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

The Book of Dust. Volume 1, La Belle Sauvage, by Philip Pullman. Illustrated by Chris Wormell.
NYC, Alfred A. Knopf, October 2017, hardcover, $22.99 (449 [+ 1] pages), Kindle $11.99.

The Book of Dust. Volume 1, La Belle Sauvage, by Philip Pullman. Illustrated by Chris Wormell.
London, Penguin Random House Children’s/David Fickling, October 2017, hardcover, £20.00 (560 pages), Kindle £9.99.

This is Pullman’s long-awaited followup to his multiple award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy. Its volume 1 is known as Northern Lights in Britain and was published in July 1995. It was retitled The Golden Compass in the U.S. and not published until March 1996. A little over twenty years later, both the American and British editions of The Book of Dust are published simultaneously and with the same title. Yet they are not physically identical. The two editions are typeset separately, with American and British spellings and terminology as appropriate, and the British edition is over a hundred pages longer. The American edition has almost none of the interior illustrations by Wormell, which are just chapter-heading drawings that are frankly not worth missing.

It is not a sequel. The main character in His Dark Materials is the young woman Lyra Belacqua and her dæmon Pantalaimon. Lyra is 11 and 12 years old, not yet an adolescent, and her dæmon can still take any male animal, bird, or insect form, which he does. At the conclusion of the trilogy Lyra becomes an adolescent, and Pan’s form is fixed as a talking pine marten. But The Book of Dust is Lyra’s story before His Dark Materials. In La Belle Sauvage she is only a baby.

They aren’t really talking-animal novels. The Book of Dust is set in that alternate Earth where everybody has a dæmon, a talking animal personification of their soul, accompanying them. The dæmon cannot stray too far from its person.

The protagonist of La Belle Sauvage is Malcolm Polstead, the potboy at his father’s inn on the shore of the River Thames at Oxford:

“Malcolm was the landlord’s son, an only child. He was eleven years old, with an inquisitive, kindly disposition, a stocky build, and ginger hair. He went to Ulvercote Elementary School a mile away, and he had friends enough, but he was happiest on his own, playing with his dæmon, Asta, in their canoe, on which Malcolm had painted the name LA BELLE SAUVAGE. […]

Like every child of an innkeeper, Malcolm had to work around the tavern, washing dishes and glasses, carrying plates of food or tankards of beer, retrieving them when they were empty. He took the work for granted. The only annoyance in his life was a girl called Alice, who helped with washing the dishes. Se was about sixteen, tall and skinny, with lank dark hair that she scraped back into an unflattering ponytail. […] He ignored that for a long time, but finally rat-formed Asta leapt at Alice’s scrawny jackdaw dæmon, knocking him into the washing-up water and then biting and biting the sodden creature till Alice screamed for pity. She complained bitterly to Malcolm’s mother, who said, ‘Serves you right. I got no sympathy for you. Keep your nasty mind to yourself.’” (p. 2)

When he isn’t helping out at the inn, Malcolm does odd jobs for the nuns at the Priory of St. Rosamund on the opposite bank of the Thames.

Something unusual begins to happen when Malcolm is eleven. Three strangers come into the inn one evening. Malcolm’s father recognizes one of them as the former Chancellor of England, now out of office. While Malcolm is serving their dinner, they ask him seemingly casual questions about the priory across the river. Does it ever have any guests? Have any of them ever brought an infant with them?

The next day, Malcolm with Asta goes paddling down the Thames in La Belle Sauvage.

“The reeds [along the riverbank] were taller than he was as he sat in the canoe, and if he kept very still, he thought he probably couldn’t be seen. He heard voices behind him, a man’s and a woman’s, and sat like a statue as they walked past, absorbed in each other. He’d passed them further back: two lovers strolling hand in hand, their dæmons, two small birds, flying ahead a little way, pausing to whisper together, and flying on again.

Malcolm’s dæmon, Asta, was a kingfisher just then, perching on the gunwale of the canoe. When the lovers had passed, she flew up to his shoulder and whispered, ‘The man just along there – watch….’

Malcolm hadn’t seen him. A few yards ahead on the towpath, just visible through the reed stems, a man in a gray raincoat and trilby hat was standing under an oak tree. He looked as if he was sheltering from the rain, except that it wasn’t raining. His coat and hat were almost exactly the color of the late afternoon: he was almost as hard to see as the grebes – harder, in fact, thought Malcolm, because he didn’t have a crest of feathers.

‘What’s he doing?’ whispered Malcolm.

Asta became a fly and flew as far as she could from Malcolm, stopping when it began to hurt, and settled at the very tip of a bulrush so she could watch the man clearly. He was trying to remain inconspicuous, but being so awkward and unhappy about it that he might as well have been waving a flag.

Asta saw his dæmon – a cat – moving among the lowest branches of the oak tree while he stood below and looked up and down the towpath. Then the cat made a quiet noise, the man looked up, and she jumped down to his shoulder – but in doing so, she dropped something out of her mouth.” (pgs. 20-21)

The humans and their dæmons in La Belle Sauvage engage in a complex game of spying on each other, with young Malcolm and Asta at first as a neutral third party spying on both. After he learns what is going on, Malcolm joins what he considers the right side. Malcolm has an advantage in that his dæmon doesn’t have a fixed form yet. Asta can become anything small – a mouse, a squirrel, a ferret, a swallow, a goldfinch, a robin, a moth.

Or more:

British cover

“It was raining even harder now, and Malcolm found it difficult to see ahead. Asta became an owl and perched on the prow, her feathers shedding the water in a way she’d discovered when she was trying to become an animal that didn’t yet exist. The best she could do so far was to take one animal and add an aspect of another, so now she was an owl with duck’s feathers; but she only did it when no one but Malcolm was looking. Guided by her big eyes, he paddled as fast as he could, stopping to bail out the canoe when the rain had filled it to his ankles. When they got home, he was soaked, but all she had to do was shake herself and she was dry again.” (p. 38)

Adult characters have larger dæmons:

“Coram turned, careful and slow, and saw in silhouette against the lighted embankment the small head and hulking shoulders of a hyena. She was looking directly at them. She was a brute such as Coram had never seen: malice in every line of her, jaws that could crack bones as if they were made of pastry. She and her man were clearly trained at the business of following: because Coram was trained at the business of spotting it, and admired their skill; but as Sophie remarked, it wasn’t easy for such a dæmon to remain inconspicuous. As for what they wanted, Coram had no idea; if they wanted a fight, they’d get one.

