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Ever wondered if you should attend a writing retreat? What happens there? What will I achieve by attending? Welcome to a part one of a two part special where we try to answer those questions and more!

Ocean flew off to RAWR 2017 and recorded two podcasts while there. It’s the night before everything starts, everyone has arrived for the week long retreat and Ocean sits down to discuss the busy time ahead with the other attendees: Buni, NightEyes, Ryft, Otter and TJ. They talk about why they’re here and what they’re looking forward to gaining from this retreat.

Currently applications are open for RAWR 2017
If you are interested in RAWR, find out more and apply at: http://www.rawr.community/
Or follow them on twitter at: @RAWRWorkshop

Find the other attendees at:
Buni
@TJMinde 
@Ryft_Sarri
NightEyes
@runningotter

Stay tuned for next episode when we meet back up at the end of the retreat to talk about how it went and our experiences.

Ep 75 – Pre-RAWR - Ever wondered if you should attend a writing retreat? What happens there? What will I achieve by attending? Welcome to a part one of a two part special where we try to answer those questions and more! Ocean flew off to RAWR 2017 and recorded two podcas...

Wayward Raven is the name of a small press comic book publisher founded by Mark C. Frankel. More recently though, the company has branched out and published a new picture book for young readers. It’s called Percy, written by Mark and illustrated by Elke Reva Sudin. “Percy is a sirrush. Just what is a sirrush? In truth, even Percy himself doesn’t know, but he is determined to find out. Join the noble Percy as he goes on a quest across many lands and encounters interesting characters as he attempts to find others like himself.” Something to do with the gates of ancient Babylon. Read it, you’ll understand.

image c. 2017 Wayward Raven

www.thedraggetshow.com Patreons will get episodes first right after recording. Just a buck gets you early access and a downloadable mp3 file! www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow ALSO, we're not just on SoundCloud, you can also subscribe to this on most podcast services like iTunes! Ep 173 - Ifc2017 LIVE! - www.thedraggetshow.com Patreons will get episode…

We did another firecast stream on Youtube, but if you prefer the audio, here is that. The youtube vid is here: https://youtu.be/pGBMo-fKeXQ www.thedraggetshow.com Patreons will get episodes first right after recording. Just a buck gets you early access and a downloadable mp3 file! www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow ALSO, we're not just on SoundCloud, you can also subscribe to this on most podcast services like iTunes! Ep. 172 - Firecast! - We did another firecast stream on Youtube, but if…

I kissed a wolf and I liked it! Thanks to Ethan Staghorn for this tip.
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Altfurry is the term used by a tiny fringe of hateful bigots in the furry fandom.  (It’s accurate to replace “alt” with “anti”, as you can see below).  Last week they encouraged members to attend the “Unite the Right” rally where neo-nazis attacked and killed protesters. (archive)

One altfurry attendee was Nathan Gate / TheBigKK / KryptoKroenen – a college student from Arizona, and Hitler fan on Stormfront and Daily Stormer.

Here’s a gallery with some images of Nathan’s furry involvement. You may have already seen his involvement with Altfurry swatting Califur (below).

Nathan Gate was with the neo-nazis rallying in Charlottesville when a violent felony was caught on camera. Victim Deandre Harris spoke out, a crowdfund raised six figures for him and attackers were identified. Nathan watched and supported the attackers.

All hands on deck.

WHO IS THIS MAN with the red beard?

He committed a violent felony. pic.twitter.com/nbYhxAPAOO

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 13, 2017

This "altright" writer was there and had a conversation with the attackers, he has a altright YouTube page too. pic.twitter.com/5HKDOCWpdZ

— Will (@Reaver229) August 14, 2017

Nathan posted online to harass people supporting the victim, saying “it was beautiful watching his ass get beat”. If there was any question about privacy when attending a neo-nazi rally, there’s another answer for why this is public. (archive)

I saw it first hand, it was beautiful watching his ass get beat.

— TheBigKK (@TheBigKK_) August 13, 2017

Altfurry Discord, run by Casey Hoerth AKA Len Gilbert – (finance writer for Motley Fool and The Street, and erotic nazifur fiction The Furred Reich) – posted more jokes about violence and murder done by neo-nazis. (archive)

#AltFurry cracking jokes about a terrorist attack.https://t.co/rRSIXHJlEL pic.twitter.com/p0Fri7ZcAl

— John Atyxyt (@JohnAtyxyt) August 12, 2017

Nazi Furs are celebrating the murder of Heather Heyer & injury of other peaceful antiracist protesters by Nazi terrorist in #Charlotesville pic.twitter.com/em2nwYlM4c

— Deo (@DeoTasDevil) August 13, 2017

Read more about how Altfurry targets kids for hate with Casey Hoerth (“Len”), Nathan Gate, and Stormfront members.  Altfurry also attempts to cancel furry cons.  Here’s screenshots from their chat to plan “swatting” against Califur, and one of Nathan Gate’s phone calls to help.

Who fucked over Califur?
Oh yeah it was those assholes organizing threatening calls inside their AltFurry Discord.

