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Here’s a European animated film from last year that we missed somehow: Rabbit School — Guardians of the Golden Egg. According to an article at Animation magazine’s site from last March, “Following its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, family animated feature Rabbit School – Guardians of the Golden Egg has had a strong debut in cinemas… Directed by Ute von Münchow‐Pohl, Rabbit School centers on a young urban rabbit named Max who gets stuck in an old-fashioned Easter Rabbit school when it is surrounded by a clan of clever foxes who want to take over the holiday. With the help of cute bunny Emmy and the instruction of the mysterious Madame Hermione, Max learns not only the secret magic of Easter bunnies, but also where he truly belongs.” As you can see from the trailer, the film was dubbed with a British cast for distribution in the UK. No word yet if anyone plans to release it on DVD for North America.

image c. 2018 Akkord Film

"Stop-Motion animation about an unlikely friendship in the Arctic."
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Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Legends of Heraldale, by Brian McNatt
Chickasha, OK, The author, January 2017, trade paperback, $13.95 (243 pages), e-book $3.95.

Legends of Heraldale is very much a stereotypical Young Adult fantasy. Its appeal will be to those who want to see a world where all the most familiar animals of mythology – gryphons (griffins), unicorns, hippogryphs, dragons, cockatrices, wyverns, sphinxs, minotaurs, salamanders, and mermaids – live, including some that I have never heard of like a rockodile and zakarians. But there are many curious aspects to it.

A Prologue tells of the last battle of the First Expansion War between the unicorns and the gryphons:

“For a moment, night turned to day, illuminating the two clashing forces. Through the woods to the canyon’s west massed the unicorns of the Avalon Empire, hooves beating the earth and snow as they galloped among the trees. From their horns streaked bolts of red magic at the many-towered fortress across the canyon, blasting chunks of stone from the high walls and tearing through the gryphon defenders.

From the fortress walls and towers the gryphons rained down flocks of arrows and crossbow bolts in return, each weapon striking true.” (p. 1)

Gryphons are usually thought of as quadrupedal. I have a hard time envisioning them shooting bows & arrows, and firing crossbows.

“Three gryphons in gold-edged leather and mail flew from the gates to meet the enemy charge. There flew a swan-gryphon, a spear as slender as his neck clenched in his talons; there flew a golden eagle-gryphon, her battle-axe as broad as many of the opposing unicorns stood tall; and at the lead flew a cardinal-gryphon, half the size of the others, her wings sheathed in feather-styled blades, a helm-like crown upon her brow.” (p. 2)

Gryphons are traditionally depicted as a combination of the front of an eagle and the rear of a lion. The concepts of a swan-gryphon and a cardinal-gryphon – later crow-gryphons and bluebird-gryphons — are intriguing; but a gryphon is supposed to look fierce and menacing, and a cardinal hardly matches that description. The idea of other birds than an eagle makes the possibility of other avian combinations irresistible; a turkey-gryphon, a vulture-gryphon; a sparrow-gryphon; a hummingbird-gryphon.

Grimhilt the cardinal-gryphon, queen of the gryphons, is mortally wounded. She is helped by her two friends to a secret chamber under the doomed fortress, where her newborn daughter is hidden:

“Trembling talons pulled away the silk blankets so that she could see the gift to the world with fresh eyes, like it was the first time all over again. The child was hardly three weeks old, her front half like a gryphon, her back half like a unicorn, a straight horn the color of polished ivory sprouting from her forehead. The child possessed her father’s shocking blue eyes, bringing Grimhilt to tears, and in time would grow up to have her mother’s vibrant red plumage. ‘A hippogryph … so beloved …’” (p. 5)

Galaxy (Gal) the hippogryph is raised in primitive Feathern Valley, part of the conquered gryphon kingdom now oppressed by the cruel unicorns. Legends of Heraldale begins when she is a 15-year-old teenager, with her friends and adoptive siblings Sascha and Siegfried, two swan-gryphon twins, and Brynjar, a golden eagle-gryphon. The unicorns keep the gryphons of Feathern Valley at the technological level of medieval serfs, while they go about in steam-driven troop transports, flying warships, and magic-powered carriages:

“Despite these dark thoughts, the sound of carriage wheels roused Galaxy’s curiosity. Ignoring Brynjar’s warning look and praying her red plumage would go unnoticed, she lifted her head enough to peer over the grass. She saw a black carriage the size of a small house draw level with them 50 feet eastward down the forest edge. No living creature drew the carriage as far as Galaxy could tell, the job done by a pair of floating crystal orbs each the size of a large pumpkin. A trio of unicorn soldiers in the white barding of the Unicorn Empire kept watch ahead and to the sides.

The carriage pulled to a stop and the doors on their side popped open. Out of the carriage hopped a palomino unicorn stallion looking on the cusp of adulthood.” (p. 13)

The unicorns are led by ruthless Lord Mordred, the personal apprentice (?) of the unicorns’ mad Empress Nova:

“The troop carrier touched down with a clank, steam hissing from vents and corner prongs losing their glow. Half a minute passed before the whole front of the carrier lowered into a ramp. Owain barely resisted backing up as six unicorn soldiers in full white barding marched down, curved steel blades two feet long mounted onto their horns.

The six soldiers divided into two lines of three to the left and right of the opening. Then He appeared, hoof-falls like thunder as he marched down the ramp. That evil feeling Owain felt grew all the stronger as this time he did step back, terrified. This stallion stood head and neck above the unicorns around him, his coat black, his long mane and tail black dotted with white, giving resemblance to the night sky. He wore no barding or caparison. Wolf-eyes shone gold with an inner light. His horn looked dull as bone.” (pgs. 33-34)

Owain is the sympathetic unicorn teenage son of the imperial governor of Feathern Valley. To give away a spoiler, Legends of Heraldale is a Romeo-&-Juliet romance, with Galaxy and Owain as the determined lovers from rival families. That’s Brynjar, Gal, and Owain on the uncredited cover.

To me, anyhow, all the mentions of technology ruin the mythological-animal atmosphere, and I don’t care if My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic does the same thing. Four-footed/hooved gryphons and unicorns using magic/telekinesis to shoot bows-&-arrows and crossbows? To operate a blacksmith’s forge? To travel in aerial warships and horseless carriages? (Try picturing the Owain on the cover riding in a magic-propelled carriage.) A raven-gryphon pirate? Gryphons of many different bird-types, and great flocks of cardinal-gryphons?

But if you don’t mind this, Legends of Heraldale is a shallow but enjoyable adventure of three anthro-animal teenagers going on an unknown journey to escape the cruel unicorn Lord Mordred and his efficient assistant, Commander Bevin. The adventure does not end as much as it comes to a stopping-place. “Galaxy and friends will return.”

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon

At last! A cool high-quality ashcan we saw last year at San Diego Comic Con is now being printed by Arcana Studio: The Los Valiants Volume 0 graphic novel. “From writer/colorist Edgar Delgado (Ultraduck, Superior Spider-Man, Darth Vader) comes a collection of 7 short stories about Featherbay’s resident superhero, Ultraduck and his friends from Canis Hill. Together they are Los Valiants!” If you remember Ultraduck then you know the quality of art you’ll find here.

