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Daniel de Sosa, creator of the very odd comic Kitty Jenkins: Purrvana (which we reviewed before) is back with another interesting full-color project proposal. This new one is called Kitty Jenkins: A Song of Mice and Fur [You’re a true fan if you get that pun…], and there’s currently a Kickstarter campaign to make it a reality. “A Song of Mice and Fur is an absurdist fantasy story set in the realm of Nyania where kitty lords and canine rulers lord over the rodent peasantry. After a surprise Meowgol attack, the fragile peace between the kingdoms of Nyania is broken, and the land descends in to chaos. Red panda mercenaries, authoritarian cats, a sad fat pug and many more all fight tooth, nail and claw to come out on top!” Visit the campaign page to find out more.

image c. 2016 by Daniel de Sosa

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SoCal Furs on Twitter

Please visit this GoFundMe campaign for expenses for surviving kids.

There has been a lot of talk about a tragedy this weekend in Southern California.

• ABC: Suspects, Victims in California Killings Were ‘Furries’
• Orange County Register: 4 connected in Fullerton triple homicide have ties to furry community
• NY Daily News: California couple found killed in home mourned by furry community

I wanted to say something about these ties:

This is very sad for everyone. There might be unusual headlines about it, but the social connection could happen with a group of workers, students or anyone else. Killing is against everything our little fan group is for. Thanks are due to the OC Register for telling the purpose in the bottom line, with a quote from a local member: “People come to us to get away from the negative stuff in life.” 

This is a niche interest, so when something like this happens, it’s personal tragedy to us beyond just a news story to others. Many members have lost friends or have very close ties to those who did.  Please send thoughts to them, and the surviving kids most of all.

I felt a little responsible for saying something, because of the way things started to happen when news started coming out.  At first, it was just a call to locate a Missing Person (a fur) who was soon located.  I tweeted that and got a high amount of views.

When more came out, I looked into it deeply to write a big story.  I talked to people close to it, with personal knowledge that nobody else had.  Some info came out that was directed to the police.  Then I saw people local to the story asking for space.  They asked for it to be kept as their story, given time to process, and handled by professionals and cops.  That was when I decided this is beyond fan level.  I removed all my tweets and passed on their message.

I think it really is the worst thing that ever happened with ties to this community. It’s not that unusual compared to other crimes that happen in cities, but I think it’s disproportionately big to a niche group.  It might have to do with 2016’s explosion of interest and positive activity as well – things are just growing.

That wasn’t quite the end of it. The OC Register reporter had a lot of conversation with me due to my initial notice.  They were puzzled about what furries are and what they do. Of course they already knew this was part of the story – that wouldn’t be overlooked.  It made a dilemma – I thought that if tabloids were going to exploit this, maybe a real member should say something to real news.

So I sent the best info I could about the definition of “Furry” and referred the reporter to the same local person who I saw asking for space and respect.  I thought he was already doing a good job of handling it.  So when you see Bandit speaking in the piece, it’s not for attention, it’s because he was asked. Remember that he lost friends, like everyone else close to this story, and that’s the real deal.

There were a few missteps from the OC Register piece (nobody said anything about “sensitive” topics,) but Bandit seems to be getting many thank-you’s for doing a good job from local members.  He mentioned turning down other interviews, and I think that’s a good idea. Say it once and let it go.

I have been checking around to see what comes out. I expect tabloids to try riding this, but most of the few I have seen so far seem pretty negligible, and I hope they get little mileage.  They can say there’s weird stuff with misfit people, but nobody did a crime while participating in one of our activities. In the end it’s just between regular humans.

TL;DR: Was going to write a big report. Stopped to let locals and pros process. I think it’s beyond fan level. It’s awful and sad. There hasn’t been anything this bad in fandom before. Let it process and share good words to anyone who lost friends and family.

UPDATE 9/29/16:

Thank you to the OC Register and reporter Scott Schwebke for linking here.  And thank you to Scott for being professional and sensitive, and doing good detective work.  I believe that Scott’s reporting has helped to stop rumors and confusion.  There was a screenshot of a supposed murder confession that was degraded enough that you could see it was shared hundreds or thousands of times, before it was posted out-of-context on some trashy tabloid blogs.  Scott dug up the source and provided context that I think shows it could NOT have been a reasonable clue of real danger before the incident.  Thank you to everyone in the community who stepped up to provide such info to aid police investigation.  Everyone’s concern will help heal this incident to heal in time.