Evidence: pic.twitter.com/nFUa07q7ZE

— Deo (@DeoTasDevil) June 27, 2017

Nathan / TheBigKK is joined by a partner known as Vomitb0yy / Birb / KKKutie, who does furry art commissions while saying “the furry fandom are a bunch of degenerate pussies and it sucks getting grouped in with the tards.” (Chat screens below.) Nathan’s own message to furries says that he hopes “your nasty fandom is torn apart.”

Just got this on a comment section from an alt righter arguing for #furryraiders This is what they think of us #furry #furryfandom pic.twitter.com/YInH8GQokn

— Feyd (@BluFawx) April 20, 2017

The attempt to get Califur shut down by Casey Hoerth, altfurry and Nathan Gate cost $24,000 to the con. Here’s the con’s statement about threats they received.

https://t.co/7qxUDS807B@CaliFur lost $24,000 because people made threats over a baby-fur panel which they already hosted the year before. pic.twitter.com/361RclepwY

— ChipFox ???? (@chipfoxx) June 26, 2017

Before Nathan’s phone call and the chat screens were posted, Altfurry and Casey Hoerth lied that they didn’t organize the calls to Califur. (archive 1, 2.)

When the denial stopped working, those tweets were deleted.  Then altfurry members began lying that Nathan Gate / TheBigKK was never a member, isn’t a furry, or used to be a member but isn’t any more.  The story changes depending on which one is lying to deflect blame. (1, 2, 3, 4)

big kk never was part of alt furry and isnt even a furry himself.

— That Pesky Pooch (@IAmARealRealist) July 21, 2017

No, revisionism is people trying to say the BigKK person who said "anthrocon is next" & called @Califur is Altfurry. He's not even a furry

— #BroniesForTrump (@GWSSDelta) July 21, 2017

No one in the discord server posed as a news team no one we publicly acknowledge to be part of the discord server @AltFurryDiscord can.....

— Husky Jack (@JackLaMothe) June 27, 2017

Yes the BigKK has not been a member of our discord for several weeks. He left on his own Accord after this reaction. Our discord disavows...

— Husky Jack (@JackLaMothe) June 27, 2017

Altfurry also lies about their neo-nazi ties. It’s part of a very old strategy.  The first step is to try to present themselves as a legitimate and non-violent political or ideological movement. The second is to provoke a violent or visceral response in a supposedly non-violent manner. The third is to point to that response to claim the other side is unreasonable. They’ve fallen back to starting over with the first step now.

This is Alt-furries strategy every time they attack a convention. https://t.co/oBufIeXnhw

— ChipFox ???? (@chipfoxx) August 12, 2017

Nazis on 4chan don't know what to do now that one of their own has been found out. Trying to find out how to spin narrative. #DefendCville pic.twitter.com/XFsN9EU8mw

— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) August 13, 2017

Nazi strategy: "Leftists will recognize dog whistles and know we're crypto, but normies won't listen to them." pic.twitter.com/YSkLp1J95C

— Contra (@ContraPoints) August 13, 2017

Watch out for /pol/ & nazi groups desperately trying to "flip the narrative" (bury the facts of their murderous rampage)

Don't fall for it.

— Deo (@DeoTasDevil) August 14, 2017

Let your local meets know if any member of Altfurry attends. Don’t fall for the fake story that “both sides” are responsible for the aggression you can see here. Urge them to respond like The Furst State did:

Our announcement regarding hate speech at our events and in our online communities: https://t.co/UnqLvIE8U7 pic.twitter.com/FfH3RbFzt8

— The Furst State (@TheFurstState) August 13, 2017

So what are you going to do about #AltFurry nazis in the fandom?

Talk to your local meet or con organizer and urge them to ban hate imagery

— ThatFabulousBastard (@Silvermoonwolf5) August 12, 2017

Altfurs aren’t just trolls, they’re neo-nazis hiding behind animal avatars.  They intend to exploit and attack this little fandom because it’s supportive for many kinds of people, who built something happy, creative, and thriving on it’s own terms. Keep it that way by ditching them until they ditch the hate.

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon, where you can access exclusive stuff for just $1.

We mentioned before about an upcoming animated film called Duck Duck Goose, one of several films being financed the Chinese firm Original Force with the intention of releasing in North America. Well now, according to an article at Cartoon Brew, Duck Duck Goose has a release date — April 20th, 2018 — and a teaser trailer up on YouTube. “Chris Jenkins, a veteran Disney effects animator who more recently shifted to the producing side (Dreamworks’ Home, Sony’s Surf’s Up), makes his feature directorial debut on Duck Duck Goose. Jenkins co-wrote the film with Rob Muir… The film follows the adventures of a ‘high-flying bachelor goose’ named Peng (voiced by Jim Gaffigan) who finds himself in charge of two ducklings (voiced by Zendaya and Lance Lim) that he must take along on a long journey south. Other voices are provided by Greg Proops, Natasha Leggero, Reggie Watts, Diedrich Bader, Jennifer Grey, Rick Overton, Craig Ferguson, Stephen Fry, and Carl Reiner.” Distribution is being handled by Open Road Films, the same outfit that released The Nut Job and its recent sequel here in the States.

image c. 2017 Original Force

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Our first Sunday morning show! Quite a packed & fun episode.

