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A pawsitive goal reached: US$17,004 raised for EF2020 charity partner

Global Furry Television - Tue 21 Apr 2020 - 23:58
Just recently, a fundraiser organised by the charity wing of European furcon Eurofurence has raised US$8,502, which was then matched 1:1 by LinkedIn to obtain the final amount of US$17,004. This was done to support their 2020 charity Cheetah Preservation Foundation in the face of them facing financial difficulties due to COVID-19 and their country […]
Categories: News

COVID-19 and Furries: Move events down in the past two weeks

Global Furry Television - Tue 21 Apr 2020 - 23:56
Furrymosa dealer groups’ booth fee refund form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA… In the past two weeks, more furcons, especially those within May-July, have announced event cancellations. This trend treads dangerously close to events such as Anthrocon, one of the biggest furcons in the world, which is set to be held on 2-5 July. If the virus continues to […]
Categories: News

Forget depressing news, watch these 90’s animated bunnies who help kids stay safe!

Dogpatch Press - Tue 21 Apr 2020 - 09:38

Current news got ya bothered? Take a break with a forgotten 90’s cartoon of total radness!

For many suburban kids in the 80’s and 90’s, riding a bike to the mall was living the dream, along with going to the video store and renting popcorn sci-fi movies, miniature golfing, or playing the TMNT arcade game at the pizza parlor (maybe while rocking out with Chuck E. Cheese.)

Let all of those vibes come at you from Bert and Gert, the bunnies in kneepads with flipped up hats who ride hoverboards, like in Back To the Future Part II. They’re a brother and sister on a mission, but who sent them? Whoever it was, they trust these bunnies to spy on kids using radar wrist watches more advanced than any smartphone yet invented. WHOAH!

Why do they spy on kids? During the boppin’ theme song, we learn that it’s to protect them — from snakes, lightning and optical illusions (??) — but keep watching. This is the 80’s/90’s Stranger Danger genre. It’s not the boring After School Special kind with terrible acting though; this is pure, uncut cartoon magic. It has neon “wonky” aesthetics with the mellifluous voices and irresistible coolness of cereal mascots you wish were your best friends forever.

What kid wants to get in trouble if these bunnies teach them how to stay safe? I know I’M never talking to a stranger again. I love this so much, I wish I had a fursona like this (and it can happen, because that’s what furry fandom is for!)

That’s the full length 7:00 cartoon. Youtube also has :30 TV spots edited from it to air during fun kid shows on Canadian TV. It’s from a VHS handed out by Canadian Tire, which is the other store Canada has besides Tim Horton’s. (Oh, I think they also have a beer store, but kids can’t go there until they’re big enough to ride a moose by themselves.)

Thanks to Hugo The Pink Cat, Quebecs furry artist, for sharing this maple-syrup sweet piece of Canadian animation we chatted about.

Hugo: I think these Canadian PSAs may have had a hand in me being furry later on. They also made me realize I hadn’t seen Block Parents signs in AGES. It was a program in Canada where you could be designated as a safe place where children in a risky situation could go. My aunt was one when I was a kid. After looking up their website, I understand why. You have to pay to become a block parent (but it’s supposed to be a volunteer job.)

Patch: Yay for happy futurebunnies with that wonky 90’s design. Compared to overly rendered furries with abs, I want more cute simple flat color design. I would eat up a whole comic drawn like this. And there’s much great Canadian animation…

Hugo: Actually I want to find out who animated this. I’m pretty sure that whoever voiced the male rabbit I’ve heard more recently in OTHER stuff, like his voice is SO familiar.

Research actually does lead down a rabbit hole. The animation came from “Bear Spots” (as in TV Spots), an advertising branch of Nelvana, the Canadian animation giant that produced hundreds of TV shows including lots with furry interest.

Gert and Bert were the brainchild of a producer there — and came from a real-life tragedy with her child. They actually represent an entire era of culture, and however sad the story behind it is, they help the memory of a kid to live on in a positive way. Buzzfeed has a good article about this — (warning, it does have intense content so I’m only linking out.) Dive in if you want to learn what’s behind the colorful cartoon world where kids don’t just fear strangers, they have radical bunny friends empower them to use their radars for good.

Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, please follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on PatreonWant to get involved? Share news on these subreddits: r/furrydiscuss for anything — or r/waginheaven for the best of the community. Or send guest writing here.

Categories: News

TigerTails Radio Season 12 Episode 19

TigerTails Radio - Tue 21 Apr 2020 - 04:11
Categories: Podcasts

You Want the Big Guy with Spots on Your Side…

In-Fur-Nation - Tue 21 Apr 2020 - 01:35

For some time now well-known illustrator Rod Espinosa has been giving us the latest story arch of his Adventure Finders fantasy comic series, called The Edge of Empire. It features, among many other characters, a friendly and helpful gnoll — basically a hyena on steroids. Well now Action Lab Entertainment have gathered this story arch together into a new full-color trade paperback. Take a look over at Graphic Policy for some preview pages.

image c. 2020 Action Lab Entertainment

Categories: News

Cóyotl Awards Anthology, ed. Fred Patten

Furry Book Review - Mon 20 Apr 2020 - 19:34
For those not in the know, the Cóyotl Awards is an annual award run by the Furry Writer's Guild since 2011 to recognize "excellence in anthropomorphic literature". These works can only be nominated and voted upon by members of the FWG (even if the authors are not part of the guild themselves) instead of the general public, kinda making them like the Oscars but for furry literature. This anthology, edited by the late Fred Pattern, collects both winners and nominees for the Best Short Story category from the first seven years of the Cóyotl Awards and represents pretty much the whole spectrum of furry literature. Do you want stories with feral characters? You have them. Do you prefer anthros? You have them. How about comedy, horror, sci-fi, or fantasy? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.The anthology starts with "The Canoe Race" by Daniel and Mary E. Lowd, winner of Best General Short Story for 2011 (only year when this and Best Mature Short Story were separate categories). First published in Stories of Camp Rainfurrest, this is a typical camping story with handicrafts, fire pits, and, yes, canoe races but with the twist being that the campers themselves are animals, and by that I don't mean anthropomorphic animals like in some television shows, but instead real, feral animals. So, you get to see birds doing macramé, bears singing, and even raccoons trying to bribe bobcats with shiny objects. The descriptions of the animals-imitating-humans are short and sweet, with the story as a whole having a lighthearted and wholesome tone--a rare sight in this collection.Next comes "Best of Breed" by Renee Carter Hall, winner of Best Mature Short Story for 2011. First published in Allaso volume 1: Shame, this is a coming-of-age story about the competitive world of Animal Shows but with the almost opposite twist of the previous story as Mina, the main character of this story, is an anthro cat and therefore a sentient creature. At first, everything goes fine for our protagonist, but her world starts crumbling apart once she starts getting into bigger and fancier shows, not in small part by the way Shawn, her human handler, treats her and her sister. The only story in this anthology with any sort of sexual content, though tame and non-explicit, Hall's way of handling Mia's journey into adulthood was gripping and did not let go until the final parts of it.Closing this section is "Dragonman and Lonesome Woman" by Vixxy Fox, nominee for Best General Short Story 2011. In this self-published story, Dan, a truck driver and veteran soldier, encounters three quirky characters in the middle of the desert and embarks with them in a spiritual journey to help their sister, the eponymous Lonesome Woman. A journey which is as much about healing her as it is to heal himself. Introspective at times and comedic at others, Dan's journey is an interesting one, though, all things considered, this could be considered one of the least "furry" of all stories in this anthology.Next we have "Chasing the Spotlight" by Tim Susman, winner of Best Short Story for 2012. First published in ROAR volume 4, this story stars Alex, a news feed podcaster who tries to score an interview with Lon, a mysterious man who underwent a cosmetic surgery to turn into an anthropomorphic animal. Controlled at first, this story slowly spirals into a more gritty one about regret and conspiracy theories as it goes along. Personally, one of my favorite stories in this collection, even if only because of all the possible setups it presents that I'd hope to see expanded upon eventually.Accompanying the previous story is "Rearview" by Sean Silva, nominee for Best Short Story 2012. First published in Allaso volume 2: Shame, this is also the first horror piece in the anthology. Ben, a troubled pig on the run, meets an aggressive wolf on the road after his car breaks down in this short story about the dangers of hitchhiking. From the onset, we can tell that something's not right in all of this, and Silva's handle of the suspense carries the story perfectly until its inevitable outcome. "Fox in the Hen House" by Mary E. Lowd is the winner of Best Short Story for 2013. First published in Dancing in the Moonlight: RainFurrest 2013 Charity Anthology, this nature vs nurture story focuses on Henry, a feral fox kit who gets adopted by several chickens, neither being aware of what the other’s species is. Just like "The Canoe Race", this is more of a sweet and lighthearted story that progressively gets darker as Henry grows older and it becomes more readily apparent to everyone that there might be something different about him.Closing this section is "Son of the Blood Moon" by Bill 'Hafoc' Rogers, nominee for Best Shot Story 2013. First published in Rabbit Valley's Trick or Treat, this story follows River, an aggressive, dominant, and charming alpha man who goes to a party in spite of his mother's warnings to never go out during a full moon. One of the "Trick" stories in that anthology, River will need to decide what to do after being invited to be part of a ritual by the mysterious Rhiannon, a ritual which involves a hefty price to pay. While a bit formulaic at times, the end was surely able to catch me by surprise."Jackalope Wives" by Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher, is the winner of Best Short Story for 2014. First published in Apex Magazine issue 56, this is the story of a boy, his grandma, and a jackalope girl that was caught by the former, or did he? In the end, it's up to Grandma Harken to fix the boy's mistakes and free the jackalope from the pain brought upon by her own blood. Another story that does not feel as "furry" as it could be, but that also makes it up by its modern take on an age old myth.Next is "Pavlov's House" by Malcolm Cross, nominee for Best Short Story 2014. First published in the online magazine Strange Horizons, this story follows the narration of Sokolai, one of several bio-engineered anthropomorphic dog soldiers who, along with his brothers and a human family, is trapped with no food or water sources nearby. Unable to leave because of the revolutionaries patrolling the streets, Sokolai and his brothers must struggle with the programming they received even before they were born. Our unreliable protagonist’s account of the events that happened and their aftermaths can be hard to read at times, but it's this crudeness that makes the story what it is.Changing the formula a little is "The Analogue Cat" by Alice 'Huskyteer' Dryden, winner of Best Short Story for 2015. First published in The Furry Future, this story chronicles the whole life of Tozer, a second-generation Bengal Pet all the way from his birth as a Pet (the bio-engineered organisms created to replace another set of creatures known as Bots) to the drastic changes in his life once the newer generations succeed in getting Pets equal rights. However, what really makes this story stand out is that it uses a second person POV for its narration, making the journey of you, the reader, as The Analog Cat feel more personal.Accompanying the previous story is "Muskrat Blues" by Ianus Wolf, nominee for Best Short Story 2015. First published in Inhuman Acts, this noir story follows Mike Harrison, a pig and private investigator whose old friend Alex Richards was recently murdered. Set in a world where predation is a thing, even if not common; the police dismiss the case and it's up to Mike to sniff out the true culprit. A story that might be a little more familiar to those who are more in the known with the genre, but that kept me guessing with every twist as it unfolded.Next is "400 rabbits" by Alice 'Huskyteer' Dryden, winner of Best Short Story for 2016. First published in Gods With Fur, this is the story of Eighty-Six, one of four hundred Aztec rabbit gods in charge of drinking, drunken revelry, and its effects. However, as we all know, there's more to life than drinking as Eighty-Six, patron god of "attempting to chat up your best friend's betrothed", finds out when he's forced to go sober for the first time in his life, getting a new perspective on the human world and life as a whole. As can be easily glanced by our main character's title, this a comedy through and through, and one that gives an interesting insight of the role alcohol has on our lives, all from the perspective of what could be considered an under-represented culture in the fandom.Closing this section is "The Torch" by Chris 'Sparf' Williams, nominee for Best Short Story 2016. First published in ROAR volume 7, this is the story of Rob Cantor, former star of an old campy television show about a police-affiliated superhero which is soon to get rebooted, though in a darker and edgier fashion (any similarities with real life are purely coincidental). Rob, a dalmatian, is attending the same convention as his replacement and has to come to terms with his life and what all these new changes mean for him. With an air of nostalgia, and I don't mean just when our main character remembers his golden days, this story does a good job going through the nitty-gritty details of what is it that makes a fandom, and how it affects the lives of those involved in it.Finally, the last winner in the anthology is "Behesht" by Dwale, winner of Best Short Story for 2017. First published in ROAR volume 8, this is a post-apocalyptic story of the Dying Earth variety. Farad, a bio-engineered jerboa, chronicles the events and interviews that he experiences alongside a caravan that’s heading towards the eponymous hidden garden—Heaven itself. So, yes, this means that it's an anthology within an anthology! As expected of a story of this genre, the tone can be pretty bleak at times as we see our protagonists continue on their endless journey, which may or may not have the results they're looking for. Another story for which I wish to be expanded upon, whatever its outcome may be.The first 2017 nominee is "The Moon Fox" by Amy Fontaine. First published in the online magazine Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, this modern fairy tale follows the adventures of the titular Moon Fox after he crashes on Earth as he tries to find his place in our world. Somewhere where he can be himself. Be it at a farm, at a circus, or at an audition, Moon Fox’s always trying his best. One of the most light-hearted and wholesome stories in the whole anthology, with an ending that befits its genre.Last but not least is "The Ouroboros Plate" by Slip Wolf, also nominated for Best Short Story 2017. First published in Bleak Horizons, this story follows Imperial Agent Hallord, a weasel on a mission to check up on a project by the Emperor, but whose plans get a wrench thrown in the works when the scientist he was meant to encounter, Doctor Liskar, is found dead in her office. Complicating matters further is that the space station where they're located is set to destruct in a couple hours. A whydunit where all the pieces fit when you understand its true premise, but that keeps you on your toes until you do.As mentioned near the beginning of this review, pretty much everything you may want to see is here in one way or another with some very few exceptions, and the fact that these were curated by writers and editors themselves means that you can be sure of the overall quality of every story represented. If you're new to furry literature as a whole, this is definitely the book for you. If you're not, even if you've already read all of these, you should try getting a copy too. The quality is there, the variety is there, and you can see how the storytelling styles and the fandom evolved throughout the decade.
Categories: News

