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

Spirit Hunters. Book 2: The Open Road, by Paul Kidd. Illustrated.
Raleigh, NC, Lulu.com/Perth, Western Australia, Kitsune Press, May 2016, trade paperback $25.84 (395 pages), Kindle $7.99.

Spirit Hunters. Book 1: The Way of the Fox was published in September 2014, and reviewed here in January 2015. It contains the first three Encounters of about a hundred pages each. I said that, “Spirit Hunters is set in the realm of traditional Japanese mythology, vaguely around 900 or 1000 A.D.” The Spirit Hunters are a quartet who wander throughout medieval mythical Japan hunting yokai — supernatural spirits. Lady Kitsune nō Sura, a fox woman, and her companion Tsunetomo Tonbo, a huge human samurai with “a solid iron staff longer than he was tall. The business end was grimly studded with spikes. It was the weapon of a monster slayer – a thing designed to obliterate helmets, armour and anything organic that might get in its way,” are “itinerant Spirit Hunters, traveling throughout Japan looking for evil Spirits to kill – hopefully for pay.” Asodo Kuno is a young bottom-ranking samurai who hopes that killing demons will gain him a reputation and higher status. Chiri is a shy rat-spirit who Sura persuades to join them. She is accompanied by two little spirits of her own: Daitanishi the rock elemental, and Bifuuko the apparent insect; an air elemental.

Sura and Chiri are the main characters who make this a furry book. Sura is described in the first book as:

“A fox woman lounged upon a fallen log like a reclining Buddha, eating a roasted chicken leg. Beside her, there were the embers of a camp fire and a pair of backpacks ready for travel. The fox woman had a long, clever pointed muzzle, and great, green eyes filled with humour. Her body was human in size and shape – excepting for its lush pelt of fur, her fox head with muzzle and long pointed ears, and her long, elegant red tail. She wore a priestess’ robes decorated with images of peaches – with each peach missing a single bite. The fox called out to Kuno in a loud and merry voice while she wriggled her black-furred toes.” (The Way of the Fox, p. 12) She gets the quartet into their adventures, blithely assuring them, “Trust me – I’m a fox!”

The animal-people can shift among three forms: human except for animal ears and tail; anthropomorphic, looking human but with an animal head, full fur or feathers, and tail; and fully animal but still able to talk.

The Fourth Encounter, “The Lodge of Doves”, pages 9 to 88, is a humorous one. The four Spirit Hunters meet a rival group of three haughty samurai and a crane woman and end up challenging them to a contest to rid the ruined Lodge of Doves of the ghosts haunting it. They can’t understand why the nearby townsfolk think this is so funny.

This shows Sura and Chiri in fine form:

“Sura settled the cap upon her beautifully furred head. She had changed form into something partway between human and animal – covered with fur, and sporting a fine long muzzle with clever whiskers. She tugged her robes in place, then dusted off her black-furred hands.

Beside her, Chiri also changed form. To her elegant pink tail, she now added a delicate, white-furred rat face. Her long white hair gleamed in the slanting sunlight. Sura fussed about setting Chiri to rights – having to fight with Bifuuko, who had definite ideas about the set of Chiri’s hair. With everything in train, Sura tossed her backpack to Tonbo, then led the way towards the mansion gates.” (p. 37)

The Fifth Encounter, “Honour’s Sacrifice”, pages 89 to 188, is more serious. The Spirit Hunters encounter a formless ghost near a town that is celebrating a “rock festival”:

“The monks swung open the heavy gates, revealing a wide, walled yard. A statue of a samurai stood at the centre – a statue apparently cast from solid bronze.

The Raiden samurai immediately stampeded forward, flooding into the yard. They hurled rocks and abuse at the statue. Rocks flew thick as rain, making the bronze statue ring from time to time as it was struck. Monks helped the crowd fan out, keeping them behind ropes and well back from the statue. Those men who scored a hit were overjoyed, braying in triumph to the other samurai.” (p. 108)

The Spirit Hunters learn that the festival is to heap scorn on a nameless, faithless samurai who was contemptuously ordered by his lord to commit seppuku with a wooden sword. Sura feels that nevertheless, the ghost should be exorcised for honour’s sake. But the records of who the samurai was, and what his faithlessness was, are mysteriously incomplete; and they are deliberately hindered with increasing force in their search by the local Lord and Lady. Sura’s and Chiri’s shapeshifting are used prominently here.

The Sixth Encounter, “Friendship’s Sword, pages 189 to 286, starts out as a murder mystery. It seems to be a natural death at first, except for the look of absolute horror on the victim’s face; then the murder means is determined; then there is a four-page ninja attack on the Spirit Hunters:

“The other woodcutters were already flashing weapons out from hiding – short swords, sickles and short spears hidden in the wagon. Kuno drew his sword in a blinding blur of steel, slicing up through one man and down through another. Tonbo slammed his tetsubo down on the up-thrust end of the cart, catapulting the other end upwards, slamming one woodcutter aside and scattering weapons on the ground.

