with Mikasi Wolf, a Hainanese writer that's been in the furry fandom for over 14 years. He goes into detail about his culture and what things are like on his side of the world in Singapore. Day to day life, the Covid-19 response, and even how different groups fit together are discussed. Turns out things are a little different over there and that's pretty neat!
 
Mikasi also discusses how and why writing is so overlooked in the fandom, and where his passion for it comes from. It's clear to me he cares deeply for his stories' characters and themes going as far as to research other cultures to represent them well with fleshed out pasts and back stories.

As always thanks for listening out there and don't forget to follow the guest! 

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Interview With Mikasi Wolf - Singapore, Writing, & Cultural Differences

Before we begin today’s interview, we would like to offer a content warning for those do not which to see anything related to ABDL, Babyfurs, or similar subjects. We would also like to remind people of our Code of Conduct and our expectations for members and prospective members to be kind and respectful. This will not be a place to debate the merits of ABDL — this will be a place to learn about writing for a niche community and get tips for marketing from an expert. Anyone wanting a better understanding of the ABDL community can find a general primer on it here.

Welcome back once again FWG Members and readers! Today we have the opportunity to share a unique perspective on writing with you all thanks to our interview with CK Crinklekid. This forty-two year old author lives in North Central Florida and works for a marketing agency that specializes in sever-figure and eight-figure business.

In his off hours, he writes fiction and poetry predominantly with science fiction of fantasy themes. In his even more off hours, he writes anthropomorphic adult fiction and erotica for the ABDL (Adult Baby/Diaper Lover) and Babyfur communities. His work has been published in various genre publications including Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Magazine and is the author of the BabyFur novel The New Job: The Diapered Adventures of Maxwell Covington.

With the introductions out of the way, let’s get on to the interview!

FWG: What do you think makes a good story?

CK: Honestly, I think characterization is one of the most important elements of any good story. Your characters need to be as close to living, breathing, three-dimensional people as you can get them. The more whole and fleshed-out their characterization is, the more readers will love (or hate, or fear!) them. I find that really compelling characters do half the work of writing the story for me, because if I truly understand who my characters are, what motivates them, what their strengths and weaknesses are, then it’s much easier to have them interact with each other and with the main plot elements in a believable way.

I think that applies to any kind of fiction, whether it’s sexy adult fiction or high adventure. Real people are made up of lots of different elements: I can be sweet and fun, I can be grumpy on my bad days, I can be petty when I’m really annoyed. It’s that multifaceted part of us that makes us who we are, and I think the closer you can get your characters to mimic that, the more the reader will care what happens to them. Your villain shouldn’t be evil just to be evil… that’s too one-dimensional. Real-world villains never see themselves as the bad guys. And the heroes can be noble and brave while still having their own personal demons.

FWG: Can you tell us a bit about your novel?

CK: It’s definitely firmly within the fetish erotica category, but I really want it to be more than that. The main character, Max, is a nineteen year-old golden retriever who has recently gone off to college, and he has struggled for a long time with his sexuality and his kink interests. Out of boredom, he applies for a help wanted ad, but the job he’s offered turns out to be far, far more than he expected. In accepting the job, Max is forced to confront things he has been suppressing for a long time, including his interest in the ABDL fetish.

I wrote the cast of the story to be a broad exploration of masculinity in all its forms. There’s an effeminate drag queen, a trans man, a real bully… the characters run the gamut. In part, the book was my effort to have my own personal “kink reckoning” with myself, and in part it’s giving me a chance to really explore what masculinity means to me.

I’ve always had an interest in the ABDL kink, but it was something I really struggled to accept within myself. And I’ve struggled with my own gender identity as well; I’m a cis guy but I don’t really feel like I identify well with other cis guys and “traditional masculinity”, but I also don’t identify as female. So, in a sense, Max’s adventures are really a way for me to better understand myself and where I fit into the world. And my goal is that other “weird little queer boys” will find some comfort in my stories in a way that I wish I’d been able to have when I was younger.