image c. 2018 Arcana Studio

'A love struck cat falls head over heels for a beautiful queen'
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The nominations for the 2017 Leo Literary Awards are now closed!The next couple of months, the judges shall review all of the nominated works to see which are worthy of the Leo Literary Award. Since there are five judges, for any work to win at least two-thirds votes, at least four judges must vote "Yes" on a work for it to win an award. Judges are not allowed to vote on works in which they had a direct hand in its publication (as a writer, editor, or publisher). However, an editor for a house may judge a work at that same house, provided they were not its editor. Likewise, if the judge wrote a story in a collection, they cannot judge the collection themselves, but they can judge another story in the collection.Each of the judges provided a bio so you can "meet" them! Check them out below.Madison Scott-Clary, or Makyo, is a furry, writer, editor, and publisher living in the Pacific Northwest. In 2011, she founded [adjective][species], a metafurry resource, as writer and editor-in-chief. Shortly thereafter, the project took ownership of the Furry Survey, the fandom's largest yearly market and demographic survey. Beginning in 2016, she edited Arcana - A Tarot Anthology for Thurston Howl Publications. In 2017, she joined forces with Thurston Howl Publications as an editor. She also assumed the role of president of the Furry Writers' Guild. Madison helped found Hybrid Ink, LLC, an independent publisher based out of the Pacific northwest, focused on thoughtful writing, fiction and nonfiction, from prose to verse. Madison has had essays published by Thurston Howl Publications in Furries Among Us 2 and on The New Stack, a tech news site. Her works have also appeared in the Further Confusion conbook in 2015, Civilized Beasts II, Arcana - A Tarot Anthology, Knotted: A BDSM Anthology, vol. 2, and Hot Dish 3.Dominique Goodall is an author mainly dedicated to the love she has for wolves, with her books available for reading on Amazon. A firm believer in challenging herself, she's a seven-year NaNoWriMo winner, having completed her 50,000 words in only 48 hours in 2017. An editor and proofreader over at Priceless Proofreading UK, she loves nothing more than to write her books in varied genres, and to curl up with a good book.Kirisis "KC" Alpinus is an author whose works have appeared in the Coyotl Award-winning Inhuman Acts, the Leo-nominated Bleak Horizons, Dogs of War: Aftermath, and the upcoming Infurno. As of February 2017, she is the lead editor of the first lesbian, furry anthology CLAW, as well as the lead editor for the upcoming Species: Wild Cats and Breeds: Wild Cats, while also being a slush pile reader for Bleak Horizons and an upcoming horror anthology. Her reading interests include fantasy, horror, romance, historical fiction, mythology, and a few more odds and ends. Sam Dutton is a writer and nature lover who lives on the edge of Dartmoor National Park in the South West of England. An avid reader of fiction and poetry, she has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in English Literature. Her writing credits to date include ‘Wolf: A Short Story.’ in ‘Wolf Warriors: The National Wolfwatcher Coalition Charity Anthology.’ (2014) Thurston Howl Publications; ‘Fairytale Wonderland.’ in ‘Wolf Warriors: Winter Wolves.’ (2016) Thurston Howl Publications; ‘Sweet Child of Nine.’ In ‘Poems To My Younger Self.’ (2018) Compiled and edited by Sarah Michelle Lynch. (Release date 20th February 2018).Thurston Howl is a writer, editor, and publisher. As a writer, he's had works published in Purrfect Tails, ROAR 8, HEAT 14 & 15, Knotted II, Civilized Beasts II, Typewriter Emergencies, Dogs of War II, Passing Through, and some college magazines. His recent experimental horror novella The Devil Has a Black Dog was recently accepted by Red Ferret Press, and he is also a reporter for Michigan LGBT newspaper, Between the Lines. As an editor, he does some volunteer work for Weasel Press, and he occasionally edits novels and anthologies for Thurston Howl Publications, of which he is the editor-in-chief. He is also the founder of the Furry Book Review program and will be the editor of upcoming nonfiction collection, From Paw to Print.

Rune’s Furry Blog showcases “people within the Furry Community… their characters, life, thoughts, and beliefs”. It also covers furry issues and media. Welcome Rune! – Patch

This week I will be attending Texas Furry Fiesta 2018. This is my 3rd convention that I have been to, and while I wrote about going to the conventions, fursuiting, and things to do at a convention (etc), I never got around to talking about the ‘prepping’.

Going to a convention takes a lot of planning and preparation. It’s crazy how much time gets dedicated to planning what panels you want to attend, figuring out the stuff you need to bring, and how much money you will need to survive for 4 days. And because I have found myself in several situations that were not exactly ‘ideal’, I figured this is the best time to reflect on the things I have learned so that others might better prepare for their Furry Conventions.

• A Furry Convention is NOT a necessity! 

I hate that this is something that needs to be said, but it’s best to get it out of the way first. A Furry Convention is a fun break from our day-to-day lives where we can feel free to express ourselves. It’s full of hugs, fun, friends, and fur (literally everywhere), but it’s not a necessity. Things like food, a water bill, a car payment… all of those things come before a Furry Convention. So please be responsible! Do not let the ‘want’ of going to a Furry Convention hurt other areas of your life. We all need to be adults sometimes and that can mean missing out on something fun. But remember… there is another Furry Convention the next year (and maybe another local one later the same year). Save your money, budget, and go to one that you can comfortably afford later. You will have a lot more fun if you don’t have to worry about the consequences of bad spending the minute you get home!

• Figure out where you are staying & reserve your rooms.

Hotel rooms where the convention is being held go FAST! They are usually sold out within the first week or sooner. So, once you find out about a convention, you need to start researching where you are going to stay. Start planning who you are going with, how many beds you would need… and if the con-hotel is too expensive, then browse hotels within the area. Remember to take into account the distance from the con hotel, the way in which you will get in-between the two, and possible parking costs. Reserve your rooms ASAP!

Remember that some hotels make you pay a small ‘holding’ cost upfront, and also that some hotels do not take out payment until AFTER your stay! So make sure you are budgeting your money accordingly so that you do not get over-drafted. If a friend has reserved the room, make sure that your name gets put somewhere on that room. This way you can not be kicked from the room and/or you avoid any issues if your friend failed to mention more people staying in the room than what is allowed. Telling the person behind the counter that you only have 2 people in your room and then having 2 other people sleeping on an air mattress is a legal issue and an overall safety risk/hazard! So please do not do it.

• Pre-Register!

Even if you do not plan to attend the convention on all of the days, pre-registering is the way to go. Unless you are attending for only one day. Pre-registering has a bunch of perks including faster lines (thus faster access to the con), pre-con activities, and other things. It usually gets you some extra goodies from the con-bags as well! But pre-registration does have specific closing dates. To remind yourself to pre-register, set an alarm or notification on your phone. Research the cost beforehand and budget to spend that money. Write a memo… do whatever it takes to remind yourself to get it done!

Not pre-registering when traveling with a group can be a hindrance to other people. Non-registered lines operate at different times, and sometimes it means you can not attend early events which your friends might have planned to go to. Sometimes this means the group might have to go to the con a day later rather than a day early depending on how their schedules lined up because now you have to go through a different and longer line. So while it seems like a small thing, depending on the con, it can make a big difference!

At one of the cons I attended- a couple of our people did not pre-register like they were supposed to. We had the opportunity to experience the con a day early and had decided to do so (as a group), but then we found out that the longer lines closed early and that if we were to go to the convention, we would have to leave the other 2 people alone in the hotel. We made the decision to stay, but waiting for them to register did strike a nerve… especially when we realized the things we had missed because a couple people did not remember. Small things can make waves when it comes to plans… so try and do everything in your power to be proactive, to plan, and be responsible. Even nudge your friends if you have to… just try and be nice about it rather than bossy or pushy.

• Just because it may be cheaper does NOT mean you should surround yourself with toxic people!

I learned this lesson my very first con. It is way cheaper to go to a convention with a bigger group. Most furries have at least 2-3 people they room with because splitting costs is usually a win-win for everyone. But just because you want to spend less money does not mean that you should put yourself in a bad/toxic situation. My first convention was still a good time. But, for all the good moments, there were just as many bad moments because of the people we were staying with.This all lead to a lot of unnecessary drama and my friend and I almost getting stranded at a hotel that was a ways from the con because people were not getting along. There were panels that were missed, a lot of time just spent sitting around, people arguing over simple things like food and when they wanted to go back to the hotel, fights about sleeping arrangements, and overall it was just BAD PLANNING because in the end, it was thought that “cheaper” would be better. No… just no. That’s not to say you shouldn’t room with friends. If you know a person and trust a person, and if you feel comfortable staying with a person, then by all means do so.

Placing yourself in a bad situation also means allowing strangers to room with you in order to cut costs. I see so many people on con group pages asking for people to room with, and while some of them work out, scams are highly likely as well. If you are willing to take in a stranger, make sure you do your homework. Interview this person, get to know them. Talk with them in-person to make sure they are who they say they are (even if this means a skype call). Take your payment up-front and send verification that they are on the room’s list. Make good business decisions like you would if you were commissioning a fursuit or some other work! Make sure you set room rules, and even write up a contract if you have to. Protect yourself, your things, and your money! If this means spending more money to be safe… then save up more money and/or wait until the next convention!

• Set aside emergency funds!

I don’t find this being pessimistic but more realistic when I say: “Not everything goes according to plan!” This just means life in general. In the time between registering for a convention and making it there, anything can happen! Even after the convention, life can happen and take you by surprise, so try and be prepared. By being prepared… I mean setting up a financial ‘cushion’ in case things go south. Maybe you miss your bus or plane, or maybe your car breaks down. Maybe an unexpected bill takes out or you miscalculated on your budget for food. Make sure you have extra money so that you can take care of whatever needs to get done so that you make it to the con safely and make it home safely as well.

• Make a packing list!

