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Reminder: We're on Patreon! If you could kick us a buck or two, we'd greatly appreciate it. https://www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow It's our first Dragget Show with a Patreon Guest Host! Bandrik joins us for our regular batch of nonsense. Don't forget to hang out in our telegram chat, now w/ over 100 members! telegram.me/draggetshow pe. 125 - Patreon Guest, Bandrik! - Reminder: We're on Patreon! If you could kick us …

Dragget Show EXTRA! This is just Xander and Draggor yapping about recent events in terrorism, guns, cops, Black Lives Matter, and the upcoming election. If you hate politics, then avoid, but this was requested after our last Deep Shit! discussion. Deep Shit! - Guns 'n Such - Dragget Show EXTRA! This is just Xander and Drag…

We prepped for a normal episode, but the blue never arrived! With lots of improv, items from what would have been this episode’s link roundup and some chatroom Q&A, a red wolf and a pink husky barked for an hour or two. We rescheduled the originally planned episode for Sunday night which became episode 240.

Download MP3

LINK ROUNDUP:

• Alltime10s YouTube channel does Top 10 Weirdest Sex Toys, mentions Bad Dragon
• The First Computer Porn
• Ylvis, artist behind “What Does The Fox Say?”confirms at Webbys that foxes actually say “yiff”

[Live] Missing Blue

We prepped for a normal episode, but the blue never arrived! With lots of improv, items from what would have been this episode’s link roundup and some chatroom Q&A, a red wolf and a pink husky barked for an hour or two. We rescheduled the originally planned episode for Sunday night which became episode 240.

Download MP3

LINK ROUNDUP:

• Alltime10s YouTube channel does Top 10 Weirdest Sex Toys, mentions Bad Dragon
• The First Computer Porn
• Ylvis, artist behind “What Does The Fox Say?”confirms at Webbys that foxes actually say “yiff”

FC-239X Missing Blue - We prepped for a normal episode, but the blue never arrived! With lots of improv, items from what would have been this episode's link roundup and some chatroom Q&A, a red wolf and a pink husky barked for an hour or two.

From the creator of Home is Where One Starts... comes The First Tree, a third-person exploration game centered around two parallel stories: a fox trying to find her missing family, and a young couple dealing with a tragedy in theirs. Players take control of the fox on a poignant and beautiful journey that crescendos at the source of life, and perhaps results in the understanding of death. Along the way, players uncover artifacts and stories from the young couple’s life as they too become intertwined in the fox’s journey towards The First Tree.

The game is currently in development and is set to release in early 2017 on PC and Linux, to start.

The sequel to the Wii U hit Freedom Planet is in development over at Galaxy Trail. Announced in December, the game has a planned beta release of mid-2017. We'll keep you updated on progress and when that beta becomes available. Join the heroes of Avalice as they face their greatest challenge yet! An ancient terror has emerged from the depths of the ocean. Merga, a water dragon from Avalice's oldest and deadliest war, has been freed from her crystal prison as a consequence of the Kingdom Stone's destruction. War is imminent once again, but this time, the heroes are split between sides. As friendships are tested, will the girls stand united when Bakunawa rises?

Scholastic Press (through their Graphix imprint) have published Dream Jumper Volume 1: Nightmare Escape. It’s the first full-color graphic novel written by actor Greg Grunberg (Heroes) and illustrated by Lucas Turnbloom — with an introduction by Grunberg’s childhood friend J.J. Abrams, who helped to bring the project about. “Ben has a problem. When he sleeps he dreams, and when he dreams, they’re all nightmares! But he can also jump into other people’s dreams. So when his friends start falling victim to an evil dream-monster that prevents them from waking, Ben knows he has to help them. Easier said than done when dreams can shift and the monster knows his way around the ever-changing landscape of the mind! With help from a talking rabbit-companion who has a mysterious past, Ben might just be able to defeat the monster and save his friends . . . if he can figure out how to use the power within him against his enemies.” Looks like there’s also a very large crow involved. Dream Jumper is available now in hardcover and softcover editions, and the Scholastic web site also has an interview with the creators.

image c. 2016 Graphix

This week on KnotCast, Savrin talks the hell out of Pokemon GO. Then Overwatch a bit. Fuzz doesn't die of bordom! Then emails! Being an adult, relationship warning bells, and a digression to talk about WRASSLIN a bit. All in good fun! KnotVale intro by @NotTooDeer, thanks dude! Want to support the show? We have a Patreon! www.patreon.com/knotcast Episode 322 - High Level Poliwhirl