Download MP3

Watch Video Roundup:

• First Chinese Furry Con Experience
• Infurnty:2017 Hotel Walk-through video
• New Data Shows Furries Are Growing In Number
• PizzaShep gets video from fur supplier in China
• You must include gay venue on site of Joiners Arms, planners tell developers
• Butt that can be slapped on and off
• Helicopter sex film officer Adrian Pogmore jailed
• Culturally F’d Responds to Copyright Video comments
• NosHyena talks about his first fursuit scam
• Old Spice: Rad Talkin’ Wolftorn
• Old Spice: Alpha Dawg
• Funny Jingles
• @Furahi talks about their late fursuit

News:

• German Man Avoids Traffic Jams By Swimming To Work
• Man Hosts His Own Late-Night Talk Show On NYC Subway
• Man Brings Suspiciously Chill Peacock On NYC Subway
• Outback Steakhouse At The Center Of Bizarre Conspiracy Theory
• Teenager Paddles At The Beach, Has Feet “Eaten Alive” By Flesh-Eating Bugs

Email:

• Ardrix – “Hello!”
• Hachi – “Smol World I Guess”
• Jake – “Take Two”
• Shawn – “an explanation of the “can haz” paradox (not the wolf)”
• Link Vanguard – “Furcast Rap”

FC-274 Mow’d Down - Our first Sunday morning show! Quite a packed & fun episode.

Our first Sunday morning show! Quite a packed & fun episode.

Download MP3

Watch Video Roundup:

• First Chinese Furry Con Experience
• Infurnty:2017 Hotel Walk-through video
• New Data Shows Furries Are Growing In Number
• PizzaShep gets video from fur supplier in China
• You must include gay venue on site of Joiners Arms, planners tell developers
• Butt that can be slapped on and off
• Helicopter sex film officer Adrian Pogmore jailed
• Culturally F’d Responds to Copyright Video comments
• NosHyena talks about his first fursuit scam
• Old Spice: Rad Talkin’ Wolftorn
• Old Spice: Alpha Dawg
• Funny Jingles
• @Furahi talks about their late fursuit

News:

• German Man Avoids Traffic Jams By Swimming To Work
• Man Hosts His Own Late-Night Talk Show On NYC Subway
• Man Brings Suspiciously Chill Peacock On NYC Subway
• Outback Steakhouse At The Center Of Bizarre Conspiracy Theory
• Teenager Paddles At The Beach, Has Feet “Eaten Alive” By Flesh-Eating Bugs

Email:

• Ardrix – “Hello!”
• Hachi – “Smol World I Guess”
• Jake – “Take Two”
• Shawn – “an explanation of the “can haz” paradox (not the wolf)”
• Link Vanguard – “Furcast Rap”

FC-274 Mow’d Down - Our first Sunday morning show! Quite a packed & fun episode.

Our first Sunday morning show! Quite a packed & fun episode.

Download MP3

Roundup:

• First Chinese Furry Con Experience
• Infurnty:2017 Hotel Walk-through video
• New Data Shows Furries Are Growing In Number
• PizzaShep gets video from fur supplier in China
• You must include gay venue on site of Joiners Arms, planners tell developers
• Butt that can be slapped on and off
• Helicopter sex film officer Adrian Pogmore jailed
• Culturally F’d Responds to Copyright Video comments
• NosHyena talks about his first fursuit scam
• Old Spice: Rad Talkin’ Wolftorn
• Old Spice: Alpha Dawg
• Funny Jingles
• @Furahi talks about their late fursuit

News:

• German Man Avoids Traffic Jams By Swimming To Work
• Man Hosts His Own Late-Night Talk Show On NYC Subway
• Man Brings Suspiciously Chill Peacock On NYC Subway
• Outback Steakhouse At The Center Of Bizarre Conspiracy Theory
• Teenager Paddles At The Beach, Has Feet “Eaten Alive” By Flesh-Eating Bugs

Email:

• Ardrix – “Hello!”
• Hachi – “Smol World I Guess”
• Jake – “Take Two”
• Shawn – “an explanation of the “can haz” paradox (not the wolf)”
• Link Vanguard – “Furcast Rap”

[Live] Mow’d Down

Hello, Papa Bear.

Before I begin, I would like to give a trigger warning for anyone reading. I will be talking about depression, self-harm, and suicide.

I have been depressed for two to three years. Recently, I was placed in a mental hospital for attempting suicide. I still struggle with self-harm and self-loathing, however the happiness within the furry fandom relieves that somewhat.

What I wanted to talk about is in regards to my recovery plan. My doctor has assigned me a therapist and prescribed antidepressants, but they also tell me that I need to work on my social dynamic. One of the main reasons why I became suicidal was a lack of connection with other people. I was always a reserved and introverted person, keeping to myself and not often sharing my emotions. But when my depression lapsed, this turned into an unhealthy type of isolation. Instead of simply enjoying being alone, I ended up cutting off all contact with everyone in my life, including my family, because I did not want to be emotionally close to anyone (or physically for that matter). I realize now that this was incredibly detrimental.