I am the type of person that seems to always forget something when I am packing for a trip. Usually it’s just small things, but I know others that tend to forget major essentials and it can cause high tensions when trying to enjoy a con. What I do is I make a packing list. I make a list marking my essentials, things like props, and even emergency things. I leave a checkbox by the items and then check them off as I pack. This is just one of the ways you can avoid forgetting things… but I understand such a method does not work for everyone.

So come up with a way that you can make some sort of list of what you need and then make sure those things make it into your luggage! Remember to take into account how you are getting to the convention when packing. When flying, you will have to follow those specific travel rules for what you can bring and what you can not bring. If riding a bus, the same thing applies. My first convention I took a bus, and I was not told that the bus only allowed one thing of luggage to be put under the bus (and it was my fault for not researching it). This lead to me having to have my other (heavy) luggage bag on my lap as well as my fursuit head while I sat uncomfortably for the next 4 hours. If you are driving with friends, try and account for how much room will be available for your things. And if traveling alone, still pack as little as you can since you never know if someone might need your help and have to make use of your vehicle. Though this has nothing to do with packing: CLEAN YOUR CAR! Especially if you are driving other people. It makes more room, it is way more comfortable, and it ensures that no one’s stuff gets dirty or damaged.

• Commit!

Commit to the things you said you were going to do. This applies especially if you are traveling in a group. Owe someone a badge? Put a notification on your phone and make the badge! Have a fursuit to finish? Manage your time and set notifications to make the fursuit! Don’t put yourself in a position where you are doing things last-minute and you have to break promises because you were not responsible and organized… this is a bad way to start a convention.

In saying that, don’t overload yourself when you know you have a bad habit of getting burnt out, overwhelmed, etc. Life happens, yes… but when you cause your own problems, it can make for serious issues when planning cons with people in the future… especially when you can not come through with things you promised to do. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, fulfill your obligations to friends and to customers alike. Make time to do things, even when you’re feeling lazy. Send money when you promised to send money, pay for the things you promised to pay for rather than backing out last minute. Don’t volunteer for something you might not be able to do because no one likes this type of person. Be responsible, be reliable, be honest… and commit!

• Remember you are not OBLIGATED to take care of anyone for their mistakes!

While I say to “commit”, in the same likeness… you should not be held accountable to fix someone else’s mistake. If you have to take care of a cost because someone did not budget properly, make sure that person pays you back. If someone didn’t bring something, you are not obligated to get them the things they need. Even if this means they can’t spend money to buy that t-shirt or that plushie, that is not your fault. That falls on them, not on you. Do not sacrifice your fun and comfort because someone else did not plan as they were supposed to. You are not obligated to take care of anyone else other than yourself. Especially if you can not afford to take care of other people.

• Remember that this convention is about YOU having a good time.

Don’t let anyone else ruin your fun. Don’t want drama? Don’t get involved in it. Someone trying to bring you down because they are down? Don’t let them drag you into their problems. Don’t let people guilt you into helping them with anything… and don’t let them tell you what you are going to do at a convention. This is YOUR time that you paid for. Do not let someone else run the show and ruin your fun. You’re free to break off from your friends if you wanna go to a panel they are not interested in. You are free to not go to that dance they want to go to because you don’t like dancing. You are free to drink (but if they say no alcohol in the room then respect that) or to not drink despite what others are doing. This time and this con is for all furries, but for all furries to have fun in their own way!

• Read over con and hotel rules!

Convention rules are usually additional to hotel rules, so make sure you read over both. This can concern anything from alcoholic beverages to smoking and prop use. Make sure you read and understand what you can do and what you can not do. I know a common rule is that you are not allowed to sleep in the public hotel spaces or in the con space… this is for safety reasons and it can get you banned from the con for a day after multiple offenses. Also, some hotels allow alcohol, but only in designated areas (same goes for smoking), so make sure you read those rules. Since conventions tend to have themes to them, people like to dress up and bring props matching the theme… but there are rules as to what props are allowed and what are not allowed. If the rules do not specify something, proceed with caution but never assume it is allowed. I like to call hotel staff if I have a question and if the convention managers have not gotten back to my e-mails about such questions after a certain amount of time. Failure to follow rules can lead to being banned from a convention and even the hotel itself. Pleading ignorance does not get you off the hook either. So read up on the rules ahead of time.

• If you’re in a group, go over the con schedule and plan out panels together!

One thing my buddy likes to do is to have everyone read over the con schedule and say what panels they are interested in. When you are traveling with a group, it’s okay to split up during the convention… but I will say that spending the convention with friends is a lot more fun. So, by planning out who wants to go to what panel, it usually ensures that you’re never alone and you have someone to go and see things with. Sometimes people might get interested in a panel they never thought about before because so many friends want to go to it. So it can never hurt. I find that planning these things before a con leads to a lot smoother of a con experience! This also can be good so that you can map out times when people are not busy and you can all meet up to go eat or check out the Dealer’s Den.

• Create room rules and set other boundaries BEFORE the con!

It’s not very nice to get into a room, start settling in, and then suddenly get slapped in the face with rules. This is especially annoying when you might have already had plans for things you wanted to do. Now, if you’re rooming by yourself, this is not an issue… but, if you are rooming with other people, make sure you set rules and boundaries BEFORE you make it to the convention. This means laying out the rules on who gets room keys, where people are sleeping, what the rules about bringing over friends is, and anything else you feel needs to be covered. Often at Furry Conventions this can usually mean bringing over friends, dates, having alcohol in the room, and/or having a room party. Again, remember to follow hotel rules at all time!

• Have a backup plan for EVERYTHING!

Like emergency funds, life happens… and it does not always concern money. I’m talking more in terms of transportation and things of that nature. People and machinery alike can prove to be unreliable at times, and life happens, so please have a backup plan for everything! If your friend can’t take you to the convention, then make sure you have a plan for that. Maybe there is a bus you can hop on or someone else you can call. You won’t have to panic if you have a plan A-B-C for if things go awry. Also if your car breaks down, the same thing applies. You and your group should have a bunch of emergency backup plans in case anything gets crazy.

• Make sure you are making healthy changes BEFORE going to the con!

At a convention you will hear the 6-2-1 rule: At least 6 hours of sleep, at least 2 meals a day, and you have to bathe once per day at the minimum! But you should be making healthy changes before the convention, especially if you are a fursuiter. At a convention you are most likely going to eat like garbage. You will be having so much fun that you will go hours upon hours without food; then you will grab the first thing you see because you are starving!

Dehydration is a real concern at conventions… but you don’t just wanna start being hydrated when you come to the convention. Start drinking more water the week prior. Try and eat as healthy as possible the week before a con so that when you are eating nothing but junk at the convention you might not feel terrible afterwards. Give your body a head-start into what is going to be the craziest, most fun weekend of your life!

• Don’t be afraid to do something differently next year…

If your arrangements that you made this year do not work out, or if you learn some things that you can do better to ensure you have a better time at the next convention… then don’t be afraid to do it. Do not be afraid to not room with that friend you have because maybe you guys don’t agree on room rules… and don’t be afraid to say you’re not driving everyone next year. This all comes back to the convention being about you having fun.

Conventions have their stressful points, but they shouldn’t be remembered as stressful. They shouldn’t be remembered for all the things that went wrong but for the amazing memories that you made while there. So learn from your experiences and use that knowledge to improve on how to tackle future conventions… even if other people might not agree with you.

Sometimes my advice may seem a little harsh… but I promised myself to only ever be realistic and honest, even if the truth might hurt. You may or may not like this advice, think it sounds a bit too depressing, or whatever… but the tools are there if you choose to use them.

Conventions are never perfect… but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Sometimes the funniest and best things stem from a mistake or mishap. So even if things are not 100%, it does not mean you are bound for a bad time. But, the smoother something can sail, the better.

So, I wish you all the best with your convention preparations! Captain, Escap’e, Rune, Pitch, and other awesome peeps will be wandering around Texas Furry Fiesta just waiting to say hello! I personally like hugs and photos so don’t be shy to come up and have a word (or chirp) with me!!!

Thank you all for reading, and I will see you all in the next blog

P.S= Furry Con season means Stolen fursuit season! You can see my tips and advice for protecting your fursuits

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

The War for the Planet of the Apes novels.

War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations, by Greg Keyes.
London, Titan Books, June 2017, paperback, $7.99 (336 pages), Kindle $7.99.

War for the Planet of the Apes: The Official Movie Novelization, by Greg Cox.
London, Titan Books, July 2017, paperback, 7.99 (318 pages), Kindle $7.99.

