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“Naughty Bits” fursuit video shoot with Rachel Lark – sex-positive art in the age of Trump.
(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, 2018A super fun furry party with super cool furries! pic.twitter.com/vg4VMOK6K8
— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) April 22, 2018Rachel 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.
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.
Backbone – a pixel art detective adventure game.
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
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Dungeons & Draggets #13 - reminder that these stream SUNDAY @7pm on YouTube…
reminder that these stream SUNDAY @7pm on YouTube if you would like to join the chat! for all things Dragget: www.draggetshow.com Here is video of it at the con! -- https://youtu.be/99KcDNRCS1k Our Patreon w/ great new rewards! www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow Telegram Chat: t.me/draggetshow Dungeons & Draggets #13 - reminder that these stream SUNDAY @7pm on YouTube…
TigerTails Radio Season 11 Episode 02
Remembering Kim Wall, a journalist who found the best side of furries.
Furries are on a list of news articles by Kim Wall:
How Cubans deliver culture without internet- Inside the Ugandan Mall at the Center of China’s East African Investments
- Asian, queer and dancing defiance: ‘Everything we do now is resistance’
- When China’s Feminists Came to Washington
- Ghost Stories: Idi Amin’s torture chambers
- The Magic Kingdom Meets the Middle Kingdom in Shanghai Disneyland
- Tour Buses to Sri Lanka’s Battlefields
- Can This Tiny Island Restore Haitian Tourism?
- It’s not about sex, it’s about identity: why furries are unique among fan cultures
Does it feel special to be on such an interesting list? It’s on a site for Kim Wall and her work. She was an independent journalist writing about identity, gender, pop-culture, social justice and foreign policy. Tributes from people who knew her paint a portrait of a talented person full of curiosity, who made a warm and lasting impression. Her stories spread that vibe on behalf of their subjects.
This headline understands- “It’s not about sex, it’s about identity: why furries are unique among fan cultures”. The story mentions bad media attention and furries being targets of hate while they celebrate self-expression. In my opinion, we were lucky to get such a good story and it’s one of a handful of the best you can find. This is why to welcome media notice if this little subculture is going to get it.
She loved the idea of fursonas. From a tribute by one of her colleagues, Claire Cameron:
“Kim and I talked about subcultures a lot. I love subcultures, but just for my own interest. When I was younger, I was a goth and a steam punk and I was into body modification, so Kim was fascinated to learn all about it. I love talking about it, so we made a good match. More recently, we talked about even more unusual and niche subcultures — people who install microchips into themselves, for example, so that they can use their own hand as the card key to a building, or some other piece of machinery, and see themselves as cyborgs.
At one point she asked me what I thought my “fursona” would be — the persona I would take on if I were a furry. I told her I hadn’t thought about it, and she was shocked. I asked what her fursona was, and she said “When I was with the designer, she asked me and I just knew immediately, I don’t know why! I am a fox!” Of course she was.
Some of these conversations turned into stories — interviews with vampires and exposés of furry identity and days with desnudas — they are all stories I wish I had written, but I am so proud that Kim wrote them. She did them justice in a way most writers would not. She looked in from the margins and brought the weird and the wonderful into the light — never to mock or to sensationalize, but to tell the story of her subjects with grace and dignity.”
The circumstances of her murder made a dark side to the positivity she found in creative subculture. I was reminded to share the fandom connection and a tribute, because her killer Peter Madsen was convicted this week.
She had been trying to interview Madsen, an eccentric media figure and hobbyist/maker who built rockets and crowdfunded a submarine. I think it was a similar nerdy obsession that drew her to furries, but his took a twisted path with fantasies about sexual torture. He took her for a ride where he carried it out, dumping her body in the sea. She was killed while doing a job she loved like any good journalist would have done.
Danger was part of her writing, with fearless travel to war zones. It was part of her feminism. One irony of the story is how she was killed close to home while feeling safe – that’s not how one expects a journalist to die at work. It’s impossible to separate those circumstances from her concern for social justice, and the way she wrote about furries without othering or phobia, which would have been misplaced in light of where the real harm came from.
The killer had ties to the dark side of subculture. His team was active on Something Awful, the forum that spread hate about furries for many years. That hate was considered ironic, but he collected real videos of torture and murder found on his computer. And he “ironically” admired the Third Reich, styling himself as a military captain for his submarine while criticizing authorities and wanting to play by his own rules. Isn’t that sounding like a familiar checklist?
Furries often teach each other to distrust outside media, but subcultures can contain their own worst enemies (like the hate movements of Gamergate, that tied to the alt-right and it’s bastard child altfurry.) Reactionaries spread anti-intellectualism about “fake news”, but Kim’s article about furries makes an antithesis. I think she saw that what drags us down is lesser than our power to define ourselves as a group.
While the killer stays in prison for life, the bright side will carry on. I asked Menagerie Workshop about being a source for Kim’s article, and was told: “She was a very pleasant person to work with. Her genuine curiosity about the furry fandom was refreshing, she really seemed interested in knowing more about the idea behind the fandom and why people were into it.” It was mutual.
Amazing artical, beautiful video, Really sad to see such a inspiration go, But I know She Will Live On Within The Fursona of the furry fandom, Thank you Kim
—
Aggreskunko
(@Viviomana) April 26, 2018
As a dane I've been following the case of her murder really closely. It's insane for something so bizarre to happen in my little country. I'm glad you linked this article, because it shows how many different things Kim wrote about. May she rest in peace.
— Mollybooboo (@MollyMalou87) April 27, 2018I never knew of this article, and I'm sad to know that we've lost someone that really understood the fandom. Her depth shows a real effort to understand what I the furry fandom is at its core. I am glad that some sort of justice has been found for her.
— Lucavi LaFitte (@LucaviLaFitte) April 27, 2018Like 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.
