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Cheimon joins us once again for a fully packed episode.

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Watch Video Link Roundup:

• Cool tabletop game kickstarter with taur characters
• Making A Musical Tail – TRAILER
• Verge: Meet the world’s first domesticated foxes
• Howlr Labs – Multigram
• Vice reporter tweets having fun with furries
• Local furries explain the oft-misunderstood community of their clawed, pawed and feathered friends
• EU ends daylight savings in 2019
• Technology shows “everyone’s brain knows how to use a tail”
• Adler Animates – Episode 3 – Entrance
• Super Lucky’s Tale
• Space Observatory Suddenly Closed Because of Child Porn Investigation, Not Aliens, Authorities Say
• AnimalInYou.com

News:

• Distressed Shoes Sell for $530
• Spiders blamed after broken siren played creepy nursery rhymes randomly at night to UK townsfolk
• Colorado Football Mascot Chip Shoots Self In Groin With T-Shirt Cannon
• Ig Nobel win for kidney stone removing roller-coaster
• London Police Outfoxed, Abandon 3-Year Search For Serial Cat Killer
• Octopus Ecstacy Experiment
• Pot Shop Robbery
• Italian Doctors Invent New Tool To Remove 23-inch Dildo From Man’s Rectum

Emails:

• Severely introverted and shy – Silver Moonshine

FC-307 Involuntary Escape Room - Cheimon joins us once again for a fully packed episode.

Cheimon joins us once again for a fully packed episode.

Download MP3

Link Roundup:

• Cool tabletop game kickstarter with taur characters
• Making A Musical Tail – TRAILER
• Verge: Meet the world’s first domesticated foxes
• Howlr Labs – Multigram
• Vice reporter tweets having fun with furries
• Local furries explain the oft-misunderstood community of their clawed, pawed and feathered friends
• EU ends daylight savings in 2019
• Technology shows “everyone’s brain knows how to use a tail”
• Adler Animates – Episode 3 – Entrance
• Super Lucky’s Tale
• Space Observatory Suddenly Closed Because of Child Porn Investigation, Not Aliens, Authorities Say
• AnimalInYou.com

News:

• Distressed Shoes Sell for $530
• Spiders blamed after broken siren played creepy nursery rhymes randomly at night to UK townsfolk
• Colorado Football Mascot Chip Shoots Self In Groin With T-Shirt Cannon
• Ig Nobel win for kidney stone removing roller-coaster
• London Police Outfoxed, Abandon 3-Year Search For Serial Cat Killer
• Octopus Ecstacy Experiment
• Pot Shop Robbery
• Italian Doctors Invent New Tool To Remove 23-inch Dildo From Man’s Rectum

Emails:

• Severely introverted and shy – Silver Moonshine

[Live] Involuntary Escape Room

The King of Birds is a new hardcover graphic novel, written and illustrated in full color by Alexander Utkin. It’s published by Nobrow Press: “The King of Birds has victoriously defeated the King of Animals, but he is left gravely injured. He promises a merchant a great reward if he can nurse him back to health. Upon his recovery, they travel far across the land to the domains of the King’s three sisters to claim the merchant’s prize… but can his sisters overcome their greed and give up that which is most precious to them?” This is the first story in the new Gamayun Tales series of Russian folk tales — hosted by the titular Gamayun, a human-faced bird who tells stories. Check out the review over at Broken Frontier. The book is available now.

image c. 2018 Nobrow Press

@LondonFurs are a large community of creative artists, costumers, and fans of anthropomorphised animals. “We host bi-annual seasonal events, too!”

If you’re anywhere near the UK, get ready for their Furry Invasion event at the Heart of Gaming, in Croydon, London. It’s an evening of tournaments, VR, arcade, and e-sports with prizes, and it’s sure to be the highlight of the LFG Online community.

“I’m super proud of the team involved in the set up and am really excited to be able to promote and support gamers in the furry community”, said Londonfurs chair Ani Boxer. The group has just bolstered its committee with new members. It’s currently run by 20 volunteers and is soon to have it’s 300th furmeet. Whatever game brings you to this meet, everyone’s a winner with dedication like that.

For #FursuitFriday we have a lion playing "His Theme" from Undertail.
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This was written as introduction for a planned series. I edited it to stand alone in response to recent events of bad things being exposed. Expect to see it reposted in the future to fit a series. It’s kind of a thinkpiece to provoke open ended conversation. Let’s start with a weird question… (- Patch)

Q: How are furries like Catholic Nuns? 

Aside from silly headgear or being anthropomorphic penguins… this isn’t about being moralistic, but it involves contrasting black-and-white appearances.

Do nuns make you think nice thoughts about The Sound of Music or Mother Teresa, with harmless ladies playing guitar and taking care of orphans?

For a huge contrast, now think of scandals with abusive priests, where churches shift them from diocese to diocese to cover it up. It’s easy to assume nuns don’t do abuse like that. Until news comes out that they do, but the church hasn’t been accountable. This news may be loaded with a certain counterintuitiveness that increases the WTF factor. But in both cases, it’s dishonest to blame individuals for an institutional problem.

Furry fandom is made of loose federations of groups. Almost all of them are super positive and friendly and it would be gross exaggeration to suggest an institutional problem like above. It’s not a church with a pope. At worst, dramatic stories like a ring of abuse in Pennsylvania was limited to personal friendships that didn’t go as far as alleged. (Lupinefox, who was accused of hosting it at his house, was found not guilty on all charges in court.)

Art: Technicolor Pie

Like anywhere else, fandom has a section of wrongdoers. They may get away with it by moving from group to group with little documenting. Fandom has no single leaders, just volunteer organizers or mods who may passively tolerate bad members by saying: “it didn’t happen here, it’s not our problem…” 

If nobody claims responsibility, is everybody blameless? You can say of course “it’s not our problem” when it’s just individuals.

But then comes a group habit of flipping blame at those who speak out (which will be a followup topic to this article.) People dismiss serious and well-founded problems as drama. That’s where “not our problem” becomes a problem itself, especially if it’s a pre-programmed habit.