Both novels are “Based on the screenplay written by Mark Bomback & Matt Reeves; based on characters created by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver”. Revelations is advertised as “The Official Movie Prequel”. They were marketed to be released one month before, and upon the release of the movie on July 14, 2017.

It may seem pointless to review two movie tie-in novels months after the movie has come and gone, but the lasting value of literature is whether the novel is still worth reading after its movie is gone. These two War for the Planet of the Apes novels hold up well.

War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations is a bridge between the 2014 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes movie and the 2017 War for the Planet of the Apes movie – or between their novelizations.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: The Official Movie Novelization, ended ten years after the Simian Flu has killed almost all humans. The Ape Village of intelligent chimpanzees, orangutans, bonobos, and gorillas that had escaped from San Francisco, under the leadership of Caesar, the chimp, is starting to expand just as the few human survivors in San Francisco are also starting to expand. Their discovery of each other leads to a tense confrontation. Both Caesar and Dreyfus, the human leader, want peace, but they are sabotaged by Carver, a human hothead, and betrayed by Koba, Caesar’s chimp lieutenant who hates all humans. Dawn ends with Dreyfus dead and Caesar barely surviving his fight-to-the-almost-death with Koba, while the Apes are trying to establish a new village while facing a new group of human soldiers coming from a military base with advanced weapons.

War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations starts soon after Dawn ends. It has a lovely line two pages in:

“‘Forest,’ he grunted. ‘He’s gone. Snap out of it. I need you to spot the shooter.’” (p. 6)

You try grunting that line.

Revelations begins with warfare among the human survivors of the plague. The pertinent paragraph is:

“But what he [Colonel John McCullough] was fighting was not another army, just a bunch of people with guns. It was the difference between disciplined Roman troops and sword-waving barbarians, and in under half an hour the area was secure.” (p. 8)

McCullough is with the remains of the U.S. Army, in the north around Seattle. He has spent a decade in the fighting against one militia after another. Now he is leading an expedition to San Francisco, where it all began, where human survivors have radioed that they are at war with intelligent apes.

The ape community is in shambles. Koba is dead, but he had grievously wounded Caesar and killed Ash, the best friend of Blue Eyes, Caesar’s older son. Blue Eyes had looked up to Ash as the better leader. All the Apes are traumatized by Koba’s attempt to kill Caesar and anyone who opposed him. “Ape not kill ape”, but Koba did. Maybe worse, Koba had attacked the humans that Caesar had made peace with. The humans do not understand the apes’ politics, and consider all the apes as having betrayed them. McCullough and his troops, including his son, John jr., arrive in San Francisco not knowing what they will find.

War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations is two stories with several substories, switching back and forth. One is of the warfare around San Francisco. The two main forces are McCullough’s human soldiers and Caesar’s apes. The humans underestimate the apes at first, but McCullough cannot get his commander in Seattle to send him any reinforcements. The general is ready to write San Francisco off:

“‘It’s a parochial conflict,’ the General said [over the radio]. ‘And I see no overarching danger.   Our resources are better spent keeping the peace we’ve made and trying to contact other pockets of civilization. We sent you down there to find out what was going on, and we outfitted you with the resources to mop up a decent-sized problem. If you deem that problem too big to solve with the resources you have – well, then it is within the scope of your orders to return to base.’

‘Are you recalling me, sir?’

‘I am not,’ Prescott said. ‘I’m just asking you to use your judgment. Which would be easier – to continue fighting these animals, or to move the human survivors to a safe zone?’” (p. 97)

McCullough feels the apes are a serious potential danger to humanity and it would be a mistake to leave the San Francisco area to them to build up their ape army. He continues the warfare against the apes. Caesar is hard-pressed to save the ape colony; plus some of Koba’s followers plot to overthrow him. While Caesar leads the resistance against McCullough, centering on the Golden Gate Bridge, Caesar’s mate Cornelia leads the resistance in the ape community against Koba’s followers.

The second story is of a three-ape expedition Caesar sends out. Caesar realizes that Blue Eyes, his son and natural successor, has no military talent; and that if anything should happen to him, the apes need a strong leader, not a stunned figurehead. To get Blue Eyes out of the way, Caesar sends him with Rocket (chimp), his second-in-command, and Ray (orangutan) to explore down to the south, to learn if there is any human colony there.   Blue Eyes, Rocket, and Ray have adventures with earthquakes, stampeding buffalo, and wolves, before encountering humans and an even greater danger.

War for the Planet of the Apes: The Official Movie Novelization is set two years after Revelations. Blue Eyes and Rocket have returned to the ape community, which has been fleeing through the Redwood forests north of San Francisco. They are pursued by McCullough and his troops, who have gone rogue from the U.S. Army and now call themselves just the Colonel and the Alpha-Omega Army. Although they are determined to kill all the free apes led by Caesar, they have accepted the remains of Koba’s rebels, led by the gorilla Red, as their slaves. Something the Colonel does turns Caesar into his personal enemy. The Colonel says that he is on a holy war against the apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes: The Official Movie Novelization does have the emotional feel of a holy war.

War for the Planet of the Apes: The Official Movie Novelization, like Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: The Official Movie Novelization, has more narration and less dialogue than its prequel:

“Caesar signaled the others to proceed cautiously as the apes dismounted and approached the building, their rifles drawn. They had only taken a few steps, however, before Green Coat bolted from behind one of the adjacent outbuildings and dashed through the front entrance of the central lodge. An ornate glass door, which had somehow survived the collapse of civilization, slammed behind him.

The other apes looked to Caesar. He nodded silently and raised his rifle higher as he led Rocket and Luca up the front steps and through the front door, while Maurice and the girl waited outside, pressing their faces against the frosty door pane. They had come this far already, Caesar decided, and he had no desire to leave an armed stalker unaccounted for; they needed to find out who this was – and what must be done about him.” (p. 108)

Fans of the Planet of the Apes movies will want The Official Movie Novelization as the completion of the film trilogy, but Revelations is better as a novel.

– Fred Patten

• Buy War of the Planet of the Apes Revelations on Amazon
• Buy the Official Movie Novelization 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.

The well-known funny animal cartoonist Scoot McMahon has returned with a new full-color comic book series for kids: Sami the Samurai Squirrel, published by Action Labs through their Aw Yeah Comics imprint. “When the critters of Woodbriar are under attack, Sami the samurai squirrel is there to protect them! Join Sami and friends as they battle Ninjas, Pirates and a Cyber-Yeti (that’s right, CYBER-YETI)!! This action-packed first issue also features artwork and stories from famous cartoonists Art Baltazar, Franco, and many more!” In fact they’re already up to issue #4 by now.

image c. 2018 Action Labs

Keenora Fluffball, you are crazy and my hat goes off to you. For me, this is a bucket of nope.
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In their own words.

Part 1 gives background about how the Altfurry hate group works. Now here’s the screenshots.

• Chat log file: https://my.mixtape.moe/gjdlqx.txt
• Load file into the reader: https://dht.chylex.com/build/viewer.html

The source is “Altfurry Mead Hall,” a Discord server that grew after the neo-nazi march at Charlottesville.  It documents months of chat from late 2017, specifically from their private channel for trusted staff. That filters out memes and filler and shows what they’re really about. The server is run by Casey Hoerth/”Len Gilbert”, AKA “The Furred Reich”. These chat logs add to a long mission of hate shown by previous leaks from his Altfurry Discord group.

Screenshots are duplicated in imgur galleries for another reading option. One user named Kilton had their ID blanked when this leaked.

“Len” (Casey) is paranoid about vetting and ranking staff, with applications, personal vouching and a point system to judge their cult devotion. (Isn’t it funny when they claim to be about free expression with no gatekeeping?) 

A supposed 18+ group rule is bent to allow a minor into their most trusted staff channel. (Political loyalty comes before anything else.)

Len gives a mental map of associated altfur servers. Newcomers are funneled into different groups so they can be groomed or played against others.

Hardcore political racists are specially welcomed after many left because furries were too gay and centrist. Len makes attracting them fundamental while keeping it from public notice. It shows that altfurry is inseparable from hate, and members are complicit. (Quote: “Gas the kikes.”)

Insecure Len has an enemy list with Dogpatch Press on top as “worse than @Deotasdevil”. (Wow, he hates something more than a vocal woman.)

Obsessed. Can you imagine this chud trying to be funny? It couldn’t be funny on purpose, but his failure would be. He couldn’t possibly be flaming enough.