Very few things can serve as a shortcut to an emotional response as a name. Everyone has one and everyone has an opinion. Legal? Preferred? Other? What's a so-called "real name", anyway? Roo and Tugs are joined by guest Icarus to explore this topic and read everyone's email on this sensitive topic. We also have Space News and a new episode of "Get Psyched", after which we crack open the mailbag and hear what's going on with you!



NOW LISTEN!

Show Notes

Special Thanks

Icarus, our guest!
Christian (aka Bassblitzed)
Lumeo
Vlad
Zuka Zalad
Hachi Shibaru
Kyn
Kira - both email and ident!
Cane McKeyton
Addi the Fennet
EpicRive
Miski
November Dingo
Finney
Mav
Lesli Reed
Moss - for the postcard!

Music

Opening Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Century Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller– Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Game Round 1: Mystery Skulls – Ghost. USA: Warner Bros Records, 2011. Used with permission.
Some music was provided by Kevin MacLeod at Incompetech.com. We used the following pieces: Phantom from Space, Leopard PRint Elevator, Secret of Tiki Island . Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Get Psyched Music: Fredrik Miller – Universe, USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Closing Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Headnodic Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)

Next episode: Convention roommates - both picking them and times it has gone horribly wrong! Let us know your strategies and stories by October 5, 2016!

Heads up!: We're accepting stories for the Halloween episode! Send them before October 19!

Lumeo's Fox Dollar! S6 Episode 4 – What’s in a Name? - Very few things can serve as a shortcut to an emotional response as a name. Everyone has one and everyone has an opinion. Legal? Preferred? Other? What's a so-called "real name", anyway? Roo and Tugs are joined by guest

UPDATE: This post was written and scheduled to go out before news of a tragedy this weekend posted above it. Please don’t connect the two stories.

Do you know John Waters? He’s “the Pope of Trash” – a movie maker, author, performer and beloved icon of freaks everywhere. In the 1970’s, his no-budget, LSD-infused comedy took John and his cast into Midnight Movie superstardom and beyond.  In 2013, at a stage show, I got him to talk about Furries to the audience. My article about it mentioned giving him an invitation to San Francisco’s legendary Frolic fur dance.

This week, that got attention from another creative force, the organizers of Mortified. They were looking for help to invite John to a project.  They reached out to Dogpatch Press and I was happy to hook them up with info.  I wanted to help (with furry hugs on top) when I saw what they do:

“Mortified celebrates stories revealed through the strange and extraordinary things we created as kids.

Witness adults sharing their most embarrassing childhood artifacts (journals, letters, poems, lyrics, plays, home movies, art) with others, in order to reveal stories about their lives. Hear grown men and women confront their past with tales of their first kiss, first puff, worst prom, fights with mom, life at bible camp, worst hand job, best mall job, and reasons they deserved to marry Jon Bon Jovi.”

I’ll bet that might strike a chord with some furry fans. Do you have an old Livejournal you cringe about?  RP chat logs?  A horrible Durrsuit? A story about wanting to marry Robin Hood? Would you share some of it, if we promise to be nice about it or keep it anonymous if you ask?

Please send your submission for an article! Email: patch.ofurr@gmail.com.

Remember, this needs artifacts first of all – journals, letters, art, videos etc with entertainment value.  Then tell a personal story about it.  And I know that mocking is one thing furries get sensitive about, because it’s tiresome from others.  This is to laugh with you, not at you.

And maybe more. If it’s beyond in-joke, and regular people might enjoy it too, I could ask Mortified to share or retweet.  Think about it… being “cringey” is already a topic furries share with each other.   How about in front of regular people? Everyone can have it in common.  Mortified is there to celebrate that, and I think it could bring some love from people who have never met a furry and only hear about them from mean people.

It’s silly to be a talking animal.  That’s why furries are charming.  No need to be overdefensive about it. This isn’t to feed attacks, it’s about owning your own image, warts and all, without apologizing.  Enjoying a hobby doesn’t depend on impressing people who don’t.  If others want to pick on your sensitivities, they’ll just be slow and dumb if you beat them to it.

