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submitted by Hot-Gothics
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So mah tail broke. It's a stuffed tail, and had a tough string knotted inside the general structure of the tail and forms a loop on the outside. I had a keychain loop on the string loop and that is what I used to attach it to my pants, however, last night the entire string loop popped out. Still knotted, too.

Anyone have any advice for a person not skilled at sewing or anything similar on how to repair it?

Thanks again, my fuzzy friends! Techie151

submitted by techie151
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submitted by gamerlen
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My Little Pony has become a visible part of the furry community in the last few years. Since 2010, when the TV series was rebooted by Hasbro and Lauren Faust, ponies are everywhere. It’s not just that they’re easy to draw (although I’m sure that helps), they are popular to the point of ubiquitousness online and at conventions. They have become an important feature of furry’s cultural wallpaper. And they are, of course, anthropomorphic too.

And yet MLP is clearly a children’s cartoon.

So why is it loved by so many intelligent and thoughtful furries? Why has MLP joined the likes of The Lion King as a furry touchstone?

I’m going to try to find out.

Fortunately I am friends with one of the great furry pony-lovers, a UK furry called Artax. Artax is one of the founders and an administrator of a popular MLP forum at www.canterlot.com (4,900 members, 286,000 posts), as well as being a longtime pony geek. I asked him how a pony-sceptic should make a virgin approach to all thing M, L, and equine.

Artax is my Dr Pony, and he has prescribed me an MLP marathon: we’re going to sit down and watch as much MLP as I can stand, starting with Season One Episode One.

I am filled with curiosity and terror.

The ponies, you see, are a bit personal for me. As a horse furry, I identify with my equine self as a source of quiet personal strength, physical and mental. The horse is the foundation of my identity; it’s what makes me a furry. Popular perception of the ponies undermines the formerly staid horse archetype. People find out that I’m a horse and they don’t think I’m an impressive equine: they ask about my cutie mark.

Now you might find this all to be hilarious. But it’s taken some adjustment on my part. It’s as if I met a dragon furry, and I went on to imagine a pastel Baby Yoshi. This would be at odds with the intimidating expression of outsiderhood presumably intended by my fantastical friend.

Even before the new series of MLP starting taking over my world, furry friends would poke fun at me by harking back to the ponies of the 1980s. They did so because they, correctly, sensed that it contradicted my relationship with the horse. And, in the manner of friends sensing a good-natured but genuine weakness, proceeded to satirize me as a pony at every opportunity. I had no choice but to grin and bear it.

My tormentor-in-chief has predictably become a modern-day pony-lover. She was all too happy to draw JM as a pony for this article (you can see more of Rainbird’s pony art here):

Pony JM. According to Rainbird, Ponified JM stands for ‘Juicy Mac’, a bizarre moniker inspired either by a type of apple or the fact that I was an early iPod adopter. I do not endorse this name.

MLP is a children’s TV show, and I rarely choose to consume media created for children.

My cultural interests generally veer towards the highbrow: I subscribe to literary magazines; I read good quality fiction; I sometimes watch ponderous European cinema. And I know that this can make me seem hopelessly pretentious.

But I’m not snobbish about it. I don’t think less of people who prefer their media to be lowbrow, be that Harry Potter or Transformers. If anything, I’m worried about being subject to a kind of reverse snobbery, where I might be made to feel ashamed for my interests. To quote Thomas Pynchon: “Except for maybe Brainy Smurf, it’s hard to imagine anybody these days wanting to be called a literary intellectual.”

I’m not going to apologise for choosing to consume media created for adults. I’m equally won’t suggest that there is anything wrong with consumption of media created for children. My preference is personal, and I don’t think that people who love the lowbrow are any lesser in intelligence, or any other supposed measure of the value of a human being.

I don’t have any specific objection to animation or children’s TV, except to say that I often find it, well, childish. There is a scene in Life Of Pi (the novel, I haven’t seen the film) where our castaway, in desperate hunger, tries to eat his own faeces. His plight is such that he doesn’t register the taste, he simply learns that it contains no sustenance. I feel much the same way about children’s TV, from Barney the Dinosaur through to Family Guy.

