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Me with my late husband, Jim, at Califur. Hello Mr. Bear,

I have only been in the fandom for about a year, and have been with my boyfriend for longer. (We're both introverts and didn't talk to each other for the longest. I kept staring at him, and I've caught him staring. I internally freaked out and didn't know what to do so I put all of my eggs in one basket and had flowers and candy (this was around February and my school does this service that sends flowers and candy to people who want them to be sent to someone, yada yada yada, I'm getting off topic) sent to him weeks later. Instead of my name on the card, I drew a picture of myself, as to not draw attention to myself from the rest of my classmates. He looked in my direction and said "I like you, too." I still dog him for that. And I panicked and said "y-you too". He still dogs me for that, too. I really do love him.)

When I'm browsing my art instagram account, I always slowly turn my phone away if we're sitting together on a couch or something. I don't really know his opinion on the fandom, nor have we talked about it. I don't know if or when we'll have this conversation, but if it DOES happen, how do I go about telling him?

Thank you for your time (I need to work on my story-telling skills),

Grayden Baretuff

* * *

Hi, Grayden,

That's a charming story and I thank you for sharing it :-3 As for telling your boyfriend, you're worrying too much. I was in your position once, and I was freaking out just as you are. Finally, got the courage to tell him, and he was like, "Oh, that's interesting. Why were you afraid to tell me? No big deal." I ended up taking him to conventions and he really loved seeing the fursuiters and talking to people, even though he wasn't a furry himself.

​Other people I've told along the road were pretty much of the same opinion. Most, to be frank, had never heard of the furry fandom, and when I explained what it was, they were like, "Oh, it's kind of like Comicon" or other conventions and such. They were fine with it.

The key is to tell people honestly about it, and if they have questions, answer them frankly. The less self-conscious and embarrassed you are about yourself being a furry, the easier it will go.

Hugs,
Papabear​

Two talented and award-winning creators who have worked on The Simpsons comics now turn their eyes to a funny animal science fiction adventure with Sparks!, a new full-color graphic novel. Written by Ian Boothby and illustrated by Nina Matsumoto, Sparks! goes like this: “August is a brilliant inventor who is afraid of the outside. Charlie is a crack pilot who isn’t afraid of anything. Together these pals save lives every day. They also happen to be cats who pilot a powerful, mechanical dog suit! Always eager to leap into danger, this feline duo have their work cut out for them as they try to thwart Princess, an evil alien bent on enslaving mankind. Don’t let the fact that Princess looks like a cute, diaper-wearing baby fool you. She’s clever, determined, and totally ruthless. So when Princess and the browbeaten fools she calls servants enact a brilliant and dastardly plan to conquer Earth, August and Charlie pull out all the stops to save the day.” Check out the preview video over on YouTube. The book is available now in hardcover and softcover from Graphix.

image c. 2018 Graphix

Boom! Studios (through their Archaia imprint) are returning to the world of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth in a new series called Labyrinth: Coronation. It sounds like this: “Before Sarah braved the Labyrinth to save her brother, another young woman sought to save a young boy named Jareth from the clutches of the Goblins. Set in 18th-century Venice, Italy, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth is a striking look into the history of the Labyrinth itself, and what happens to the little boys who don’t get rescued. This is the untold history of the Goblin King.” Written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Daniel Bayliss, the first issue is on the shelves now. Mr. Bayliss, you may recall, was the illustrator of that marvelously weird anthropomorphic comic Kennel Block Blues.

image c. 2018 Archaia

for all things Dragget: www.draggetshow.com Here is video of it w/ illustrations and more! -- https://youtu.be/b7_mOg-Hw3M Our Patreon w/ great new rewards! www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow Telegram Chat: t.me/draggetshow Dungeons And Draggets #06 - for all things Dragget: www.draggetshow.com Here…

Looks like the Mega Plush guy is looking for help to make part four. Can find out more here: kickstarter.com/projects/36794373/the-mega-plush-episode-iv [1] [1] http://kickstarter.com/projects/36794373/the-mega-plush-episode-iv
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The cast returns once more to discuss things and maybe laugh a bit Episode 24 - Sharking sharks

Hey furries! The Ursa Major Awards for the best anthropomorphic media of 2017 are now open for voting. Go vote between March 1st – March 31st on the UMA website:  http://www.ursamajorawards.org

Can you imagine running these fandom awards for 15 years and not having enough help? I recently covered the story of financial difficulty and understaffing. Rod O’Riley, a key member of the award committee, is a fandom founder who organized the first furry parties and conventions in the 1980’s. He’s been covering costs out of his pocket for 15 years. There’s now an Ursa Major Awards GoFundMe taking donations to cover the costs of running it. Because I don’t just bark about critical stuff, I’m going to contribute $100. Can you give some too?

We are raising money for Ursa Major Awards. Click to Donate: https://t.co/gp1x63d9mT via @gofundme

— Ursa Major Awards (@UrsaMajorAwards) January 25, 2018

Before we get to the nominees, here’s some special notices. For Best Dramatic Series or Short Work of 2017, check out OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes. This Cartoon Network show got a lot of fandom notice for their episode “We’ve Got Fleas”. It makes a suspiciously cute callout to things we love. Wait for this: an interview with a writer/storyboard artist for OK K.O. is publishing soon on this site and it’s a fandom connection you’ll love.

The banner up top is special art we had made by Mexican furry artist Meteor-05 to give you a suggestion for Best Magazine. And Dogpatch Press isn’t even the only nominee from the culprits who make it happen. Best Other Literary Work has two from Fred Patten. Best Non-Fiction Work has an essay by me in Furries Among Us 2. There’s also Fred’s Furry Fandom Conventions, 1989-2015 … but nobody should worry if your first pick is Furry Nation by Joe Strike, the first formally published fandom history, many years in the making. How did this category get so tough for picking just one?

