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Continuing from part 1: Controversy erupted about a video from FWA that appeared to show sex in public, but it didn’t. It was puppy players wrestling (moshing). Pup play is an offshoot of the leather scene that overlaps with furry, but isn’t always welcome. The behavior at FWA was one issue – and then a separate, bigger debate came up about welcoming that interest at furry cons. Here’s a point/counterpoint about it.

nobody clutches their pearls harder than furries pretending to be shocked at pup play

— Hashtag (@HashtagPurr) April 8, 2018

for the record, if you gonna grind on the floor, do it in your room. but fuck this puritanical crusade against the gear scene. sorry their version of the fandom isn’t walking stuffed animals, get over it

— Hashtag (@HashtagPurr) April 8, 2018

I have some words to say to Furry and Pup Twitter over the FWA video. Not because I want attention but because I’ve been a furry since 2010 and a pup for 3 1/2 Years and these last few days have been rough for me.

— David “there’s a gif for everything” Popovich (@Bookworm_Review) April 9, 2018

As for you furries... for a group that spent years trying to say “Blame the person not the fandom” you can at times be hypocritical about that. This was a bad situation but by individuals not a community. So why attack all of us leaves me tired.

— David “there’s a gif for everything” Popovich (@Bookworm_Review) April 9, 2018

Click through above for more from Pup Matthias, a Dogpatch Press staffer who says “Pups are a spectrum of sexual and non sexual like furries, but they haven’t had people whitewash their history”. 

He gave further explanation:

A pup hood is an extension for someone when they are in pup space. Some people misinterpret that you need a hood to be a pup, but you don’t. There is no “gear” requirement to show you’re a pup. What makes someone a pup is what they wish to express a “dog” behavior.

Some are playful. Others are service, as in serving the community by volunteering at events. Others are protectors and others are sexual. The problem I have with the “Pup Hoods in public fur con space” debate is that it’s misguided. If a person was in full fetish gear: hood, harness, jockstrap, butt plug tail, etc. there would be no debate. Most people have common sense for what is and isn’t right to wear at certain events and would call out something like that.

If the person was in hood and wearing a harness with no shirt, I wouldn’t have a problem with that because of the circles I’m in, but I can understand where people come from about kink and fetish. I would expect that at an event like Claw, or LA Hear, over a general furry space.

But just a pup hood alone? While properly dressed? Unless I’m missing details, or the pup in question was being a huge dick, I don’t see that as wrong. When we do that we’re just expressing ourselves in a non sexual way. When I see what’s been discussed on Twitter, I can’t really agree on what people are saying in context of just wearing a hood while being PG. The Pup community is sexual, but there’s a spectrum of people, some I know personally who aren’t. There’s more to the community than what people are saying. I feel the Pup community needs to step up to educate while recognizing the nuances.

I started a group chat with more opinions.

Puppy play in a hotel lobby? They were defensive that it was at 4 AM. It’s still a lobby.

Arrkay:

I like pup masks, they look neat and I think can fit in with furry just fine. But I mean more like kink friendly design/fashion. That doesn’t condone this behavior, they should have done it in private.

Pup Matthias:

I’m a pup and have been for 3 1/2 years. When I discovered it I saw a lot of crossover with furry and my interest with BDSM. I know puppy comes from a sexual background but being in the community I’ve seen that not all pups are sexual. There are some who do it just to role play no different from when furries fursuit. In fact I’ve had 2-3 different encounters with little kids while wearing my hood at public events and they were amazed to see me. But when it comes to criticism of Pups most of it comes not from outside, but from furries. And it’s funny because we have been yelled at by the old guard leather about how we don’t respect pups sexual humiliation origins. While furries say we’re too sexy. I even had one at a fur event yell at my face that I didn’t belong wearing my hood to a furry event. So there is some personal baggage when stuff like this happens.

Arrkay:

Furry origins are dripping in sex and kink, I think it’s hypocritical to reject pups.

Aristide:

They’re not furry, just furry adjacent. There’s also an explicit fetish assumption with pups, whereas furry has minors that can participate safely.

Arrkay:

Lots of cross over in the venn diagram. And you’re right, furry is an all ages thing. So no yiffing in the lobby. But I think it should be fine to don a pup hood with plain clothes, and romp around conspace. FE had a rule that any kink gear like hoods and harnesses could only be in the conspace after 9pm, I think thats a reasonable compromise.

This is a separate convo between “yiffing in the lobby” vs “pups place within furry.”

Tex:

I’m open to learn about anything. I assumed pup hoods were just sexual. I also assumed BDSM is inherently sexual. I’m open to the idea that I’m wrong about this all, I don’t have a lot of experience with it.

Arrkay:

If I had a pup hood it would def be more for fashion than sex. They look heckin neat IMO.