Khaki Doggy [12 Apr 2020] - South Afrifur Pawdcast

South Afrifur Pawdcast - Mon 20 Apr 2020 - 12:14

Today we chat to Khaki, podcaster and photographer serving the furry community! We talk furry communities, con events and his podcast, The Voice Of Dog. Find Khaki on Twitter! https://twitter.com/khakidoggy Listen to the Voice of Dog! https://anchor.fm/the-voice-of-dog Find us on Twitter: @South-Afrifur, https://twitter.com/southafrifur, on Tumblr, http://south-afrifur.tumblr.com/, and on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/southafrifur Also, for more local news, check out the Zafur forums! http://forum.zafur.co.za/
Categories: Podcasts

The Ronin Rabbit Returns

In-Fur-Nation - Mon 20 Apr 2020 - 01:56

Newly released this year,  we have a new — or at least “improved” — Usagi Yojimbo series from IDW Publishing called Usagi Yojimbo Color Classics. “This series collects the original early issues of the acclaimed long-running series, now in full color! Every issue will also feature new behind-the-scenes material and art. Whether you’re a long-term Usagi fan or brand new to the adventures of the ronin rabbit, this series will be the perfect addition to your comic library!” Written and illustrated by Stan Sakai, of course, with new colors by Ronda Pattison.

image c. 2020 IDW Publishing

Categories: News

Games By Hand. Egad!

In-Fur-Nation - Sun 19 Apr 2020 - 01:57

Something interesting has just hit the shelves (so to speak). The award-winning (and Ursa Major Award nominated) game Cuphead has a new tie-in book from Dark Horse Press called — wait for it — The Art of Cuphead. “Get transported back to the golden age of 1930s animation with an art book celebrating the acclaimed run & gun platformer Cuphead! Each page of this curated collection of artwork is designed to capture the vintage look and feel of the Thirties. Take a gander at the game’s traditional hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation. Peek at the early concepts, production work, and early ideas that went into the making of Cuphead’s characters, bosses, stages, and more! And relive the most cherished and challenging moments of Cuphead and Mugman’s adventure to reclaim their souls from the Devil! Guided by personal insights from game directors Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, take a trip through the Inkwell Isles and discover a new appreciation for Cuphead’s animation style and challenging retro game-play.” It’s available now in hardcover from the Dark Horse web site.

