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TigerTails Radio Season 13 Episode 12 Join the Discord Chat: https://discord.gg/SQ5QuRf For a full preview of events and for previous episodes, please visit http://www.tigertailsradio.co.uk. See website for full breakdown of song credits, which is usually updated shortly after the show.

Cartoon Brew pointed us at something we had not heard of. Thanks! “Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow, a family-oriented animated thriller from Spain, has entered production… Set in a world where humans and insects co-exist, the story unfolds on a seaplane journey from Shanghai to San Francisco in the 1930s. It centers on the spider detective Inspector Sun and his nemesis the Red Locust, paying homage to the detective stories of Agatha Christie and the fictional Charlie Chan. The script, by Rocco Pucillo, won the prestigious students-only Samuel Goldwyn Award in 2013. The film is a co-production from The Thinklab Media and Gordon Box. It is directed by Julio Soto Gúrpide, who helmed the Goya-nominated 2017 feature Deep.” Currently Inspector Sun is set for release in the summer of 2022. We’ll certainly find out.

image c. 2021 Thinklab Media

We return to the patio for returns to normalcy, questionable drugs, yummy roadside food, real life Pokemon fighting, and a really easy decision made over at SoFurry.

Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/Southpawscast

LINKS-
24 Hours of Buc-ee's- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3OUkya1qEc&t=2s
Telegram Fan Chat - https://t.me/joinchat/P2iJg8tyj-KNGaci 

Episode 491 - Not Going 2 Jail 4 U - We return to the patio for returns to normalcy, questionable drugs, yummy roadside food, real life Pokemon fighting, and a really easy decision made over at SoFurry.Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/Southpawscast LINKS-

We’re quoting this one direct from the source — because they say it so well. “Deep in the library is a book that tells of giants and elves, woffs and deer foxes, and all manner of creatures from the Wilderness to the center of Trolberg. Those who wish to learn will glean all the knowledge they need from Hilda’s own copy of this fascinating compendium of beasts and spirits… For fans of Netflix’s hit animated Hilda series, this gorgeous guide to creatures from tiny to giant will keep young adventurers spellbound, with a behind-the-scenes bestiary that teaches Hilda fans everything they’ll want to know about the fauna of Trolberg, featuring trivia and brand new art!” Written by Emily Hibbs and illustrated by Jason Chan, Hilda’s Book of Beasts and Spirits is available now in hardcover.

image c. 2021 Flying Eye Books

MOOBARKFLUFF! Click here to send us a comment or message about the show!

Cassidy Civet returns to the show and talks about her projects and how she has become so famous in just one year! Can you put cake in a Tortilla? We discuss all the fruit varieties (You won't believe number 5!) that have come out of the Taebyn Horticultural Labs to date.  A Black Footed Ferret from Chile joins us on Five Minute Furs. Are Penguins dangerous? Where is Bearly's prehensile tail? We learn more about the English language, world geography, and moving bodies of water.  So join us won't you? Moobarkfluff!

Support the show

Thanks to all our listeners and to our staff: Bearly Normal, Rayne Raccoon, Taebyn, Cheetaro, TickTock, and Ziggy the Meme Weasel.

You can send us a message on Telegram at BFFT Chat, or via email at: bearlyfurcasting@gmail.com

Bearly Furcasting S2E3 - Cassidy Civet, Taebyn Definitions, Storytime, Taebyn Fruits

Last month, Equestria Daily warned about blowback to fans: The Indianapolis FedEx Mass Shooter Was Apparently A Brony, and Obsessed with Applejack. The 19 year old shooter carried it out after posting online that he hoped to see the cartoon character in the afterlife. “Brony” stands out by the Man Bites Dog rule, but there’s more details. Previously he had a gun seized, and got confined for threats after visiting white supremacist websites. Half of those killed were Sikhs. (I REALLY hate that, because of learning about this at the birthday of a Sikh friend. Every one I’ve met is a sweetheart.)