He tightened his grip on the fighting stick; Sophie [Sophonax, a cat dæmon] readied herself to spring. The hyena dæmon came forward a little, emerging into a full silhouette, and the man stepped silently forward after her. Coram and Sophie both spotted the pistol in his hand the moment before he flattened himself against the wall of the alley and disappeared into shadow.” (pgs. 58-59)

The Book of Dust. Volume 1, La Belle Sauvage (cover by Chris Wormell) may not be a furry novel, but there are plenty of fully-intelligent furry secondary characters, with those who are pre-adolescent being shape-shifters as well. And the story is gripping. This is volume 1 of 3, so you know there will be a cliffhanger ending.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon
• Review in The Guardian
• British edition

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.

Grace Kum is a visual development artist and illustrator whom we met at the CTN Animation Expo. Recently she’s worked on Disney TV’s Big Hero 6 series, and various series for Dreamworks TV too. We’re spotlighting her because in her free time she’s been working with Dahyeu Celine Kim on a project called Higher Than The Sky, which they describe as “a prequel to Journey To The West” — which is, of course, the most famous story of the legendary Monkey King. According to Grace’s web site, this project is ready to get up and running again.

image c. 2017 by Grace Kum

Bonus video for Wednesday. Just pointed out to me by Stubat is this wonderful short by Blue Zoo (The BAFTA winning animation house) for Felidae fund [1] and Big Cat Rescue [2]. So much cute! [1] http://www.felidaefund.org/ [2] https://bigcatrescue.org/
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Happy Fuzzy Holidays! These are some very cute idents made for CBS.
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Hello Everyone!

We open this week's show with a discussion of MFF. We wanted to talk about our panel, our party, what went right, and what the plans moving forward for future conventions will be. As MFF is now the world's largest furry convention we wanted to spend a little bit of time talking about it and having Viro share his experiences in lieu of a serious top of the show.

We then dive headfirst into our eighth all questions show. We cover topics from choosing between potential lovers, to divorce, to handling jealousy when your partners find more sexual outlets than you do in your open, polyamorous relationship. We also open up a bit about our lives and ways that we've overcome obstacles that many of our questioners are currently facing.

We close out the show with some feedback from the questioner in Episode 094 as well as a voicemail feedback on topics discussed in Episode 093.

A minor correction: Metriko talks about a strip club in Tampa named 2001 Odyssey, however in the episode he refers to it as Sex Odyssey 3000. Mea culpa.

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

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 095 All Questions Show Vol 8 - MFF! Questions! A show that was meant to be 1:20:00 that goes on for an extra hour! All this, and more, on this week's Feral Attraction

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

Mark of the Tiger’s Stripe, by Joshua Yoder. Maps by the author.
Seattle, WA, CreateSpace, August 2017, trade paperback, $15.00 ([3 +] 397 pages), Kindle $4.99.

Reading Mark of the Tiger’s Stripe is an exercise in frustration. There is a detailed map of the world of Amarthia, but it’s so reduced as to be illegible. There is considerable exciting action, but it’s wrapped in such extensive descriptions as to become almost boring.

The beginning of the novel is what would be a tense dramatic sequence anywhere else. A team of six big-game hunters, loaded for monsters, moves into a secretive nighttime kill mission in a deserted slum district in Kairran, the capital of the desert nation of Pytan. Yet it goes on for forty pages!

“Vincenzo Nieves only averaged 165 centimetres, but the long ears poking out through the crown of his worn white fedora with its faded black band made him appear much taller. As he hop-stepped along, they bobbed and swayed, twitching now and again like electrified antennae.

The jackrabbit had a melodious baritone honeyed by the southern strains of upper-class Banton, far away in the bayous of the West United Kingdoms. Or at least it would be melodious if it was not constantly ringing in the ears of his teammates.

‘So there I was, just enjoyin’ a nice breakfast salad. Actually, it kinda reminded me of the carver’s salad they serve at this quaint café in Clairmount, but never mind. I’m sittin’ there, and in from the kitchen walks this absolutely gorgeous leopard girl, I mean you’ve never seen spots like she had. She had this cute little bob cut that showed off her earrings and a cute top that … well …’ He trailed off with a lascivious gleam in his golden-brown eyes, but no one was actually paying attention to him.

Most of his stories tended to end this way. Only Vince’s appetite for food rivalled his appetite for women. He was not the guy with a girl in every town; he was the guy with a dozen girls in every town. Still, Mohan [the tiger leader] had to admit that, for all his boasting, at least he kept the stories relatively clean. And his behaviour wasn’t entirely without cause; he was a handsome fellow who kept his wavy blond long-fur trimmed short and proper, as befitted a southern gentleman, and had dyed and groomed the fur on his chin into a matching goatee.” (pgs. 10-11)

That’s not all. Vince’s description goes on for another page. And this is just for the jackrabbit. Kittina “Kitty” Katral the tigress, Rizzo Vega the basilisk, Mohan Katral the tiger leader (Kitty’s father), Victoria Littlepond the “petite female bullfrog”, and Ezekiel “Zed”, a desert nomad badger, are described at equal length. So is the monster/fiend they are up against:

“Beneath the city streets, cloaked in the dark and damp, something stirred.

It was aware of many things all at once: the distant lap of water against the shore, the whistle of air through its underground sanctuary, the taste of fresh blood in its mouth, the sounds of its new prey stalking above it.

It could not understand the beings, though the echo of their speech was clear to its ears. It knew from their movements that they were not following the path it had laid out for them.

