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This short goes out to the the scalies out there. This Sci-Fi film came from Toronto CGI artist Han Yang [1] and I get a real Traveler [2]vibe from these space ships. ...ok perhaps I only see that as i'm in need of getting back into a furry Traveller rpg campaign. [1] https://hanyang.format.com/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveller_(role-playing_game)
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Recently, furries are debating about appearing in ads, with fear of commercializing like a devil’s bargain with corporations. They’re saying “Keep furry weird“. Let’s help.

Pride month just passed. Yay, now it’s time for all the other sins!

Hey furries, go Envy some cute costumes. Have Greed for art you don’t need (but you deserve it). Be a Glutton for hugs. Lust for a fursuit crush. Give Wrath for bigots. Enjoy Sloth after a furry con. Why not? Does anyone actually want to go to heaven, the eternally boring place for goodie-two-shoes with no good parties?

Hell is where to find real fun and friends. It’s like a furry convention. If you go there for doing just ONE sin… you might as well go for broke.

Satan calling 

Of course those places are fairy tales. Bronze-age sheep herders made invisible friends to herd the masses to serve powerful elites. Superstitious storytelling is only as worthy as the meaning it brings. (Bibles can be good story sources, no argument there). That’s one skeptical opinion, anyways.

That’s why Satanists we’re talking about today don’t worship a deity. They’re just atheists with a grin, and pranksters with a point. Satan isn’t real, but they’re all about owning the power of a symbol.

He stands for rebellion against hypocrisy, nonconformity towards injustice, individual freedom, and Luciferian enlightenment. Religion vilifies disobedience, but it’s healthy to think for yourself. If a serpent gives you an apple, go ahead and take a bite, because you know what they say about an apple a day.

If you think about it, furry fandom is based on symbolism and totemism. You can even say Satan is the original furry.

The Devil and Daniel Mouse: furry animation about a musician’s bargain

Hell has a fursuit lounge

The Rebel Angel has rocked a fursona since they wrote the bible. He’s a baaadaaass goat or a ssssweet ssssnake. He was despised in mainstream media of the day (sermons, scriptures and art commissions for royal patrons), but his symbolism grew hairy legs to carry it far and wide. It’s hard to keep the devil down when he has all the fun, fashion, music and sex. Satan is a sexy beast. If you play heavy metal backwards, they don’t say 666, they say Yiff Yiff Yiff.

The furry fandom also thrives against mockery, with freakitude that keeps it independent. Furries are used to being vilified (often a socially-acceptable excuse for bullying). Meanwhile they do lots of fundraising for charity at their conventions. The Satanists I’m talking about are nice to animals too (sacrificing them is against their tenets.)

Fandoms have drama, and it’s no different for Satan’s fans. A little history is in order.

Until recently, “real Satanism” was mostly a fake accusation by overzealous Christians targeting anyone they called enemies. That caused Satanic Panic, a pop-culture influenced literal witch-hunt of the 1980’s. It was a generation after the rise of civil rights for minorities, with growing class division and fear of The Other. “Women’s lib” had both parents at work with new worry about “latchkey kids” and Stranger Danger, while kids discovered Dungeons and Dragons, heavy metal, and mature comics and cartoons (and lots of them turned into furries!)

The panic was a sensationalized distraction from unrest in society and at home. There were no sacrifices to Satan of course. The real victims were scapegoats:

In the 1980s, allegations of ritual abuse at a preschool in Southern California led to the longest, most expensive trial in U.S. history. The McMartin Preschool case — which resulted in zero convictions — became emblematic of a much more widespread phenomenon known as Satanic Panic. – Gizmodo

Fake scandals stoked conservative Think Of The Children fear-mongering. (Furries may sympathize… Yiff Panic? Judgement in a Connecticut town shows it’s still not safe to be openly furry.) Meanwhile, popes protected pedophile priests. The projection, hypocrisy and power abuse inspires protest by modern Satanists.

The Tentacles of Satanic Beliefs

That’s context, and now let’s look inside modern Satanism. It has a split between Theists who actually believe in a spiritual being, and Rationalists who follow tenets popularized by 1960’s counterculture icon Anton LaVey (who wrote the atheistic “Satanic Bible”).

Another split is The Church of Satan vs. The Satanic Temple. The Church gets criticism for being lame, irrelevant supporters of fascist-like misanthropy. (UPDATE: Thanks to Troj for sharing a better informed opinion to say don’t judge so fast.)  The Temple eschews that to focus on entertaining, artistic stunts, shows and protests for actually liberal goals. Their Satan isn’t just a symbol for shock value, he stands for positive action.

Reddit looks at the humanism behind the symbolism.

