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Disoriented from a late start, Fayroe distracts us from the usual flow of news and emails with a new Halloween toy he found at Walmart.

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• Zoology review: A tail of individuality in oppressive Russia
• A New Monogamy? A Fresh Look at Open Marriage for 2016
• Night In The Woods release date set for January
• Awoo fines given out at Furpocalypse 2016
• Furpocalypse 2016 Snuggle Police

News:

• Dogs dream of you cats dream of Death
• Vine being shut down
• How the Adams Family totally gets BSDM relationships right
• Colorado unfairly targeting wildlife refuge at swingers’ sex club, says squirrel-loving swinger proprietor
• This Lost American Tourist’s 1-Star Yelp Review of Berghain Will Go Down in Infamy
• Spider Carries A Mouse Up A Refrigerator Like It’s No Big Deal
• Spiders Can Hear You From Several Meters Away – Even Without Any Ears
• A Teen Creates Horror Lifelike Creations With Special Effects Make Up
• Why Men And Women Can’t Agree On The Perfect Temperature

Emails:

• Shayne – “Hi :3 + worried about your basement creek secret door”
• Keoshi – “Musical Inquiries”
• elof – “So Yeah…”
• Cookie Fox-Dragon – “Relationship Problem”
• Trevor – “Slowly burning”

FC-249 Slip’N Spider - Disoriented from a late start, Fayroe distracts us from the usual flow of news and emails with a new Halloween toy he found at Walmart.

Disoriented from a late start, Fayroe distracts us from the usual flow of news and emails with a new Halloween toy he found at Walmart.

Download MP3

Link Roundup:

• Zoology review: A tail of individuality in oppressive Russia
• A New Monogamy? A Fresh Look at Open Marriage for 2016
• Night In The Woods release date set for January
• Awoo fines given out at Furpocalypse 2016
• Furpocalypse 2016 Snuggle Police

News:

• Dogs dream of you cats dream of Death
• Vine being shut down
• How the Adams Family totally gets BSDM relationships right
• Colorado unfairly targeting wildlife refuge at swingers’ sex club, says squirrel-loving swinger proprietor
• This Lost American Tourist’s 1-Star Yelp Review of Berghain Will Go Down in Infamy
• Spider Carries A Mouse Up A Refrigerator Like It’s No Big Deal
• Spiders Can Hear You From Several Meters Away – Even Without Any Ears
• A Teen Creates Horror Lifelike Creations With Special Effects Make Up
• Why Men And Women Can’t Agree On The Perfect Temperature

Emails:

• Shayne – “Hi :3 + worried about your basement creek secret door”
• Keoshi – “Musical Inquiries”
• elof – “So Yeah…”
• Cookie Fox-Dragon – “Relationship Problem”
• Trevor – “Slowly burning”

[Live] Slip’N Spider

Papabear,

I don't know if this question really applies to you...but here ya go!

So I have depression, and occasionally I get into a very sad or mellow mood, but my friends usually think I am mad at them so they stay away from me rather than actually try to talk to me and ask me what's wrong. This happened today, when one of my friends asked me if I was mad at them and I said no, after they have proceeded to shun me the entire day. Is it because of my body language or what?

Amber (age 18)

* * *

Hi, Amber,

Thanks for your letter. I am intimately acquainted with the problems associated with depression. Quick question first: are you receiving any kind of treatment for your ailment?

Hugs,
Papabear

* * *

Yes, I am currently on Lexapro, though it's a really small dosage.

* * *

Okay, Amber, just wanted to be sure, first, that you were seeking some sort of treatment.

There are two basic causes of depression, as you may know: one is physiological, the other is caused by life events. In the former, a person becomes depressed because there is something amiss with their body chemistry. This can result from many factors: thyroid problems, adrenal gland problems, fibromyalgia, viral infections, brain tumors, stroke, Parkinson's disease, and on and on. This is why it can be important to see a good psychiatrist (rather than psychologist) who has medical training. The other cause of depression is a negative life event (death in the family, divorce, bad news about a disease, being bullied in school) or problems with one's behavior (drug or alcohol addiction, bad dietary and exercise practices, sleep deprivation, overwork, and so on).

In the former case, there is really no advice you can get from friends that will help. You have a medical condition. In the latter case, it kind of only works if a friend has been through the same thing you have. Even so, everyone reacts to bad life events in different ways, and what works for one person might not for another. For example, people kept telling me to go to group therapy for widowers, so, finally, I went. Didn't help at all. In fact, it made me feel worse, so I stopped going. 

The thing about friends and family of those suffering from depression is that most people don't know how to handle themselves around people like you and me. We make them uncomfortable because they don't know if they can comfort us or if saying something might offend us or make matters worse. Now, in your case, it sounds as if your friends misinterpret your depression for being sullen and angry. Have you actually told them you suffer from depression? Just saying, "No, I'm not angry at you," is not really enough because they still don't know what is wrong. They might think you're lying and really are angry.

