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And more stuff from Kingpin Books — this time something much much stranger called Ultra Pig Nipponic Roulette. It’s written by Mario Freitas and illustrated by Osvaldo Medina and Marta Lebre. Here’s what the publishers say, verbatim: “October 10, 1978. During the twinning cerimony between the Portuguese city of Aveiro and the Japanese city of Oita, the young Ultra Pig is kidnapped by three local businessmen and used as currency in a nefarious partnership with high-ranking officers of the Yakuza. Fearing for his son’s life, the illustrious Calouste Pig risks to face alone the bizarre joint-venture, but ends up getting caught in a very unusual sort of roulette. A very bizarre and very deadly game of roulette, like something out of a Tintin book, but on a cocktail of Manga influences and a ton of crazy.” It’s also coming this December in hardcover, says Previews.

image c. 2017 Kingpin Books

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Videos like this makes me want to have a service for people making music videos where they can hire a real furry.
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Hello Everyone!

This week we open with a longer discussion on Gay Pride and the overall LGBT/Queer movement. After discussions on Twitter, Telegram, and other methods with friends and fellow queer individuals, it came to our attention that a lot of the history of queer people has not been shared, taught, or found important. We talk about the importance of queer history and why we must continue to fight for rights for all individuals who share intersectionality with our community.

Our main topic is on sensual touch and erogenous zones. We talk about how to find the parts of your body that you respond to the most, and give you some ideas as to how you can explore these places by yourself or with a mate.

We close out the show with some feedback on last week's Long Distance D/s question, and have a new question from someone who does not find their partner attractive in real life, but thinks that their fursona is super hot. Is there a problem with him, and if so how should he proceed to correct it?

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

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 076 - Sensual Touch and Erogenous Zones - Is queer history important? What ARE erogenous zones? Why are they important? Can you date someone you have no physical attraction to? All this, and more, on this week's Feral Attraction

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

Léonid. T. 2, La Horde, by Frédéric Brrémaud & Stefano Turconi.
Toulon, France, Soleil, May 2016, hardcover €10,95 (48 pages).

My thanks to Lex Nakashima, as usual for this French bande dessinée album.

Brrémaud is the author-artist of those French wordless “Love” animal albums that many fans collect, but in this case he is only the author. Turconi is the artist.

To repeat what I said about the first album, “The locale is the farming district of Deux-Sèvres, in central-west France. ‘Léonid is a cat, not yet an adult, but not a kitten, either. Just a young cat. He lives in a house in the district, in the midst of trees, pretty far from any city and close to a farm.’ Léonid is a young housecat, living with two other housecats (Hoa Mai, a Siamese, and Rosso, an elderly orange Pekinese) and a dog (Mirza, a toy terrier). His household is also the home of Atchi, a mouse constantly sneezing because he’s allergic to cat hairs. Léonid is allowed outside during the daytime to associate and play with the local feral cats; the female black-&-white Ba’on, and the males Bouboule (the fat one), Arsène (the nervous one), and an anonymous one (because he’s almost immediately killed). […] The Two Albinos is mostly the story of how Ba’on is kidnapped by the two albinos to be their slave, and how Léonid and Atchi, the sneezing mouse, venture outside to her rescue. They’re successful, but not really because Ba’on reveals that while she was in the albino cats’ power, they boasted that they are just the vanguard of ‘the horde’, ‘the avant-garde of the terror of Great Attila, our guide’ who will kill or enslave all the animals of the district.   Léonid, Ba’on, Aichi, Hoa Mai, Rosso, and Mirza are left wondering what to do when Attila and his horde arrive?”

In t.2, the Horde arrives. The animals in Léonid’s house – three housecats, Mirza the toy terrier, and Atchi the mouse are enjoying their daily life. Old Rosso, who is suffering erratic memory loss, sleeps most of the time. Young Léonid goes out each day to associate with the local feral cats, Bouboule, Arsène, and especially the female Ba’on. They are under the dubious protection of Zeus and Apollo, the farmer’s two large, fierce guard dogs who watch over his small flock of sheep. Before the coming of the Horde’s bloody outliers, Zeus and Apollo would tear apart any cat they could catch; but after the animals’ adventures together against the Horde’s scouts led by the two sadistic albino cats, the neighborhood pets and the guard dogs have made common cause against Attila’s coming Horde.