Rolling Stone asked: “Do Bronies have a Nazi problem?” They say fandom isn’t inherently problematic, but it faces infiltration by problems. Being a fan of cartoons isn’t a threat, but there’s threats coming out of fandom. Maybe giving a heads up about negativity should also say…

1: It’s not the only incident.

• (2020): In Texas, Daniel Perry killed a protester after tweeting about how to kill protesters. His FurAffinity page got far-right gloating.
• (2020): Furry in Ohio shot up a school, thankfully just hitting the building and nobody was hurt.
• (2017): Randy Stair, a Brony who made animated fan videos, did a mass shooting at his workplace that was predicted by his creations.
• (2016:) 3 killed in Fullerton CA by 3 furries, they all mingled at furry events and might not have met without them.

Maybe this isn’t more frequent than in general society, but do they share context? And isn’t one shooting too many?

Last summer, a right-wing extremist with furry fan background drove into a crowd and shot a protester. He was let go by police and his Furaffinity page was used for extremist hate support. Now the incident is being considered for charges. https://t.co/Kpx9NzGwjr https://t.co/hJPCTbDfjo

— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) April 18, 2021

 

2: People tend to reject bad news by reflex.

(Maybe if it involved Jedi afterlife.)

I hear reflexes like these all the time:

• (Community defenders): We’re always facing haters, and the problem is giving them too much attention.
• (Con runners): This looks bad for filling hotel rooms, so let’s not mention a surprise lone wolf nobody could have predicted.
• (Sunshine McFluffy): Our fandom is for hugs and fun, so that person wasn’t a true member.
• (Puritans): Who needs reasons, they’re brainwashed by their sick fandom. They need Jesus!
• (Gun nuts): Shooter threats are all around… Shoot them first, no problem.

3: Then context gets lost.

Fandom makes context:

• Close connections make incidents hit harder than usual inside.
• Anti-social individuals may seek escapism communities.
• People close to them might be able to see clues and stop them.
• If a community is blamed, try standing on the victim’s side to fix that.
• Guns aren’t just used on others, and fans raise attention to help with suicide.

The Equestria Daily story shows what readers think about context. A comment says Applejack stands for conservative “core values of family and tradition”, and worries the character will be cut out for “SJW” values. (That’s a weird way of sympathizing with victim families.) Nobody mentions many victims were Sikhs. (Their tradition is doing community service, but racists mistake them for Muslims because they don’t care to try knowing more.) And Dungeons and Dragons comes up as a scapegoat of 1980’s Satanic Panic. That’s actually a good point.

4: Silence can make judgement look true.

• In the 1980’s, Satanism was blamed for teen sex, drugs and suicide.
• Teen problems weren’t new, the new thing was social shifts. Pre Civil Rights generation parents had more worldly kids.
• Or both parents now had two parents working, so kids were left home to get into things.
• Then Dungeons and Dragons or heavy metal (or furries) were convenient scapegoats.
• It made careers of conservative preaching, which led to closing comic and record stores, attacking artist careers, and arrests for obscenity.
• Without evidence, people made shit up anyways and it worked.

The supposed Satan worshipping artists didn’t stay silent, they fought or leaned in. They weren’t literally summoning demons, they were doing stories with shades of light and dark, like visions that religion is supposed to awaken. Furries raised online don’t know what this culture war was like before the net made everything easy to get. It was a big stage in fandom growth.

The fandom had low notice until the 1990’s, when self-awareness made internal conflict with puritans. Soon the media latched on to exploit it. But around 2010 (when Comic Con went mainstream,) exploitation lightened and there started to be CNN “flat-out advocacy pieces“. And maybe the media has caught up with the fandom, but the fandom hasn’t lost fear of the media, when silence can hurt itself.

5: Fearmongering isn’t as bad as you think.