Habits aren’t just for nuns. (See also):

• Geek Social Fallacies – individual principles don’t work the same on group level.
• The Missing Stair – A group may excuse an untrustworthy member by working around them, rather than dealing with them.

Complicity is a good word for a group habit of harboring dysfunction and dismissing accountability. Let me emphasize that I don’t think it’s a fandom problem (fandom has the solution too). It’s a human problem that happens with sub-groups of this subculture.

A followup article will look deep into sub-groups that aren’t just passive, but exist to manipulate these group habits. They straddle a line of individual deniability for members. To cover up complicity, they claim “guilt by association” as a two-faced tactic. They even project on others, like throwing grease on the stairs and accusing people who point out broken stairs.

More and more, fandom is no longer buying excuses for complicity.

More about truth, denial, and complicity in geek spaces.

Recently I brought some friends to the movie Blackkklansman. It was worth comparing to Sorry To Bother You (a movie recommended to furry fans for certain reasons I won’t spoil). They told stories with comic-book-lurid content but socially aware smarts. They’re fun with a point.

After the movie, we took time to digest it. I mentioned how the director of Sorry To Bother You had feedback about Blackkklansman that could change the understanding of what we saw.  It’s based on some real happenings but the story uses a made-up conflict for dramatic effect. Basically it pits law and order against racists for a simple hero/villain Hollywood fairy tale. But in real life, the good guy of the movie wasn’t such a good guy. You have to read outside the movie to learn the story-behind-the-story.

• Movie story: good guys vs. the KKK.
• Criticism:  Police were infiltrating and undermining activists that the KKK also hated (Martin Luther King was target of attempts to smear him.)

Furry relevant but no spoilers!

Our conversation jumped to Spotlight, the movie about exposing the scandal of child abuse by the Catholic Church.  This powerful, conservative institution hid pedophile priests by shuffling them from diocese to diocese, concealing records and the trail of victims. Confronting the church with lawyers made victims play David vs. Goliath. The church’s defense strategy was mainly saying “it’s too old” and relying on statutory limits (because they concealed evidence beyond the limits). That isn’t a real defense, it’s a deflection – and they just couldn’t avoid stone-cold facts. Justice hadn’t happened, so whether the law accommodated it or not, the social confrontation brought out a story-behind-the-story.

My movie watching friends included someone of an older generation, who had studied to be a Catholic nun in the 1960’s in the Northeast US, the millieu of these happenings.  They commented “You never hear about nuns doing that, it tells you about who should be in charge”. Sure, nuns look like harmless old ladies, but harm is contextual. I answered “you don’t hear about it because people think they aren’t capable, and that’s how they get away with it.” (My reference included the “Magdelane laundries” of Ireland, and the residential school system of Canada where horrifying abuse was covered up.)

Like a voodoo prophecy come true, a week later, a journalistic expose was published about abuse in orphanages by Catholic nuns in the northeast US. It’s extensively documented by the article, but it was harder to expose than the Spotlight story – because they didn’t just shuffle abusers around to conceal evidence, they didn’t keep records at all. The reporting relies on testimony. The institutional response was to not just rely on statutory limits, but also portray victims as old and confused despite “a vast and horrifying matrix of corroboration”.  It took social confrontation to bring out a story-behind-the-story.

• We Saw Nuns Kill Children: The Ghosts of St. Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage

If you read it, you may notice this example of dishonest both-sidesing:

When the system enables this kind of institutional complicity, it changes from an equal both-sides disagreement to a David vs. Goliath battle.

Goliath straddles lines. In the first example (Blackkklansman) it looks like a good vs. evil story, but the lines become blurry when you look deeper. In the second example (Church abuse) it is a good vs. evil story, but the church wants to hide it by making blurry lines.

Sometimes truth benefits from a tug-of-war across blurry lines, but sometimes that’s dishonest. The issue is when to dismiss reactionary contrarianism and keep some basic things crystal-clear, black-and-white. It’s easy with institutional child abuse. Same for hate groups who have no legitimate reason to exist.

A productive discussion can benefit from a variety of perspectives. Not all are legitimate. They must reject bad faith and complicity with it. That’s why a supposed division about “both sides” about nazis or child abusers isn’t a legitimate disagreement, and isn’t about right vs. left. It’s about lying vs. truth.

For differing perspectives in good faith, from people who value individualism (perhaps conservative or libertarian), I’ve learned to appreciate that no individual is a statistic. That’s how you can look at nuns as responsible for abuse (no matter whether women or powerful men run the church.)  From the type of person concerned with “social justice”, the kind who doesn’t excuse institutional abuse, I’ve learned that you can only bend statistics and facts so far before they break from reality.

Having a certain narrative or side isn’t a problem as long as some things are commonly held to be non-negotiable, with no “centrist” compromise or “alternative facts”, they can’t be deflected and aren’t “fake news” or “not our problem”.

A fandom has a real community, but little top-down power. It makes a group dynamic where it’s hard to get accountability and easy to fall into denial and complicity. That can be both a strength and a weakness. Abusers don’t get protection of some pope somewhere. But there’s also few watchdogs with enough vision to easily catch them manipulating it.

There’s just everyone. Each member who claims any part in the group has the power to demand better from others. When everyone expects better, there’s nothing that abusers/trolls/enablers can do to call that a division, dismiss it as drama, demand centrist compromise with bullshit, or call bad faith a matter of individual freedom. That’s when you get a united community of individuals all wanting one thing – a good place to enjoy what brought them there.

