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Hey, it's me again.

​Bit of an update on my situation. I didn't sign up for meetup, as there were too many things requesting my identity, which I found to be sketchy. Furrymap didn't help, since the guy you pointed out never responded to me even when I messaged him. But that's not the important part.

See, loneliness I can deal with. I've at least found a small group of furs (though some are simply transformation enthusiasts) on discord who I sometimes refer to as my "family" simply due to the fact that it's mainly a closely-knit group of people within a small circle, where new people are welcomed but rare.

Meanwhile, in real life, my situation is getting worse. My father has become paranoid that his job is potentially going to use his skills (what he does is basically advise other businesses on how to improve their management and working quality) for their own gain, while only treating him as a tool. This leads him to often become stressed, and he will usually isolate himself in the garage and drink a glass of wine and smoke a cigar. One night he was more stressed than usual, and actually managed to get drunk. He then began verbally shouting and insulting both me and my mother, and this is only one of many times he's done something like this. He also tends to act like we (Mom and I) must be subservient to his will, and he'll often berate me for any small mistakes I make, such as when it took me a long time to finish a day's worth of homework, or when I accidentally got a party member killed while playing Icewind Dale with him (it should be noted that in the game you can pay for resurrection, but he's so stingy he'd rather reload every time someone dies.)

All his anger stresses Mom, who will often, when stressed, take it out on me. She often snaps at me for minute things, such as if I've forgotten to do something she asked me to, or if I haven't gotten everything I need for school in my backpack together yet. All this stress, compiled with the stress of school in general, makes me begin to feel like I'm about to implode. At this point my only solace is that family on discord, who are never quick to anger and will always provide helpful advice, as well as my boyfriend, who is very much a comforting soul to know (another thing: dad doesn't know about my relationship and he'd flip his shit if he knew).

The fact that they (or at least a few members in the server) obviously care for me is what keeps me going and not giving in to my sorrow. But lately things I seem to be getting more extreme in my views. I've often expressed thoughts of physically harming or murdering my parents, mostly my father (though I've never acted on them, much to the relief of me and those that care about me), and I've often expressed desperate pleas for one of the server members to help me make plans for them to kidnap me so I can get away from this town. These attempts have always been met with refusals and declarations that such a thing would be highly illegal, even if I promised my parents that i'd be back someday or somehow threw them off the trail.

I wish I could go back to my childhood, when my parents were actually happy together and I wasn't constantly fighting my own psyche. I just don't understand what happened to fuck me up so bad that i'd actually consider murdering parents who may just be trying their best. I just.... I don't know. i don't know what to do, and that scares me....

Sincerely,
Feriss (age 16, Michigan)

* * *

Hi, Feriss,

A lot of stuff going on here. Let me try to pull it all together.... I'm glad you located a few furiends online to share with. Yeah, Furrymap can be hit or miss; it's just a starting point.

I'm sorry to hear about your parents. I find that your father's fears about others using his skills to benefit their own businesses is shockingly naive. Of course others in business are going to use him as a tool. That's what businesses do! Capitalism is all about exploiting people for wealth. I don't understand why he thinks he is a special case, but turning to alcoholism is not the answer, and taking it out on you is even more offensive. Then, his anger leaches onto Mom, and then she takes it out on you, too? They need some serious counseling and help. This is not good.

I understand your anger and hurt. My father was emotionally abusive. One time, we got in a fight, and I got so angry I literally saw red. I was an inch away from grabbing a hammer and cracking his skull open.  Seriously.  BUT!  I didn't.  And that is the difference between sanity and insanity.  Just because you entertain these thoughts doesn't mean you will go through with them.  Some people have what I call "a bone in your head" that prevents you from going over the edge; other people lack that bone, and those are the ones you see on the 6 o'clock news. A good sign that you won't be on the news is that you express empathy and understanding that what your parents are doing is the result of their not handling stress well.

So, what now? Well, my first advice to you is to call Children's and Adults' Protective Services in Lenawee County. You need to find out what your rights and protection options are. Try to give them a call when you are not around your parents so that you can speak openly about what is happening.  You need to arm yourself with information. Remember, abuse is not only physical but can be mental and emotional as well.  While you are on the phone with them, ask them what services are available not only for you but also for your parents.

Take this first step and get back to me as to what you learned.