The mission of Dogpatch Press: “Expect bold claims, jaunty opinions, and lots of love (and fleas).” Here’s a jaunty opinion. Furries don’t need validation to be cool – other people are just missing out if they don’t appreciate what’s here.  I hope we never lose stuff like this.

Don’t think I would ask you to do it without doing it myself first.  It was so much fun to be in an outrageous Rap CD and a live comedy show!  It got outsider appreciation. Show Review: Live Sex (10/16/15).  I think there’s tons of potential for furries to perform outside of fandom, and I hope to see more of it.

MORE AMAZING FURRY TRASH:

Exchanging Fluids on PBS: Your eyes will bug out at this WTF furry video from 1992! – and – Q&A with Biohazard of the infamous “Too Hot for PBS” video.

Here’s another find from the Long Beach Comic Con.”Adorkable” is how the artist Jeff Victor describes much of his own work, and indeed his cartoon creations tend toward the “chibi” side of things. A veteran of Warner Brothers TV Animation and Nickelodeon Games, Jeff now works as a freelance illustrator — and a quick glance at his web site will show you what he’s been up to lately. Cartoon characters and yes, funny animals abound.

image c. 2016 by Jeff Victor

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Dear Papabear,

How have you been?

Well, I'm here because I really need some help, and need to express what I'm feeling recently.

I became a furry 3 years ago ( 4 with this year), and unfortunately my country or dont know what the furry fandom is or have the wrong ideia about what's the furry fandom, I live in Portugal and in my whole life I never found a furry here.

I really love this fandom, create my fursona was a great help in my life, because I didn't like myself, but now that point changed. My problem is, I dont know how to integrate myself more in the fandom, since I never found any furries in my country and I only spoke to a few furries online. 
I like to make new friends but for some reason I feel very shy when I talk with someone in the fandom, I really need some help. This fandom was and is a very important thing in my life, I found it when I was in a deep depression, nobody understood me, I was victim of bullying in school, and one day, someone on twitter raised his paw at me and brought me to the fandom.

I dont know if the countries where the furry fandom is popular know our existence but well, with luck, one day maybe we will have a furry event/conventiom, if that happens my wish will be fulfilled. 

I started recently doing art (furry art/headshots/etc) because I think that's a great hobby and can bring me some extra money, since I'm also saving money to buy a fursuit, so I thought maybe that could help a bit to know new people, but I dont know, I really need help.

Can u give me some help or tips to socialize more in the fandom or just how to have more confidence? Or some way to know if there is some furries in my country?

The best for you!

-Taiga 

* * *

Dear Taiga,

Bear hugs and welcome to the furry fandom :-3  The furry community originated in California, of course, but it is spreading internationally like wildfire. Even so, there are some countries, such as Portugal, where there are not a whole lot of furries (or they just don't know they are furries yet ;-).

I can give you a couple of leads that might help, however. There is a helpful website called FurryMap at https://furrymap.net/ that I checked out, and there are some furries in your area. There are, actually, probably many more than are listed on the map because only a small percentage of furries are registered on FurryMap. However, if you create an account on FurryMap (it is free) you can then click on the little markers you see on the website and try to contact those furries directly.

I also found a couple of furries listed on Wikifur at http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Category:Portugal. Not sure if you can reach them through there, but it is a start and gives you some leads.

Next, if you are able to travel, there are a number of conventions in Europe (sadly, none in Portugal, Spain, or even France, but many in Germany and some in England, Switzerland, Italy, etc. You don't necessarily have to go to these cons, but you might try contacting some and seeing if they might have some leads (they might know better about European resources than I do here in America).

If you are familiar with the social network Facebook, there is also a Portugal furries group there https://www.facebook.com/groups/820904181332707/ that has 141 members currently. It is a closed group, so you will have to ask them to let you in. Make sure your profile notes you live in Portugal. Facebook is also free to join.

I am unfamiliar with Portugal, but perhaps, too, your country has some popular social networks and perhaps you can create a profile and note you are a furry and try to get some contacts that way, but that's a bit of a stretch. I would try the other options, first.

I hope this helps! I'm sure more and more people will join the fandom in Portugal as you have, and perhaps, yes, there will be a furcon there someday. Perhaps you might even start with a simple furmeet, even organize one yourself and invite people you discover in the fandom online.