Wish for a Dragon
We found this article over at Variety: “Production is now under way on Wish Dragon, a major animated feature being made in China for Sony’s Columbia Pictures Film Production. The film is a first feature for Base Animation, the new animation studio that is part of Beijing-based VFX firm BaseFX, and for Chinese super star Jackie Chan. Chan’s Sparkle Roll Media is a producer and co-investor, and Chan will voice characters in both the Chinese- and English-language versions of the finished picture. The family-oriented film is being directed by Chris Appelhans (illustrator on Coraline) from his own original screenplay. The modern-day fairy tale picks up the moral challenges that emerge from the encounter between a boy and a dragon who is able to make wishes come true… The U.S. voice cast includes Fresh off the Boat star Constance Wu, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jimmy Wong, and Bobby Lee, alongside Chan.” Base Animation is hoping to have the film ready for release in 2019.
image c. 2018 Base Animation
S7 Episode 13 – Such Incredible Range! - Roo and Tugs are joined by the incredibly talented Sean Chiplock to discuss his career as a voice actor in this double length episode. Sean has been in a few small productions such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of
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Sean Chiplock - our guest! Check out his amazing work in your local copy of Breath of the Wild and in Funimation's upcoming Re:Zero. The trailer is below, too!
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The crew at Furry Mystery Box, for their amazing box of goodies!
Music
Opening Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Century Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller– Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Closing Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Headnodic Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
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Next episode: Seuxal positivity, Leather, Kink and Sex Master Michael Sanders joins the cast! S7 Episode 13 – Such Incredible Range! - Roo and Tugs are joined by the incredibly talented Sean Chiplock to discuss his career as a voice actor in this double length episode. Sean has been in a few small productions such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of
Ranting against the Empires
Thieves and murderers. Bandits and barbarians. Terrorists disguised in uniforms.
They've done all sorts of things but still have the audacity to call themselves the beacon of peace and love? The cradle of technology and civilized growth? After all the people they slaughtered, the wealth they violently took from the rest of the world. They're like parasites. And they STILL believe themselves to have the higher ground?!
"Moral superiority"? "Protectors of peace and mankind"?! ""Prestige?!"" Wealth?! """Culture"""???? .......... BULL-FUCKING-HORSE SHIT! None of what they own today is their own! NOTHING!!!
Global empires built on foreign blood and tears, they hold no regard for human life. Pretty ironic of them to act like peacekeepers and protectors of human rights and civilization when they're the CORE of all those problems they're trying to fix, and they aren't even going to accept the responsibility. Their feeling of false superiority is more important than the world suffering.
They say we, people of the Middle East are "primitive and stupid", that Africa is a "backwater shithole" BECAUSE it's the Africans' own fault, that Eastern Europe is lagging behind because they aren't as "cultured" or "superior" as the Western Europeans. None of that is true. All of those regions are like this directly due to the fact that European scum came to plunder, loot, burn, murder, fuck and take away.
There exist no continent, on which the European cockroaches didn't make their move. Native Americans nearly wiped out, Africans and Indians race crippling poverty, Eastern Europe is lagging behind, Asia isn't looking good either, I won't even mention the Middle East and South America.
"Kill and steal, for wealth and glory!!!".
National Socialism? Imperialism? Capitalism? Nuclear Weapons? Battle poison? Genocide of the natives worldwide? Concentration camps? Colonialism? 2 FUCKING WORLD WARS LED DUE TO WESTERN GREED, millions of dead, not 100 years ago??!!?!
The European man doesn't seem to mind (when I say European, that counts the "Americans/European immigrants", they have no RIGHT to call themselves "American"), why, he's the man in the high castle, isn't he? He surely must have gotten "so high" because of his superb intelligence, strategy and culture, and not because he was the ONLY one who's capable of launching global colonial massacre and looting campaigns against "the lower races". No, they must be so wealthy and prosperous because they are so cultured and freedom/democracy-loving? Because they're "so good" and we're "so bad".
The white race is the scum of the Earth. There is no race so lowly and unhuman to have killed the most people, burned and looted most settlements, massacred more innocent civilians, enslaved and exterminated more cultures, declared more wars... Than the whiteys. And they STILL feel superior to all other races.
And the ones that aren't scum (hopefully there are many today), what did they do? "Oh, welp, can't change the past :)!". Living in luxury, having more than 70% of the world's wealth centered in 5 countries, all of which you know certainly.
And after all of this, we're supposed to be PRIMITIVE? WE'RE SCUM?! We're at fault because we had our wealth, lives and culture taken away from us?! Being forced to speak the language of the murderer and the tyrant?
They look at us the same way they look at the dog or the ugly spider. We are trash? And they...
Forget it. This world sucks. All because of West Europe. The core of all mischief and misfortune. The home of the delusional man who believes himself to be the saviour of mankind, civilization, culture and technological advancement.
Why does it matter now... They've already taken everything the rest of the world had. And the countries that could've opposed West Europe aren't here anymore, no matter how flawed those countries were, they were truly more of a saviour than the West ever will be.
Why won't they stop even now? Don't they have enough?!?!?! They're still trying to rob us even when we have SO LITTLE COMPARED TO THEM!
DAMN YOU ALLL! I HATE THEM ALL! Why won't you just leave us be? Why, why, why why why why why?
Icarus (age 26, Egypt)
* * *
Dear Icarus,
There is a lot going on in your email for sure. To answer your questions fully, it would literally take many books. I am going to try and address your issues concisely and clearly if I can, and you can take them as you wish. I'm not sure whether you know this, but your email is addressed to a man whose ancestors came from England, Germany, and Russia. So, given that my blood comes from Western European (and Eastern) scum, you might not wish to listen, I don't know.