Hugs,
Papabear

It’s not every day that a POC furry pro gamer with 4 Guinness World Records wins a tournament in a fursuit. When I talked to a friend about interviewing SonicFox, I heard he was cool and didn’t have a big head about it. It was true, but the question lots of people are asking is how does he do it in a fursuit head? The best thing I do in mine is fit a beer through the muzzle. And SonicFox isn’t even quite drinking age while earning more than enough to pay for college.

Pro gaming is getting huge, and it has a juggernaut representing furries – but to SonicFox, it seems like the representing and hugeness is no big deal compared to the furry part. It’s like whether he was a rock star or just a guy next door with a cool hobby to share, he’d give it the same attitude. It’s about being friendly and as sincere as you can be in being who you want to be, especially if that’s a cute blue fox. He should win all the hugs.

Thanks to SonicFox for being so prompt and enthusiastic about an interview from a tiny furry blog – it was fast and good like his gaming. (And thanks for question suggestions from Chip, Summer, Matthias, Tempe, Codex and Tex.) Here’s some further reference, then the interview.

• Kotaku: Even In A Fursuit, SonicFox Keeps Winning Fighting Game Tournaments
• Paste: Evo Champion SonicFox Takes Home Two Titles in Full Fursuit at Clutch 2018
• DailyDot: Dominique ‘Sonic Fox’ McLean is at the top of his game (Good 2015 profile)
• Guinness World Records: American gamer “SonicFox” enters the record books with four eSports titles
• E-Sports Earnings: Dominique “SonicFox” Mclean
• Wikifur: SonicFox5000 (social media links)
• Wikipedia: Echo Fox (His Esports team)
• Dogpatch Press: Furr-Esports article

I am the WINNER!!
1st DBFZ
1st Inj2
In suit! pic.twitter.com/EaxCcGOcGD

— Echo Fox | SonicFox (@SonicFox5000) April 23, 2018

Sonicfox has been such an uplifting thing for the furry fandom. Not only is he generally a cool guy, but because of him, gaming blogs that once openly mocked us now have had to use fandom terms seriously and write about furries in a positive manner. XD

— zʇᴉlqʞuI AC2018 (@Inkblitzer) April 24, 2018

Interview

 

Hi SonicFox, want to give an intro about yourself? Do you want people to know anything about your life besides gaming?

There’s nothin’ much to me. I’m just a furry who happens to be good at fighting games!

How/When did you discover Furry Fandom?

I discovered the fandom a looong time I ago when I first started off as a Happy Tree Friends OC. Then I wanted to get anthro art of my character one day and then before I realized it, I was a furry!

What made you join it?

Seeing all the anthro art, I was so fascinated by it. I thought it to be the coolest thing ever and wanted to be a part of it.

Why a fox?

Foxes happen to be my favorite animal, though a big reason I became fascinated with them was after beating my friends a loooong time ago with Fox Mccloud in Super Smash Bros brawl.

When did you know you wanted to be a competitive player? How did you join a team?

After playing fighting games for as long as I can remember, I could tell I had a competitive spirit. I think I get it from my Mom honestly. So when friends recommended me to go offline to a scene rather than be an online warrior, I tried it out and have been attached since!
I joined a team by being the best in my respective games! It’s not too hard to get sponsored if you are N I C E.

How many tourneys have you been in? How much money have you won, and what else are you proud of? Does anything besides prizes make it worthwhile?

I can’t really recall how many tourneys I have been in. It has to be well over 100 by now. I think in Esports winnings its been like over 400k or somethin? I think the biggest thing I am proud of was that I got the chance to be on TV multiple times and even have a little docuseries that aired live on TV too! The people that I encounter and the bonds and the competitive drive I’ve made makes competing so worthwhile. The money is just icing on the cake.

Furries and gamers haven’t always mixed, what made you decide to be so openly furry?

Well I sorta said fuck it, if I am gonna be me, then I am gonna be ALL of me. I didn’t really care to think what other “gamers” had to say about me. If they had a problem with me I’ll just take all their money LMFAO.

This was a highlight of the weekend for me. Booping @IFCYipeS on commentary LOL pic.twitter.com/HALIMjUKFb

— Echo Fox | SonicFox (@SonicFox5000) April 23, 2018

What’s it like to use your fursona for press and promo shots?

I think this is the coolest thing in the world. The fact that I am on one of the biggest esports teams ever and that I get to brand myself as a furry has me fuckin’ lit! Sets up such a great future with furries and esports!

What was it like to get a fursuit? Do you have any stories about using it that other furries would understand the most?