Aristide:

Pup hoods are anti-fashion IMO.

Pup Matthias:

It makes me think of a few months ago when someone saw a puppy with his hood walking in the lobby, and everyone on Twitter, including me had an opinion.

Deo:

I’m cool with harnesses and pup hoods worn around the con at all times. It was the inappropriate public dry humping that I didn’t like. I’d feel that way no matter what they were wearing, plain clothes, fursuits, or pup gear. It’s less about the gear and more about conducting ourselves decently and respectfully in public spaces. Those other people around them didn’t consent to being a part of sexual play as background onlookers. Touchy stuff like that needs to take place in private hotel rooms.

Pup play may originate with BDSM but the roleplay elements and escapism are very close to reasons why some furries fursuit. Pup hoods can be original works of art just like fursuit heads. As long as everyone is fully dressed without genitalia explicitly showing, and as long as they leave people alone who are uncomfortable (same with fursuiters needing to not force interaction), I’m cool with it.

Tempe O’Kun:

I’m not into pup/pony play, but I would also argue that it’s kinda furry – RPing as an animal and all. That said, sometimes we do have to cool it for the sake of having an all ages con (or have more adults-only cons). Furries, the media, hotel staff, and even the family of furries benefit from having clear and simple rules on when/where you can wear obvious kink gear.

Vandell:

I think pups are fine in the fandom. I don’t even have much against the hoods being worn in public (sort of; wait for the chilluns to go to bed first). I think grinding in a public hotel lobby is the frustrating part.

Deo:

It’s not about y’all tho. Forreal.

The furry con doesn’t have to cater to your fetish, they literally have BDSM cons for this stuff. This is so god damn selfish. Embrace public decency and stop dropping inappropriate public behaviors on others.

Get a grip.
Do better. https://t.co/V0b1xXOctQ

— mawther (@inkiiorchid) April 9, 2018

There is a good point that a furry con doesn’t have to cater to individual fetishes and that specific fetish events and conventions exist for the reason of fulfilling that role for people.

I gotta say though some pup hoods are lovely pieces of artwork that really show skill and craft.

Mulefoot Boar made these and I want one.

There’s no reason these can’t be considered art masks.

These are artistic too. All of this is just head wear, not much different than any other mask except for the prejudice/expectation of it being solely sexual.

Pup Matthias:

After digesting this more, I know and understand that what the pups did is wrong, but it reads and feels like those talking about it are using to broadly talk about pups being bad in general. Let’s not forgot what happened when one person complained on Twitter during Arizona Fur Con just about seeing someone in a hood.

It feels hypocritical to see furries do that, but honestly furries have always had an issue with its “image”. It’s like a needy girl who needs total strangers to approve of her.

And the thing about the hoods being works of art can be true. It can also be hurtful to Pups in the community because we always have some who feel they need to get a hood just to be accepted, and you don’t need one to pup. It’s a state of mind. The hood is just fashion to either help get into that space or express yourself. It’s not required.

hi i'm old enough to remember when fursuits were considered fetish gear and lots of furries didn't want ppl wearing them on the floor at conventions. consider that acceptance of smth originally born of sexuality can lead to identity & culture beyond its birthplace

— artdecade (@artdecaderoo) April 8, 2018

ScaleyStaffer:

People forget things like pet auctions existed in the fandom at one point and were major convention events.

Deo:

Sorry, I mentioned the hoods being works of art because they have gotten the bulk of the stigma recently. I know pup is a state of mind, but without the hoods the “romping” would have been attributed to drunk furries, rather than blamed on “BDSM Pups are being publicly kinky in our Furry Fandom”.

Pup Matthias:

That is true, and seeing them as art is an important thing. I’m just bringing up something I’ve seen way too much on the pup side. Hoods can actually be a sore topic for pups, depending.

Tempe O’Kun:

Sort of like how some people feel like they aren’t real furries without suits?

Edward:

I feel the gear is fine as long as there is no nudity involved, especially in open con spaces.

Pup Matthias:

It’s the same language and the same issues. Being noticed, being accepted, and seeing which ones are popular and wanting to be like them.

Edward:

I see some of the people saying pup hoods should be banned are also people that think murrsuits are terrible and should also be banned. Not sure if that stems from personal issues about sex or what, but I feel that as long as things are kept strictly G rated in areas that are not designated for more adult things, it’s fine. Use common sense and better judgement. Drunk people will do dumb things, but judging an entire subculture within a subculture because of the actions of a couple drunks is kinda unfair IMO.

Like artdecade says in that tweet, fursuits were also considered fetish gear. They still are in many circles. It’s not the fursuit or the pup hood that made those two dry hump in a public area. Banning the gear is not going to stop that behavior.