Midwest Furfest got them extra active, but they didn’t meet because Deo leaked a meet plan. (In altfur parlance, that’s “cucked”.)

The chat talks about Foxler being an embarrassing association for them, especially with being implicated in the chemical attack on Midwest Furfest in 2014, making it hard to sugarcoat what they do.

They’re relieved that FBI attention on Foxler hasn’t gotten worse and led to arrests yet. 

They discuss Dionysius trying to break up the Furry Raiders and how it’s good for them because the Raiders are a mess all the time. (Pot, kettle…)

They wanted an interview on the politics channel Louder with Crowder to make altfurry look “good” by accusing Antifa furs and FA of working together.

They have a dream to make a right wing con and turn the tables on “commies” by making them walk on eggshells. (Only if there was funding from the failed idea of member fees paid to Dionysius.)

Grooming tactics include filtering curious newcomers through a sham site that pretends to look neutral.

Trolling tactics include scheming to take over old abandoned FurAffinity accounts to make sockpuppets with histories.

There’s lengthy focus on trolling a chat group interview with Deo, trying to push members to fight each other. They discuss trolling tactics on and on and on. They want to look normal and reasonable by avoiding talking like nazis, making their enemies look mad and crazy, then stealthily pretending to be lefties and attacking popufurs to make others hate lefties.

This is what a hate group does. It has nothing to do with being friends, making and sharing furry art, or being in a fandom. Fandom is nothing more than their target for trolling, politics, grooming and recruiting.  Altfurry has no concept of a community. They’re selfishly fixated on “power” in it.

To them, power means popularity – with zero understanding about how having friends comes from being a friend. They don’t even make creative stuff that catches notice. They want to be cool and proud of something without doing any work for it, motivated by jealousy. Racial supremacy just makes a lazy dividing quality that’s innate and can’t be taken away. Their main activity is hating people who get in their way. The stigma that comes from such bad behavior makes them more and more thirsty for attention, while they seek authority to force fandom to accept them unconditionally.  It’s the most cliquish thing ever, and the saddest part is they convince each other that they’re right.

The defining feature of this group isn’t being hateful trolls – it’s being ultimate losers. They will only grow up by being exposed but avoided until they leave it.

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.

Background of a hate group.

Fandom is about imagination, but it’s made of people with a real community. Having a healthy community means discussing issues in it like grown-ups, from politics to risks. That includes happenings in the wider culture that affect a subculture full of loveable college-aged oddballs. These stories connect to “Altfurry”:

• White Supremacists Are Targeting College Students ‘Like Never Before’
• The alt-right are targeting disgruntled white male lefties to join their movement

The alt-right is a racist fringe group that defines itself in opposition to others (like the mainstream, minorities, and people who aren’t racist). It can’t exist on its own, so they try to creep in, recruit and manipulate for power. Like two-faced chameleons, they wear an outer face to hide a disturbing inner narrative. They sugarcoat it, but the end goal is hateful bigotry. You can see through it when you know what “cryptofascism” is and how it works.

In their own words.

@AamnaMohdin: Alt-right fascist groups, having "drained the market of libertarians” and outed themselves as racist primitives at Charlottesville, desperately try to rebrand as hip and liberal.

Yeah, that trick didn't go so hot here in the furry fandom.https://t.co/uN1P5fayox

— Tempe O'Kun (@TempoWrites) February 4, 2018

2’s next ignorant “joke”: people can’t be racist unless they wear pointy white hoods.

Hmm, why do racists conceal their faces?

Knowing the alt-right agenda is the key to understanding how altfurries infest fandom:

• Fandom makes a captive audience who might be groomed by people like themselves (often playing on insecurities of young males).
• Fandom acceptance and LGBT membership makes a cover; altfurries use it to protest that they can’t possibly be fascist because they are *token identity*. (That’s historically false: 1930’s Nazis had gay leaders until they took power and killed them – and their Japanese allies weren’t white.)
• They may claim to be “centrist” or “diverse” while their actions disprove it. Some things, like racism, don’t have other sides. To sugarcoat the agenda, they may syncretize (merge and co-opt) pseudo-liberal concerns, like for workers or gay rights. But it’s short-term and selective for loyal followers.
• Altfurries are considered losers by the alt-right. Fandom is where they want a “safe space”, but their hate keeps them on the fringe here too. Even so, they still try to re-rebrand for wider acceptance. People driven by insecurity and malice aren’t thoughtful enough to get why it will never work.
• Fandom is crowdsourced and peer to peer. The altfurry fringe adopts that process for grooming, despite absurd contradictions of mixing furry and hate. Most of it involves convincing each other, unlike a cult of personality with a single leader. It looks like fandom superficially, but behind the scenes they do rank members by trust and devotion to racist and fascist belief. They keep higher decision-making separate from fresh meat they target.
• Memes are their main activity that resembles furry creativity, but in a derivative, parasitic way. It’s propaganda for grooming and attacking.

More details are covered here: How White Nationalism Courts Internet Nerd Culture. *

Redpilling

* For those unfamiliar with the term “red pilling” it is a cult like indoctrination, programming a new member that what the group promotes is the only real enlightened truth and that these truths had been kept hidden from them by evil forces controlling society.

Spreading hate since the 1990s as a Burned Fur and altfur.

A special target for altfurry hate is critics who interfere with grooming and indoctrinating. They’re labeled SJW’s – “social justice warriors” – in other words, healthy people who care about their community and won’t give a free pass to bigotry. (That describes most of fandom.) Vilifying opposition serves recruiting, and makes a watered-down version of “jews control the world”, so altfurs can conveniently scapegoat targets who react to being attacked.

Their “art”: mindless cliches, grooming, attacking, and nothing but pushy politics.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: In Part 2, a deep dive into Altfurry finds explicit, nauseating evidence.

This post is split for amount of screenshots.  The source is “Altfurry Mead Hall,” a Discord server that grew after the neo-nazi march at Charlottesville. It documents months of chat in their private channel for trusted staff, which filters out memes and filler and shows exactly what they’re about. The server is run by Casey Hoerth/”Len Gilbert”, AKA “The Furred Reich”. These chat logs add to a long mission of hate shown by previous leaks from his Altfurry Discord.

• Chat log file: https://my.mixtape.moe/gjdlqx.txt
• Load file into the reader: https://dht.chylex.com/build/viewer.html

You will see:

• “Len” (Casey) is paranoid about vetting and ranking staff, with applications, personal vouching and a point system to judge their cult devotion. (Isn’t it funny when they claim to be about free expression with no gatekeeping?)
• A supposed 18+ group rule is bent to allow a minor into their most trusted staff channel. Political loyalty comes before anything else.
• Len gives a mental map of associated altfur servers. Newcomers are funneled into different groups so they can be groomed or played against others.
• Hardcore political racists are specially welcomed after many left because furries were too gay and centrist. Len makes attracting them fundamental while keeping it from public notice. It shows that altfurry is inseparable from hate, and members are complicit.

• Insecure Len has an enemy list with Dogpatch Press on top as “ten times worse than @Deotasdevil”. (Wow, he hates something more than a vocal woman.)
• Midwest Furfest made them extra active, but they didn’t meet because Deo leaked a meet plan. (In altfur parlance, that’s “cucked”.)
• The chat talks about Foxler being an embarrassing association for them, making it hard to sugarcoat what they do. They’re relieved that FBI attention on Foxler hasn’t gotten worse and led to arrests yet. They discuss Dionysius trying to break up the Furry Raiders and how it’s good for them because the Raiders are a mess all the time. (Pot, kettle…)
• They wanted an interview on the politics channel Louder with Crowder to make altfurry look “good” by accusing Antifa furs and FA of working together.
• Their insecurity-fueled dream is to make a right wing con and turn the tables on “commies” by making them walk on eggshells.
• Grooming tactics include filtering curious newcomers through a sham site that pretends to look neutral.
• Trolling tactics include scheming to take over old abandoned FurAffinity accounts to make sockpuppets with histories.
• There’s lengthy focus on trolling a chat group interview with Deo, trying to push members to fight each other. They discuss trolling tactics on and on and on. They admit wanting to look normal and reasonable by avoiding talking like nazis, making their enemies look mad and crazy, then stealthily pretending to be lefties and attacking popufurs to make others hate lefties.

This is what a hate group does. It has nothing to do with being friends, making and sharing furry art, or being in a fandom. Fandom is nothing more than their target for trolling, politics, grooming and recruiting.  Altfurry has no concept of a community. They’re selfishly fixated on “power” in it.