Very well said. https://t.co/Myzd7Xdkcj

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) September 19, 2018

Good thread linked within

TL;DR: "Fraudulent ideas" are toxic goods that destroy the "marketplace of ideas"

(and that's why you don't play the debate me game with altfurs and alt right hate groups, and it doesn't matter what convenient label they use)https://t.co/sS82ynlXwn

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) September 6, 2018

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon.  You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward.  They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

With a name like Taco, this rodent is gonna be different… maybe even difficult. “This is a squirrel . . . ‘Hey, I may be a squirrel, but my name is Taco! And I don’t eat nuts and tree bark — blech — I prefer tacos!’ The natural predator of squirrels is . . . ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who is writing this book? I do not like where this is going.’ This hilarious send-up of a children’s nature primer teaches kids that the most important story is the one you write yourself.” This Is A Taco was written by Andrew Cangelose and illustrated by Josh Shipley. It’s available now from the Cubhouse imprint of Lion Forge. Check it out at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2018 Cubhouse

It's well known fact that bears are really into natural gas so they are good spokes-bears. https://youtu.be/-J4WWzkf92E
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Hey. How are you doing? Is today treating you well? I hope so. Today I want to share something with you guys. Nothing big. Nothing crazy. Just a silly sweet thing I found and want to share if you haven’t heard of it already.

I’ve been really into the animated storyteller side of YouTube lately. You know your TheOdd1sOut, Jaiden Animations, Let Me Explain Studios, SomethingelseYT, I’m obsessed with these guys. The latest one I’ve found is Emirichu. Heard of her? I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t. You wouldn’t believe how many of these animated storytellers there are. But I came across one of her videoes in my recommended feed: How I Met My Favorite Animator! (and cried… a lot) Through this video, she shares an old 2004 animated web series from Korea called There She Is!! And if you need a pick me up then you need to watch There She Is!!

There She Is!! was first uploaded to Newgrounds in 2004. The show is five short episodes or steps about a young bunny girl, Doki, falling in love with a cat boy, Nabi, in a society that does not approve of their “taboo” love between the species. This flash animation was created by a three-person crew SamBakZa from 2004-2008. Anyone familiar with Newgrounds won’t be surprised by this show since it’s one of the most popular on the site.

What makes this show worth watching is how they tell their story with no dialogue. Each episode uses a different song to express the mood of the step. Whether it’s joyful, silly, or serious. They let their animation speak for itself and you will feel all the emotions. When I saw it I thought it would be cute, but by the end, I was teary eye. I have a thing about love stories fighting to be themselves in a society that doesn’t understand. I’m a romantic what can I say.

Step 4 is my personal favorite. It’s the most emotional and they make everything look like one continuous shot. It’s amazing. The good news is you don’t need to search for these five steps. The crew combined all the episodes into one twenty five minute movie for you to watch. So if you find you need a pick me up, why not give There She Is!! a shot? It’s only twenty-five minutes. Brew up some tea or hot cocoa. Maybe even treat yourself with a few marshmallows. Sit back and relax with a show I promise will brighten your day.

Till next time Fluffer Nutters. Be awesome. Be amazing. Be you. And have a nice day.

– Pup Matthias

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon.  You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward.  They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

And they just keep showing up… More from Animation World Network. Rai Com (from Italy) have acquired several new animation projects for distribution, and of course several of them are furry in nature. Woof Meow is a CGI series directed by Alexey Kotenochkin and produced in Russia by AA Studios. “The series features the funny and entertaining adventures of the two kittens, Binx and Lulu, and their puppy-dog pals Oscar, Snickers, Sparky, and Hopper the Inventor. Together, they play games, make up new inventions and start real or imaginary adventuresome trips to explore the world around them. In each episode, someone gets in trouble and needs the support of the group of friends to solve the situation.” Then there’s Dixiland, a more traditional 2D animated series for preschoolers. “Dixi, the small winged elephant who is the protagonist of the story, joins other creatures as they experience joy, fun and problems.” Both are headed to MIPCOM and looking for international distribution.

image c. 2018 Rai Com

A Dragget Show inbetweenasode! Xander & Draggor talk about "The Grind," being the modern day 40 hour work week, career paths, the role of entertainment in society, and more! This might not be your jam, but give it a shot, we really liked how this came out! Patreon: www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/DraggetShow www.draggetshow.com Be sure to check our website for all Things Dragget Show! Podcasts, videos, merch and more! Deep Sh*t - The Grind - A Dragget Show inbetweenasode! Xander & Draggor …

...wait for it. "Myrtille is desperately attracted to the the Cabaret's Singer. One night, the power of a peculiar perfume gives her a chance to step out of the shadows..."
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Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Editor’s Note: Hello, Matthias here. It has been brought to my attention that some of the words Fred used are transphobic. As it is my job to format, I failed to take the time to look over the words being said nor to prepare readers for them. I apologize to the trans community for not doing better. I’ll keep a keener eye over what we print and talk to Fred over any potential issues in future reviews. CW: the following review contains examples of transphobia and homophobia. You are free to express your concerns in the comments below. Thank you. I promise to do better. – Matthias

Claw volume 1, edited by Kirisis “KC” Alpinus.
Dallas, TX, Bad Dog Books, July 2018, trade paperback, $19.95 (266 pages).

This is a mature content book.  Please ensure that you are of legal age to purchase this material in your state or region. (publisher’s advisory)

For the first time in eleven years, Bad Dog Books has added a new anthology series to its popular FANG and ROAR titles. FANG, beginning in 2005, is for adult M/M homosexual erotic short fiction. ROAR, beginning in 2007, is for non-erotic short fiction. Now CLAW, beginning in 2018, is for adult F/F lesbian erotic short fiction.

Bad Dog Books was started by Alex Vance in Amsterdam in September 2005, as Osfer’s Joint Publications, to publish “the finest modern homoerotica to the anthropomorphic reading public” with FANG, “The Little Black Book of Furry Fiction”. Osfer’s changed its name to Bad Dog Books the next year, and ROAR, “The Little White Book of Furry Fiction”, was added for literate furry non-erotic fantasy in July 2007. The two were marketed in the U.S., along with BDB’s novels, by FurPlanet Productions. But Alex Vance had health problems, and it was awkward running a furry specialty publisher whose sales were primarily in the U.S. from the Netherlands. On December 14, 2011, Vance sold Bad Dog Books completely to FurPlanet Productions in Dallas, Texas. The sale included a requirement that FurPlanet would continue to publish volumes of FANG and ROAR annually under the BDB imprint. In 2013, FurPlanet expanded Bad Dog Books as its imprint for all electronic book sales.