The Satanic Temple acts for free speech, separation of church and state, and enlightenment. Their After School Satan program uses equal access by law to school facilities, to spread free-thinking against Christian evangelism. They protested a Ten Commandments monument at Oklahoma’ capital as unfair use of public property for one religion. Hilariously, they built an amazing sculpted bronze Baphomet monument to put next to it. The IRS counts them as a tax-exempt religious organization!

To be honest, this all used to strike me as “edgy” as heck. I’m not an edgelord (shhh, don’t tell anyone about the shirt I wore in the 90’s that said “Smoke Crack and Worship Satan”.) Then I saw the absolutely delightful documentary about The Satanic Temple that came out in 2019.

When I saw it, my one criticism was wishing for more in-depth looking at the 1980’s Satanic Panic, perhaps by interviewing victims — but of course that would take more time and budget than just a small glance in a very well made movie.

Go see the movie. It inspired me to chat with a Satanic Furry who is actually at the Temple in Salem, MA. Come back tomorrow for that. Or else.

Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, please follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on Patreon.

I feel some weird nostalgia but I've never heard his name .... ???? Also, Is this why awwwoo has been made illegal as wolves have been calling down aliens?
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Word has been going around that the Ursa Major Award-nominated video game Cuphead (developed by Studio MDHR) is now being turned into an animated TV series. We got this from Animation World Network: “Netflix has joined forces with King Features on The Cuphead Show!, a new kids series based on the Studio MDHR video game. The show will expand upon the characters and world of Cuphead, with an animation style inspired by the classic Fleischer cartoons from the 1930s… The character-driven comedy follows the unique misadventures of the impulsive Cuphead and his cautious but easily swayed brother Mugman. Through their many misadventures across their surreal home of the Inkwell Isles, they’ve always got one another’s backs. The series will be produced by Netflix Animation and is executive produced by Emmy and Annie Award-winning producer, Dave Wasson (Mickey Mouse Shorts), with Cosmo Segurson (Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling) serving as co-executive producer.” That’s some good talent behind the project! No word on a planned release date yet.

image c. 2019 Studio MDHR

Back from Anthrocon, we haphazardly review our awesome experience. Fayroe then bursts into the studio with a story about his bad day.

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Link Roundup:

• Anthrocon 2019 Floor Wars
• Goodbye to FurryMap
• FurryMap Twitter
• Furries at San Fran pride
• Anthrocon Articles:
  • Furry invasion closes in on Pittsburgh
  • Furries feel the love from Pittsburghers as Anthrocon begins
  • Anthrocon Kicks Off With Fursuit Parade And Special Starbucks Drink
  • The origin of how Pittsburgh and furries fell in love with each other
  • For Some With Autism, Furry Culture Offers Comfort And Acceptance
• HIV Breakthrough
• Telegram Animated Stickers
• Crash on All Stars
• Converse Site
• Revit’s Anthrocon 2019 Con Video (4K)

News:

FurBuy down for ‘months’ after spat with security researcher

[Live] Schrödinger’s Adventure

We found this one thanks to Furry.Today: Mustard & Ketchup are a pair of male badgers in a long-term relationship — created by Iain Gardner of the studio Animation Garden. Recently they made their “grand entrance” as the stars of “Farfisa Song”, a video for the band Looper (featuring Stuart David from the band Belle and Sebastian). Take a look at Animation Garden’s portfolio to see what else they’re working on. And follow the badgers on social media!

image c. 2019 Animation Garden

For Friday we got a music video from the band Looper starring Mustard & Ketchup the same-sex married badger duo. This was their first introduction to the world where they try to create a music video but due to the couples low budget they end up with some with some creative differences. Mustard & Ketchup was created by Iain Gardner of Animation Garden [1]. You can also find the adorable duo on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GayBadgers/ [2] https://youtu.be/YoQ1hRFrSHc [1] https://animation-garden.com/about/ [2] https://www.facebook.com/GayBadgers/
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Followup to Get furry at San Francisco Pride 2019. See the Pride tag for much more.

Photo by Zenith

Photo by Wusky Husky

For the 2019 San Francisco Pride parade on June 30, the Norcal Furries had their biggest turnout yet. A hundred members made the street their stage with cheering audiences on both sides. They won the “Absolutely Outrageous” award out of more than 200 parade contingents, their second year to get an award.

“Once again we beat corporations who spend thousands on their floats with just a bunch of GoFundMe donations, and a couple of people looking very fuzzy!” (- Vance)

It’s rare to get a public spotlight like this anywhere outside of convention hotels. There was no cost for just showing up to join. It was the first Pride for many members, and it wasn’t just about queer visibility, but also engaging allies and freedom of self-expression for all. It looked like a party but the reason for it wasn’t forgotten. 50 years ago, Stonewall was a riot against hate, but fun without fighting is an answer to the question — what did they fight for?

It’s spreading. This weekend there will be a new furry float at San Diego Pride. The organizer told me about wanting to bring it to LA Pride and draw Norcal furries there too. (Look for a story about that soon.)