image c. 2020 Dark Horse Press

Categories: News

The Reclamation Project, ed. John R. Robey

Furry Book Review - Sun 19 Apr 2020 - 01:08
Solarpunk was never a genre I considered reading. I didn’t know what it was or why it was, much less why it was important to people. The name sounds cool, sure, but who’s ever heard of a best-selling solarpunk novel that isn’t under the bigger genre of science fiction? What even is the difference between the two? Where science fiction focuses on the broad idea of possibility with enough technological advancement, John R. Robey says that solarpunk is more about working with the Earth while simultaneously creating a better world for those who are victims of corrupt government. That’s what The Reclamation Project is about, except with furries. If you don’t know what furries are, they’re anthropomorphic animals, or “human-like” animals. And if I just confused you even more, sit down, take a breath, and keep reading. In The Reclamation Project, furries are the least of your problems.The Reclamation Project is about the conflict between humans and furries--also known as zoomorphs--in the world of Ambara Down. Long ago, zoomorphs were created by humans to do things that humans couldn’t do. Then, the flying city of Ambara fell to the ground, causing much destruction but also laying the foundation for many new zoomorph cultures to arise. At some point, the Pax Machina--a powerful AI looking to control everything--grew threatening, creating giant mechanical creatures and taking over the minds of humans and zoomorphs alike. As time went on, zoomorphs inhabited Ambara Down and made it their home, while humans took to their flying cities. Prejudice against zoomorphs slowly formed in flying cities like High Empyros, and soon the zoomorphs’ and the humans’ distrust grew to a dangerous level, causing the leaders of both societies to establish the Reclamation Project, a project aimed to quell the tension. Fourteen authors write about the world of Ambara Down and how the Reclamation Project has affected both human and zoomorph culture. With Pax Machina and other dangers hiding in the shadows, the road to peace is a difficult one.John R. Robey gives quite the exciting start to this anthology with his story titled "Piece of Mind." The time for compromise has begun as Haru, a high-tempered collie and Chief Stewardess of the Prefect’s Office, finds a hoverskiff pilot named Rory, a smart-mouthed calico, to transport the Prefect to High Empyros. Once there, Prefect Durgavati can negotiate plans to look past the furry/human differences and bring peace to Ambara Down--if they manage to get there at all. When a group of bandits ambush the hoverskiff and leave Rory and Haru out in the desert, the two need to rely on each other to save the Prefect, as well as themselves. With a mysterious third party sending shivers down their spines, the hope for peace dwindles in Ambara Down.It’s really the attention to detail that makes this story amazing. Robey is great with describing the world of Ambara Down and its intricacies--hoverskiffs and healing braces, cybernetic attachments and flying cities. You get a clear picture of what the world looks like through these depictions, but it's really the characters that make it all come together. Haru’s role as the Chief Steward contrasts nicely with Rory’s role as a hoverskiff captain because you get to see their vastly different ways of life, and their distinct personalities make for an entertaining story. Every detail builds on the one before it, so when the climax of the story hits, it hits hard. I’d really love to see more of this world.Set in the same world as the first story, "Ambara Blues" by Indigare expands upon the socio-political side of the furry/human conflict. Delmar Nova, a human living on High Empyros, is called by Director Kyla to use his experience in studying zoomorphic cultures to assess how the Reclamation Project in Ambara is proceeding. After realizing he wants more in his life than sterile walls and light pollution, Delmar accepts the job and is transported down to Ambara where he meets the Council liaison and rabbit zoomorph, Tavistad Ridgerunner. When Tav and Del start touring the city, Del is attacked. Tav comes in to save him, but Del realizes not everyone is happy to see a human here. The two must stick together if they want to figure out who’s behind this attack, and what this all means for the future of both civilizations.I really enjoyed Indigare’s take on this world. I wanted to see more of the conflict, and that’s what I got. The first-person perspective is really important because it hones in on Del’s thoughts and feelings about the situation as an outsider. He’s confused about the attack, but also in awe of this new world. That feeling captured me and made it easy for me to understand. However, the dialogue tended to pull me out of that space. It seemed a little...off, and as a result Del’s personality seemed to weaken. When I was in his head I felt what he felt, but that feeling didn’t quite match the words he said out loud. I think it would have flowed better if Del said what came to his mind more often--the descriptions of the cities, and the beautiful flowers he saw. This would produce a more genuine response from Tav and give the two of them room to play off each other and learn about each other, strengthening both their personalities and their relationship.So far, we’ve read about stories that take place on land, but "Insecurity" by L. Rowyn gives us a glimpse of what the solarpunk genre can look like underwater. When Ambara fell, a whole chunk of civilization was crushed beneath its weight. Aawee--a mermaid-type creature simply called a ‘mer’--finds the remains of a GloEx building during their team’s scuba diving mission. They explore a bit inside but become trapped when the front doors of the building slam shut. Kerick, a sedecpus and the team lead, comes to rescue them after their coms fail. With his octopus-like characteristics, Kerick finds a way inside and keeps Aawee company while the rest of his team prepare a drill so they can get out. But things don’t go as planned and the two sea creatures soon find out that the building itself might be more dangerous than they thought.L. Rowyn really went all out with the creativity in "Insecurity." The concepts of the mer and the sedecpus--sedecpi?--are a great addition to the world of Ambara, though I would have liked a little more detail as to how they looked. There was plenty of detail in there--a creature with sixteen arms is hard to forget--but I still found myself getting confused as to how ‘anthro’ they actually were. One thing I found really intriguing was how Rick fit into the story. I think most zoomorphs and humans alike wouldn’t find an AI implant to be a person, but the fact that Kerick does, so much so that he combines his name with his own name, really emphasizes the strength of humanity in such a genre. It’s cool and fun to see how they communicate with each other. It’s also neat to hear how Rick encourages Kerick to get closer to Aawee, using their common characteristic of being trans as a topic of conversation. I didn’t think an AI could be that helpful when it came to such a topic, but I was happily proven wrong. This is a fantastic story!"The Underground Star" by Nenekiri Bookwyrm gives another glimpse of what life looks like in Ambara--this time, underground. Life in the Warrens has been pretty boring for Eli the mouse, but his world changes when he discovers a huge tower of old Reclaimer junk in the tunnels of the Warrens. Entranced by a shiny object glistening on the top of the tower, he comes up with multiple plans on how to retrieve it. With each failure, more time passes and Eli starts to think he may never get the ‘star.’ Between his struggles to get the star and the mystery of his missing friend, Eli has to re-evaluate what he truly wants in life.I think this story was trying to do too many things at once. The plot was centered around Eli and his quest for the star, which I enjoyed until the end. I was left with more questions than answers, which might have been the point. But if that was the point, why didn’t the story emphasize the mystery more? Jack goes missing for a long time and all Eli says about it is, “Life in the Warrens is like that sometimes.” His response seems more like an easy fix to a plot-hole than an actual character telling us what they believe, which would be fine if the story was more about the mystery. There are mysterious things happening in the background, and given Eli’s age I felt like Bookwyrm should have given him something weird to notice if they wanted the story to be about the mystery. As it stands, the story is so focused on Eli getting the star that the mystery aspect falls short. Which, again, wouldn’t be a problem if the ending was more triumphant. The mystery conflicts with the adventure because so much of the story is about his drive to get the star, but when he finally gets it and realizes what it is he just drops it and goes to find Jack, seeming only now to care about his friend. That all being said, I did really enjoy this story. Eli is a bright and persistent character. He tries and fails and tries again, which is enjoyable to read about in the way Bookwyrm described. The mouse had to work out creative ways to get what he wanted, and those ways--working for Ms. Smit, swiping some scrap metal here and there--really added to the atmosphere of the story. Ms. Smit was also a really interesting character. I couldn’t really tell why she was doing what she was doing, but that added to the mystery, along with her apparent history with Eli’s mother. Overall, it was a decent story, and I would really like to know what eventually happens to Eli.Graveyard Greg continues the solarpunk genre through his story "Post-Mortem Telepathy." Immol, a lizardman, and Ventis, a jackal, are trying to find directions when they come across a Pax unit. After fighting it off, Ventis discovers he’s bulletproof and Immol chastises the jackal for being so reckless. As they leave the scene the chest of the broken Pax unit explodes, causing Ventis to protect his friend. Even though the two have been arguing this whole trip, they find that the incident leaves them closer than they’ve ever been.The way Graveyard Greg describes his characters and how they interact are my favorite thing about "Post-Mortem Telepathy." He makes them feel real, and as a result, the danger feels real. I haven’t said much about the Pax Machina in this review so far, and that’s because I don’t feel like I’ve had a great representation of them...until this story. Immol and Ventis’ fear of them say a lot about the Pax in the world of Ambara Down, and that fear is justified in this story by the destruction they cause. What I didn’t like about the story was how dialogue-heavy it was. By itself, dialogue isn’t something that will necessarily make or break a story. However, when it’s the dominating way of telling the story, with little use of setting descriptions or other world building mechanics especially in a story as short as this one, the writing is bound to feel like it’s lacking. I would have liked to know what the terrain was like around where Immol and Ventis were camping, or at least where they were going. It would have been nice to see more of how they got into the first fight so there’s more rising action, and the climax would be more noticeable too. I would have also liked to see more of how their telepathy affected the two characters. Seeing a change of mind, especially from Immol, was really satisfying. He has a soft side to him that I think could be better represented if the story was lengthened and the dialogue was spread out. I really hope that the two of them get to where they’re going."Skipping Stones," by Bryan “StarryAqua” Osborne, is about a wolf named Katalia who shares a keen interest in humans with her friend Richter, a maned wolf. Katalia’s degree in Anthropology of Human Studies leads her to Alurai, a district in Ambara Down where she comes face to face with a human student. His presence piques her interest, but the societal prejudice against humans stops her from interacting with him--that is, until the human returns her notebook to her after accidentally dropping it while walking home. The chance encounter leaves Katalia wanting to know more about him. After the human is attacked in an alleyway, Katalia saves him and soon realizes that there are a lot more secrets looming in the shadows of Ambara Down than she previously thought."Skipping Stones" plays on the conflict between furries and humans very well. That, mixed with the solarpunk technology, makes this a solid story. My favorite thing about this story is that Osborne includes background information about the manufacturing of the technology we’ve been reading about. Osborne essentially creates a new place--Astraven--in the world of Ambara Down and fills it with a dark history that is then told through the eyes of someone who escaped. Even though the characters end up safe in the end, it’s far from a happy ending. I was left feeling sad, and rather horrified at what Everett had to endure. The plot twist, by the way, was also very well done; I didn’t see it coming at all. The only thing that threw me off was Katalia being the main character. I greatly enjoyed her character, but the significance of the story as a whole really rested on Everett after he told her about his history. I would have liked to see more of a reason as to why she was involved. She knows a lot about humans but that knowledge is never really put to the test, so her character ends up being more like a supportive character rather than a protagonist. Regardless, "Skipping Stones" is a great story."Silence and Sword," by Royce Day, is an exciting adventure story about Joe, a tinkerer cheetah, and his unlikely mercenary companions. Hamia, a Wazagan, explains that he and his friend Ali, a vixen, are on a quest to try to remove the collar locked around her neck. After a miscommunication, Joe agrees to look into the collar problem. The next day he tells the mercenaries that he cannot unlock it, but that the source of their troubles may be linked back to where Hamia found Ali all those years ago. Joe convinces them to let him travel with them to the source, finding that the Pax Machina are still about their slaving ways. The group will have to put their talents, and their trust, to the test if they have any hope of freeing Ali from her silence. "Silence and Sword" is an amazing story! Royce Day perfectly combines the risk of danger with the thrill of adventure. The characters are dynamic, though flawed, and all of them have something to gain, something to lose, and something to learn. Day also does a great job with balancing the different parts of the story. The parts where Hamia mentions his culture don’t overshadow or distract from the emotion he feels. The scene where Joe takes off his shoes and climbs a tree using his claws shows that he has his own talents, and, at the same time, it doesn’t take away from the sense of urgency the group feels in the moment. Ali’s frustration is depicted beautifully alongside Hamia’s fatherly nature even though she can’t speak. The descriptions of the scenery and the pacing of the story were well done too. Nothing felt too fast or too slow, and the story held my attention all the way through. If I had to critique anything