The action begins when a family of cats – two parents and two young kittens – comes tearing into their neighborhood, barely ahead of the Horde. Zeus and Apollo are barely dissuaded from attacking them, and Léonid and the neighborhood cats put them up in the farmer’s barn when the Horde arrives, led by the two albino cats. They will kill any other cats, but they are especially looking for Ba’on and Léonid who escaped them earlier.

Léonid has to get back and forth from the barn to his house to organize a defense. It’s too risky to go above ground, so Atchi shows them some tunnels that friendly moles have dug. It helps, but it’s not enough. The solution is provided by the cat who seems to be the weakest.

T.2 has such a happy ending that I am not sure whether this has been only a two-album series or not. The subtitle is “The Adventures of a Cat”, so if it is to continue, Brrémaud & Turconi will have to move on to a new adventure. That should be easy; Léonid is an adventurous young cat.

Léonid is an enjoyable light adventure series, in easy French for the fan who isn’t fluent in it.

–Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon

To support writing by furries, for furries, please visit Dogpatch Press on Patreon. You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, and support all of the team’s news and reviews.

A new talent we’ve discovered thanks to Previews: Writer and illustrator Gustavo Borges, with his new full-color graphic novel Petals. (Fun fact: Mr. Borges used to compete for Brazil in several Olympic Games as a swimmer!) “During a long winter, a family of foxes struggles to survive the merciless cold. One day, one of the cubs leaves his house looking for much-needed firewood and crosses his path with a tall and peculiar bird wearing a singular top hat. A beautifully illustrated and deeply touching story of friendship and selflessness by young Brazilian prodigy Gustavo Borges and Eisner Award-nominee colorist Cris Peter.” According to Previews, Petals should be out in hardcover this December.

image c. 2017 Kingpin Books

Yes, the future *IS* fur! Oh yes, Crash Banticoot is back BTW. https://youtu.be/zH9CBm8Wj_Y
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Looks like the school pets have been busy again. Now the publisher Henry Holt has brought us The Great Art Caper, once again written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson. “A follow-up to The Great Pet Escape [which we talked about last year]. This time, our favorite class pets have to save the school art show! Things at Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary School have been quiet-too quiet. Cuddly yet calculating class hamster GW spends his days in second grade and his nights poetry slamming and jigsaw puzzling with his friends, Sunflower and Barry. GW has even started warming up to the second-grade students, a girl named Carina in particular. Could he be making a human friend? After Carina is selected to participate in the school art show, GW decides to make her a gift in a show of support. But he soon learns of a dastardly plot – Harriet and her many mouse minions are planning to ruin the art show! Once again, it’s up to GW, Sunflower, and Barry to put a stop to Harriet’s mousey madness. ” It’s available now in hardcover or softcover. Check out the preview at (where else?) Previews.

image c. 2017 Henry Holt

OH HEY, WE HAVE A WEBSITE NOW TOO 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 Serathin's amazing Dragget Show story! - docs.google.com/document/d/1AYkJR…y8RCsCK0NjEw/edit ALSO, we're not just on SoundCloud, you can also subscribe to this on most podcast services like iTunes! ep 167 Mario's Possession Hat - OH HEY, WE HAVE A WEBSITE NOW TOO www.thedragget…

As a summer thing Nick has produced various Ninja Turtles shorts in various styles and continuities. I kinda want to know more about this particular furry universe they made here.
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Papabear,

Hello there, Papabear. I'm in my late 20's working to start a new relationship. And I was just wondering what your advice would be. On this the sort of relationship I'm trying to get in my life is a same-sex relationship. Any advice you have to give would be great. In closing, thank you for taking the time to read my message. Keep up the good work.