Dear Papabear,

Hello, and thank you for reading my letter. I have a bit of a potential roommate problem that could either turn out to be nothing or get worse over time. It’s not so much the roommate behaving badly, but rather a confusing emotional situation that I just don’t know what to do or feel about. So, one of my roommates and cousin, Anna, and I have been living together for four years now, two of which were at my parents’ house after she needed a place to stay when she dropped out of college. We got along great and were pretty close, even though we came from two very different backgrounds. Two years ago, we decided to move out and live together in another state to go to college. It was challenging; Anna got very depressed during that time because she couldn’t get a job for about a year, and there were some tense times. But hey, that’s part of growing up and it would be dumb to expect that we would get along happy all the time, so it didn’t bother me. In the end we were still tight and grew as people. 

Then, about two months ago, Anna got a message from one of her friends at her old college whose name is Ray. He got a job in the area and wanted to room with us. Another thing: Anna is seriously in love with this guy; Ray knows she had a crush on him, but I don’t think he knows she flat out loves him (being aromantic, I didn’t really get it). I didn’t mind him living with us; Anna’s feelings for Ray didn’t affect me at the time, and a third roommate would lessen the financial burden, so I agreed. 

Ray and Anna come from similar backgrounds; they’re basically both wilderness people who grew up in small towns, while I’m a city person and a big city nerd. Even though there’s some overlap of interests between the three of us, it was clear Ray and Anna had more in common than either of them had with me. Again, I expected this and wasn’t really surprised when she started favoring his company over mine. She even said as much, but not in a hurtful “you’re not good enough” way. I like being by myself anyway, so it was okay. For a while. 

Here’s the thing with Anna: she’s kind of a control freak and gets irritated easily. She insists on doing everything herself because she feels she has to take care of people (I had to argue with her just to get litterbox duty, something I never thought I’d be vying for). She’s a very kind and good person, but sometimes she expects me to “read her mind” and doesn’t always understand why I would do things differently from her, and it irritates her very quickly. I, on the other hand, am very laid back and can tolerate an unusually high amount of bullcrap, but I do have trouble remembering certain things and interpret instructions weirdly sometimes. So, misunderstandings sometimes occur. Before, the argument would happen but we would talk about it later and everything would be good. Then after Ray moved in, something changed. 

As nice and chill as Ray is, I’ve found he can’t tolerate other people’s way of life very well. He frequently complains about how people move too slow and are too lazy, and he’s kind of a know-it-all. Anna has started to agree with him more and more. She’d be in worship mode, and even said that he is definitely smarter than both of us, which rubbed me the wrong way. He is very smart when it comes to wilderness stuff and utilities, but not so much at city culture or my field of study, which is art. So saying he’s smarter than both of us is pretty stupid, since me and him have completely different sets of knowledge. I’m pretty sure Anna’s doing this because she wants to impress Ray, but it’s having a bad effect on me since I am a slower paced person, so I can’t help but think some of these complaints are subconsciously directed at me. 

On top of that, Anna has been snapping at me more and more. Her job has been frustrating her lately, but she never snaps at Ray, only me. I also get the feeling she thinks I’m stupid because I don’t get certain things right away, and I recently caught her complaining about me to Ray after I had a frustration attack, which really hurt me. I confronted her about this, but she assured me that she was just venting, everything was okay, and that she doesn’t think I’m stupid. I want to believe her, I really do, but there’s been this growing feeling that it isn’t true. It doesn’t help that I was a bit sheltered growing up, and many of my relatives also thought I wasn’t smart enough to make it on my own, so I’m particularly sensitive to this and Anna knows it. I doubt she’s being intentionally malicious, but her personality and Ray’s influence are clashing with mine. And while I have friends who are more like me, I don’t see them very often because of school, while Anna sees Ray every day, so I’m starting to feel isolated as well. I knew adding a third person would change the dynamic, but I didn’t think Anna would be more hostile toward me. 

Anyway, I’m not sure I have a question but rather I just need general thoughts and I guess rant to someone. I don’t want to confront Anna because it has led to her either a) say everything’s okay and I’m right back to being paranoid, or b) she gets even more irritated with me. Or am I completely overreacting and should just wait to see how things turn out? 