it’s the part at the end where Ali says, “Thank you, Father.” Her serious and thankful line contrasts with her more comical one in the next scene when she says, “Why not?...It’s been fun so far.” Maybe it’s the flippant attitude Joe gives when he asks her if she wants to stay with “this big lizard.” I just felt the difference in seeing Hamia as a friend rather than a father figure is a bit strange given how much time they’ve spent together already. I really do hope that they find out what happened to those other kits though...Written by Kayode Lycaon, "Dark Garden Lake" is about the life of the painted dog Moshi, a mercenary whose position on the political chessboard is all but safe. It’s not until he spends a night with Bajit, a hyena prostitute with a sharp tongue, that Moshi realizes how lonely he is. Pushing his desires to the back of his mind, Moshi attends an extravagant dinner with his handler, Joyce. After some political eavesdropping and some clever wordplay, Joyce lines up an assassination job for Moshi, telling him that he’ll be greatly rewarded. Moshi takes the job reluctantly. His mission to kill the leader of a group that’s been raiding an agricultural center is called into question as his friends’ words haunt his mind, and Moshi will have to decide if his loneliness is worth another’s life.I absolutely love this story, so much so that I was tearing up at the end. At first I thought that explaining the way Moshi’s and Joyce’s wordplay affected each other was a little redundant, but then I realized it actually emphasized Moshi’s disjunct thoughts and the inner conflict he feels. The characters were all complex and interesting to read about. The settings were clear and beautifully descriptive. But what I love most about this story is the third person limited perspective on Moshi and how it emphasized the conflict between what he wanted and what he had to do. It’s also impressive how Lycaon used Moshi’s cybernetic attachments to further enhance that conflict. The less exciting moments of the story were filled with wonderful descriptions of the world that used every sense to fill my imagination. The rising action was intense, layered with tension and emotion from every angle. Reading "Dark Garden Lake" was like eating a professionally cooked meal; mouth-watering from start to finish, and saddening because you wish you could eat the whole thing again. Dan Leiner Turthra Jensen writes about a particularly interesting friendship between a maned wolf and their corvid friend in "Sewer Tea." The story begins with Vyvian entering Treeklak’s tea shop, greeting the old avian and showing them their fancy new glow rings. Treeklak, the corvid, responds with a version of sass that has taken Vyvian years to understand, since corvids speak in a different dialect. The story flashes between past and present as Vyvian recounts their history. A normal escort job for some tech turns dangerous when the two break open a lock in an old sewer system. Although they just met, the two will have to trust each other if they want to make it out alive.I really enjoyed the switching between past and present perspective. It was well done and kept up the excitement throughout the story. The soft moments that focused on Vyvian’s feelings contrasted with the tense moments in the sewers, and I enjoyed seeing their vulnerable side in both instances. Treeklak was refreshing, if not a little confusing. Jensen’s dialogue for Treeklak was a bit confusing to understand--I had to frequently read over what he said to make sure I read it correctly--but writing in two different dialects is difficult. I was happy to read it over again because it emphasized a culture of the Ambaran world that I haven’t seen yet, and I felt it strengthened the story more than it took away from it. Their friendship is an odd one, but their quirks made "Sewer Tea" a fun read and a really nice addition to the world of Ambara Down.Pax Machina are a sure threat in the world of Ambara Down. As dangerous as they are, however, they’re not the only ones with mysterious agendas. Juan Carlos Moreno writes about a group of humans who plan on using a centuries-old teenage girl, named Persephone, to inflict a virus upon the entire race of zoomorphs in "Persephone’s Chance." It’s up to Tabitha, an experienced tiger, and her group to stop them. The news of the planned demise of the zoomorph race is brought to Tabitha’s attention via the Hyacinth twins, brother and sister humans who left the Reclamation Project. After escaping an RP drone and discovering that the twins’ badger assistant, Sara, was also human, the group flew towards a Special Expeditions camp where Persephone was being held. With their own plan in place, Tabitha leads her group on a dangerous quest to try to free Persephone. Even with all the help, Tabitha will learn that the same instincts that give her an advantage may also be her downfall.This entire story read like a cliche adventure story, and it missed many opportunities to implement some good meaning. I really enjoyed the struggle at the end when Tabitha had to fight her instincts, but that inner conflict only showed up at the end of the story. Until that point, the only conflict was figuring out how the group was going to free Persephone, which wasn’t really that much of a conflict given how many times they all got lucky. It would have been nice to see how Tabitha dealt with the knowledge that her whole race could be killed, rather than just chalking it up to “alright everyone, let’s all save the world.” Additionally, she didn’t have much presence in the story, even though it was told from her perspective. The story seemed to be happening around her, rather than her having an active voice in the story. Sure, she was the leader, but it felt more like Sara did most of the work. I liked the Brontides. They had the motive and the means for everything they were doing, even if it was downright evil. There’s that moment where the daughter realizes her dad is kind of crazy. I really, really enjoyed that because I knew he would stop at nothing to stop Tabitha, which made him all the more frightening. Overall, the lack of deeper thought and more telling than showing made this an okay story. The adventure is there and the action is there, but it’s very surface-level. I would have liked a little more depth in all the characters, especially Tabitha."A Journey to the Skies" is a tale of two bird siblings, Lisa and Tango, who begin their long journey to Flying Mountain on Lisa’s fifteenth birthday. As part of their culture’s tradition--told to them by their Matriarch--two capable siblings must venture forth together to Flying Mountain in order to learn how to fly. After the Matriarch’s speech, Lisa and Tango set off for the mountain, using their survival skills to make it through the dangerous forest. A few days in, they come to a break in the forest where they spot a farm in the valley below. A young human boy comes up to them and tells them a little about their culture. They ask him for a bit of direction and then continue on their way. When they get to the base of Flying Mountain, Lisa and Tango have to fight the machines that guard it. Such is the price to pay for the ability to fly.Ferric the Bird did a good job with this story. It has all the things that make up a hero’s story: good characters, a solid plot, some worldbuilding, and great action. I really liked the Matriarch’s telling of why they had to leave. More importantly, I liked that Lisa calls the whole thing into question at the end of the story. It shows growth and change which I feel fits with the theme of the anthology. The twist at the end was also really well done, and I felt the confusion Lisa felt. I didn’t quite understand the scene with the human boy but maybe that was just to put this story in perspective to the rest of the stories in the world of Ambara Down. Either way, "A Journey to the Skies" is a solid adventure story.Huskyteer writes about the relationship between a human child and a hyena explorer in her story "Star of the Savannah." Chuck values his alone time traveling from place to place in his hoverskiff called “Star of the Savannah,” but when he sees the town of New Haven up in flames, he discovers that he won’t be alone for much longer. His friend Mama Bill asks him for a favor--to transport a human child, named Dawn, back to her home in Ambara Down. Both Chuck and Dawn are unhappy with the arrangement, but they both learn that it’s better to be together than alone. When a group of pirates called the Watersnakes capture them, the pair will have to learn that sacrifices must be made if they want to protect each other.Great humor is hard to write, especially in serious stories, but Huskyteer does it perfectly. Chuck’s personality, along with his and Dawn’s hilarious interactions, are what made this story one of my favorites from this anthology. There are witty lines from both of them, and yet it doesn’t feel like the story it’s trying to be witty. It’s just the kind of thing that happens when you have two strong characters going up against each other--or in this case, traveling together. While reading I could feel the two of them growing together, and the situations they found themselves in tested their trust. By the end I really felt like they needed each other. That type of feeling is hard to make a reader feel, especially when you don’t have a whole novel to do it. Huskyteer wrote a fantastic story that is funny, tense, dangerous, and heartfelt all at the same time.Robey was right when he said that "The Flavors of Sunlight" was the most “solar” of the group of stories. Angle, a rabbit, doesn’t need to eat anymore. Instead, her body gets its nutrition from sunlight, kind of like plants do. Because of this, her days aboard a group of ships that float nonchalantly in the ocean are usually peaceful...at least she and the other Islanders get attacked by ‘Claimers. Ready to fight, Angle goes after a tegu--a species of lizard--and subdues her. As soon as they came, the ‘Claimers leave, abandoning Teal the tegu in the process. Teal wakes up in one of the ship labs. A couple scientists, including a man named Sokin, offer her life in exchange for experimentation. Teal refuses, but Angle manages to convince her that a life where you don’t have to eat or harm others is a life that can be worth living. The lizard agrees and their friendship begins. Angle teaches her how to live now that parts of her body are lined with algae, but the two will find out that a change of lifestyle isn’t just about biological change. The real danger lies deeper."The Flavors of Sunlight" by James L. Steele is one of those stories that you spend a lot of time thinking about after you read it. The concept is enough to warrant complex thought because it’s so distinct. Not only that, but to have a concept like this in a world that is already so complex and fantastical is amazing. It stands out among the other stories because it addresses the need to be able to change your mindset towards something. It’s the difference between a furry reading these stories and a non-furry reading these stories. Furries will automatically understand the characters these authors are writing about because they’ve been exposed to similar content, but when shown to a non-furry, these subjects may be difficult to understand. That difference, that ability to understand something that is so far-fetched is what makes this story amazing. Combining that with some great characters in a story that already has established villains--not just in the story but in the anthology too--makes "The Flavors of Sunlight" that much more incredible. It’s a wild concept, but it has depth because of Teal’s and Angle’s history. Well-written depth in a story with such a unique concept is what makes this story absolutely amazing."Chromium Maneuvers," by Matt Trepal, is a story about how Chrome and her friend Rust go head-to-head with some ‘Claimers. The story begins when Fiery Chrome Orchid, a fox-kin musicmancer, who is shocked to find out her performance for the Founder’s Festival has been cancelled. While setting up her stage on the balcony of the Damselfly, Chrome overhears the real reason the ‘Claimers have decided to cancel the festival. With help from Rust, and a couple other friends, Chrome concocts a devious plan. It’s dangerous, and if one thing is out of place it might not work. However, with how much faith she has in her friends, Chrome is sure the plan can’t fail.I found this story to be particularly entertaining. It was a fun read all the way through and was a fitting end to the anthology as a whole. It’s a story about friendship and having fun and remembering where you came from. Chrome is a magnetic character; her strong personality and daring attitude make her a great protagonist. Yet it’s clear she needs her friends to help her. Although she’s reluctant at first, her decision to take Tischa’s help is what made this plan all possible, and what better incriminating evidence than pillow talk at a brothel? "Chromium Maneuvers" is a fun, refreshing, and significant addition to the anthology because--assuming you’ve been reading the stories in order--it just doesn’t stand for any of the crap that the ‘Claimers have tried to change in favor of themselves in the past thirteen stories.Overall, The Reclamation Project was organized and framed very well. The characters who reappear in the story, like Prefect Durgavati and Director Kyla, along with specific places, like Ambara Down and the Damselfly, really solidify the world. No story seemed too different from the others, but each was unique. I didn’t know going into the anthology that all the stories took place in the same world, so I was pleasantly surprised to have my wish of getting more of this world written granted. I liked that the story started off with such a significant event--it established the important characters and just how tense the conflict was between humans and zoomorphs, setting the foundation for the stories to come. I was a little let down by the fact that there was no extravagant ending where the Pax Machina were defeated, and I say this because in the earlier stories it almost seemed that they were getting progressively more threatening, especially at the end of "The Underground Star." It almost felt as if they were going about some hidden plan of theirs that I thought was going to be revealed at some point. The anthology was never specifically about them though, so I’m not holding it against Robey or any of the other authors. Honestly, what could they really do about an AI race with that much power anyway? Editing-wise, there were a lot of typos, but maybe that’s just the e-book copy I was given. I also think that having the author of each story on a separate line and in a smaller font would help clarify the difference between title and author. The “About the Authors” section in the back is a must-have and I always like reading about them. Great job, Robey!The Reclamation Project would appeal to those who love adventure stories. With such a wide array of stories and heroes in all shapes, sizes, and species, there’s a good chance this anthology has a story you will like. Furry is niche as it is and putting another niche genre like solarpunk on top of that makes it even more niche, but I strongly urge fans of either genre to give this anthology a shot. Just keep an open mind and you’ll be fine.
Categories: News