With swift and stealthy purpose, driven by a hunter’s instinct, it slithered into the maze of tunnels that branched off from its lair.

It sensed something different about these intruders, a peculiar scent that sparked ancient genetic pain and fierce battle. They would not stumble into its trap like the others. It had been long since prey had offered such a challenge.

It could not express emotion like the ones it stalked, yet it felt a thrill shudder through its body. It had not felt anything like it since the days of its ancestors.

The hunt had begun.” (p. 21)

There is the description of the monster’s lair, an abandoned slum hotel … But let’s just cut to the fiend:

“Tiamats averaged eight metres from head to tail. Tw ridges of serrated bone ran parallel down the broad back from the base of its neck to the tip of its thick short tail, which had another ridge of bone running from the base to the tip. Despite its short length, a tiamat could use its tail quite effectively; flanking the creature was always a risky strategy. Four massive legs supported its barrel-like body. Each ended in a five-fingered hand tipped with claws 15 centimetres long. Unlike an ahuitzotl, it did not have webbing between the toes. Its skin was covered with thick diamond-shaped scales couloured a mottled greenish-brown. The scales pulled tight against ribs, joints, and spine, giving the creature a skeletal appearance that belied the incredible strength within its powerful limbs. Many of the major muscles, particularly the anterior and posterior muscles of the legs, protruded through the skin like dull red blisters.” (p. 29)

Etc., etc., etc. – it goes on. When the story finally gets around to the hunters’ confrontation of the fiend, it’s a doozy, but it seems all too short compared to the buildup.

I haven’t mentioned the main character at all yet, who doesn’t enter the story until page 42. He’s Sedric “Ric” Barnes, a lynx investigative journalist, in Kairran with Ed Sanders, his fox photographer. They’re in Pytan to cover the reports of illegal gladiatorial games and slave trading being held there almost openly, and have found the rumors of grisly murders and a nightmarish fiend loose as well.

To condense the plot, the rumors are true. The whole Sultanate of Pytan is run by the Assad Alabwaq, the Black Horns, who continue to run the technically illegal but still popular gladiatorial fights to the death and slave trading. But the kill-crazy fiends are something new. As long as the crimes stayed in Pytan, the other nations of Amarthia are willing to ignore them; but when there is evidence that Assad Alabwaq is trapping the fiends and releasing them in Pytan’s rivals and enemies – a form of biological warfare – that’s going too far. So there are Alabwaq – the criminal organization and its crime lord — trying to trap the fiends; the six hunters trying to kill the fiends first, and a secret running battle between the hunters and Alabwaq; and Ric Barnes and Ed Sanders out to expose the truth.

Mark of the Tiger’s Stripe is unusual in furry fiction in making its lead villain not a predator:

“The man calling himself Assad Alabwaq was short-statured – not uncommon for a mouflon – but he appeared immaculate and confidant in a white and gold linen suit with a purple feather pinned to the lapel. He was approximately in his mid-forties, and kept his slate-grey long-fur, streaked with white at the temples, swept straight back from his high forehead. Alabaster horns – clearly Black Horns was just a euphemism – sprung out from either side of his narrow skull, curving down and forward until they made almost a full turn onto themselves. He had capped them with gold and purple tassels. Despite the dark brown of his body-fur there was a large white patch at the end of his long thin snout, and the long greying goatee on his chin was neatly brushed and trimmed.” (p. 78)

Yoder uses many Middle-Eastern words in his descriptions of everyday life in Kairran. His third-person narration and the tigers’ dialogue is full of Britishisms – spellings such as metres and coulour, lorry for truck, journos for journalists, arvo for afternoon, “If things get bodgie”, “Bonza!”, “Bugger all!”, and so on.

And with many questions still unanswered, this review of Mark of the Tiger’s Stripe (cover by the author) is being brought to a close. How many different sides are in the hugger-mugger in Pytan, and is Assad Alabwaq really the worst of the lot? What is the six-hunter team a part of? Where are all the monsters/fiends coming from?

What is the Mark of the Tiger’s Stripe?

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon

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

Paws in the air if you like science!

The newest, international FurScience survey needs your participation. They will use the data to help the fandom and those outside it to learn more about it. They have been doing surveys for years, and this is their largest and most ambitious one yet. They’re hoping to blow previous records out of the water by getting 10,000 furries worldwide. At the end, results will be available to all, and it’s sure to prove fascinating for anyone who’s curious about what goes on inside the fluffiest fandom. Please spread the word about it to other furries you know!

Take the survey here:  https://psychologyuwaterloo.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_39LTMxBo27VJMl7

This is a great time to help increase knowledge, with conventions hitting record attendance. In December 2017, Midwest Furfest grew larger than any con before by a difference that equals a small con itself.  The more participants a survey can gather, the better it can represent them.  Furscience / IARP has brought data in the past that has immensely helped raise understanding about why and how people come together in this very unique group – a reason why the media is doing less and less mocking and taking more time to tell real stories. Instead of waiting for slower media to catch up, put some science in their faces to neutralize the clickbait. That’s just one reason to help, and there’s probably 10,000 reasons and more, one for every unique furry. So don’t wait, click that link!

International Furry Survey is open - please retweet and participate! https://t.co/ez9aNW4YjF pic.twitter.com/9kjUWeVxZG

— Furry News Network (@furrynewsntwk) December 7, 2017

This is another episode we've been waiting years to make - multi-generation furry families! Roo and Tugs are joined by Anya to discuss her family: where her parents are in the fandom, as well as her brother. How does the family dynamic change when you're all furries? Is everyone the same species? And what about the traditional open sexuality and conversations? It's an interesting and deep dive into a rarely seen subject!





NOW LISTEN!
Show Notes
Special Thanks

Moss
Rivet
Kira

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!)
Various Star Trek Themes: Captain_Meatshield. USA: YouTube.
Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Mailbag: Eskadet – Back To Kyoto ; from the album “Solitudes” (Lemongrassmusic, 2010) – www.lemongrassmusic.de – Used under license.
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: Gratitude 2017! What are you grateful for this year? Join our holiday protest and take a moment to appreciate all you've done this year by December 19! S7 Episode 5 – You Memba? I Memba! - This is another episode we've been waiting years to make - multi-generation furry families! Roo and Tugs are joined by Anya to discuss her family: where her parents are in the fandom, as well as her brother.