Getting a fursuit has to be a peak thing in life for me. Having Yamishizen hand me my fursuit filled me with soooo much power. I have been having fun with the suit ever since! The fursuit is honestly only like 2 weeks old so I don’t have much story with it yet, other than winning in a fighting game event in a fursuit~

Do you have a favorite piece of art, photo or video of your fursona?

Hmmm, I have to say that I love every single piece of art I’ve ever commed or someone giftart’d to me, but if I had to choose one, I would say the animation I commissioned from Suckmcjones has to be one of my favorite pieces ever. There’s even a blood variant! (LOTSA LORE YOU GUYS AINT GETTIN’ >:C)

How did your teammates or sponsors react to you being openly furry? Or your competitors? Have you faced any harassment or negative comments?

My teammates reacted so positively! They find it super unique what I am doing, and my sponsors think so too. It is a brand new image not seen before in esports gaming so I am about it. I haven’t really given much thought about what my competitors think though they find it pretty comical. I’ve of course received negative comments, but I’m like if you don’t like what you see, come and stop me~!

Some people are treating you like a furry ambassador. Do you see yourself as a furry standard bearer or are you just trying to be your own thing?

I’m just kinda doing my own thing! I highly encourage people to truly be themselves, and so that is why I am so open about myself. Being put on a pedestal for it though wasn’t my intent eheh, but with my popularity, I have a platform I need to use properly. Just don’t call me a popufur cuz I HATE that term!

I love that @SonicFox5000 is having the time of his life blasting through tourneys in suit and the worst thing that people can come up with is "furries r bad" and "i hate him hat"

I'm not even a fighting game dude but his positivity make me wanna sit and watch and bathe in hype

— Koebi: Mana's Footstool (@koebiwuff) April 23, 2018

In the media you seem like an uplifting thing for the furry fandom. Gaming blogs that once openly mocked furries now have had to use fandom terms seriously and talk about them positively. There’s a trend where they don’t explain what furries are and take it for granted that everyone knows. Do you have any stories about how they treat the subject?

Gaming articles have to treat me with respect. And part of that means you have to also treat my community with respect if you wish to continue to have good relations with me. I am very happy that more often than that not, high profile people that interview me always bring up the furry side of me which has me fuckin’ lit . I do recall in the very first docuseries I did for Mortal Kombat X, the people documenting me wouldn’t use the term “furry” as they said it had a sexual connotation to it. That had me pretty upset, but I think they are a lot better about it now!

On Twitter you have 59k followers and a blue check (the only other furry I know with one is Uncle Kage.) What’s it like to have that platform?

It was highly unexpected to have a platform like this, but I guess I have to make the most of it to promote positivity? IDK, I just try to be myself and I’d be acting the exact same whether I had one follower or a million. Lotsa people like to treat me differently based on my follower count which sucks. I thought the one thing I was really good at was not being too “Hollywood.”

Once in a while there are sexy jokes or likes on your Twitter and furries seem to love it. Do you feel confident about that? Why or why not?

Hey what can I say~ I do enjoy some of the lewd aspects of the community too or just bein lewd in general. Though I try not to retweet gay furry porn (THE GOOD SHIT) onto peoples timelines, twitter tends to be a snitch anyway when I like the piece and go like “SEE WHAT ECHO FOX SONICFOX LIKED!!!!” and then it’s over for your timeline LMFAO. Those likes are for later >;3

LOL IM IN TOTAL DISBELIEF KOTAKU USED THIS PHOTO AND IM BEAMING pic.twitter.com/QvDl6jKI1i

— Echo Fox | SonicFox (@SonicFox5000) April 23, 2018

Would you call yourself a gamer furry who isn’t friendly to alt-furry, and do you want to give any opinions about that?

As far as I am concerned, whether I was a gamer furry or not, the alt-furry can go to hell. I have absolutely no time for people who think that they are more of a superior race based on their skin color, and you all might as well be Nazis if you aren’t already. They would be doing me a favor if they clicked that unfollow button on my twitter timeline. I am not afraid to stomp out some racist alt-furry shithead in my feed LOL.

Want to say anything about relations in the fandom?

I like to think I have been doing pretty ok for PR relations in the fandom. But if I wanted to talk about personal relationships, I’d say I have very few eheh. TBH, I don’t think I have like a friend group that I entirely fit into yet! I have my fair share of friends, but they all have their own friend groups and stuff they fit into. STILL SOUL SEARCHING.

Has being a person of color affected how people in gaming or furry treat you?

I would say it hasn’t so much in either regard. The furry community and FGC is pretty inclusive diverse and accepting of all people and backgrounds.

