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Before every con I try to make a new badge to go with the theme! This one's Oklacon - The Good, The Bad, and The Furry
Looking for a good romantic book.
I have read all of kyell Golds books, Greg Howells books, and just finished TwoKinds. Any recommendations on the next book I should read? :3
submitted by OrionSuperman[link] [2 comments]
Nintendo Furs Mario Kart 8 Teams Online Tournament this Saturday 7pm to 9pm Central
He's Bullied at School for Being a Furry
I hope you're ready for this, since this probably will be a bit unclear... Before I present my problem, I think that you should know a bit about me, since my personality voids possible solutions to my problem. I'm a perfectionist, a self-criticizing and self-conscientious fur who has recently came out furry at the start of August. I do not plan on attending meets or conventions (I'd rather deal with more pressing matters) and I only know 1 other furry IRL. I use chatrooms, but to me, it does not feel like real communication. I am also a “grammar hawk,” a Pokémon fan, a Professor Layton fan, and an Ace Attorney fan. I also like playing chess. Also, I have a disability (I don't pay much attention to it) and I'm generally quiet, although I'm a social person due to my personality.
Now, when I came out furry, most of my friends were surprised (after all, I was giving out the smart and mature impression to people) and generally, I received a positive reception. However, one of my friends who pretended to be supporting, backstabbed me and insulted me using social media. He has promised that he will not do such again (although he still is mean to me) but he is forming a group of friends who constantly pester me when I'm trying to concentrate on my studies, since I have exams to do for the next few years. I have discussed this problem with friends of mine, who replied with "stay positive and ignore them" but due to their persistence and the fact that I am so self-criticizing and self-conscientious, I am finding that impossible to do.
Consequently, this problem is making me feel “uncomfortable in my own skin” and shy. Also, it means that I'm too preemptive about doing anything furry-related. (I also cannot buy a fursuit, they're too expensive in my opinion!) So, I'm currently looking for more subtle furry stuff, but that's a topic for another letter.
Sorry for the very long letter, but I am afraid that this problem will only get worse (and the anti-fur group will only get bigger; they've started being mean to my non-fur friends) and my reputation will only get worse. I thought that my disability was bad enough....
Yours,
Anonymous
* * *
Dear Anonymous,
Yours is a situation I’m familiar with. When I was in elementary school, for some reason (I still don’t know why) this one kid started picking on me, and he then recruited others to start making fun of me. It kept building until the last few months of my sixth grade year became a living hell. Boy, was I glad to go to another school the next year!
Kids can be like this. They spot a weakness in someone (a disability, lack of skill in sports, awkwardness of any kind) and they exploit it to make themselves feel like they are somehow superior to their targets. It is the most reprehensible kind of behavior and it happens every day in school yards all over the world.
If this is getting to the point of bullying, you need to make some adults aware of it (school administrators, parents). Every state in this country either has a law, a policy, or both against bullying. Go to StopBullying.gov to learn more about this.
Part of the bullying results, probably, from bullies seeing you have low self-esteem, which is a sign you have a weakness they can attack. People like you and me usually get self-critical because, well, we’ve been beaten down by others since childhood. Parents, peers, teachers—most of them make it their job to make you conform to societal “norms,” and if anyone deviates from those norms you can bet they are going to squash your individuality and make you feel bad about yourself. This is, of course, “for your own good.”
You need to stop being so self-critical (you already know this is a problem). Being self-critical can be harmfully addictive in a number of ways. First of all, it gives you an excuse not to do stuff or even try to do it (“I’d probably screw it up, anyway”); second, it gives you a false sense of noble humility (“Look at me, I’m not egotistical like those people; I’m a very humble person”); third, it is a way to elicit complements from other people (“Oh, I’m so stupid” to which your friend says, “No you’re not! You’re smart!” as you smile inwardly, feeling validated in secret.) None of these practices is healthy for you, mentally or emotionally.
To stop being so down on yourself, start by making a list of your good traits. Post them in a prominent place in your bedroom or bathroom and read through them every day. Then, if you find yourself, during the day, saying something bad about yourself, stop yourself and think of one of the positive things on your list.
Fortunately, you may have stumbled upon a solution for your problem with friends. The ones who have turned against you are not your friends. Why are you still associating with that one guy if he is “still mean” to you? I wouldn’t put up with that, and neither should you. Don’t be so desperate for friends that you’re willing to be a punching bag for someone else’s emotional issues.
Time to replace those sorry excuses for friends with other people, and perhaps those people could be furries. The first thing you need to know about furries is that you do not need a fursuit to be a furry! Eighty percent of furries don’t have one! It is a common misconception. But if you ever do decide you want one, you can get partials fairly inexpensively, or even find a used one. Anyway, that’s not important. What is important is that you find some friends with whom you can relate. Reading your letter, I bet there are a lot of furries your age who would get along swell with you, disability or no. It’s really a mistake, therefore, to try to go “subtle” on the furry stuff. Furries are anything but subtle LOL.
Papabear’s prescription for you, therefore, is to go forth and become pawesome with some furries. You’ll have to start online to find people, but hopefully there is a furmeet or some such near you that you could attend, or maybe go to a furcon (take your parents, since you’re underage).