Now FurPlanet Productions feels that feminine participation in furry fandom has grown to the point that there is a viable market for adult F/F erotic fiction. CLAW is intended to be an ongoing 18+ short fiction anthology.

“Thirteen authors have come together to create this collection of hot tales that show what happens when the ladies take the center stage. They’ve come to turn a few heads while strutting their stuff and throwing caution to the wind.” (back-cover blurb)

“Contextual Intercourse” by Erin Quinn is about three girls at a rave: Blair, a raccoon with heavy eye makeup to hide her mask; Dyna, a deer with antlers (reindeer?) who constantly refers to itself as “they”; and Marcy, the rave’s DJ who goes by Crimson Fluff. At least one of the girls is transgender. The sex between two of them is consensually hot ‘n heavy. CLAW’s cover by Teagan Gavet illustrates the rave. I think the use of “they” to refer to an individual is needlessly confusing, but I recognize that some people prefer it to “it” which they consider demeaning.

“The Beating of Wild Hooves” by Dwale is set in a grimly regimented society where euthanasia is the regular fate of those deemed unproductive. When Meg, cat, becomes sure that her foreman at work plans to sexually assault her, she asks Babs, a Scottish blackface ewe, to teach her how to defend herself. Babs is an accomplished fighter in the arena of combat sports, martial arts for female ungulates. There is some sexuality between Meg and Babs, but the emphasis of the story is on Babs as a martial artist:

“She cleared the weigh-in and stepped into the scanner, a machine the size of a wardrobe. With its twin, gleaming-white panels, it looked like a cross between a refrigerator and a waffle iron. The ring lights dimmed when they switched it on.

The doctor crouched over the display, spectacles reflecting the screen through the eyeholes in his hood. He was looking for contraband, anything that might breach one of hoofbeats’ most sacred tenets: that unnatural weaponization of the limb was prohibited. Whether by the addition of studs or spikes, internal or external, or through power return in the form of motors, springs, hydraulics, artificial muscle fibers or any other such mechanism, the rule against unnatural weaponization was absolute. Violation meant a permanent ban.” (pgs. 54-55)

In “The Church Mouse” by Madison Keller, Anise Pentti, an elderly mouse, goes to church to pray for the memory of Chandra Munix, her partner of forty years, who died a year earlier. As long as she is in the church, Anise decides she may as well go to confession. She finds a dead body in the confessional.

This is a murder mystery, but much more than a murder mystery. The murdered body is Anise’s own, but from when she was much younger. Anise feels rejuvenated since discovering her own dead body. She finds Chandra alive and well at home. There are more oddities:

[Two police detectives have come to Anise’s apartment to interview her about the body.] “‘Please, have a seat.’ Anise followed this up by sinking down into her favorite spot on the loveseat.

However, rather than sitting the rats continued looming about the room. Detective Gruenhut went over and picked up one of the framed pictures from the mantle. He held it up and squinted at it, snickered, and passed it to his partner. Detective Boom laughed out loud. Anise racked her brain trying to remember what pictures were on the mantel and why they might be funny but couldn’t think of what they might be looking at. They deliberately kept the pictures in the living room bland, things like her grandpups’ school photos.

Boom grinned and shook his head. ‘Where’s this park at? I’d love to take my pups.’ He flipped the picture around to show it to Anise.

Anise had to stare at it for a lone moment. It wasn’t a picture she’d ever seen before. The picture showed her and Chadra riding a dinosaur, horns, frills and all. Chandra had a big grin on her muzzle and was holding a frilled parasol. The dino was in a running pose, their dresses were flapping, and their fur was plastered back, as if they really were moving fast.” (pgs. 66-67)

After the detectives leave, Chandra explains what’s going on. It involves deliberate time travel to commit or to stop murder, and Anise and Chandra having graphic lesbian sex. “Ewww.” It’s really complicated.

The main characters in “Tempered” by Crimson Ruari are Kahina, a hyena, and Retha, an African painted dog. Both have daughters, Kahina from a recently divorced marriage, and Retha – well, she and her grandmother have a loose lifestyle. Kahina meets Retha when she takes a class in “Chocolate 101: Chocolate for the Home Enthusiast” because her therapist recommended, “that getting out was part of learning to be single again”. Retha volunteers her home for some chocolate-making practice for the two of them. Both Kahina and Retha are bi, and do you need it spelled out for you?

In “A Simple Wager” by Holly A. Morrison, Aventine is a rabbit priestess and Cora is a skunk warrior meeting in a tavern. Despite the D&D stereotypes, it’s the priestess who’s wild and looking for fun, and the warrior who’s naïve. The simple wager is that whoever loses a game of chess has to share a drink with the winner. Cora loses (she suspects that Aventine cheats). The rabbit not only picks the drink but:

“‘We’ll have that drink in my room, if that’s alright,’ she said, giving Cora a swift pat on the shoulder as she passed.

Cora stared after the bunny, half-formed protests dying on her lips. With a grunt, the skunk pushed herself away from the table, ignoring the stares of the tavern’s patrons. She allowed herself to be shown to the small, steamy bathing room, complete with an oversized tub brimming with hot water.” (pgs. 103-104)

Cora gets a lot more than a drink. But hey! it’s consensual.

The main characters in “Support” by Kristina “Orrery” Tracer are Ndidi, an anthro impala, and Aqua, an anthro mouse, her wife, in Gujarat, northwestern India. But they are anthro animals only through months of painful surgery. Aqua is a newly-made mouse, and Ndidi, the narrator, is helping (supporting) her to adjust:

“‘It’s okay,’ I whispered as I pulled her against me. ‘It was a long time ago. I thought I was over it, but I guess I’m not.’ I hugged her carefully, mindful of her stitches, then let go. ‘I’ll let you finish.’

She kissed my muzzle, then smiled at me. ‘Would you help me with my skirt, then spot me to the mirror? I want to see how I look.’