However, now my doctor is saying that I need to let people into my life and start developing friendships again. This is the very last thing that I want. I'm sixteen years old and in high school, and I have never been able to relate to the other people my age. While I want to discuss philosophy, politics, and art, they only seem to be interested in clothing, popularity, drugs, and superficial relationships. In every conversation, I'm at least three topics behind everyone else. It feels like I'm surrounded by toddlers. I know not to expect to get along with everyone, but so far I've only met one other person my age that I can actually trust. And they live halfway across the world. Anyone else ended up leaving for somewhat ignorant reasons ("You're asexual? Isn't that one of those made-up things people use to get attention?"). I'm not exactly the nicest person in the universe, but I thought I would be able to have a meaningful friendship with more than just one person. It's discouraging.

I have also had several negative experiences in the past, which may be a contributing factor for why I am not interested in having any friendships. Possibly the worst was with someone whom I trusted enough to admit to them that I was depressed. When I explained my feelings to them, they reacted by calling me selfish and several other terms I would rather not list here. Needless to say, I was somewhat disappointed. They continued to harass me over text and in person for about a week after the fact. Later, they gave a sorry excuse for an apology ("I'm sorry, but you really ought to consider how you make other people feel when you say stuff like that"). I honestly did not care enough to get mad or upset, so I told them they were right. They think we're still friends. But I don't.

I've had many other experiences similar to this, not necessarily always related to depression. I've sort of lost the ability to trust other people. Don't get me wrong, I have tried again and again to open up to people, but it's only ever worked out positively once. I know not to expect perfect fantasy-style relationships, but everything I've been through so far has crossed the line for what I consider to be mature and acceptable behavior. My family is this way as well.

Maybe the problem is me. I can't really imagine how or why, but it's the only explanation I can think of at this point.

I would like your opinion on this situation. What should I do?
I'm not close with my family and I really don't want to make friends. But without some sort of way to get my feelings out, I fear I may fall back into unhealthy habits.

Any help is much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Cobalt (age 16)

* * *

Dear Cobalt,

You are experiencing the complications of what I call "Old Soul Syndrome." Whether or not you believe what I'm about to explain is up to you, but one old soul to another, I feel for you.

To believe in the old soul concept, you have to believe in reincarnation. An old soul is someone who has lived before--the more times you have lived, the older your soul. Older souls tend to be more serious, wiser, and more intelligent than younger souls because they have experienced more. This does not necessitate your remembering what happened to you in your earlier lives. Those experiences are ingrained in you, so even if you don't recall earlier lives they remain in your soul.

Young or new souls are still figuring out what is important in life. They tend to be still wide-eyed and bushy-tailed about it, overly impressed with the material and sensual and less so by the spiritual and intellectual. Thus, they appear to older souls as shallow and overly self-involved.

The good news is that old souls are less prone to making foolish mistakes about their lives; also, the wisdom they have, if shared with others, can be a positive force in society. Old souls tend to be more sensitive, more emotional, more empathic, more sympathetic, more creative, more willing to look at the big picture about life and existence.

The bad news is that there are many more new than old souls in the world, so it is harder to find people with whom you can relate, which can lead to social isolation. Depression is also possible--usually as a leftover from tragedies you experienced in previous lives, but also as a result of feeling disconnected from most of humanity. Again, you don't recall past hurts, but the emotional scars carry through to your current life and future lives.

Yes, you need to socialize, but you need to socialize with other old souls because those are people you can see eye-to-eye with. Here is an interesting site run by Lonewolf that might help you: https://lonerwolf.com/old-souls/. And there is also a Facebook group run by Lonewolf here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/imanoldsoul/.

Check them out and let me know if those sites help you. I have a feeling they might.

Hugs,
Papabear

Yet another Comic Con discovery. The creators themselves explain this one best: “Thimblestump Hollow looks like any normal slice of the natural world – in fact, it may be in your own yard, at the end of your street, or in that forgotten corner by the grocery store where that patch of weeds is growing. The creatures of Thimblestump Hollow inhabit these places, asking us to pause for a second and consider what worlds could be just beyond our notice, if we would only stop and look. The Thimblestump Hollow vinyl blindboxed toy line is based on characters created by artists Chris Ryniak and Amanda Louise Spayd, and produced by Cardboard Spaceship Toys.  Initially developed in 2014, it debuted at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con, and has since sold tens of thousands of pieces worldwide online, as well as through brick and mortar retailer outlets such as Hot Topic.” You can visit their web site to see the full line they’ have so far.

image c. 2017 Cardboard Spaceship Toys

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Bonus Friday video. ... So .... old spice is trying to court furries now? Ok, I want a wolfthorn now dammit.
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For a belated world Lion day post we have a wonderful music video by Benjamin Scheuer & Escapist Papers: "The Lion"
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For a good many of us, summer vacation is almost over and it’s time to return to the reality of classes, or just another day at work if you’re no longer in school. This past summer has been home to a number of controversial events at conventions and in the fandom alike.  We’ve got four more to round things out before all is said and done. Mercifully, there’s no convention drama this month… well, not unless you count Pokemon GO Fest as a “convention”. There’s a lot of things we’d call that disaster, but “con” isn’t one of them (unless you mean “con” as in “to trick”). Anyways, on with the news!

2016 FURRY OSCARS

It’s that time of year again, Oscar season! Not the actual Oscars, mind you, but the fandom’s equivalent of them: the Ursa Major Awards. Awarded to people and projects who go above and beyond in the name of anthropomorphic entertainment, the Ursa Major Awards are community-driven, with initial nominations and ultimately voting open to the fandom. This past month the winners for 2016’s Ursas were announced. The results were full of emotions, ranging from surprise to “ugh, not again”.

