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When I first saw the call for submissions to Thurston Howl’s Electric Sewer I was uncertain what they meant by “Neon punk.” It’s only after reading it that I think I know: gritty noir set in the 80s or 90s, in this case mixed with THP’s characteristic erotic horror. Electric Sewer is a shared world anthology, meaning that all of the stories take place in the same world. However it’s looser than most similar projects I’ve seen, with the only common element being a nightclub called the Electric Sewer. There, clothing is optional, and blood and cum flow freely on the dance floor, and into the drinks. Don’t visit the back rooms if you know what’s good for you. The book includes a mixtape list of suggested songs to listen to while reading (https://tinyurl.com/electricsewer). Along with a bunch of cocktail recipes based on the different stories. The content warning just before the first story pulls no punches and gives no crap about what is in this book. Yet it still fails to do this pink-lit cesspool justice. DO NOT skip it. The print and PDF formats use a black background and a different color text for each story. The bright colors in the darkness fit the neon night's theme, but ink might rub off on your hands while reading. I haven't had many opportunities to try the cocktails, but the playlist certainly helped immerse me in the dark alleys and dimly lit dance floors. The first story in this anthology, “Electric Groove” by Thomas “Faux” Steele, pitches the reader headlong into the brutal setting of the Electric Sewer. Our protagonist is a respectable government employee by day, party animal by night. But even disguising his species (arctic fox) with red fur dye won’t keep him safe from a bloodthirsty mob hitman. This story establishes the anthology as ridden with gore, both in and outside of sex scenes. But while the villain uses blood as lube I thought it was actually his running a family car into a semi that established his character as a ruthless cat who would slaughter anyone who got in the way of his target. “A Fat Jackrabbit and Other Bargain Oddities Based on a True Story” by Nikolas James has a lengthy title for such a short story. You’ve got a rabbit who has severe erectile dysfunction, and feels like a failure as a male and a bunny. Fortunately, there’s this new food truck in the Electric Sewer’s parking lot that sells this incredible tasting stew with questionable ingredients, and a magical effect on his dick. It could be interpreted as an exploration of societal concepts of masculinity, and the lengths men go to to be seen as manly, but the Electric Sewer seems almost irrelevant here. The food truck of horrors could have been parked anywhere, even a regular sex club or porn shop would have rubbed poor Lonnie’s ED in his face the same way. Cedric G! Bacon’s “The Jack” is the longest story in the book by a wide margin, about a cocky beagle who thought he could beat the unbeatable. While narrated by a would-be card shark, the real focus of the story is Carlos, the Electric Sewer’s rat bartender seen mixing a cocktail of semen and blood on the cover. Carlos is an avid card-player, and as our beagle friend discovers, he plays for very high stakes, and never loses. Try to cheat, and you lose even more. Something that stuck out to me was the beagle claiming he lived a hard life on the streets, but without showing much of his life outside the club it’s hard to see his wager as worth the risk. “The Glow” by Linnea “LiteralGrill” Capps is the only speculative fiction story in this “neonpunk” anthology. I’ve seen a lot of furry characters with “tattoos” with no explanation how they show through fur. This story has a half-feasible version in fluorescent “chem-brands” that stamp permanent glowing designs into the fur. But when a doe develops a fixation with glowing lights after a club encounter with a polar bear covered in chem-brands, could it be that there’s something more than benign chemicals to the brands? The ambiguity of the Glow intrigued me, I’d like to see more about it. Thiger’s “Not Enough” is slow to start, but pays off in time. The POV character is dating a wolf who seems oddly cold, detached, distant. Sometimes he comes home with fresh wounds. One day, the protagonist happens to visit the Electric Sewer during the day, and finds his boyfriend in one of the back rooms. From there, everything changes. This offered a chilling glimpse into the crapsack world the Sewer exists in, our viewpoint character is a club “outsider” of sorts, unaware of the darkness lying beneath his world, much like the readers themselves (one hopes). Thurston Howl’s own story, “Sharp,” is the last story of this collection. We’ve got a gangbanger who leads a gang called “the Razors” and who believes he runs the neighborhood, including the Electric Sewer. Two other gangs, the Pentagrams and CyberSk8ters, have been giving him some trouble for a while, but tonight the Pentagrams have presented him a “peace offering” in one of the Sewer’s back rooms. It’s erotic, it’s horrific, the characters are straight out of a 90s film, it exemplifies the kind of story this anthology was looking for.

Neonpunk is still a new subgenre with few stories in it yet. I look forward to what other authors might make of it in the future.