I smiled back and nodded. ‘Can you stand?’ She raised herself onto her crutches, and I knelt to carefully work her skirt past her hips. The back of the bedroom door had a full-length mirror on it, and I escorted her over to it. An anthropomorphic mouse stood in its reflection, leaning heavily on her medical crutches. Teal-blue eyes darted about as she took in all her changes. Her light grey pelt was still awkwardly short and pink skin showed through in places, riddled with fresh, angry scars from the full-body rebuild. Her front teeth hadn’t yet fully grown in, so her muzzle looked oddly bare as she opened her jaw and studied herself. She didn’t look like the picture she’d shown me three years ago, the one that started this journey. Behind her, an impala stood, tan fur shaved oddly short, the white of her chest and black spot on her forehead pale against the skin beneath. ‘It’ll improve in time,’ I cautioned her, remembering my own shock at seeing myself the first time. In the mirror, the impala’s hoof gently gripped the mouse’s shoulder with blunt black-tipped fingers.” (pgs. 119-120)

The pain may make you wince, but the love of the two women for each other comes through more powerfully than in any other story in this anthology.

“She Who Wears the Mask” by Tenza is either Madi, a raccoon who is into cosplaying, or Annette, a cheetah that Madi is introducing to cosplaying. Their sessions at Madi’s home get increasingly personal. This story is okay, but after the others it seems pretty slight.

In “Trophy Hunting” by BlueSeiryuu, Impa (deer) and Sheera (tigress) are playing an online video game. Impa has to try to score while Sheera tries to distract her:

“Then the sound of a distant gong echoed through the desk to the tigress underneath. The deer’s game had begun.

The tiger grinned, the devilish voice in her head telling her that she needed to taste Impa. Her reward would come when she made the deer moan and a hoof would reach down to pull on one of her whiskers a little too roughly.

The tiger took a deep breath, nostrils filling with the scent of cherries from the deer’s shower gel, mixed with the earthy scent of her desire. She grinned as she pressed her nose against the top of her pussy, chilling the skin and earning a surprised gasp from the deer who yanked roughly on her chain. The tiger chuffed before licking gently, the sandpaper texture making the deer squirm once more.” (p. 146)

Impa loses her concentration and the game. She makes Sheera pay for it. Rowf!

The protagonist in “The True Villain” by Dark End is the costumed villainess Doctor Midnight (skunk), who has just been foiled again by the superheroine Stardust (coyote). DM isn’t as concerned by her defeat as she is about Stardust’s costume:

[DM is relaxing in a bar, The Hideout, after her defeat.] “Midnight gave a quick roll of her eyes and tapped a tongue impatiently on her sharp teeth. ‘Have you seen her costume?’

The mouse [the bartender, Rochelle] shook her head.

‘Boob window.’

‘What?’

The skunk gave an even longer roll of her eyes as if accusing the mouse of not paying attention. ‘She dresses in skintight silver spandex from the neck down, covering every inch of her fur, except, of course, for a big patch right over her oh-so-fucking-perfect cleavage.’

Although Rochelle had mental barriers up, the image in Doctor Midnight’s mind was sharp enough to cut right through. ‘Really?’ Rochelle said.

The skunk took a drink and hmmmed non-commitally in her throat. ‘We were finally making progress. No more stupid mini-skirts and close-cut suits. We could finally wear more practical clothing.’ She gave a tug on her own cloak, which rattled with numerous pockets filled with everything an evil genius might need, far more useful than any utility belt. ‘Then along she comes in that tight little number as if the 90s never happened, flaunting herself all over the place like a centerfold starlet.’” (p. 158)

Rochelle decides to join DM as her minion as they go after Stardust together. They make an interesting threesome.

The protagonist of “Smoky and the Jaybird” by Slip Wolf is Smoky, a woman bear trucker; but all bear truckers are called Smoky and her real name is Lee-Anne. Other characters are Veronica, the otter manager of a Waffle Den coffee shop in West Virginia; April, the Waffle Den’s blue jay short-order cook; and Stickley, a mountain lion male sexist rival trucker. I won’t try to summarize this or quote from it because it’s one of the most complex and best stories in Claw vol. 1, with several surprises. Just read it. You won’t be disappointed.

“Frontier Living” by Jeeves Bunny is okay but too predictable. Tabitha (cougar) is panning for gold in a frontier river when two vicious robbers (Eddie and Ed, badger and rabbit) surprise her. They plan to rob her camp before her husband returns. This being Claw, you know the “husband” will be another woman (Maria, coyote), that they’ll turn the tables on the men-robbers, and that there’ll be a lot of sex afterward.

Claw Vol. 1 cover by Blackteagan

“Roses” by Searska GreyRaven is a very clever, very lyrical, and adult (but not as steamy as some of the stories in this anthology) retelling of the Beauty and the Beast legend. Again, any meaningful synopsis would give away spoilers, though I will reveal that the Beast is a mixture of wolf and stag. Again, my recommendation is to just read it.

In “The Tutor Learns” by Skunkbomb, Julia (squirrel), the narrator, has come from a Catholic high school to a secular college. She is assigned to tutor two roommates in math, Ramona (otter) and Mark (coyote). Julia understood the students at the college would not be all Catholic, but she didn’t understand what that meant. Or that it applied to her, too:

“I had a roommate my freshman year. Rosy, a mouse, was one of those girls who had strict parents and was tasting freedom for the first time. I made the mistake of letting her drag me to one of those frat parties and mixing my drink. I couldn’t taste the alcohol. It was a great night. We just chatted about how overbearing our parents could be, complained about professors, and I called her cute. She’s a little feisty mouse. Of course she was cute. But then I kissed her. I’m a girl and I kissed a girl. She laughed it off that night, but she didn’t speak to me the same way afterward. At the end of the semester, she didn’t even tell me she was moving in with some other girls.” (p. 241)

Ramona is wild and lezzy. Julia feels that God wants her to be the tutor that Ramona needs, but she learns more than she teaches, in a subject other than math.