First off, the big daddy title of Best Motion Picture went to Zootopia… to the surprise of literally no one. If there’s such a thing as “Ursa Bait”, this was it; in the past decade there’s probably not been such an obvious shoe-in winner since The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Right behind Nick & Judy’s furry fling was Pixar’s Finding Dory, which, while this was a great movie in its own right, stood no chance against Disney’s powerhouse. The results of the Ursas are posted in order of who received the most votes, and coming in dead last was The Secret Life of Pets, a godawful CGI movie. In what we imagine must have been a three-way tie for last place, Sing and Kung Fu Panda 3 also made the bottom of the list.

Last year, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic won the Ursa Major for “Best Dramatic Short Work or Series.” I expressed confusion as to how MLP qualifies as “drama”. Well, it won the award again for 2016, and we’re still no closer to understanding how a cartoon meant to sell toys to little girls is somehow “drama”.

Zootopia won yet another Ursa Major this time, for its “making of” art book which conquered the Best Non-Fiction Work category, because as we all know Zootopia is real; also in the running was that VICE article we joked about last year, where their “update” on the MFF chlorine gas incident was that there wasn’t an update.  The Fursonas documentary went underrated, leaving popularity separate from breaking ground – as pointed out by the Dogpatch Press piece about the first fandom feature with mainstream crossover. (Let’s not talk about butthurt from runners-up who weren’t popular either.) Director Dominic Rodriguez told us: “there was an award?”

Visual novel Major/Minor won the award for Best Game, and for some reason we had a disproportionately high amount of people trying to get us to cover this story in order to take pot shots at Klace (the game’s creator) because he asked his fans to vote for him.  Uh, us here at What’s Yiffin’ did the exact same thing and no one batted an eye; these are awards chosen and voted on by the fandom, so if you’ve got the outreach to get people to vote for you, that just means you obviously stand a better chance at winning. That’s how this works. Besides, the “Best Game” category also had crap like Pokemon and Overwatch in it, games produced by people who are either unaware of, or don’t care about the Ursa Major Awards. Major/Minor winning its category doesn’t make it objectively better than these games. It just means that when it came time to vote, there were essentially two “null” options you could choose if you wanted to throw a vote away.

The illustrious Best Website award went to… wait for it… Fur Affinity. Again. Now, we don’t want to pull a John Oliver here and say “it’s [CURRENT YEAR]”, but it’s [CURRENT YEAR], and how on Earth is Fur Affinity even still a solid candidate for this award? The rest of the field wasn’t exactly strong, but e621 has been in the running multiple times and continues to get snubbed. I suppose when e621 finally does win the award, we can mark it as a turning point in the fandom. However until then, the Ursa Major will be the Oscar to e621’s Leonardo DiCaprio.

Finally, Dogpatch Press won the award for Best Magazine — shoutouts — but we’re putting you on notice. You might syndicate this show, but next year that award is as good as ours. We’re coming for you, Patch. You’ve got the remainder of the year to enjoy the title, because come 2017’s Ursas, we’re going to be top dog! (What’s Yiffin’ was eligible for nomination last year, however we did not qualify for the voting period. We’re working extra hard on making it in for 2017.)

CRUSHED, YIFFED, DESTROYED

Near the end of June, furry-critical website Vivisector disappeared off of the face of the web. We didn’t cover this at the time because we assumed it was just a random server outage or downtime. However as July came and went, we realized there was probably something more significant at play because it’s August 10th as of this article’s writing and Vivisector is still gone. Flayrah initially broke the story last month that the Crush Yiff Destroy archive site and forum had gone unresponsive; plenty of furs came out of the woodwork to say “good riddance”, but that doesn’t do Vivisector the justice it deserves.

Like it or not, Vivisector served an important purpose in the ecosystem of the fandom by allowing users to keep track of unsavory people and events in the fandom. You name it, Vivisector probably had a thread about it at some point. Stretching back to humble beginnings as a Portal of Evil spin-off website in 2007, Vivisector eventually outlasted fellow critic website Crush Yiff Destroy and became CYD’s archive when it went offline in 2010.

Though activity had waned in recent years, Vivisector remained online doing what it was known for, until a disagreement between the administrators resulted in the website being blanked and its server being taken offline.  It was mistaken for just nominal downtime when it happened last June. The website’s URL at vivisector.org began responding again in the middle of July, sans-forum, with only the message “Nazi Furs Fuck Off” emblazoned on its meager homepage along with a link to a Discord chat server and the notice that the website would eventually be returning. It’s important to note however, that by taking an official side in this argument, Vivisector has relinquished its central position as an “equal opportunity offender” when it comes to criticism. Bias has now been introduced into the fray. For many this has been the official death knell of a once active and informative website.

But this is okay, communities such as Vivisector come and go. A decade ago people were concerned about sites like Encyclopedia Dramatica, but ED in its golden years has also had a fall from grace as well as multiple host/domain switches, resulting in a loss of content and confidence. Neophyte community Kiwi Farms has already stepped in to fill the void left by Vivisector by adding a furry section to their website named “Animal Control”. Whether or not they wanted this to happen, Vivisector is now officially a relic of yesteryear.