Here’s the Final Ballot. Winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony at FurDU 2018 at Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia on May 4-6, 2018.

Best Motion Picture
Live-action or animated feature-length movies.

• Ferdinand (Directed by Carlos Saldanha; December 15)
• Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 (Directed by James Gunn; May 5)
• My Little Pony: The Movie (Directed by Jayson Thiessen; October 6)
• Rock Dog (Directed by Ash Brannon; February 24)
• War for the Planet of the Apes (Directed by Matt Reeves; July 14)

Best Dramatic Series or Short Work
TV series or one-shots, advertisements or short videos.

• Doodle Toons (Directed by Jack C; Pilot episode to “Deleted Scene: Fast Food Follies”)
• Duck Tales [2017 reboot] (Directed by John Aoshima, Dana Terrace; Season 1, August 12 to December 2)
• Here’s the Plan (Directed by Fernanda Frick; April 27)
• Kouka and Bibi (by Dan Variano; January 8)
• Mascot Fur Life (Directed by Jens Wernstedt; December 23)
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Directed by Jim Miller, Tim Stuby, Denny Lu, Mike Myhre; Season 7, episodes 1 to 26)
• OK KO! Let’s Be Heroes (Directed by Hwang Ki-hoo, Chang-woo Shin, Sunjae Lee, Byungjae Oh, Eunyung Byun, Sunhung Kim; Season 1 Episode 1 to 42)

Best Novel
Written works of 40,000 words or more. Serialized novels qualify only for the year that the final chapter is published.

• Always Gray in Winter, by Mark J. Engels (Thurston Howl Publications; August 10)
• Black Friday, by Jan Stryvant (CreateSpace; September 8)
• Kismet, by Watts Martin (Argyll Productions, FurPlanet Productions; January 12)
• Otters in Space III: Octopus Ascending, by Mary E. Lowd (FurPlanet Productions; June 30)
• The Wayward Astronomer, by Geoffrey Thomas (Corvus Publishing; May 9)

Best Short Fiction
Stories less than 40,000 words, poetry, and other short Written works.

• Behesht, by Dwale (in ROAR volume 8; June 30)
• Beyond the Great Divide, by S. H. Mansouri (in Cirsova Heroic Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine #5; Spring 2017)
• Lieutenant Kruger and the Mistress Jade Trophy Game, by Kathy Garrison Kellogg (in The Cross Time Cafe; October 5)
• The Moon Like an Unhatched Egg, by Mary E. Lowd (in Symbol of a Nation; June 30)
• Rickety V, by Rechan (in Intimate Little Secrets; March 24)

Best Other Literary Work
Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and serialized online stories.

• Arcana: A Tarot Anthology, edited by Madison Scott-Clary (anthology; Thurston Howl Publications; November 9)
• Dogs of War, edited by Fred Patten (anthology; FurPlanet Productions; January 12)
• Intimate Little Secrets, by Rechan (collection; FurPlanet Productions; March 24)
• ROAR volume 8, edited by Mary E. Lowd (anthology; Bad Dog Books; June 30)
• Symbol of a Nation, edited by Fred Patten (anthology; GoAL Publications; June 30)

Best Non-Fiction Work
Includes documentaries, opinion pieces, and news articles.

• Furries Among Us 2; More Essays On Furries By Furries, edited by Thurston Howl (Thurston Howl Productions; August 18)
• Furry Fandom Conventions, 1989-2015, by Fred Patten (McFarland & Co.; January 3))
• Furry Nation, by Joe Strike (Cleis Press; October 10)
• The Shocking Furry Fandom Conversation. Yes, Really! (on YouTube, featuring Stefan Molyneux; October 16)
• 3 Ursa Major-ly Painful Victories, by Rooview (on YouTube; April 23)

Best Graphic Story
Includes comic books, and serialized online stories.

• A&H Club, by Rick Griffin (Internet; January 7 to November 25)
• DreamKeepers, by David & Liz Lillie (Internet; January 2 [#340] to December 18 [#385])
• Endtown, by Aaron Neathery (Internet; January 2 to December 25)
• Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler (internet; Lackadaisy Gimmickry to Lackadaisy Deliria)
• TwoKinds, by Tom Fischbach (internet; January 5 to December 28)

Best Comic Strip
Newspaper-style strips, including those with ongoing arcs.

• Carry On, by Kathy Garrison Kellogg (Internet; January 1 to December 29)
• Doc Rat, by Jenner (Internet; January 4 to December 29)
• DreamKeepers Prelude, by David & Liz Lillie (Internet; January 6 [#350] to December 28 [#393])
• Freefall, by Mark Stanley (Internet; January 2 to December 29)
• Housepets!, by Rick Griffin (Internet; January 2 to December 29)

Best Magazine
Edited collections of creative and/or informational works by various people, professional or amateur, published in print or online in written, pictorial or audio-visual form.

• Dogpatch Press, ed. by Patch Packrat (Internet; January 5 to December 25)
• Flayrah, edited by GreenReaper, Sonious, and Dronon (Internet; January 1 to December 30)
• FurryFandom.es, edited by Mike Retriever (Internet; February 19 to October 9)
• InFurNation, ed. by Rod O’Riley (Internet; January 1 to December 31)
• Typewriter Emergencies: A Journal of Furry Lit, edited by Weasel (Weasel Press; May)

Best Published Illustration
Illustrations for books, magazines, convention program books, cover art for such, coffee-table portfolios.