Anonymous

* * *

Dear Furiend,

My advice to someone in a same-sex relationship is the same as it would be for someone in a hetero relationship (I've been in both, and the same principles apply to either). I could probably write a book on this, but I will spare you that much reading. Instead, I will give you one of my famous bulleted lists (in no particular order of importance):

7 TIPS FOR A GOOD RELATIONSHIP

1. Never take your partner for granted. A good loving relationship is hard to come by, so if you have found one, appreciate it.
2. Strive for an equal partnership. This means each of you contributes as much time and effort as the other one. 
3. If one of you makes more money than the other, that's okay, as long as you both do your part in things like maintaining the home.
4. When it comes to sex, be a giver, not a selfish lover, and expect the same from your mate. Sex between loving partners is a beautiful thing.
5. Make sure you are on the same page on the things you want in life. For example, if you want children but he doesn't, that's going to be a problem. If he wants to live in Florida, but you wish to stay near family in Wisconsin, also a problem. You need to talk these things through.
6. Make time for each other to do things you both enjoy. If a relationship is all work and no play, you will quickly tire of it. Try to do at least one fun and relaxing thing per week; more if you can.
7. It's okay to have time for yourself. You are not joined at the hip; you don't have to do EVERYTHING together.

Hope this helps! Wishing you love and happiness!

Papabear

Reptile Channel is not the same as The Reptile Channel (11,000+ subscribers and joined in 2014).

Love your pets.  Eat a hamburger if your diet allows.  But don’t eat your pets.  And definitely don’t stomp them to death for sadistic sexual pleasure. (That’s crush fetish, a thankfully illegal practice that qualified for the Internet Hall Of Shame because of kitten murder.)

We can talk about weird stuff here. This is internet city. If you have gone down some of its shady alleys after dark, you might have seen vore fetish. (That’s the erotic fantasy for consuming others or being consumed, which might involve dragons.) It’s usually harmless and imaginary.

A tip came in about a story that blurs the lines between those things.  It’s about videos of small animals being fed to larger ones, using a reasonable-sounding cover story about science, education and necessary feeding. But there’s a taint of less tasteful secrets behind it.

Pets have to eat.  Forcing it for pleasure or profit begs the question of whose appetite is really being served. Calling it animal abuse may involve careful attention or reading between the lines – but that has been the reason for account bans and efforts to hide this story.

The tipster, Tanookicatoon, poked the underbelly and made it cough up some ugly truth. Links, images and info in italics are added by editor. (- Patch)

Current Patreon page.

(Youtube:) “Reptile Channel is for people who enjoy reptiles, learning about them, and plain ol’ just enjoy watching them. The channel focuses on the science of reptile feeding behavior.

Back in the day when we were working on our thesis of reptile feeding behavior we created videos weekly or twice weekly to support a master’s dissertation. The focus has always been on creating high quality reptile videos to support the thesis, and more diverse the better. Reptile Channel is distinct from the vast majority of reptile content today in that we focus specificaly on the science of feeding behavior and reptile (and avian) anatomy and physiology.

Reptile Channel was created to freely share original content with everyone. Our goal from the beginning is to create a comprehensive scientific portfolio of reptiles hunting and feeding. This is such a quixotic goal that in the last decade the unique project has grown far beyond any of my expectations in becoming a valuable educational resource.”

Reptile Channel’s most popular video, with 1,200,000+ views from 5/19/17 – 6/19/17.  That shows a fast growing audience. “This video focuses on the science of snake behavior to support a master’s thesis. Video is for citation for junior high school, high school science reports… Filmed with the University of Guadalajara for Biological and Agricultural Sciences”

(Tanookicatoon:) I couldn’t help but notice a new channel breaking out on Youtube, and by noticing, I couldn’t help but feel that the videos I was watching were all too familiar. Sure enough, the more I looked into it, the more the signs began to point to the owner of the channel being JonahVore.  If you don’t remember who that is, he is a notorious animal abuser, using reptiles nature of swallowing animals whole to indulge in his vore fantasies. This person was exposed years ago, when he was originally posting content to YouTube in 2007 and was banned.