You will be missed, Vivisector.

THERE’S ONLY DARKNESS

Sonic the Hedgehog, a comic series based upon the video game and cartoon of the same name, has come to an end. SEGA announced last month that their historic 25 year run with Archie would be coming to an end, making issue #290 the final one to be printed and published. Sonic the Hedgehog’s run lasted for the aforementioned 290 issues, however if you count all of the special series and spin-offs, there were over 500 installments in the series. In 2008, Guinness recognized Sonic the Hedgehog as being the longest-running comic book adaptation of a video game, as well as being the longest-running American comic book without a reboot.

The comic is also not so fondly remembered thanks in part to former writer Ken Penders, whose obsession with his characters led him to file copyrights on them and then turn around and attempt to sue SEGA on two different occasions, neither of which panned out in Ken’s favor.

SEGA also promised that this wouldn’t be the end of the hedgehog in comic book form. Just two days after their initial announcement, SEGA kept to their word and announced they were partnering with IDW Publishing to continue Sonic’s story. An official return date hasn’t been announced, however SEGA mentioned that publication would resume some time in 2018.

POKEMON GO GET A REFUND

Finally, in our last story we travel to Chicago, IL for the first ever (and probably last) Pokemon GO Fest, an outdoor festival for the mobile game Pokemon GO. (Yes, people apparently still play it.) The concept behind the meet-up was simple: unveil the first ever legendary Pokemon at GO Fest, and offer rarer Pokemon for players to casually find. There was also the lure of special medals and in-game items to draw people out to Chicago from all over the country, and supposedly the world.

The festival was a complete disaster. As many of you who attempted to play the game at release may recall, logging onto the game and staying connected seemed almost impossible. These problems eventually went away, but once hundreds if not thousands of players all came together to try and play it in one place, they came back with a vengeance. Ultimately, Niantic had to disable in-game animations and lure functionality to restore some of the game’s playability. The CEO of Niantic, after being booed and chanted at on stage, buckled and announced that everyone would be receiving a complimentary $100 in Poke Coins, as well as a refund of their $20 ticket to attend GO Fest.

This only served to soothe the people who made it into the event however.  Outside the gates of Pokemon GO Fest, the line to get in seemed to stretch endlessly in videos and pictures posted on social media by prospective attendees. There is also now a pending class action lawsuit against Niantic for travel reimbursement for the people who flew in from other parts of the United States, only to be substantially let down by the unplayability of the game.

GO Fest was such as disaster that Niantic has indefinitely postponed the “Safari Zone” event that was meant to start taking place in Europe right now. No new dates have been provided for the Safari Zone event, or if the event is even still set to happen.

That’s a wrap on last month’s top fandom stories. Thank you for joining us here on Dogpatch Press, we hope you enjoyed this peek into the fandom! Make sure you’ve subscribed to Gatorbox on YouTube and Twitch, so you’ll catch What’s Yiffin’ live!

– André “Dracokon” Kon & Rob “Roastmaster” Maestro

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon, where you can access exclusive stuff for just $1.  Thank you – Patch 

If you haven’t seen the works of Joe Weatherly, you should. Joe is well-known and well-respected illustrator who specializes in wild animals, portrayed in striking black & white and full color. His web site will show you what we mean. Joe has been hired as a drawing instructor by the likes of Nickelodeon Animation, Dreamworks Feature Animation, Universal Studios, Art Center, the Laguna College of Art and Design, and The Academy of Art in San Francisco. Now, Joe is offering several of his black & white sketches of various animals on a variety of t-shirts, through his new company called Fauna Shirts. The web site shows a limited number of the available designs, but you’ll see many more of them if you visit the Fauna Shirts booth — coming to a furry fandom or comic convention near you!

image c. 2017 by Joe Weatherly

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Sherman Williams has had this interesting commercial series where they make animals out of their paint chips and it's all rather beautiful stuffs. https://youtu.be/zN1id2dmH3o https://youtu.be/ouzYC2vufyc Thanks to Bluejaguar for this tip.
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Rune’s Furry Blog showcases “people within the Furry Community… their characters, life, thoughts, and beliefs”. It also covers furry issues and media plus some personal blogging. Rune joins other guest posters to Dogpatch Press like Andre Kon (What’s Yiffin’?) and Arrkay (Culturally F’d). Welcome Rune! – Patch

“Volcanic Bonding” – Art & Leothaun species by thelostcause86
Masika belongs to MasikaRayne (FA) / Thyra belongs to shewulf7

Creativity has always been the highest focus of the Furry fandom outside of the love for anthropromorphic animals. That is to say that creativity is what keeps pushing the fandom forward whether it be art, music, crafting, or something else entirely.  One of the amazing things that creativity has brought us within the fandom is the emergence of original species.

Why be a dog when you could be a RaptorDog? Why be a regular ‘ol rabbit, when you could be a Bunninut?

It sounds crazy when you say it out loud, but these are actual species imagined by people within the community!  Some create more of a stir than others… and in fact, most people know of a few original species that overwhelm the fandom today due to their popularity! For example: Primagen/Protogens, and Dutch Angel Dragons. These species don’t exist in the world that we know, they were brainstormed and brought to life by individuals that wanted something different and something more.  Sergals are another example of a popular original species that was shown to the community and changed it forever.