• Bone, cover for Always Gray in Winter by Mark J. Engels (Thurston Howl Publications; August 10)
• Baron Engel, Prepare to Engage the Enemy, cover for A Different Perspective by Bernard Doove (June 8)
• Ashley Foy, Valentine’s Gifts (February 14)
• Teagan Gavet, cover for Dogs of War, edited by Fred Patten (FurPlanet Productions; January 12)
• Teagan Gavet, cover for ROAR vol, 8, edited by Mary E. Lowd (Bad Dog Books; June 30)
• Idess, cover for Otters in Space III: Octopus Ascending, by Mary E. Lowd (FurPlanet Productions; June 30)
• David Lillie, cover for The Wayward Astronomer, by Geoffrey Thomas (Corvus Publishing; May 9)

Best Game
Computer or console games, role-playing games, board games.

• Cuphead (Developer and Publisher: StudioMDHR Entertainment; September 29)
• Night in the Woods (Developer: Infinite Fall, Publisher: Finji; February 21)
• Sonic Mania (Developer: PagodaWest Games and Headcannon, Publisher: Sega; August 15)
• Star Fox 2 (Developer: Nintendo and Argonaut Games, Publisher: Nintendo; September 29)
• Yooka – Laylee (Developers: Playtonic Games; April 11)

Best Website
Online collections of art, stories, and other creative and/or informational works. Includes galleries, story archives, directories, blogs, and personal sites.

• The Cross Time Cafe (forum for comic discussions, including many on the Recommended List)
• e621.com (art, discussions, etc.))
• Furry Writers’ Guild (Supporting, informing, elevating, and promoting quality anthropomorphic fiction and its creators)
• Inkbunny (furry art community)
• WikiFur (furry fandom encyclopedia)

Voting is open between March 1st – March 31st on the UMA website:  http://www.ursamajorawards.org

Ethan Young is an artist and comic-creator who has made a name for himself at Dark Horse Press with titles like Nanjing: The Burning City and The Battles of Bridget Lee. Before all that though, there was his semi-autobiographical comic Tails, based on his time working at an animal shelter — while trying to kick-start his comic career. Now Dark Horse have brought it all together in a new collection, Life Between Panels: The Complete Tails Omnibus. “Ethan’s life as one of the many cartoonists living in NYC might look mundane at first glance—living with his parents, working a day job, playing with cats. But things get crazy when he starts to draw his comic strip Crusader Cat! Soon, Ethan can’t tell the difference between real life and the comic panel!” Look for it in trade paperback this April.

image c. 2018 Dark Horse Press

Hello Everyone!

We open this week's episode with an actual retrospective of the show. As it is our 100th episode we wanted to take some time to reflect on the show. We talk about why we started the show, how we've grown in doing the show, and how we've seen the fandom (and culture in general) change in the two years we've been doing the show. We then talk about the future of the show and our personal futures and what plans we have coming up.

We then launch into the main topic for this week, difficult decisions. In an average day we make 70 active decisions, and oftentimes we find ourselves overburdened with the choices we make. Metriko talks about his decision making process and how he's worked to improve and streamline it to be manageable and more helpful than stressful.

For more information, including a list of topics, see our Show Notes for this episode. 

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 100 Difficult Decisions - Social commentary! Difficult decisions! No listener question? Our 100th Episode SPECIAL!

Trailer for a graduation film by Sophia Schönborn. At some point we can hopefully see the full film somewhere online.
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Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

The Flower’s Fang series.
This is a colorful mixture of furry and high fantasy.

Snow Flower: Arara’s Tale, by Madison Keller.
Portland, OR, Hundeliebe Publishing, May 2016, trade paperback, $5.99 (72 pages), Kindle $0.99.

Flower’s Fang, by Madison Keller.
Portland, OR, Hundeliebe Publishing, August 2014, trade paperback, $14.99 (354 pages), Kindle $0.99.

Flower’s Curse, by Madison Keller.
Portland, OR, Hundeliebe Publishing, June 2016, trade paperback, $13.99 (238 pages), Kindle $4.99.

These three books are bibliographically complex. Flower’s Fang and Flower’s Curse are advertised as a two-volume set. The first edition of Snow Flower was published on December 21, 2014. The second edition, with proofreading errors corrected and still with Keith Draws’ cover, was published on May 16, 2016. It was reprinted with Teagan Gavet’s cover, retypeset more compactly from 126 pages to 72 pages, with the new subtitle “Prequel Novella to Flower’s Fang” added, and the city of publication changed from Seattle, WA (CreateSpace’s office) to Portland, OR (Keller’s home), on April 20, 2017. If you order it today, you’ll probably get it with Teagan’s wraparound cover.

Flower’s Fang has three listed editions, all dated August 2014. The typography of the title lettering changes, but all have the same illustration by Johnny Atomic. The third edition has two maps added.

Flower’s Curse has two editions listed, both dated June 2016. The second edition has a new cover by Idess Sherwood (the cover of the first edition is by Keith Draws), and includes the maps.

The main protagonist of all three books is Arara, a young Jegera (anthropomorphic wolf) in a fantasy world dominated by a “Kin-Jegera Empire”. The Kin are humanoid and human-sized flower fairies or elves, who wear ornate silken robes (see the cover of Flower’s Fang) and uniforms:

“‘How are you feeling?’ A melodious Kin voice asked her. The Kin hovered over Arara, her yellow petal hair framing her green face like a sun halo. The scent of the Kin’s petals reminded Arara of a sweet flower, but it was strong to the point of being overpowering.” (SF, p. 23)

The Empire is satisfactory to both, but the Kin are definitely the aristocracy and the Jegera are the peasants. The Jegera wear some clothes and can walk two-legged, but they usually run on all fours. The Kin ride the Jegera like horses.