How bad is it if you lean in? Someone tried the same old panic in 2020 with email/telegram raids, calling it “Operation Expose Degeneracy.” They claimed to have thousands of murrsuit porn pics to publish and show that kids are in danger. They said many news outlets wanted to talk and there would be a whole book!

After spamming, he resorted to begging for help. Have you heard of this? Look how far that went.

6: Worry also means caring.

Mass shootings might not have one cause, but this one has something we know about radicalizing in online subcultures. With nazis being where they don’t belong, their presence isn’t just opinions or sides. They do nothing good for anyone, except maybe gun sellers and their invested friends. Worrying about how to stop that is caring about everyone. It’s not just negativity to bring it up and put fandom in the headline.

I knew that furry communities had successfully combated far right assholes trying to infiltrate their circles, so I am a little disappointed that the same cannot be said for bronies.
… no, I'm not joking here, wait why are you looking at me like that?

— Dennis (@Dennisthatsit) April 18, 2021

Kaitlyn Tiffany’s Atlantic article from last year confirms the Facebook memo’s point about extremism in the community existing generally. https://t.co/nJI9ESRGK3

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) April 18, 2021

Since the Brony community is still grappling with it's veins of right wing violent extremists like the Indianapolis FedEx shooter it's worth revisiting the sucesses and efforts of other similar niche internet subcultures that have had success fending off neo-nazi infiltration: https://t.co/pkj07RnST7

— Deo (@DeoTasDevil) April 19, 2021

Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on Patreon. Want to get involved? Try these subreddits: r/furrydiscuss for news or r/waginheaven for the best of the community. Or send guest writing here. (Content Policy.)

Mad Cave Studios (home of Battlecats, as you may recall) has a new science fiction comic book series we just discovered, They Fell From The Sky. The summary for issue #2 explains it pretty well: “What do you do when you find a crash landed alien in the woods? Well, if you are Tommy Murphy you take it to the vet. After getting discharged, the newly named furry creature, Orion, is ready to discover all of the luxuries this small town has to offer. Can Tommy keep him in check, or is he reaching for the stars?” Issues are available now, written by Liezl Buenaventura, with art by Xavier Tárrega and DJ Chavis.

image c. 2021 Mad Cave Studios

Welcome back to another spotlight for Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month! Last week, we had a lovely conversation with Robert Baird covering many topics. This week, we’ll be spotlighting Mikasi!

Mikasi is a Hainanese furry writing currently living the Republic of Singapore. During the day they work as a plastics R&D engineer. In their free time, they enjoy reading, going to museum exhibitions, and of course writing. While they began writing mostly speculative fiction, they currently focus on slice-of-life works.

With our introductions in the books, let’s get on to the interview!

FWG: What would you say makes a good story?

Mikasi: Something that makes you think about the scenes or thought it provokes when you are no longer reading it. Like when you are in the shower, or walking to work and you still think about those story/movie scenes despite no longer looking at it, it has done its job well.

A story that makes you feel, essientially.

FWG: If you could convince everyone reading this interview to read one piece of literature, what would it be?

Mikasi: For Anthologies, probably Stories of New Tibet Vol 1 and II. They show the fragility of life, and how easily it is devalued even though it takes considerable time and effort to replace. For novels, I enjoyed the Harry Potter series (up to book 6), because of vast amounts of worldbuilding which is itself hard to contemplate.

FWG: How would you say your Hainanese heritage has affected your writing?

Mikasi: I would say that in recent years, I started writing about characters from other countries who end up living in other countries. Such as the dorm student in my story “A Friend In Winter” (FANG 10), and “A Leap Forward” (Claw the Way to Victory).

There were occasions I had to live alone in other countries, such as in during my UK exchange program back in University, and I am all too aware I kind of look different I enjoy exploring this in fiction.