13 stories. Only “Support” by Kristina Tracer and “Roses” by Searska GreyRaven are not funny-animal stories where the characters could be human as well as anthro animals, but I confess that some of the funny-animal stories were among my favorites. My favorite picks are “The Church Mouse” by Madison Keller, “The True Villain” by Dark End, “Smoky and the Jaybird” by Slip Wolf, and “Roses” by Searska GreyRaven; but several others are also very well-written. CLAW is a solid addition to FANG and ROAR.

Edited by K.C. Alpinus. Cover art by Teagan Gavet. 266 pages. $19.95. ISBN 978-1-61450-443-6. Released at Anthrocon 2018 in July. As with FANG and ROAR, you must state that you are of legal age to purchase CLAW.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Fur Planet
• Buy on Amazon

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon.  You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward.  They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared will now being made as a series by Super Deluxe and is being shopped around. Be afraid.
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Welcome back to Kijani Lion, who I previously interviewed in 2016. Kijani’s bio includes being a con Guest of Honor and organizer for FurLifeNW and their bowling meet that set a world record for attendance. And he’s been a journalist who contributed to Furry News Network, writing profile articles about outstanding fursuiters in 2011-2013. FNN’s articles seem to have fallen off the web in 2015, but I asked to bring this back.

FNN Fursuiter of the Month (August 2011) was Dogbomb. In 2018, Dogbomb has gotten a lot of love from the fandom with a serious story that you should know before moving on to this reprint. I asked Kijani to write a new update, and that’s in the works. Look forward to it soon. – Patch

Dogbomb: Not your ordinary canine (2011)

By Kijani Lion 

As long as he can remember, dogs have always been a big part of Tony Barrett’s life.

He has been a registered veterinary technician for the last 16 years, and currently manages a veterinary hospital in his hometown of Costa Mesa, Calif., helping keep local pets healthy and happy.

Barrett, better known as “Dogbomb” among furry fans, also has owned a number of dogs in his life – but one particular German shepherd mix named Rodger stood out among the rest.

“They say everyone that owns dogs has one special dog in their life, and he was the dog,” Barrett recalled. “He was the first dog I got when I bought my first house, he was just a very special dog. Very smart, he was one of those creatures that was in tune with everything that you do.”

Rodger would go on to be Barrett’s best friend for the next 14 years.

After Rodger passed away, Barrett – whose only knowledge of “furry” at the time was something that happened to bread when it was left out for too long – was at dinner with some friends dressed in his typical canine garb.

“I was wearing a shirt that said “Woof,” a hat with a greyhound on it and something else,” said Barrett, adding that his Halloween costumes always included random dog-related accessories. “The waitress comes over and says, “Why is he dressed up like a dog?” My friend turns to her and says, “Don’t worry about him, he’s just a furry.”

Having never heard that term before, he was then subjected to the dreaded “CSI” question, which he hadn’t seen either.

Until he got home that fateful night in August of 2009.

“Of course I thought it was creepy and bizarre,” said Barrett on his initial reaction to the infamous “Fur and Loathing” episode. “But I wanted to look into it more. I Googled ‘furry’ and found some websites, and the more I looked at it, the more I seemed intrigued by it. After that I jumped in with both feet, and really wanted to get involved with it… I discovered it was such a nice social group, so many neat, pleasant, exciting, creative people. It was a nice outlet.”

Needless to say, the furry fandom hasn’t been the same since.

A MAGICAL EFFECT

One of the first things that Barrett did upon joining the fandom was to get a fursuit commissioned, with a design based off of Rodger. That way, his longtime furry friend could be commemorated forever.

He first bought an pre-made head and colored it in to match a character description, and soon after decided to go the whole nine yards, choosing Beastcub Creations to create the final version of Dogbomb.

“I really liked what (Beastcub) had done with realistic suits,” Barrett noted. “She really helped me, she was very kind, and took me through the process. It was very interactive, and she made some suggestions. She was just the right person at the right moment.”

Eventually, the long-awaited package arrived at Barrett’s front door, and he was floored at the result.

“I couldn’t believe it, that she made something come alive like that,” he said. “She really seemed to capture his spirit. It wasn’t just a collection of fur, the whole thing was a very magical effect.”

While some fursuiting enthusiasts prefer to enjoy their craft mainly at conventions and house parties, Barrett admitted that once he started wearing his Dogbomb costume out on the streets of sunny Southern California, he got hooked on the positive reactions and joy he brought to everyone he came in contact with.

“It breaks down all the social barriers,” said Barrett on what he enjoys most about fursuiting in public. “You’re used to, as an adult, walking around and cavorting yourself in a certain way, and all of a sudden you meet some guy in a dog suit and he’s chatting and putting his arm around you. It opens up a whole realm of possibilities that aren’t available everyday.”

AN FA PHENOMENON

Like many enthusiastic costumers, Barrett wanted to share his experiences with the rest of the furry world.

Starting about a year and a half ago, he started posting photos from his fursuit outings on Fur Affinity, mostly at the Newport Beach pier and the surrounding bars, while writing up short, humorous anecdotes accompanying each photo.

“Someone suggested I write a little bit more with the picture, so I tried posting one and writing more of a story about what happened before, during and after the picture, and people seemed to respond to it,” Barrett recalled. “So I kept being long-winded and verbose.”

From that point on, as word spread and his gallery posts got re-linked, Dogbomb practically went viral. Comments and watchers – 2,642 as of press time – came in by the droves, humbling Barrett to his canine core.

“I can’t believe it, it seems surreal,” he said. “I can’t imagine why people would spend time looking at (my stuff).”

Among his most popular posts is the heartfelt and inspirational “Courage on Two Wheels,” during which he relives an encounter with Sarah – a young, wheelchair-bound woman who suffers from cerebral palsy. Numerous additional entries detail true fursuiting magic at work, as Dogbomb tells of his experiences with children that are fully convinced they are conversing with a real talking dog.

Whether they are four or 40, Barrett said he truly enjoys and cherishes every encounter he has with the public.