What are your furry influences? Do you want to share any favorite books or comics, or favorite artists?

I would say I do have a huge crush on Jon Talbain (GIMME MORE BUFF), but if I had to go over favorite artists and stuff, I’d say PermaVermin is pretty up there as she’s the one that has drawn so much cool stuff of my character as well as her art is the one I use for my esports image! Shes been such a great friend to me and I am happy to have her in my life <3

Who are your favorite furry characters in games? Why?

J O N  T A L B A I N. see above question

Sonic or Shadow?

MY NAME IS NOT A REFERENCE TO ANY OF THE SONIC THE HEDGEHOG CHARACTERS AND THIS IS SUCH A COMMON MISCONCEPTION BECAUSE I HATE BOTH OF THESE CHARACTERS.

… but tails.

Any guilty gaming pleasures?

I doooo enjoy going to like game rooms at like conventions and when somebody has no idea who I am, I love beating them up and getting them salty hehehehe.

Any words of advice for fellow furries looking to getting into esports?

If you want to get into Esports, start now. Find a game you like, learn how to practice and get better, and then go to an offline tournament as often as you can to get the experience and training you need!

Any words of advice for esporters looking to get into furry?

Make a fursona LOL

What are your plans for your future beyond esports?

I want to eventually make my own furry fighting game. I am in school right now for computer science, but creating a fighting game with either my own character, or just a bunch of my friend’s OC’s would be soo neat! It is literally my aspiration. I already have hella movesets created for my own OC’s along as other friend’s OC’s too! I am already on a good path for it too as I am good friends with Mike Z (creator of Skullgirls!) as well as sponsored with Jace Hall who has made multiple gaming companies hehe. Let’s see what the future holds!

Thanks so much for interviewin’ me!

Fox is living the dream. Young Man was cleaning up at tourneys even before his sponsorship. He got his boss to give the furry community a shout out a while back.https://t.co/1qnNc2nHvS

— CECIL (@cecil) April 24, 2018

me: cheering for someone based on nationality is kinda weak

also me: is that my fam out there repping furries in esports?? I love them holy fu

— Fask (@FiskVelox) March 18, 2018

I’m a little while away from this happening, but the esports organization I help run in my free time is allowing me to use a picture of my fursona wearing our apparel on our official website when we get it running.

Furries are taking over. >:3

— The Stoat GOAT (@Gemstoat) April 24, 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.

“My name is Arnel Baluyot, and I am a Portland-based illustrator specializing in art prints, inspired by pop culture.” A simple enough introduction from his web site, Ninjabot. One project in particular is of interest here though: Popcats Fighter, a new card game the artist is developing. (Official slogan: “Unleash The Furry!”) Here’s what he says: “PopCats Fighter is a strategic card fighting game where your inner PopCat can fight against your friend’s inner PopCat in a sweet 1v1 battle(or Tag Team 2v2 mode) by attacking them with some gnarly Move Cards until your opponent’s health goes down to zero! Unless of course they fight back with Action Cards that are designed to make the game fun, and fast! The better you do in the game, the more chances you will have to play some sweet Super Moves that will potentially make you the winner!” Got all that? Visit the web site to see more, and watch the Kickstarter campaign starting up in July.

image c. 2018 by Arnel Baluyot

Someday Mouse is a very introspective and optimistic little mammal. At the Someday Mouse web site you will find this: “Someday is the name of a silent, yet adventurous Mouse; self-made, thoughtful, and always at peace in the moment. If Someday dreams it, then Someday will be it. No matter how terrifying the circumstances, Someday Mouse approaches every new experience and creature with unwavering acceptance and genuine curiosity.” You will also find that Someday Mouse is an on-line black & white illustration and thought series written and illustrated by Katherine Brannock. The Adventures of Someday Mouse is also available there as a paperback book.

image c. 2018 by Katherine Brannock

Our recent Livestream audio of our YouTube stream! Here it is on YouTube if you prefer: https://youtu.be/BgcLdqsv0qU http://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: https://www.youtube.com/user/DraggetShow Patreon: www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow 195 - Stream with Boozy Badger! - Our recent Livestream audio of our YouTube stream…

May the 4th be with you!
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Editorial with Sam Hyena in collaboration with Patch.

Ignorance and Apathy on Furry YouTube

Over the last 2 years with the demise of Vine, many Furries have started to migrate over to YouTube. Many have amassed groups of followers, hold regular livestreams on Twitch, or have Patreons. And some have used this platform as a guise to get away with borderline toxic or outright hateful behavior.