Thanks again for reading, 
Thunderbird (age 24)
 
* * *
 
Hi, Thunderbird,
 
So, let me see if I understand this. The point of contention seems to be about chores and tasks around your home, who does them, and how? Is that a big part of it? Also, I am assuming that the three of you split rent and utilities equally, which means that the three of you should be treated equally. Another part of this seems to be that Ray and Anna are Type A personalities, while you're more of a Type B (more bear personality, as I like to think of it, while I would call them more squirrelly hehe). Am I correct those are the main points?
 
Hugs,
Papabear
 
* * *
Thanks for replying back!

It's more about our split in personalities than chores, though how we do chores differently does ruffle some feathers on occasion, but that part isn't a huge deal. More of a side effect. And yes, we do split bills equally. The only difference between me and them is I don't have a job right now and family has been helping me out. I've been looking, but all the jobs I've gotten offers for are either full time (because of school I can only do part time) or across the state, which is a good six hours away. Usually it's both. Jobs I've submitted for weren't interested. My previous job was a very specific position (automotive assistant quality manager) which a lot of people around my area don't need. I do think I have a chance with art commissions in the near future, so that's something. 
​
Tangent aside, our main issue is our personalities. We are very much like bears and squirrels, though in Ray's case, he seems like a bear on the outside but definitely a squirrel on the inside. Anyway, Anna kind of naturally molds her personality to whomever she's around at the time, but her default personality does lean towards Ray's. I have tried to mold my personality more towards Ray's to be more accommodating, but that just made me miserable and confused. The more I think about it, the more I think Anna is becoming exhausted from constantly having to switch between Ray’s and my personalities. I've been trying to tell her that she doesn't have to do that, but like I said, it does happen naturally with her and she doesn't realize it. I just wish she wouldn't snap at me all the time, or at least snap at Ray every once in a while to make it even. 
 
Thunderbird
 
* * *
 
Dear Thunderbird,

I think I get it now, yes. It sounds almost as if Anna is suffering from what psychologists call “mirroring” or “the chameleon effect,” a type of borderline personality disorder in which the person’s demeanor and attitudes change according to the people they are around and trying to please. This is usually the result of low self-confidence, which, in Anna’s case, might be influenced by her earlier bout with depression. Her anal side (being overly controlling about chores) is also her attempt to find order in a world that she finds chaotic. People without confidence in themselves find comfort if they can at least create some kind of order in their world to cling to. This must all, indeed, be very exhausting for her, which causes her to lash out at you. Too, as you observed, she is gravitating toward Ray as someone who could be more of an anchor in her life because he has a similar background and a job.
 
This doesn’t excuse her behavior toward you, of course. She probably isn’t overly conscious of what’s going on inside her head and is not intentionally doing anything to hurt you with remarks such as saying you’re not as smart as Ray. Judging by the letter you wrote me, you are not a stupid person. Indeed, you are insightful and articulate (e.g., correctly observing that different people have different areas about which they are knowledgeable). Another part of the problem is that you are an artistic type, while Ray and Anna sound more as if they are pragmatic types. It can often be hard for the pragmatic to understand the artistic.
 
Some suggestions:

• You and Ray need to get to know each other better. Sounds as if your relationship is only through Anna. Get a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other by spending some time together sans Anna (also see below).
• Anna needs to become more centered by reaffirming her self-worth as something separate from other people—that is, she needs to find out who she is without defining herself by how she interacts with other people and what others think of her. She also needs to learn to trust you more. A good way to start that would be to divvy up chores evenly between the three of you and for her to allow you to do chores your way without being anal about it. BUT! In addition to this, pick a chore or project that you all do together. When people work on a project together the synergy forms stronger bonds. Also, take some time to give Anna an ego boost: compliment her on things she does well and let her know you are on her side.
• You don’t mention whether or not you do this, but it would be a fantastic idea for the three of you to, once in a while, share in a fun activity together. You say Ray and Anna are kinda outdoorsy, so perhaps the three of you could go camping or fishing? On the reverse side of the album, perhaps you could do something more “inner city” with them (laser tag? Field trip to an art show?) Make sure it is fun and something you can do without worrying about work or school or chores in the process. Everyone needs a break from the “real world” once in a while.
• You need to all get on the same page and realize you’re on the same team together and you all want the same thing: to be able to live comfortably together as a cooperative effort without strife and argument. Once a month, all of you should sit down together for an “apartment meeting” to discuss bills, chores, and share what is going on in your lives.
• Try having at least one meal together once a week where you all sit at the dining table, eat, drink, talk and do not look at your &$*#( phones.