• EXTREMELY NSFW: JonahVore at Encyclopedia Dramatica and Jonah’s old erotic story archive on Yiffstar.
• Stop JonahVore’s Abuse of Animals NOW: “the vast majority of Jonah’s viewers are unaware as to *why* these videos were produced. Jonah is a voraphile (or “vorarephile”) and a prominent member of the vore and furry fetish communities.”  
• Jonah has claimed to feed rabbits, dogs, cats, and even (dubiously) humans to predator animals. 

I began to look at his old website and in the old Big Gulp Message Boards, and noticed that a lot of his posts and videos from his original site were now missing. On top of it, I actually found the Reptile Channel being advertised on the Big Gulp Message Boards. Of course, when this was mentioned, the links on the message board quickly disappeared.

I didn’t get a screen shot of what was in the Advertisements, but the first read something among the lines of, “new RL vore channel, HD video, some of them a lot you might remember.” Which prompted me to start using the Wayback website.  Sure enough, you can see that, while you can no longer read the advertisements, you can still see that they, indeed, were made, and dated.

• Screen of Big Gulp boards with ads for Reptile Channel
• Screen of Big Gulp boards after ad removal.

Going to Reptile Channel on Patreon, you can see that the dates which certain posts were made match up very closely. This gave me the big idea to simply go to the original JonahsVore website through the Wayback to see if I could find anything. Sure enough, I found one matching video. A video of his raven being forcefed a mouse, which is on his Youtube channel as well.  I recognized it right off the bat.

• Reptile Channel raven video, and Patreon post about it (and screen) dated close to the Big Gulp ad.
• Archived Jonahvore site with same raven movie, and current site with video removed. 
• The old archived raven video is lo-res. Reptile Channel’s new post of this video is in HD, so it isn’t just sourced from the web, it’s directly from the original. 

He’s doing the same thing that he did last time.  Hiding under that vague “educational” disguise. His original account lasted for a couple years before his original videos got him banned. There are users that take account of his old videos as well.  This was the one that got him in the most trouble – he clearly does things to force his animals to do this. (Repost:) “Snake / Python Eats Chick / Bird Alive”. (- Tanookicatoon)

(Patch:) I see the Youtube channel claims to be part of study for a zoology degree.  Tanooki comments on a FurAffinity journal post about this: “A lot of their videos claim to be college studies in labs, but they’re obviously in their bedroom, or kitchen.”  There are more comments worth reading there.

Tanooki showed me a FurAffinity note that confronted the owner of the Big Gulp message board about the JonahVore/Reptile Channel connection, who then refuses to confirm or deny it. There’s an excuse about owner safety but no mention of evading bans. Tanooki also documented Vore furries supporting the Patreon. Besides furries, thousands of regular viewers may have no idea about hidden motives. Here’s transparency about a channel that appears to be aiming for professional goals and legit science. Remember, even testing on lab animals is supposed to have rigorous standards.

The farthest fringes of fetish can be harmless fantasy.  But there’s a boundary that may call for awareness expressed by Tanooki’s FA journal:

I do not, in any way, condone animal abuse whatsoever. Vore is a fetish that should remain a fantasy, and should not be brought into reality by human hands. Abusing the true nature of animals for your sexual needs is disgusting.

UPDATE 6/20/17:

1) This 2009 Livejournal post describes in detail what JonahVore did to be banned from Youtube in the past:

Amidst the horrors of his videos, I’ve seen a monitor lizard savagely bitten around the face and eyes by a rat over 20 times while it attempted to kill the rat, with no attempt made by the owner to prevent such harm to his animal.

I have seen video of a python that has obviously been pre-fed a rat have a live chick fed to it, the objective being that the snake will not be able to swallow the chick right away and he can closeup of the poor bird struggling and peeping desperately as it lunges half out of the mouth and the python grasps it, over and over. And then, when the chick is finally swallowed, focus in on the snake’s throat to see the still struggling chick’s outline and hear it still crying.