Tempe O’Kun:

Also: collars/leashes. Most places, that would automatically be considered a sex thing. Some furries just wear that stuff as a fashion item.

Edward:

I wore a collar in public years ago, and it was just shrugged off as a ‘goth thing’. It wasn’t at all, but hey, worked in my favor.

Tempe O’Kun:

Right. Context.

I think we need to recognize that the behavior was the problem not what they were wearing. It would be equally wrong no matter what they were wearing- plain clothes, fursuit, or pup. It's less about the gear more about conducting ourselves respectfully in public spaces. pic.twitter.com/W7C8sghQp6

— Deo (@DeoTasDevil) April 9, 2018

Pup Matthias:

I understand there is a lot to learn about and I feel the fandom still has an image issue it needs to both grow from and loosen up in other areas.

Summercat:

I will say that we do a lot of nonfurry stuff at furry cons that furries are interested in. Ham radio, aerospace meetups – heck, most gaming isn’t furry. So to me, saying that pup stuff is BDSM and not furry doesn’t quite wash, even if you ignore the overlap in categorization.

At the same time I dont think gimp suits should be allowed and I’m iffy about the full body latex zentai suits I’ve seen run around.

Deo:

Good point on the furry adjacent hobbies and interests that carry over to be shared a cons between furry fans.

Summercat:

Are cons about Anthropomorphic Media, or are they about Furry Fandom? Are they about the art movement, or upon the culture? I’ve always seen conventions to be like a county fair, where a community or set of communities come together to do trade/business, show off their best works, enter into contests, and socialize. So I guess I’m in the latter of this.

Tex:

A lot less grey area here. I know the discussion for sex positivity in the fandom is all but won.

I know two people who classify themselves as asexual and would like to Disney-ify cons. One proudly kinkshames because she finds it all disgusting and feels like cons are no place for it. The other literally says that everything should be held to a “rated E” standard, and feels like the whole of the con space should be FOR KIDS. The people I’m introducing are the only sex-negative people I know personally.

Some people legit want to give the fandom a bubble bath, and purify it by their own arbitrary sense of shame, and they are NOT silent about this and take incidents like the video to churn up weaponized outrage at kinks and fetishes, and shape the fandom to their will. They’re not very good at it. The ones I know and quietly dislike intensely, but they stand in the way of a sex-positive fandom as I’d like to see it, and I’m sure they’re not alone. They do it under the guise of asexuality too, which just gives aces a bad name.

They’re more or less just disgusted by sex and live in an imaginary Disney land. They don’t have the means to effect that change and I’m glad they don’t.

Closing – a little teaser of news.

I hope you enjoyed this chat that covered a LOT of ground beyond drama about one video.  On the other paw, when Anthro Northwest had their first convention in late 2017, there was a lot of controversy about their family-friendly rules that were attacked with assumptions about religious motivation behind the scenes.  Personally, I was never doubtful that furry should have a place for a family-friendly con.  Fandom is growing and there’s a lot of room for different flavors and approaches. That makes me mention that there’s serious talk of starting an adult-specific furry convention for 2020.

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.

Seriously!! Right in front of my Convention!? #FWA18 @Cajuntagious pic.twitter.com/s5ZYsXfEaY

— KoidelCoyote@BLFC (@KoidelCoyote) April 8, 2018

Furry twitter was growling about two puppies wrestling in the middle of a hotel lobby. It was an “OMG! Furs are having sex in public at FWA” thing. It started with one tweet of a video that sort of looks like people having sex – but then the subjects posted a close-up 360 video showing it wasn’t. Even so, online outrage kept getting the video taken down from Youtube (see it on Vimeo).

Changa Lion of the Prancing Skiltaire house, a graymuzzle furry who staffed at ConFurence and tipped me about this, said it resembled plenty of previous “bullshit said about older cons that wasn’t actually true”:

It’s like it becomes self-reinforcing. No matter what is said, it’s now firmly in place in people’s minds that furs were having sex in public at FWA. I almost want a yearly award for the biggest fan outrage of the year that is actually bullshit.

What were they doing?

Puppy Play is a recently rising community rooted in the classic BDSM leather scene. Think hoods and wrestling gear reminiscent of the gimp look, wagging tails and barking – but sex is optional while “primal headspace” is the point, according to them. Playing together in gear is a “mosh”.

Overlap of puppies and furries is especially noticeable with a hot spot like Seattle, where SEAPAH (Seattle Pups and Handlers) throws a monthly mosh at a leather bar that attracts fursuiters. For incentive to mingle, that furry scene seems to need more established night life, like regular dance parties other cities have.

Things don’t always mingle so casually at fur cons, where pups have been accused of making things creepy, yelled at or been told not to wear hoods. That’s not fair, say the pups. Furries can get similar friction about fursuits that they don’t deserve (or they used to.)