Good Luck!

Papabear

RoboCatz vs. ThunderDogs. That’s an almost self-explanatory title, isn’t it? Certainly gets the furry fan’s attention! It’s a new independent full-color comic book series created by Justin Cermak, Donovan Goertzen, and Fabian Cobos. The premise is simple: Cats and dogs have been fighting for millennia, in front of humans and behind their backs. What humans don’t know is that both sides have employed war technology in their battles for some time — and in the not too distant future, both cats and dogs will have developed large anime-style robot fighters to carry out their planned destruction of the other side. Hmm… this maybe makes the whole comic sound a lot more serious than it is. Check out the much more detailed preview at Indie Comics Review.

image c. 2016 Data Red Comics

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Our gray wolf guest joins us once again for some insanity.

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• NordicFuzzCon Drama
• Sheep and Wolves – Final Trailer
• Australian Man invents Hamdog
• Son of Chinese billionaire bought his dog 8 iPhones
• PCGamer – What’s it’s like to have the fastest internet in the country
• Your Map Of The World Is Wrong. Here’s How Big Everything Actually Is

News:

• Giraffe Wants To Nuzzle Way More Than He Wants To Be On Local News
• Driver Rolls Car After Stowaway Spider Drops Into Her Lap
• Potty-Mouthed Teacher Gets Time Out
• Student emails her college professor a toe-curling assignment written while DRUNK
• This is the cutest dog that ever stabbed its owner with a knife

Emails:

• Artic Fox – “My Mom Hates Furries”
• DiscoStu – “Plant Furries”
• Saber Gray – “Great Show”

FC-246 Through Fire and Legs - Our gray wolf guest joins us once again for some insanity.

Our gray wolf guest joins us once again for some insanity.

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• NordicFuzzCon Drama
• Sheep and Wolves – Final Trailer
• Australian Man invents Hamdog
• Son of Chinese billionaire bought his dog 8 iPhones
• PCGamer – What’s it’s like to have the fastest internet in the country
• Your Map Of The World Is Wrong. Here’s How Big Everything Actually Is

News:

• Giraffe Wants To Nuzzle Way More Than He Wants To Be On Local News
• Driver Rolls Car After Stowaway Spider Drops Into Her Lap
• Potty-Mouthed Teacher Gets Time Out
• Student emails her college professor a toe-curling assignment written while DRUNK
• This is the cutest dog that ever stabbed its owner with a knife

Emails:

• Artic Fox – “My Mom Hates Furries”
• DiscoStu – “Plant Furries”
• Saber Gray – “Great Show”

FC-246 Through Fire and Legs - Our gray wolf guest joins us once again for some insanity.

Our gray wolf guest joins us once again for some insanity.

Download MP3

Link Roundup:

• NordicFuzzCon Drama
• Sheep and Wolves – Final Trailer
• Australian Man invents Hamdog
• Son of Chinese billionaire bought his dog 8 iPhones
• PCGamer – What’s it’s like to have the fastest internet in the country
• Your Map Of The World Is Wrong. Here’s How Big Everything Actually Is

News:

• Giraffe Wants To Nuzzle Way More Than He Wants To Be On Local News
• Driver Rolls Car After Stowaway Spider Drops Into Her Lap
• Potty-Mouthed Teacher Gets Time Out
• Student emails her college professor a toe-curling assignment written while DRUNK
• This is the cutest dog that ever stabbed its owner with a knife

Emails:

• Artic Fox – “My Mom Hates Furries”
• DiscoStu – “Plant Furries”
• Saber Gray – “Great Show”

[Live] Through Fire and Legs

we talk about Alkali's big camping vacation adventure 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 Lastly, don't forget to check out our YouTube, where we have many extra vids, Dragget Plays, and live streams & recordings of the podcasts. www.youtube.com/user/DraggetShow/videos ep 137 - Look At The Dick, Dan! - we talk about Alkali's big camping vacation adven…

​Dear Papabear,

Over some time I have felt my childhood dreams will not make me successful in the future, and have had people who try to get me to adopt "you cannot have happiness without sadness" or "there is no such thing as a perfect life" that seem needlessly complex. I also read "your child's genius is within his dreams," so I feel torn.
 