Blow-darts hissed down from the rooftops above, streaking in towards the Spirit Hunters. But the swarm of air elementals shot up from beneath the eaves, smacking darts aside and sending wild eddies of air whipping past the rooves. Two black-clad assassins on one rooftop staggered, pierced by their own comrades’ darts.” (p. 237)

Sura’s and Chiri’s shapeshifting appear again here:

“Before the maid’s astonished eyes, Sura and Chiri both turned into their animal forms. They glided up out of their clothing, shook themselves, and then slipped beneath the basket lid. Sura’s bright fluffy tail draped down outside the basket. Chiri’s little white rat face peeked out, saw the tail, and then she reeled it in out of sight.” (p. 247)

This is the first Encounter which the Spirit Hunters do not entirely win.

In the Seventh Encounter, “The Forest of Lies”, pages 287 to 395, the Spirit Hunters meet a baby who isn’t quite a baby, and spiders. Lots of spiders. Little spiders and giant spiders. Do spiders hiss and screech in bloodlust? These do. Sura hates spiders. But not all spiders are evil.

Spirit Hunters. Book 2 is as enjoyable as Book 1. Those who like Kidd’s mixture of comedy, drama, and action, in a setting of Japanese traditional fantasy, can relax with assurance of excellent entertainment. Bring on Book 3!

There are no art credits, but the three Encounter headings in Book 1 were by Angie Kae (KaeMantis), so I assume that these four for Encounters 4, 5, 6, and 7 are also. The cover art also appears on DeviantArt, where it is titled The Fox and the Giant Peach by R. H. Potter and is captioned “A new book cover commission”.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon
• Buy on Lulu
• Learn more at Paul Kidd’s Website

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

Insect Dreams: The Half Life of Gregor Samsa, by Marc Estrin.
NYC, Penguin Putnam/BlueHen Books, February 2002, hardcover $26.95 (468 [+1] pages), Kindle $13.99.

Estrin’s fantasy is not so much a sequel to The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (1915) as an unauthorized variation or continuation of it. It is witty and erudite, but it will never replace Kafka’s original novella.

In Kafka’s classic, Gregor Samsa is a young fabric salesman living in Prague, then a part of Austro-Hungary, who awakens one morning transformed into a giant insect. (Kafka was adamant for the rest of his life that the insect should not be specified – he refused to allow the bug to be illustrated – to enable the reader to imagine the kind of giant insect that most terrified her or her. As soon as Kafka died, the insect was specified in text and art as a giant cockroach.) Samsa is horrified, and his parents and sister are horrified. Samsa refuses to leave his bedroom, growing weaker and weaker, until he dies. His body is thrown into the trash by the Samsas’ cleaning lady.

Estrin’s novel, about five times as long as Kafka’s novella, emphasizes cockroach, cockroach, cockroach. According to him, Samsa’s death is a ruse by the family’s cleaning lady, who sells him, still alive, to a Viennese sideshow. His family, who were embarrassed by the giant bug in the bedroom, were glad to get rid of it and did not ask questions.

Amadeus Ernst Hoffnung, the proprietor of the sideshow – an eclectic collection of freaks such as a 600-pound man – sees nothing more unusual than usual in a 5’6” talking cockroach. Since Gregor is naturally shy and rather intellectual, he and Anton relax in the evenings together in friendly conversations. When Gregor wants learned books to read, Amadeus gets them for him. Gregor adds what he reads into his performance:

“His ‘act’ evolved over time. Originally billed as ‘A Visitor from the Early Carboniferous Period’ (perhaps ‘Vomfruhesteinkohlzeitbesucher’ seems less awkward in German), he gave short talks about the steaming interior marshes of the then single landmass of North America, South America, Africa, Australia, Asia, Eurasia, and Antarctica. But this soon seemed canned and phony, and Amadeus wondered if some in the audience might think he was some kind of lifelike automaton. So Gregor went on to giving advice. ‘The Advisor from the Early Carboniferous.’ People would ask questions about business or personal problems, or what books to read or (while the cinemas were still open) [the cinemas were closed in Vienna during World War I] what films to see. Once a child asked, ‘Are there really Angels, and do they bring the Christmas presents, or do parents bring them?’ Gregor assured her that no one feels really at home in an interpreted world – which must have given her something to think about. At least she didn’t cry.” (p. 14)

The War ends; Gregor’s “seminars” grow more intellectual and possibly radical; other European intellectuals of the 1920s come to see and listen to him. Spengler. Rilke. Roentgen. Wittgenstein. Gregor is invited to America. He hesitates, but Amadeus’ declining health and the rise of fascism and anti-intellectualism in Europe – is a cockroach like a Jew? Gregor is, or was Jewish before he became a cockroach — make it seem advisable to go to New York.