When the issue came out at FWA, it was inflamed by baggage and bad attitudes from several sides. Does puppy play belong in furry at all? Is furry actually a fetish itself? Can you call either thing nonsexual? Are furries overreacting to purify parts of themselves? Should they lighten up because the same judgement was thrown at them before? Or do both groups share some ambiguous no-mans-land, with closer ties than they want to admit?

Put your collars on and follow my lead – let’s jump into the fray for a closer look.

Furry ambiguity

I will always say that families and kids belong in furry. But so does the After Dark side. Oddly enough, they coexist even if they aren’t supposed to mingle. I call it a “big tent from Disney to Dirty.” Duality like that is everywhere, because parents have sex to have kids and raise them too. It’s just human, but I think the duality is closer to the surface in this subculture, with more blurry lines. That can make it complicated to decide what’s appropriate and how flexible the lines are. Appropriateness can be very ambiguous when things like “fursuit crushes” are in the eye of the beholder.

For example, this is an innocent kid’s cartoon, except when it isn’t:

remember that time on the Batman cartoon when Batman fought the hot Olympic athlete whose steroids keep turning him into a werewolf

and then they wrestle

i do pic.twitter.com/SmVWMOanuq

— Anthony Oliveira (@meakoopa) April 7, 2018

Here’s an icon that achieved self awareness about it:

I’m all for showing your stripes, feathers, etc. But let’s keep things gr-r-reat – & family-friendly if you could. Cubs could be watching

— Tony the Tiger (@realtonytiger) January 28, 2016

There’s a time and place for everything

Tony The Tiger didn’t object because of being a satirical furry thirst object, it was because lewdness got so public. On the other hand, even boundaries for public lewdness can be more flexible than people think.

Try Folsom Street Fair, the world’s biggest outdoor fetish event.  It’s held in San Francisco every year since 1984, and officially sponsored by the city. It’s 18+ to enter, gated for 13 city blocks, and 400,000 people go. Furries have a popular furmeet there. Fursuiting in the sun with a giant crowd takes a lot of endurance, but it’s unbeatable for excitement. I mean, actually it is beatable. You know what they say, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me…” When every other person is in bondage gear, that becomes plain and usual. What was really special was the time I found someone’s slave chained to a telephone pole, and gave them furry tickle torture while the crowd laughed.

NSFW public lewdness is on video with “Folsom Street Fair” getting 1776 hits on Pornhub. That was the year of American independence, and it’s nobody’s business to judge it, unless you’re rating how good the videos are. Naughty voyeurs should send appreciation to any furry in them you’ve been watching.

Not everyone chooses the right place. I wouldn’t tickle-torture a slave in a hotel lobby.

Fear of repeating Oklacon and Rainfurrest

Rainfurrest fell apart in 2015, and a lot of blame was thrown at a widely-shared photo of a rubber-clad guy wearing a diaper in public space. But the guy was just quickly going to a panel where he was expected. He wasn’t hanging out to show off. Nobody besides furries cared that Furry Twitter was sharing a photo of a weird looking guy. The real harm came from vandalism. Fetishists got unfairly blamed.

So we are clear: Babyfurs and their friends were not responsible for the loss of our previous hotel. Damage to hotel rooms was responsible.

— RainFurrest (@rainfurrest) June 25, 2016

Oklacon also fell apart in 2015 when park rangers were alerted to a sex act that happened outside with 3 intoxicated people. Members discussed a history of tensions with the park including homophobia – and we’re talking about a camp after dark. I’ll bet more people than not have sex outdoors (on a beach, etc), or get drunk while camping. I think they should have given the con a break, but it was still a pretty obvious cause.

The FWA video made drama worse.

The video of puppy play was shot from far away and a few floors up. @Tekpup and @Murrlin posted their close-up video showing a different view of wrestling in puppy play gear, AKA a pup mosh. They explained that there was no sex, and it happened at 4AM with no kids around, and dismissed criticism. But it was still a public lobby, so the defenses didn’t stop the tension between pups and furries.

Part 2 looks closer at this with a point/counterpoint including Pup Matthias, a Dogpatch Press staffer. The main point is that how they were behaving was not OK, but what they were wearing needs to be separated.

Man, that's a shallow take. Kink is great, I organize pup friendly events and plan them differently depending on context and wouldn't support that take. Think a bit harder plz.

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) April 8, 2018

EDIT: For a reminder that things aren’t as clear cut as some might wish, the first fursuit at a furry con in 1989 was a fetish suit. And for a reminder that overreacting can blow up in your face – here was a story about supposed public sex in fursuits that was a harmful hoax.

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.

There just are not enough lemur based steam punk stop motion films.
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Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Crafter’s Passion by Kris Schnee.
Seattle, WA, CreateSpace, March 2018, trade paperback, $7.99 (247 pages).