My childhood dreams were to have a secret underground bunker with supplies that lets me go on missions, like what you see in movies. Have a space base that was something like the Enterprise from Star Trek, so my imaginary friends and I could save the universe. Have a big house in an isolated place, being taken care of financially, so I could live a simple life free of doubt, worry, fear, not working from paycheck to paycheck, etc.; and I mean a house in the middle of nature, a forest, rolling hills, or where it snows.
 
Is this normal growing up? What should I believe? One side note is my parents have now divorced and I am living with my dad.
 
I wish the best for you!


Nick Husky 


* * *
 
Dear Nick,
 
It’s very nice to have dreams. Dreams can inspire us to do great things. But to achieve those great things requires work. The first “uh oh” I see in your letter is the phrase that you wish to be “taken care of financially.” You mean, someone will just give you all the money you need to achieve your dreams? I would not count on that.
 
But if you mean you would work hard to take care of your financial needs and then move to your lovely home in the woods, that’s doable, assuming you, again, are willing to work for it.
 
Are there dreams that are too big? Such as having an underground bunker or a space base? Hmm, well, there is a billionaire named Richard Branson who founded the private space travel company Virgin Galactic. But Branson achieved this by a huge drive as an entrepreneur, starting a company that would become the Virgin Group when he was still a teenager. Are you willing to work that hard?
 
Don’t let people tell you that you can’t dream, Nick. But, at the same time, if you really want those dreams to come true you need to be willing to do the legwork.
 
Hugs,
Papabear
 
P.S. Sorry to hear your parents have divorced. I wish you the best, too.

Allen Carter is a writer and comic artist from Hawaii, currently living in Southern California. Among his creations: After finding inspiration from Chuck Jones’ 1975 animated version of Rikki Tikki Tavi, Allen brought us the Figure of Speech Mongoose, who illustrates various well-known sayings (and awful puns) in particularly silly ways. (“Catching a bus” — with a fishing line…) After experimenting with animation, Allen turned the FOS Mongoose into an on-line single-panel comic. Later he collected those works in a series of one-shot comic books, which he sells from his web site along with prints and other works. Allen is another artist making the circuit of Southern California comic cons. Look for him.

image c. 2016 by Allen Carter

Decalzilla is an art project and on-line store created in 2010 by two artists named Jon and Courtney. No prizes for guessing: They create custom hand-made vinyl decals in a variety of designs and colors.  Comic book stuff, anime, and yes lots of cartoons (including cartoon animals!) find there way into the works you find at Decalzilla.com. All of them original designs, mind you, not just copies of official artwork. Based out of Southern California, they travel to anime and comic conventions all around — and they’re hoping to expand their circle into other parts of the country and even internationally as well.

image c. 2016 Decalzilla

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FurBQ 2016 (Episode: 97)
The annual SoCal FurBQ is here once again, where everyone is saying goodbye to summer with a day full of food, fun and other shenanigans. See more at: http://www.TheRaccoonsDen.com FACEBOOK:... From: The Raccoon's Den Views: 3502 73 ratings Time: 10:31 More in Entertainment

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

ROAR volume 7, Legendary, edited by Mary E. Lowd.
Dallas, TX, Bad Dog Books, June 2016, trade paperback $19.95 (377 pages), Kindle $9.95.

ROAR volume 7, Bad Dog Books’ annual anthology of non-erotic furry adventure short fiction, is the second edited by Mary E. Lowd following last year’s vol. 6 devoted to Scoundrels. It is slightly smaller – 17 stories rather than 28, and 377 pages rather than 394 – but is still larger than the volumes edited by Buck C. Turner. This year’s theme is Legends/Legendary; the legends that anthro animals listen to and live by – or not.