The platform makes every click content-neutral. Getting attention for any reason gets advantage over quality, so being edgy plays to the lowest-common-denominator. Lines get persistently pushed, and suddenly things that aren’t debatable at all get some asshole demanding a debate. Is the earth round, is evolution real, should racist altfurries get kicked to the curb after swatting Califur? Yes, yes, and yes, if we’re all telling the truth.  But unending conflict between “sides” is a substitute for good stories, real jokes or having anything sincere to say. It brings the clicks that raise clout for edgy people.

While the line-pushers thrive on conflict, faux-“centrists” tag along and enable them, trying to play all the sides and turning definitions to mush. They do posing about freedom, but really have no side except mercenary selfishness. It’s a cooked-up conflict between people who act in good faith vs. people with none.

In this barrel-scraping free-for-all, there’s many examples of people doing it and it goes way beyond just furries. Let’s name names.

In 2017, JonTron did a livestream with right-wing commentator SargonOfAkkad in support of Donald Trump, which continued on social media and this video, where he promotes reactionary “white identitarianism” while denying that’s what it is. (They love disguising it as “both sides” centrism to cook up a “debate” that spreads the racist side no matter who “wins”.) The first step is calling white a race, for false equivalence between an arbitrary label and specific conditions – like being redlined or arrested for sitting in a Starbucks while black. It’s as disingenuous as saying that incident wasn’t racist because they served black coffee.

OH MY GOD pic.twitter.com/f84wkPulu1

— Lichqueen (@gwen_no_fear) April 25, 2018

We’ve seen that kind of ignorance across 2 Gryphon’s entire career. Newer furries such as Dojo Dingo imitate that model like empty suits anyone can get inside, seeking clicks from haters AND people they hate. It’s clear that they’re acting in bad faith, but their platform doesn’t just change if it’s demonetized while they also use Streamlabs or Patreon for money. Some of their fans are kids, not just “college kids” but 12-14 year olds or younger. They’re prime targets when they support and even idolize furry Youtubers, taking it as a character act (it’s not) and an excuse for apathy about demagoguery.

Demagogue: A leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power.

What’s really beneath excuses like “it’s just their opinion”, or “it’s a joke” or “they’re being sarcastic?” When they go out of the way to offend people for the sake of it, or enable ignorance while pretending to be unbiased and aloof – there’s no practical difference between hating ironically, and just hating.

Such ignorance on Youtube isn’t going to get improved by YouTube. Whether content is nice, hateful, well-crafted, or crappy, they profit from clicks no matter what. When it can just shift around to other platforms, general society isn’t so likely to improve it either.

But there is a choice on the ground level inside a self-aware, self-defined subculture. When people say “furries are fans of each other”, no other community has more power to choose what they consume.

You’re more than a consumer, you can be an active member of a creative community. It’s a 2-way street when content isn’t premade and blasted out by corporations. You can demand better, and that isn’t censoring or being an “SJW.” (The strawman about implacable offense is flipping the direction it comes from, when indifferent platforms are exploited by line-pushers).  You don’t have to settle for crap, and a basic standard isn’t gatekeeping. It’s your choice, and that’s the free market. That doesn’t mean telling those empty suits how to act, it’s just expressing how you, as an audience, aren’t buying it.

For proof that you have power, cue up any 2 Gryphon rant and see what he blames for his faded career as a convention performer. Expect him not to name himself, his declining relevance or the hate he spreads. When selfish mercenaries won’t improve themselves, getting better starts with demanding better.

People who do that share beliefs with hate groups. The wink-wink kek flag isn't fooling anyone.

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) April 27, 2018

TL;DR: It amazes me that people take meticulous care of their fursuits and yet have zero self-awareness how palling around with Nazis makes them look.

That stain's gonna be hard to get out.

— Be Good Have Fun Launch Nazis Into The Sun (@XydexxUnicorn) April 26, 2018

@SpicyFurryTakes @DogpatchPress on the subject of people like Dojo and Huscoon pic.twitter.com/cV69Xos01P

— Samantha (@SamHyena) April 28, 2018

Response from Summercat:

Free speech is a good idea, and it’s predicated upon the assumption that all involved are acting in good faith. Those who are not acting in good faith by knowingly and intentionally spreading dishonest discourse, untruths, mis-statements, and any other forms of lying, are acting in a manner counterproductive to free speech. Here’s what poisoned discourse is like:

There are two pools. One is cleaned regularly. The other has toxins intentionally dumped in by people who hate swimming. Which would you rather swim in? Would you consider it to be free speech by those who hate swimming, if they point at the pool filled with toxins they dumped in and claim that swimming is therefore bad?