因疫情影響,人外&獸人Only 確定停辦

Fur Times - 獸時報 - Sat 18 Apr 2020 - 11:53

從2015舉辦到今的獸展「人外&獸人ONLY」經官方與18日晚間十一時公布後,正式確認宣布本屆取消;且為六年歷史來首次停辦。

(圖擷自人外&獸人only FB粉專: https://www.facebook.com/800643299972693/photos/a.864435276926828/1053167868053567/)

官方在公開聲明中表示:「由於疫情問題,經由開會討論人外&獸人Only不會舉辦;基於考量將會順延至明年舉行」

在嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎(COVID-19)的疫情下,目前台灣大型活動場次接連宣布停辦或延後。在疫情尚未趨緩之前,建議減少前往人潮擁擠場所,保護自己也保護他人。

(圖擷自人外&獸人only FB粉專: https://www.facebook.com/800643299972693/photos/a.800645116639178/2426659000704440/)

官方聲明
https://www.facebook.com/CreationUnity/posts/2753848121409216

Categories: News

Getting Good Grades in High School

Ask Papabear - Fri 17 Apr 2020 - 10:00
Dear Papabear,

I'd like to know, how to I become the best student at school with the best possible grades?

DayPawTheChunkyCoyote

* * *

Dear DayPaw,

As with anything else, if you want to be good at something, work hard at it. Study hard and you should get better grades as a result.

Hugs,
Papabear

......

Hi, again, DayPaw,

You know, I apologize for giving you such a terse answer earlier. There's really more I should say on this subject, and it's this: Learning isn't about grades. Real learning is about finding something you're interested in and exploring it fully. Education systems--especially in America--are designed to produce good little factory workers, cubicle dwellers, and consumers. They are not designed to help you genuinely learn things you want to learn to pursue what interests YOU in life. You really don't get that opportunity until college, BUT! You will have a hard time getting into college if you have difficulty with one or more subjects in high school that subsequently brings down your GPA.

The school system--especially in the good ol' US of A--is made to train you to do things by rote learning, to respond to discipline (you must go to your class when the bell rings, leave when the bell rings, sit in your assigned seat, only speak when spoken to, etc.), and to become, basically, an automaton. You are also disparaged and made to feel like shit if you have problems with any one subject, whether that is science or English or even physical education.

So, again, to really answer your question, I should say this: discover first what interests you; if that means you need to go on to college, then you need to play the game to study hard, take the tests, get A's, and move on; but if you don't need a college degree (for example, you want to be a dancer or a painter or you are brilliant enough to invent something in your garage that makes you a millionaire--which actually happens with many of the millionaires we have in this world), then don't worry about it. Just do your time and, when not in school, focus on your passion. 

Most of what I know about the world (indeed, most of what I do with my money-paying job) I learned AFTER I left school.

Good grades are there to please your parents and to get a better shot at college. They don't actually mean anything about you personally, and they certainly don't mean squat about your value as a human being.

Big Bear Hugs,
Papabear

Findin Love after 40

Ask Papabear - Thu 16 Apr 2020 - 12:30
Papabear,

​I've always dreamed of settling down with a furry partner who loves me for who I am inside. Since Pounced was shut down, where does one go for furry dating? I'm getting older and I feel once I hit 40 it'll be game over for my chance to find love in the furry community. I seen a few places advertised, but I want to avoid scams and just try someplace thats actually popular, full of real people and not bots. Can you help me?

Tanuki (38)

* * *

Dear Tanuki.

As someone who is over 40 himself, don't write yourself off just because of your age. I have found love three times in my life: Once when I was in college, once when I was 41, and again when I was 51. Love has no age. There are many lonely, older furries out there who would love to have what you long for: a mature furry mate to share their lives with.

Going on dating sites is one way to look, yes, but that is rather limiting yourself. My advice to those seeking a partner is to find groups on the Web with members who share your interests and, perhaps--but not necessarily--demographics. For example, if you are on Facebook, I would invite you to join my Greymuzzles group, where you will find lots of furries your age. If you have other interests in life, seek out groups that share that interest. For example, maybe you are super into model trains. There's a group for that. Or perhaps you love Schnauzers; I'm sure there's a group for that. Not just on Facebook, but on the internet as a whole. 

You could also seek out groups that actually meet in person (after this virus thing eases off). I recommend checking out the Meetup website. Here, you can type in a location and an interest and search for local groups of people who like the same things you do (including furries).

Finding a fellow furry is great, but you don't have to limit yourself to only furries. I mean, the real point is finding someone with whom you can share your life, right? My late husbear, Jim, and my current husband, Michael, are not furries, but they are totally fine with my being a furry and both Jim and Michael have joined me at furcons.

Cast your net out wide upon the waters and you will catch fish. Do not be too picky or demanding, but also don't allow yourself to be a tool because you are desperate for a mate. It's a tough balancing act, but if you temper your search with love and compassion, I think you will find someone.

Bear Hugs,
Papabear​

Digging Up (Jim Henson's) Dinosaurs | Episode 71

Culturally F'd - Wed 15 Apr 2020 - 10:00

Dinosaurs, that 90's family sitcom you faintly remember for the "Not the mama!" meme, was actually one of the most radically leftist shows ever to air on network television. Join Arrkay's exploration of this media fossil in this episode written by Tempe O'Kun. From taking on capitalism and police violence to showing minority and LGBT people in a sympathetic light: these talking dinos weren't afraid to take a bite out of the status quo. Music: 1st track is "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ 2nd track you hear is "Winter's Gloom" by Sho JinPa https://www.furaffinity.net/user/jinpa/ 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 Listen in on TEMPO TALKS with Tempe O'Kun https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPk-itLl1jPyIK2c7mK-LpbvfDNqfcSW Check out Tempe O'Kun's books "Sixes Wild" and "Windfall" here: http://furplanet.com/shop/?affillink=YOUTU2907 Here's a playlist of his other Culturally F'd videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPk-itLl1jPS7tnT4hdJwBI-CeLF8Kb_
Categories: Videos

《異世界外送專員》序章

Fur Times - 獸時報 - Tue 14 Apr 2020 - 20:55

  「唉,肚子好餓,你要吃什麼?」

  看了一眼窗外,外面正飄起細細小雨,坐在一旁看電視的妹妹轉頭問一旁躺在床上看漫畫的姊姊。

  「不知道。」

  敷衍地回了一句話,姐姐便繼續看著她的漫畫,也許有漫畫就飽了吧?

  「在下雨耶,不想出門,不然叫外送?」

  「喔。」

  「那你要吃甚麼?」

  妹妹張望四處在尋找自己的手機,她將一旁的抱枕掀起,也將桌上的雜誌翻開,但就是不見她的手機。

  「唉,姊,你有看到我的手機嗎?」

  「不知道。」

  姊姊完全沒興趣理妹妹,她繼續看著自己的漫畫,隨後抓起一旁自己的手機丟了過去給妹妹。

  「不然你自己打電話找看看。」

  「啊啊啊!」

  只見妹妹手忙腳亂的側著身體,驚險的接住了那冷不防被丟過來的手機。

  「唉,你都不怕摔壞哦?」

  妹妹嘴裡一邊抱怨著一邊撥通了自己的電話。

  「嗡——嗡——」

  「恩——啊——啊——」

  隨著電話被撥通,傳出了手機震動的悶響聲,伴隨而來的是妹妹那引人遐想的低聲柔叫。

  「幹嘛?」

  聽到妹妹那淫穢的叫聲後,姊姊放下原本擋在面前的漫畫,她看到妹妹正一手拿著自己的手機通電話,一手正不知所以的在自己胯下之間摸索。

  「別拿我的電話做奇怪的事啊。」

  「才……才沒有!」

  妹妹羞紅著臉從兩腿間拿出了自己的手機,並掛上了電話。

  「手機被壓在我的屁股下啦,因為突然震動,所以我被嚇到而已,好嗎?」

  「大屁股,壓在下面還沒感覺。」

  姐姐調侃的對妹妹說,妹妹不甘示弱地將她的手機奮力的丟還給她。

  「你才大屁股,要吃甚麼啦?」

  「隨便。」

  姊姊伸手接住了那朝著自己頭飛過來的手機,又是一句敷衍便把問題丟回給妹妹。

  「一般外送食物都吃膩了,最近正好有特殊外送服務上線,不然來叫人類那邊的食物來吃吃看好了。」

  說完,妹妹便打開了訂餐軟體,點開了特殊外送服務,點了兩份聽說是目前大受歡迎的滷肉飯配魚丸湯套餐。

  「好了,等它送來吧。」

  在一旁的姊姊沒有回應,只是張大了嘴巴打了一個大哈欠。

  「哈阿——。」

  坐在一間炒飯店裡的霍亞霆打了一個呵欠,一邊吃著他的午餐一邊滑著手機,看那些社群軟體上的謠言八卦。

  霍亞霆,一名大學剛畢業沒多久的學生,對於目前社會上工作都不感興趣的他選擇做專門餐飲外送服務的歐爸EAT,反正只要騎著機車到處跑,想接訂單的時候接,想休息就休息,雖然說這樣薪水相對比較少,但是也更自由一些。

  看著最近網路上一些有關外送的都市傳說,是在說一間奇妙的公寓房間,每次外送員送到門口時門就會自動打開,但是裡面空無一人,就連開門的人也沒看見。

  接著就會聽到一個像是從遠處房間傳來的聲音,指示要外送員將餐點放在玄關地上就好,錢放在門口一旁的鞋櫃上自己拿走就可以了。

  而且這種事情還不是出現在特定地區,而是各地區都有外送員遇到過,就連霍亞霆也是做外送的朋友也遇到,但是他一直認為他朋友可能是在跟他開玩笑,所以也沒有特別放在心上。

  只是最近他朋友忽然就聯繫不上,像是整個人間蒸發了一般,雖然前陣子有聽他朋友說過,好像是他終於找到了自己這生中最愛的人,這類的話。

  但是突然消失也太不講義氣了吧?也許有可能跟人家私奔了,只是聽說他連家裡的衣物東西都沒有帶走,就這麼突然失蹤了,不經讓人懷疑,他是不是遇到一個超有錢的富二代,然後跟人家私奔了,還不愁吃穿這樣,是這樣的話真的太沒義氣了,兄弟一場,也不介紹一下!

  「叮。」

  越想越氣的霍亞霆被一聲訂單的通知音效打斷了思緒,他想了想,也不知道剛剛自己為甚麼生氣,也許只是因為他朋友能遇上他遇不到的好事,而在忌妒而已吧?