“(Children) are such wonderful sponges, they’ll just soak up anything and give back so much love,” he said. “To tell the honest truth, some of the adults that I’ve met that at first were so stone-faced and don’t want to really interact or talk – you spend a few minutes chatting with them and all of a sudden you’ve got a friend. They’re smiling, they’re happy… my favorite thing about fursuiting is that people open up, they’ll tell you things that they might not tell anybody else. It’s a really interesting social experiment.”

Up next for the 47-year-old will be attending the furry convention Rainfurrest for the first time in late September, and then he will be eventually getting Dogbomb version 2.0, as his suit has put quite a bit of mileage in just over a year and a half.

In addition, Barrett, an avid runner, hopes to get involved in charity work with the running group he participates in regularly, the Orange Country Frontrunners.

“If we can incorporate fursuiting into that in some way, that would be wonderful,” he said. “I’ve been on a public cable TV show a couple times through work, for an adoption agency that does rescue of strays.”

In 2010, he slogged through 26.2 miles and finished the Los Angeles Marathon, while raising $3,300 a local dog rescue group.

But for now, Barrett simply wants to acknowledge all of the wonderful people he’s met since joining the fandom, and keep doing what he does best – one fursuit-induced smile at a time.

“Just a huge “thank you,” expressed Barrett to all of his supportive fans and friends. “It’s really made a huge difference in my life, the wonderful people that I’ve met, both in person and online. People respond in such positive ways, I’m really gratified by it. It’s been a big positive for me.”

Additional Q & A with “Dogbomb,” Tony Barrett

Q:  If you could sum up the “Dogbomb Philosophy of life,” how would it go?

A:  Two words: “Have fun.” People get so worked up about doing things in a responsible manner, and living as an adult, people (don’t) let a little bit of silliness and fun into their everyday lives. I think it’s important that we not lose sight of that, and get in touch with our side that is open to having fun, being a little bit silly and a little bit out there, and  to help others interact and get a smile too.

Q:  What do you think is most important for those that fursuit in public areas to entertain and bring joy to people like yourself, to gain public acceptance moving forward?

A:  Interact on a level that is a bit self-depreciating, not trying to put yourself in their face. Say “How are you?” and take an interest in that person. That works under any circumstances. If you want to really make a friend, give them a big smile and ask them a question about themselves, and I think that works especially well for fursuiting because people are gratified that you’re interested.

Give Dogbomb and Kijani a follow on Twitter, and I can’t wait to see the new update. – Patch

Feral Attraction
Episode 107 - Friendship 9/14/18

Intro

On this week’s show we open with a discussion of the history of happiness, and why happiness may be elusive. Soatok Dhole joins us to discuss our main topic, friendship — what is a good friendship, when is the right time to distance yourself from a friend, and how do you revive a fading friendship worth saving? We close with a question about how to handle developing feelings for a straight roommate.

Introduction topic

A history of happiness explains why capitalism makes us feel empty inside

Sean Illing - Vox

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/9/4/17759590/happiness-fantasy-capitalism-culture-carl-cederstrom

Topic

What is friendship?

“Essential and fundamental to friendship is that it is a natural, spontaneous, freely given and entered into relationship promised as much on subliminal cues that prompt liking as on anything that the parties could specify as a reason for engaging in it” – philosopher AC Grayling

Friend vs. friendly acquaintance

Common to both:

People who make you a better person

People who you enjoy spending time with

People who you have a history of shared experience with

People who share your values, your hobbies, your interests, and/or your kinks

Unique to friends:

People you can trust

People you can confide in

People you can be yourself around

Loyalty

Problems arise when you expect loyalty from someone you considered a friend, but who views you as a friendly acquaintance

What is a bad friendship?

“Our friends aren’t toxic — they’re just human”

Ephrat Livni - Quartz

https://qz.com/1352437/our-friends-arent-toxic-theyre-just-human/

Many people argue a “bad friend” is one who consistently brings you down or holds you back

“The current cultural discourse suggests that friends are people who we use to improve ourselves, and get rid of when the going gets tough or if we’re not having enough fun. … It’s friendship as a capitalistic exchange, instead of relationships involving people who care about each other, hanging out, and helping each other through life’s ups and downs.”

This philosophy leads many people to treat their friends as disposable, and to abandon them when they need support and are not contributing to the friendship — right when they need a friend the most

It is important to remember the golden rule in friendship, and to treat others as we’d like to be treated

You wouldn’t want to be abandoned during a time of hardship when you couldn’t be there for your friends as much as you’d like to be

Abandoning a friend at the first sign of conflict or distress in the relationship will leave you with very few friends

It is often worth it to attempt to reconcile or ignore certain conflicts for the sake of maintaining an otherwise valuable friendship

Friends who consistently do not support you, who do not share your values, and who have a history of being unreliable may be less worthy of continued or increased investment of time and other resources

In some circumstances, it can be worthwhile to invest in old friendships even when values and goals have drifted apart, for the sake of having someone who can “ground you” in your own history

It is difficult for new friends to offer the same level of insight that old friends can provide to you

If you have many old friends, and a particular friendship is no longer offering benefit to either of you, it is okay to let a friendship turn back into a friendly acquaintanceship

Keep in mind: people change over time (and that’s ok!)

What is a good friendship?

In general, it is wise to invest in friends who:

Share your values

Support you as you pursue your goals

Point out your weaknesses and mistakes in a loving way

It can be tempting to seek friends who tell you everything you do is awesome, but it’s wise to have a few close friends who can call you on your mistakes

Assume good faith: When your close friends suggest you’ve done something wrong, it is generally because they care about your success, and not because they want to put you down

Have a history of being trustworthy and reliable

It isn’t all about you

“Real friendship is a kind of love, writes philosopher Bennet Helm. As such, it must ‘involve a concern for your friend for his sake and not for your own.’”

It isn’t a great idea to be friends only with people who tell you everything you do is good

“A true friend didn’t just flatter and please. Quite the contrary, their value lie in the fact that they sometimes corrected or fought with their pals, to whom they’d give their all.”

Criticism that comes from a place of loyalty and respect, with the intent of making you a more authentic version of yourself, is very different from someone tearing you down

When you’re around a good friend, you should feel liberated to act with authenticity.