To begin with, I don't disagree with you. Many of the world's problems today—especially in continents such as Africa and Asia—can be traced back to the period of European colonialism. To put it in fundamental terms, the problem is that Europeans came in, carved out large sections of land, declared them as "theirs," and totally raped them. One example of this would be the slave trade from Africa to the United States (although it should be noted that many African tribes got into the business of selling rival tribe members to the British). Another, more recent, example is Palestine. Basically, what happened there is that, after World War II, the Europeans shipped out a lot of the Jews to Palestine because they didn't want them in Europe (the Jews were happy to leave after the Holocaust, of course), and they kicked out the Palestinians, who had been living in what is now Israel, for centuries, without a second thought. It is a grave injustice, and I completely sympathize with the rage of the Palestinian people. They have been treated like garbage, and it coincides with your statement that the Europeans feel superior and thought absolutely nothing about treating the Palestinians like they didn't matter and they could just kick them out of their homes.
Then, as European powers began to collapse overseas, they abandoned their colonies and allowed them, one by one, to gain independence. The problem was that the borders that were created were based upon colonial borders. This meant that various tribes and ethnic cultures were thrust together artificially and told they were one nation. These people didn't really get along, and the result was a lot of internal strife. The wise thing to do would have been to create countries based on where various tribes had settled. Another problem was that the Europeans didn't help their former colonies transition into republics. Instead, they left them with holes in leadership, which made it possible for various military dictatorships to arise. Finally, because many of the natural resources had been raped by Europeans, they often didn't leave those countries much to get by on; too, when you are busy fighting internal wars there is not much opportunity to grow your economy.
Yes, many of these countries now struggle, but it is because they have not recovered from being colonies yet. These things take time (many countries didn't become independent until the mid-twentieth century), but I do see hope for many of these nations. One example of this is Vietnam. After France and the Americans finally left these people alone, the country has recovered and is now doing much better. One might say, "Oh! But the Communists took over Vietnam!" So what? If you look at it objectively, Vietnam is doing very well under Communism, thank you very much. China is, too, actually. It is not the political system that matters, it is how that system is run. A "democracy" can be just as bad as a monarchy if it is run by corrupt people. Whether a country is socialist or democratic or a monarchy, it can be okay for the people provided they are allowed to live, work, practice their religion, get an education, and not be harassed by the country's leadership. The USA touts itself as a democracy, but that is inaccurate. We are a republic and one that has been downgraded recently to a "flawed democracy" because of Trump and the Republicans.
That said, let's go back to the generalization of evil white Europeans. We need to take a longer, historical look at human history to see that there have been many empires in the past that have used and exploited people. China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, unified China by oppressing all its minorities, taking over their lands, telling them they could not speak their own languages or practice their own cultures, so that he forced a monoculture on all he surveyed. The Mongols were the terror of Asia and half Europe for many years, creating one of the biggest empires in human history. The Byzantine Empire enslaved the Jews and many other people when it was the dominant power in the Middle East. The Ayyubib Sultans and Muslim caliphs also enslaved people and forced many of them into their militaries. The Kingdom of Kongo enslaved the conquered Mwene Kabunga people.
I could go on and on, but the point is that those people who were killed and enslaved by those various empires probably felt the same way about their conquerors as you do now about Europeans.
The problem is not white people. The problem is human beings. Humans have this flaw in which they crave power, and when they get that power they inevitably abuse it. Fast forward to the United States of America. The USA was actually a pretty weak country on the international scene until they flexed their muscles in World War II and became a superpower. Of course, by this point we had a long history of oppressing and killing people (Africans, Native Americans), but once we helped defeat Germany and Japan we developed this illness in which we saw ourselves as the saviors of the world (not entirely true, since actually, the Soviet Union was the country that turned the tide on Hitler when they chased them off the eastern front). Anyway, we got this big ol' freakin' chip on our shoulder and started telling everyone what to do with their countries. This has been a disaster, especially when it became clear that we were supporting various dictators (e.g., the Shah of Iran) because they had oil, and we bombed the crap out of countries that refused to cooperate fully with us (e.g. Iraq) while telling the world it was because they were evil. Meanwhile, we are good buddies with Saudi Arabia, a long-time secret sponsor of terrorism, because they sell us oil.
But America is now weakening, and despite your rant about Europeans, their countries have weakened considerably as well. Next country at bat is China. Watch them as they become the new superpower and I guarantee you that you will see them abuse their power wherever they can (they are already making moves on Southeast Asia with the artificial islands they are creating as places for naval bases).
White Europeans are not superior. Nor is anyone else. It's just that at this point in history (and it might seem like a long period, but centuries are really only a blip in history) they are holding the cards. But all empires rise and fall. Europe has fallen; America is currently falling; China will rise and then, inevitably, fall as well. Power is an illusion.
Now, let's address materialism. You correctly rant that Westerners are hogging the world's resources. Indeed, it is said that each American baby that is born will use 10x the resources during their lifetime as someone born in a--pardon me for using this term--"third world" country. Yes, we are materially prosperous, but that is not all good. Surveys show that Americans are extremely depressed and unhappy. Why? Because we are too concerned about money and things. Meanwhile, travelers to places like Africa, even poor countries, witness that these people are much happier because they have much stronger community bonds (the ones not torn by war, of course). As for Europeans, they actually, in general, are content to have "less" than Americans. They tend to live in much smaller abodes, own fewer cars (because public transportation is so much better than in America), and are not gluttons. We are already seeing the effects of runaway capitalism, gluttony, and greed in America as the nation is being torn apart because of the 1% hoarding the money. The average American these days is doing worse than their parents did. And so it goes.
So, to answer what I feel is the essence of your question: it is not all the fault of western Europe alone that the "world sucks." It is because of human nature that there are wars and poverty when there doesn't need to be. You must be careful, Icarus, not to stereotype people because of their color or nationality. That is the road to prejudice, which is likewise a big reason why there is so much hate in the world. Giving in to hate will only destroy your spirit and make you suffer more. In other words, it hurts you more than it does them.