The Electric Sewer, ed. Thurston Howl

Free short ep, not dead yet.

LINKS
GDQ VODs -  https://www.reddit.com/r/speedrun/comments/kpzqbg/agdq_2021_vod_thread/
Leopard Snacks- https://twitter.com/WPLGLocal10/status/1321576587180052482
Telegram Fan Chat - https://t.me/joinchat/P2iJgznWiMDBt5xS

Southpaws Solo - 2020-II - Free short ep, not dead yet.LINKSGDQ VODs -  https://www.reddit.com/r/speedrun/comments/kpzqbg/agdq_2021_vod_thread/Leopard Snacks- https://twitter.com/WPLGLocal10/status/1321576587180052482Telegram Fan Chat - https://t.me/joinc

Dark comedy gets dark with Julian In Purgatory, a new black & white funny-animal graphic novel written and illustrated by Jon Allen. This is from Kirkus Reviews: “Julian (an anthropomorphized cat) is the son of a former two-term mayor, wearer of expensive shirts, and addict of his coffee-table drug buffet. After his levelheaded girlfriend kicks him out, Julian dredges his list of next-best friends hoping to find money, new digs, and someone who will understand why the world is against him. Though he hates his haters, he can’t help but think that maybe there’s some truth to what they’re saying. Julian’s interpretation of lemons to lemonade: steal a bag of drugs from his dealer and try to make a financial go of it without getting caught. Except he does.” Available this February in trade paperback from Iron Circus Comics.

image c. 2021 Iron Circus Comics

Dear Papa Bear,

Normally, I would not write in to a column about a issue I'm having. However, since this is something I've had a lot of people talk to me about and I don't know the answer, I figured taking it to a higher source makes more sense. So, I am a late 30-something furry, and I've been in the fandom nearly a decade. As I've aged, I've noticed furry has become, for lack of a better term, "tainted" by social politics, gender wars, and identity politics. Unfortunately, much of the issue is coming from a result of the young taking over leadership roles in our community. My question is, what can we "the elder generation" of furries do to maybe help curb the tide of this problem and what do you think of furry becoming so hyperpolitical?

Lotus Wolf (37)

* * *

Dear Lotus Wolf,

Good question, and one I certainly relate to, being a greymuzzle myself. Yes, the fandom is changing, and it is radically different from when it started in the late 1970s/early 1980s. This is the result of a couple of things: 1) the internet, and 2) how it has grown to include hundreds of thousands of people. As the fandom becomes more visible to the general public, it has attracted a lot of people who don't really "get" furry. They are in it more to get attention than to be a part of the fun. Part of getting attention has been to do political things such as becoming a Nazi or Antifa furry. In this bear's humble opinion, furry is not a place for politics (this includes any sexual or gender or identity politics). It's supposed to be a place to avoid mundane things like politics and economics and social pressures. I disagree with you that furry has become "hyperpolitical." Yes, politics have encroached upon it, but not in an all-consuming way--just enough to be annoying.

What to do about it? Number one is to avoid validating people who want to make politics a thing in the fandom (doesn't matter if they are on the right, left, or moderate). They are basically trolls and should be ignored and blocked. Second is to reemphasize the fantasy aspect of the fandom by encouraging and participating in the writing, art, and games of the fandom. Third is to do what we can to educate the younger generations about furry history and who we are. Such things as Ash Coyote's documentary The Fandom can be helpful, or reading books such as Joe Striker's Furry Nation.

Change is inevitable and will continue in any living fandom. There will be good things about the fandom and bad things, but that's okay as long as we don't lose sight of who we are. Communication and education are the best approaches. We should also recognize that some things simply are not acceptable. I, for one, do not appreciate seeing anyone wearing a swastika armband at a furcon (or the Furry Raiders' armband, which is obviously similar, and don't tell me it's not), and I'm not a fan of how Antifa furs have behaved in the past, nor do I care to see furcon room parties for Soviet Furs.

Young people in America, especially, have lost an appreciation for democracy and freedom, sadly. They have been coddled and spoiled and no longer understand how lucky they are. A Cambridge University study showed that 55% of Millennials don't think democracy is important. The failing here is not with the Millenials, however; it is with the older generation and our current politicians who have made a mockery of democracy. What the Millennials are abhorring, really, is the distorted and corrupt "democracy" we now have. The internet, as we have seen so painfully recently, is also to blame for spreading lies and misinformation about our political institutions and a number of politicians.