 
Papabear surmises that, although the three of you inhabit the same house, you are not actually living together, if you see what I mean. Living together in close quarters can build up a lot of tension and disagreements and bitterness if you just see one another as “that person I live with” rather than as friends and companions. You probably won’t all live together forever, but for now you are together, so to be happy you should act like a cooperative unit of three people rather than as three separate individuals who just happen to occupy the same residence.

Hope that helps,
Papabear

The WagzTail team discusses what to do and what not to do if you are having trouble and need help.

Metadata and Credits Furry Self-Help

Runtime: 34:35m

Cast: Braniff, KZorroFuego, Levi, Wolfin

Editor: Levi

Format: 128kbps AAC Copyright: © 2016 WagzTail.com. Some Rights Reserved. This podcast is released by WagzTail.com as CC BY-ND 3.0.

Furry Self-Help - The WagzTail team discusses what to do and what not to do if you are having trouble and need help.

The WagzTail team discusses what to do and what not to do if you are having trouble and need help.

Metadata and Credits Furry Self-Help

Runtime: 34:35m

Cast: Braniff, KZorroFuego, Levi, Wolfin

Editor: Levi

Format: 128kbps AAC Copyright: © 2016 WagzTail.com. Some Rights Reserved. This podcast is released by WagzTail.com as CC BY-ND 3.0.

Furry Self-Help - The WagzTail team discusses what to do and what not to do if you are having trouble and need help.

Writer Nicole Hoang created a story called What Is It? when she was 10 years old.  More recently, well-known comic artist Dustin Nguyen (Batman: Li’l Gotham) illustrated her story — and presented it to Nicole as a wedding gift. Now Kaboom! Studios have put words and illustrations together into their first hardcover illustrated children’s book. “In a nearby forest, a young girl discovers a mysterious little creature. Together they seek to understand who or what the other is. Featuring beautifully painted illustrations by Dustin Nguyen, What Is It? is a story of wonder, discovery, and the joy of making new friends.” It’s available now, and Bleeding Cool has an interview with the creators too.

image c. 2016 Kaboom! Studios

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Hello Everyone!

We open our show with our Anthrocon interview with Nuka, from the International Anthropomorphic Research Program. It's about 25 minutes long and super fascinating and touches on topics ranging from Gender, Sexuality, and Relationships in the furry fandom. If you would like to read a transcript, please refer to our Transcript in our Advice Column. Thanks again, Nuka, and we look forward to your upcoming papers!

Our main topic is on Body Image and Self-Love. This can be an incredibly difficult area for a lot of people, especially furries. We get told that we are either too thin, too fat, too muscular, or in some cases too short or tall to take seriously. While furry has been able to fetishize a lot of what makes us different and our bodies unique, when it comes to interactions in person there can be a lot of self-consciousness about how we look. 

A lot of people find they are not their 'ideal' body size, and for some they struggle to change this. As a podcast with someone who is chubby, someone who was once chubby, and someone who has been told is too thin, we wanted to express how you can love yourself regardless of the size. We go into the health side, the mental side, and ways you can work to lose weight, gain weight, and stand tall when people make fun of you for your size. 

As always, we are not medical professionals and, before embarking on a health adventure, take the time to consult a doctor to ensure your plan will be sustainable for you. Also, you're amazing, no matter your size, shape, or anything else. 

We close out the show with a question on pet play, polyamory, and the renegotiation period in a D/s relationship. What can a pup do when they struggle with jealousy?

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

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 027 Body Image and Self-Love - Why are furries furries? Should you love yourself if you're too thin or thick? All this, and more, on tonight's episode of Feral Attraction!

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

Fellowship of the Ringtails, by Angela Oliver. Illustrated, map.
Seattle, WA, CreateSpace, June 2013, trade paperback $15.49 ([iii +] 406 [+ 9] pages), Kindle 99¢.

Technically the title of this book is Lemurs (A Saga). Book One: The Fellowship of the Ringtails. But the cover doesn’t say so; Amazon.com doesn’t say so; and I’m pretty sure that nobody else is likely to say so, either.