It is easy to give in to hate and despair, Icarus. I have been guilty of it, too. And I wish to thank you for writing me because it made me stop and think about things, and you have made me feel a little better for doing so. While I am not saying that you or I can stop all the misery in the world, I would like to suggest that both of us would do much better to try and be good people, help those around us, and be shining lights in the darkness. As they say, think globally, act locally. The best weapon against hatred is not hatred. It's love. (Also humor; making fun of politicians is great fun).
Icarus, you have chosen an interesting name, a name from Greek mythology about a man who tried to fly and touch the sun only to go down in flames. It is a story of the hubris of humanity to think we can be equal to the gods. Just like Icarus, empires try to claim the sun as their own and they inevitably crash and burn.
Do not be like the empires. Be humble, kind, and loving. Then you will find peace because nothing in the world is so worth having as love in your heart.
I hope that helps.
Hugs,
Papabear
12-Year-Old Girl Is Concerned about Having Sexual Feelings
There has been trouble with me lately. You know how most people get crushes in school? Well I have one. It's a girl and her name is Sylina.
The problem is that I have had, well, very mature feelings. Okay let's be honest here, more like "sexual" feelings. This would be okay, if I were much older, but I'm still in school. It's very confusing that someone this young could get these feelings in the first place, but why? Is there something wrong with me? What is it? I don't know how someone can answer these questions but still, if you can answer, why and how do I deal with this?
Anonymous (age 12)
* * *
Dear Furiend,
Sorry for the late reply. I had to take a break from the column for a while, but I'm back now.
While being 12 does seem young to many people, the truth is that females have been reaching puberty at an earlier and earlier age. Thirteen is now the average, so at 12 if you are hitting puberty that is just on the lower side of the average. Here is an article about this trend, which, sad to say, could mean some health problems for women as they age.
Now the problem we have is that, in our society today, young teens are not established to support themselves financially and career-wise until at least their late teens, yet biologically we are seeing teens reaching sexual maturity in their early teens and sometimes as early as 9 or 10. The danger here, of course, is that very young people could start engaging in sex, possibly even having children at too early an age, putting stress on themselves, their families, and society in general. As you are clearly aware, this is going to make you question a lot of things in your life.
The first thing for you to understand, however, is that your feelings do not mean there is "something wrong" with you. There is nothing wrong with you that isn't happening to everyone else your age, you just have the courage to talk about it.
My suggestion is that you talk to the nurse's office in your school (you should have one, yes?) and, even better, talk to a school counselor if one is available. If you attend a church or temple, you could also seek some advice there if that makes you more comfortable. You need to arm yourself with information so that you are not working in the dark. You can also check out this helpful website designed just for you and your questions.
Good Luck!
Hugs,
Papabear
FurryBoi wins ASUC Senate
So for arbor day I give you a squirrel that won a ASUC Senate seat at UC Berkeley. Don't blame me, I voted for Tipppy Toes. [1] [1] https://furry.today/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/image.gif
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Paramount Has A New Monster
Over at The Wrap they’re talking about three new animated features that Paramount Pictures have announced for their upcoming film line-up. One in particular should be of note to furry fans — especially since we’ve talked about the source material before. Monster on the Hill is a film adaptation of the graphic novel by Rob Harrell. Paramount’s description goes like this: “In a world where monsters are tame and monster wrestling is a popular sport, teenage Winnie seeks to follow in her father’s footsteps as a manager by turning an inexperienced monster into a contender.” That’s a little bit different than the original storyline, so we’ll see how it goes. This we got from Cartoon Brew: “Monster on the Hill will be helmed by Bradley Raymond, a veteran director of direct-to-video Disney fare (The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, The Lion King 1-1/2, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue) from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman (upcoming The Addams Family, Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief) and Etan Cohen (Men in Black 3, Tropic Thunder, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa). Monster on the Hill will be produced by ReelFX (Free Birds), which first announced it was developing the project back in 2015, and Walden Media.” Look for it in 2020.
image c. 2018 Top Shelf Productions
High Steaks, by Daniel Potter – Book Review by Fred Patten
Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.
High Steaks, by Daniel Potter.
El Cerrito, CA, Fallen Kitten Productions, January 2018, trade paperback, $13.99 (373 pages), Kindle $1.99.
This is Book 3 of Potter’s Freelance Familiars series, following Off Leash and Marking Territory. It follows the events in Books #1 and #2 without a What Has Gone Before, so you really need to have read the first two. Or just dive into the action.
Thomas Khatt, an unemployed librarian in Grantsville, PA, leaves a coffee shop (along with another customer) after sending out job résumés. A hit-&-run driver kills the man standing next to him, and Thomas suddenly finds himself transformed into an unanthropomorphized cougar.
In Off Leash, Thomas learns that he has been transported to “the Real World beyond the veil” that is ruled by magic. He is given the power of speech, but that’s all. He is told that he is expected to become the familiar of a wizard or witch; an involuntary magical assistant – in practice, a slave to a magus, for life.
“Yet one thing had become crystal clear; I wanted no part of this world. Losing my thumbs, my house and my girlfriend in exchange for the chance to be sold off to some pimple-faced apprentice did not sound like a fair deal to me.” (Off Leash, p. 35)
To quote from my review of Off Leash:
“Thomas decides to take charge of his own life, even if he is not familiar with the Real World yet. He faces the dangers of our “world beyond the Veil” […], and of the Real World, refusing to join the TAU [Talking Animal Union] or to become bound to a magus – or to an apprentice – as a familiar.”