To them, power means popularity – with zero understanding about how having friends comes from being a friend. They don’t even make creative stuff that catches notice. They want to be cool and proud of something without doing any work for it, motivated by jealousy. Racial supremacy just makes a lazy dividing quality that’s innate and can’t be taken away. Their main activity is hating people who get in their way. The stigma that comes from such bad behavior makes them more and more thirsty for attention, while they seek authority to force fandom to accept them unconditionally.  It’s the most cliquish thing ever, and the saddest part is they convince each other that they’re right.

The defining feature of this group isn’t being hateful trolls – it’s being ultimate losers. They will only grow up by being exposed but avoided until they leave it.

Screenshots are coming in Part 2.

Life is short. @AltFurryBlocker is your ticket out of #altfurry bullshit. pic.twitter.com/6I2w1tvmcv

— Tempe O'Kun (@TempoWrites) November 14, 2017

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.

IDW Publishing have two new feline-themed games they recently released. Roar: King of the Pride is a board game for older kids and teens. It goes like this: “In the wilds of Africa, lion prides rule over all beasts, but only one pride can rule over all the lions! In Roar: King of the Pride, three to six players compete to become the dominant pride of Africa. Managing your food supply, while expanding your territory and growing your pride size with cubs, will take strategic planning and key wits. Even the best-laid plans, however, can be interrupted by other prides’ secret objectives, or worse…the encroachment of a new, and deadly, threat.” Meanwhile for younger kids (or folks who like smaller kitties!) there’s a new card game: “In Slap Cat!, you play as a mad scientist attempting to assemble the world’s most adorable cat! Draft cards to your Cat Construction area by quickly slapping them as they are revealed. Earn bonus points for kitty fedoras, bows, balls of yarn and more. But be careful, slap too slow and you could be left with a hand full of fish bones!” Got all that?

image c. 2018 IDW Publishing

We have here a random animash.
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Paradise. It’s such a wildly interpreted topic, and one that volume 8 of Bad Dog Books’ ROAR anthology series bravely tackles. The anthology was edited by Mary E. Lowd, and this review is going to look at each story in this collection.The first story in the anthology is "Northern Delights" by Madison Keller. The story follows a Chihuahua detective from his home in Arizona to the frozen tundra of Alaska in search of a police informant who may be in danger. Keller’s greatest strength in this tale is her ability to create incredibly realistic, stunning backdrops for the action, gradually shifting the protagonist and the reader's views from a harsh, unfamiliar landscape to one of unexpected paradise.The next story is “Flying Back to Paradise” by Jelliqal Belle. Flying in all the way from Paradise Archipelago, this story centers on the heroic actions of Wonder Wombat and her first visit to New York City. While this story didn’t seem to carry the theme of the anthology very well, the story itself was a delight to read. Belle has created a protagonist who is adorable, hilarious, and, most importantly, one I’d love to see more of in the future.Up next is Tim Susman’s “Personal History.” What starts as researchers taking a look at an old military uniform quickly turns into a flashback filled with romance and sorrow. While this story had fantastic historical detail, I didn’t seem to connect with the protagonists on the same level as I did with other stories in this volume. Despite this, the character’s emotions were well thought out, and the fact that they were able to find a small slice of paradise, even briefly, made this bittersweet story a great addition to the anthology as a whole.“The Lion Sleeps” by Frances Pauli is up next. What happens when you’re trapped where you feel like you don’t belong? Pauli’s lion protagonist finds himself in a similar situation. The unsettling confinement of the story is expertly done, and Pauli gradually increases the pressure until you feel just like the protagonist: ready to break. This story was one of my favorites to read in the anthology, and as for the theme of paradise? I’ll tell you it fits, but check out the ending for yourself.The fifth story is “Tucked Away” by E. S. Lapso. This story follows a transgender protagonist as she leaves her open life to visit her conservative family. Through all of the stress and nervousness, Lapso nicely illustrates that even in the darkest places, a person can find a refuge. The emotions in the story are convincingly written, and made very relatable to the reader. It’s in that relatability that “Tucked Away” finds its greatest strength.“When Pigs Fly” by Amy Fontaine is one of the shortest stories in the anthology, but was one of the most enjoyable to read. The story plays out like a fairy tale, or one of the animated films we enjoyed so much as children. The message of paradise is very clear, and by the end, the joy of the protagonist is so strong and infectious that I couldn’t help but want to sing along.Priya Sridhar’s “Funnel Dresses” offers a different view of paradise, showing the reader that it doesn’t necessarily have to be a place, but can be found within yourself as well. Sridhar’s narrative and settings are as skillfully crafted as the dresses her spider protagonists weave, ultimately creating another of my favorite stories in this volume.“A Christmas Tale for the Disenchanted” by Mark Blickley also offers a unique view of the theme of this anthology. As Mary E. Lowd’s preface text explains, “A moment in time can be a piece of paradise.” This story lets that idea unfold through the tale of a blind human and her companion animal on Christmas Eve. When I read the title, I was honestly expecting a tale that was more cynical, or even parodic. It was a pleasant surprise for me to find that Blickley’s narrative is completely genuine, as it reminds the reader that even for just a moment, the magic of Christmas can indeed be a tangible thing.“Bite the Apple” by Christopher Shaffer is yet another story in this anthology that was a delight to read. In it, paradise takes the form of a casino that almost magically caters to its patron’s every desire. The narrative follows a cheetah named Kate as she embarks on a secret mission of her own devising to figure out how this system works. This sci-fi narrative was chock full of all the things that make up a great detective story: a plucky protagonist, plenty of mysterious side characters, and a series of clever twists all the way to the end.The tenth story in this volume is “Lonesome Peak”, by John Giezentanner. This story follows two parallel narratives. The first follows a deer named Jeremy who is fighting depression. In order to get him out of the house, his friends take him on an outing to the nearby idyllic mountain range. This afternoon in paradise quickly devolves into a fight for the characters’ survival. The second narrative, however, follows a character known as ‘The President,’ as he communicates with an unseen second party who appears to be in control of this narrative’s government. This arc of the story is where I got lost. The events of this storyline had little, if anything, to do with Jeremy’s plot, and honestly didn’t seem relevant at all. These two narratives could definitely work together in a longer mode, but within the given short form, it didn’t work for me. Despite this, each narrative was fun to read, and they each made me want to read more of Giezentanner’s work.“When the Milkmen Come” by Searska Greyraven is a story about a paradise lost. It raises an important question: Is paradise worth standing up and fighting for? Greyraven’s brusque, biting narrative kept me not only on the edge of my seat, but increasingly uncomfortable as the story progressed. Well-told, and at points hauntingly familiar, “Milkmen” is definitely a story you don’t want to miss.“Nor’Killik” by Matt Doyle follows Corvin, a gengineered anthro-reptilian, hardwired to respond to the emergencies of other ships throughout the galaxy. It is on one such rescue that he runs into a stranded science vessel, where the inhabitants aren’t exactly what they seem. In the end, Corvin is faced with a choice, each outcome less than ideal. Doyle has created a strong narrative here, and I enjoyed the attention to detail in his characters.Thurston Howl’s “We Are One” is up next. As far as sci-fi goes, this anthology has put together a great selection so far, and this story is no exception. The narrative follows a crew of space pirates as they try to insert themselves into the beautiful, almost mythical world of Olym-Pass. Howl’s crew of pirates are some of the most dislikable protagonists in this book, and, as small elements of horror begin to increase, it’s a delight to watch as the tables are turned, and paradise is instead inserted into them.“Lucid” by Nicholas Hardin is a tale of what happens when what seems like a harmless escape from reality becomes an addiction. Erica, a struggling employee at a call center, wins the chance to beta a fully-immersive virtual-reality machine. The virtual world, an underwater paradise called Aquatica, is richly detailed and so vivid compared to the character’s waking world. Erica’s gradual addiction to this world doesn’t feel forced or shoehorned in—even as a reader, I didn’t want to go back to her real world of offices and disappointments—and that’s where the subtle terror of this story lies. Hardin handles the downsides and stresses of addiction in this story flawlessly, and if you, as I am, are a fan of Black Mirror, you’ll definitely enjoy this story.“Castle Phoenix” by Bill Kieffer follows a woman coming to terms with the loves and decisions in her life as she faces death. Her guide though the journey is a mysterious children’s book, found in an empty lot that once housed her own paradise. As the story unfolds, the protagonist’s guilt, joy, and emotional processes in the face of what’s coming are so tangible, and the writing behind it was expert. This was my favorite story in the anthology, and this alone would make the purchase worth it.“Kypris’ Kiss” by Slip Wolf is a thought-provoking story about a character that has fallen in love with their paradise. The twist here comes when paradise begins to love them back. While being slightly surrealist, the story is a great piece of speculative fiction, and is full of sumptuous, almost decadent imagery. My advice? Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, sit in the sun, and enjoy.Dwale’s “Behesht” is the penultimate story in this anthology. A traveler’s log from a post-apocalyptic journey to seek out paradise, this story comes to life with fantastic characters and attention to detail. The narrative draws a lot of influences from Middle-Eastern settings and cultures, which is not something I often see in furry literature. These influences work to add a refreshingly different feel to the story, and honestly I wish it had been a bit longer. I’d love to revisit this setting in the future.“Hope for the Harbingers” by Allison Thai is definitely the most mythological story in this anthology. Whereas so far, the reader has been taken through journeys in the past, present, and future, this story takes place at the end of everything: the Apocalypse. As the Biblical Four Horsemen ravage the earth, they slowly begin to have a change of heart. Can even an evil spirit find its way to paradise? It’s a fun question to ponder, and Thai certainly makes a convincing case.I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology. Mary E. Lowd’s careful attention to order allows the emotional arcs of the stories to flow naturally. And what stories they were! Each and every one offered a unique view of paradise, some of which I’d never considered myself. Each author’s skill and passion for writing were clearly evident. While I enjoyed some stories more than others, there wasn’t a single one that I would flat-out say I disliked. This was my introduction to ROAR as an anthology series, and, if this book is any indication, I am eager to read more volumes in this series. Very well done, and my compliments to all involved in the creation of this book.