So the first step is to tell your friends what your problem really is and that you have medication for it (there's no shame in this; many people are in the same boat as you). If they come up to you and ask if they can do anything, tell them that the best thing they can do to help you is to be with you, keep you company, perhaps some hugs would be nice. If you're like me and many others, getting "advice" from people who might be well-intentioned but seriously do not understand what you are going through can be very irritating and annoying. As I always say, if you don't know what you're talking about, the best thing you can do is shut up.

But you don't need their advice. What you need is some normalcy and companionship in your life. Having your friends shun you and isolate you is going to make you feel worse, as you already know. You need to reconnect to your friends.

To do this, wait until you're in a pretty good mood and not in one of your dark moods. Talk to your friends during this time. Explain to them frankly what you are going through and give them the heads up that sometimes you may be a bit hard to deal with, but that when that happens you hope that they could come and give you a hug and try to lift your spirits by just being there for you. Tell them you don't expect them to try and solve your problems--you are working on that yourself--but you still need them in your life.

Make sense?

Good luck!!!

Papabear
​

More from Toon Books, this time on a much more serious subject. It’s a full-color comic-style book called Benny and Penny in How to Say Goodbye. “Why won’t Benny care? Penny finds a dead salamander, but her brother Benny doesn’t want anything to do with it. Is it silly to have a ceremony for Little Red, or could the loss of this tiny animal mean much more to the lovable siblings? With his unique knack for portraying children’s emotional turmoil, Geisel Award-winner Geoffrey Hayes shares this gentle tale of an early encounter with death.” The latest Benny and Penny book is available now in hardcover.

image c. 2016 Toon Books

Hello Everyone!

We open this week's show with a discussion on ways to make your polyamorous relationship more sustainable. When couples make the switch from a monogamous to a polyamorous relationship, many face feelings of fear, jealousy, and anger. We discuss an article written by one such individual and the ways that he and his partners worked through those feelings to find relationship stability and bliss.

Our main topic is on empathy. Much like our previous episode on Envy versus Jealousy, many people often use sympathy and empathy interchangeably. We discuss the differences between the two before diving into why empathy matters in your life and your relationship. Empathy forms one of the core foundations upon which a relationship stands-- too much and you find yourself burning out, too little and your partner might seek elsewhere to find emotional support. We look into how you can use empathy in a way to resolve conflicts in a non-violent fashion, and how empathy can reinforce your emotional boundaries and integrity. We also discuss the levels of empathy that we experience and ways that we have had to either raise or lower that level to keep our relationship going. 

We close this week with a question about the appropriate speed one should explore their sexual interests, especially if they are experiencing their "gay teens" later on in life. We talk safety, responsibility, and how to keep Grindr from becoming more important than your friends. 

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

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 042 Empathy - Are polyamorous couples more prone to fighting? How essential is Empathy in a relationship? How much sexploration is too much sexploration? All this, and more, on this week's Feral Attraction!

Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World is a new hardcover Toon Book for young readers, written and illustrated (in full color) by James Sturm. “How much fun would it be to take over the world? Armadillo is trying to come up with a plan for global domination…but with every new idea, being a bad guy seems a little less fun. Young readers will delight in star cartoonist James Sturm ‘s tender depiction of how far a true friendship can take you.” Order it over at the Toon Books site.

image c. 2016 Toon Books

Hello Papabear,

I am going to be handing out candy for Halloween and was wondering what is the safest way to go about doing this with the kids and my fursuit?

T-Lo

* * *

Hi, T-Lo,

Good question! And I better post this now since it is almost time!

Halloween is a great time to fursuit. I've done it several time, handing out candy at my house. The thing about fursuiting at night is that it can be very difficult to see. Also, it can be hard handing out little candies when you are wearing forepaws. 

So, the solution is that you should always do this with one or more non-suiters with you. It's kind of like having a handler when you are at a furcon or furmeet. In the case of Halloween, the handler will actually handle the candy and make sure you don't stumble into anything or anyone in the dark. The fursuiter doesn't worry about the candy thing and, instead, you focus on interacting with the trick or treaters.

Apply the same rules to interacting with trick or treaters as you would if you were at a convention. That is, first, do not approach little kids on your own but let them come to you if they wish to interact. Kids, especially little ones, can actually be a bit overwhelmed or even scared of a fursuit, even one that is not scary (the same way some kids freak out about Santa Claus). This is because you're very large and look strange to them. That's really the minority, though. Most kids will be delighted to see you and you will often get compliments from the adults about your cool "costume."

Other tips: keep water available (usually in plastic travel mug with long strong); if your handler has to go inside to use the restroom, go in with them because you don't want to be out there by yourself; when interacting with little ones, it can be helpful to squat down or kneel down to try and be more at their level, which makes you a bit less intimidating.

Hope this helps! Have a splendiferous Halloween!