The rising potential of fandom to be better:

• Furry YouTubers You Might Not Have Seen – guest post from Pup Matthias.
• Furries are winning Emmys and Youtube Creator Awards – guest post from Arrkay of Culturally F’d.

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.

More strangeness we found at WonderCon. Unstable Unicorns is a new fantasy card game, which apparently was one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns of last year. Now the starter pack (and some bizarre expansions) are available at their web site. “Unstable Unicorns is a strategic card game about everyone’s two favorite things: Destruction and Unicorns. Designed by the creator of TeeTurtle, Unstable Unicorns features a combination of stellar artwork and carefully calibrated gameplay for an infuriatingly magical experience.” The web site features an introduction video that makes things clearer. Sort of.

image c. 2018 unstableunicorns.com

I think this animator was being a bit koi. [1] [1] https://furry.today/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/91cvs.jpg
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At Wondercon we found out about Oddwell: The Frog of War, a new full-color comic book written by David A. Clarke and Walter A. Bryant III with art by Acacia T. Rodarte. This is from their Facebook page: “Oddwell is a fantasy epic about a Warrior Frog, with a robotic arm, from the world of Zamanga, a beautifully dangerous world with adventure lurking around every other corner. This is the story of his quest to find a cure to save a princess and the world. The book is published by SBI Press (Rick and Morty, Moral Oral, and more). The preview, Flyra’s Flight, comes out in Starburns Presents on Free Comic Book Day, and the regular series begins release in September 2018!” So head out and look for that preview issue this month.

image c. 2018 SBI

We have here today the thesis film created Victoria from Victoria Mietus of Sheridan College. Wow, Poor wolf ... what a cruel curse.
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Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Camouflage, by Kyell Gold. Illustrated by Rukis.
Dallas, TX, FurPlanet Productions, December 2017, trade paperback, $19.95 (293 pages), Kindle $9.99.

Camouflage is a spinoff of Kyell Gold’s popular five Dev and Lee novels. It features tiger footballer Devlin Miski’s cousin Danilo in a very different plot. That puts Camouflage into Gold’s Forrester University world.

Danilo is an adolescent English 19-year-old white tiger, currently studying at the Student Center of the Université Catholique in Tigue, Gallia, on the Saône River.

“Tigue, like many Gallic cities, contained many identities within her borders. The main campus of the Université Catholique lay on the edge of one of the newer parts of the city, a small suburb that had been built up twenty years ago, stretching sleek glass and elegant steel skyward. Old photos of the Université’s stately limestone buildings from before the expansion showed their red clay roofs over grey-white arches amidst of modest forests and fields. In the Presqu’Ile campus in the heart of old Tigue, ancient limestone and red clay dominated, broken up by cold grey churches, and through them, modern cars honked along the rain-slick street, though down on the riverbank, the babble of the crowd faded next to the light hiss of rain into the river.” (p. 13)

“Currently” is the year 2008, when Dev has just had his press conference in the States announcing that he’s homosexual. Danilo is much more private and withdrawn, and he’s not interested in sports. He hasn’t announced his homosexuality yet, although he does have a gay lover; Taye, a mouse Romany fellow student. (Actually he’s bisexual, but he doesn’t realize that yet.) Readers of Out of Position, the first Dev and Lee novel, will know that Dev was forced to “come out of the closet”. Danilo resents the notoriety-by-association that makes it harder to conceal his own sexual orientation.

“Gah, this was going to drive Danilo crazy. All because some cousin he’d only met a couple times decided to make his sexual preference public. Who did that, anyway? There was a question he could ask: why would you do that, declare that you’re gay in a big spectacle for everyone to see? Nobody needed to know. Maybe when you were a big football star, you lost sight of the fact that not everyone cares about your private life. Maybe you didn’t stop to think about the other people who would be affected by your actions, like your cousin across the ocean who had used you as a shield because he couldn’t play footer, and nobody in this country wanted to play cricket.” (pgs. 14-15)

Danilo’s sister Lena is thrilled by the news (“He’s the first professional athlete to come out. He’s a homosexual. Isn’t it wonderful?”), and is determined to tell everybody, which makes him feel even more exposed. He tries to get away from his classmates by retreating to a private spot he’s found, underneath an old stone bridge across the Saône.