My Hainanese heritage also had me write stories with a taste of Chinese culture and legends, such as elements from Journey to the West (“Adversary’s Fall”, Gods With Fur)

FWG: Is that kind of “othering” (for lack of a better word) something you enjoy exploring through fiction, or is it more a way to try and emotionally sort through this difficult thing in a safe environment?

Mikasi: I try to put some of my own personal experiences where possible in my writing because it is “real” and hence will make the story relatable to those who’ve experienced the same before.

FWG: Are there any other things like themes, folklore, or other bits of your history that have made it into your stories you’d like to share?

Mikasi: I also wrote a story of a character who died, and has to experience his last 100 days on earth, based on Chinese underworld afterlife beliefs. It is during this 100 days that he discovers that despite their dedication, there is a time we have to let everything go

Singaporeans have to undergo a 22-24 month conscription process, so I have addressed conscription , and military service in both humorous (“Fathers to Sons”, Dogs of War) and less-humorous stories (“No Choice About It”, ROAR 10 and “In Better Times”, Difursity.)

FWG: The Stop Asian Hate movement has has a lot of discussion for folks in the United States. As someone who’s Asian, living in an Asian country, have you had to deal with some of the unfair and unfortunate bigotry towards certain members of the Asian community during the pandemic?

Mikasi: I have seen some bigotry in my country even before the pandemic, but most of it is due to cultural stereotypes of other ethnicities that may or may not be true for specific individuals. That said, it is unfair to judge a person on the basis of their culture or religion before knowing or understanding them.

In the UK, I have had a 7 and 9 year old sing a racist song to me and my 5 classmates, and in Canada, I had a storekeeper annoyed I asked her a product-related question, but I sometimes tell myself that I cannot use my own standards for judging people for others.

Singapore has 4 official races, but the Government’s strict laws (and penalties) against racism from anyone, even the majority race, keeps that to a minimum. Less aggressively, housing laws ensure a certain percentage of each race or ethnic group is present in every neighborhood, so no place is “Just for Race A, Just for Race B, etc.”.

When people meet and see one another everyday outside of school and work, they actually become more understanding and tolerant as other ethnicities don’t seem that “strange” to them.

FWG: If you could leave readers with a single piece of information about Hainanese culture or folklore, what would it be?

Mikasi: I don’t know much about specifically Hainanese culture, except Chicken Rice as a dish, but for Chinese culture in general, the epic legend Journey to the West (seems quite similar to The Wizard of Oz (one of my favorite books) by Frank Baum. They all feature characters from different backgrounds, (and species) who are seeking redemption from their previous misdeeds (Journey to the West), or looking for a higher sense of purpose (The Wizard of Oz).

This concept is actually very similar to our world. Despute everyone’s differences, in the end, ultimately, everyone is trying to pursue their own path to happiness, and whether or not we choose to help or disrupt them is entirely up to us.

And yes, we have our own holidays that draws a parallel with Western ones, such as the Dongzhi Festival (Winter Solstice Festival) which is held a few days before Christmas, and The 7th Month/Hungry Ghost Festival , which might seem similar to Day of The Dead or the traditional Halloween, though the 7th Month is a (Lunar) Month long.

This is interesting because despite all the above festivals and holidays originating from different places across the world, different cultures still make sense of personal beliefs in different yet very similar ways

FWG: Any last things you’d like to tell our readers?

Mikasi: There is a lot we can learn from stories that are very similar to real life. Because living people write stories, they put a bit of themselves and their life experiences into it. How the characters suffer, how they get past their adversities; they are all things people have all experienced at some point in history. Stories teach us we’re not alone in suffering and happiness.

They also give us a safe means to experience other people’s lives without (too) much harm. They allow us to travel to other worlds, worlds of the fantastical, of the strange, of the erotic and arcane, in futuristic cities and planets, and magical realms accompanied by angels and dragons. All this is possible, and more, just by the turn of the pages, and some willpower of reading those words written with lots of hard work.