This is all done with the implication through his name and certain of his actions that he is doing this for sexual gratification.

I have seen him callously toss animals together that were not providing the response he wanted. This man does not care about or for the reptiles he is keeping. He does not care about humane feeding methods.

2) This 2014 Livejournal post has a screencap of JonahVore’s face and other personal details.

3) From Reddit’s r/reptiles:

I’m a huge fan of The Reptile Channel – HerpersTV. They make quality, educational videos and I’m happy to share them everywhere I can. I know that in talking with Dāv Kaufman who owns The Reptile Channel, that he’s taking steps to protect his copyright and trademarks, but aside from this, every reptile person should condemn channels like this open and publicly… I’m going to forward it on to Dāv, and I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Whoops! Another one slipped under the radar we should mention. Marvel Comics have re-invented one of their classic titles with the return of Monsters Unleashed — new for 2017. “The first fantastic issue of Marvel’s newest heroes! From acclaimed writer Cullen Bunn, known for his work on Deadpool, Uncanny X-Men, and more, comes a high-action sci-fi series centered on a team of monstrous and monstrously massive do-gooders including Kid Kaiju, Aegis, Slizzik, Scragg, Hi-Vo, and Mekara. Now teaming up with vampire-hunter Elsa Bloodstone, the series unfolds as the team takes on gargantuan creatures and protects the planet from ruin and disaster. However, can they be accepted by the rest of the Marvel Universe and allowed to help, or will they be deemed dangerous as well?” With interior art by David Baldeon, they’re already up to issue #3. Marvel has a preview on line.

image c. 2017 Marvel Comics

Papabear,

​It seems we may be on the brink of nuclear war due to North Korea. What steps can I take in the event of a probable attack?

Sergie

* * *

Hi, Sergie,

I really don't think we are on the brink of nuclear war with North Korea. Kim Jong-un plays these games all the time. He likes to be a big shot, but he knows if he actually launched a strike on the USA or other country (e.g. Japan) then he would be nuked out of existence. A lot of N. Korea's missile tests fail, too. 

If you really feel like you might need to survive a nuclear holocaust (provided you are not incinerated or die of radiation poisoning), there are lots of books you can buy on the subject that would give you far more information than I can. Some people are building underground condos with lots of room to store supplies, but who would want to live in a hole in the ground for the rest of your life? If you lived far enough away from any radiation zones, the survival techniques would be the same as any other survivalist handbook: learn how to hunt, find water, live off the land, defend yourself against aggressive humans and wildlife. It's not a pretty picture.

Of course, civilization could end in other ways, such as chemical attacks, or attacks on the grid that would plunge America into the nineteenth century again. Or perhaps an asteroid could strike the planet--one big enough to destroy civilization but not all life. Again, in any of these cases, you want to learn about survival skills.

I personally am not going to worry about this. It is beyond my control, and so many things in the universe and the world are beyond my control that could kill us all that if I worry about them I would not be able to live my life. The Yellowstone supervolcano could blow up, we could be fried by a gamma-ray burst, the sun could explode, and on and on. Worrying about this stuff will paralyze you with fear.

The future is uncertain. If you always worry about the future, you won't be able to function in the present (likewise, if you live in the past, you won't enjoy the present--something I'm currently struggling with). 

Live for now. Enjoy today. It is all you have for certain.

Hugs,
Papabear

Looks like you just can’t keep a good raccoon down. After word came down that the Sly Cooper animated feature was not to be (many presume due to the less-than-stellar box office performance of Ratchet & Clank last year), now Animation World Network has informed us that an animated Sly Cooper series is in the works. “Paris-based Technicolor Animation Productions and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) have joined forces to produce a computer generated, animated Sly Cooper series to audiences around the world… The series is based on the best-selling PlayStation video game series introduced to the market in 2002, which has sold millions of copies globally and spanned four editions across generations of PlayStation. Sly Cooper follows the adventures of the irresistibly charismatic raccoon, a modern-day Robin Hood who restores justice to his city one theft at a time. Sly is aided by his two best friends, a muscular hippo named Murray and a brainy turtle named Bentley. Hot on Sly’s trail is Inspector Carmelita Fox, a morally upright cop with an unfortunate crush on the charming bandit, as well as a band of villains, each one more strange and colorful than the last. The series will mix humor, action, and a remarkable cast of characters.” No word yet on when the series is set to premier or what parts of the world will get to see it first, but we’ll let you know when we do!

image c. 2017 Technicolor Animation

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CJ is a bad dog and isn’t in the studio. We wrap up a huge round of news, last episode before Anthrocon 2017!