“‘You can’t go treating her differently, Athura.’ Eraka grinned and looked at Arara. ‘That settles it. Go put on your shorts and vest. There is still snow up in the foothills, and we don’t want you getting cold.’

Arara barked in delight and scampered off to get dressed.” (SF, pgs. 3-4)

Snow Flower is a novella of Arara’s puppyhood.

“‘Dad, tell mom I can go [hunting] with you.’ Arara wagged her tail. She’d never been hunting before, while school was known and dreaded.

True, for the first couple of days Arara had been excited and eager to learn. But that was before she’d met Kerka. The first day he’d left her alone, although she’d known from his thoughts that he had stared at her most of the day wondering what was wrong with her. Arara hadn’t been able to say anything to him about it though, because her parents had made her promise to keep her telepathy a secret. She’d been able to hear others’ thoughts since she was born, but her parents told her other Jegera couldn’t; they could only hear thoughts sent by gefir.” (SF, p. 2)

Arara and her parents Eraka and Athura are the omegas of their Jegera pack. Gefir is talking by thoughts. Arara is different from the other Jegera in more than being able to hear thoughts.

“‘I guess I like Gror,’ Arara conceded. ‘But Kerka is mean to me. He said my white fur is ugly and that my tail is broken.’

‘He’s just never seen white fur before, Snow Flower,’ Eraka prodded. ‘And your curly tail is perfectly natural.’”

[…]

‘She might be the same age as when you first went hunting, but she’s not even half as big as the other puppies.’ Athura squeezed tighter until Arara yelped and struggled.” (SF, p. 3)

Snow Flower (Teagan Gavet’s wraparound cover shows Arara confronting Kerka) is about how Arara plans to use her secret power of hearing thoughts to get revenge on Kerka, the class bully; and what happens. Keller weaves real lupine alpha-omega social relationships into this. Arara’s pack lives in Last Home, the farthest north community of the Empire where the Kin do not usually come, so the Kin only have a very brief role in this story.

Flower’s Fang, a full novel, is set many years later. Arara and her classmates are about to graduate from juveniles to adults. She is still the omega of her school, blamed for everything that goes wrong. She is looking forward to leaving them all and leaving home, to go alone to Sebaine City, the capital of the Empire.

Prince Sels, the other protagonist of the series, appears. He is a young Kin (shown on Johnny Atomic’s cover), and the Kin are described at length. Of importance is that each Kin aristocrat has a personal Jegera guard; a combination of a military bodyguard and a talking mount.

Prince Sels is the equivalent of Arara among his people. He is young and insecure. Nobody listens to him despite his rank, except Jeron, his childhood Jegera guard. He is pushed around by his servants, and his Kin relatives and “friends”, led by his cousin Lady Sesay, offer him advice and guidance that works out to what they want to do. When he does muster enough willpower to give orders that they don’t like, they just ignore him and issue their own orders in his name.

“Sesay’s pink petal-hair seemed to glow against the dark wood of the carriage. Her tapered, green Kin ears were barely visible through the thick mass of petals framing her heart shaped face. Sesay flashed a tight smile at him, her blue eyes sparkling under her leafy eyelashes, and primly folded her hands in her lap. Sels suppressed a wince, knowing that smile meant a lecture was coming. Even after a full moon-cycle of constant travel, Sesay’s clothes were immaculate. His own robes looked worse for wear, despite Jeron’s diligent care.

Where Sesay had a mass of petals flowing down around her face and over her shoulders, Sels had an elegant growth of vines tipped with dark purple flowers. The wind had left Sels [sic.] vines in a messy tangle, and Sels made a mental note to have Jeron braid them tomorrow morning before the hunt.” (FF, p. 8)

Prince Sels and his entourage are required by custom to travel to Last Home to witness and congratulate the Jerlings (Arara’s class) on their graduation. The ceremony includes a “first adult” hunt by the adolescent wolves of a dangerously deadly beast. Part of the custom includes Sels’ own rite of passage; he is expected to select one of the Jerlings and sedyu-bond with him or her to replace Jeron and be his adult Jegera guard-mount for the rest of his life. Sels senses Arara’s similarity among the Jerlings to his own omega-position, and determines to stop being pushed around and pick her to sedyu-bond with. However, the other Kin just ignore him as usual and announce that he has picked two other Jerlings (that are closer to their own interests) to be his sedyu-bond candidates. Sels is still too immature and insecure to protest aloud.

The rest of Flower Fang is Sels’ and Arara’s secret campaign (with Jeron’s help) in Sebaine City, the Empire’s capital and seat of the Kins’ royal court, to make Arara his sedyu-bonded guardian. It could be considered a variant on Romeo and Juliet with Juliet at first believing that Romeo is only being nice to her to ridicule her.

“Wheezing, Arara stumbled over to her overstuffed pack and grabbed a strap.

Sels, who’d been watching the whole exchange with a puzzled expression, arched one eyebrow. ‘You can lift that?’

‘Well enough,’ she said, hoisting it up onto her back and immediately toppling over backwards. Arara sprawled on her back on top of the pack, her legs kicking at the air.

High pitched giggles filled the air for a moment before something muffled them. She lifted her head to see Sels laughing with the blanket pressed over his mouth. Jeron stood next to him, his face buried in his paws and his shoulders quaking.

Before Arara could wriggle out of the straps, Eraka grabbed the bag with one arm, lifting it and Arara off the ground. She slid free, landing on the grass with a thump, tail between her legs.” (FF, pgs. 95-96)

(Since the whole Flower’s Fang series is not illustrated, it is sometimes hard to tell when a wolf is standing on two or four feet.)