This actually shouldn’t be reviewed here because it’s not anthropomorphic. But it’s in Kris Schnee’s Thousand Tales series, and the previous four books all had protagonists who became fantasy animals: a griffin, a squirrel-girl, a coyote-man, and a pegasus. If you’re a Thousand Tales fan, you’ll want to read it despite its protagonist remaining human.

Schnee’s Thousand Tales books aren’t meant to be furry fiction, but science-fiction. Schnee postulates that by 2038, Artificial Intelligences have become so advanced/powerful that when a new one code-named Ludo is put in charge of the Thousand Tales interactive game, and programmed to make sure its players “have fun”, Ludo does everything to ensure that they have fun – including giving them the choice of abandoning their human bodies and living in Thousand Tales permanently, as the creature of their choice.

The process involves the scanning of their brains (an expensive process that results in the death of their human bodies) and the transfer of their minds to Ludo’s control within its Thousand Tales universe. Most governments (much more regimented than today) oppose this. But it involves a person’s free choice, and some experts argue that the process involves the successful transferral of the person into a new body without being killed.

“On a whim he set the two computers down on opposite sides of the room. He said to the Slab, ‘Tell me about Thousand Tales.’

It displayed a list of search results. The first three were about a shadowy tax-cheat corporation encouraging the rich to abandon society through the guise of a video game that ought to be banned. The fourth was something about the game’s AI doing charity work. The fifth was back to negative coverage of why the expensive brain uploading procedure was really just a form of suicide. Stan had grown up knowing how search engines were engineered to ‘guide public opinion’ by arranging the results the right way. He could read between the lines and see that the people doing the guiding hated this game.” (p. 12)

Crafter’s Passion is set in 2038, when Thousand Tales is just getting started. Stan Cooper has recently graduated from high school, and is enrolled in a mandatory Youth Community Center to perform government services, to decide whether he will be allowed to advance to college. He becomes a farmer in California’s Imperial Valley, growing needed food. Stan emphatically does not want to be a farmer. Like most older adolescents, he is addicted to video/interactive games, and the hottest new one is Thousand Tales. Supposedly if you can afford it, you can have your brain transferred into the fantasy world to live in its virtual paradise world permanently. But Stan is penniless. He can only afford to buy a handheld console, to enter the virtual world temporarily in his spare time.

Stan is not interested in becoming a fantasy animal, and is happy to remain human. What he is interested in is creating things; in earning his own way rather than having things given to him, whether it’s the government’s minimum for all citizens or the game’s minimum for players who do not advance themselves:

“He checked his inventory. Besides the garbage and default clothes he had nothing. That was better than being handed a ready-made warrior. ‘How do I get a weapon?’

‘You can ask around for a hand-me-down, or start off with some beach-combing for rocks and sticks. There’s a basic crafting bench outside.’

He didn’t want anybody’s handouts. ‘Thanks, I’ll look around.’” (p. 9)

Stan slowly becomes skilled in wood- and metal-working and similar crafts, both for himself and selling what he makes to others. He can use his skills in both the gaming world and the real world, but his supervisor at the Youth Community Center tries to force him to spend all his time doing what the government orders:

“‘What’s so funny?’ said Hal.

‘It’s not important.’

‘Your thoughts are important. I want to know what was going through your head when you decided to run off for this particular event.’

‘I already said I’d scheduled it in advance. I didn’t know I was being automatically signed up for the blood drive.’ Stan sat up straighter. ‘I didn’t think the Community would start claiming my blood without my formal permission.’

‘You gave permission to the necessary rules by coming to the Youth Community Program.’

‘I never had a choice about doing national service years.’” (p. 131)

In the course of the novel, Stan spends more and more time in Thousand Tales and rises with Ludo’s help. This is at the expense of his duties at the Youth Community Center, and he suffers for it.

In addition to the lack of anthro animals, there are other differences. Ludo spends most of the time appearing to Stan as a man “with spiky hair, cool sunglasses and a cape made of stars,” instead of as a beautiful woman.

And Crafter’s Passion isn’t entirely without any anthro animals:

“The camera went to third-person to show him growing, stretching, until he burst free of the net in a flick of… fins? He was solid grey, a horizontal fluked tail thrashed behind him, and his air meter had expanded. He was a dolphin!” (p. 35)

“‘You’re a myth,’ he said.

The griffin said, ‘Not anymore!’” (p. 119)

“A series of thumps sounded from inside, and a muffled ‘Darn it!’ Something metal crashed and bounced. Stan stepped back from the door just as it opened. He found a harried white rabbit-man with his fur mussed, half-dressed in a steel breastplate and holding a pair of leather gloves with his big teeth. The bunny stood at about Stan’s height (counting ears) and was fumbling to get his armor on.