“To stay off the leash, he’ll have to take advantage of the chaos caused by the local Archmagus’ death and help the Inquisition solve his murder. A pyromaniac squirrel, religious werewolves, and cat-hating cops all add to the pandemonium as Thomas attempts to become the first Freelance Familiar.” (Off Leash; blurb)
Thomas solves the murder and gains an ally; Rudy, the wise-cracking pyromaniac squirrel. In Marking Territory, Thomas becomes involved in magical politics, his werewolf girlfriend is turned into a werecow, and Grantsville is destroyed in the magus’ crossfire. Now it’s eight months later. Thomas and Rudy have led the survivors to Las Vegas – or under it:
“Into this [the Las Vegas underground flood tunnels] had walked about nine thousand people whose town – my town, Grantsville – had been put into a blender, along with six other realities. With help, I’d managed to get most of them out before everyone got liquefied into a refreshing transdimensional smoothie. In the eight months since, those with mutations that could be covered up or which had simply faded with time had found jobs in the above city or had migrated away. The less fortunate had founded small communities in the tunnels, each sustained by donations from those who had left.
The Ranch was the largest of those communities. The residents had all been blended with animals generally found in the barnyard. Trevor and I approached the gate to the Stables, the portion of the Ranch that housed those Grantsvillians whose mutations had gotten worse instead of fading. So complete were their transformations that the lucky ones – the dogs and cats – had been taken on as familiars by the magi above. The rest – the prey animals, those with hoofed feet and limited binocular vision who made poor familiars – were down here without much hope of ever leaving.” (pgs. 14-15)
There are plenty of human-animal blends:
“I threaded around a pair of horses that were playing chess on a high table and nearly tripped over a chicken. […] Horses, cows, goats, and a few sheep loitered in the central aisle, socializing and talking trivialities. […]
A black goat with a pencil in his mouth looked up from the laptop he had been prodding. ‘H-e-e-e-y freelancers!’ he bayed.
‘Hi, Jet.’ The goat was one of the few residents of the Stables who showed no fear in my presence. I came to a stop and blinked. His horns had been painted glow-in-the-dark green.
‘Nice horns. Really goes with the black,’ Rudy snickered.
The goat grinned. ‘Somebody from above sent us a case of the stuff, and now some of the young ‘uns are trying to scrounge up black lights. I’ll let you know when the dance party begins. Gonna be eighties all the way.’ His ears flicked with amusement, and his tail waggled.” (pgs. 17-18)
But the Grantsvillian animal-people are going stir-crazy living hidden in the drainage tunnels underneath Las Vegas. In the Real World, Las Vegas is openly ruled by the Council of Merlins, the five magical Houses (the Council knows the Grantsvillians are there; it apparently doesn’t care), and its allied Talking Animal Union run by Oric, an owl. Officially the TAU is a labor union for familiars that makes sure the familiars are not mistreated by their magi. In practice, Oric and the TAU make sure that the familiars do what the magi tell them to do.
By immemorial tradition, an animal familiar is bound to a human wizard or witch for life. Thomas wants to change that. If he has to be a cougar, he wants to be able to pick his magus, and to switch from magus to magus at his will – to become a Freelance Familiar. By refusing to join the TAU and coming to Las Vegas, Thomas and his only two allies – Rudy the squirrel, and O’Meara, a disbarred witch – are openly challenging the whole Council of Merlins and Oric.
Officially, Thomas and Rudy sign a contract as the Freelance Familiars with House Picatrix (which is headquartered at the Luxor) to do one temporary job. Unofficially, it will prove that familiars don’t need the TAU. Behind the scenes, some of the magi (but which?) plus Oric are trying to kill the cougar and squirrel (and their lone witch ally). The three Freelance Familiars, and the semihuman Grantsvillians beneath Las Vegas, are in for the supernatural fight of their lives against all the organized wizards and witches who rule Las Vegas, plus the TAU’s corrupt owl, not to mention the werewolves and vampire ghosts.
The animals are mostly unanthropomorphized except for being intelligent and able to talk:
“There, pulled up to the curb, was a pristine white limo that would have been quite classy if not for the line of bullet holes that raked its side. Before either of us could recover, the passenger door of the cab popped open, and a capybara in a smart-looking chauffeur’s cap leapt out. He had a plastic water bottle clasped in his jaws. The dog-sized rodent hurried down the length of the limo and splashed water against the silver door handle. There was a hissing sound, and steam rose from the metal. The bottle bounced on the ground while the capybara popped open the handle with his teeth. With a quick backwards hind-legged hop, the door yawned open. Rudy lay sprawled belly up on the seat next to a martini glass full of shelled hazelnuts.
He waved.” (p. 77) [The two Capy Bros. run the limo service. One steers while the other works the gas and brake pedals. The water bottle doesn’t have any magical significance; it’s hot outdoors in daytime in Las Vegas!]
“‘It is far too early for an employee to be drinking.’ A smooth voice pulled my eyes away from the woman and back to the doorway of the bar. A cheetah stalked toward me. His body appeared to be thin and breakable, but his motions spoke of supreme confidence. The patrons of the bar shifted uneasily; mugs of golden liquid were quickly pulled out of his line of sight. The tension in the bar ratcheted up several notches, and the air around us threatened to snap in half.” (p. 84)
“Where Bobby had sat, a coyote the size of a horse flashed an omnidirectional grin. She tossed her head back and howled like a hurricane. A downpour of power surged through the room, pinning me to the stool. Glasses shattered, the beer running over the tables as the employees desperately covered their ears. The howl faded, and Bobby trotted out into the casino, past the fallen linemen.” (p. 190)
High Steaks (cover by Ebooklaunch.com, which presumably means that Potter paid Amazon/CreateSpace the maximum to have it printed, well proofread, cover-customized, and published under his own imprint) features necromantic attacks (“‘You can’t be too paranoid in Vegas.’”), bar brawls, assassinations, pathos (“A crying cow was not a pretty sight.”), a sorcerous heist caper, a deadly romance between Thomas and another cougar familiar (a feline femme fatale), the Freelance Familiars vs. the TAU (Thomas vs. Oric), Rudy firing bombs and rockets (“‘Booooooom, baby!’”), and all the talking animals that a furry fan could want. Don’t miss the Fallen Kitten Productions’ website for a free Freelance Familiars short story.