So don’t be scared to try a book you haven’t read yet; perhaps a book you had on your cubhood bookshelf but never got round to reading. You might be surprised at what you might discover.

We would like to thank Mikasi once more for sitting down to chat with us. You can follow him on Twitter @MikasiWolf and see all of his current written works on his FurAffinity. Make sure to stay tuned for next week for another spotlight. Until next time, may your words flow like water.

Boy, here’s something we haven’t heard from in a while: The Wolf In Underpants series of graphic novels by Wilfrid Lupano and Mayana Itoiz. The latest one is The Wolf In Underpants: At Full Speed. “It’s race day in the forest—but someone has ruined the posters for the big event! When other animals ask the Wolf to investigate, he discovers a chickadee with a chip on its shoulder. After learning why the little bird feels left out, the Wolf hatches a plan to launch it to victory . . . A plan that just might involve the Wolf’s trademark striped undies.” Got that? The whole series is available now from Lerner Publishing and Graphic Universe.

image c. 2021 Lerner Publishing Group

Resources, Social Media & Donation Links
Follow Gram
Commission Gram
Furench Toast Fursuits
Join Rhyner’s Telegram Channel
Guest Application Form
BIPOC FURRY EVENTS

On March 20th '21 I interviewed Gram a black, non-binary fursuit crafter and artist living their best life! As the co-owner of Furench Toast Fursuits, she's had quite the history with making fursuits and interacting with all kinds of people. It was surprising to learn that her family was supportive of their craft from the start. Not something you hear everyday to say the least. 

While Gram excels at being creative, outsiders tend to judge them before getting to know them.  Living in various places in the Midwest, you learn harsh realities earlier than others. Being singled out in furmeets and group chats tends to rub someone the wrong way, and Gram explains why it's so hurtful and the effects it can have on someone mentally. Thankfully, Gram manages to find friends in their own way, 

Thanks for listening to this episode! We're going to be going on a hiatus until June.  

Support the show

Interview With Gram - Fursuit Fanatics, Community, & Creative Drive

TigerTails Radio Season 13 Episode 11 Join the Discord Chat: https://discord.gg/SQ5QuRf For a full preview of events and for previous episodes, please visit http://www.tigertailsradio.co.uk. See website for full breakdown of song credits, which is usually updated shortly after the show.

Have you noticed that people who create stuff for young readers love to name characters after food?  Well here we go again… Blue, Barry & Pancakes is a new hardcover graphic novel from First Second. It’s written and illustrated by Dan Abdo and Jason Patterson, creators of the animated TV series Rocket Monkeys for Nickelodeon. “One day, when the gang goes to the beach, Barry and Pancakes lose Blue’s beloved beach ball. They come up with a plan to get it back, but things go way off course. Now, these pals will have to go inside a giant whale’s stomach, crash a pool party on an alien spaceship, and survive Duckzilla’s volcanic birthday bash if they ever hope to see Blue’s beach ball again!” Got that? The bunny, frog, and snake are available now.

image c. 2021 First Second

Hey kids, it's the return of patio podcasting~ Complete with hookah burble, dog noises, and the occasional plane. No real serious topics on this one, we're still readjusting.

Patreon- https://www.patreon.com/Southpawscast

LINKS
Thunderbolt Fantasy s1 opening- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bcBWenOfR0
Telegram fan chat- https://t.me/joinchat/P2iJg8tyj-KNGaci 

Episode 490 - Patiocast Returns - Hey kids, it's the return of patio podcasting~ Complete with hookah burble, dog noises, and the occasional plane. No real serious topics on this one, we're still readjusting. Patreon- https://www.patreon.com/Southpawscast

MOOBARKFLUFF! Click here to send us a comment or message about the show!

Paradox Red Wolf joins us this week for some rambunctious fun. We define one of Taebyn's words. Bearly tells us about a ferret adventure and speaking Jersey. Taebyn Maths us with Furry Roulette. Our Really Bad Jokes take a Batman turn and we generally have a super time this week. Tune in and give a listen!