This title makes it sound like either a parody of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, or an unimaginative imitation of it. Fortunately it’s neither. Its opening paragraph is:

“‘There will be others, Fiantrana,’ the soft voice drew the young lemur from her reverie. She turned her gaze from the great stone tomb: the final resting place for her ancestors, relatives, and most recently, her own son. There was a deep ache inside her: the memory of his tiny, fragile body as she had cradled him to her breast, watching his life breathe out of him.” (p.1)

Angela Oliver, of Christchurch, New Zealand, is devoted to lemurs. In a two-page “Why Lemurs?” afterword, she explains that she was introduced to lemurs while working at a local zoo park, went to Madagascar where lemurs come from in 2007, and fell in love with the whole island-nation. The Fellowship of the Ringtails is an adventure fantasy featuring anthropomorphized lemurs in their Kingdom of Madigaska, a fictionalized Kingdom of Madagascar before it became a French colony in 1897.

An important fact is that there is not just one kind of lemur. There are many different species, roughly divided into the sifakas that are almost entirely arboreal, and the “true lemurs” (which she has dubbed the hazosaka because it sounds better for a fantasy novel) that can walk on the ground, including the famous ringtailed lemurs. For The Fellowship of the Ringtails, she has made the sifakas into the royal family and the aristocracy of Madigaska, while the hazosaka are the commoners.

Fiantrana is a young hazosaka of the maky (ringtailed) tribe, living in Morombe, a small coastal fishing village. She has just lost her first child, a deformed infant who died after only a few days. She is still lactating, so when a badly mauled (by a predator), heavily pregnant sifaka comes to her village, the Ombiasy (healer) sends for her to be a wetnurse for the baby. The dying mother, who fled to escape deadly sifaka court politics, says that her child’s name is Aurelia, and that she is the last true heir of the royal family.

Oliver makes her lemurs anthropomorphic yet as realistic as possible, so the babies mature quickly. Aurelia looks considerably different than the other makys, and she is picked upon by the bullies among the maky children.   Most other villagers accept her, but the bullies make Aurelia aware that she is different. When Fiantrana will not explain why makys and sifaka are different, Aurelia sneaks off to find a sifaka village. She finds something else first.

“‘What are you?’ She asked. ‘You don’t look like a maky and I don’t think you’re a sifaka either.’

Chike made a low rumbling noise.

Aurelia startled, wondering if he were growling, then relaxed. He’s amused, she realised, and this is how he laughs.

‘I’m neither,’ he said. ‘I’m a vervet. A monkey from the mainland.’

‘The main land? What’s that?’ Aurelia licked the last of the stew from her fingers, catching a stray crumb in her fur.

The vervet rose one large hand and gestured. ‘Across the water there is another place: a vast expanse of land – deserts and mountains, rainforests and swamp. That is where I live. I came here to teach and learn.’ He shrugged his hairy shoulders, ‘but now I am forced to hide in this desert forest.’

‘Why?’

‘Because she has decreed that I am an outlaw,’ he said with a sad shake of his head. ‘And will kill me if she can catch me.’

‘Who’s she?’ Her whiskers and fur clean, Aurelia gave Chike her undivided attention. Ears perked, looking alert – as Fiantrana taught her. Listen, ask questions.

‘Your Queen, Ranavalona.’” (pgs. 50-51)

Aurelia goes on and makes a friend of Matthieu, one of the first sifakas she meets. He returns her to Fiantrana, who has come looking for her, that evening. Over the next days, Aurelia learns that she must stay in hiding because her blue eyes and pure white fur mark her as of the family of old Queen Ramavo, and the new queen, Ranavalona, is a usurper who will kill her on sight. Yet Aurelia matches a prophesy of one who is destined to unite the sifakas and the makys. Aurelia and Fiantrana eventually leave their home and maky friends to venture into an unknown wider world on a quest to escape Ranavalona’s killers.

But prepare for a cliffhanger ending, because this is only Book One of Aurelia’s saga.

The Fellowship of the Ringtails shows what Malagasy wildlife (anthropomorphized) is like.