There are deadly royal politics, assassins, “dark plots”, and a rebellion before the more-or-less happy ending.

Flower’s Curse begins with Arara and Sels finally bonded:

“Arara marched along the edge of the stage, uncomfortable with the audience’s gaze on her and sweltering with her thick fur packed in her ceremonial leather armor. Arara resisted the urge to reach under the armor and scratch her chest where it chaffed her. Through the bond Arara could feel that Sels was equally uncomfortable in his heavy, jewel-bedecked robes and elaborate vine-do.” (FC, p. 1)

But immediately there is drama:

“A Jegera wearing the uniform of a royal guard rushed onstage skidding to a stop in front of the Queen and Arara. ‘Your majesty, a mob has stormed the gates. They are inside the palace. We must get you and your family to safety.’” (FC, pgs. 3-4)

“‘What happened?’ Arara mumbled, her voice a hacking hoarse cough.

Sels chewed his lip, glancing between Arara and the door. ‘I was holding off the rioters with my fire when someone struck you with a lightning spell. I think it was meant to look like a natural strike, part of the storm.’” (FC, p. 9)

There are more deadly royal politics, assassins, and “dark plots” before Flower’s Curse comes to a happier ending.

Arara and Sels appear to be 14 or 15, adolescents frustrated by feeling like adults but treated by the real adults around them like children. Their adventures are told with plenty of drama and magic, and Arara and the Jegeras’ being anthropomorphic wolves make this a fairy tale that furry fans will enjoy.

– Fred Patten

• Buy Snow Flower on Amazon
• Buy Flower’s Fang on Amazon
• Buy Flower’s Curse 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.

There’s a new fantasy series for young readers (and fans of shape-shifters) from author Amie Kaufman called Elementals. The first story, Ice Wolves, is headed to book shelves this March. It goes like this: “Everyone in Vallen knows that ice wolves and scorch dragons are sworn enemies who live deeply separate lives. So when twelve-year-old orphan Anders takes one elemental form and his twin sister, Rayna, takes another, he wonders whether they are even related. Still, whether or not they’re family, Rayna is Anders’s only true friend. She’s nothing like the brutal, cruel dragons who claimed her as one of their own and stole her away. In order to rescue her, Anders must enlist at the foreboding Ulfar Academy, a school for young wolves that values loyalty to the pack above all else. But for Anders, loyalty is more complicated than obedience, and friendship is the most powerful shape-shifting force of all.” Find out more over at Goodreads.

image c. 2018 Harper Collins

We have here a new project from WIP Productions, "Wolfgang Doe" that is going to be a 6 part web police series. You can learn more here: www.facebook.com/wolfgangdoeseries [1] [1] http://www.facebook.com/wolfgangdoeseries
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A trial run for a convention had a behavior issue. Part 1 looked at what happened and Part 2 had sources and issues. Before publishing there was a request for comments from the organizer, then others responded. Keep in mind that some of them responded before chat screens were published and seen.

That individual was banned. We have an official rules page. Check us out https://t.co/8vlRtfYVvg

I can not speak for all individuals and what they'll do. But I do not tolerate that behavior.

Here's the official con chat. Please check the website for only con associated chats. pic.twitter.com/H6Mk7NNmme

— RadFox ACFC (@ShRadow_Fox) February 25, 2018

Radfox chatted more in private message.

The con was small and humble in nature but I consider it a success with the amount of fun had. We had approximately 30 to 35 turn out. Everyone had a good time and kept within reason there were no incidents with the hotel or their security. At this time the con felt more like a big party but I am hoping to expand. I want to run it unlike a traditional con I want to run it as more of a open-ended schedule. We had 2 scheduled events. These included shooting on the beach on Friday. The other was the big group picture on the boardwalk. Aside from that we all did our own thing we adventured along the boardwalk and enjoy the amenities of the hotel including their wonderful pool casino and restaurants… As far as partying and in your words frat party we were rather tame in comparison to other furry cons we had a no drug policy. Everyone that drank in my room at least was carded and ID’ed. Nobody was overly drunk in need of an ambulance or medical attention. As the chairman I limited myself to 1 to 2 drinks per night.

The official chat was formed by a group of friends with an idea to expand. It has a set of rules as you saw in my recent tweet. We grew it by passing out flyers and telling friends to tell friends about it and add them to the chat. As for the issue you referenced, that was an individual that crossed the line breaking the rule about no racism and I told him to stop. When he refused I banned him. I, myself, and ACFC do not tolerate that behavior hence the individual was banned. There is only one official chat associated with ACFC found on the website. The other chat we broke off from ACFC to do whatever it wanted. I am not associated with it and neither is my staff.

I named some names in the story, and asked if they would be staff or part of future events, and if he could discuss their behavior in the chats.

None are on staff. Only well known friends that will adhere to the rules and promote a positive light are staff. Whatever they do outside of ACFC’S chat is up to them. I do not follow their affiliations. However, if they break my rules and they are banned as you saw.

“Are you aware of how Jerreh came to be a member of the chat? Is he friends with members?”

I am not sure how he got in but he is not in the official one (he’d be banned after seeing this). The link to ACFC is available to everyone and anyone can add anyone. Jerreh did not post in the main chat ever. But no that is 100% not allowed or tolerated at ACFC. I do not want to speculate but if I had to guess someone added him to start drama and a fight.

A reader sent this private message.

At the time, many trolls were trying to throw up a smokescreen or use intimidation to stop the article from publishing. (Later Radfox apologized and I said there was no need, that stuff is part of my “job”.) Then the article came out and some people started connecting people in a group photo to chat activity they didn’t do.