  霍亞霆點開了訂單訊息,是附近的小吃店,餐點內容是兩碗滷肉飯跟兩碗魚丸湯,而且住戶的位置也很近,就索性的點了確認,接下訂單。

Categories: News

《銀刃和白靈》上篇

Fur Times - 獸時報 - Tue 14 Apr 2020 - 20:55

  1、

  春風十裡,楊絮綿綿,這真是個作弊的好時節。銀刃是這樣想的。

  他全身銀白的毛皮在陽光下格外耀眼,獨特的紫色瞳孔透露出高貴的氣息,作為銀狼一族的大少爺,他生來富裕,走起路來也是昂首挺胸、高視闊步,考試作弊更是不遮不擋,大喇喇。

  看著傻傻轉來轉去的監考老師,銀刃輕蔑一笑,瞄了眼桌下的手機。

  「老師!銀刃作弊!」

  隨著一聲輕響回響於耳,銀刃回頭盯著那隻說話的兔子。

  她有著長長軟軟的粉紅耳朵,潔白無瑕的毛髮,淡紅色的眼睛神采奕奕。但銀刃一看到她那挑釁的微笑就牙癢癢。

  這個女孩是白靈。那個「獸人高中永恆第一」的傳說!無論是哪門功課,她都表現得十分完美,力壓群雄。

  銀刃現在的心情糟糕透了:不就是考試作弊嗎?你這兔子怎麼這麼小氣?故意和我銀刃過意不去?等著吧……有你好看的。

  「這位同學……按照規定請你離開考場,謝謝配合。」

  銀刃狠狠撇了白靈一眼,重重帶上了門。

  2、

  「小白白……你走慢點……你瘋了嗎?……那個可是銀刃啊!他身後可是銀狼一族啊,你就不怕他報復你?」黃肥一直搖著白靈的手臂,邊走邊勸她。

  黃肥是白靈最好的閨蜜,是一隻黃黃肥肥的貓咪,久而久之就被叫做黃肥了。

  白靈快速的步伐突然停了下來,她認真地對黃肥說:「銀狼一族大少爺又怎麼樣?這種不思進取的啃老族,本來就該被打醒!」

  說完,白靈正準備離開去打工,身後卻傳來了銀刃的笑聲:「喲?你就是號稱學校第一的白大小姐——白靈啊?為什麼要舉報我考試作弊呢?」

  銀刃身著筆挺帥氣的白底襯衫,舉手投足都透出一股王者氣息,引得旁邊的一群女生都來圍觀。

  「居然和銀刃作對,簡直不想活了……」

  「那個可是銀刃啊,銀狼一族的大少爺啊,她也不看看自己,居然還有臉站在這……」

  「不就是成績好嗎,還真是無法無天了啊……」

  身旁女生的滴咕聲層出不窮,白靈卻再也忍不住了。

  「我就是要舉報你,別以為有幾個臭錢就了不起!知識是能用錢買來的嗎?你這樣渾渾噩噩地生活,有沒有想過你的父母?算了吧……像你這麼一個富家公子怎麼會知道這些。」白靈嫌棄地搖了搖頭,正要離開,銀刃卻攔住了她的去路。

  銀刃一把攬住她的腰,戲謔道:「哦?你還覺得自己有道理了?看來你是皮癢癢了吧?」說著銀刃迅速動手,準備一個過肩摔。

  當令人驚訝的是白靈居然搶先一步動手,迅速卸力,反手擒拿。那看似瘦弱的身姿竟然輕而易舉將銀刃抬了起來,扣在肩上,接著她背脊下弓,借力,以一個完美的過肩摔將銀刃摔倒在地。

  銀刃震驚了,他沒想到這小兔子居然這麼大力氣,也沒想到她居然真敢對自己動手,從小到大,都沒幾隻獸打過他,況且他還是校園拳擊賽第二名,竟然輕易就被白靈打敗,這讓他很沒面子。

  四周所有獸不可思議地盯著這一幕,有些難以接受,剛剛對白靈的冷嘲熱諷、評頭論足全都消失不見,大家再次對這小兔子刮目相看。

  白靈強勢地伸出一根手指,指著趴在地上的銀刃,說道:「沒錯,我就是白靈,白靈就是我。再見!」

  說完,白靈走掉,留下銀刃呆坐在地上。

  3、

  「刃哥……這樣真的好嗎?她好像要過來了……」

  沒事,銀刃得意地蹭了蹭鼻子:「這次一定要讓她出醜,上次她可讓我丟大面子了。」

  「好吧……」

  「那就開始吧!」

  銀刃拿起籃球,迅速在球場上跳動起來,他身姿矯健,運球敏捷,一下穿過對面的防守,胯下運球,三步上籃!

  「球進了!哇哦,銀刃好帥啊!」周圍觀眾全都驚呼起來,尤其是那群一直圍在他身邊的粉絲。

  「不就是進個球嗎?有什麼大不了的?」白靈撇了撇嘴,正準備轉身離開,突然一個籃球正中紅心砸到她頭上。

  「砰砰砰……」

  籃球砸到白靈後重重落在地上,把白靈的耳朵都撞到垂了下來。

  「喲?那不是白靈嗎?不好意思啊……恰好——打中你了,不如你幫我撿回來吧?」銀刃的計畫終於得逞。

  如果白靈低頭去撿,就是示弱了,如果不撿就是公然對抗,畢竟還有一大群女生想要為銀刃遞球。

  白靈遲疑了一會,說道:「看來狼的本性都是這樣……好,我幫你撿,但前提是你能搶走我手上的球。」白靈挺起胸膛,「我來攻,你來守。」

  「哈哈哈哈,你這是開玩笑?」銀刃可是籃球校隊的主力,白靈居然會去挑戰他!

  「別說我來守,就算我只用一隻手,你都……」

  「砰!」籃球落地的聲音。

  銀刃話還沒說完,白靈就站在三分線外,完美投出了一個三分球,清晰的弧線劃過天際,正中籃框。

  四周鴉雀無聲。

  「還要再來一次嗎?」白靈自信地摸了摸自己的長耳朵,瞇著眼問道。

  「好……再來!」

  接下來,銀刃使出了全力,多次攔下白靈的球,但比起銀刃,白靈的動作卻又更加敏捷,而且精通花式球技,令他防不勝防,巧妙進球。

  銀刃面對這瘦弱的小兔子,頓時生出一種想吃了她的衝動,以前可從來沒獸敢這麼戲弄他。

  「哦?生氣了?」白靈裝出一個和藹的微笑,彎著腰把頭湊向銀刃,伸出毛茸茸的手撫在銀刃的頭上「銀刃乖,千萬別生氣哦,我才不會告訴你,其實我是讓你的~」

  銀刃內心頓時感到奇恥大辱!

  白靈說完拍拍手,蹦蹦跳跳走開了,只留下一片驚噓聲。

  4、

  第二次敗在白靈手上,銀刃非常不爽,這些可都是他的強項,竟然會輸給一個小兔子!

  於是他開始暗中觀察白靈,發現白靈每天都會到藥店買藥。

  他發現白靈不管做什麼都很快,走路快、吃飯快……從不浪費時間。

  銀刃執著要發現一些白靈的糗事,這樣也能壓一壓她的火氣,自從白靈連勝他兩場後,白靈就被冠上了「文武雙全女皇」的稱號,而他的「銀狼大少」卻一去不返了。

  某天黃昏,銀刃偷偷跟蹤白靈,希望能夠找到一些笑話,他一直跟了白靈很久,白靈走過高山,峽谷,穿過樹林,才到了一所老人院。

  銀刃看到白靈把自己省下來的糧食分給那些鄉村老人,與他們談天和問候。

  這些都是銀刃從未見過的,他也是第一次發現,原來世界上還有這麼多可憐人,但當他看到白靈的藥包放在外面時,他動了歪心,以迅雷不及掩耳之勢偷走了藥包。

  他躲在草叢裡偷窺,本以為白靈一定會焦急到發狂,卻看到了白靈找不到藥包後居然哭了……

  那是銀刃第一次看到白靈哭,那個強勢控局、不可一世的女孩,居然也會哭!

  黃昏把白靈的影子拖長,她抹著淚一步步前往山巒的木屋,那個叫做家的地方。

  老舊的大門被推開,父親的靈位放在櫃子上,旁邊癱瘓在床的母親看到白靈回來,舉起枯枝般的手臂。

  「媽媽!」白靈再也忍不住,「哇」的一聲就哭了,「是我不好,我沒注意好,今天的藥被別人偷走了!」

  「咳咳咳!沒什麼……媽媽能撐過去,孩子,你的生活要緊,打工可別累著自己啊……」

  「不會的,我的生活很好,吃的穿的很好,朋友也很多……」

  銀刃在旁邊仔細地聽著,他不想去揭穿這個謊言:白靈在學校因為努力學習而忽略了人際交往,而且最近因為得罪了他而遭到排擠,平日吃的穿的簡單樸素。

  「原來你的錢都是自己打工賺的啊?」銀刃有些不敢相信,面前的女孩是如此的脆弱與堅強。

  「真的……很對不起。」銀刃躲在暗處,遲遲不敢現身,他不想打破白靈的謊言,也不想表現出對白靈的憐憫,更不想被白靈當做偷藥的壞人,於是他默默將藥包放在了門前,準備離開。

  但當他想了想後,又敲了敲門,然後快步閃狼,鑽入草叢。

  白靈打開門,驚喜地看到地上的藥包,但當她四處觀望,卻不見獸影,帶著疑惑與激動,帶上了門。

  看到白靈如釋重擔的樣子,銀刃高興地點了點頭,開始返航回家。

  夕陽把他的影子拉長,銀色的毛髮閃著絢爛的光輝,他時不時會轉身看看這片土地,這裡的森林,這個養老院,心中感慨萬千。

  「對不起……白靈。」

  5、

  白靈的生活很艱苦,但這些苦只有她自己知道。

  每天5點白靈就要起床,跋山涉水走過十幾里路才能到達學校,這也練就了她鐵打不動的好身體。本來她是可以住宿的,但是為了癱瘓在床的母親能夠有所照顧,她每天都用自己賺取來的錢買藥。

  很難想像這樣一隻柔弱的兔子每天把所有課餘時間都用來打工。在別人嬉笑戀愛的時候,她也許在端菜洗盤,也許在清掃大街,也許在和客戶交談。

  她幹什麼都很快,因為她從來不想浪費時間,或者說,她害怕浪費時間,因為她能夠深深感受到生命的脆弱和無力,就像她的母親,像手掌中滑落的流沙,不經意間就灑落了一地。

  因為她想要改變自己的命運。她每一門功課都想要做到極致,這是她唯一的出路。

  為了與命運抗衡,白靈漸漸脫離了這個群體,沒人關心她,只能遠觀,而她,連一個朋友都沒有……

  今天,白靈依舊拖著包包上學,走了十幾里路來到學校食堂,但是令她奇怪的是,從食堂一路走來,四周充滿了奇異的眼光,好像所有人都在看著她?