While furries, like any other group, aren’t perfect, you’re more likely to find people like yourself with the furry community. It helps a lot, when looking for friends, when you share interests, and the love of furry movies, comics, art etc. can bring you together.
In addition to furries, you can search online for people who like chess, Pokémon, video games, etc. For example, there is a Facebook club for Professor Layton fans at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-Layton-and-Co-Fan-Club/545901585419955 you could join. The more groups you join like this one, the more of a chance you have of locating someone near you who likes what you do.
Your friend who advised you to ignore the bullies is essentially correct. As you go through life, you should try and learn the skill of pruning your friends list. Cut off the dead or diseased branches and you’ll have a healthier plant and more beautiful flowers. You might even try grafting new species onto your plant and achieve something extraordinary.
Hope that helps! Stay furry!
Papabear
If each species had daily readings like astrologies, what would the consistent theme of your species be?
Guild News: October
Welcome to our new members Nathanael “Friday” Gass, Mars, Jess E. Owen, Tony Greyfox, and Ocean Tigrox!
Member NewsTristan Black Wolf took first place in SoFurry’s “Summer Adventures” writing contest with his story “Solstice.”
Renee Carter Hall‘s “The Bear with the Quantum Heart” was reprinted in Allegory, and her ebook “Real Dragons Don’t Wear Sweaters” is now just 99 cents at Amazon and Smashwords.
The first FWG anthology, Tales From the Guild Volume 1: Music to Your Ears, was published this month by Rabbit Valley, featuring stories from members Michael H. Payne, Mary E. Lowd, Huskyteer, Sean Rivercritic, Mark Neeley, Mars, Nathanael Gass, and Jess E. Owen, and in Rabbit Valley’s new anthology Pulp!: Two-Pawed Tales of Adventure, you’ll find stories from members Ocean Tigrox, Bill “Hafoc” Rogers, Renee Carter Hall, Tarl “Voice” Hoch, Roland Jovaik, and Huskyteer. You’ll also find work by our members in this year’s Rainfurrest charity anthology, Furtual Horizons, which includes stories from Tarl “Voice” Hoch, Ocean Tigrox, Kyell Gold, and Friday, among others.
With a title like “Pegacornus Rex,” how can you not check out Mary E. Lowd’s latest story in Daily Science Fiction? She’s also the new editor for ROAR #6 (more about that in Market News).
New releases from FurPlanet for Rainfurrest also include Kyell Gold’s Dude, Where’s My Fox? and Rose LaCroix‘s Escape from St. Arned.
Finishing up this month’s news, Michael H. Payne’s Morning, Noon & Night is now available for Kindle, Dwale has posted a new poetry bundle to FA, and our associate member Jay has been confirmed as a special guest at FurDU 2015.
(Members: Want to make sure your news gets included here? Start a thread in the Member News forum!)
Market NewsUpcoming deadlines: Get submissions in to World Weaver Press’ Corvid anthology by October 31, and the deadline is November 1 for submissions to The Furry Future. (Full info and links to guidelines at our Paying Markets page.) The Midwest FurFest conbook also has a November 1 deadline (details at our conbook page).
Just opened: Two new anthologies forthcoming from FurPlanet — ROAR #6 with a theme of “scoundrel,” and an untitled noir anthology. Rainfurrest has also announced next year’s charity anthology theme, “Sword and Sorcery.” (Remember to keep an eye on our Calls for Submissions thread and our Publishing and Marketing forum for the latest openings and news!)
Guild NewsIn case you’ve been under a rock (any rock-dwelling fursonae out there?) or just weren’t paying attention under Member News, our first anthology, Tales From the Guild Volume 1: Music to Your Ears, is now available from Rabbit Valley. Support the guild and pick up your copy here! (Ebook coming soon.)
The Cóyotl Awards for 2012 and 2013 were announced at Rainfurrest this past weekend. You can see the list of winners (and links to the nominee lists) here. Congratulations to all our winners and nominees — and remember, if you know of something published this year that deserves our attention for next year’s awards, come tell us about it in this thread!
We remain open to guest blog posts from members! See the guidelines here.
Want to hang out and talk shop with other furry writers? Come join us for the Coffeehouse Chats, Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. Eastern and now Saturday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern — both held right in the forum shoutbox.
And if you’ve got something you need a beta for, we have a critique board in our forum (you’ll need to be registered with the forum in order to view it).
That’s all for this (very busy) month! As always, send an email to furwritersguild (at) gmail.com with news, suggestions, and other feedback, or just comment here.
One last question…If a coyote howls and there’s no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?
Man of Design
Walt Disney referred to Marc Davis as his “Renaissance Man” because Marc could seemingly do anything… He could do storyboards, design characters, animate, and he could even help to design new attractions for Walt’s theme parks. And now professionals from each of those departments and more have gathered together to celebrate Marc’s life and legacy in a massive new hardcover book, Marc Davis: Walt Disney’s Renaissance Man, coming this October from Disney Editions. It’s filled with Marc’s original sketches and designs, as well as background information from his friends and co-workers. Need a furry tie-in for all this? Look no further than his character designs for The Country Bears and America Sings attractions at Disneyland. But there’s more.
image c. 2014 Disney Editions
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