The furry fandom is a victim of the times. Don't blame furries themselves. I hate when people say things such as "The fandom is just a bunch of furverts and drama queens and haters." No, it's not. Almost everyfur I meet--young and old--is a wonderful person. But it only takes a drop of arsenic to poison the entire cup of tea. More and more, admins in places such as Facebook groups (including me) have been prohibiting politics and hate in their groups. If those who run social websites, furmeets, and furcons remain vigilant, they can do a lot to eliminate or, at least, minimize the problem.

There need to be adults in the room, in other words. And I call on the greymuzzles and other, younger, adults who have taken it upon themselves to assume leadership roles in the fandom to set standards for their groups and organizations. We have seen what happens when supervision is lacking (e.g., the closing of Rainfurest and some other cons). Be an example to the younger furries and you will go a long way toward keeping the furry fandom a fun and enjoyable social phenomenon.

This is an important topic, and I've only brushed the surface of it. I welcome my readers' comments and input below.

Hugs,
Papabear

Here is what I was able to learn from talking to a woman called "Little Mary" regarding The Murder of Dave and Gary. Two kids, yes kids, under 18 wanted to know what it felt like to kill somebody. They ran across Dave and Gary and decided they would be the people they would kill. It was a random

Hello, Papabear,
​
I've had my fursona for quite a long, long time. Ever since I joined the fandom! I've often said that she is a fursona I will keep forever, and never change from. She's very bubbly and energetic, being a small and enthusiastic bunny, and goes by the name crypsalis/cryp (which is my online username most of the time).

Recently, I've felt like I've been stuck between a rock and a hard place in regards to deciding what path to take on life, since I've recently turned 18. With this indecisiveness, I also question my fursona. She is so wholesome and pure, and sometimes I cannot relate to her because the pain I experience just feels so distant from her. This kind of distance has made it feel like I'm not really looking at myself whenever a friend draws art of my fursona with their own.

I've been playing around with some alternate designs for a fursona. One is a female rabbit who looks more anthro/human than my original, and is a bit more calm and like me with my anxiety and whatnot. I see myself in her, but I struggle to draw her as bubbly as Cryp. She is like a reality check through the skull when it comes to how intense my anxiety is, and I'm not sure I want to represent myself in the furry fandom so closely to my insecurities. Another is a male rabbit, who does not resemble me at all, but I love drawing him and even just looking at art of him lifts my spirits. Heck, he doesn't even pertain the same sexuality as me! Though, what he lacks in his physical relatability to me, I feel like I can really see myself as him, or see myself in him. I don't think I have dysphoria, as I've been comfortable being a female my whole life. Though, it's so strange to me that I relate so much with this male character I've come up with that I share no physical resemblance to whatsoever.

Is it healthy to change my fursona to match the struggles I am experiencing in person or to change them so far from any identifiability from myself? Should I be aiming to be more like the bubbly fursona I've had for so long?

Thank you for reading, and much love to you! I hope you are doing well.

Cryp (18)

* * *

Dear Cryp,

Thanks for your good wishes, and I wish you happiness and love right back. Perhaps unfortunately for you, you have caught ol' Papabear in a chatty mood, so here we go . . . .

I could write a book about fursonas (oh, wait, I AM writing one!). The fursona sounds like a simple concept, but it really is not. The word is a portmanteau of "furry" and "persona." Now, "persona" comes from the Latin word referring to the masks that used to be worn by actors on stage. Miriam Webster's dictionary defines it thus: "an individual's social facade or front that especially in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung reflects the role in life the individual is playing."

Fursonas first developed in the furry community online and in gaming. People would adopt personalities and characters to use in games with other players, and these became fursonas. At this stage in furry history, a fursona was just a character, and people had few compunctions about having multiple characters of all types. As the years went by and the fandom evolved, a fursona became a furry's alter ego, so it became something much more personal to many people and not just a mask worn in a game (this, please note, is not universally true; for some furries their fursona is still just a meaningless facade.)

As far as I've seen, one's fursona can represent a couple of different things:

1. It can represent your true self
2. It can represent the person you wish to be but aren't yet
3. It can represent someone you used to be and wish you could be again (e.g., regaining lost innocence)
4. It can be an experiment in what it would be like to be someone or something else

​
Many furries get anxious about picking and designing their fursona because they are the #1 type listed above and they want to get it right. Sounds like that is where you are currently in some aspects. Not to worry. If you are a Type 1 fursona, your fursona can change as you do as you grow older. A furry who is 12 will be different from a furry who is 18 or 27 or 55. I, for example, was not a bear until I discovered the gay bear community and found that is where I felt I belonged. Before that I was a dragon and before that a wolf.