Papabear​

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

The Familiar: A Paranormal Romance, by Jill Nojack
Kent, OH, IndieHeart Press, September 2015, trade paperback $9.99 (277 [+ 1] pages), Kindle $2.99.

Witch Risen: A Paranormal Adventure, by Jill Nojack
Kent, OH IndieHeart Press, September 2016, trade paperback $9.99 (285 pages), Kindle December 2015 $3.99.

Nine Lives: A Paranormal Adventure, by Jill Nojack
Kent, OH, IndieHeart Press, September 2016, trade paperback $9.99 (291 pages), Kindle April 2016 $3.99.

These three books constitute Nojack’s The Bad Tom series. They are meant to be read together, in that order. Amazon has a three-book Kindle package for $10.97.

Up to now, I’ve avoided reviewing the paranormal romance genre. There are dozens if not hundreds of books (probably 95+% e-books only) about handsome, hunky werewolves or werelions or werestallions or werebears who need a human woman to tame them. They’re mostly written from the woman’s point of view – wish-fulfillment fodder.

However, The Bad Tom trilogy features a man spelled into an ordinary housecat, and it’s more about him trying to avoid a jealous witch so he can get together with his true love – and worse. There’s enough non-romantic story here for a furry fan that isn’t interested in romance to enjoy. There are enough clever twists & turns in the trilogy that I have to reveal a major spoiler to cover all three novels.

“Back when her skin was smooth and her lips were juicy as ripe berries, Eunice did the nasty with the devil. And she loved it. If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t be lurking in the dark, twitching the tip of my tail, trying to keep an eye on what the old witch is up to. Everyone knows spells cast during the Black Moon aren’t illuminated by the Goddess’s light.” (The Familiar, p. 1)

The trilogy is set in the small town of Giles, Massachusetts, on the route from Boston to Salem. The town specializes in the colorful “witch” motif associated with the notorious Salem witch trials of 1692. Several elderly women dress up as witches, and a leading spell shop is Cat’s Magical Shoppe, run by seventyish Eunice. “Of course” the spells are all fake; just harmless herbal medicine charms – but the witches are real. Most of Giles’ costumed witches are organized in a “choir” (coven) of white witches, or at worst gray, led by Eunice. They don’t know that Eunice is secretly a black witch, the leader of a small black coven within the white coven, subtly practicing forbidden magic to make sure that she remains Giles’ social leader. The #2 witch in the white coven is Gillian Winterforth; another important witch is Natalie Taylor.

There are also two warlocks; sixtyish Robert Andrews, the high priest of the white coven for twenty years and the mayor of Giles, and his late-30s son Kevin. Robert is content to politically run the town. Kevin has become a black warlock. He is conspiring with Eunice to, if not replace Robert immediately, help Robert to buy up the town while making sure that he remains Robert’s heir.

Eunice has a granddaughter, Cassie. She is innocent of what’s going on. Cassie visits from Boston often, and has been helping out/learning in the shoppe how to make the “herbal charms”. Eunice is slowly teaching her to become a witch without revealing that witchcraft is real.

Cat’s Magical Shoppe has a real black cat as a mascot. Nobody knows that the cat is also Tom Sanders, who had been Gillian’s young husband in 1967 when they were all in their sexy 20s. He tried to have an affair with Eunice, and she bound him into her shop’s cat. She turns him human again when nobody else is around by saying, “Good cat,” and back into a cat by saying, “Bad cat”. He’s her boy-toy, eternally a hunky 25-year-old while Eunice and the other witches grow old.

As a cat, Tom is trapped inside a feline body. When the cat dies, he’s reincarnated into a black kitten’s body. He can try to influence the cat, which he can do to a limited extent, but more often he is overpowered by the cat’s instincts and can only ride along while the cat is in charge.

“The next day, it’s business as usual. I’d like to take a nap, but Cat is distracted by everything: a passing shoelace, the shop broom moving across the floor, the sound of paper bags crinkling.

Crinkling. First my ears and then my eyes are drawn to the source of the sound. Eunice’s granddaughter, Cassie, plops a brown paper bag onto the counter, and it rustles again as she rests a dainty hand onto it.” (p. 7)

All of this is background. The story starts when Eunice unexpectedly dies (not of natural causes) in her sleep. Cassie comes from Boston to decide whether to sell the shoppe or to take it over and keep it running. Tom, currently a tiny kitten, is frantic to get her to say “Good Tom” and turn him human again – though how she’ll react to having a little black kitten become a handsome, naked man in front of her, he doesn’t know.

Any more detailed synopsis would give away too many spoilers. The first 100 pages of The Familiar are narrated by Tom, who is desperate to communicate with Cassie; then the narration switches back and forth between them. Conflict is provided by Kevin Andrews, who assumes that Cassie is too naïve to oppose him as he tries to take over the shoppe and Eunice’s coven. Cassie eventually learns how to turn Tom human again, but it only works within the shoppe. The two need to find how to release Tom from the spell entirely, which they do with the help of the now-grandmotherly Gillian and her white coven.