And so the prospect of a day dedicated to My Little Pony fills me with terror. I understand that the show is set in a pony-only universe, and that the characters (who have names like Rainbow Dash) go about and have adventures. Everything is going to be colourful and high-contrast and jolly, which sounds to me like a kind of longform Nyan Cat.

Fear.

But I am curious too, and that curiosity comes from the rather amazing culture that has sprung up around MLP. Artax, like many of my pony-loving friends, is an intelligent and grounded guy. I trust that his love for the show must come from something more worthwhile and nuanced than its physical aesthetics.

Perhaps there is an undercurrent of Ghibli-style magic, where an emotional thread lurks below the fantastical creations? Maybe there is a clue in the show’s subtitle, and that the show explores how friendship creates something special, magical about life? (Please, please please please, don’t tell me that actual friendship in the pony universe is actually magic. Please please.) I’m all for well-told morality tales that reinforce the value of friendship, one of life’s true joys.

There are some obviously positive sides to the show too. It’s rather excellent that the main characters are exclusively female (or close to it), and that they are embraced by a diverse audience. It makes for a refreshing change, especially given that popular cartoon shows among furries are often contemptible bro-fests, where women are treated as if they are an alien species (sometimes literally). MLP is a breath of fresh air among the likes of Adventure Time, Regular Show, Spongebob Squarepants, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Phineas & Ferb, et al ad nauseum.

Also, I love the pony fandom’s embrace of the so-bad-it’s-good neologism ‘brony’. Brony is a great term, enthusiastically ludicrous, and neatly co-opts a masculine word base to become at least partly gender-neutral. It’s a miracle born of the unlikely coupling of 4chan-style snarkiness and political correctness.

When I ask my brony friends about MLP, I get a range of responses. Some feel that it’s genuinely great TV, some seem to enjoy it as a guilty pleasure, others have referred to it as audio-visual valium. This makes it sound vaguely like the glacial Koyaanisqatsi, a film that—at least in concept—seems like the artistic polar opposite of MLP (except perhaps in the ‘stoner classic’ category). Whatever the truth, such descriptions have piqued my curiosity.

So I’m approaching my ponyfest with an open mind, without setting my expectations too high. Artax has suggested that I prepare by bringing a stuffed animal and a very large quantity of vodka. So I should end up with a warm glow one way or the other. I’ve even infused my vodka with beetroot to give it an appropriately pink hue.

Wish me luck. I shall report my results next week.

submitted by delura
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Dear Papabear,

I'm a wolf looking for answers. So, I'm having troubles with my relationship. I'm three years invested and I seem to be in love because of the time I've spent with her. She doesn't like the furry fandom but I happen to live in it. I've been having troubles communicating with her and I feel like I'm loosing interest. She's a nice girl, but I can't keep leading her on if I don't want to be with her; trouble is, I don't know if I want to be with her. Should I ask her to help me, or should I try to find someone first? What’s the morally right thing compared to what I want to do? The relationship market is also tough, I could never find another mate. What do you think?

E Wolf

* * *

Dear E Wolf,

Staying with someone because you have “three years invested” is like holding on to stock in AOL because you owned it for years. In your brief letter you have provided several reasons for leaving her, including: she doesn’t like furries, which is a big part of your life and who you are; you aren’t communicating well; and, tellingly, you don’t even know if you want to be with her anymore. (You are under the misguided perception that time spent with someone = the amount you love someone.)

You write that you “don’t know if I want to be with her.” Yeah, you know, and the answer is pretty clear you don’t, really. The next line—“Should I ask her to help me, or should I try to find someone first?”—doesn’t make sense to Papabear. Ask her to help you? Help you what—love her again? And “try to find someone first”? You mean have a backup girlfriend so when you dump the first one you won’t be alone? Come on. 

Then this: “What’s the morally right thing compared to what I want to do?” Why do you think what you want to do is not morally okay? It sounds like you wish to break up with this girl. There is nothing immoral about that. Lastly, you state that you’ll never find another mate. Nonsense.

You are correct, however, when you said you can’t keep leading her on. That was the one clear and true thing you concluded in your letter. You don’t really want to continue in this relationship, do you? Be honest. And continuing a bogus relationship is not doing your girlfriend any favors. If you’re wasting your time with her, then she’s likewise wasting her time with you when she could be looking for someone who loves her a lot more than you do.