“Leo Friends”- Art & Leothaun species by thelostcause86 (FA)
(left) Masika belongs to MasikaRayne (FA) / (center) Thyra belongs to shewulf7 (FA)/ (right) Natalia belongs to thelostcause86 (FA)

So, what makes an original species?

Making an original species is a lot more complicated than it might sound. You can’t just slap two or more things together and call it “original” – that’s just a hybrid (and don’t worry, the community will correct you if you try). Original species are deeper than just a mix of animal parts – they require some sort of history, lore, or even a whole world. There has to be something that sets them apart as rare or unique.

For instance: Take the Mecari.

The Mecari are a creation of Craig Aimes (Blackpawwolf on FA – and Founder of CCSMascots) and on the outside, they seem just like a bat/dog hybrid (but are bat, dog, and bovine to be precise).  Still, these little guys are not just the average hybrid.  They are a species rich in culture and their own way of living.  Not all the info has been released yet (it is being developed and released in chunks), but the Mecari do reside in a particular universe with other original creatures.  They live very social lives with one another, and take on more tribal characteristics – from coming-of-age ceremonies, to other sorts of rituals they perform.  Recently it was announced that each Mecari gets a power over a single element.  Upcoming info will include things like family structures. Even their diet is outlined, and the colors of their eyes have a history.

I could go on forever… so I think you get the gist of it. I have owned a Mecari for a while (with a partial suit being finished this later in 2017) and I act as an Admin of the Mecari Den. They are so much more than slapping together some parts and a name. They hold a story as an original species.

Another great example of this would be the species known as the Leothaun.  As a proud owner of a Tempest Leothaun named Masika, and as Admin of the Leothaun page, I could ramble on forever about why this species is absolutely amazing.

Leothaun were created by Natalia Hardy (thelostcause86 on FA) and they reside on a planet known as Qualdralis. This planet has a lore deep in religious background, where there was a Goddess and the Light Bringers, and the first Leothaun stepped onto the planet. As time went on, the Leothaun evolved. Each type mutated to fit their environment (the biome they were residing in at the time), leaving us with several different sub-types of Leothaun, all with different characteristics.  These guys are DETAILED!

Natalia went all-out when developing the Leothaun. She has charts on differences between the sub-types and how each gender develops per its sub-type. The height, life-span, special powers, and even the specific and rare mutations each sub-type can have is listed in very detailed charts.

As mentioned before, I own a Tempest Leothaun. Their specific trait is either controlling the wind, controlling lightning, neither or even both! I was given the opportunity to have a ‘rare’ Leothaun. My gal Masika has two genetic defects that makes her stand out. She has the glowing/blank eyes, and secondly, her spot pattern is rare and sets her apart from the common Tempest.

Recently I was informed that the Tempest Leothaun are getting a third mutation they may have, which is wings. This has not been completely fleshed out yet, but it makes sense since the Tempest Leothaun reside in a city that is floating in the sky.

My wife was also given a rare Leothaun by the creator – a Volcano Leothaun named Thyra.  Thyra’s rare mutation is that the blood running through her glows blue, rather than the normal magma-orange-yellow color that Volcano Leothaun normally get. The females of this sub-type are taller than the males. There are many interesting facts about them, but in terms of anatomy, Natalia said she took inspiration from a lot of different animals.  They can sometimes have canid faces but most resemble big cats. A few of the aquatic ones look more like otters, and their retractable fangs are inspired by snakes.  So the Leothaun is an original species that is mixed, but more spread out to be unique, and it also has the rich story and history.

Cheshire the Mecari
Art by flamesvoices (FA) / Species created by Blackpawwolf (FA)
Cheshire belongs to: MecariCheshire (FA)

What makes an original species popular or unpopular?

There are a LOT of original species out there.  I couldn’t possibly begin to list them all.  It begs the question: What makes an original species take off?  How does an original species get as popular as a Dutch Angel Dragon or Sergal?  Why haven’t I heard of so many species?

Many original species are unknown because they tend to flop… even those that get a lot of hype tend to fall off the radar rather quickly.  Some species are mimics of other species with very few differences, making them rather unpopular (and they get a lot of backlash from the community).  A lot of it is based in how hard a creator works to build up a decent community.

Those are some factors in whether an original species will fail or succeed.

For a few examples, I made 3 species of my own which I thought (at the time) were amazing. There were the Graul, the Nintius Lupus, and the Bunninuts. They all had a history, lore, and guidelines for their looks and what set them apart. I even made Facebook groups for them! People came into the groups, but no one posted or made their own creature, and soon the groups died without taking off. Why? Because people need a starting point.

It wasn’t enough to give them a creature with a lore and say: “Here it is. Now make one! Enjoy!”

People are looking for an active creator that really wants these species to take off. I’m talking about making a Facebook group with an official banner, setting up Admins, giving out free bases for people to color, raffling off adopts, making adopts, and letting other people make adopts. An original species eventually will become a sort of business where advertising is the key to success. You want people to have fun and spread the word around.