The Familiar seems to come to a happy ending, but there’s a shocking cliffhanger in the final paragraph. This is no real surprise since there are two more books in the trilogy. In Witch Risen, Eunice’s spirit comes back from the dead and possesses Cassie’s body. Tom is frantic to free Cassie’s spirit. The white witches in Giles (plus Robert) don’t want Eunice back, so they join Tom in trying to outwit Eunice and banish her spirit to release Cassie’s.

What nobody realizes at first (and I’m sorry to reveal a major spoiler, but it’s necessary to continue this review) is that it never was Eunice. “Eunice” is really Anat, a thousands’-year-old witch’s (she claims she’s a Goddess) spirit who has been body-hopping for hundreds of generations, and had possessed the real Eunice’s body decades earlier. To her, Cassie is just the latest body in a long string of beautiful young women. What’s worse, she has been looking for the perfect young male body for millennia for her husband/master, the demon Ba’al, to possess. She’s finally found it in Tom. Witch Risen becomes a race between the two sides to succeed. Tom and the white witches have the greater organization, but they are hampered by unknowingly underestimating at first how much evil “Eunice” can command, and then how much magic it will really take to exorcise her.

“When I get my lover’s heart beating again during the quickening, I’ll help him move to his new home in Tom’s handsome shell soon after. Will he find me too tame now? I’m in bed by ten after taking my nightly bath in lavender-scented bubbles instead of the blood of my victims. But oh, when we were young! There wasn’t a god or a demon who could challenge us.” (Witch Risen, p. 122)

Witch Risen is narrated by Tom and “Eunice”. It again seems to come to a happy ending, but there’s still a final novel in the trilogy. Nine Lives shows a demon-dog on the cover, so that’s no secret; so I’ll just say that there’s more than one demon-dog in Giles, determined to make their victims more than just Tom and Cassie. Nine Lives completes The Bad Tom trilogy neatly.

Nojack labels The Familiar “a paranormal romantic comedy”, but the other two as “a paranormal adventure”, which is more accurate. Tom certainly has romance towards Cassie in mind, but the books are more about his fighting the age-old Anat (even if he doesn’t know she’s Anat until Witch Risen) than about his getting together with Cassie. The trilogy is not anthropomorphic in the usual sense, but even when Tom is freed from the original spell that allows “Eunice” to control his human/cat transformations, he remains having to share his human body with Cat. Tom finds that he has to transform into Cat a couple of hours each day to remain healthy, usually to let Cat go hunting in the nearby wood. He often uses the Cat body in his magical combats, despite having to influence Cat’s cooperation.

“I squat down to make myself less visible as Gillian explores. That may be a mistake. Cat’s got my nose tilted up in the air, sniffing at the tantalizing fragrance of wilderness that blows my way on the breeze. That’s definitely a mouse. A tiny, furry, juicy, tasty mouse. My haunches tense, I gear up for the chase. And then I grab my body back from Cat’s influence and stand up. ‘Gillian.’ I whisper. ‘Have you got enough yet?’” (Nine Lives, p. 155)

The three books, covers designed by IndieHeart Press, are definitely something that furry fans should check out.

–Fred Patten

• Buy The Familiar (Book 1) on Amazon
• Buy Witch Risen (Book 2) on Amazon
• Buy Nine Lives (Book 3) on Amazon
• Buy all Three Books on Amazon

Pack your bags and join WagzTail as we embark on an adventure to… where were we going exactly? Either way, we know what we’ll do when we get there.

Also, Denny’s references. You know you want to listen.

Metadata and Credits Let’s Go on a Trip!

Runtime: 38:58m

Cast: KZorroFuego, Levi, Wolfin

Editor: Levi

Format: 196kbps AAC Copyright: © 2016 WagzTail.com. Some Rights Reserved. This podcast is released by WagzTail.com as CC BY-ND 3.0.

Let’s Go on a Trip! - Pack your bags and join WagzTail as we embark on an adventure to... where were we going exactly? Either way, we know what we'll do when we get there. - Also, Denny's references. You know you want to listen.

Pack your bags and join WagzTail as we embark on an adventure to… where were we going exactly? Either way, we know what we’ll do when we get there.

Also, Denny’s references. You know you want to listen.

Metadata and Credits Let’s Go on a Trip!

Runtime: 38:58m

Cast: KZorroFuego, Levi, Wolfin

Editor: Levi

Format: 196kbps AAC Copyright: © 2016 WagzTail.com. Some Rights Reserved. This podcast is released by WagzTail.com as CC BY-ND 3.0.

Let’s Go on a Trip! - Pack your bags and join WagzTail as we embark on an adventure to... where were we going exactly? Either way, we know what we'll do when we get there. - Also, Denny's references. You know you want to listen.