Pussy Katnip can be compared to a superhero or a vigilante. And in some ways, the two are interchangeable. Except that her powers come not from a transformation or within herself, but from a magic potion aptly named “Fizz." The recipe is passed down from mother to daughter, upon which great strength and agility are given to the drinker. When Coney, a friend from her past, appears at the nightclub Pussy owns, Pussy will need all the help she can get. When she tries investigating what Coney needs help about, Pussy finds herself framed for a crime she didn’t commit. The race is on to avenge her friend and clear her name.The second novel in the Pussy Katnip series, this takes place in a city called Mutt Town, set in a world much like our own. Although the time period is something of a mystery, it is most likely during the pre-1970s, with the absence of wireless communications as we know them. It must be noted that anthropomorphism in The Devil Was Green (henceforth abbreviated as DWG) appears to be mostly cosmetic, with few of the characters exhibiting their unique species traits. More often than not, supporting characters are referred to only by “the man” or “the woman”, which leads readers to fill in the specific species profile for themselves. This technique may work for a story featuring only human characters, but for stories featuring anthropomorphism, readers have an expectation on species description. We would like to know if the lumberjack was a beaver or mole rat, so that we may mentally acknowledge the reference to a beaver’s affinity for wood, and if not, what led the mole rat to take up woodcutting. The second names of characters however attest to their species, such as a “tall male canine” named George Pup and a bird bartender named Robby (a robin?).DWG is told in two third-person perspectives, namely Pussy’s and Detective Lila Ringtail’s. After Pussy is framed for a crime, it is up to Lila to investigate what really happened. It is eventually clear that not everything is as it appears, and there are higher powers involved in what would turn out to be a citywide conspiracy. DWG falls roughly into the genre of Modern Fantasy with police procedural elements.It must be noted that at least two of the alternating points of view are almost similar to one another in content. Alternating viewpoints should show new information to the reader, and on these two occasions the scenes are highly similar to one another. DWG features strong female protagonists who are often pitted against prejudiced male adversaries. As the only known female detective in her place of work, as well as being of a stigmatized species, Lila has a lot to prove to her colleagues, though she doesn't seem to care what they think. One cannot help but find the antics of Lila amusing, but it also borders on unrealistic when she outright puts down her superiors, a move that should have gotten her fired even in the movies. The constant references to her chain-smoking habits lead one to wonder if a smoking commercial is integrated within the story.All in all, The Devil Was Green will appeal to those who like strong female characters and plot twists. But for those who prefer realism and greater attention to anthropomorphism, it might not be their cup of tea.Or coffee.

OMG! Stop motion fox!
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Magnus Diridian on Wikifur

Midwest Furfest 2017 broke the attendance record of all furry cons by the margin of a small con itself. It raised an eye-popping $86,000 for an animal charity that was previously in the red and is now funded for years. Twitter was on fire about the smashing success for the fandom. Among many ecstatic posts by attendees, of course there had to be some kind of drama too. It came with a fursuiter being arrested. Here’s the story pieced together by claims on twitter:

Scene: a hotel lobby. A black, red and white wolf fursuiter with a German WW1 style Pickelhaube helmet is parading around. People taking photos are greeted by offensive behavior like saluting with a “Sieg Heil” and shouting racist things. It causes hotel and/or con security to pursue him, and he flees and gets cornered in some bushes until the police come. They make him take off his suit, and he’s taken away in underwear. He was previously banned from the con and hotel, and the charges involve trespassing and assaulting a staff member before his arrest.

Some of those claims may be disputed (especially the nazi part), so let’s look deeper for the truth. Here’s an arrest record. Associates confirm the fursuiter who matches it is Magnus Diridian, AKA Rob Shokawsky (real name Robert Sojkowski). What is Magnus known for in furry fandom?

• Fake Lemonade Coyote: At Anthrocon 2014, Magnus gained notoriety with a “bootleg” fursuit made to imitate a furry who died on duty as an EMT. People mourning his death were unhappy about exploitation of his image, which continues in 2017.
• Confederate flag fursuit: At Anthrocon 2017, Magnus caused more anger with a flag-design fursuit and a Trump sign. It was a protest of takedown of the flags around the USA due to their racist association, following national attention on hate crime murders by Dylann Roof. The story was covered in a Dogpatch Press article: The Confederate fursuit incident shows how you can’t be a troll and a victim at the same time.
• Grimace McWendy’s: Custom suits show that Magnus puts a lot of effort into these events. If it’s not just calculated to troll, isn’t that’s a loveable quality? The same is said by people close to him who are earnest about defending him as a nice guy. I have to admit that this fursuit makes me laugh and I have to admire the creative humor. (Suiting video).

Then there’s the crime record. Here’s an extensive record starting in 1990 when he was 18. It includes charges like: disorderly conduct, prowling at night, harassment, terroristic threats, “ethnic intimidation”, reckless endangerment, cruelty to animals, possessing instruments of crime with intent, numerous counts of theft and receiving stolen property, fighting, and most recently a battery charge (dismissed in 2016).

Such sensitive info could use care – people’s pasts can be their business, like bad credit shouldn’t be held against someone if they aren’t borrowing your money. Old shoplifting incidents may not add up to that much, and many people get into fights at some point in life. Everyone deserves credit for making mistakes as a kid or doing time and having a clean slate again… but things pile up when “benefit of the doubt” is in question. Magnus may be nice to friends and a great guy in many cases, but con staff worry about this stuff to do their jobs. When a con has a problem, every attendee has one too.

Let’s get back to MFF 2017. Below are tweets from when things came out – then we’ll compare a defense by Magnus himself with reports by witnesses.