In “Crouching Tiger, Standing Crane” by Kyla Chapek, three Oriental students – a fox, a crane, and a snake – listen to a tigress fortuneteller as she relates the history of their tiger-crane school of martial arts. “The Manchurian government of the Qing dynasty had become corrupt beyond measure. At the same time the Shaolin style [of Kung Fu] had become popular, gaining great respect and power within the martial arts world.” (p. 14) This is the story of how the betrayed Shaolin monks went underground and continued to teach their style, told with anthro animals: The Bengal tiger, snow leopard, and clouded leopard clans, disguised as traveling performers; their meeting the fragile-appearing cranes; marriage resulting despite official disapproval (“‘The Manchu do not look kindly on cross breed relationships, let along cross clan.’” –p. 20); betrayal and death; and the children, foster brothers Hoong Man Ting (crane) and Wu Ah Phieu (tiger), despite their own families’ anthropomorphic disapproval (“‘A crane couldn’t use tiger style because they lack paws with strong digits and claws; conversely a tiger cannot use crane style because he lacks a beak and the stance would be completely unnatural.’” –pgs. 29-30), leading to the climax showing how the two styles were merged.

“The Frog Who Swallowed the Moon” by Renee Carter Hall, tells how Frog used to have the most beautiful voice in the swamp; until one night when he swallowed a bucketful of water that had the full moon shining in it, and everything went dark. He learns what he must do to replace the moon, but that is why his voice has never been the same.

Hall paints an unforgettable word-picture of the pond in the dark night, except when Frog opens his mouth to talk and blinding moonbeams shoot out. This legend is an ethereal example of poetic writing:

“It didn’t seem to be the pond he’d known as a tadpole. In the stark light of his moonbeam, the pale stones led him across an expanse of water larger than he’d ever seen before. Soon there were no more marsh-reeds or cattails at the edges of his sight. There was only darkness and the moonpath, and when Frog dared to look up, even the stars had disappeared. He didn’t look up again after that, keeping his light and his eyes focused on the stones just ahead.” (p. 53)

“The Torch” by Chris “Sparf” Williams tells the bittersweet story of Rob Cantor (Dalmatian), Captain Electron in an old TV series that’s been forgotten and become mega-popular again by a current spectacular VFX movie. Rob has been dragged out to appear at a comics convention where everyone wants the autograph of John Pierce, the new movie Captain Electron. Rob has gotten tired of being introduced as “the legendary, original Captain Electron” to animal kids rushing past him to line up for Pierce’s booth – even the kids’ parents are usually younger than he is. Until he learns from an unexpected fan what “legendary” really means.

In “A Rock Among Millions” by Skunkbomb, narrator Alec (cat) is the just-graduated-from-college friend of Leif, a collie who is starting a job selling tail insurance. “‘You try walking around without a tail and see how many times you fall flat on your ass.’” (p. 89) At least Leif has a job that is just offered to him. Alec’s applications seem to all disappear. A hike together in a mountainous park, looking for a legendary rock that brings good luck, puts Alec into a better perspective.

“The Pigeon Who Wished for Golden Feathers” by Corgi W. is Epoj, who lives in an avian society based upon gambling.

“In avian society, gambling was a sacred affair. Games of chance were divine mediums, through which the gods declared their will. As some read signs in tea stains, and others looked for guidance in the stars, birds turned to gambling, whenever they wished for divinations.” (p. 97)

The pigeon Epoj, a student of Olanthun the dove, is a very successful gambler who is having his feathers set in gold as he can afford them. When Epoj gets an invitation to participate in a tournament of the gods, the peak of the faith (skill is not supposed to be a factor), he accepts despite Olanthun’s advice. Is what happens to them a result of Epoj’s hubris, or the gods’ will? The avian society and their games are fascinating.

“Unbalanced Scales” by Bill Kieffer is a chilling tale of rap music, Cold Blood, and family. Frosty Pine is a thin Bearded Dragon in the Reptile rap group The Knights of St. George, one of the groups of Large Scale Records’ tour The Large Scale Event (reptiles – scales – get it?); a roadie double for singer Dr. Ice and younger brother of giant Kudzu who has made himself into their flashy headliner, Saint George: nine feet tall, gold chains, mirrored coated sunglasses, gold capped lower teeth and upper teeth etched with the words ST. GEORGE and inlaid with gold. Others are Jonny Heartland, an Alligator; Mimic, a box Turtle; Bling Bling, an Anole, … Frosty has gone along at his parents’ urging to keep an eye on Kudzu, in a dangerous world of Mammal and Avi prejudice against the Cold Blooded Repts. But there is danger within the rap Repts themselves, and as the novelette progresses, the reader wonders if Frosty is looking after Kudzu or if Kudzu is looking after Frosty.

Insanity runs in our family.