Here’s one from Japan we almost missed. Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear is a black & white manga series by Masume Yoshimoto, originally published by Media Factory. Now One Peace Books are bringing the collected first series to North America in digest form. It’s the story of a young teenage girl named Machi who lives in a remote mountain village. She’s a Miko (a shinto shrine maiden) and she has never left her idyllic native home.  But now she’s thinking about moving to the big city to attend high school. That doesn’t sit well with her best friend: Natsu Kumai, a talking bear. A tie-in anime series of Kuma Miko premiered in Japan this year; maybe we’ll get to see that our way soon too!

image c. 2016 Media Factory

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We’ve mentioned Magnetic Press before: The international distributors of the Love series of wordless wildlife graphic novels scripted by Frederic Brremaud and illustrated by Federico Bertolucci. Well now the same creative team have a new series of full-color hardcover graphic novels for young readers called Little Tails, and once again Magnetic Press has brought them to us here in North America. Here’s what the publisher says: “Chipper and Squizzo are a precocious puppy and squirrel who love to explore new and exciting environments, flying their cardboard box airplane to wondrous worlds full of fascinating animals and creatures.  In each volume of this fun, educational series, they tour a different location, encountering the real-world animals found there in beautiful illustration and fun cartoon strip antics! In each volume of Little Tails Chipper & Squizzo set out on a journey to explore new and interesting environments full of fascinating animals and curious creatures.  The first volume in the series is Little Tails In The Forest, which finds Chipper & Squizzo venturing into a lush forest to visit Squizzo’s family. On their journey, the two animal pals discover and discuss a fantastic variety of bugs, birds, bears, & more!  The second volume, Little Tails In The Jungle, takes them around the world to the jungles of South America, Africa, and Asia, where they encounter tigers, elephants, snakes, and sloths!”

image c. 2016 Magnetic Press

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Great ep! We discuss the Russian soccer wolf, Civ, job stuff, questions and more! Reminder: We're on Patreon! If you could kick us a buck or two, we'd greatly appreciate it. www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow ALSO, we're not just on SoundCloud, you can also subscribe to this on most podcast services like iTunes! Don't forget to hang out in our telegram chat, now w/ over 100 members!telegram.me/draggetshow 141 - Russian Soccer Wolf - Great ep! We discuss the Russian soccer wolf, Ci…

By Patch O’Furr and Fred Patten, furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Remember the amazing story about Syrian refugee kids at VancouFur?  They were freshly arrived in Canada from a conservative arabic country, and housed in the same hotel with the furries. At first there were warnings and high caution about the situation.  Then the kids went wild about how cool it was. Remember that happened when you read the culture clash topic below!

Fred Patten wanted to learn about furry writing in Southeast Asia. (It’s a natural interest – he isn’t just a “founder” of furry fandom, he also helped bring anime to North America in the 1970’s).  So Fred spoke with an academic in Malaysia who said this about furry novels:

“In Malaysia, portraying animal being human-like and intelligent is something rare and was not encouraged. This is because it contradicts with the Islamic teaching (Islam being the national religion of Malaysia).  So, I am sorry to say I could not recommend any titles for you. Would be similar case for Indonesia too.  But currently, there is a rise of independent novel publishers that doesn’t confine to the typical novel styles in Malaysia. They are labeled as rebels and those who tend to ‘speak their mind’ without any censorship.”

The discussion is related to Fred’s 2012 article – Survey: Foreign Furry novels.  It adds relevant thoughts from a poster to the AnthroAsia forum:

Anthropomorphism is very much a Western concept passed on to this part of the world. When I was growing up, the only exposure to anthropomorphic characters was through children’s storybooks or through cartoons on the television. Even the first few books that I did get (Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern) was at a local Borders store or through Amazon. Here, in Singapore, where English is the language of instruction, most of our material originates from the West.

New furry conventions are sprouting up in Southeast Asia.  This includes south China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand:

• The Philippine Anthro Festival in Manila, first held in May 2014.
• The China National Furry Party in Guangzhou (Canton) (July 2015).
• Infurnity in Taipei (October 2015).
• FurryLah in Singapore (November 2015).
• Furs Upon Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur (December 2015).
• The Thai Tails Convention in Bangkok (January 2016).
• Shanghai Furry Summer Festival in Shanghai, China (July 23, 2016).

One Southeast Asian country is conspicuously missing:  Burma/Myanmar. Of course, there have been furry conventions in Japan for the last decade.

The Southeast Asian furry community has been growing since AnthroAsia went online in 2004. There have been higher-profile furmeets in Bangkok since 2012, and these conventions have had no trouble getting meeting space. At least one furry author, MikasiWolf (Pang Hee Juon) in Singapore, has risen since 2013, although his short stories have all been published in English outside Southeast Asia so far.

Disney’s Zootopia has been distributed throughout Southeast Asia including in Cambodia and Vietnam, although this may have been only in the largest and most cosmopolitan cities. In general, things are looking encouraging for the furry community there, and furry fandom has been accepted without notice.