It's heating up on the track@TheFFCollective vol.1#FashionFurs pic.twitter.com/WIJHoJ8Ep8

— deep fried gundam (@cckatoo) January 30, 2018

Part 1 of this week’s writing about fashion looked at age and fursuiting as a statement. For the following interview with the Furry Fashion Collective, members Cyan, Sol, Yazoo, and Steezy joined me for a group chat about why they came together and what they’re working on.

Cyan:
Hi Patch. We invited a few members of the F/F Collective board into this chat. Thanks for considering our project newsworthy.

Patch:
Totally cool. I got the impression there’s a physical book happening with it?

Sol:
Yessir!

Patch:
I dig it – is it about furries-who-like-fashion, or fashion-for-furries? Like clothes + furries, or more specifically anthro costuming?

Steezy:
Furries who like fashion. Sometimes fursuit fashion.

Yazoo:
It’s an amalgam of both the fashion savvy and those interested in fashion, whether it’s fandom inspired or otherwise.  So there’s a very nice intersection of people looking for fashion who are in the fandom and creators that provide for the fandom.

Sol:
Its also about giving insight for furries who might want to get into fashion.

Patch:
Oh yay, inspiration. Honestly that would even help me, I love making cool outfits but know nothing about the kind of stuff that people who go to school for the design know.

Looking mad scuzzy in my new @HyenaAgenda threads pic.twitter.com/2bxWjvkLUq

— Assistant Senpai (@MintyChocoPanda) January 19, 2018

DOG x HYENA pic.twitter.com/lvUlZ9DFsA

— A Dog On Quest (@S0LARDOG) January 12, 2018

Sol:
Exactly! We know not everyone understands fashion and it can be intimidating. One of my hopes is that this book (hopefully THESE books) will make fashion look less scary and more inviting.

Patch:
What kind of stuff will the insight cover?

Cyan:
Our original inspiration for the book came from a conversation about how the fashion furs community had yet to produce art book or photographical content like the stuff that Aycee has done with Gummy Guts, or like Brae did with his MLP series. We also noticed that, as far as we know, there have yet to be any photography-based collaborations in the fandom. So the thinking was: “why not both?”

Sol wanted to ground the project in reality, so we set a guideline for artists and photographers to try and list the clothing in their pieces.

Yazoo:
And to note there have been other fashion related fandom look books, which centered mostly around one kind of fashion in relation to fursonas in general.

Patch:
A few years back it caught my eye that photographers were getting inspiration from furry – so I wrote “Five pro photographers advancing the art of furry documentary.”

I was just on google looking up the Gummy Guts book. Doing a book that way is a bit of a new concept to me. I’m in the bigger-publisher way of thinking. Or in fandom that means Furplanet, Sofawolf or Rabbit Valley.

*High pitched squees* Lookit what came in the mail! @AyCeeArt Fantastic art book by talented artists~ much wow #GummyGuts #furryart pic.twitter.com/xljXi2qB3Y

— Manchas Sneppai @Katsucon (@irukatweetstuff) March 13, 2017

Oops! My hand slipped. More previews for Gummy Guts. A full color collaborative art collection debuting at #FC2017 pic.twitter.com/Fxm5jWC4b0

— Hyenas Go HaHa (@AyCeeArt) January 10, 2017

Steezy:
Hmm, I’ve never heard of those.

Yazoo:
They publish mostly furry literature and comics.

Cyan:
You’ve probably seen those books in dealers dens at cons.

We’re definitely a grassroots project. We’re not a company trying to make profit. Instead we’re a volunteer-based project that will use all profit from sales of the book to make the next one even better.

Steezy:
If it does well, we can print more books next time.

Cyan:
And in higher quality.

Patch:
It sounds like for showing off member stuff more than focusing on the other end of users, just because it’s cool and fun to make. For a while I have been saying there should be some focused effort on making like a Taschen book about furries, aimed for the niche interest side of real book stores. That’s a tall order though. A fun project like this seems more on the zine concept.

Cyan:
At this point, F/F Collective is definitely closer to the zine concept.

Steezy:
Specifically photo zines.

Cyan:
Right now we’re focused on collecting final submissions and piecing together a physical product to show people that this is a project that can put out a tangible product in a reasonable time. We made sure to hash out the important details early on in the brainstorming phase, so that when we have our pieces, we can quickly turn them into a physical product.

Lil preview of my part for the @TheFFCollective (Vol.1) book!
I'M!! So proud and excite for this book to finally come out; Everyone's submissions got me speechless and we can't wait to share it with yall!

Keep your eyes peeled, Follow The F/F Collective for future info! pic.twitter.com/9SvlTJQKqw

— Jhose (@JhoseMr) January 23, 2018

just these rough versions of the two shirts I plan on doing for now. I did these and 3 other cards as background pieces for a design that's going up in an art book @TheFFCollective is gonna be putting out but for now I'm not posting the full image so just these. pic.twitter.com/IPP9Z771yW

— SOY JIGOKU (@edgedestroys) January 22, 2018

Patch:
Is it going to be certain chapters inside guidelines (like one thing about fursuits, one about street wear, one about making with fabric) – or just based on interest of whoever submits?

Cyan:
Sol is collating a page list with tentative locations for each artist’s piece right now. We also have some really interesting art being done for the inside cover. He has been managing the project while I’m in school.

Sol:
I’m technically the talent manager, also the talent scouter. Everyone plays their part of course, me and Cyan have done a lot of the ground work and try to make sure everything’s running smooth.

Patch:
Will it include art, and photos, and writing?

Sol:
Not so much writing. We will include an Index of the outfits at the end, but for now we might keep that a surprise! If this first book sells well and we’re able to generate funds for a bigger book we could bring that into the grand scheme of things.

Patch:
It’s great you have a few models of previous books people made. I briefly looked up the Gummy guts book, it looked like good art and sold at least a solid 500 or more copies. I pay attention to how well things sell (even if thats not the point).

At FC I went to a panel with the president of the Furry Writers Guild and got info. Hundreds is a pretty solid number for any furry-published book. A few thousand would be like a top best seller. It’s not yet enough to make fandom publishing be like a “job” for those who do it (it could be cool if it was both job and fun, like it is for a few very successful fursuit makers). Art type books like this are different from fiction too, more of the limited-edition concept. I’ve dealt with some very niche photo book publishers outside fandom who do editions of 500 or 1000. Photo books are hot, they have object value.

Can you tell me more about the concept of a look book?

Sol:
LookBooks are usually just booklets that advertise an upcoming season line. “A collection of photographs compiled to show off a model, a photographer, a style, or stylist or a clothing line.”

A little slice preview of the piece I created for the upcoming F/F Volume 1! Follow @TheFFCollective to get updates when this awesome collaborative book will be available! #Furry #Fashion pic.twitter.com/T15RaVEfF6

— Weremagnus (@weremagnus) January 22, 2018

A collaborative piece by @skulldog and I for the Fashion Furs Lookbook!