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• KartFox buys centaur shampoo
• UK Furs ClubAnimalz Twitter
• Sofi Tukker talks at Ted about Awoo
• A Way Out Reveal Trailer
  • Gameplay trailer
• CheetahPaws needs help

News:

• Millions Of Americans Think Chocolate Milk Comes From Brown Cows
• Female Elk Can Tell What Kind Of Weapon Hunters Are Likely Carrying And Act Accordingly
• Fried Frontier: KFC Chicken Sandwich Heading to Stratosphere Next Week
• Robot Babies Are Almost As Cute As Real Thing But Without The Mess
• Infected Zombie Beetles Encourage Males To Have Sex With Their Corpses
• Florida Man Crashes Into Fire Hydrant and Drowns on 89th Birthday
• Goat Yoga
• Goatopia YouTube Channel

Emails:

• Umi – “Bork bork!”
• HammerWolf – “Thanks for making the show”

FC-270 Udder Chocolate - CJ is a bad dog and isn't in the studio. We wrap up a huge round of news, last episode before Anthrocon 2017!

CJ is a bad dog and isn’t in the studio. We wrap up a huge round of news, last episode before Anthrocon 2017!

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• KartFox buys centaur shampoo
• UK Furs ClubAnimalz Twitter
• Sofi Tukker talks at Ted about Awoo
• A Way Out Reveal Trailer
  • Gameplay trailer
• CheetahPaws needs help

News:

• Millions Of Americans Think Chocolate Milk Comes From Brown Cows
• Female Elk Can Tell What Kind Of Weapon Hunters Are Likely Carrying And Act Accordingly
• Fried Frontier: KFC Chicken Sandwich Heading to Stratosphere Next Week
• Robot Babies Are Almost As Cute As Real Thing But Without The Mess
• Infected Zombie Beetles Encourage Males To Have Sex With Their Corpses
• Florida Man Crashes Into Fire Hydrant and Drowns on 89th Birthday
• Goat Yoga
• Goatopia YouTube Channel

Emails:

• Umi – “Bork bork!”
• HammerWolf – “Thanks for making the show”

FC-270 Udder Chocolate - CJ is a bad dog and isn't in the studio. We wrap up a huge round of news, last episode before Anthrocon 2017!

CJ is a bad dog and isn’t in the studio. We wrap up a huge round of news, last episode before Anthrocon 2017!

Download MP3

Link Roundup:

• KartFox buys centaur shampoo
• UK Furs ClubAnimalz Twitter
• Sofi Tukker talks at Ted about Awoo
• A Way Out Reveal Trailer
  • Gameplay trailer
• CheetahPaws needs help

News:

• Millions Of Americans Think Chocolate Milk Comes From Brown Cows
• Female Elk Can Tell What Kind Of Weapon Hunters Are Likely Carrying And Act Accordingly
• Fried Frontier: KFC Chicken Sandwich Heading to Stratosphere Next Week
• Robot Babies Are Almost As Cute As Real Thing But Without The Mess
• Infected Zombie Beetles Encourage Males To Have Sex With Their Corpses
• Florida Man Crashes Into Fire Hydrant and Drowns on 89th Birthday
• Goat Yoga
• Goatopia YouTube Channel

Emails:

• Umi – “Bork bork!”
• HammerWolf – “Thanks for making the show”

[Live] Udder Chocolate

Papabear,

​I live in Utah. Salt Lake City. (yeah I've been raised mormon but I'm gay, I don't believe, complicated family stuff I don't want to talk about because that's not the point) 

Soooo

A couple weeks ago I was able to go to comic-con FanX with a friend and they also got to hear about me and the furry fandom. They totally approved so that was like... amazing. 