Could such Western influences bring backlash? Things haven’t always been positive. Some terrorism in Southeast Asia has been blamed on reactionary Islamic groups, such as the bombing of Western tourists in Bali in 2002.

Disney’s Zootopia was released in Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. Does this mean that attitudes have changed in some Islamic countries? Or that it is an example of the power of Disney? Or has distribution there been only in the most cosmopolitan cities?

Things taken for granted elsewhere in the West aren’t free to see everywhere; consider how ubiquitous Santa Claus is.  But the government of Uzbekistan ordered Santa Claus and Russia’s similar Grandfather Frost taken off TV because they’re non-Uzbeki… but it’s more probably because they’re non-Islamic.

Russia’s “Zabivaka” mascot for FIFA unveiled this week… guess who loves him.

Remember when the Iron Curtain dominated half the world up to the 1980’s?  It was a huge deal when rock and roll, jeans and McDonald’s came to Russia.  Such things can be unexpectedly subversive.

It’s universal to love anthro animals. Art and cartoons speak in ways that words can’t. Maybe kids will have that as part of loosening domination in their countries. There already are pockets of furs in places like Iran.

Furry is an international conspiracy built from grassroots.  It could take a little part in a bigger clash.  So far, all I have are questions and curiosity.  Especially if this ever starts to involve “the topic we love to hate” – the duality of Disney vs. Dirty in the fandom.  As much as it causes concern, it’s also a source of independence and liberation.  Something that many parts of the world could use in whatever form it takes.

Related: Questions for Russian furry fans about anti-gay oppression.

See the movie Argo for a fantastic liberation story set in Iran. It’s about a spy operation to free hostages under cover of making a sci-fi B movie.

The world’s only government-run furry convention (as far as I can tell) is The China National Furry Party.

China National Furry Party poster

 

From the Koyama Press web site we learn that “Steve Wolfhard… draws comics like Cat Rackham and Turtie Needs Work and works as a storyboard artist on the Emmy Award-winning animated television series Adventure Time.” Turns out that Cat Rackham has quite a following of its own. Not bad for “a deeply depressed cat”. Now Koyama brings us the new Cat Rackham full-color graphic novel. “The existential dread associated with getting out of bed terrifies Cat Rackham to his cat core. However, despite his efforts, he seems to consistently find himself dewclaw deep in trouble, often deeply strange trouble.” It’s available now in hardcover — featuring a poem by Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward.

image c. 2016 Koyama Press

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Hello Papabear,

When I found your website I was absolutely thrilled, because I've been wanting to ask this for a while. My parents have always been cautious of what I do on the internet, from my point of view it seems like they think that everyone on it is probably a 60 year old pedophile.... But I've managed to sneak it, I have a FA account that I use regularly. I'm thinking if they knew about my FA they'd probably make me get rid of it, and then research what a Furry is. Finding out, like most parents, the internet description of it is "a sex-crazed fandom." I don't want this, that's why I've been keeping it from them for so long. But lately I've really wanted to commission some art from some of my favorite artists, and send things to some of my good friends I've made. I don't know how to go about telling them that I'm a Furry and that I've really been wanting to commission some of my favorite artists. 

Thanks!

*My dad tends not to be too accepting towards different things, he would probably think I'm a weirdo if I told him. My mom would probably just be concerned for my internet safety.

Kodi (age 13)

* * *

Hi, Kodi,

I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to use your letter as a jumping-off point for a topic that has been slowly evolving in my mind since I began writing this column, and, more recently, as I've begun researching my book about the fandom.

As you and everyone reading this knows, there are two sides of the furry fandom: one is innocent, playful, and imaginative, the other one is much much more mature. Papabear understands that people such as yourself (and there is a growing number of them) are not interested (well, most aren't) in the sexy side of fur. They just want to have fun imagining themselves as their fursona having adventures with their friends in fantastic realms.

How did this bad reputation develop in which people see furries as, well, perverts?

The beginnings of the modern fandom were deliberately aimed at adult audiences. Back in the 1980s, when what I will call the Founding Furries began to meet at sci-fi conventions, they were discussing how they enjoyed talking animal characters but that all the stuff being created about them (comic strips, cartoons) was for children. What they wished to do was create stories, magazines, illustrations with anthros that were aimed at adult audiences. 

Now, by this I don't mean X-rated, necessarily. Rather, they were stories that allowed for adult themes, such as more violence, political and social themes, and, yes, more erotic stuff (however, the erotic stuff tended to be part of the story, not just porn) to be addressed. A classic example of this is the "Omaha: The Cat Dancer" series by Reed Waller and the late Kate Worley. The stories in this series involved organized crime, gay themes, corrupt politicians, romance, and, yes, some love scenes. It was not pornography, but it was definitely not for children, either. Another, somewhat more recent, example is the "Blacksad" series by the extremely talented Spanish team of Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido featuring a title character that is a black cat who is a P.I. and gets into all kinds of ugly situations. The Arctic Nation issue deals brilliantly with the topic of racism, for instance.