And then suddenly, impossibly, he’s transported back in time to 1508 A.D.

Why? How? The reason doesn’t matter as much at first as just trying to stay alive in 1508 Tigue. Danilo meets two local teenagers; Théodore, a mouse very like Taye but more aggressive, and Luc, an otter. Luc takes pity on him and takes Danilo to his room within sight of Tigue’s Saint-Jean le Baptiste cathedral:

“Danilo took a moment to stare at the cathedral. In 2008, it had been impressive, but as a monument. […] Here the cathedral rose in its prime. One square tower stood behind its twin, and to their right, the arched roof extended on and on, five times longer than the largest other building Danilo could see, all of it shining bright and new.   No, wait: that part on the was something older, where the stone did not gleam as brightly. But the cathedral itself still towered over the town, even across the river, and Danilo’s paws trembled against the window. As far as he could tell, it looked the same as it had been in his time (in the real world?); he wondered whether that weird clock was there and if the other features he remembered would be the same.” (pgs. 36-37)

Gold writes a good time-travel novel. There are a few quibbles, such as Danilo peeling potatoes in 1508 before they had been introduced from South America, but no more than in most authors’ time-travel novels. The magic that transports Danilo into the past turns his 21st-century Gallic into 16th-century Gallic. Danilo finds that 1508 Gallia is filthy and disease-ridden compared to 2008. He has to get used to much less modesty than he expects. Over weeks trapped in the past, he meets friends and enemies, discovers hetero sex, and builds a new life.

More importantly, Danilo discovers what it really means that 16th-century Europe was dominated by the Catholic Church. This was the century of the Iberian Inquisition and executing heretics; and neither the Church nor society in general are tolerant of those who stray from heterosexuality.

“The otter withdrew his paw slowly. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘the first time you are caught, the Church removes a testicle. The second time, you are castrated. Fully.’” (p. 107)

Danilo, as a bisexual, can pass as heterosexual adequately, but Luc, his first and best friend, is openly gay. Tigers are unusual but not unknown in Gallia (everyone thinks he’s from far-away Etrusca), and Danilo stands out by his white fur:

“‘Well, white fur in Tigue – in Gallia – is quite rare. White-furred people are said to be pure, to be touched by God. And so you will be more welcome in the church than… well, than if you were not white, we will leave it there.’ Luc lowered his voice.” (p. 74)

Danilo’s white fur brings him to the attention of Tigue’s highest ecclesiastical authorities, for both better and worse. When Luc is arrested and condemned to mutilation and execution, Danilo determines to rescue him. Somehow.

“All he knew was that he had to rescue Luc somehow before he was castrated, if that hadn’t already happened. […] Danilo sighed and rested his head in his paws. The only other option he saw was a movie-style jailbreak. And this was a sixteenth-century jail, so it was probably pretty solid, not one where you could bust up a computer panel or fake your entry and then knock out the guard and take the key.” (pgs. 160-161)

Cover by Rukis

Camouflage (cover by Rukis) is a novel of religious mysticism more than of materialistic s-f. Gold says in his Acknowledgements that he visited Lyon, France, the model for Tigue, in 2013, and the novel is steeped in the ancient city’s anthropomorphized history.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon
• Buy E-book on Bad Dog Books

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So a platforming pinball puzzle that's a bit like Sonic Spinball pushed though Studio Ghibli that stars a pillbug postman that wakes up gods? Ok, sure...? "Meet Yoku, the pint-sized postman protagonist of Yoku's Island Express! Use a unique blend of pinball mechanics, platforming and open world exploration to unlock the secrets of Mokumana Island, help the locals, awaken ancient deities and much more in this amazing new tropical adventure!"
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(Adult content)

Armed with a ukelele and raunchy/smart songs like “Fuck My Toe”, Rachel Lark is an Oakland, CA based singer-songwriter with a fierce and funny voice. She has a new song, “Naughty Bits”, that playfully protests against sex-negative politics. It’s a response to SESTA, a law against sex trafficking that throws free expression under the bus. Furry dating site Pounced closed in fear of overreach of the law.

For those of you who don’t know what’s up with SESTA (and I’m not judging, there’s a lot going on these days) here’s what you should know….

1. It equates all sex work with sex trafficking (not the same thing)
2. It hurts sex workers AND victims of sex trafficking
3. It has serious and scary implications for free speech on the internet
4. It potentially criminalizes sex worker solidarity and advocacy

This law sucks, but when things suck, we make art, and that’s the only way out of the despair. – Rachel Lark

Rachel wrote an in-depth article about this: SESTA, Sex Work, and Art in the Age of Trump.