What about being different sexes or genders? That happens, too. I've spoken with a couple of furries whose fursona is a different sex from their own. It doesn't necessarily mean they are gay, either. Sometimes, they just want to try to understand better what it means to be feminine or masculine in a world that imposes arbitrary gender standards on people. You can be a feminine male and still be hetero, for example. Or, you can be a girl who likes racing cars and boxing but still marries a man. All these ideas about what is masculine and what is feminine have no basis in biology but are merely societal.

To get back to your specific case, I suggest this: be all three fursonas. Be Cryp when you're feeling bubbly and fun, be the other doe when you are feeling more mellow and in control, and be the buck when you are in the mood to explore your male side. That's the wonderful thing about being a furry. You can be one fursona or three; you can be your own sex or try another, or try on a different gender; you can have a personality close to your own or completely the opposite.

Melting into your fursona can be something that is just fun and playful, or it can be often be a type of therapy and a tool for personal growth. This is one big reason why I so love the furry fandom as opposed to other fandoms. So, don't worry so much. Be anything you want to be. Try anything you want to try. It's all good.

Hugs,
Papabear

We discuss editing in the fandom Original Air Date: Jun 10, 2015 Ep 42 – The Answer to Life, the Universe and Editing - We discuss editing in the fandom Original Air Date: Jun 10, 2015

We have special striped guest @Robotechtiger on to talk about podiobooks and other writing topics! Original Air Date: May 25, 2015 Ep 41 – Podiobooks and Potpourri - We have special striped guest @Robotechtiger on to talk about podiobooks and other writing topics! Original Air Date: May 25, 2015

We discuss censorship and warnings for books. Original Air Date: May 7, 2015 Ep 40 – We Warned You - We discuss censorship and warnings for books. Original Air Date: May 7, 2015

What bigger entity is there than the writer’s ego? Let’s discuss Original Air Date: Apr 30, 2015 Ep 39 – Stroke My Ego - What bigger entity is there than the writer’s ego? Let’s discuss Original Air Date: Apr 30, 2015

We discuss role play and how you can use it in relation to writing Original Air Date: Apr 12, 2015 Ep38 – Plus Three Wizard Pen - We discuss role play and how you can use it in relation to writing Original Air Date: Apr 12, 2015

Time to talk about your heroes and story makers: protagonists! Original Air Date: Mar 18, 2015 Ep 37 – Protagonists - Time to talk about your heroes and story makers: protagonists! Original Air Date: Mar 18, 2015

We talk about burn out. How you get it and what to do to work through it. Original Air Date: Feb 28, 2015 Ep 36 – Burnt Out - We talk about burn out. How you get it and what to do to work through it. Original Air Date: Feb 28, 2015

We bring on special guest @IanusJWolf to discuss Voice and his favourite genre: Horror! Original Air Date: Dec 3, 2014 Ep 35 – Horror Extravaganza - We bring on special guest @IanusJWolf to discuss Voice and his favourite genre: Horror! Original Air Date: Dec 3, 2014

We talk about world building in your stories Original Air Date: Dec 3, 2014 Ep 34 – World Building - We talk about world building in your stories Original Air Date: Dec 3, 2014

We discuss some random topics after our time at RF 2014 Original Air Date: Nov 17, 2014 Ep 33 – Post RF Grab Bag - We discuss some random topics after our time at RF 2014 Original Air Date: Nov 17, 2014

EXPLICIT WARNING! We have our usual round table author talks where we talk about anything and everything at RF 2014 Original Air Date: Oct 20, 2014 Ep 32 – SWS – Fonts and Claws - EXPLICIT WARNING! We have our usual round table author talks where we talk about anything and everything at RF 2014 Original Air Date: Oct 20, 2014

We discuss how to network at our panel at Rainfurrest Original Air Date: Oct 5, 2014 Ep 31 – Networking at RainFurrest - We discuss how to network at our panel at Rainfurrest Original Air Date: Oct 5, 2014

We discuss antagonists! Also there’s a small intro about defaults in writing before discussing. Original Air Date: Sep 24, 2014 Ep 30 – Big Bad Guy - We discuss antagonists! Also there’s a small intro about defaults in writing before discussing. Original Air Date: Sep 24, 2014

We discuss why fan fiction shouldn’t get a bad rap and tips for writing it Original Air Date: Sep 9, 2014 Ep 29 – Fan Fiction - We discuss why fan fiction shouldn’t get a bad rap and tips for writing it Original Air Date: Sep 9, 2014