As far as I can tell @RazzaTheKanga had absolutely nothing to do with activity in the article posted yesterday. He's in this group pic and there's angry messages at people in it. Please don't do that, it's not a good way to connect to net activity. https://t.co/Jqw3rKVbor

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) February 27, 2018

@rileyyfox was in a group pic going around with angry messages at people in it. I don't support a group pic counting as a bad thing apart from a story. I think he had nothing to do with chat activity in the story. Sorry rileyy.https://t.co/omNQmeUWm4

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) February 27, 2018

There was a lot of criticism about including Koss in the story, making bad side effects he didn’t deserve. The story info was reporting about posts from a public/official chat. I tried getting more facts by asking for comments before publishing, but didn’t get any help to decide. Two reasons for sharing the info were 1) A wider topic about behavior. 2) Being thorough and showing that events did happen when there was dispute about if they did. After the article published Koss did chat and agree to share a few extra words.

You're not racist. I'm sorry for side effects. Stuff like asking for takedown is also part of attacks I'm getting to hold back news and there's at least one source in fandom that doesn't play that. If you contact a news source its worth asking for off record chat, if they agree.

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) February 26, 2018

Reading this over.. I had no idea it got "that" bad. Errm. I'm kind of glad this happened now I suppose. More so because the people I was defending have been defended a bit in the article too. Ive never liked this behavior, in fact it always kind of made me uncomfortable anyhow.

— Koss Kelir@FWA, EF (@KossKelir) February 27, 2018

There were requests to try reducing judgement about people in the story. Koss sent this screenshot of Kazu (who is in some of the chat screens) making friends again with Trenton.

There was much more info about people improving relationships afterward and saying good things about each other that’s personal so I won’t share it.

This was one of the hardest stories to write ever on the site. It started by request of multiple tips. The amount of preparation was significant, with research I don’t ordinarily do. There was a lot of emotional concern about people in it I won’t get into (because covering a heavy issue isn’t about making friends.)  It was a big challenge to sort the info. It couldn’t easily be re-written for different approaches (like removing someone). One criticism was made about putting it out in 3 parts in 3 days, so assumptions were made after the first part. On the other hand all the questions and criticism improved the second part. Keep doing that and help me to write better (or fail better) because there’s not really anyone else doing this or a boss to rely on for it, just a fandom that I hope will keep improving.

Update

In response to @DogpatchPress regarding ACFC, I wanted to issue a statement and apology regarding the handling of an incident in our chat. I will own up to it and more importantly fix it. pic.twitter.com/58KxDuWpdL

— RadFox ACFC (@ShRadow_Fox) March 1, 2018

There's really not enough nonfiction in the furry fandom. Not enough about the fandom and by the fandom. So, when I met Joe Strike at last year's Furry Weekend Atlanta, I was thrilled to meet a furry nonfiction writer.His new book is titled Furry Nation: The True Story of America's Most Misunderstood Subculture, and it was published through Cleis Press. A quick glance at the table of contents reveals pretty familiar aspects to most furries: " 'I'm Not the Only One!'"; "Pretty as a Picture: Furry Art"; "Walk a Mile in My Fursuit"; "The Naughty Bits"; etc. So, it would seem that Strike "strikes" out to write a fairly comprehensive study of the fandom.However, that comprehensiveness—while certainly helpful—comes with a slew of its own problems.While each chapter does have a set theme as mentioned above, many of the chapters come off as rambling and long quotes without much meaning. The book as a whole doesn't seem very cohesive. Despite the subtitle indicating that this is a "story" and Patten's equally misleading blurb that this is a "history," the book seems very much to be an exploration. That is, Strike takes a topic and loosely organizes all the information he has on it into a chapter. Sometimes, a quote goes on for several pages without any clear purpose. Other times, Strike goes on a personal rant for several pages. However, that said, if you come into this book without the expectations of normal trade nonfiction (and the misleading subtitle and Patten review), you might learn quite a bit. If you explore the fandom through the author's reptilian eyes, you will indeed learn historical facts you hadn't previously known and possibly see connections you hadn't considered.A big question for furry nonfiction is always "Who is the audience for this?" To a furry reading this, they might gain some historical precedent but also might disagree with some of the portrayals of the themes (many of them ignore the social media aspects of the fandom as well as the commercial industry aspects). To the non-furry, this would be a good primer on understanding the fandom, especially through the personal journey Strike takes with this.Due to this difference in audience, it's safe to say everyone could gain something from reading Furry Nation, regardless of furry identity. Strike has produced a very well-researched text here, so if you want a good "Did you know?" book on the fandom, Furry Nation is perfect for you.

Here is a cute nick short, I expect if this goes into production they will avoid showing as Nick is like that. Also, Ligers are too a thing!
View Video

Dear Papabear,

I hate to be a pest, but I got another issue here I need advice about. I'll try and keep this as short as possible.

Essentially, I have two friends in the fandom. When I went to my first convention in 2017, they were best friends with one another, practically inseparable. Then later that year, after a bad experience at another convention, and increasing tensions between one friend and the others partner, they now hate each other. That was some 7 months ago, and they're still not on good terms.

I wasn't there to witness what happened for myself and only got info through IM, so I refuse to judge either party and rather keep both as friends. Granted, one of them I only became friends with because the other one was their friend once upon a time, so we were never that close to begin with. Even so, he's never done any harm to me, and nor has my closer friend for that matter.

Well this year, I'm going to be attending the same convention I went to last year, and as I think you can probably guess, both of them are going to be there. They pretty much refuse to talk to one another, but I have spoken to both of them about each other and begged them to not get into any confrontations. The one not as close to me insists he won't, but the other gave me answers that I honestly didn't find to be that clear. As best as I can figure, his answer is essentially "it depends".