In New York, Gregor meets Einstein – not Albert but Izzy Einstein, who with Moe Smith was the most famous federal Prohibition agent of the early 1920s. Izzy & Moe were notorious for conducting their raids of speakeasies in disguise, and in Estin’s novel they draft Gregor into helping them. Gregor rubs shoulders with other high-profile Americans of the 1920s-1940s period such as H. V. Kaltenborn and Rexford Tugwell. Charles Ives writes a sonata about him. He is an “exhibit” at the Scopes trial, and attends the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti. He is Americanized as George Samson. He becomes a member of FDR’s Brain Trust and meets such key members of the Manhattan Project as General Groves, Robert Oppenheimer, and Leo Szilard. Insect Dreams ends, after a fashion, with the question of whether using the atomic bomb on the civilian populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is justified?

Insect Dreams (cover by Honi Werner) is breezy and humorous enough that it doesn’t seem pretentious. Yet it is essentially a metaphor for a novel about an early 20th-century European intellectual Jew’s coming to America and becoming involved with most of the leading intellectual questions of the 1920s to the 1940s. Gregor is the only non-human in the book, and while he stands out at the beginning due to his cockroachness, by the time he comes to America he seems to stand out as much for his Jewishness and his Czech accent; a Forrest Gump who just happens to be an insect. It is an unusual, clever, and well-written novel, but not at all a furry one.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon
• Buy the new reprint on Barnes and Noble

A new collection of questionable biology, courtesy of Toon Books. What else can you say about A Goofy Guide To Penguins? “How can you tell penguins apart? By the color of their mittens, of course! But do penguins really play hide-and-seek, carry pink umbrellas, and shower on the backs of whales? In this wild guide, twin brothers Jean-Luc Coudray and Philippe Coudray (Philippe is beloved for the bestselling Benjamin Bear series) bring us all the less-than-true truths and not-so-factual facts about the South Pole’s silliest birds.” We introduced you to Benjamin Bear previously. Now you can order this new hardcover book directly from the publisher, as well as other fine book outlets.

image c. 2016 Toon Books

Hello Everyone!

We open tonight's show with a discussion of a hotel owner who spied on his tenants for over thirty years. He recorded information concerning their sexual activity, sent this to someone who wrote for the New Yorker as "research data," and slowly grew more and more cynical toward those he was spying on. Was he a sex researcher or was he an unethical voyeur? (Spoiler, he was an unethical voyeur)

Our main topic is on common roles that individuals take on while participating in BDSM. Last week we discussed negotiating a BDSM / power exchange relationship contract. Tonight we talk about the different roles that you might find yourself in, whether that is as a Dominant or a submissive. While this is not an exhaustive list and you might find yourself wearing multiple hats (or, perhaps in the case of BDSM, multiple hoods), this gives a good idea of what might interest you if you are looking to get into BDSM or a power exchange dynamic.

We close out with a question on how to bring up the topic of the furry fandom to a new partner who is not furry. What are some ways you can gauge their interest or views on the fandom without perhaps giving away the fact that you are a member? 

There is also some feedback on the usage of labels on the show. Is there a need to apply labels to everything, or is that just shoving people into a box that has preconceived notions and, perhaps, negative connotations? 

It's a show full of labels and laughs as we demystify the common roles in BDSM!

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

Thanks and, as always, be well!

1. Tell us about your most recent project (written or published). What inspired it?

I have a novel, Mist, forthcoming from Thurston Howl Publications. It’s not recently written, as I first wrote it a few years ago – back when I was in high school! But it’s a “recent” or more accurately a current project because I’m going to be working on it over the coming year as we prepare it for publication.

I never really knew what inspired Mist until I dug through an old journal and realized that before I started writing or even outlining the book I had a dream about five animals made of mist in this gray, veiled, mysterious place:  a wolf, a stag, a hare, a lynx, and a snake. Those animals ended up representing the five main characters of Mist, though the hare later morphed into a mongoose. The wonders of the subconscious mind!

2. What’s your writing process like? Are you a “pantser,” an outliner, or something in between?

It really depends on the project. With short stories, I tend to get an idea and then just run with it and see what happens. Sometimes I know exactly where I’m going and sometimes I don’t, and sometimes I think I do and then the story has its own plan. With novels, I like to have more of an outline and a sense of the overarching structure before I begin. But it’s still somewhat fluid, and I am often surprised.

Poems usually come in sporadic bursts, like desert monsoons, and get refined later.

3. What’s your favorite kind of story to write?

I like to write speculative fiction – stories that ask questions, pose “What if?” scenarios, take the reader on a journey to a place where strange and wondrous things can happen.

4. Which character from your work do you most identify with, and why?

Hmm. This is a hard one. They are all their own people/creatures, but they all have little pieces of me inside them I suppose.

I can relate to the dragon narrator of “The Monster’s Story”, published in A Menagerie of Heroes (the RainFurrest 2015 Charity Anthology). He has such a wealth of love in his heart and just wants to be generous and kind. In the end the world uses that against him, though, in a sense, his love helps him to transcend it.