Stay tuned! #FashionFurs@TheFFCollective pic.twitter.com/kahrEmTeNm

— A Dog On Quest (@S0LARDOG) January 24, 2018

Cyan:
I think we’ve been side-eyeing the store structure of bigger players in the fandom such as HyenaAgenda. You can go to their website and buy clothes, posters, stickers/etc.

This look book is more to show off the artists and photographers in this fandom who consider themselves part of the fashion furs community, or at least have an interest in fashion.

Sol:
If look books show off models, photographers, style, and clothing, why cant we toss in original art and some anthros?!

Cyan:
We might get into specific themes later on, in future volumes. If our book inspires members of the fandom to get into fashion, then mission accomplished. There’s already so much variety on display in the WIPs we’ve received.

Yazoo:
The most exciting part of it at least to me is that each and every participant has a different and unique idea of fashion to provide.

Patch:
I could see potential beyond just a book to pair artists, models, and makers who are known for a body of work. Fursuit makers have distinctive styles… get a photographer to set up concept shots and amplify each others talents.

Cyan:
Everyone seems to have their own unique take on -what- constitutes fashion. We’re hoping to show people that there really aren’t any boundaries.

Yazoo:
Photography and illustration alike, people’s inspiration and creativity in outfit design doesn’t ever fall into one category, everyone’s got something different to display.

Patch:
Can you tell me about those unique takes?

Cyan:
Well, I guess you could consider fashion, and an individual person’s take on fashion, to be akin to an artist’s take on their own personal art style. No two are exactly alike.

Addendum to my commissions post: I've been seeing a lot of wonderful Fashion Furs themed art going around and I TOO LOVE SARTORIALISM!
I'd love to draw your char in stylish duds- just specify in your message. Also feel free to attach some pieces/outfits for insp/reference pic.twitter.com/cEuCRalX6W

— nchovy hilips @ commissions (@snacknite) February 1, 2018

Patch:
I have a personal take I’d been meaning to write up… like accessorizing for partial fursuiting (there’s more flexibility with outfits than with fullsuiting.)

Yazoo:
Generally when people hear fashion, the first thing they think is “designer”. While designer can be a trend setter for looks and styles, the true value of a look is in the care and interest an individual has in the look they want to achieve.

Cyan:
So some people might be into flowing fabrics with varied textures, while others will be into a more street aesthetic. And even within individual aesthetics, styles vary.

Patch:
Is there crossover with dancer furs? People into dance I have known can be fashion focused.

Cyan:
There’s definitely a crossover.

Yazoo:
Dancerfurs and dancers in general have a pretty fun street style, so they definitely tend to take an interest in fashion. For dance it can be more about the FLASH of the clothes you wear, which some people take into everyday looks. I can definitely say a number of my looks are inspired by dance communities.

Patch:
Is it easy to explain those looks? Or is it best for just seeing in photos?

Cyan:
I think fashion is best explained through photography.

Yazoo:
Illustration as well.

Patch:
One thing I’d be curious about is methods of acquiring… like, I get good stuff from thrifting, hunting ebay/etsy for specific items, occasional DIY stuff like glittering my sneakers and putting on jacket patches, and lastly hunting bargain racks for stuff nobody bought because it’s odd but you can accessorize to make it stand out. Like that one pair of mint green jeans in a huge pile of samey blue.

Sol:
It’s more about what the eyes see and what you feel rather than words.

Cyan:
Note to self: do a 100% thrift photoset at one point or another.

Don't go broke trying to look rich all my clothes from the Thrift store Penny(wise) pic.twitter.com/TBrTZbuaOv

— ShotbyTy (@ACE100_) November 13, 2017

Sol:
We do have some DIY projects. We’re hoping that we can expose people to new places to look for clothing past Nike and Macy’s.

Yazoo:
There’s a very good knowledge base of places people go to find stuff, specific or otherwise in the fashion furs. Anything from thrifting to consignment to Target clearance racks.

Sol:
Some stuff will be dirt cheap, some stuff will possibly make you faint if you check the price tag haha, but all n all it’s diverse.

Cyan:
Also grailed.com. I think it’s incredibly important for outsiders looking in to understand that fashion doesn’t have to be a prohibitively expensive hobby to get into. It’s a slow burn with an incredibly rewarding end result.

Steezy:
I buy so much stuff on sale it’s not even funny.

Patch:
Trying new things is important. Years back I thought fashion = money, when I lived in small towns, and buying online seemed silly for stuff you couldn’t try on, and I didn’t make anything. So I wore the same jeans and plain things. Changing where I lived and looked helped. I still don’t spend tons but taking a chance on a few concept hand designed pieces has been really fun. And it doesn’t have to cost tons to just look for that one piece that makes an outfit and match it with other stuff.

Steezy:
I currently live in a tiny town out in Arizona and a lot of my shopping happens over the web.

Sol:
My brother who kinda started my interest in fashion taught me that just one strong piece can go a long way.

Is there anything you’d like to ask us?

Patch:
I should run, but nice to chat you guys so far.

Sol:
Same to you!!! Thanks for reaching out!

Yazoo:
Yeah this was great!

Cyan:
Thank you for your time!

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

And the strange mash-up of DC Comics and Hanna Barbera continues — and even expands. As you may recall, Snagglepuss made an appearance as a back-up story in the infamous Banana-Splitz-meet-the-Suicide-Squad comic. Well now the pink puma has his own new series all to himself, Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles. “It’s 1953. While the United States is locked in a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union, the gay Southern playwright known as Snagglepuss is the toast of Broadway. But success has made him a target. As he plans for his next hit play, Snagglepuss becomes the focus of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. And when powerful forces align to purge show business of its most subversive voices, no one is safe!” Written by Mark Russell and illustrated by Mike Feehan, the first issue is out now. Den of Geek has a review.

image c. 2018 DC Comics

I'll have what she's having. "Alex, a young woman, is increasingly getting tired of adult life. Her daily routine is restricted by norms and expectations of the modern world, and social media have replaced human interaction. One day, she sees Bacchus, a charismatic sensual figure, who lures her into a colorful world, which is a complete opposite of her reality. In this mysterious place, you are free to follow your instincts and explore your deepest desires."
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Dear Papabear,

I want to thank you for all of the help you provided me with last time I wrote to you, which must have been 2-3 years ago now. I'm now in college studying a whole bunch of science and maths (complex numbers are awesome).

So anyway, my question. I've been involved in the fandom for many years and while my haunting memories of the past are now nothing but haunting memories, I don't really feel like I fit in in the fandom due to how bad I am at art and music and animation and pretty much everything the furry fandom is. I'd practice but I'm still very apprehensive about drawing; it's been a few years since I picked up a pencil and that wasted time is something I regret.

I'm moving to University in September but I'm pretty worried that such a thing might mean that I'd retreat back into the closet and not have the chance to do the things I wanna do. (I've heard nightmare stories of people getting beat up over it in a certain upper-class university)

I have the funds to go to conventions and stuff (I won the money in a science fair competition over here) but I just can't find the motivation to go as some small part of me still finds the fandom weird and strange. (I find that such a small part seems to contradict everything else at times).

So... How do I feel like a part of the fandom and contribute? Because now it feels like I could do so much more this year, before I move.
 
Glyn (age 18)
 
* * *
 
Dear Glyn,
 
Glad I was able to help you earlier and glad that you are attending university and finding success.  I’ve heard your concern before from other furries who seem to have come under the impression that they are unworthy to be furries if they are not artists or writers or performers or whatnot.  I’m befuddled as to how this notion has come about in the furry culture because it simply isn’t true (perhaps it is a desire to become a popufur?). You don’t have to create furry art or be a fursuit maker or whatever to be in the fandom.  Just have fun with it!  Not everyone is a talented artist (I certainly am not), but that doesn’t make you any less a furry.
 
As for getting beaten up at a university for being a furry…. I have not heard that story so would need to see an article or something. I find that people at universities tend to be more openminded and liberal about such things.  I don’t think you really have much to fear.
 
Since you have the money (congrats on your award), I would encourage you to attend furcons.  Go to the various panels, talk to people, and through this you will probably get some ideas as to how you can contribute.  Just one idea that pops to mind is you could volunteer to help at a furcon.  Cons are always seeking people to help out because it is such a HUGE task to run a con, and I’m sure they would welcome your contributions.
 
The more exposure you get to the fandom, the more comfortable you will become and the less “weird” it will feel to you as you make new friends and learn about fun things to do.
 
Good Luck!
Papabear