After the parade, the Norcal Furries regrouped at the back of a tapas restaurant that was reserved just for them. Paella sizzled and sangria splashed while core supporter Spottacus stood up to speak.

Spottacus said the float didn’t just exist to get on and ride it. It happened because every one of them made it go, almost like they pushed it with their own paws. They were pushing change over time too. The enthusiastic turnout was way different from the first time furries were in San Francisco Pride.

The Absolutely Outrageous award that the furry float/contingent won at the San Francisco Pride Parade today, thanks to Bay Area Furries, @Zoren, @RelayRaccoon,@Spottacus, @patch_packrat and others pictured at the after parade dinner celebration. pic.twitter.com/HSEUAKNLow

— Spottacus Chee ( CC, EF, Burn) (@Spottacus) July 1, 2019

https://t.co/oWpE2L29OT #FlashbackFriday #SFPride 2002 Pride Parade Furry Contingent pic.twitter.com/Y5AzMolpcF

— Brigus St. John (@brigusdawg) July 5, 2019

In 2002, the community was torn by infighting. Nobody was more against it than other furries. They didn’t even want the group name to be used with so-called “sexual” implications, as if that should be dictated by outsiders with no interest in what the group does. It was documented on the local mailing list. (Brigus, an original organizer, told me he wants to dig up key documents to show it.)

After 2005, furries stopped being in the parade due to low resources — every helping paw matters if the burden rests on a few. Then another original organizer, Bos’n Otter, helped my effort to bring back a float. He was proud to have others pick up where he left off. (I’ve been helping to organize Pride meets since 2012.)

If you ever hear complaints that Pride doesn’t matter any more, that’s the sound of dead weight holding you back. Some people would even stop you from openly using the name “furry”. If you can’t enjoy something as simple as your hobby, what more is on the chopping block?

Good crew today #SFPride pic.twitter.com/KT2llkANSR

— Ringtailed Pan of Bi-Shaped Fun (@RelaxingDragon1) June 30, 2019

View this post on Instagram

#NorCal #furries #pride #sfpride #sanfrancisco

A post shared by Alexa (@alexadotphoto) on Jul 1, 2019 at 12:28am PDT

Another good video from Tamara of #Norcalfurries at #sfpride2019 @sfpride pic.twitter.com/7BM89OUwGt

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) July 12, 2019

Here’s how the 2019 parade looked for Candy, a first-time marcher with the furries:

“The streets of downtown San Francisco were lined with tens of thousands of people for the 50th annual Pride parade. The Norcal Furries contingent had over 100 members with around 35 riding the float.

My favorite thing at the parade was the fursuiters interacting with the crowd. A dragon/shark-esque creature was zooming around on his scooter, doing laps around the group. A purple bunny with a matching purple backpack was going around giving high fives and hugs. A pink bunny, a tiger, an alligator and many more creatures were bouncing on top of the 14 feet tall Bounce Car which was adorned with elephants holding disco balls on the sides and pumping party music.

At one point we were worried that things like antler horns or big fluffy ears might hit the overhead cable car wires that San Francisco is known for. Can you imagine a cute bunny just going POOF! and turning into the Energizer Bunny?

There were tigers and lions and bears (oh my!) and dogs and wolfs and cats, and so much more! The fursuiters were well received by the spectators and many high fives and hugs were given out along the parade route. Much of the crowd was decked out in rainbow clothing, flags, beads, hats, makeup, bandanas and boas. The theme of this year’s parade was Generations of Resistance. And furries showed how to resist hate with the freedom of self expression. The contingent even won the Absolutely Outrageous award! (Last year they won the Absolutely Fabulous award.)”

– Candy

@GiaGunn from @RuPaulsDragRace and JT from #NorcalFurries at @sfpride. JT's not on Twitter so I'm passing on some fluffy hugs! Photo by Candy. #sfpride2019 pic.twitter.com/AApBV8ZwmU

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) July 2, 2019

Spottacus was energized to spread the magic even better next time:

“Heya furry marchers: this was the 6th year of consecutive pride floats… And the best one yet. But instead of sitting still, let’s all think about how to up the game for next year. There are options for expanding, and if we have a compelling, exciting plan, we could be even more impactful. The crowd loved our exuberance, our variety (from dancing floatsters to paw-pressing street furs to scooter-riding sharks to charity-promoting suiters and friends, we were fun and interesting to watch). We’ve even been ribboned twice now.

So, we’re asking for ideas, and volunteers, to expand the art, the energy, the relevance. Let’s make next year even MORE fabulous and outrageous.”

– Spottacus

Want to get involved? Leave a comment here, or message @ZorenManray or @Spottacus on Telegram.