For one thing, if they do fight, I may end up feeling forced into choosing one over the other, which I seriously don't want to do (albeit I think it's fairly obvious the one closer to me would be the one most likely to stick). I was in a similar situation once before nearly a decade ago. I was friends with A, then friends with B, then A and B were friends, then A and B fell out, then I was only friends with B, and before I knew it, I was friends with nobody. I might as well have been friends with zero. It's hard enough for me to make friends to begin with; I don't know how many more I can lose!

The other thing is that this I don't attend multiple conventions a year. I'm crossing an ocean to see these guys, among other furs, and have used much of my hard-earned savings to do so. I do not want my one convention of the year to be ruined with them two having an altercation. Good grief, last time, one of them gave me their soda to look after for a short time, and once I'd lost it, I moped for the rest of the day about it. He told me to stop worrying about it because, as he said "it's just a soda", but it was fruitless. I still worried, like I always do.

What can I do to be sure that they don't end up fighting one another? Not just for my sakes, but for the both of them, too. I don't care who "started it" and I'd rather things be the way they were before, but the chances of them being able to "kiss and make up" are slim to nil.

Honestly, I feel like I'm starring in a really bad melodrama!

Cheers,
Anonymous

* * *

Hi, Furiend,

Furry drama—or drama of any sort involving anyone—is usually cheap, petty, and involves misunderstandings. Let's start with misunderstanding. Currently, you are operating in the dark. You don't know what started their argument at all. So, if I were you, I would ask each of them what happened first.  After hearing their stories, it will likely be a lot easier for you to, if needs be, pick a side. I mean, it could be that one of these guys is being a total douchebag and it will be easy to pick.  On the other hand, it could be the result of a total misunderstanding or a completely minor situation blown out of proportion.  If one of these lesser offenses is the case, you could very well act as an intermediary and show them the error of their ways, which might, in turn, result in a reconciliation. But you can't do any of that unless you know the facts so get those first.

With luck, things will turn out all right. But there is also the chance that one or both of them is being a drama queen and will refuse to recant or relent. In that case, you can try just being a friend on an individual basis. If they try to make you pick sides, just tell them you prefer to remain neutral as their argument is between them. If that still doesn't satisfy them, then either pick the person you feel is the most likable or back away from both people; your choice. Just don't allow them to manipulate you into a fight that is not your battle.

Hugs,
Papabear

P.S. Don't sweat the small stuff like losing a soda. No biggie.

About this story (Continued from Part 1:)

You’re looking at sensitive info that needs calm. For example, please don’t post event group pics by themselves to criticize event goers. I don’t support that because it’s not clear which were involved or innocent from one photo. Just as importantly, some people involved with mistakes could use support now.

This follows controversies in fandom in 2017 that peaked with the closing of Rocky Mountain Fur Con. Mismanagement and abuse of tolerance killed the con. This New Jersey event seemed to be near that ballpark. But unlike RMFC, the furry in charge was more caught up in other people’s actions, so it’s not about him so much. And Trenton (the furry who was mistreated) wasn’t making a strong statement like Deo – he just asked for respect.

The story wasn’t tipped by Trenton and he never asked for help. I was watching the chat when he tried to directly solve a problem. It led to intense peer pressure on others by haters, so it wasn’t good enough by itself. I think when haters use such tactics to recruit, it’s not solved by people just keeping to themselves if they don’t get along. Also, if hate groups are trying to grow, waiting until people leave them isn’t the only way to respond. So if there are side effects from publishing a story, there already are effects from not. The best thing that can happen with a story like this is take it as a real issue, then have a calm conversation. I think 75% of fandom drama recently is just about upholding that issues are real and can’t be trolled and denied out of existence. That’s why this article is giving sources. To be honest, I wish this wasn’t going out and it will hurt people, but it would hurt to not put it out. I’d love to see change and growth come from it.

The damage incident in the story had nothing to do with racism. It was part of a wider topic about behavior (did it remind you of another con story?) There was a request for their side first. Also, the line about Graymuzzles didn’t please everyone – sorry guys (you helped found the fandom). Same to good fraternities.

Summary of Part 1:

• A small New Jersey furry group threw a party at a casino and the hotel was damaged (although it was taken care of.)
• Radfox, the organizer, then decided to make it a real convention for the future.
• The chat group for the party had a history of hateful posts.
• Trenton (who is a black furry) complained about a stereotype meme and asked for better behavior if the chat was official for a con.
• Radfox redirected offensive posting to an “anything goes” side chat, where members doubled down with racist hate for Trenton.
• Radfox was peer pressured to discourage listening to “SJW” complaints, but said he was trying to start a real event and couldn’t have racism.
• Members carried on attacking the concern and Trenton with neo-nazi stuff. About 6 were most responsible but others enabled.
• Part 1 asked: will those members be helping to found or staff a future event, and will fandom support it?

I just wanted to share this tweet:

in complete seriousness I’m so happy seeing people starting a dialogue in this fandom on drugs, alcohol, and fun

we all should not be creating an atmosphere where people who, for whatever personal reasons, don’t partake in alcohol/drugs are looked at like they have 3 heads

— glitter skunk defends pop punk (@JUNIUS_64) February 22, 2018

Is that message forcing things on people and taking away their freedom? Does it deserve hate? Or is it just being a mature adult?

Compare it to the key moment from the New Jersey furry chat with Trenton. He criticized a stereotype, and asked them to be adults. The reason is because the “Ugandan Knuckles” meme shows a coded-black character being hung on a noose. Apparently that was so unreasonable that it deserved extreme hate.