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.
Little Pandas from the Ground Up
Autumn Frederickson is another fantasy artist whose work involves a watercolor style — and lots of animal characters. “Autumn has been creating fantasy worlds since childhood. As she got older, crayon scribbles of unicorns gave way to stylized watercolor paintings of a variety of pop culture characters, wildlife, and the occasional yeti.” Recently, she’s been branching out with a new project she calls Pocket Pandas. She’s still working up a full web site for the various panda products she plans to produce, but so far the web site already has many of her designs up. Keep checking to find out when she has more.
image c. 2018 by Autumn Frederickson
FWA 2018 with Storm, Zach and Renn
Today we have a nice FWA music video put out by Little Dragon Productions. So cute! "Spring wouldn't be compete without the wonderful Furry Weekend Atlanta. This years convention was a lot of fun and this little highlight clip shows how much fun it really was! This year I finally got some great footage of Renn!"
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Fears Are Keeping Him from Exploring His Gender and Sex More Deeply
Thank you for addressing my letter.
I have had problems with gender and sexuality for as long as I can remember, and they escalated during my adolescence. I was diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and have since tried my best to cure it. I have sought help from one of the specialists in my country, and the disease seems mostly controlled now, at the age of 24.
However, thoughts about gender and sexuality continue to plague my mind even today. I never had a relationship with a woman, despite the fact that I tried many times to have a stable and lasting relationship (though most of the times the women I was interested said they already had a boyfriend when I asked them on a date), but I have had experiences with men, though none of them lasting relationships.
Not all of these experiences were pleasant, because although I did not mind oral sex, I have a immense fear of penetration and its consequences.
But back to gender, the main problem.
It seems like I am particularly sensitive to transgender-related topics. There are no transgender news that I won't read about, or transgender characters that I won't take an interest in, or transgender videos that I won't watch.
When I come into contact with this topic, I start to wonder and ruminate about being female, how would I feel, what it would take, and if I wouldn't regret it. I have tried female clothing in the past and I have liked it. I often fantasize about being female (or at least feminine). I am a bit scared of the implications of being female in society, however.
For some time, I joined a transgender help group, but left because I felt like I was going down a path that I would regret, that would destroy my relationship with my family. I was always their 'golden boy', and they have always supported me. But telling them about this, or having Sex Reassignment Surgery would be my ruin.
I tried talking about my therapist about this, but I feel like she is a bit transphobic herself. I once talked to her about a MtF that was my friend, and she insisted that she was a man. Seemingly shoving it down my throat at every possible opportunity. Still, I can't search for another therapist because my parents like the progress regarding OCD I made with this one. They insist I remain with this one, and if I don't, they start arguments with me.
Last year I decided to burry this 'transgender business' as I called it, and tried to move forward. Most days, I am happy with being male, and even acknowledge that being a man has it's advantages. Other days, I feel an unavoidable need to be feminine.
These cycles come and go: Some days I discard it as being ridiculous, about not passing as or even wanting to be female (I wonder if it has something to do with having a conservative and transphobic family). Even consider wether or not this fixation on femininity is part of my OCD. Other days, like today, it's so strongly present in my mind that it leaves me depressed. I look at my body and feel discomfort. I lack breasts, and looking down I can't see a vagina.
I can't get it out. I can't get any closure. And I am always so confused.
Can you please help me?
Thank you,
Anonymous (Portugal)
* * *
Dear Furiend,
Please forgive my late reply. I had to take a month off from my column for personal and work reasons. I hope it is not too late to reply.
This is a difficult letter to address because you have already taken a number of recommended steps and have not found satisfaction. You have sought therapy and you a help group to no avail. I agree with you that if you are not comfortable with your current therapist you should look for another one, and then we run into the parents issue. Evidently, they are paying for your therapy. While that is great that they are trying to support you, it's not so great that they won't let you switch therapists. Noting that you are 24, though, one has to wonder why you are not out on your own by now and managing your own life. Are you still in college and living with your parents? Is there any way you can pay for a therapist yourself and, thus, make your own choice as to whom you should see?
While your OCD is not directly related to your transgender issues, it might, indeed, be making it more difficult for you. But even if you didn't have OCD, you probably would still be thinking about your gender and sex a lot. Understandable. I don't believe your desire to be female is going to go away if you ignore it, so it is something you will, at some point, have to hit head on.
One step at a time, though.
It is clear that your parents and your therapist are holding you back. Therefore, the first thing you must do is become an independent adult who is in charge of his own income and medical care. You are 24 and it is time that you do this (unless there is something you aren't telling me that is preventing you from being independent?)
I'm sorry to say that I am not familiar with health care coverage in Portugal other than that there is a National Health Service there that helps cover many, but not all, expenses. Perhaps you have already researched this, but if not, you should find out whether and by how much MtF surgery is covered. (By the way, if you are really considering surgery, this is better defined as being transsexual.)
Another thing you can do is look for another transgender/transsexual support group. Since your English is excellent, you don't have to limit yourself to groups in Portugal. As you might imagine, there are many that are based in the USA.
Finally, you need to get over the fear of disappointing your parents. You don't have to be "the Golden Boy" all your life. That's too much pressure and it's not realistic. It is much more important that you just be yourself, and your parents need to accept that. And here's where your OCD is also probably kicking in: you are obsessing that being transgender (or transsexual) is going to "ruin" you and your whole life. You run through it over and over in your head until this fear paralyzes you.
Fear of judgment from others is, in my view, the number one reason most human beings in the world do not reach their full potential or find happiness. Once you let go of that fear, you will be liberated. Sure, it is easy for me to write that down, and I realize that is a difficult road to travel, but it is one you must travel.
Accept yourself for what you are. Don't blame it on OCD. Don't avoid it because of your parents. Seek support from people like yourself. If you are on Facebook, you might try the Transgender Support Circle. There are literally thousands of people there for you to talk to.