Pic of fur arrested at MFF, was banned but made a scene anyways. More details withheld for now. pic.twitter.com/9Sx7Z6CTqU

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) December 2, 2017

Remember the Confederate flag fursuiter? It turns out that he got arrested at MFF for Wearing a World War I German Uniform while shouting out Nazi Expletives. pic.twitter.com/9QVpUjJWKG

— Biogodz | MFF2017 (@Biogodz) December 2, 2017

First night of #MFF and Magnus Diridian gets kicked out a con... again! Apparently he was told in advanced by the hotel that he wasn't allowed due to his past actions there. He came anyway, disturbed the guests & got arrested when he didn't leave as told.

— The Great and Magical Coquito Pupper (@vappyflame) December 2, 2017

Listen everyone, stop calling him “the confederate flag fursuiter” and call him by his name, Magnus Diridian, sole proprietor of Chirrfull Creations and maker of these fine works of art pic.twitter.com/DUMxmHVaU8

— reaux (@reauxpudu) December 3, 2017

btw here's acid revelation. its low quality because i screencapped it from a youtube video. pic.twitter.com/6xQUmN8Gjq

— red panda with a name that shouldnt be this long (@SerrisV) December 3, 2017

Can anyone explain to me how Magnus Diridian has a new offensive fursuit every six months? How much disposable income can one guy have?

— The Bird, the Truth, and the Light (@AQuivershaft) December 3, 2017

Like, last night, I witnessed Magnus get arrested. He’s doing a Nazi salute, while wearing a WWI Kaiser helmet, with American Purple Heart ribbons. That’s two separate eras and two separate nations at war.

— Brutus THE Bernard (@BrutusDBernard) December 3, 2017

About the MFF arrest drama, try not to be That Pedant about the suit not being related. Magnus designs suits to provoke like the bootleg Lemonade Coyote and Confederate fursuits. This nailed it. https://t.co/x7qFkvI1zf

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) December 2, 2017

They're playing "I'm not touching you" because they have this weird idea that private entities will play their game of technicalities.

— Socratic Method Acting (@ChaKatKimber) December 2, 2017

Please note that the altfurries are trying to disavow Magnus because he disrupts their narrative of altfurries having done nothing wrong and having broken no law.

It is a lie. They specifically recruited him.

— VƎX qualifies as a service animal in 4 US states (@andreuswolf) December 5, 2017

also worth adding: Magnus Diridian has an extensive criminal record including threatening to bomb a local bank about 10 years ago

trying to get access to the public court docs, just bc I wouldn’t blame y’all for thinking all this stuff was too wild to be true

guy is messed up https://t.co/GVpyAGWQWx

— KUSH LIMBAUGH @ NYFB+ANE (@JUNIUS_64) December 2, 2017

Bad Dragon didn’t make a “sit on a Pickelhaube” toy.

Digging into more details:

• Charges: Con staff told me that Magnus was approached, pursued and arrested because he was banned from the con space and hotel. A defender tells me no drugs or alcohol were involved, the charges aren’t too serious and Magnus got out on $100 bail, but he can’t go back to the con.
• Disputing Nazi labels: The same defender says that he made a German fursuit and spoke German, so people overhyped the issue. Others say a WWI German character (a Baron von Hindenberg type) isn’t a nazi, which is technically true. It’s also true that replacing a swastika with a paw print on a nazi armband is still a callback to nazi symbolism. “Dogwhistles” are a popular tactic. Magnus’s history of making fursuits to reference high profile fandom events says there’s little point in denying a reference to nazis in 2017. Not necessarily racist but indubitably a troll.
• Altfurry and the Furry Raiders say that Magnus isn’t a member of their groups, deflecting the way his Confederate suiting made him their cause célèbre for free speech. Which itself is manipulative because free speech involves public matters, but a private event can set its own rules to limit trolling. Inside sources that helped me to expose the Altfurry Discord chat logs confirmed that the group sought to meet Magnus at AC, and he is friendly with Foxler.
• Being arrested in underwear has to be a horrible experience that dehumanizes a furry no matter what came before. Events came out on Twitter on Friday 12/1 and the arrest record shows booking on 12/4, so if accurate, he may have spent a weekend in a cold, painful holding cell.

I have to ask: what was he thinking with all that preparation for a just few wasted minutes of negative attention? He’s almost 46 and it took a great deal of energy and money to get quickly arrested. He got to sit in a cell while everyone else enjoyed great times. How does someone find this a worthy use of energy?  Magnus himself tried downplaying it on social media by hinting that there was no arrest and it was rumor. But of course that wasn’t going to work. His post about it aims to deflect blame for an event he built a suit for, like previous incidents. That’s hard to call an unexpected coincidence:

I went looking for witnesses. A con staffer on duty that night was told by others about nazi salutes (but told me he only saw the arrest). @Kellervo was also there and reacted to Magnus’ story:

“Yeah, that’s not at all what happened. I didn’t see any salutes, as I was outside, but I did see his run. Con staff didn’t appear to be blocking him at all. A con goer did try to stop him when he ran out the doors, but at no point did I see the con staff actually try to blockade him, much less form a “human wall”.  He got into a shoving match with the con goer, and once he shoved them aside, he ran off with con staff trying to catch up to him. As for the bit about shouting Nazi slogans, Sieg Heil was about all I heard. Since I was outside I only really caught the aftermath. Can’t really say for sure it was 100% the suiter that shouted it.”

Another source saw him pushing against people in front of the doors, and sent photos. I see what looks like two staffers standing off to either side.

So what is the real story? Isn’t this just trivial trolling to ignore? Why so much attention on Magnus for one little incident? Well, with such an ongoing history of staging scenes at cons he’s been banned from, coming back again and again shows an obsession with getting attention. He has expressed anger at MFF staff now and in past years. One may ask when he’ll strike again. And let’s close with something to think about.

A reader commented on the July 2017 article about the Confederate fursuit, describing a crime that used chemicals:

“Robert Sojokowski did commit a terror attack against a bank in 2004.