“Chuckling, Fiantrana reached out her arm to her little brother [by her mother’s later mating]. He scrambled up it, eager to get away from his boisterous sister and clambered up her belly, tiny fingers clutching handfuls of fur. Fiantrana lifted her lamba and the tiny lemur wriggled up under it, seeking the teat. Fiantrana’s milk would not go to waste, not when Reniko [her mother] had her paws full with the two kits.” (p. 6)

“Fiantrana was frantic. I told her [Aurelia] to stay close but she’s gone and bounced off again, she thought, furiously licking her belly in an effort to alleviate her frustration and concern.” (p. 71)

“A loud, high-pitched shriek sounded somewhere off in the distance, startling them both. Matthieu stood and scented the air.

‘What’s that?’ she [Aurelia] asked.

‘Alarm call,’ he explained. ‘The Hunters are coming.’ He scooped her up in his arms almost tossing her onto his back. She clutched tight to his thick fur as he scrambled up the nearest tall tree.” (pgs. 89-90)

The novel is full of words from the Malagasy language, and wildlife names that are all obvious from the context. Misaotra = thank you. Salama = hello. Lamba = a large colorful scarf. Azafady = excuse me; please. Miala tsiny aho = I’m sorry. Veloma = goodbye. Vonjeo! = help! Votsoa = a giant jumping rat. Fossa = the deadliest Malagasy predator, evolved from the mongoose, until the arrival of man with his dogs and cats. Vontsira = a smaller mongoose-based ground predator that can’t climb.

Queen Ranavalona I (1778-186l; queen from 1828) was a real human; one of the more bloody “off with her head!” tyrants who ever lived – according to European news at the time, mostly from British and French sources trying to justify conquering the island. Wikipedia says, “Recent academic research has recast Ranavalona’s actions as those of a queen attempting to expand her empire while protecting Malagasy sovereignty against the encroachment of European cultural and political influence.” Unlike Oliver’s fictionalization, she was legitimate – but the legends are more colorful.

Oliver has also included several full-page illustrations, and the cover. That’s Aurelia in the foreground, Chike behind her, Manjoretra with the hat, and Matthieu wearing a lamba.

The Fellowship of the Ringtails shows a skilful blend of Malagasy natural history and fantasy adventure. Oliver’s characters are certainly not just animal-headed humans. Read for fun and for something different.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon
• Author’s blog

Reminder: We're on Patreon! If you could kick us a buck or two, we'd greatly appreciate it. Time for another! Xander is sick, everyone is playing Pokemon Go, we destroy a bouncy castle, & there's a visit from a very special guest! We also do listener questions with priority given to our Question Master patrons! Don't forget to hang out in our telegram chat, now w/ over 100 members! https://telegram.me/draggetshow Stay tuned for more episodes and videos on our Youtube channel! - www.youtube.com/user/DraggetShow/videos ep. 124 - Pokemon Go! and Vikings - Reminder: We're on Patreon! If you could kick us…

Ever tell yourself “I don’t have time for reading”, or encounter someone with similar excuses? Join Fangs and Fonts as we talk about the merits of being a reading writer!

Send us your feedback, questions, concerns, complaints:

@FangsAndFonts

Facebook.com/FangsAndFonts

fangsandfonts@gmail.com

Fangs and Fonts

Click below to Listen http://www.fangsandfonts.com/FnF/Episodes/Ep67-Reading_Writing.mp3

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Ep67 – Reading Writing - Ever tell yourself “I don’t have time for reading”, or encounter someone with similar excuses? Join Fangs and Fonts as we talk about the merits of being a reading writer! Send us your feedback, questions, concerns, complaints: @FangsAndFonts [...]

Tonight the crew talk about Toronto Pride and a woman who really acts out. Join us sans one goat and listen in! Episode -31 - Prolific Shark

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

Tailless, by Erin Quinn
Las Vegas, NV, Rabbit Valley Books, May 2016, trade paperback $20.00 (284 [+ 1] pages).

Dolores, a young tailless vixen, is a waitress at Max’s lower-class diner. When she is molested by a drunken rat customer, Max (a fatherly bear) moves in to protect her; but she can take care of herself.