5. Which authors or books have most influenced your work?

Growing up, I loved the Harry Potter series, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the Animorphs series, and The Last Unicorn. I also loved fiction and nonfiction about animals, including works by Jean Craighead George, Gary Paulsen, and Jack London. I think this amalgamation caused me to want to write stories involving magic and animals. A lot of my writing thus far has involved those two elements.

The Last Unicorn, The Lord of the Rings, and Animorphs also gave me an interest in stories with bittersweet, ambiguous endings. I don’t usually favor neatly tied-up happy endings. Such stories don’t haunt me. They don’t continue to live and breathe in my brain. And they aren’t consistent with reality.

Poetry-wise, Mary Oliver, Rainer Maria Rilke, William Stafford, and Naomi Shihab Nye are a few of my biggest influences.

6. What’s the last book you read that you really loved?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It’s a surreal, beautiful, richly detailed fantasy love story.

7. Besides writing, how do you like to spend your free time?

I am a wildlife biologist, so I spend a lot of my time chasing animals around. I also like to draw and play musical instruments, neither well. I enjoy reading about anything from astronomy to comparative mythology. I love traveling and exploring and seeing the world.

And I pray, because I am continually astounded and humbled by the universe and I’m grateful to be one small part of it.

8. Advice for other writers?

Don’t give up. If you love to write, make time for that passion in your life. If you want to be published, don’t let rejection stop you. Listen with an open mind to suggestions, refine and improve your craft, and keep trying.

Most importantly, daydream and have fun.

9. Where can readers find your work?

My author website is in the works, but for now, you can find a few samples of my work through my page on Goodreads. Contact me there if you’re interested in reading more!

10. What’s your favorite thing about the furry fandom?

I am a relative newcomer to the furry fandom, so I have never been to any conventions, nor am I a member of any furry websites other than the FWG forum. But I would love to attend a convention someday and meet others who share my interest in anthropomorphic animal characters.

What I like so far about this fun, dynamic place is its vibrant creativity, its diversity, its inclusiveness and friendliness, and its wonderful ways of combining two of my favorite things – fantasy and animals.

Check out Amy Fontaine’s member bio here!

After the shooting tragedy at Pulse in Orlando, claims came out that a fellow furry named “Kodakoda Coyote” was among the victims.  I thought, how sad… people need to hear.  I did basic checking and saw a FurAffinity account for that name.  There was no content but the name was 4 years old and not obviously recent. It was filling with comments of sympathy from other furs.

The original claims came from two places at the same time.  (1) A tweet from “SebastianLoFR” and (2) a Reddit comment from “Deg The Wolf“. Both seemed to be established accounts from separate people.

I took the bait like a dummy.  The “Kodakoda” story went out in record time for this site.  It got a lot of sharing. I doggedly repeated the two-source thing for a bit.  The sympathy came before I posted, but my article spread the hoax a little – thanks for taking me to school, all of you.

SebastianLoFR was called out for being shifty.  He put out an incredibly stupid cover story that he got “trolled” from a 4-hour-old account “EOStudlover”.  (Hmm, who made that?)  After a while, tweets and accounts were deleted.

.@SebastianLoFR I cried when I heard a furry died. I have friends in Orlando; it could have been them. At least be an adult and say sorry.

So apparently Kodakoda dying is made up. Some douche decided to spread lies for their own enjoyment and for attention. Makes me angry.

So it appears the Kodakoda Coyote story was not correct. It in no way reduces the tragedy of what happened at #Pulse pic.twitter.com/isI5Y9osJQ

SMH. we try to verify everything. In the aftermath yesterday we retweeted/furry killed in Orlando. Apparently faked. https://t.co/k2ZxmXpPFt

That turned attention to Deg The Wolf on Reddit.  See here – his most-upvoted comment about losing his friend is deleted now, but there’s a lot of others that gave him “hugs” for it. (Look suspiciously at u/popprocks and u/What_Is_EET.)

I sent hugs and asked for his comments to help add to the story and honor his “friend”.  Next day came private messages.

Trolling

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

I’m getting many people saying this is fake based on Sebastian on Twitter acting like a moron. Your account doesn’t strike me as a troll, at all. Would it be too much to ask you for a little verification, if only to make sure your friend is honored? I hope you’re OK.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

I can try to find something I guess. Someone asked me if it was koda but it wasn’t him. So i’ll try and find something if that helps…kinda not cool that people wanna say my dead friend doesn’t exist. He never had much fan art comissioned. But i’ll look.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

Thanks! I’m glad that some fucking asshole on Twitter isn’t going to get to dishonor your friend. Let’s prove those people wrong so you don’t have to deal with your loss this way. I’ll check in with you tomorrow if I don’t hear from you first.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

“The Freedom Family has a tradition of coming together in times of adversity. Orlando has fallen victim to a terrible tragedy, a senseless shooting, and an act that left us with an unprecedented amount of casualties. It is with great sorrow to inform everyone that one of Freedom’s own has lost his life in this terrible attack. We remember him for his Honor, and Excellence; with our Tradition.