‘Davis?’ said Stan.

‘Yes, sir, I do believe I am. And what else I am is late. ‘Scuse me.’ He fiddled with some buckles.

‘Can I help?’

‘You know what? Yes.’ He turned around and let Stan help him with the armor. ‘Sorry not to be hospitable, but I am on set in five. Another time?’” (p. 198)

Crafter’s Passion (cover by NextMars) doesn’t have many anthro animals in it, and it’s very heavily into Thousand Tales as an electronic playable interactive video game rather than a fantasy world. But it’s still a Thousand Tales novel. Fans of Schnee’s series will know what to expect.

– Fred Patten

• 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.

Our live show at Motor City Con with a stacked show! Special guests are Uncle Kage, Boozy Badger & Path Hyena, as well as old favorites Draggor & Pandez! There's also video if you prefer that --- https://youtu.be/Kr08nSd_o28 www.draggetshow.com Be sure to check our website for all Things Dragget Show! Podcasts, videos, merch and more! Also, don't forget we stream the D&D sessions Sunday at 7pm Central on YouTube! YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/DraggetShow Patreon: www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow 194 - With Uncle Kage, Boozy Badger & Path Hyena! - Our live show at Motor City Con with a stacked sh…

Bored Inc. is the interesting name chosen by an art collective we met at WonderCon. Here’s how they describe themselves on their web site: “We are a mother & daughter design team creating super cute characters on lots of different products. We hope our characters make you happy and encourage you to explore your creativity and imagination!” They are especially adept at fantasy enamel pins, featuring their character “Afro-Cat” and others. Not to mention magnets, buttons, stickers, and other goodies.

image c. 2018 Bored Inc

You know, it’s getting to be an old saw that the rest of the world gets to see some very cool animation — and much of it furry! — that we never get distributed over here. Oh well, here’s hoping that opportunities arise! Next on the list? The Tales of Tatonka, an animated series for kids that was created by Cyber Group Studios. According to Animation World Network, “The Tales of Tatonka tells the adventurous stories of four wolf cubs who grow together as a family living with nature. Their friend Tatonka, the bison, helps the young wolves explore their wilderness home along with friends Cinksi the lynx, Poum the bear, Wahi the squirrel and Wambli the eagle. Written by Pierre Sissmann and directed by Olivier Lelardoux, The Tales of Tatonka has received multiple awards across the world including a Golden Panda nomination in China and Karusel TV’s Best Kids’ Series in Russia. The series combines an 11-minute animated adventure with a live action segment titled ‘The World of Tatonka,’ depicting animal life in the wild.” So if you’re in China or Russia, look it up!

image c. 2018 Cyber Group Studios

Who knew the new sets of Lego Minifigs has a few fursuiters? https://youtu.be/6gFtSMrXJhc
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I guess I also should look out for furry haiku. "MОTHER is a short animated film for the poetry anthology 'The Pies of my childhood'"
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Roo and Tugs recently appeared on Conspire-A-Theory, hosted by PsyChris. We're pleased to re-broadcast the episode in its entirety!





NOW LISTEN!

Catch the original release at https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/conspireatheory/episodes/2018-03-19T18_13_11-07_00
Original description:
Episode 017: Fur what it's worth. Furry/Paranormal centered episode. Another special, Getting to know the neighbors, show. This time Roo & Tugs from the popular furry podcast, “Fur What It's Worth” join to talk about the their show. The ups and downs facing the furry fandom/community, as well as the drama and the fun within it. After the break, things get spooky with the crew's paranormal encounters which include, UFOs, Ghost Children, Shadow beings in the bedroom, A black eyed Old Lady, and even a Haunted Chair! http://www.furwhatitsworth.com Music "Assimilate" by -KLR- https://soundcloud.com/kiracura Here's where to reach me online if you would like to drop a story, ask a question, or commission an artwork. Show E-mail: conspireatheory@outlook.com Twitter: @psychochris ( https://twitter.com/psychochris ) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConspireATheory Tumblr: https://psy-chris.tumblr.com Instagram: conspire_a_theory FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/psychris/ DA: https://chrisholm.deviantart.com/

  Conspire-A-Theory - Roo and Tugs recently appeared on Conspire-A-Theory, hosted by PsyChris. We're pleased to re-broadcast the episode in its entirety! - NOW LISTEN! - Catch the original release at https://www.podomatic.

A VR Planet of the Apes vr game where you get to be the apes? Amazing! I would have expected the developers to force you to be a human. I want a Rampage VR game where you get to be the monster right away.
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On April 6, catch the convention debut of an Official Selection from SF IndieFest and the SXSW Film Festival. 

FWA just updated their schedule with all the details. Director Brett Hanover and collaborators will be in attendance. It will be an “After Dark Panel.” FWA is part of the story of the movie – it’s a local con for the film makers who come from Memphis.