“Dolores clenched her serving tray to her side and took a step forward. Her heals clacked against the wooden floor. The diner became quite. ‘I wasn’t done with ya, sweetie. How about bring that bare bottom back over here?’ She toyed with the idea of clawing his face, but her father’s words echoed between her ears: ‘Young ladies do not raise their claws.’” (p.1)

The problem is that they are in the city of ‘Lo, Lyndon, and Lyndon lost the Common War with Ulick a year ago.   King Scottsburg (lion) is furious and is executing most of his old advisors, their families, and anyone else he doesn’t like as traitors. Dolores and Max cannot afford to do anything that will bring themselves to the attention of his Royal Guard. Dolores is something of a mystery woman:

“Ever since they met Max had been curious about her. She arrived six months ago with little more than the clothes on her back. The easy option would have been to turn away a girl who had no work history, no credits to buy a meal, and a vague explanation for why she was in the city. But she was eager to help and wanted very little in return. Max couldn’t say no.” (p. 3)

It’s not giving away much of a spoiler to reveal that Dolores is really Belladonna Sinclair, daughter of a minister personally executed by King Scottsdale. While the Sinclair family was in favor before the war, Dolores/Belladonna was in a close friendship with young Tym Timmons (gray and black tabby cat). Since the war, Tym is the new Minister of the Interior, in charge of finding and executing the king’s enemies. He dares to plead for Belladonna’s pardon since she was innocent of her father’s treason, but King Scottsdale is adamant that she be publicly killed. The missing Belladonna/Dolores’ hiding is helped by the fact that nobody knows that she lost her tail in the war (“‘I just got caught up in a scuffle. It wasn’t too bad. Honestly, I’m sure whoever swung the sword wasn’t aiming for my tail.’” – p. 29), but it does make her stand out. She is now in hiding in ‘Lo, helped by her taillessness and the fatherly Max, and by James Euclid (skunk), the handsome son of her former (slain) university professor.

Tailless (cover by Robbye “Quel” Nicholson) is a combination of a soap opera and an adventure novel, with three story lines. One features Dolores’ new life as a waitress, with new friends like Max, Gretchen Went (brown squirrel), and James Euclid. Now that she is old enough to be interested in romance, she wonders if her friendship with Tym was more than just friendship, or if she is developing a romance with James – or with Gretchen. A second is with Prowl Milton (middle-aged wolf), a former minister now in hiding in the port city of Dret to escape King Scottsdale’s soldiers, and trying to get out of Dret before his disguise as humble Willow Grey is uncovered. The third is with Tym Timmons, leading the manhunt for Milton and Belladonna, to execute the wolf but hoping to spare his old friend.

My summary of Tailless is “eh”. It’s a good story, with Quinn cleverly holding back several secrets to be revealed one at a time. (Minor spoiler: lizards enter the story on p. 120.) But the basic setup makes it never convincing. The characters are each random fuzzy mammals (raccoons, ocelots, rabbits, cheetahs, deer, tigers, horses, etc.) who could just as easily be humans. A vixen trying to decide whether she loves a housecat, a skunk, or a squirrel? A cute child is a hybrid: “Her features could not be ignored, the fox like tail, the cat whiskers, the red and grey colors melding fur coats of diverse species parents.” (p. 21), making you wonder why all the animal-peoples of this world of Azul are not homogenized by now.

Tailless is horribly proofread, or more likely not proofread at all. On the first page alone, in addition to “heals” (heels) and “quite” (quiet), there are “Dolores folded her ears back and shook her head, she yearned […]”, “[…] buried his face his in paws.”; and “The rat’s eyes were in faraway state […]” Other errors include “The idea of the rabid praying on her” (“rabble” and “preying”), “When her tailed was grabbed”, and “what are people are scared of?” Never mind the literary merit or lack of same; the typographical and spelling errors make this a “grit your teeth and plow ahead” book.

Why do the kings have such names as King Scottsdale and King Grayson? Scottsdale’s full name is given more than once; King Richard Scottsdale the Third. This is done too often to be an error. Everyone should know that kings and queens are known by their personal names, not their dynastic names. Is this deliberate to make the furry world of Azul more exotic? It just looks weird.

Read Tailless if you’re really desperate for furry fiction.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Rabbit Valley

New from Retrofit Comics comes Elf Cat In Love, a new hardcover black & white graphic novel by James Kochalka (creator of American Elf and Johnny Boo). “When the incredibly conceited Elf Cat goes on a quest for the Ice Sword with his magical friend Tennis Ball, they will face dragons, magical hot dogs, snowflake princesses, and confront their feelings! If you find love in many places, can you see it when it is right in front of you?” Mr. Kochalka’s drawn a few interesting stories with cats… Previews has all this and more, of course.

image c. 2016 Retrofit Comics