While it may seem a bit rude to say: furries can be cheap. They will jump on a free base much faster than if they have to pay for a custom creature. Also, if you don’t let them make adopts for profit, it will dissuade a good few. But no one blames you for having rules and wanting to keep your species controlled.  Still, you have to be willing to be a little open with a species if you want it to succeed. I have also found that digital art will always do better than traditional art… and again, this kinda goes into making bases for people to use. Getting people that you know involved and having them rep your species to gain attention will help significantly.  I know several species that started out with just a few friends having one, and now it is a whole community… and whether popular or not, these things still tend to thrive in one way or another.

For the people that mimic other species and/or make hybrids of species that don’t allow hybrids… those never go over well. Because an original species comes with a particular set of rules.

“Korr – Skullin reference sheet” Art & species by Skylar Burge (facebook)
Edits by Element02/ owned by Element02

If you make a ‘sona of a particular (original) species: FOLLOW THE RULES!

Original species are more than just a lore and a look. They also have rules to keep them regulated.  Like with any art, a creator wants to be credited for their work. They created the species and want to be recognized for it. That’s why most original species have rules that MUST be followed.

Example: the Mecari can only control a single element. While ‘spirit’ is considered an element, it is extremely rare and only those with permission from the creator may use it. So far, only the creator himself has one that can use spirit.  There’s also a strict rule on how many Mecari a person can own. That’s so Mecari won’t be circulated heavily outside of the group, and they’re easier to keep track of on the master list.

The Leothaun also have rules…

While they’re free to make, people making their own Leothaun may not have rare mutations. They may only do common mutations that occur naturally on the sub-type of their choosing. Also, they may only own up to 8 Leothaun at a time. Rare Leothaun are reserved for adopts that the creator makes herself for sale. That’s to keep the rare mutations rare and special!

Even popular and well-known species have such rules.

Dutch Angel Dragons don’t allow their members to have a muzzle-ring. Only Telephone is allowed to have one. Dutch Angel Dragons aren’t allowed to have any sort of digestive tract, don’t engage in adult-content, and must have certain traits like feathered wings and horse-like face. They aren’t allowed to be hybrids and can’t have any sort of genitalia.

For some species, it’s important to know the difference between them being open or closed. A closed species means that you can’t make your own just because you want one. You need special permission from the species creator to make one, or you must adopt one straight from the creator (which usually means buying one). That’s so the species doesn’t go unregulated. Closed species are often more strict with rules on how their species look and function as well. Open-species means you’re free to make one whenever you like. Some open species are more regulated (like the Mecari and Leothaun) so that you can only make so many of the creature.  Most let you go all out, but even if a species is open, they will still have rules to follow.

Primagen are a closed species, so you must buy one from the creators or a former owner of a Primagen to get your own. Protogen are open, but they too have rules that must be followed. Protogen may only have wings if they’re the rare kind, and rare Protogen are closed and limited to auctions by the creators only. People making protogen adopts may only make 2 per week. Protogen aren’t allowed to be feral either, they must be anthro. Also, Protogen have certain parts of them that must be biological, and parts that must be robotic. This ratio may not be changed.

Breaking rules of an original species can result in many things including getting booted from the official group forever and a Beware then posted. While these rules may exist, thieving still happens… species do get stolen all the time, and altered so other people can claim them as their original creation. So, owning a species and regulating it can become something of a job. It takes a lot of time and dedication to make it work.

“Zensu – Arual Dragon Reference Sheet” / Art & species by ZhiibeColorai
Edits by Element02 / Zensu belongs to RUNEAngelDragon

Conclusion:

Original species are everywhere, and they really show off all the creativity in the fandom. They give people a place to feel they belong, meet new friends, and have something they see as special and unique.  Original species may not be for everyone, and sometimes people see them as overwhelming… but this fandom has always been about being yourself and being an individual. So whether you’re a cat, a leathersaur, gecko, or manokit, just be happy and stay true to what feels right for you and what makes you happy!

Thank you all so much for tuning in!  For more info on some regulated-open species, check out the list below. Special thank you to Craig Aimes and Natalia Hardy for letting me use your species as examples! If there are other original species that I did not list that you know of (and maybe you created), feel free to let me know in a comment down below!

As always, I will see you all in the next one!

Art by Aoijinn
Portal belongs to RuneAngelDragon
Protogen species created by MaliceXRisu

List of Original Species:

While I may not know of all the original species out there (nor would I have time to go looking for them all), I have compiled a list of some that I know of.  Some are newer, some are years older. A few of them I actually found this week while browsing the Furry groups on Facebook, because original species pop up just that often!  Feel free to check these out, and yes, all of these species are open… just make sure to read the rules. – Rune

1. Arual Dragons – created by ZhiibeColorai – (fb group)
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/1330933120254422/

2. Wisher Dragons – created by flamesvoices – (fb group)
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/OfficialWisherAngelDragons/

3. Shayu – created by Kristina Renee Haley – (fb group)
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/OfficialHomeoftheShayu/

4. Pokeball Dragons – created by RosexKnight – (fb group)
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/508866459260784/

5. Protogens – created by MalicexRisu – (fb group)
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/Prima.Proto/

6. Tea Tigers – created by Sophie Munro – (fb group)
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/318926134897778/

7. Mecari – created by Craig Aimes – (fb group)
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/301634430215800/

8. Leothauns – created by Natalia Hardy/thelostcause86 – (FA link)
   http://www.furaffinity.net/user/leothauns