RIP Juan Ramon Guerrero – 22 years old”

http://imgur.com/qlbG7hyhttp://imgur.com/YA2VCsL

Once I got past crying from seeing his pic, I uploaded screenshots from our old highschool’s facebook page as proof.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

God I’m so sorry – makes me want to cry too Can you help me write up a more detailed rememberance of Juan? What was his regular fur name?

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

I have to look it up again. Also, does I have to give his fur name? I would rather people know him by his real name. I will look for the fur name. I just know he wasn’t super open about being a furry. Not out of shame or anything, just wasn’t. So i don’t think he has it on social media.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

Yup, it’s essential for a furry story! I’ll make sure his real name isn’t fully given and won’t use his real picture, only the furry ones you send – that’s how I typically post about people. I’m so happy to honor him and not let him be forgotten, and I hope this makes you feel a little less sad. -hugs-

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

It does. I haven’t done much research on where he’s known on the internet. But his fur name was Johnny FluffyTail. I’ll keep looking, again he wasn’t very open about it. I met him/knew him irl so I didn’t have him added on like furaffinity, etc. I asked a friend who told me his fur name.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

This is very helpful, I did find his FA but it seems like his friends don’t know yet Poor guy. I’ll make an extra nice post with the info to let them know. I’ll be careful not to add too many details that might reveal fur stuff to his RL friends. What was he like in high school?

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

Oh man. Nicest guy you’ll ever meet. A bit shy, but once he opened up to you he was a whole different person. Always had a smile on his face, always brought happiness to his friends. There was never a dull moment with the guy. Straight A student. Gamer at heart.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

Thanks so much for this, and I will actually put in a link so people can send flowers to his family as they are asking on Facebook with his name. I’ll just ask that they not reveal it’s coming from furs. Are you going to be part of the vigil?

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

Yes, i’ll be there with a few other alumni from my class.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

Oh man, are you going tonight or tomorrow? Reason I ask is if you go tonight, please send me pics and I’ll hold the post so I can put it out as breaking news. Or if you go tomorrow, I’ll put it out right away so I can put in the info about sending flowers, then you can get pics of the flowers with the family for the senders to see. Or will you go to both?

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

I’ll be going tonight. I can’t do both. I don’t think I have strength to do it again. I’m shaky now just thinking about it. But I have friends who are picking me up. I’ll try to take pics, if not, i’ll get them from other people. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do much other than cry and pray that he’s having fun in heaven. (My apologies if you aren’t religious)

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

It’s OK. Stay strong. All right then if you’re going tonight, can I paypal you to cover some flowers for them right away?

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

It’s fine, you don’t have to pay, I’ve already paid for some for their family. I’m honestly glad my friends are taking me, as much as I wanna go, I wouldn’t be able to drive with the state i’m in. Too shaky/teary to drive ya know? Thank you for the offer though.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

I’m glad, what kind did you get for them? That’s so sweet, I hope it makes you feel better. I’ll hold the post until you send the pics later tonight.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

A Bouquet of Roses, because he loved the phrase “A rose by any other name is just as sweet.” Damn I miss that guy. If it were anyone else he would’ve had me smiling and laughing even if I was crying. He always found a way.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

That is super sweet. Please make sure to send a pic of you with the roses at the vigil, I don’t think there’s anything that could better show how much he should mean to everyone. You’re a true friend.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 1 day ago

I’ll do my best and ask if his family will bring them.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 22 hours ago

Hey, please send the pics! People are waiting for this post, and I’m holding it so you can contribute the last part it needs. Hope the vigil went OK, it must have been a very trying experience.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 21 hours ago

Waiting on my friend to send me any pics he took. I honestly couldn’t take any pictures.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 20 hours ago

Soooo…this happened..http://m.imgur.com/Ffidv06 :c He later said they just didn’t want any pics of the of the family. Nothing i can really do…

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 18 hours ago

OMG that must have been awkward, but whose vigil were you at?

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 15 hours ago

Sorry, had the dates messed up, the vigil is tomorrow. Whose did you go to? And are you going to the actual one?

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 13 hours ago

I went to a mini vigil with the family themselves. I can’t make it to anything else.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 12 hours ago

Wow, they must really like you to invite you to their private event. I’m glad you touched their lives that much. How did his boyfriend take it? Sorry to be a pest, since there’s no pics I just wanted to add a different detail to wrap up the story for tomorrow.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 12 hours ago

Hey it’s alright. Giving more details is the least I can do. His boyfriend…was confirmed dead from what I heard. I believe his name was drew…I didn’t know drew as well, but was a good kid. Loved Juan more than anything.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 11 hours ago

http://m.imgur.com/gg6vsxi

Here’s a screenshot.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 11 hours ago

That is so sad… sorry to hear. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to lose two people at the same time. Was juan’s rememberance all you could handle or will you go to drew’s funeral too?