Here’s the full clip from yesterday!
#furrypride #FurryFandom #owo #fursuit #fursuiter pic.twitter.com/c7HwsAWVtG

— Cody Boopers MEGAPLEX (@CodyBoopers) July 1, 2019

VarekWolf tells why his first time was so special:

“SF Pride 2019 wasn’t just my first Pride march, it was my first Pride event of any kind. I’d recently arrived at the realization I was Ace and probably bi-romantic as well, so Pride was naturally a way to celebrate my newfound confidence in myself. When our contingent turned the corner onto Market Street and we were surrounded by cheering spectators, masses of colorful flags, and exchanges of “Happy Pride!” I felt connected not just to other Aces but to a vast, supportive, and diverse community of individuals all across the LGBTIQA+ spectrum. Pride was one of the most personally meaningful things — as well as one of the most strenuous fursuit outings — I’ve ever done. I’m looking forward to SF Pride 2020.”

– Varek

Member photo galleries:

• Wusky Husky
• Trip E. Collie (“Enjoy and feel free to use but please credit”):
• Zoren

From the Telegram group for furries at Pride, I organized pics and vids into this channel (plus some interesting reactions): @sfpride2019. Here’s some selections.

Brigus and Soulfire Jackal – Photo by Super Jayhawk

Archai and Microdile supporting Dogbomb. Behind from the left: Natalie from the ALSA, Trip E. Collie, Soulfire Jackal, and Trip’s husband Direwolf in cowboy hat. — Photo by Walter Ringtail

“Just wanted to say, can’t thank all of you enough for the warm welcomes and hellos today meeting you! Really glad I was able to say hi to a few of you and meet ya (more glad our Disney float was right next to yours). Thanks again for being so sweet everyone. It was bittersweet for me leaving back to L.A. today. Made me miss living up in the Bay Area in general but more so because I got to meet some of you amazing, friendly and fun folks. You REALLY made my pride beyond memorable.”  – Wusky Husky

“Thanks for the volunteers who put this event together! This my first time going to Pride and I totally loved it!” – Bill Trail Horse

“Thanks to everyone who put this together. This was my first time and I had an awesome time (though my ears are still ringing).” – Ryu Raccoon

“I had so much fun. Thank you everyone for organizing and setting all this up! All the contingent monitors deserve huge props as well, trying to organize us, and checking up on the suiters!” – Opda

“Thanks to the organizers and the volunteers running water around and cooling off suiters with leaf blowers. ” – Aidan Jackal

“It felt amazing to see a non corporation float. You all are life savers!! We need 5 more furry floats! Thank you for the fuzzy feelings.” – Jessica

“I like how our contingent looks so chaotic and diverse. Very non corporate and non regimented.” – Amenophis

“Isn’t it beautiful? I love the non corporateness and pure creativity.” – Joe G. Bear

“It was beautiful, and such a huge juxtaposition to the overly corporate floats with their big logos and color coordinated T-shirts.” – Tizzy

“Also thanks to all of you for being there. It is all of you who truly won the absolutely outrageous award. Combining it with the prior years award that means we’re Outrageously Fabulous.” – Zoren

“Thanks a bunch again, organizers and volunteers. I had a great first time at Pride, despite being a bay area native.” – Ray Ting

“I’d like to express my amazement, respect and heartfelt gratitude to everyone. To the organizers: it’s no small feat to coordinate all this, believe me I know. You did an extraordinary job. The float was awesome, the sound was badass, and the setup/teardown/operations crew obviously had their shit together. To the folks running around with water, straws, leaf blowers (best idea ever!), and just generally checking up on us: you were essential and AMAZING. To the folks guiding us crowd-focused, half-blind, mostly-exhausted furbags, your always-friendly-but-insistent direction/wrangling was extremely necessary and helpful. Thanks for the excellent work and PATIENCE! To the wheel monitors, you kept us from DYING! (OK, all the contingent monitors did that one way or another, tis true.) And to everyone who marched, you ALL did a bangin job of showing Furry’s best and most outrageous side to San Francisco, the LGBTQ+ community, Twitter, the Internet and the world (maybe?). Obviously the crowd and the parade itself loved us. This was my third time marching in the furry contingent in the pride parade, and the last time was 16 years ago. I gotta say, we’ve come a long way baby, and it was a joy to participate. So many good vibes and positive energy. Keep being who you are and be proud! I know I am.” – Brigus

Special thanks: to organizers Zoren, Clinton, Groggy, Trip, Roman, Mr. Disk0 and Buster for working with The Bounce Car and crew, Kado Husky for art, Spottacus and Relay for hosting and dinner, every Gofundme donor, and Natalie and Denise (ALSAOCC director and manager) for coming in honor of Dogbomb, and the supporters who made it possible (especially those who came from far away or aren’t furries but allies.)

Photo by Aidan

Photo by Takula

Photo by Soulfire Jackal

Photo by Christina. “Thank you everyone!! My daughter had a blast. We will never forget this day.”

Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, please follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on Patreon.

Comic publisher Humanoids have a new all-ages imprint called BIG, and the first publication from it is called Bigby Bear. “A series of vignettes on imagination, science, mathematics, and the life of our planet…shared from the perspective of a curious bear and his furry, forest-dwelling friends! Bigby Bear lives peacefully in the lush mountains where he was born. Struggling to figure out nature and its elements, Bigby engages in silly experiments of all kinds. Accompanied by his loyal rabbit friend, he gives us the secret to living a happy, simple life: To follow your curiosity, and make friends along the way.” Written and illustrated by Philippe Coudray, Bigby Bear is available now in hardcover.

image c. 2019 BIG

Furries set to break Pittsburgh attendance record
https://www.wtae.com/article/furries-on-parade-in-pittsburgh-this-saturday/28294302

Post about AC.

PITTSBURGH —
If there seem to be constant sightings of fur-wearing visitors, there's a reason.

Organizers of the 14th annual Anthrocon convention say they're expecting to break last year's attendance record with up to 10,000 visitors this year.

They've come from many cities across the U.S. and from more than 20 countries, according to a spokesperson for the convention.

The theme for this year is "Surf Pacific," so be prepared for some festive summer outfits in this year's parade.

The fifth annual Fursuit Walk will take place Saturday, July 6, at 2 p.m.

2,132 "fursuiters" paraded around the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

A meet-and-greet with the "fursuiters" was also held following the parade.

“We are excited to welcome back Anthrocon for the 14th year, as this convention continues to be a summer highlight in Pittsburgh,” said Craig Davis, president and chief executive officer of VisitPITTSBURGH. “Since 2006, and including 2019, Anthrocon has contributed $71 million in direct spending to Pittsburgh’s economy. We thank the Anthrocon organizers for continuing to choose Pittsburgh to host their convention.”

Since 2006, Anthrocon has raised nearly $295,000 for animal-related charities in Pennsylvania, leaving behind a legacy of philanthropy in Pittsburgh. This year, the convention has selected PEARL Parrots Rescue as the charity it will support.

Other Links:
http://www.pittsburghcc.com/events/anthrocon-2019/
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/07/04/anthrocon-2019-kicks-off-in-downtown-pittsburgh/
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/07/06/fursuit-parade-and-furry-ccino/
https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/pittsburgh-furries-furries-descend-on-pittsburgh-for-anthrocon-19/956066098
https://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2019/07/06/Anthrocon-2019-Furries-Parade-Pittsburgh-FurScience-Sharon-Roberts/stories/201907070067
https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/07/anthrocon-furry-convention-pittsburgh-schedule/


-J

Here, have a short animated documentary on wolves.
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Anime Midwest takes place annually in July at both the Hyatt Regency O’Hare and the Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL USA which is centrally located between Chicago and O’Hare Airport. They get on average over 16,000 attendees. It is second in Anime Cons in my area, compared to Anime Central which takes place in […]

Love it or loathe it, Disney’s new CGI (we here at IFN refuse to say “live action”) version of The Lion King is coming soon — and the merchandising machine is in full swing. Along that line, we came across The Lion King: Wild Schemes and Catastrophes, a new full-color graphic anthology in trade paperback. “Journey through Pride Rock and beyond in four stories focusing on the life of Simba as a cub and what awaits him on his path to become the lion king.” Written by John Jackson Miller (Star Wars, Mass Effect) and illustrated by Alexandra Fastovets, Danilo Antoniucci, and Timothy Green II, it’s available now from Disney Comics and Dark Horse Books.

image c. 2019 Dark Horse Books

This year’s edition of Anthrocon has ended recently, and as usual had plenty of fun activities, and many warm furry times spread too. This year’s theme was ‘Surf Pacific’ and had many in the mood for dressing up in festive summer outfits, most notably during the fursuit parade. Since its origins in 1997, we’ve seen […]

A free to play battle royale game that is humans VS werewolves ... yes you get to be on the werewolf team. That is all. "Don’t Even Think is an asymmetric PvP survival game. The game gives the battle royale genre a different concept. During an intense battle, fighting alone will not be a wise decision. When the time is right, you might get an unexpected result by cooperating with other players. Collect information, analyze the information, and make your strategy work will be the key to your victory. Humans need to find weapons and ammo during the cold night. They need to collect the resources and keep themselves warm while looking for the information that will help them escape. By boarding the plane by the dawn, the humans will claim the victory. Werewolves need to find rotten bodies and drink their blood to acquire powerful abilities. They need to locate the humans by the light and smoke, hunting them down when the time is right. By eliminating the humans and stop them from escaping, werewolves will be able to claim the victory."
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New Digimon feature coming from Toei Animation and will probably be tearjerker. This one will be featuring the original Digimon Adventure crew but as adults in their 20s. I do hope this avoids the tope of having to give up childish things but I expect that will be the gist of it. Please prove me wrong Toei Animation.
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A request came in for furries to review a non-furry author’s book. Many thanks to Enjy for offering her thoroughly attentive writing. Find What’s Bred In the Bone at Amazon, see the author’s art and writing at her site or read a brief cover summary and another short review in the Twitter thread. (- Patch)