Rukus (2018, 87 min):

• Trailer and a short review.
• Announcement from the San Francisco premiere, and a look at furry indie movies.

In January I helped bring a large furry group to SF Indiefest. It was an awesome experience, and cinema lovers who appreciate the art form should get a thrill from it. Rukus is punk influenced storytelling between queer coming-of-age story, experimental fiction, and a love letter to fandom. This isn’t a sunny movie but it has joy and passion in it. There’s suicide, sex, and finding identity. It rewards multiple watches where you can peel up the rough edges to find a lot going on underneath. My favorite part is how it takes chances with a shoestring budget, and it’s something a community can count as a DIY product from itself. (I’d love to see that become a scene.) Plus, screening at SXSW is a big deal in the larger scheme of things.

I think one of the reasons I find the furry fandom so appealing and cool is that it facilitates an identity around creation instead of consumption.

It feels more like a community than a result of a good marketing campaign.

— several gay monsters (@Orcanist) January 22, 2018

I am just completely floored that someone made a movie about an old friend of ours, Rukus, and that it's being played at SXSW. https://t.co/xuGUurekAF
Lots of weird feels...

— Triad (@triadfox) March 20, 2018

Brett Hanover tells me:

It was really well received at SXSW – good turnouts for all three screenings, and a very positive response from the Austin furry community. Had a few other people from the film there who weren’t in SF, too – so overall, a very positive, emotional week.

Next screenings for Rukus:

• April 13: Indie Grits Film Fest in Columbia, SC
• April 20 and 24: Anthology Film Archives in NYC. That’s part of a film series organized by Madsen Minax called “The Cinema of Gender Transgression: Trans Film.”

Article about Rukus, the indie furry doc/fiction hybrid movie. It just screened at @sxsw, a big honor to get. I love that the director mentions the furmeet for the premiere in San Francisco, by me, @RelayRaccoon and a few dozen furs. https://t.co/HuS2EZiBeJ

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) March 16, 2018

Brett Hanover’s RUKUS is an incredible, indescribable movie that has been in production for over ten years. It had a major effect on all of us in the audience. Go in blind, as I did. #SXSW pic.twitter.com/xCi5pRDrRr

— Blair Hoyle (@Blair_Hoyle) March 11, 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.

You just know that anything from a publisher called Plotless Comics is going to be interesting, right? Well that’s the home of Walrus-Rabbit, created by Matt Marchetti (the actual title is much much longer but we’ll leave it at that), and SadoCat, created by Cory Patten. Needless to say things are not very serious but are very very strange in these funny animal superhero comics. Read all about these characters and more at their Plotless web site.

image c. 2018 Plotless Comics

Furry filmmaker, Eric Risher [1], director of the documentary Furries [2] has made a con video for this years Texas Furry Fiesta in Dallas. I love all the high quality video furs produce now, it's all Very cool. "This year, I traveled to Texas for the first time to attend Texas Furry Fiesta in Dallas. The convention was held at the Hyatt Regency, a brand new location for the con, which pulled in record attendance with 3,866 furries. I had a blast, and I hope you enjoy this convention video I made to celebrate the convention." [1] https://twitter.com/furryfilmmaker [2] https://FurryFilm.com
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The animation business joins the #metoo movement, a campaign for awareness of sexual harassment that started with powerful people in Hollywood.

John Kricfalusi, creator of the Ren & Stimpy show that gained a cult and influenced many 1990’s TV cartoons, is subject of a report about grooming and sexual abuse of young girls. They were taken under his wing as aspiring artists.

These aren’t just allegations; when he was around 40 he had an underage girlfriend, as mentioned in a book about him, and his attorney admits it was true.

Ren & Stimpy played at the Spike & Mike Animation fest in the 1990’s. I remember getting my mind blown when the fest toured to my town. It inspired me to do indie stuff (like this news site.) There’s more of a furry connection than just fandom, though.

There’s a general industry connection. Since the #metoo campaign came out in October 2017, I’ve been holding on to an animation story by request due to sensitivity about the climate (nothing more than that). Pro talk on a furry site can be a bit tricky because of general stigma.

There’s a personal story too. I didn’t expect this in 2018, because I hadn’t thought about John K. in a while – but I’m not surprised. In the early 2000’s, I saw blog commenters joke about him being a Svengali to pretty young girl artists (I had no idea about the underage part). 15 years ago, give or take, I went to a party at his house in Ontario and saw something myself there.

Oh, we’re arguing today because the guy who made Ren & Stimpy groomed minors and had a 16 year old live-in girlfriend when he was in his 40’s, despite the fact the age of consent in California has been 18 since 1970?

...What exactly are we arguing about here?