Source: http://magnusdiridian.livejournal.com/22622.html
Mirror: http://archive.is/ZrtRn

And here in his own words are things he actually said in that post:

“So, back in I went, and set it off DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE TELLER after making another deposit.”

“I drove past the bank on my way home 5 minutes later and nothing seemed amiss. So I figured things were cool.”

“They illegally raised the terroristic threat charge to a felony”

“Hazmat team was sent to the scene as well as the fire department. A pregnant woman was rushed to the hospital.”

This is the kind of person we’re dealing with. A person whose actions put a pregnant woman in the hospital over $100 in bank fees and then complains that he was charged with a felony.

Posting this anonymously because I am worried for my safety.”

Then there’s this.

Facebook post about MFF 2014 / Archive

19 people were hospitalized, some with long lasting lung damage (one wrote about the experience). A furry with a troubled history falsely claimed responsibility, but was ruled out as a suspect. The story was revisited by Vice in CSI Fur Fest: The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention.

Michael on Facebook doesn’t want to be contacted. I would hope there isn’t more to this, but I have a feeling it will come up again.

UPDATE 12/15/17 – Click through for threads of good content:

 

Today, in news of the WTF (What The Fur?): an alt-right furry provocateur dressed up as a WW1 (note the numeral) German wolf so when he ran around a convention sieg heiling, he could plausibly deny being a Nazi.

It did not work out well for him. https://t.co/ehWdyyO36d

— Alexandra Erin FALLS On Her KNEES (@alexandraerin) December 14, 2017

Magnus put up a GoFundMe where he basically admits to unlawful trespassing and I'm losing my mind at how bad this post is, oh my god.https://t.co/sNZmq2SjIQ

— i'm drinking evian (@hotjesusmemes) December 15, 2017

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

Recently at CTN Animation Expo in Burbank we came across an artist named Donna Vu. She is the lead artist and art director on Dragon Roll, an on-line game published by Sleepless Skink Productions in 2016. According to their web site, it goes like this: “Fun Guo and Shiu Mae [a pair of young dragon siblings] are on an adventure to get their uncles and aunt back from their homes. After a fight, while preparing their dad’s surprise birthday party, they all go their separate ways. Now they must find and remind them of the important roll that family plays in all our lives, all before their dad gets home.” Remember to visit Donna’s web site too, as she has lots of development sketches for the game.

image c. 2017 SSP

Ok, does anybody know these people? "These hoof shoes make high heels look basic AF."
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Hey fuzzies! If you’ve got some time and you’re interested in helping out with furry science, come take the International Anthropomorphic Research Project’s newest, international FurScience survey! They’ve been doing these for years now, and we use the data to help the fandom and those outside the fandom learn more about furries! Feel free to spread the word about it to other furries you know – they’re trying to make this our biggest and most representative sample of furries ever. https://psychologyuwaterloo.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_39LTMxBo27VJMl7 For those curious about the Furry Poll, that will return in 2018, split up into portions that can be completed at your convenience. It got far too long and a pain to complete, so we’re doing all we can to help that.

Welcome to Bessie, of Marfedblog, a comics review and criticism site. There’s furry stuff there, and much more, with devoted curation by a fan doing exactly what they love. If you like this, give it a follow. And expect more syndicated content reposted here.  (- Patch)

Being of modest means, in the past I have shamefully bought comics due to page count alone. Quantity counts when strapped for cash and I’d usually choose comics with a bit more meat on their bones. Although I’m slowly collecting Hellblazer trades they’d always be at the top of my list when they came out due to their huge wodge of pages and densely written style that would take me a few weeks to chew through. Recently being a little bit more financially relaxed and delving deeper into the small press and independent scene I’m discovering more often that the best comics can be both beautiful and brief. Vessel is an independent comic from Leeds artist Kristyna Baczynski. It stars an unnamed anthro protagonist who completes her education and finds herself immediately stuck in an all too familiar procession of banal and ultimately interchangeable jobs. Baczynski captures the feeling of quiet mundanity here perfectly in a series of repeated patterns, her character stood in the same pose and expression in each and every one, with only the hats name badges changing. She finally realises after what could be years of these jobs that her own inaction, that she has to make her life happen as she rushes out into the world. While the subject matter is as well travelled as her heroine by the end of the comic, Baczynski’s unique voice and artistic style ensures she still has something fresh to say on the matter. It’s powerful and deeply affecting, especially to someone like myself who might be realizing that life doesn’t happen on it’s own.

Baczynski’s artwork in general is stunning and he unique style and strong playful lines are used to great effect in Vessel. Her pages are both expansive and intricate when needed and filled with delightful little details and flourishes. One element in particular is her use of water to illustrate and express some of her themes. Referring to the title, our protagonist imagines herself as a vessel filling up with knowledge. Eventually the central character finds her own meaning, filling her life up with all the desperate pieces around her to make a whole.The second instance is drawing her character with waves moving around her, brilliantly expressing the idea of life happening and time moving around you, waiting for something to happen rather than living in the now.

Before her travels her life is restricted to single pages and panels before opening up to widescreen, cinematic double spreads. At the start of her escapades, on the first double page spread, our adventurer stands elated, poised and thrust forward at the edge of a cliff. As she leans forward your eye is deliberately drawn across the page to the wide open landscape. It gives the comic a strong feeling of action and forward momentum, conducive to a story about travel and adventure. It’s definitely worth noting the clever and effective colouring she employs in Vessel, using a limited palette throughout. The pages are all blue until her epiphany and setting off into the world, when colour is literally added to her life. Subsequent pages limit themselves to three colours per double spread until the very last one showing the traveller with her collection of trinkets which combines all of the colours from the previous pages. It perfectly illustrates the accumulation of her encounters.The physical objects show a patchwork of experiences made manifest in “a collage of passport stamps, trinkets and anecdotes”. Baczynski deftly condenses a sense of a lifetime of travel and experiences into such a short comic, with the last few pages showing objects from her travels, skilfully hinting about unseen adventures.Care has been taken to ensure that Vessel itself could join those prized possessions, being risograph printed on thick glossy card stock, and hand stapled.