I love contacts like this. A nonfandom publicist wrote in seeking a reviewer for a book that looks like it hits the sweet spot for a fun genre piece. Police mystery with sci-fi intelligent dogs in space. Anyone into getting a free copy and writing about it, DM me. pic.twitter.com/jnm2peYzgc

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) June 16, 2019

Enjy’s review:

Cover art by Jody A. Lee

What’s Bred in the Bone is a novel written by Jan S. Gephardt, a multi-talented artist and author who has been in the science fiction fandom for most of her long life.

The story, which is the first part of a trilogy, centers around canine police officer Rex Dieter-Nell and his human partner Charlie Morgan as they attempt to solve an explosion on a ship. Rex is a sort of genetically engineered canine resembling a German Shepherd, but much larger, called an “XK9”. Through harrowing and abusive training, he and his Packmates, the other XK9s, gain insane amounts of intelligence alongside their normal dog abilities. This all takes place in a campy future setting, as shown by the cover art done by Jody Lee. It has an aesthetic that reminds me of the old Mega Man boxart from the NES, so this sci-fi is less Alien and more Logan’s Run or Flash Gordon. It has outlandish alien species, gadgets like brain links and vocalizing collars for the dogs, and outfits for the higherups that are described as garish and colorful, Fifth-Element style.

While these ideas can all combine into something great, Gephardt leaves a lot of ends loose to the point where it can leave the reader feeling left behind as we are zoomed from half-idea to half-idea.

Indeed, Gephardt has put quite a bit of effort into world building. Aliens have their own pronouns, there are inter-stationary politics abound, and the author does an excellent job of setting a scene visually. One of the most frustrating things holding back this world building is that it does not seem that we, the reader, are ever allowed an explanation for things Gephardt knows, but we do not. For instance, she is very gender-inclusive in the book, in one instance having Rex address a gathered assembly as “Gentlepersons”. However, this also leads to a sense of confusion with the other aliens, with pronouns like “k’kir” and “nem” that are never fully explained and hard to keep track of. On top of this, there are concepts like a capital-F Family that seems to differ from what we now consider one, although how I could not tell you because it is not explained, and also an “Amare,” which I assume is someone you love, but this is also not delved into.

Indeed there is a full on bestiary forming here, but as a reader we cannot fully grasp what exactly is being shown to us. Why Gephardt would spend 3 pages detailing a conversation in a car, but not so much as a glossary for all of the police abbreviations and self-made terms she uses, leaves me scratching my head in wonder. I must be honest and say that I had to double-take between the book and Google sometimes to understand what was going on, and this pulled me out of the world. This isn’t to say that the author is bad at detailing. In fact, it’s one of her strongest points. From painting outside scenes to correctly stating the effect that space radiation has on scents, it’s clear that she has some amazing chops, but focuses them in strange and confusing ways.

This book is quite obviously a passion project, but in order for its grand scale to move out of the nebula for the rest of us, the author needs to let us in, and she did not do so great of a job.

This inability to focus on the cohesive ideas that form a great story manifest themselves in a couple of other very puzzling choices as well. One that stuck out to me as the most grievous was the use of a server-rack full of deus-ex-machinas. Scent profiles can tell Rex what a person is thinking just by smelling them. Every canine and their human partners have a brain-link that lets them talk and type to each other telepathically, and even feel each others’ emotions. Rex is a superdog who has perfect photographic memory, even from when he was a puppy. No conflict or situation felt terribly scary or bad, because it was understood (and indeed proven) that one of these all-encompassing tools would be used to solve whatever issue the two were going through. On top of this, the focus on using these features as catch-alls for problem solving in a minute sense seemed to blind the author to the larger implications of these powers. How did the doctor who created the XK9s get away with abusing them for so many years if there were almost 150 of them and they all could have their minds read?

“Doggie-Back Rides” by Lucy A. Synk

There is an entire section of the book somewhere near the middle where Rex goes off alone after his partner is harmed in the line of duty to do “community policing”. I had never read a book with what I would call a “filler episode” before this one, and I feel like if that chapter was removed and replaced with one where the author took a little more time to flesh out the universe, all of these questions and many more could have been answered with the skills she’s proven she possesses.