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 11 hours ago

I’ll see if I can make it to drew’s. Due to financial troubles, I can’t take too many days off of work…Also, i’m fine now. The vigil was hard, but i’m okay. I know Juan would want me to cheer up and remember the good times. Not his death.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 10 hours ago

Wow so Drew must have been very special to get two funerals. The news says his service is with Juan. Well thanks for letting me interview you seb and do cheer up. The article about this is going out soon.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 10 hours ago

Ah, well, his family, like Juan’s, wants a seperate small one. But I can’t make it. I sent them flowers too though. But you’re very welcome.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 10 hours ago

Seb? I’m Deg or Daniel. Whichever you prefer. Deg Ookami or Daniel.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 10 hours ago

So seb, when this article about you goes out, are you going to delete this account and those other alts too?

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 10 hours ago

I don’t have alts. And i’m not seb. I don’t know what you’re talking about…

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 10 hours ago

I’m not deleting anything because I don’t know who seb is…and I don’t have alts. Just my own account. Was there something I said to make you think I’m seb? I’ve never gone by seb..

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 10 hours ago

Also, if I was seb, don’t you think I would’ve deleted all my accounts related to this story? Not just twitter. I’d like to understand why you think i’m this seb guy. Cause I went to the article and clicked the link for seb and nothing came up.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 9 hours ago

Yeah you deleted Sebastian. The “Eduardo” account had really shitty fake writing, and the name “Johnny Fluffytail” is dumb as shit too. Trolling for attention like this, and sending hugs to yourself from alts, how desperate can you get?

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 9 hours ago

I didn’t…I really didn’t dude. I don’t understand what you’re saying. I said it was his furry name. I didn’t follow his social media other than facebook. I was trying to troll…

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 9 hours ago

“”Did you hear what Deg did today? Check out what all these people are saying about how he exploited dead people to troll for sympathy.””

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 9 hours ago

Whatever dude. Have fun hurting someone who was already hurt from losing a friend.

[–]from DegTheWolf sent 9 hours ago

Don’t know what else I can do to prove i’m not this seb dude.

[–]From Patch to DegTheWolf sent 9 hours ago

You made up some bullshit to use other people’s tragedy, and made up a bunch of fake internet accounts for it. Way to go! Oooh, you even bought “roses”. LOL it’s too late to pretend you don’t know that account after you already let out a detail from it. Just wondering at what point do you stop faking?

Gross. I’m not surprised if this douche was playing along as much as me but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they were just very stupid.  So don’t go witch hunting now by relying on anything above, including the name “Deg Ookami”.  There are Facebook accounts with a real person with the name.  That person has a lot of pics and SebastianLoFR has a lot of face pics too but they aren’t the same person.  One thing that the accounts (including the likely alts) do have in common is a lot of posts about gaming with the same games, like Overwatch.

Suspect shitty kids trolling together and/or misdirecting a witch hunt to someone innocent (but SebastianLoFR and Deg on Reddit aren’t innocent.)

EDIT – more evidence of lying. 

Deg claimed to be so intimate that he was invited to a special private family event.  He told me “Someone asked me if it was koda but it wasn’t him”, and gave the ridiculous “Johnny FluffyTail” name.  Compare those lies to this:

@RockycoonUK I actually never knew him on a personal level. I'm sorry, I wish I could be of more assistance...

See The Raccoon’s Den on Youtube. Thanks to Bandit and Pup Matthias for collaborating on this special guest article.  

When I say the word ‘creator’ in the furry fandom, what do you think of?  Mostly likely you would think of artist, writers, musicians, animators, game developers, fursuit makers, etc.  One type that doesn’t cross most people’s minds are video creators.  There are examples like EZ Wolf and Duke the Dog with their shorts and music videos, Culturally F’d with their educational videos, and this year has brought us Dominic Rodriguez and Eric Risher with their respected documentaries exploring the fandom. But it’s a relatively small pool compared to the others.

Part of that lies with platform. Most furry sites don’t offer a way for video creators to showcase their work and build a presence like the others. They’re always having to link to YouTube or Vimeo and hope someone will click the link. Furry Network looks to be the only one working on offering video creators a player to support them.  Time will only tell on that front.

(Note from Patch: the medium also brings challenges.  That’s why our ‘Special Features and Top Articles’ just added a section about THE NASCENT FURRY MOVIE SCENE.)

What’s truly sad about this is the way video creators have the best opportunity to explain and showcase what our fandom is.  Capturing the moments of celebration, joy, hardship, misunderstanding, and exploring what makes the furry fandom what it is.

There’s a series for that already. It’s been going on for over seven years, with almost one hundred episodes that explore what the fandom is. That show is The Raccoon’s Den.