I hope this helps you some. Please feel free to write again if I am missing something that needs to be addressed.
Hugs,
Papabear
Fluff Party in Salt Lake City: a furry dance at one of the two gay bars in Utah.
Furclubbing: “A repeat/regular nightclub event by furries for furries.” The concept has been spreading since the late 2000’s. It’s a dance party independent from cons. It builds on their growth but takes things farther. It’s more ambitious than informal meets and events that happen once. Those can stay inner-focused, but this brings partnership with new kinds of venues, and new support for what they host. It crosses a line to public space, so a stranger can walk in and discover their new favorite thing. It encourages new blood and crossover to other scenes. It makes subculture thrive. It’s a movement!
Parties that give a Q&A get a featured article. See The Furclub survey for questions and party list. Here’s Fluff Party in Salt Lake City, from organizer Oaken.
The party launch:
Fluff Party was started on April 28th, 2017, at Club Try-Angles then known as “Bar Night” in the local Utah Furry group. Fluff Party started out with a sizeable furry group, for a small major city, of around 25 attendees. During the 2017 AWU Convention in downtown SLC, “Bar Night” transformed into Fluff Party. The event, held on October 27th, ended up being the largest to date with nearly 75 attendees from Washington, Colorado, and Idaho. This was later eclipsed by the January 2018 Fluff Party which had nearly 100 attendees. In February 2018, the Party extended the weekend to include a Saturday event with its first ever After Party, held at Area 51 Club in Salt Lake City, an 18+ dance club.
Who is involved:
Inspired by Tail! Party in California, Fluff Party was started by Oaken. Fluff Party uses the house DJ at Try-Angles. During the AWU Fluff Party, DJ zeroføx played.
What kind of party:
Fluff Party is a bar atmosphere with billiards going on all evening, fursuit dancing to DJ music. Styles of music depend on the DJ but range from old to current pop, electronic music.
When:
Fluff Party occurs every fourth Friday of the month. Originally, the party was coupled with Club Try-Angles’ “Leather & Gear Night”; however, due to lack of participation from the local leather community and immense support from the local Furry community, club ownership granted the furs their very own night. The first event occurred on April 28th, 2017.
Where:
Fluff Party is located at Club Try-Angles (251 West Harvey Milk Boulevard, Salt Lake City, Utah). Fluff Party’s After Party is located at Area 51 (451 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, Utah). Furries attend from Salt Lake and surrounding cities (Ogden to Provo). Several out of state furs have come in from Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado.
How:
Oaken first danced in fursuit at 2016 RMFC, and became inspired to provide an event for the local Utah Furry group– which already organized general regular monthly events at public location– that was geared more towards the adult furry crowd. After being convinced to finally overcome his fears of going to a gay club’s Underwear Night, Oaken found Club Try-Angles and the local gay community to be a welcoming one to all walks of life. Wearing his tail to the club a few times and getting a very warm response from the locals at the club, Oaken approached club ownership about having fursuiters come to the club. Many years prior, a few locals had gone to the club in fursuit but never in large numbers nor the immense support that Fluff Party has received from the local furry community. Fluff Party continues to grow and expand.
Vibe:
Unique to most major cities, Club Try-Angles is one of two identifying gay clubs in the entire state of Utah. Club Try-Angles plays host to many lifestyles, kinks, and fetishes. Supporting nights such as Drag events, Bear, Underwear, and Leather nights. The general public has received furries at Fluff Party in very good light. A review was even posted to the club’s Google page stating how they were going to attend Furry night! Local furs have mentioned going to events such as Pride events in SLC in fursuit and having the public mention the furry event at Club Try-Angles. Many general public attendees have become regulars at Fluff Party!
Promotion:
Initially, the event started out as a member meet, “Bar Night”, hosted by Oaken who is an administrator and event coordinator for the local furry community. Meets were created on the groups Facebook and Meetup pages as well as word of mouth due to the disjointed nature of the local community at the time. It later became named Fluff Party during the AWU convention where it was promoted with fliers and promotions. Before the January 2018 Fluff Party, a twitter account @FluffParty was created, which resulted in the event having the largest turnout to date. As well as increased exposure to nearby communities.
Follow @FluffParty on Twitter for most updated news. Thanks to Oaken for giving great responses and organizing this for the community!
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.
Summer Camp Island
We have here a new Cartoon Network series by Adventure Time writer Julia Pott. I expect episodes to be shown between 23 hours of Teen Titans go. "Watch a sneak peek of Summer Camp Island! Oscar has to accept that his totally normal sleepover with Hedgehog isn't going to be totally normal."
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The Snake’s Song: A Labyrinth of Souls Novel, by Mary E. Lowd – Book Review by Fred Patten
Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.
The Snake’s Song: A Labyrinth of Souls Novel, by Mary E. Lowd.
Eugene, OR, ShadowSpinners Press, March 2018, trade paperback, $11.99 (210 [+ 1] pages), Kindle $3.99.
ShadowSpinners Press says, “Labyrinth of Souls novels must contain the idea of an underworld labyrinth. The form of the labyrinth and the nature of the underworld are left to the fevered imagination of the author. […] Most stories will lean toward dark fantasy but science fiction, horror, psychological thriller, Noir, mystery, etc. will be considered.” The Snake’s Song is its sixth novel, and its first furry one.
The Snake’s Song is a work of fabulism rather than traditional furry fiction. “The snake sang,” it begins. “The snake sang and mice knew better than to listen. Mice and rats and songbirds and frogs – none of them listened to snakes. Songbirds and frogs sang their own songs; mice and rats told stories. None of them listened to snakes.
And neither did squirrels.