It is also quite difficult to stay involved in a story that does not stay involved within itself. Gephardt’s refusal to commit does serious damage to the narrative she tries to craft, and nearly every chapter we are whisked off to somewhere else, or someone else. One of the big draws of the book is the relationship between Rex and Charlie, and for reasons that escape me, Charlie is absent for a literal 90 percent of the story after he gets injured. He is put in a type of stasis and so outside of the first few chapters, we are never allowed to explore the relationship between these two titular characters. We are also taken into the life of Rex’s mate Shady, in what is probably one of the only engaging character relationships in the book. Shady loves Rex, but her owner is Charlie’s ex-girlfriend Pam. This leads to fights and misunderstandings that unfortunately peter out as soon as they begin. Instead of diving into how that can affect Rex and Shady’s relationship, it results in petty squabbling like whether the dog should use her paycheck to help pay Pam’s rent.

Why this bothers me so is because I know from reading this story that Gephardt has the talent and skill to dig deeper into what she’s created, but instead of being allowed to walk inside of a diorama of her universe, we are forced to watch from behind the glass.

Of course this book has positives as well. One scene in particular that tickled me was getting to hear Shady arguing with Pam after she was locked in a room while Pam’s new boyfriend was throwing a party to watch a sports game. If you’ve ever wondered what your dog could actually be saying while they whine and scratch on the door, Gephardt does a fantastic job of putting us inside of these animals’ heads. Every action they take makes sense for an animal, and you get the feeling that she truly understands what makes our canine friends tick. She also has a great sense of humor, with some pages making me giggle as I read them, such as Rex gaining access to a back room by asking to use the toilet. The secretary at first refuses, but then as he lifts his leg near the water fountain, she hurriedly lets him in. This is something only possible for a dog, and Gephardt uses this to great effect as she crafts her story. It is quite the shame that she did not put this level of detail towards the rest of her novel.

Development Image of Charlie and Rex by Jeff Porter.

All in all I can see great potential from this author, but this effort falls quite flat, and to be brutally honest, I really had to push myself to finish. There are more than 300 pages of this book and it feels more like a compilation of personal stories than a steeled unit. Every seed that was planted for a great idea wilted before it ever broke ground. Yes, the XK9s are sentient beings which puts them above being animals, but in a world with every type of alien and where even a cybernetic consciousness and a race of gryphons are recognized as such, why is this such a contentious thing? Why does Charlie’s injury only concern Rex for the space of two chapters, then take a backseat to his strangely meteoric rise to the top of the police ranks through mundane things like talking to people and doing his regular job?

In order for a story to stand strong, it needs a strong foundation. That is woefully absent in this book, leaving Gephardt’s universe to slip and slide confusingly in whichever direction she decides to point the camera. I sincerely hope that the author really sinks her teeth in, like I know she can, in her next two books. This is a universe the reader would love to get lost in, but we are never given the chance. Space is in reach, but the thrusters just will not fire. Greatness is in view, but we are constantly held back from experiencing it. Gephardt’s engines need calibration, but if she focuses her immense writing talents in the right direction, this story could truly reach for the stars.

I give “What’s Bred in the Bone” a 5/10.

Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, please follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on Patreon.

Just run away kitty, that bird is just evil.    
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Furry auction site Furbuy recently went down. It left a gap now filled by just one comparable site, The Dealer’s Den. (Read more at Flayrah — FurBuy down for ‘months’ after spat with security researcher.)

Loss of a long-time specialized service brought up a fandom paradox. People want more professional services, but there’s a conflict in the way fandom is organized. Furry websites and “institutions” depend on volunteering and cooperation without high resources or efficiency. That’s like every socialistic organization ever. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because it can make more access with less elitism. Would you rather have a rag-tag fandom full of freewheeling freaks, or a cleaned up corporate Mickey Mouse Club? A subculture or a fad? It’s a tradeoff when The Fans control their Means Of Production. (Read more — Furry Socialism: You’re Soaking in It! – by Tempe O’Kun and Dralen Dragonfox.) 

This fandom can work like a social lab. That’s why a few furries had a round-table chat about a thought experiment. What if services (like Furbuy) were more centralized for furry makers, but still independent under fan control?

A very social lab: Tempe O’Kun’s character drawn by Nyaasu.

(Patch:)

Sometimes it’s hard to tell popular fursuit makers apart if they crank out lots of work. What if there was some kind of pedigree system where each suit is registered? It would make it easier to tell who made or owns what suit. Then collecting or commissioning could be more fun (yeah, a pricey hobby, but compare fursuiting to collecting cars).

One fur started a fursuit supply business, Fabric Mountain… Not a bad idea but I’m not sure there could be that much margin in the supplies to make it really worthwhile… Maybe if you invest and stockpile a lot. I’ll bet the best margin would be in having rare stuff that goes out of production.

A business like that could be a place to host some kind of fan friendly registry. You could charge a fee to keep it up by providing something like custom art certificates, a library of reference art, a library of tutorials, or design templates to inspire people to make stuff and build a community. That would be a cool niche business. I think there’s been attempts to make sites like that without a supply business attached?