Both of these series--and many others--are quality works of fiction. Neither of them would I recommend to a 13 year old such as yourself to read.

Over time, the media and mundanes (those outside the fandom) became obsessed by the sexual imagery in some of these works. Indeed, more and more artists began drawing furry porn. This was not really the original intent of the fandom, but in many ways it has evolved in that direction.

Because of this, I must regrettably come to the conclusion that the fandom is really not intended for the under-18 crowd such as yourself. ​(Don't give up on me yet, read on....)

Your parents are concerned about you and what you might find on the Internet. This is actually very correct and proper for them to do. As parents, they should be involved in what you view online. I know, you think you are aware of all the bad stuff that is online (and, no, I am not saying everyone out there is a pedophile--that certainly is not true), but there are a lot of bad people online, Kodi. People who try to take advantage of others, either for money or sex or just to be mean. And some of them are furries.

What I would like to do is recommend to you some great works of fiction for you to read. These are not "furry" books in that they weren't written by furries, but they certainly do have what you are looking for. Here's is my reading list. Let's call it:

Papabear's Reading List for Aspiring Furries

1. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
2. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
3. Watership Down by Richard Adams
4. The Redwall series by Brian Jacques
5. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
6. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
8. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
9. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
10. Abel's Island by William Steig

I'm not sure how sophisticated you are as a reader, but the above books range in age and you will likely find something. All of the writers listed above are extremely gifted and I'm sure you'll fall in love with their characters (if you haven't read some of these already).

Of course, there are many movies and TV shows with furry characters for you to enjoy, including, notably, the very recent Zootopia and the Kung Fu Panda films.

The reason I am talking to you about all of the above is that these are all ways for you to enjoy anthropomorphic characters in fiction that is considered "mainstream." You are not going to be given any grief from Mom or Dad if you read The Wind in the Willows.

All of the above is, however, neglecting the social side of furry. I'm sure a big reason that you are getting interested in furries is that you would like to chat with others who share your interests. You can actually do this, if you didn't know, by joining fan clubs of some of the works listed above. Certainly, there are fan clubs out there for all kinds of Disney and Pixar movies. If you type in any of the titles above and add "fan club" in a search engine, you will come up with interactive sites for those who share your love of these books and movies.

In addition, you can connect to friends your own age in your neighborhood and school and see if any of them are interested in anthros. If so, you might start your own little group of like-minded teens your age, meeting at one another's houses.
​
Like video games? Tons of games out there where you can be an anthro and have lots of fun, everything from Kung Fu Panda and Ratchet and Clank to Starfox and Yoshi. Want to create your own fursona? No reason why you can't. You don't need the furry fandom to do this.

The point is, there is plenty of stuff that is considered "mainstream" for you to enjoy before you venture into the adult world of the furry fandom. And you won't have to worry about hiding it from your parents (a behavior that is not conducive to gaining your parents' trust, by the way).

Can parents be unfair? Sure. Can they be a pain in the butt? Certainly. But please keep in mind that they love you and don't want you to be hurt. You are 13. You should not be entering the furry fandom world right now any more than you should walk into an auto dealership to purchase a car. That's for adults. But, don't worry, you will get there before you know it.

In the meantime, there is plenty of terrific stuff for you to enjoy. The books above are things I read at your age and prepared me to become part of the fandom later in life.

Bear Hugs,
Papabear

Badges from Mary Mouse

Missing, flaky commissions suck. it’s a chronic problem that’s only modestly addressed by small watchdogs like the Artist Beware community.

Things should be smoother.  But there’s a reason why commissioning is unpredictable. Things are dragged down by underbidding among artists. Nobody becomes an artist to get rich, and many don’t charge enough for the service they’re doing.

Why ask a customer to fix problems of a business?  I get it… if someone promises something, they should deliver without expecting more than they earn.  But give me a minute… if this is a passion-driven fandom and not a cut-throat market, maybe there’s a little room for common problem-solving and partnership.

Assume good faith.  Give credit to artists for being full of love for what they do.  But it’s awfully hard to get good and be competitive.  That’s how so many of them plan to get things done on a thin margin and tight schedules.  It’s easy for plans to go off the rails, people get sick, there’s unexpected mistakes or accidents, and burnout is common. Then commissioners are left waiting for extra weeks, months… or nearly forever.

Blondefoxy on Twitter

It has to do with art being treated as a hobby.  It is a hobby for many, and that’s one of the most loveable things about fandom.  But getting good and doing good work means that’s just a start. It helps to understand where they’re coming from. Look at this level of fandom as just the beginning of a development process.

As artists develop, difficulty can grow if the seriousness with which fans take fandom isn’t matched with how much they care for artists while they work.  Are artists fans too, or professionals? Maybe both?