How do you revive a friendship?

How to Revive a Friendship

Anna Goldfarb — The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/smarter-living/how-to-revive-a-friendship.html

Start by “identifying what variables, if any, have changed since your falling out.”

“Maybe you’re in a more stable place in life and are confident you can be a better, more attentive friend this time around.”

“Thinking about the reasons you grew apart and how things might be different now can help you take the steps needed to rebuild a closer and longer lasting friendship.”

Make the first move!

If neither of you reach out, you won’t talk

Being vulnerable and honest about missing your former friend can help you reconnect if they’re feeling the same way

Be prepared for rejection

Game out what you’d say and what you’d do to feel better if you are rejected

Assume good faith

It’s possible your friend would love to talk to you, but the thought just hasn’t occurred to them, because many other things are on their mind

It’s harmless to remind them you exist and would like to talk

Establish interest in re-establishing the friendship before jumping into emotionally difficult topics

Go in as if this were a new friendship

Start small with light topics and catching up on what is new with each of you

Good topics for conversation are anecdotes and requests for advice that focus on what is shared between you right now

Similar life experiences

Places you’ve both been to

Where you are in life

Location

Career

Lifestyle/Living Situation

Try socializing at first in a group setting

Game night

Movie night

Dinner party

Outing to a park for a hike or picnic

Try to present your best self

This will remind your former friend what they liked about you to begin with

It isn’t always possible to get back to the same level of friendship you had before

Be willing to accept a less intimate relationship, at least at first

Feedback

None for this week

Question(s)

I live with my best friend, who is a straight male. I am a gay male furry, and I am crushing hard on the the friend that I live with. How can I continue to be friends with him given the feelings I cannot share?

Received via Telegram (name withheld)

Closer

Contact info

Contact Viro:

t.me/viroscicollie

twitter.com/viroscicollie

Contact Soatok:

https://twitter.com/SoatokDhole

https://soatok.com

Feral Attraction Twitter:

twitter.com/feralattractfm

Feral Attraction Contact Page:

feralattraction.com/contact

Coaching Services now available!

As our audience has grown, many of our listeners and advice column readers have asked to speak with Viro in a one-on-one setting so as to get help with resolving relationship issues or overcoming stumbling blocks that can trip us up on life's journey. Until now, it was not possible to offer such one-on-one attention, simply because of time constraints. Fortunately, Viro is now offering this kind of individualized attention as a service!

For more information, visit: feralattraction.com/coaching

Other business

Patreon

Joel Kreissman is a published author of anthropomorphic science-fiction in his Para-Imperium universe. His first novel, The Pride of Parahumans, was published with Thurston Howl publications in 2017 and he has more free stories on his blog at https://paraimperium.wordpress.com/

FA 107 Friendship - What is a good friendship, when is the right time to distance yourself from a friend, and how do you revive a fading friendship worth saving?

Looks like this is the season when folks-in-charge are shopping around for new TV series to sell around the world. Now from Animation Magazine we learn that Jetpack Distribution have picked up the world-wide rights to a 2D series from Britain called Pip Ahoy! It goes like this: “The series is a warm and boisterous show that centers on Pip and his friends as they carry out rescue missions, solve problems and take care of their community. It features the inimitable voice of Sir David Jason, who plays Skipper, an old seadog and Pip’s Uncle… Pip’s fans can also interact with the property offscreen in the UK thanks to recent renewals of both the master toy and apparel licenses and, in association with PJSL, character meet and greets at popular family entertainment parks across the country this summer. CHF Pip! Plc and PJSL are now in talks with two parks for a long-term, on-site Pip Ahoy! live show.” Good news for cartoon fans in the UK all right. Meanwhile for the rest of us, here’s some episodes on YouTube.

image c. 2018 Jetpack Distribution

SQUAWK!
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Sign up to fly: https://canisvulpes.com/furflight/

Super organizer MikeFolf/Canis Vulpes got in touch to share his project of herding an airplane full of furries all the way to Midwest Furfest, taking the good vibes of the con much farther than one city. If you want to go, don’t sleep on this, the seats are filling fast!

He says:

FurFlight is a series of group flights on existing commercial aircraft that extends the convention experience to the journey. That reduces stress of travel there, and eliminates PCD on return, with a lot of friends along for the trip.

If they're traveling by plane does that make them a flying carpet?

— Zidders RooFurry (@ZiddersRoofurry) September 13, 2018

For those who want a visual update, here's how #MWFurFlight stands so far. Seats are filling up quickly, so sign up now at https://t.co/gvQ2SrnAy5! pic.twitter.com/8NqrYfUs9T

— FurFlight (@CVFurFlight) September 12, 2018

We did a test run for MFF 2017 from SFO.  There were over 70 furries on a 110-seat plane, run by Virgin America. Fursuiting was cleared post-security with SFO and Virgin.  That allowed for a parade of sorts from screening to gate, with plenty of eager photo ops from other passengers and gate agents.

For many of us, the flight was one of the only times they enjoyed flying. Because of the success, we’re expanding to a flight on Wednesday, as well as a Wednesday and Thursday Flight in Seattle, all operated by Alaska Airlines. They bought Virgin last year and have been bending over backwards to accommodate us, of which we’re grateful for. We’re also looking at what’s tricky about getting to cons, to see how we can smooth out the rough spots.

All FurFlight guests are guaranteed a refundable ticket and group seating, and a PAW (Prepared-Assortment of-Wellness) Pack – which contains basic toiletries, snacks, and treatments to get through the convention. In addition, we have guides – SkyCollies – who are helping guests out with tickets and preparing to fly as well as guiding them through the airports. We also bundle in foods and WiFI for higher paying guests that want a little extra.

The end goal is to make the journey as fun as the con, and we hope to bring this experience to more furries as we look at other cons to expand to.

I’ve included pics from last year and here’s a video that shows Midwest FurFlight in the first bit.

@CVFurFlight has this all handled. https://t.co/GjFsZZMM9P

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) September 13, 2018