FWG: So you wrote something within a niche (Furry) for an even more niche audience (ABDL). Yet you’ve been able to sell 189 copies of the book in 8 months since its release. Were there any unique challenges marketing something with what most would consider to be a very small audience?

CK: Challenges AND opportunities, I would say. The biggest challenge that I’ve experienced was the fact that I came out of the blue as a virtually unknown writer within the niche, so building an audience had to start from scratch. I did have a few people within the ABDL community who have followed me over from my YouTube channel, but that was a pretty small audience to start out with.

However, the opportunity to marketing to a very small niche is that they’re really hungry for great content. There aren’t a lot of professional writers who write for them, and so they definitely want content. The challenge is making them aware that I exist.

That’s where I’ve been fortunate. I’ve made a lot of amazing friends who have helped spread my story around through word of mouth, and that got the attention of the organizers of Babyfur Con. They invited me to host a panel at their most recent virtual convention, where I got to sit alongside some truly amazing visual artists within the Babyfur community, like Marci, Wen and Jadefox. If you know anything at all about the Babyfur community, you probably know those names because they’re each just amazing, legendary artists who draw Babyfur art.

The convention panel was a huge success and really got my name out there, and it just keeps spreading as more and more people discover my novel. It makes me super proud and SUPER appreciative.

FWG: Having the opportunity to participate in a panel like that seems like an amazing promotional opportunity. Are there other avenues like that you would suggests authors explore if they want to promote their works?

CK: Step one is to understand who your audience is, who would most appreciate the content you’re creating. Then step two is to go meet them where they are. You could do things like reach out to the hosts of podcasts relevant to your audience to see if they’d be interested in doing a collaboration or an interview. Definitely network with other content creators who are creating content for your audience too; I can’t tell you how many doors have been opened for me by other amazing writers, YouTubers, podcast hosts, magazines, etc.

And then the most important thing is to make sure that what you’re writing, you’re writing from the heart. Write for yourself first, because that authenticity comes through in your writing. If you’re telling a compelling story, whether it’s lesbian lizard erotica or a deconstruction of capitalism through a cosmic horror allegory, your audience will appreciate your work more if you’re writing your truth. That resonates with people and can build word-of-mouth buzz that can take you far.

FWG: As someone who works in marketing for a career, are there any other general tips you could offer authors of publishers to make it easier for potential new readers to find their works?

CW: MAKE. A. WEBSITE. I can’t stress enough how important that is. Especially as we move into the second year of pandemic lockdown, online is everything. A single central hub for your writing looks professional, and it allows you to bring in new readers through search engine optimization. It also gives you a link you can put into your social media profiles to direct readers to learn more about you. It doesn’t have to be anything too complicated, and services like Squarespace or Wix make it very easy to design something that looks professional. But a website is practically a must, even if it’s just a single page that links to other sites where you host your writing (like DeviantArt or FurAffinity).

The other thing I would suggest is to be as active as possible on social media. People appreciate someone who is engaging and accessible, and having a strong social media presence can help you network and meet people to get your message out. Try to avoid being overly “self-promoting” though. That reads as inauthentic. Just be your genuine self and engage with other people in a natural way. That matters so much!

FWG: All authors have had to deal with people who dislike their works at times, or even downright trolls. With the nature of ABDL as a fetish, have you had to deal with this? If so, how have you gone about handling it?

CK: Oh, for sure. There’s this ongoing assumption in the vanilla world that ABDL = pedophile, which simply isn’t true. But there’s definitely pushback that the community has to face all the time, as unfortunate as it is. Honestly, the biggest thing is to remember that someone who is throwing shade or hating on you is usually doing so from a place of fear and not understanding. It’s no different than how rock & roll used to be “the devil’s music”, or how Catcher In The Rye was a “banned book”. People who lash out usually do so from a place of ignorance, and I think it’s important to remember that and try not to take it personally.