That’s the story’s Deo Moment. Are you puzzled about what’s wrong with it? (If you really need a target to hassle about this more, use me.)

Below there’s around 200 screenshots (from TWO chats that didn’t share all members) in linked galleries. Again this is very sensitive info. People in it may deserve support for distancing themselves. To name 3 – Radfox, Koss, Kazu.  If you see others in these screens, I highly recommend asking them if they support the words in them without judging until they answer.  There are active requests to withhold this info and not be judged for things people aren’t going to support.  Putting this out can have a long lasting impact against a very quick change of heart, and it’s a tough decision but I think it’s important to see what happened because it does exist in the community.

Can this be the start of a community thing where we’re all getting better?

• Hotel Damage (main chat) – Imgur gallery of screenshots

Details of damage that opened the story. A pipe is broken and floods 12 floors of the hotel, but it’s taken care of.

• Uganda Knuckles meme (main chat) – Imgur gallery of screenshots

The meme comes up and chat members attack “pussies” who wouldn’t allow it. Trenton disagrees with one post of it and is told to shut up.

• Making an anything goes chat (main chat) – Imgur gallery of screenshots

Radfox redirects offensive stuff to the side chat. Trenton talks about a better face for the con, and making more effort to be funny with jokes, instead of just posting hateful stuff. The chat has more discussion about the meme being lame and old. (Member list is withheld – some were already inside or not involved.)

• Reactions in the main chat – Imgur gallery of screenshots

Assigning another chat gets treated like an attack. They say “Fuck PC and all it stands for” and Trenton starts to get retaliation.

• Hate in the new chat – Imgur gallery of screenshots

Extreme hate starts here. They mock “uppity negros” and Radfox for listening to complaints. “Have we lost the culture? Free speech tossed to the side by butthurt PC vultures.”

• Reinforcing hate and peer pressure (1) – Imgur gallery of screenshots

More members pile on. They post zoo porn (dozens of porn posts aren’t shared here) and neo-nazi propaganda. Posts say “lynchthenigger”, “cotton pickers” and they attack “white knights” and people who want to change things. Radfox says “You can be yourself, I don’t want that to be the face of the con” and protests about the money he has spent while they attack him.

• Reinforcing hate and peer pressure (2) – Imgur gallery of screenshots

Radfox tries to reason with them about the effort he made. He asks if they can behave that badly in a regular con chat. They attack him for being “Master cuck” and not leaving the chat as it was. Radfox explains that other people left and he doesn’t want it called a con for Alt Furry or to be Furry Raiders 2.0. They blame Trenton for having a more important opinion because he is POC and act like he came in new and started “slinging shit”. Radfox says Trenton was in the chat long before others and has been an acquaintance for years.

• Reinforcing hate and peer pressure (3) – Imgur gallery of screenshots

The chat pressures Radfox to ignore “a small minority” who would be offended, and blames them for “slander”. They say “real people don’t give a shit” and to ban complainers.  They accuse Radfox of making popularity more important than “being yourself”, “letting these faggots change who you are,” looking weak and being “SJW bitchboi”. They say “Bowing to the conformity isn’t very rad” about letting “pronoun power jockies strip away the very idea that this con was founded on.” Trenton is bashed: “slave play” and “basketball American”. Radfox says his con can’t be a platform to be racist.

• Reinforcing hate and peer pressure (4) – Imgur gallery of screenshots

The chat accuses Radfox of seeking popularity and tells him not to be scared, nobody will listen to a handful of “SJW faggots”, and to ban anyone causing problems over it. “We should be allowed to say whatever we like“. They accuse Trenton of starting it and “dindunothin”.

• Reinforcing hate and peer pressure (5) – Imgur gallery of screenshots

“It’s OK because he’s black. He’s immune to all social and federal laws” – “He’s just gonna keep flinging shit and nothing is going to change” – “Not all black people are niggers, but a fuckton of them sure are.” They tell Radfox the problem can be fixed with just moderate racism so they can say what they want. “Eliminate all of the problem causing assholes like Trenton.” – “The problem really is people who’ll try to slander the group.”

• Bonus: “nigger” posts from the main chat – Imgur gallery of screenshots
• Some other posts against Trenton – Imgur gallery of screenshots

A few people in this made so much effort simply to be disrespectful assholes. Isn’t it really easy not to do that? And it was all about a spam-level meme – not important information, a controversial opinion about the world, or personal expression. How much more proof could you need for such activity being code for racists, than how much real racism happened in response to criticism?

Here’s some of the most active enablers. Be aware that other chat members may not have known their connections.

“Kaine the Salt Lord” AKA Kaine Orren / Konrad

• Furaffinity
• Furry Amino

Screenshot from Altfurry Discord

“big tiddy christian roblox gf” – Baden Sergal AKA @Sergalfag 

• Furaffinity
• Baden Sergal on Twitter
• altfurry post

this is why we need #altfurry

— (((Baden))) (@BadenSergal) September 14, 2016

Jerreh AKA Prime Breeder 

• Furaffinity
• Twitter

Poster of propaganda in the New Jersey chat sourced from terrorist group Atomwaffen Division. It’s a tightly controlled group. His posting history in Altfurry Discord ties to outside neo-nazi influence, raising questions about how far it goes.

Tweet on protected account

Screenshot from Altfurry Discord

“Legally” AKA Remy 

• Twitter
• Archive of racist tweets

Here’s why “frat” was in the title for part 1. (Where’s the fursona?)

Sam 

• Twitter

Part 3 will share feedback from people involved. A whole group had a small handful leading this activity but maybe public light can lead to better.

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