Her music career has included work with Dan Savage, media personality from the Savage Love column and podcast. That should tell you that her songs are perverted in a socially redeeming way. She plays at Bawdy Storytelling, a popular San Francisco performance series. (They warmly welcome furries). It’s not radio music, but now I have to compare her to artists like Moby or the Dandy Warhols, who are my evidence that successful artists use furries in music videos.

Rachel’s need for furries for the “Naughty Bits” video reached me early on a Sunday morning. The call for help came with almost no notice. I read a tip about it while waking up at a furry house party. It was full of so many cuddling animals that I crashed on the kitchen floor at 4AM.

Hey, San Francisco! @rachellarkmusic is shooting a music video about #SESTA and she needs furries! Are you a furry that can be in her video today? Reply to this tweet!

— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) April 21, 2018

A super fun furry party with super cool furries! pic.twitter.com/vg4VMOK6K8

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) April 22, 2018

Rachel had missed 3 furry parties in one day, including that private-invite cuddle party. Half of the Bay Area Furry community must have come out for all of them and it would have been a great opportunity to shoot.  But in the morning nobody had energy to come with me. She needed two fursuiters and I was alone. So I took both of my suits to Rachel’s house, where her non-furry helper was waiting to gear up with me.

“Sorry about the short notice”, Rachel told me while I unpacked in her living room. “I wrote the song and got it recorded with a video in 8 days. That’s a thing about making art in the age of Trump. If you don’t do it right away, every day some new scandal pops up and makes people forget the previous one.”

We traded chat about furry lore and the practicalities of suiting, and Rachel was as curious as could be, unlike an outsider looking for a jolt of sensationalism. She was just being an artist with a vision that needed both of my fursonas to cuddle. Of course, that wasn’t hot at all. It was just doing my professional duty to partner with an innocent yet enthusiastic non-furry and fluff him up.

Nuzzling for the video

Furry cuddling only got in a few shots of the video (3:40, 4:20 and 5:00) but it was worth the effort. I met the crew, spread goodwill and got a look at the production. The video has fabulous drag, puppy players (one is a furry too) and slow-motion flogging. The song starts with slow fingersnaps and swells into an epic chorus. Try some of her music, and think, what if we got her to do a show with Pepper Coyote or a furry song?

When puritans try to wipe out expression, artists are on the same side together. I’d already been in music videos with shared associates with Rachel. This was part of a thriving local subculture and I’m glad furries were included as a vital part of it.

• Rachellark.com
• Rachel on Bandcamp
• Rachel’s Soundcloud
• Her Twitter

Thanks to Summercat for this guest post.

Here’s the Kickstarter for Backbone. I’ll save you reading the article. Go check it out. I am more than impressed; I am excited.

Still here? Okay fine, I’ll elaborate.

Backbone, by indie developer Eggnut, is a “pixel art cinematic adventure with stealth and action elements” set in a dystopian retro-future Vancouver, filled with the sounds of Jazz, the scents of Anthropomorphic Animals, and murder.

You play as Howard Lotor (cough), a raccoon Private Investigator who, in typical noir fashion, gets drawn into cases he might otherwise have avoided. You’re free to investigate the cases how you choose, finding clues in the city of Vancouver – including real world locations.

The game boasts these fun points:

• Original doom jazz OST.
• There is a technology that will make you grow out a huge bear claw out of your small raccoon body.

There’s your standard combat and stealth mechanics, but something they also stuck in is scent – a mechanic that simply wouldn’t work with human characters, but it’s so obvious in a world of anthro animals.

The inclusion of scent as an important mechanic impressed me more than the detailed pixel art, but what got me excited for Backbone is how well put together the project appears to be.

EggNut may be a new indie developer but they appear to have all their ducks in a row – pre-production has been ongoing for a year, and they have mostly completed a working demo level, with an expected Summer release. They even have someone designated as a project manager, and the kickstarter itself shows a level of cohesion that I don’t often see.

Based upon what I see, I’m in. The gameplay looks intriguing, the art, noir aesthetics and original jazz music are pleasing, and I’ve got a good feeling about the developer. I recommend you check out Backbone’s Kickstarter for yourself.

– Summercat

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.

Just a sweet cow commercial for polish milk product Łaciate. Nothing much else to say.
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