Skilled fandom art is already a massive bargain. You couldn’t hire other pros to do things as good as many furry artists do. And nobody NEEDS an Angel Dragon suit, or cute-ass badge or a drawing of their fursona playing videogames in underpants. There’s no reason for entitlement about cheap art. Think of it as more like luxury, leisure, entertainment and expression, than crucial food and shelter for yourself.

Caring for artists can help your own interest. If loose deadlines are common enough to be taken for granted, it can make a gap where scammers run rampant.  Having low expectations can let them be taken advantage of, and everyone gets hurt. Having high expectations and paying to support artists can help a fandom define itself apart from outside influence.  Paying more can give power to commissioners.

Adding incentive can raise the bar.  Tell an artist that after the commission is delivered, you’ll pay more if it’s on time.  And you’ll pay even more if it’s done perfectly.

Now you’re an active part of the art process.  Imagine that being a regular thing. Every time an artist sits down to make a schedule and estimate delivery times, you’re boosting their commitment to everyone.

Compare restaurant tipping.  20% on top is common for that.  But I suspect indie artists put in far more time than other employment that would pay the same paycheck.  Think of paying a few hundred extra for a fursuit that costs a few grand. (Deduct it from what you earn while waiting for a year, if you’re a working professional with disposable income for a suit.)  That’s a great amount of support to help an artist continue working.  And since it isn’t inside employer-set hours, they might have to rush 20% less to cram other jobs in the schedule.

Tipping is optional.  Whether you agree with the idea or not, there’s little way to force you to pay extra for informal person-to-person business.  It’s not likely to become an expectation or something you can’t skip.  It’s just nice.

So I hope not to hear complaints about not being able to afford paying more.  You don’t have to do this.  I’m just suggesting it’s a good thing to WANT to do.

This is a separate topic from bidding-wars.  If you don’t like seeing popular artists get paid a lot for lazy YCH commissions, seek out the countless ones who are underrated for exceptional skill.

It pays goodwill forward.  Tipping is an expectation for things like going to a sit-down restaurant in North America, but not for art.  Artists would be surprised if you throw more on top instead of expecting cheapest labor.  If you don’t even offer, but send a gift, that would be even more surprising.  And then even if you don’t do it, you can benefit if the person before you does it. You’re much more likely to get their heart in the work and their very best creativity.  I’d love to see this kind of goodwill increase in this already-awesome fandom.

Furries are already known for being fiercely devoted patrons. It’s true!  See: The Secret Furry Patrons Keeping Indie Artists Afloat.  Unfortunately, it’s still tough to make a living from art. So consider tipping your creators.  They will love it.  That’s the long and short of it.  And it can feed a subculture with even more power to rule itself in times of ever-worsening struggles for creative people – but that’s another topic.

#TipYourMakers.  This is a PSA in the spirit of others for common good, like The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored.”

Ratgirl at Cogscon from jackieloart.com

Rob Cohen (director of The Fast and The Furious and (yay!) Dragonheart) has a new comic book project out from 4five1 Comics called Red Dog. Here’s what they say: “Some say there’s no greater love in the universe than the love a boy has for his dog. For Kyle, the only kid living amongst 200 grownups on a distant mining colony light-years away from Earth, that saying is a given. Welcome to Kirawan, a planet that Kyle calls, ‘the worst place you could ever imagine’. Kyle stumbles through his days doing his chores hoping to live up to the steep demands of his father, the head of the planet’s mining operation. Still, it’s not all bad: There’s Q, Kyle’s robotic K-9, basically the greatest pet in the known universe. However, during an upload of resources bound for earth, the alien natives of Kirawan launch a full scale attack on the human miners. The events that follow thrust Kyle and Q into the middle of a mysterious civil war; a war in which the fate of the planet will hang.” This bi-monthly limited series is written by Mr. Cohen and Andi Ewington, with full-color art by Rob Atkins. Comic Bastards has an extensive review. The first issue is due later this month.

image c. 2016 4five1

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Quirk’s Quest: Into The Outlands is a new full-color graphic novel for young readers from First Second. Here’s what the publishers have to say: “Setting out to explore the remote Outlands of Crutonia are the brave and multifarious crew of the H.M.S. Gwaniimander, under the command of Captain Quenterindy Quirk—a leader whose confidence exceeds his competence by several lengths of his own bushy tail. Quirk’s voyage of discovery is quickly plunged into disaster and mystery, as the expedition encounters carnivorous giants, an unstable sorceress, and a valley of indestructible creatures. With the crew decimated, the ship destroyed, and a malign force plotting worse fortune, can Quirk and his compatriots hold together their royal mission? Vividly illustrated and starring a cunningly designed cast of characters, Into the Outlands is a tale of adventure in a fully-imagined fantasy world ripe for exploration. This first graphic novel of Quirk’s Quest includes an illustrated roster of the important characters, a guide to the intrepid Sxervian Frog Brigade, and mission map of the Outlands.” Written by Robert Christie and illustrated by Deborah Lang (in a style that is very reminiscent of Fraggle Rock), this new trade paperback is available now.

image c. 2016 First Second