Christopher Parque-Johnson, creator of the Raccoon’s Den, is better known as Bandit in the fandom. He was introduced to the fandom from a fan-made forum for the film ‘Over the Hedge’, which inspired him to have a raccoon fursona after the title character of the film.

I got into the furry fandom after seeing “Over the Hedge” in 2006, joined a fan-made forum and a friend on there made an RP account for RJ the Raccoon on MySpace (back when people used it). I joined the fandom on July 20th and up until 2009, I was just another person on the internet who liked being part of the community. I felt welcomed and accepted for being myself here and that was something I wasn’t able to feel outside of it.

It was that welcome and accepting atmosphere that helped Bandit create the pilot for the show by making it a vlog to break his social anxiety.

…so I thought of some random stuff to do and recorded it, I titled it “An Ordinary Friday” and uploaded it to YouTube as the pilot of the series, (it was a terrible idea when I look back on it, I had no idea what I was doing).  A few weeks later I deleted the video, went about life and around November when a friend showed me a video by Shane Dawson called “EMO BOP”, I thought he was hilarious and I had this feeling that if I tried putting myself out there more it’d help me be more comfortable with myself. So I recorded a new vlog and made it the new “first” episode. Over time I slowly became more comfortable with myself and the direction of my work changed here and there. Before our fifth season started (by then I was working with others and not by myself), I decided I wanted to help improve the image of the community, so I wanted our videos to have more purpose and be more directly supportive of the Furry Fandom.

The Raccoon’s Den has been many things over the years since its debut in 2009; taking inspiration from cultural documentaries, combined with the drama from shows like Degrassi, mixed with sketch comedy programs like “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!”, “Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule”, and “The Eric Andre Show”. These inspirations form what’s currently the first furry Docudramedy to explore the Furry Fandom.

‘Docudramedy’ is a term to describe a documentary with elements of drama and comedy.  We take some of our real-life scenarios and integrate them into our showcasing of conventions and furmeets, following our life experiences in the fandom. We also discuss fandom topics, get feedback from others regarding the cons they’re at (so people can learn from a personal perspective what to expect from a convention), interview artists in the fandom, do comedy skits, and we also have a podcast.

I gave it some thought, and felt the idea of combining those elements with the natural culture of the Furry Fandom would be an interesting concept: Filming our trips to events to show people what they’re like, but also give a more detailed idea as to what brings us together and what the fandom means for us – all while giving a glimpse into our personal lives, discussing topics and entertaining the community with our skits and general antics.

But Bandit works to cover all aspects of the fandom he can, while avoiding pitfalls like focusing only on fursuiters – making sure others have a voice.

Most people in the fandom who have done documentaries seem to only focus on the fursuiters, and I think that’s very misleading and unfair.  You only learn why they wear their fursuit to be themselves and how it’s such a safe and innocent environment, which is censoring a lot of what does go on, because we have had a lot of controversy over the years. You don’t see much of the non-suiters who are actually more common in the fandom than people realize.  You mainly see footage of suiters walking around, people taking pictures of them… Not to say I hate it, because I don’t.  But I think the non-suiters have a voice that should be heard too, so we try to make that a point in our work.

The current cast for The Raccoon’s Den is Bandit, Switch, Drake, Abbey, and Jackie. Together they will list topics based on events happening in their lives, like conventions, or discuss topics that are trending in the fandom. Once they come up with an episode idea, they work on figuring out everyone’s availability to make the episode.

When everyone is here, we go over the material and begin filming. If it’s based on a topic, I have to find the right material to use in the video as a reference.  Or if it’s at an event, it generally comes down to what panels we’re gonna feature and who we interview, and any additional scenes we feel would fit in are written down as a memo.

From Right to Left: BANDIT/ Christopher Parque-Johnson, SWITCH/ Tiffany Riedlinger, DRAKE/ Takehiro Diaz, ABBEY/ Abbey Preston, JACKIE/ Jackie Heaton

Most of the time the episodes follow an interview/vlog format.  But there are moments they script out segments either to recreate moments Bandit didn’t capture, or for the storyline of the season that reflects what’s going on in their lives.

I generally write those scenes either on my own or with the help of other members in the group, so when the scenes don’t directly involve me, they’re discussed with the people who are going to be in the take.  Sometimes we practice how it’s going to go, just to get the right emotion for it. I remind them that these scenes are to be acted out as if I’m not there, as well as the camera. In some cases though, I’ll be in the picture and someone else will hold the camera, the same rule applies though. We do this to blur the fine line between what’s actually happening and what’s scripted.

Through its seven years, the show has gained a small but dedicated following that attracted interest with several networks. One is World of Furries, a fandom network out to promote work in the fandom.  But one Bandit couldn’t have predicted was being picked up by the Channel Frederator Network. The people who represent Pan Pizza, Simon’s Cat, and Cartoon Hangover, to name a few.