With that said, I firmly believe that it’s not the victim’s responsibility to educate their bully, either. So, it’s important to know what your options are and to use them; muting or blocking the person from contacting you and, if necessary, reporting harassment to moderators is always a tool you can use.

In my case, part of why I struggled for some 20 years to come to terms with my AB (adult baby) interests was because I thought people would look down on me for it. And you know what? Some people probably do. But at this stage in my life, I’ve learned that… well, frankly I don’t care what other people think of me. I like myself, and that’s something I really wasn’t able to honestly say through my 20s and early 30s. I feel like taking pride in yourself takes all the power from the bullies, and so generally speaking what little negativity I’ve gotten from others has bounced right off.

FWG: As this is likely many Furry author’s first exposure to things like ABDL, if you could tell them one thing about it and the Babyfur community in general, what would it be?

CK: That it’s just like any other fandom. For some people it’s sexual, for others it’s just a fun hobby. Some people take it to 11 and live 24/7 like toddlers, while others just dip a toe in. It’s a diverse, wonderful community of brave, amazing people. And it is NOT anything like it is so often portrayed in shock media. But the most important thing to know is that it’s a bunch of grown adults who enjoy things like diapers and toys and colorful clothing, and it has nothing at all to do with real children. It probably seems weird to someone outside looking in, but the same could be said for just about every other community, fandom and kink on the internet.

FWG: Anything else you’d like to tell our readers?

CK: Keep writing, and always write the things that matter to you. Your best writing will always be the writing you do for yourself and then share with others. And don’t give up! If my weird little super gay furry kink novel can find its audience, you can too!

We would like to thank CK for sitting down to chat with us and offer his unique perspective and expertise. He can be found on Twitter @CKCrinklekid and more information on his writing can be found on his website. You can purchase his novel, The New Job: The Diapered Adventures of Maxwell Covington, on Amazon. Until next time, may your words flow like water.

New retro Ninja Turtles game with 80s cartoon designs….  Radical.

Get ready to take control of your favourite pizza eating and butt-kicking turtles, as Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael gear up to take down Shredder and the Foot Clan in TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is coming to PC and consoles.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

An epic fantasy adventure aimed at younger readers, North by the Rose features Iona, a heroic white hare on a quest to rescue her brother from his own misguided actions. Iona is blessed by The Rose, her world’s version of a good deity, and is equipped with a magic sword and protective cloak and sent on her way to save her brother from the wicked cult that has seduced him into joining. Along the way, she meets a merry band of critters of varied skills, forms a party of adventurers, and encounters trials and tests to prepare her for the ultimate confrontation both with her brother and between good and evil for the sake of everyone’s future.

I found North by the Rose to be a delightfully charming read. The characters are sweet and distinct, diverse and merry, and the heroine, Iona, is the sort of protagonist anyone can root for. She is brave and destined, but also humble, kind, and vulnerable. Despite wielding a great deal of power, she never strays into unbelievable flawlessness.

Any quibbles I had with the writing were easily overlooked, many of which are simply customary with middle grade fiction. Things were a little over-stated in places, told for the most part, and the story is very linear, striding conveniently directly toward its goal. All of which did nothing to reduce the reading pleasure when keeping the target audience in mind. There were a few things less easily excused, repeating words, and a couple small errors (like using encantus and incantus interchangeably for the same item), but the story was rich and the nitpicks so very minor.

Overall, this is a sweet and charming book which reads like a fable and will appeal immensely to any Redwall fans. This reader easily preferred it to Redwall, to be honest, as it suffers none of the speciesist issues of that franchise. I would highly recommend it to any fan of fable-esque animal tales, Jacques, or Wind in the Willows. And if there are young readers in your life, this is a must-read for them. Even as an adult reader, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

North by the Rose, by M. A. Packer