  「今天是怎麼了?我還是和以前一樣啊?」

  白靈疑惑地左顧右盼,追尋無果後,來到了食堂阿姨面前。

  「阿姨你好,一片青草餅。」

  白靈吃不起那些昂貴的食物,只能以此充饑。

  「好的。」阿姨笑著遞給白靈一個大青草蛋糕,白靈身子一愣。

  「不不不!阿姨,你搞錯了,我買的不是這個,我只要一個青草餅。」白靈奮力推辭,這樣的蛋糕她可吃不起。

  「沒錯,就是你的。」阿姨甜甜一笑,「剛剛你的男朋友幫你買單了,這是他送給你的,趁熱吃了吧,可別辜負了他對你的一份心意啊~對啦,你那男朋友還挺帥的呢。」

  白靈驚訝地瞪大眼睛,說不出話來,長長的耳朵垂下來,這呆愣的表情能夠把一群男生迷倒。

  「會是誰呢?」白靈回頭一看,那些同學在餐桌邊交頭接耳,議論紛紛,顯然也是在討論這事。

  「阿姨,您知道是誰幫我買的嗎?」

  阿姨笑了,一對小獠牙露出:「嘿嘿,我答應過他的,秘密。」

  「好吧……」白靈低下頭,側耳聽著,她能聽到遠處的一些瑣碎聲:

  「不會吧,銀狼大少居然真的幫她買早餐?」

  「除了大少誰還買得起這樣的東西啊?」

  「沒理由啊,銀刃怎麼會幫她?」

  「也不清楚,但是我的確看到銀刃在窗臺那裡和阿姨說了什麼……」

  白靈聽到銀刃,胸口猛然擴張,又是那個混蛋!三番兩次來找麻煩,還好她技多不壓身,要是換作其他人,早就敗給他了。

  「怎麼可能是他?絕對不是!哼!」白靈咬了一口蛋糕,氣噗噗走開了。

  6、

  白靈的選修第一節課就是舞蹈,白靈很喜歡跳舞,尤其是喜歡那種隨著風自由舞蹈的感覺,就像是靈魂的漂流,精神的飛揚。

  練舞班裡面有很多獸,但是跳的最好的還是白靈,因為她幾乎可以與世隔絕、心無旁騖地舞蹈,只要有音樂,她就能沉醉其中,不自覺地隨著起舞,像一隻盤旋的蝴蝶,身姿優雅得像剛盛開的花。

  銀刃從來沒跳過舞,他覺得跳舞應該是女孩子才做的事情,但這天他破天荒地來到練舞廳,扶著欄杆眺望下面的舞者。

  他第一眼就被這隻小兔子吸引了,他以前從來沒有注意到,原來白靈跳舞的時候那麼美,每一個舞姿,就像是渾然天成,毫無瑕疵:抬腿、原地大角度旋轉,每一個動作恰到好處,他突然明白為何白靈能夠在籃球場上贏過他,不是蠻力,而是巧力,那種對力量的精准控制,早已登峰造極。

  終於,一曲歌舞結束了,銀刃卻依舊沉迷在那妙曼的舞姿之中,呆呆愣住。

  白靈優雅地轉身,昂起頭一看,發現銀刃正瞇著眼睛盯著自己,頓時心生不滿,她遠遠看著銀刃,伸出右手,翹起大拇指,扭著頭比了一個讚。

  銀刃赫然驚醒,看著白靈,不知所措,這是什麼情況?

  果然不出所料,白靈接下來昂起高傲的頭,滿臉堆起嘲弄的微笑,把朝上的大拇指狠狠倒了過來,眼神充滿了挑釁。

  銀刃可受不起這樣的挑釁,頓時心中一千個草泥馬奔騰而過,但他馬上又冷靜下來,轉身離開了。

  白靈看到銀刃的退避,終於開心笑了笑,她就是想打擊這只銀狼的自信心,現在果然做到了!

  正準備離開,身後傳來了隊長的聲音。

  「對了,白靈,你跳舞這麼好,不如就參加一下這次的舞蹈比賽吧?」

  白靈一直以來都期盼著這場比賽,畢竟舞蹈也是她的夢想之一,她高興地點了點頭。

  7、

  「醫生,你知道一個叫做白靈的女孩嗎?」銀刃在藥店旁徘徊了很久,終於下定決心開了口。

  「哦,你說她啊?每天都來這裡買藥呢,她也是個孝順孩子,只是父親去的早,母親又身患重病,生活的苦大家都看得見,她的藥我一直都買得便宜一些。」

  「呃……醫生……這裡是買藥的錢,大概可以供白靈買藥三個月,這段時間,你能不能不要白靈付錢了?」銀刃憋了半天終於說出了口。

  「嗯……?」醫生滿臉不解。

  「孩子,如果你真想幫她,就跟她直說吧,她更需要的其實是心理上的關懷,而不是物質上的幫助。」

  聽了這話,銀刃內心突然一驚。一直以來,他都以為錢能解決一切,什麼權利,什麼尊嚴,在錢面前都不值一提,但醫生的這話讓他開始猶豫了。

  「抱歉,我不能露面,我只是想要補償那個她,我……」

  「不……孩子,我都懂,她能有你這樣的男朋友,真是好啊……」

  「啊?我不是她男朋友,我只是……」銀刃想要反駁醫生的話,卻突然遲疑了。

  我只是……

  我只是什麼呢?

  我為什麼這麼努力想要去幫她呢?

  真的只是想要補償她嗎?

  我到底……

  我……我到底在想些什麼啊!

  「啊……事情說來很複雜,總之,你就幫幫我吧,拜託了!」

  銀刃說完留下錢就跑掉了,只是在路上飛奔時,腦海中白靈妙曼的舞姿一直揮之不去。

  8、

  夕陽西下,白靈像往常一樣來買藥。

  「什麼?!已經有人付過錢了?」白靈不敢相信!

  「是啊,孩子,已經有人幫你付錢了,好好珍惜你的朋友吧……你的母親也很需要這些。」

  說著醫生把藥包遞給白靈,臉上充滿著溫馨的笑容:「他對你,是真的很好呢……」

  白靈木訥地接過藥包,呆滯地看著醫生,問:「請問,這個他到底是誰?」

  一直以來,白靈都期盼有一個保護神,能夠幫她逢凶化吉,處理各種難以解決的事情,現在,這個保護神,好像真的出現了,就像隱形的天使一樣,默默守護著她,關心著她。

  每次她一想到這個保護神,就會心頭暖暖的,像雪地裡的篝火。

     「抱歉,我……不能說,但是,有一點可以透露,他是狼族。」說完醫生笑著朝白靈點了點頭。

  白靈卻愣著說不出話來。

  「會是……他嗎?

  不會!絕對不會!

  那個濫用金錢的大少爺怎麼會幫我呢?還真是我想多了。」

Categories: News

Terror, Teens, and Furaffinity — How a chain of violent hate incidents links to furry fandom.

Dogpatch Press - Tue 14 Apr 2020 - 10:05

The biggest furry art site FurAffinity is hosting promotion for a neo-nazi mass shooter. Brenton Tarrant shot 100 people in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019. Tarrant came from internet radicalizing. He used 8chan to broadcast hate, and is now a far-right extremist hero for copycats around the world. FurAffinity has been closing many reports about it, including mine and others that tipped off this story. Furaffinity’s Code of Conduct (2.7) says: “Do not identify with or promote real hate or terrorist organizations and their ideologies.” They refuse to enforce it.

In Furaffinity’s policy, “organizations” may be a weasel-word to dismiss this as an isolated thing. Treating this as “just art” helps the goal of radicalizing — to worm inside with lying that hate isn’t tied to violence, and violence comes from “lone wolves”. (A goal to provoke, but deny it.)

Single data points make a much bigger chain. When insiders refuse to recognize it or do anything to help, they pass off responsibility to outside sources. This story will be one of those sources, along with FBI docs and current mainstream news that link a fringe of furry fandom to violent hate.

From top left: (1) Furaffinity post promoting the New Zealand shooter. (2) Vice explains hate symbols in it. (3) Furaffinity refuses to enforce their policy.

One of the links to furry fandom is a member in common with at least three hate groups. Dillon Hopper is an ex military recruiter whose pre-2017 furry background is unreported and almost unknown. The groups he moved on to are notorious for terrorism and murder. That’s right — Hopper came from furry, then he led Vanguard America, associated with Atomwaffen Division, and helped copycat group Feuerkrieg Division to recruit underage kids.

LINKS GROW WITH CURRENT NEWS:

  • In April 2020, mainstream media covers Feuerkrieg Division, an internet neo-nazi group led by a radicalized THIRTEEN year old.
  • Feuerkrieg Division promoted extremist violence like chlorine bombs, leading to arrest for trying to bomb Jewish and LGBTQ people.
  • That includes reference to mass shooting at furry cons — (and remember when Midwest Furfest was attacked with chlorine in 2014?)
  • Posts about murdering furries by teens in FKD were provoked by the neo-nazi leader in his 30’s, Dillon Hopper.
  • Hopper led Vanguard America when it made news for a murder at the 2017 Unite the Right hate march in Charlottesville, VA…
  • … and before it, Hopper’s history in furry fandom included getting kicked out of furry cons in Ohio for starting fights.
  • Hopper knows and praises the leader of Atomwaffen Division, the “Siege”-inspired terrorist group that Feuerkrieg Division was modeled after.
  • Atomwaffen Division was tied to 5 murders, and hundreds of terror incidents in 2017-2018, including swatting a sitting US Government cabinet official.
  • A February 2020 report from the FBI shows Atomwaffen Division had nazifurs inside, even participating in their swatting campaign.
  • In February 2020, longtime furry artist Reagan Lodge was exposed as a member of Iron March, a hate forum that produced AWD and Vanguard America. He made a twitter post about personally leaving a “dark period,” but it’s not clear if it included recognition for the bigger issue of group radicalizing.