Showing it to my partner he enjoyed it and liked the artwork but wasn’t quite as taken with the romanticism of travel or the thought of leaving it all behind as I was. While it’s extensively about travel, I think it prevented him from seeing the much larger point this story makes. The beautiful and touching message at the heart of this comic, of having a rich, full life well lived. I think, giving it another shot, he’d really appreciate what Baczynski depicts here, of being able to look back as this messy, cluttered life and feel content. While the travel and exotic locations give the comic it’s quick pace and momentum, as well as showing of the artists skills, allowing her to draw far flung vistas and even alien looking worlds, it also visually emphasises a point of encouraging us to get out there and open ourselves up to new and enriching experiences. As the protagonist tells us “This might be wisdom, I don’t quite know”.

More of Kristyana Baczynski’s work can be found on her website while Vessel and other comics can be purchased from her Etsy site.

Originally posted on marfedblog, where Bessie reviews and spotlights Furry and mainstream comics.

April Solomon is a second generation artist (her father, David Solomon, has had paintings displayed in the Smithsonian Institution) who specializes in fantasy works and fantasy creatures. In her case though, it’s fantasy creatures informed by a well-researched reality. According to her web site, “Studying both animal and human anatomy is a constant perseverance to help design a more believable fictional creature. Her inspiration and reference comes in all forms; such as bones and muscle tissue, colorful birds, ambient fish, flowering plantlife, skin tearing sharp toothed animals, and anything else that may find its way into her field of vision that well spark the glow of inspiration.” To that end, she sketches and paints plenty of real-life animals as well.

image c. 2017 by April Solomon

Dear Papabear,
 
It is obvious to me that you write words yourself meaning they are in your own words from the heart. I find that so important and yet so rare. 

After reading a few of your responses to other individuals' letters, I felt I would value your advice on the situation I'm about to explain to you that I'm currently in. You mentioned often talking about psychotropic drugs which I think your experience in that area gave you an open mind therefore you have unique perspectives that you wouldn't find elsewhere. Which is what I believe I need in order to help me make this important decision soon.

[(Real quick, I just ask that you remove my name from this letter. I included it for your knowledge in case you like to calculate numbers and astrology and what not. But I ask that if you post this on your site or elsewhere, kindly remove my name :) thanks so much. OH and just forewarning that I am completely frank in this letter to you. If you don't mind that meaning there is sexual situations I bring up. Just wanted to warn you so you I don't throw you off being so blunt ;) thanks ahead of time)]

... I was born on December 28, 1987 around 7:14pm (I don't trust the time on my birth certificate to be 100% accurate so I just say "roughly"). I was born at C.H.O.M.P. [Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula] in Monterey California, and according to my mom, the doctors thought she was late so they induced contractions to force her body to give birth to me. Though my mom totally disagreed with the doctors, explaining to them that she knew the exact day I was conceived and she still had a good month and a half to go. The doctors quickly won her over because of "paperwork." My mom decided to trust the doctors decision and the next day I was born. So it was always from day one that I was going to be pushed in directions against my will. I was born premature (go figure) as I came out of my mothers belly I was blue and covered in white powder. I wasn't ready to face the world but there I was.

Fast forward to the past few years. In 2011, I married the man of my dreams. We both had very promiscuous pasts, and so when we found each other and wanted to settle down was a miracle in and of itself. The past 6 years have been an incredible journey of soul searching with each other. We managed to peel away the layers of indoctrination and survived starting our lives from scratch to rebuild what we know to be true based on our own research and experience rather than trusting men just because they are experts or "we've just always known...". There were many times personally that were extremely emotional and hurtful to me but I fought through them. Now we come to my dilemma which I am needing some sage advice on. 

The past year, I can't get my husband hard, the times that I do, he goes soft real quick and we never finish. I've always preferred the guy to cum fast as it was an indicator to me that I was doing my job. I could always take care of myself so when it came time to do the dirty, I wanted him to get his. That's my goal. It was never an issue until the past year or so. But I'm a fighter and don't give up easily. so I did some research and tried new things, old things, simple things, lots of things to see what would get him going again. Nothing seemed worked. So the sex just started to dwindle. Which was no real big deal as I prefer him to be satisfied and come quick as opposed to drawn out hours of sweaty itchy skin irritated attempts. So if he wasn't getting off then might as well not do it. No harm no foul. As the intimacy dwindled, our friendship doesn't seem to be affected. We work together from home and our work relationship is far better than our sex life. Which doesn't bother me that much lately since our sex isn't something to get excited over. Frankly, I have always had a connection with a close friend of both of ours. The past two years the sexual tension increased between this guy and I (he was born June 28 1979, a Cancer) and I finally did something I thought I'd never do. The night before thanksgiving, I stopped by his work and had the best quickie of all time. Since then we've done it 3 times. Every day I get more and more this feeling like I'm being held back from living and doing what I want and desire in life. Having tasted something I want more, someone I fit with more, someone who gets turned on by just being around me and vise versa, I'm feeling an urge to end something and move on, but which is it? Am I supposed to end the good feeling that makes me happy? Or end it with the one I promised 6 years ago never to leave? 

My heart wants something different than my husband wants. But I don't want to make a huge deal out of it. Although I realize I did just commit adultery which makes it a big deal by default. If it's time for me to move on, which I strongly believe it is, which direction am I moving? Thanks for your help :) please don't think of me as a worthless selfish whore cuz I already feel like one and recognize what I did was not generally acceptable. I get it. But I did what I did and even if I hadn't slept with him, I had this feeling of disconnection from my life's desire long before that happened. This just jump started my and probably prematurely induced my decision time. But maybe prematurity is in my blood ;)

* * *

Dear Writer,

While the majority of letters I get here concerning infidelity are still from men, women going astray is on the rise in America, and, according to this article women "cheat" about as much as men do these days. I am not going to judge you--especially since, as a bear who is in an open relationship, I don't have a paw to stand on. Human beings are not as monogamous as some other species (e.g. bird species such as swans and bald eagles mate for life with no problem), and polygamy is a more natural state for us. Usually, the logic I hear is that since males can fertilize more than one woman at a time, it makes sense that they are "unfaithful" and want to have sex with many women, while women can only be pregnant in a linear fashion, so it makes sense they are more monogamous. In the article referenced above, however, women apparently are better at multiple pair bonds than men. So, go figure. Monogamy among Homo sapiens is really more a matter of culture (social pressures, religion) as a normative force than a matter of biology.