About a year ago, we were contacted on YouTube by a representative of CFN.  Initially we didn’t understand why they wanted us, and even thought the letter was possibly fake or a template sent to a channel they didn’t know about. We responded anyways, contacting them via email and asking “why us?” because we know there are other YouTubers in the fandom who have a larger audience than we do. But we were surprised with the response they sent us, being told our content was irreverent and funny.  They felt it was a perfect fit amongst their other members, as they didn’t just support animators, but also voice actors, artists, cosplayers and a few other professions. Apparently our content gave a more personal and educational experience as to what the fandom is like.

While Bandit was pleased with the Channel Frederator offer, he didn’t take it at first.

It was refreshing to hear, but we declined.  Our show was finishing its sixth season and I needed a break.  I felt insecure about the offer too. Upon getting ready to launch season seven, we emailed them back and I told them what our plans were for the new season.  We wanted to know what they thought of it before we partnered up.  So after our 90th episode (Further Confusion 2016), we showed them what we did so far.  They were very interested in helping us with our show, which is why we didn’t list the full credits until the following episode (The Reunion). They helped us by promoting our show, and giving us access to a huge audio database full of royalty free music and sound effects for us to use.  They have a community forum with lots of opportunities for collaboration and advice from other creators and the staff of the network as well, it’s a lot!

With all that, the show seems primed to take off.  But Bandit isn’t sure if the show will continue after season seven ends (on their 100th episode) – due in part to the fandom not taking much notice of it.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure; I didn’t really anticipate even getting this far. I almost canceled the series three times, usually because I was discouraged, finding myself in a creative block and/or personal life stuff. It’s a lot of work, and while it’s fun for me, sometimes I feel like my efforts don’t pay off as well as I anticipated.  But I guess we all feel that way occasionally, right? How long this show will last kinda depends on the fandom now too, not just us alone. We’ve been putting ourselves out there and have been working hard throughout the years, but we can’t get anywhere unless the fandom is aware of us and interacts with our material, like giving feedback, suggestions, or heck… volunteering to get involved would be appreciated too.  I think that’d be fun.

We really do care about the fandom and admittedly I know I haven’t always been the easiest person to get along with for some, so I’m trying to improve myself so others can feel more comfortable with me and my work.  I want them to know that we’re all in this together, and that I just want to help make things a little bit easier. Our situation is not a very common one.  If ratings start to go poor, be it due to our mistakes or because other furries simply don’t interact with our material, I feel like we could lose our partnership with the networks we’re on now and essentially walk away empty handed. By then, we wouldn’t see the point anymore. We’ve actually written an ambiguous ending to the season that could act as an ending all on its own, or as a cliffhanger that we’d resolve in the next season. If all goes well, then I guess it just comes down to how much development remains to write about in the group. We’ll find out in time.

As said in the introduction, video creators don’t get the same attention as others in the fandom. That’s a shame because shows like The Raccoon’s Den offers the chance to capture the fandom itself, both the good and the bad.  From how friends come together, to the amount of talent hidden within the fandom, seen through the journey of Bandit and his friends since they first got involved.

It’s shown me a lot really, because even my first furmeet and convention experiences were featured on the show.  My camera has seen just as much as I have.  Over the years I saw a lot of great (and not so great) things in the fandom.  Mostly it’s the general vibe that everyone comes to a specific place or more to be with people they can relate to, people who understand them. While others come for the sake of getting out of the house or looking for a party, it’s generally a great time for everyone.

At conventions, I’ve seen people who were friends online for years, but never got to meet each other because they lived thousands of miles apart.  That moment is always cool, I’ve experienced it a few times myself. Doing the show has also opened my eyes to the insane amount of talent we have here in the fandom, artists of so many kinds, all of them trying to get by with a good handful of something really special to offer. But not all of them are appreciated, unfortunately.

It’s shown me a safe haven of some sort.  I mean, as we age, we learn the many truths about the harsh reality we live in, but we’re not alone and with the right people, you manage quite comfortably. As for the not-so-great things, well, the fandom isn’t perfect, we all know that, but just like life itself, the fandom is what you make of it. I’ve grown to find more pros than cons after I’ve learned to be realistic but hopeful. My friends and family are to thank for that advice.

Whether the show goes beyond a seventh season, or gets more recognition by the fandom, Bandit sees the show as a major milestone overall.

Since the show began in 2009, we’ve reached seven seasons worth of material.  We’ve chronologically had thirteen people in the cast (all of them are artists in various mediums).  Two of them (Andre Abreo and Daniel Hamamoto) have established careers apart from the series through music (myself included). Andre Abreo has become the longest serving cast member of the series upon his departure after season six (he started in three).  The first few episodes of our current season featured everyone in the cast (minus one) for a subtle reunion (which we’ve never done to this extent before).  We’ve gotten introduction shout-outs from Son Lux, Drake Bell and Heyo Damo (Blu the F*cking Dragon), among a few other popular icons in and out of the fandom. We plan to get more of course!