The tiny Nazifur/”Altfurry” fringe works for goals in common with hate groups like these, including sending nazifurs to the deadly Charlottesville march. And the New Zealand shooter inspires many of these links. The more this chain is ignored, the more it will lead to violence. This isn’t a “think of the children” story about vague influence — it’s about deliberate targeting. Leaked chats from Feuerkrieg Division show how they recruit kids.

#BREAKING: Unicorn Riot has obtained and published a large archive of leaked chats from inside the international neo-nazi terror group 'Feuerkreig Division':https://t.co/bgPAKu4ygB

The leak shows a high level of detail into FKD's activities from July 2019 to March 2020.

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) March 20, 2020

I can't state this enough.

The far-right is deliberately targeting children.

And nobody is fighting against that harder than @_Shan_Martinez_.

For a good look at how to counter the far-right's recruitment of children, see her thread here.
❤????✊https://t.co/0Girzib5Gx

— AntiFash Gordon (@AntiFashGordon) April 8, 2020

FEUERKRIEG DIVISION — Details about radicalizing kids, bombing plans and more in the new leaks.

While talking about murdering furries, Dillon Hopper (who we’ll return to below) was jokingly called “babysitter” by teens in FKD. Their leader was a 13 year old schoolboy in Estonia. This Estonian news story about him mentions furries on their enemy list.

FKD started with European roots, but was modeled after Atomwaffen Division in America. This PDF profile mentions how they reached out to Americans. In August 2019, FKD associate Conor Climo was arrested in Las Vegas with bomb-making materials meant to attack Jews and LGBTQ people.

FKD also discussed ways to appeal to centrists, then radicalize chosen members and bring them to an inner group. It’s a tactic shared with altfurry groups, who have been seen discussing how to make members comfortable in group chats, then “redpill” them with personal DM’s.

Let’s go back several years to find furries linked with more extreme terrorists than generally known. That’s when deniers were claiming that “furries can’t be nazis,” and accusing this site of “crying wolf” about what’s now public. Meanwhile in 2018, nazifurs were inside a secret crime spree by Atomwaffen Divison.

Conor Climo used the alias 'Ben' / 'Ben Dover' in the Feuerkreig Division's encrypted Wire chat.

In addition to discussing various terror tactics, he proposed using Discord chats to recruit teenagers who he could then direct to make improvised bombs.https://t.co/bgPAKum989 pic.twitter.com/D04o10ES0N

— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) March 20, 2020

From Conor Climo (as “Ben”)

ATOMWAFFEN DIVISION — Some of the worst extremism that “Nazi Furs Fuck Off” covers.

In February 2020, the FBI reported about Atomwaffen Divison’s campaign of swatting (using fake calls to send a SWAT team crashing through a victim’s door). There were hundreds of incidents. Their report didn’t discuss evidence inside it that needed a furry news story to explain: FBI Ties Nazifurs to Atomwaffen Division — Attacks Targeted US Gov Official, Journalists.

That story had all the known details, until the Unicorn Riot leaks showed how AWD and FKD had members in common, like Dillon Hopper.

The story looked at AWD chat logs from their 2018 swatting campaign. That was when “Nazi Furs Fuck Off” was a saying across furry fandom — and in the AWD chats — and there was a furry interview and party with Jello Biafra. (He’s the Dead Kennedys songwriter who wrote “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” in 1981).

Jello Biafra answered my recent mail about this. (I sent it for the novelty of seeing a reference to him churn though the underworld and federal surveillance, and back out through an FBI press release.) He said:

My fave part of that small exchange is, “Nazis and Furrys should be able to live in peace”. Really?? On whose terms?? They really don’t want to live in peace with anyone… Sad I never got invited back to do another Furry event. Hope all’s well otherwise.
Happy Pandemic,
Biafra

@Jello_Biafra was really cool to let me get him on video after @frolicparty tonight. pic.twitter.com/CoFuxRIR9E

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) December 2, 2018

UNITE THE RIGHT — Deadly violence and Altfurry goals converged in Charlottesville in 2017.

If these links are the tip of an iceberg, others stay unseen until radicalizing tips them over the edge.

In 2019, James Alex Fields was sentenced to life in prison for murder. Fields plowed his car into protesters leaving Unite The Right, shortly after he was there with Vanguard America. Their members celebrated his act, followed by denial of responsibility by then-president Dillon Hopper. (Provoke but deny.)

Nathan Gate livestreamed the march. As an admin for alt-right groups and Unite The Right organizer Richard Spencer, he helped set up the Altfurry Discord server. Newsweek called him “The most damning link between white supremacists and alt-furries.” That day in 2017, he was photographed with one of six men who assaulted hate crime victim Deandre Harris. Gate called the beating beautiful. By 2019 four of them were convicted to 2-8 years in jail each.

Andrew Dodson carried a torch in the march. In furry fandom he was “Goldenzoltan”. He went to Anthrocon and was known for trolling since the early 2000’s. It was less-known that he went by “dog0fwar” for alt-right activity, like joining an anti-fascist meeting in Boston to spy and give notes to hate organizers. At Unite The Right, he approached a journalist to give a pro-racist statement that put his face in national news.

Besides his beliefs, Dodson was considered gifted in nuclear energy research, and apparently suffered as a gay man with long time drug and mental issues. A half year after the march, he died from a heroin overdose. A person close to him found his body, tipped me about it and the heroin use, but denied it was suicide. Police called me for details.

March organizer Richard Spencer found out months late, misspelled Dodson’s name, called him a “marty,” and used this hate casualty to blame Antifa and the media. Dodson’s death put him in some national news (again), this time about making him a martyr and “doxing” (even though HE approached the first reporter).

It seems like hate groups weren’t there for Dodson when he suffered with the stain they put on his life — just when they could use him. They don’t just hurt their targets, they ruin lives of their members.

Dodson’s last known link to furry was going to Midwest Furfest 2017, where he was seen asking around to find outspoken anti-fascist DeoTasDevil with comments about stabbing her.

Nathan Gate begged me to take down an article about his links to furry.

DILLON HOPPER — The ex military recruiter and violent “N-Word Guy” at furry cons.

Shortly before Unite The Right, Hopper talked about Vanguard America and how it recruited 18 to 24 year olds because the “future is about the youth”. Later that year, Vanguard America cut ties with him and reformed with a new name, while he moved on from furry cons to grooming teens to target furries. So what was his fandom activity?

If there were furry usernames, they’re not known except “TruckRR”. This matches a few Inkbunny comments. (One is a spelling match to his hate group posts.) His photo made news about Unite The Right, and he was recognized by furries who used to know him. None would speak openly but they told stories in private. One told me:

At Morphicon [name for AnthrOhio until 2015], he got kicked out for getting so drunk that he started throwing pool furniture on the patio. Hotel security kicked him out, he tried to drive away, they wouldn’t let him get in his car from how drunk he was. At a New Years party which unfortunately I was a part of, he was trying to pick a fight with me, and I regret to this day not swinging on him. Basically he’d show up, get beyond drunk to almost throw-up level, then start calling everyone the n-word. So he had the nickname of “N-Word Guy” whenever he was brought up, which usually got the response of “Ooooh….. him”.

The link was investigated by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2018, but a witness wouldn’t share video of Hopper being kicked out of a furry con. One more point: Chat logs showed Hopper encouraging a fantasy of underage rape among teens in FKD. (A flag for those who notice he used Inkbunny.)

  • (Update: Another old furry profile was located and confirmed as Dillon’s.)

Hey Ohio and Indiana Furs!

Do you recognize this man? pic.twitter.com/nTlMKlpI9X

— Deo (@DeoTasDevil) August 21, 2017

Apparently persued a friend of mine for a couple years. Met at AC. Last contact was 5 or so years ago. Furry info has been forgotten\changed

????Rïcky Spånîsh???? (@Red_Monk3y) August 16, 2017

I literally have go pro video of this entire incident.

— Special Agent (@CaseyLupus) April 13, 2018

WHY IS THIS STILL A PROBLEM IN 2020?

These links should be the last word about “Furries can’t be nazis,” “crying wolf,” “you call everyone who disagrees a nazi”, “it’s just art”, etc. They’re just openly known links besides any in active investigation. The more that come out, the closer the chain connects.

COVID-19 is postponing many conventions this year. That can lower risk in real life, but raise opportunity for online organizing to surge back later.

After a few years of reporting about Altfurry/nazifurs, I’ve seen many groups flame out into small embers that still glow with hate. Some of them still want to appeal to centrists with a “hide your powerlevel” approach. Until they find opportunity, they act even more radicalized and dedicated to “redpilling”.

The “nazi furs fuck off” attitude has power, but it might only go as far as corralling these small groups on the fringe. Active attention matters. It seemed like things were on the right track when this happened in 2018: FurAffinity updates Code of Conduct, backlash by hate groups promoted by 2 Gryphon.

If Furaffinity now fails to do anything about promotion for a mass shooter, it’s like they made a policy but won’t enforce it, just to look like they have one. It says that they really care about traffic or looks, not users. It accommodates the chain of hate and “provoke but deny” tactics. There needs to be more than slogans and lip service to stop radicalizing from tipping over the edge.

@Furaffinity has a recurring problem with neo-nazi hate. FA has done some action but they're backsliding. I was asked to help about a post promoting the New Zealand shooter. It got 3-4 reports denied. Please report and keep asking them to act! @IMVU
https://t.co/DQ0VwlHKmX

1/4 pic.twitter.com/SLacAiZcDt

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) April 5, 2020

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Categories: News

Be Part of a Furry Film

In-Fur-Nation - Mon 13 Apr 2020 - 01:59

Hello everyone! Belated Happy Easter to you all, and we hope you’re staying healthy and safe. While we’re at it, we’ll send you to take a look at Previews’ special feature for today, Five Favorite Comic Book Bunnies.

And now for something completely different, we need to tell you about a current Kickstarter campaign. You’re probably aware (and if you’re not you should be!) of Tracy Butler’s award-winning graphic series Lackadaisy. Well now there’s a Kickstarter up to finance the very first Lackadaisy animated short film. The campaign has already surpassed its goal (by leaps and bounds!), but you can still get some cool tie-in products if you contribute. Hurry though! This is the final week before the campaign ends. Act meow!

image c. 2020 by Tracy Butler

Categories: News

[Live] Texas Toilet Paper Massacre

FurCast - Sat 11 Apr 2020 - 22:59
Categories: Podcasts