Don't beat yourself up about that.

That said, I'm wondering if you actually gave your husband a fair chance before you ran off for your fling? A couple things might explain his tumescence problem: 1) He might be experiencing health issues that make it difficult to get hard; you don't mention anything, but is it possible? Being flaccid can result from diseases (diabetes, heart trouble, depression, anxiety) and/or the medications used to treat them. 2) You say you want him to cum really fast and if he doesn't then you lose interest. Well, maybe he needs more time. Maybe he wants to enjoy a long time with foreplay to get aroused; maybe he can still get hard, but you're in such a hurry that he feels pressured, leading to anxiety and trouble performing. 3) He might not be getting aroused if you are doing the same things over and over in your attempt to stimulate him. To be blunt, your overtures might be getting boring for him. The solution to this problem is to try new things--new positions, new role playing, new fantasies--to bring back some excitement and novelty to sex.

Should one of the above be the problems be the issue, and should you be able to resolve it, would you go back to him? You know, there are more things in life than sex, and if this guy is a great husband and the only issue is sex, you might want to give the relationship more effort before abandoning it.

Another possible solution: You mention that you were both very active before you met. Have you talked about mixing it up with a threesome? Group sex? Even possibly a polyamorous relationship? There are many possibilities in this area.

I also find the paragraph about your premature birth an interesting, and telling, addition to your letter. I had to pause a moment and think why you included it. It is important how you write, "So it was always from day one that I was going to be pushed in directions against my will. I was born premature (go figure) as I came out of my mothers belly I was blue and covered in white powder. I wasn't ready to face the world but there I was." Then you go into how you were married, etc. I have to think that, for some reason, you felt pushed into getting married and now, in the interest of not feeling controlled by others, you are deliberately sabotaging your marriage by having an affair. Thoughts?

You might not want to "make a huge deal out of it," but, sorry, it IS a huge deal because you're talking about a break-up. You need to consider this long and hard (pun intended) before you take the next step. Is sex the only thing important to you, or do you want something more out of life? Is this problem with your husband ONLY about sex, or are other things going on that you're not telling me? Have you even TALKED to him about this problem, or are you just keeping quiet and having sex with this other person?

Look before you leap, hon. While you deserve to be happy, be considerate of your husband's feelings, too. If you truly love your husband, don't you think you should consider his feelings more? Doesn't he deserve to know what is going on with you, the woman he loves?

I hope this helps clarify some things for you.

Hugs,
Papabear

Furescent (also known as Anastasia Wilson) is a very busy crafter who describes herself as a furry, a cosplayer, and an artist. Over on her Etsy page you can see her works — she not only makes fursuits but also fleece hats, hoodies, onesies, and kigurumis. (Don’t we live in wonderful times with wonderful words?)

image c. 2017 by Furescent

Loads of MFF review with stories, an awesome round of Patreon shoutouts produced live at the convention, some news and some emails. Thanks to all of you who met up with us at MFF! See you next con!

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• Furry Stuff sells cute items for christmas
• Midwest FurFest usurps Anthrocon’s record and becomes the world’s largest furry convention
• Lifehacker: All hotel guests should behave like these furries
• Tealeaf Racoon’s MFF convention attendance graph tweet
• Why pets have surprisingly small brains
• UPB students, professor study furry community
• FurScience 2017 International Survey!
• Fur Affinity administrator resigns amid hate group policy controversy
• Fjord Frost’s “Furry Conventions have a Drug and Alcohol Problem”
• New XBN & FurCast studio update – Moving Vlog Episode 7

News:

• Jesus Statue’s Butt Was Hiding A 240-Year-Old Secret Message
• French naked restaurant opens – and is going down a storm with diners
• Japanese ‘naked restaurant’ to ban overweight diners
• Krampus Day
• Oklahoma veterinarian removes 21 pacifiers from dog’s belly

Emails:

• Lycus the Hyena – “Career conflicts? (Please read)”
• Janum – “Fan letter from a long time viewer – Preferred on air”

FC-287 Furmware - Loads of MFF review with stories, an awesome round of Patreon shoutouts produced live at the convention, some news and some emails. Thanks to all of you who met up with us at MFF! See you next con!

Loads of MFF review with stories, an awesome round of Patreon shoutouts produced live at the convention, some news and some emails. Thanks to all of you who met up with us at MFF! See you next con!

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• Furry Stuff sells cute items for christmas
• Midwest FurFest usurps Anthrocon’s record and becomes the world’s largest furry convention
• Lifehacker: All hotel guests should behave like these furries
• Tealeaf Racoon’s MFF convention attendance graph tweet
• Why pets have surprisingly small brains
• UPB students, professor study furry community
• FurScience 2017 International Survey!
• Fur Affinity administrator resigns amid hate group policy controversy
• Fjord Frost’s “Furry Conventions have a Drug and Alcohol Problem”
• New XBN & FurCast studio update – Moving Vlog Episode 7

News:

• Jesus Statue’s Butt Was Hiding A 240-Year-Old Secret Message
• French naked restaurant opens – and is going down a storm with diners
• Japanese ‘naked restaurant’ to ban overweight diners
• Krampus Day
• Oklahoma veterinarian removes 21 pacifiers from dog’s belly

Emails:

• Lycus the Hyena – “Career conflicts? (Please read)”
• Janum – “Fan letter from a long time viewer – Preferred on air”

FC-287 Furmware - Loads of MFF review with stories, an awesome round of Patreon shoutouts produced live at the convention, some news and some emails. Thanks to all of you who met up with us at MFF! See you next con!