There’s this fursuit database, but I don’t hear much about it. https://db.fursuit.me/ I could make a good article by collecting reference sites, supply sites, etc. Collecting makers would be really hard and I’d leave it separate, theres too many quasi active ones who don’t last long.

(Dalton:)

The problem with people wanting to maintain databases of whatever in the fandom is that people don’t contribute to the ones that already exist. Each person wants to be the one that created and owns their own database, so you have dozens of unaffiliated ones, each missing swaths of info, but rather than coordinate and compile them, people just get bored with their pet projects and let them gather dust.

(Patch:)

Yup, that’s an open source fandom in general. I think the effort is easily dropped if it isn’t self sustaining with some sort of revenue attached. Look at Furbuy being such a long lasting service that seemed to be MacGuyvered from basic ingredients. It always solicited donations and never paid for itself, and fell apart. FA itself is like that except for IMVU backing it. That brings up the dreaded commercialism topic.

(Dalton:)

You have things like Wikifur. Open Community projects like that can totally work, but people have to be willing to contribute to the greater good and not have their name plastered all over it you know? If it’s all about ego and revenue, of course none of the projects will last.

(Tempe:)

Wikifur seems like it’s doing pretty well.

(Dalton:)

If I had a dime for every furry who has tried to create a database of fursuits, their owner and their maker, without coordinating that project with others who are doing the same thing…

(Patch:)

How many have there been? Imagine if the Dealers Den, the Fursuit Database, a library of reference art and maker tutorials, and a Fabric Mountain type of supply business were all one thing. Rating makers and customers would become much more reliable, and fly by night scamming a lot harder.  Kinda monopolistic but also convenient? And I don’t think you could easily monopolize anything with an imaginary Central Fursuit Supply when the real product the fandom revolves around is individual art labor.

(Tempe:)

Not a literal monopoly but more like how FA “monopolizes” the free furry art posting market.

(Dralen:)

Circle the wagons, make the furry community a completely closed ecosystem.

(Patch:)

Furries owning their con hotels, staffed by anarcho-syndicalist labor unions. That’s the logic of that kind of idealism. Gotta love it.

(Dralen:)

People are concerned about the mainstreaming and commercialization of “Furry” but furry is an enormous fandom. There are furries in every industry, there are furries in law, law enforcement, industry, IT, travel, retail, owning restaurants, whatever.

(Aristide:)

I feel like the concerns about ‘mainstreaming’ are focused on who owns cultural production, not how large or how visible furries are. Currently we basically own it all – cons, media, cultural production in whole – for better or worse, we have complete ingroup ownership over our fandom. (IMVU’s investment in FA notwithstanding, as it’s still furry-run).

(Dralen:)

Other fandoms are an industry, too. Of course they mostly started as media events or properties. Take a look at the Star Trek fandom. It’s a huge industry with books and comics and games and themed restaurants and cons. Furry has all of that, but mostly it serves all of those things to itself. Books and comics published by in-fandom publishers. Games made by furry indie game devs. Cons, obviously run by fandom members (for the vast majority).

Themed restaurants and bars seem like something I could see emerging soon. Already there are venues who are welcoming to furries, usually because we host events there and they get to love us.

I love the venue where we run Howl Toronto, and they love us. The head of security has gone fully native and is halfway to wanting a suit already. I think a place like Toronto could support a hot club that was furry inclusive, and had furry infrastructure in place (headless lounge, secure suit storage, etc…) but I don’t know anyone with the capital to open a venue.

(Deo:)

The Fursuit Database has inputs for who owns the suit, previous owners, makers, and front/back/side photos of the suit itself. It’s just not as heavily used as it used to be. It’s also searchable by owner/maker/species. And there’s these: furaffinity.net/user/fursuitreview/ – fursuitreview.com/

(Cosmo:)

Scritch.es is apparently making headway and may take over from FSDB, depending on who you talk to. But mostly it’s just got screen scraped data going for it, and a lot is wrong… but the idea is making it easier to find them and exchange photos. “Hey swip, here’s a photo of you from EF” sort of thing.

(Goku:)

I’ve been adding some photos on there, and it’s a tad clunky, but I like it — I know it’s in infancy, but I hope it gains traction and gets more refined.

https://t.co/BZqTSRAhOh

— scritch (@pixelscritch) May 10, 2019

(Patch:)

It seems like the fursuit database idea could go farther. I think the fursuit making market has some big gaps in it, like the commissioning process is really complicated and could be smoother. I think you have to be pretty dedicated to start a commission.

(Oscar:)

Yeah. I think a better idea would need to be made in association of makers.

(Enjy:)

Creating a database of everyone who owns a fursuit huh. It could be a good idea. A momentous undertaking to be sure.

Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, please follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on Patreon.