“Reason: A Story of Aligare” by Heidi C. Vlach is an Aligare tale, the setting of three books by Vlach and a story in the Gods with Fur anthology. Linden, a back-shelled, green-skinned, antennaed aemet girl, is the young keeper of Castaway village’s sacred shrine tree. The shrine’s old tree is dying. Castaway village is at the edge of a large lake, and the soil is too watery for a plum tree; but the villagers don’t want excuses, they want a tree. Vrin, a weasellike ferrin, helps Linden to find a solution. Vlach’s tales of Aligare are always quiet little gems.

“Old-Dry-Snakeskin” by Ross Whitlock asks how the world broke? The bears, the doe, the foxes and the mice, all the animals have their stories, but everyone agrees that only Rattler knows the One Actual Story. Not any rattlesnake, either. Rattler. The outcast. The heretic. This is his story. But those he tells it to don’t want to hear it – understandably so.

“Kitsune Tea” by E. A. Lawrence features Rue, only ten months old and more fox than kitsune. She’s threatened by becoming roadkill in Manitou State Forest, or succumbing to any of the natural dangers that kill most foxes before their first birthday, before she learns how to use her magic kitsune powers. Does the enormous wooden dollhouse on an oak stump in the forest have any answers? What about her grandmamma who has shape-shifted into a human bag lady? Rue can change into a sparrow, but it’s easy to turn into something lesser; hard to turn into something larger. Yes, the dollhouse has answers.

The opening paragraph of “A Touch of Magic” by John D. Rosenman is:

“George Brewster hadn’t seen his Teddy bear in thirty-four years, so he was a bit surprised when he opened his office door and found it sitting on his desk. Or her, rather. As the door clicked shut, he remembered he had called her Susy Burkabine. He also recalled that his parents had disposed of her in the incinerator one day when he was six.” (p. 225)

Susy has returned because George needs help now. His 8-year-old daughter Sylvia has been possessed by a demon. The story is melodramatic, but unfortunately I never felt that George, Sylvia, or George’s other daughter, 12-year-old Tina, act like real people. Or that Susy acts like what I’d imagine a Teddy bear come to life would act like. I also felt that the story is vague as to whether Sylvia was possessed at birth, a couple of years ago, or whether it’s just recently happened.

“Long Time I Hunt” by Erin Lale is one of the best in ROAR vol. 7. It is narrated by a nameless large feline guardian spirit over countless generations, who begins in the prehistoric past and ends in the present. The spirit does not know what it sees, but the reader will recognize what is going on and what happens to its people. “Long Time I Hunt” is very different from “The Torch”, but they each have a bittersweet beauty in their own way.

“The Butterfly Effect” by Jay “Shirou” Coughlan, illustrated by Kadath’s wraparound cover for the book, shows Roi Longfang, the narrator, an anthro wolf in armor with Archimedes, his miniature gryphon spell-forme.

“All four of us [the others are Rahni, another wolf with Hermes, his miniature wolf-seeming spell-forme, and two humans] wore masks made of silver and stuffed with incense and herbs over our faces. Ours were made specifically to fit over our muzzles but they weren’t comfortable, especially for as long as we had been wearing them. No doubt the humans were feeling the same, despite their better fit. They were a constant reminder of what kind of war this was.” (p. 259)

What kind of war is it? The butterflies are ominous.

“‘What’s going on with the butterflies?’

‘Not a lot,’ Erin [another wolf] sighed, idly stroking my side. ‘The butterflies are too dangerous to get close enough to research them, and anyone who is possessed by them is out of our control. All we know is it has something to do with the air, and that they are more than normal butterflies.’” (p. 268)

It’s complex but colorful. There are other animals such as Fehri, a stoat bureaucrat, and an otter nurse. The reader has to figure it out since Roi can’t. He’s getting weaker and weaker, and the humans are getting more and more worried. Are the butterflies responsible?

Cover Art by Kadath

“The Roar” by John Giezentanner, set in the primeval past, is the first story or movie I’ve seen anywhere that features the latest knowledge about the legendary dinosaurs having feathers! A family of smaller carnosaurs – TraawkCnara the narrator, Djuxhaawtig, smaller Ikherrja and Thrutsee-e.