Anyways. So at fanX there were actually a lot of local furs. Heck there's even a video they all made advertising AWU here in October.

When we went to the City Creek mall across the street for lunch we ran into most of them going to get lunch. I was super nervous but my friend managed to urge me to get a picture with a group of them. It's actually my favorite picture from the entire convention too XD 

Thing is I was like... super shy and didn't say anything. And I kinda regret it. We even had lunch nearby them and I was just like... awkward the entire time. And then we even walked back to the convention center. right in the middle of them. I still didn't say anything... I wanted to but didn't want to be cringy. Not to mention they all seemed a bit older than me. 

And now I'm here writing this out for no apperent reason other than to feel sorry I didn't say anything.

I tried looking up furmeets and such but I feel like... super nervous to go to one. I've flaunted the idea of sneaking off to AWU in october but again... I'm like worried I'd be one of the youngest people there, and not in suit, and just awkward and not talking to anyone... 

how do I get over this...???

Dave (age 16)

* * *

Dear Dave,

I apologize for the slow response. Life has gotten in the way of my column lately.

First question I would ask you is whether you have Asperger's or some other form of autism, which would, of course, explain your shyness. If not, it would just then be normal shyness, which is something I certainly can relate to, having been in the same boat at your age.

Perhaps it would help to tell you how I got over being so shy: it was while volunteering as a zoo docent that I overcame this problem. Being a zoo docent is great. You learn a lot about wildlife and the science involved, and you also get to handle and work with some pretty interesting critters. I was quite passionate about animals, and once I had confidence that I knew what I was talking about (thanks to the education programs at the Detroit and Potter Park Zoos), I felt comfortable talking to people about wildlife and conservation, even large audiences.

Shyness is really born out of lack of confidence. When you were with those people at the con, you felt self-conscious because many of them were older than you and you were unsure of yourself. You probably felt they all knew more about comics and other things and that you couldn't add to the conversation--you might even set yourself up for mocking if you said something wrong.

It helps a lot, then, to know about what you speak. If you go to Comic-Con, and you know a lot about Batman, the X-Men, why Whiz Comics #2 was significant, and who people like Stan Lee, R. Crumb, and Art Spiegelman are, then you will feel comfortable talking with others about these topics. One way, then, to overcome shyness is this: become well-versed in your preferred subject matter--whether that is comic books or the furry fandom or steampunk or whatever. Know your topic, but be cautious not to be a know-it-all. People don't like you if you act like you know everything and only your opinions are valid. 

There is another way to approach and talk to people, and it is kind of the polar opposite of what I just suggested. Instead of chatting merrily on a level playing field with those around you, be okay with not knowing as much and, instead, ask questions! It's a great way to start conversations if you ask people about themselves and the things they enjoy. Compliments go a long way, too (e.g., "Wow! You sure know a lot about the DC multiverse!") Play the role of the interviewer, asking questions of those who are older and more experienced. Along the way, you may find some things you have in common ("Maybe we could play League of Legends sometime?")

So there you have two approaches to overcoming shyness and striking up conversations. Give them a try!

Bear Hugs,
Papabear

Recently the artist A.M. Scharf (who creates under the name Acidpluvia) put up a link to an interesting Kickstarter campaign. Acidpluvia has been asked to be the official illustrator for Rabbit Island, a card-and-tile game created by Leslie and Samantha Et Alia of Infinite Heart Games. “Play as one of the four Tribal Leaders and explore a new island every game in this light 4x game for 2-4 players. Build up your civilization using your Carrot Tokens and special Action Cards – can you conquer your opponents in 20 rounds?” The campaign page has much more in the way of artwork and descriptions of the game play. The Kickstarter campaign runs through mid-July.

Image c. 2017 by Acidpluvia

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