But one day, a gray squirrel named Witch-Hazel stopped to listen to a soft hissing carried on the wind, a susurrus coming from a tunnel, hidden beneath a bush. With melancholy sighs and mesmerizing murmurs, the hissing voice sang a song of days gone by, days long ago when the earth and sky and underground were bound together with a river that flowed in endless, looping circles; tree branches embraced the heavens, and tree roots held the depths in their woody arms; and all the creatures of Earth could make a pilgrimage into the sky to meet the All-Being who had created every animal.” (p. 13, reformatted)
Squirrels don’t listen to snakes, but now Witch-Hazel does:
“‘Tell me about the All-Being,’ Witch-Hazel asked breathlessly.
‘The All-Being is why birds can fly, fish breathe water, beavers are builders, and bees can turn pollen into honey. Each of them reflects the glory of the All-Being.’
Witch-Hazel wondered how she reflected the All-Being’s glory. ‘How about squirrels?’ she asked.” (p. 14)
Is the snake trying to lure her into its underground lair? But she dimly remembers her mother telling her of the All-Being when she was a tiny kitten, and of the Celestial Fragments – the Sun Shard that grants strength, the Star Sliver that grants endless breath, and the Moon Opal that grants flight. Witch-Hazel is too wary to follow the snake into its hole, but she can’t stop thinking about the Celestial Fragments and the All-Being.
“Witch-Hazel pictured a creature with one bat wing and one sparrow wing; a green cat eye and a yellow coyote eye; a long rabbit ear and a round mouse ear; a deer antler and an antelope horn; a hoofed foreleg and a webbed paw; a mountain lion’s golden haunches and a squirrel’s silver tail – because no creature on Earth has a tail more beautiful than a squirrel.” (pgs. 17-18)
If she could find the Celestial Fragments, she could fly into the heavens higher than the birds and see the All-Being. Squirrels are used to missing treasures being hidden underground; that’s where they bury their nuts.
“She wanted to find the Celestial Fragments.
In her nest that night, Witch-Hazel felt the empty space all around her. The air flowed around her branch like the rivers the snake told her had once encircled the under-earth and sky. She wanted to travel those rivers.” (p. 18)
So the next day she packs a knapsack:
“Then she swiped a flask of pear cider from her biggest sister’s nest – her sister wouldn’t mind – and stuffed that in her knapsack too.
Finally, Witch-Hazel left a note in her own nest for her sisters and brothers, in case they came looking for her: ‘Gone adventuring. Don’t worry. – Witch-Hazel” (p. 19)
And she returns to the hole after the snake has gone:
“Witch-Hazel squeezed into the small round hole under the bush. She’d never entered a snake’s lair before. To her knowledge, no squirrel ever had. Once she was inside, the hole opened up into a passage large enough for her to walk upright. She kept her firethorns in front of her.” (p. 21)
What does she find underground? Think of Alice entering Wonderland. Think of Orpheus entering Hades’ realm looking for Eurydice. Think of Dante entering the Inferno searching for Beatrice.
There are animals, of course, or The Snake’s Song would not be reviewed here:
“Witch-Hazel leaned in close to the gold medallions and carefully examined the animal etchings. The same set of thirty animals graced each of them. Many of the animals were familiar – mouse, sparrow, squirrel, snake, otter, beaver, raccoon, deer. Some of them were strange – one had two humps on it back; another seemed to be like a bird, but it had long legs and a sinuous neck unlike any bird she’d ever seen; another had a nose like a snake, flappy ears, and legs like tree stumps. That one was the largest of the animals, so she tried turning the medallion until it was at the top of the starburst. Then she turned the second medallion until the mouse was on top. Smallest and largest.” (p. 25)
This is only up to page 25. There is a whole novel to come. Witch-Hazel sings to herself/an imaginary friend to keep up her nerve:
“When she finished the song, Witch-Hazel said to her new imaginary friend, ‘Shall we sing a different one next?’
Her heart nearly stopped when her echo answered, ‘All right. Do you know ‘Hills and Trees Yonder’?’” (p. 35)
Not all the animals are mortal ones:
“The lioness’s face rose higher as the giant creature stepped forward on the rocky ledge beside Witch-Hazel. Her body resolved in shades of gray in the darkness – her head rose from a long slender neck that sprouted out of narrow shoulders, leading into a pair of delicately crossed human arms. She had a human woman’s torso, but beneath it was an entire four-legged lion’s body, complete with a swishing, tufted tail. ‘I am a kind of sphinx,’ the creature said. ‘Sister to the sphinx, precisely. My sister who was celebrated in Greece and Egypt usually claims the name. I am less well-known. I am a leontaur, and I don’t ask riddles.’” (p. 55)
The Snake’s Song (cover by Josephe Vandel) is eerie, wonderful, horrifying, marvelous, and above all, dreamlike. Dreams encompass nightmares. What is the All-Being?
“Dare to Enter the Labyrinth of Souls”
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.
Stop That Snake
Here’s a new animated feature in the works we found out about through Animation World Network. “Timeless Films will begin selling worldwide rights to Rodrigo Pérez Castro’s upcoming animated feature Koati, created and produced by Anabella Sosa Dovarganes from Upstairs Productions and Los Hijos de Jack Productions, at the upcoming Cannes International Film Festival. Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy award-nominee Sofia Vergara (Modern Family), is attached to star and will executive produce… Koati is an animated comedy film starring three unlikely heroes: A free-spirited coati, a fearless monarch butterfly, and a hyperactive glass frog who embark on a glorious adventure to stop a wicked coral snake (Vergara) from destroying their homeland and friends. ‘Koati is an invitation to celebrate, for the first time in an animated film, the magical realism of the Latin American jungles, of the Amazonian rainforest, and the fun, exotic creatures that call it home,’ says Vergara, whose voice is heard in The Smurfs and Happy Feet 2. ‘It’s a coming-of-age comedy starring a cool and real family of animals the world needs to meet.'” The article tells us to look for it in 2019.
image c. 2018 Timeless Films