“We stay alive a few more days, catching some fish. The boys chase bugs and furry things; Ikherrja even manages to snag a bird. But we need bigger prey, especially Djuxhaawtig, who is more irritable than ever, and thin. So we keep our noses to the wind and wait. When the moment comes, we ford the river at a better place than the armored one knew of. The boys and I swim; my claws occasionally scrape cobble; Djuxhaawtig slowly walks across.” (p. 298)

They are desperate for enough food to stay alive. They try to take it from the monsters, the larger carnosaurs – but the smaller carnosaurs would be considered feathery monsters today, too.

In “Trust” by TJ, Will (coyote) and Allen (gray fox) are middle-aged homosexual lovers who have been going together for five years. Now that gay marriage is legal, Allen wants to marry Will before he dies of cancer. But Will has a secret … will Allen trust him enough? This is one of the few stories that I’d call genuinely “legendary”. It’s also a funny-animal story; with no need for any of its characters to be animals instead of humans.

In “The Golden Flowers” by Priya Sridhar, Sushil is an aged rhinoceros, the Guardian of the grove of the golden flowers. Emery Brittle (goat), grandson of Sushil’s old friend Sundar, comes to him for medical aid and the real story of why Sundar took Sushil’s horn. Sundar and Emery are cool. Everyone else in Emery’s family sucks. What does “The Golden Flowers” have to do with legends?

“A Thousand Dreams” by Amy Fontaine has a beautiful opening line:

“Tarascus was a wolf made of stars.” (p. 337)

Tarascus becomes a legend to the wolves for many generations, then is forgotten. What happens to a legend who is forgotten? Tarascus wanders the universe, meeting another star-legend, Ranslei the owl. But not forever.

In “Puppets” by Ellis Aen, Sook Callowain, Commander Stargrave, is a legend of the Interstellar Security Federation’s Havari War Academy. He died fighting. Or he died of old age. Or he doesn’t ever die. He is a wolf. Or she is a jaguar. Plug in, and you are both the puppet and the puppeteer.

ROAR volume 7 contains 17 stories. Most are well worth reading, even if their connections to “legends” may be tenuous. Some are true anthro stories; others feature very thinly disguised humans. But it’s an extensive mixture, from the dim past to the far future. Magic to technology. Feathered dinosaurs to wolves in silvery armor or spacesuits. It’s a good addition to the series.

–Fred Patten

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What would happen when furry creatures of radically different backgrounds met? In this throwback to worldbuilding episodes of long ago, we ponder the consequences of first contact between an anthro and a feral species.

Metadata and Credits Furry Worldbuilding: First Contact

Runtime: 32:10m

Cast: Levi, Syruss, 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.

Furry Worldbuilding: First Contact - What would happen when furry creatures of radically different backgrounds met? In this throwback to worldbuilding episodes of long ago, we ponder the consequences of first contact between an anthro and a feral species.

What would happen when furry creatures of radically different backgrounds met? In this throwback to worldbuilding episodes of long ago, we ponder the consequences of first contact between an anthro and a feral species.

Metadata and Credits Furry Worldbuilding: First Contact

Runtime: 32:10m

Cast: Levi, Syruss, 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.

Furry Worldbuilding: First Contact - What would happen when furry creatures of radically different backgrounds met? In this throwback to worldbuilding episodes of long ago, we ponder the consequences of first contact between an anthro and a feral species.

Out-of-nowhere department… and more of a curiosity than a recommendation. There’s a new DVD out this week: A direct-to-video animated film called Elephant Kingdom. Here’s the tag: “When brave elephant Rock (Cary Elwes) sees his wife, Melody (Alexa PenaVega), kidnapped by the powerful human king (Patrick Warburton), the mighty warrior will need some jumbo-sized help from his friends in order to rescue her. Coming to his aid is a quirky, courageous troop of young elephants, including Rally (Carlos PenaVega), and Pugsley (Mikey Bolts), plus the ever-trusty and wacky Wingman (Garrett Clayton) and the kindhearted human queen (Ambyr Childers)”. Interestingly, other than “Grindstone Entertainment” and Lionsgate (who released it) we know next to nothing about who made this. The IMDB entry does not list any director, writers, or other crew; only the English-language voice actors.  It’s available and on the shelves now, but check out the trailer first.

image c. 2016 Lionsgate