— Boozy Badger (@BoozyBadger) March 30, 2018

Does 2 Gryphon know it's the lawyers job to defend people? What does he know about John K, whose lawyer confirmed he had a 16 year old girlfriend in his 40s. Calling foul isnt the same as court guilt, there are times to both-sides it but this isn't one. https://t.co/tOmMczokh4

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) March 30, 2018

There are actual furry artists in this community who have worked for John K, saw this first hand, and mentioned seeing it while it was happening. Even without his lawyer saying so, we know this is true, I met witnesses at Further Confusion who were -there-.

— Chakat Slamfire (@ChakatSlamfire) March 31, 2018

back in 2007—ELEVEN DANG YEARS AGO—i wrote a humor column AS John K. to make fun of him. it's incredibly fucked up that the allegations against him are so much more extreme than my actual jokes pic.twitter.com/OC7Fw74Bqw

— Wow, Bob Mackey! (@bobservo) March 30, 2018

Trashy! My original fursona is a punk pack rat.

Background to my story: in 2003 I was in Canada, in a sort of punk collective and the animation scene. (That’s how I knew the director of the Furry Force animation I was in for a second; he’s a great friend and we shared space at one point.) I was noncitizen, so I couldn’t take offers of animation studio jobs. That left me homeless and looking for a path while sleeping in boiler rooms, closets or on couches of people I was helping to start projects. Then there was crashing parties – (and sometimes dumpster diving clothes and even food, freegan-style, because sell-by dates aren’t use-by dates on good sealed stuff. But that’s another story!)

John K. was at an animation event I was at. I got his address for the afterparty. His house was 1960’s bachelor-pad style, with vintage kids toys, wrestling vids and a shag carpet party basement thing. I got fed, had some beers, looked at some stacks of intern art submissions, and watched girls get rounded up to a closed room where John was going to play ukelele for them. Only the girls, including hopeful young students. It was a bit odd.

Only in 15 year hindsight does it click into a pattern. Now I can suggest that what I saw is a supporting detail for info that just came out. In 2003, it appeared to be no more than “this stranger is weird”. I neither owned a computer, had a presence online, or was professionally or personally connected enough to follow up, so it was useless info without context.

Also, talking to police was dangerous. I’d been caught in a cop’s spotlight after midnight, diving in a dumpster and retrieving bagged day-old bakery stuff. (Call me if you ever need garbology for investigative journalism.) The cop took my business card for ID, trusted my talk and let me go – unaware that my student visa was expired and I could have been deported across a border and away from people I relied on. That was a scary feeling, and a very small clue about challenges for reporting things.

Now if you can imagine yourself in furry animal paws, think about being brown or a non English speaker in the USA, or underage with a story that’s hard to tell.

 

John K. was a boss and mentor to people speaking up now, including artists Katie Rice and Robyn Byrd. Cartoon Brew is one of the most active sources for insider news, and the founder (Amid Amidi) had worked with them and John K. In 2018, Amid is praising these women for speaking up. He says the reporting has many details he didn’t know. They’re also commenting on the story in their own words.

I wonder if this has anything to do with 2017 news that Ren & Stimpy were rejected from proposed movies? They cited poor reception for the 2003 “Adult Party Cartoon.” (It could be another furry topic, maybe, about stigma on adult stuff and whether or not abuse was in the equation at the time.)

This is a story about people who are popular and looked up to, and trusted when maybe they shouldn’t be. Fandom knows this well, or it should.

Another thing we know well is supporting others. Check out the art and comics of Katie Rice and Robyn Byrd.

Maybe it's perverse but for now I'm just going to keep lobbing the photo "receipts" at the universe. John's 16-year-old girlfriend was really a thing! It was me! (And at 17, 18, 19, 20, 21...) #johnk #JohnKricfalusi #MeToo pic.twitter.com/RQSY6fEN38

— Robyn Byrd (@TopographicFish) March 31, 2018

Deepest love and respect for @TopographicFish. We were brought together as girls with the same weird, funny ambitions. Instead of nurturing our friendship we were pitted against each other by an egotistical pervert. He's not in control anymore.

— Katie Rice (@katiejrice) March 31, 2018

Hey also, @arianelange of Buzzfeed deserves a huge shout out. For six months she's been doing countless interviews, scouring blogs and books, and wading through giant piles of emails and transcripts, all to corroborate our stories and keep us safe by making our case air-tight.

— Katie Rice (@katiejrice) April 1, 2018

Thanks @DogpatchPress for doing this writeup with followups from your perspective! https://t.co/DkFx2qiH26

— Robyn Byrd (@TopographicFish) April 4, 2018

pic.twitter.com/SXrXEetklz

— Sarah Andersen (@SarahCAndersen) March 31, 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.

This makes me want to check out some of the Canadian cons now.
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