Also, staying with her because you’re afraid of being alone is, indeed, not very moral for the above reason: you’re not being fair to her.

The best thing you can do for both of you is break it off now. Not next month or next week. Now. The morally right thing to do is to be honest with her. Tell her you think she is a nice girl and that you really like her but that you don’t see the relationship progressing any farther than where it is now and you think it would be best for both of you to move on (although keep friendship on the table, if that is possible).

Love is not an investment. Love is not found in a “market.” Lovers are not commodities. And lovers aren’t there to keep you from being lonely while you look for someone else who is better. Treat her with the respect a “nice girl,” as you characterized her, deserves and you will be in good shape.

Papabear

http://www.livestream.com/yolkulass

finally got my lazy butt in gear for those people i owe free art to :3 enjoy

submitted by FouxFhang
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submitted by GlaucousBlues
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Watch yerself.

--
GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME HEAD!

Author: GreenReaper Furry auction site FurBuy has added a classified listings service, among other updates, positioning it as a “furry Craigslist“. Listings so far include furry identification badges, a skunk for sale, and a request for a sewing partner. However, ongoing competition from social art sites has lead to a threat of closure later this year, [...]

Author: dronon It starts light-heartedly enough. Take your basic haunted house story, only do it with dogs investigating a haunted doghouse. And slowly, gradually, the stories get darker. Burden Hill would appear to be your everyday, quiet suburb, except… things… are starting to happen, and while the local humans haven’t noticed anything yet, the local [...]

I'm currently in between jobs, and somewhat new to the furry hobby/interest. I'm looking for an artist who takes comissions that don't cost much at all (not looking for a hand out) that I could afford. I really, really want a fursona, but don't have a lot of cash. Do you know of any artist who charge little, and affordable cost?

submitted by DDDowney
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Image Comics have announced that the popular first hardcover volume of Richard Starkings’ popular Elephantmen comic book collection will soon be back in print — now in a new Revised and Expanded edition called Wounded Animals. It includes the original “Issue Zero” (with art by Ladronn), a sketch section, a new introduction, and more. Extreme noir science fiction with uplifted animals fighting against and alongside humans for world domination. Hey, the creators insist that it’s not Furry. Check it out and decide for yourself. The new edition (collecting issues 0 – 7) comes back to shelves on May 1st.

image c. 2013 Image Comics

Hey guys! I'm currently working on a paper for a Sociology class at my university and decided to write about Furries- mostly because I know hardly anything. A friend of mine has dabbled in this arena and suggested I start out here as a place to learn more. So, here is where I come to you all. I really have no specific questions, I am more so hoping you all could tell me what you might tell other newcomers... And I'm looking to hear about anything and everything! Thank you in advance for any help! (Also posted on furaffinity!)

submitted by socresearch
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submitted by honeynuggets
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submitted by No_not_the_monkey
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submitted by Cannis_Yasei
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Yes, i know, lol another furry subreddit!
I figured since theres so much furry activity on the west coast why not make a subreddit for it!
Online communities are sort of all over the place and hard to find for new furries. We get a lot of fresh folks on /r/furry all the time, so i thought it would be helpful for finding friends, con buddies/roommates and meets to go to!

Feel free to drop by! /r/WestCoastFurs

Edit: Gosh, no need to downvote this to hell and back just because its another fur subreddit:/. I remember how difficult it was to find friends and meets in my area when I first came to the fandom, im just trying to make it easier for people to get together and enjoy themselves.

submitted by Lucaloo
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submitted by rushnum60
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I know there aren't very many furries from Maine (if there are any at all X3) but I've noticed there isn't any "official" forum/board for Maine furries, so my friend recently took it upon himself to create one! The board is called Pine Tree Furs, and it's the not-so-official forum for Maine furs. You can find it here: http://pinetreefurs.forumotion.com/ So if you're a furry from Maine, or travels to Maine, come join! right now there are very few people registered, but I'd like very much to see the Maine furry community grow, and I figured this subreddit would be a good place to start reaching out~

submitted by PurpleWool
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