Mentioned in this weeks show was the Willamette Valley Ferret Shelter, here is a link to their website: https://willamettevalleyferretshelter.org/

Support the show

Thanks to all our listeners and to our staff: Bearly Normal, Rayne Raccoon, Taebyn, Cheetaro, TickTock, and Ziggy the Meme Weasel.

You can send us a message on Telegram at BFFT Chat, or via email at: bearlyfurcasting@gmail.com

Bearly Furcasting S2E2 - Paradox Red Wolf, Taebyn Definitions, Jersey Speak, Math and Really Bad Jokes

Hi Papabear,

I have had trouble figuring out my identity as a person. I feel being demipansexual is my true sexual identity but I always have been comfortable with posing as female in various MMORPSs games. At first it was a curiosity of socialization in gender groups but then it felt right identifying as a woman and there are times I feel being male feels right too. I have been confused with several things over the years attraction to male friends and suddenly questioning why I felt that. Then I felt comfortable being a woman in MMORPGs but yet I like being male. It's a very confusing thing to me. I did some research on sexuality and found demipansexual to be me but gender is still a question time from time. I feel like that is why I have two main sonas one that is male and one that is female. That helped a little bit but I am just always questioning this. Do you know?

Anonymous

* * *

Dear Furiend,

Yes, I do :)  You are not confused. You actually know what you like and what you feel. That is not the problem. The problem is you are trying to find a pre-approved label for what you are and get validated by an outside source.

You don't need no stinkin' label, señor. You can call yourself demipansexual or hemi-demi-multi-crossgender-watchamacallit-sexual. Or, perhaps, you are gender fluid, as I explain in this letter. Who cares? The point is, you aren't questioning. That implies you are not sure what you like. But you know what you like is to take on a female character in MMORPGs while other times you take the masculine role. 

Your letter mostly focuses on online gaming, and there's not much about your real-life social interactions, so how do you feel about those? Furthermore, it is my belief that online role-playing is a safe way to explore one's sexuality and work things out. I encourage you to continue to do so and take what you learn from the online world and make use of it in the real world.

Demipansexual has more to do with sexual attraction and indicates that you can be attracted to either gender and to many people as long as you have a strong emotional connection. To me, a simple bear, that would just make you bisexual and there would not be a need to define it further, but you can search for a new label all you like; it doesn't change who you are by calling it one thing or another.

As for gender roles, these are all imposed standards set by society. Society calls one behavior "masculine" and another form of behavior "feminine," and it does the same thing with outward appearances, yet these are all cultural tags. Is wearing a kilt feminine? After all, it's a skirt! How about high heels? High heels used to be fashionable among rich men in the 18th century. As was makeup. Is pink "feminine"? It used to be considered masculine in early 20th century America. Is crying "feminine"? More and more people are agreeing that a real man is not afraid to show emotion. 

Standards and labels established by society are confusing you. You yourself are not confused.

Be you. Labels be damned.

Hugs,
Papabear

IDW Publishing continues to present some unusual Disney-themed comic book entertainment. Listen, you’re going to notice someone who creates a story called The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, right? Well now writer Tom Angleberger brings us Disney’s Doorways To Danger, a new full-color graphic novel. “Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Uncle Scrooge, and all their friends are contestants on a reality TV game show called Doorways to Danger! As they scramble to be the first to collect the magical keys that lead them to their prizes, their grinning game show host might have plans of his own! And what are Pete and Trudy up to?!” As you can see from the cover by artist Jeff Harvey below, Mr. Angleberger isn’t the only one with a… unique take on well-known Disney characters! Doorways To Danger is available this June in hardcover.

image c. 2021 IDW Publishing

Fox and Burger Podcast #8: Furry Vocalist, the Sempai Band + More - Feat Paroto. ---- How many furry musicians do you know? In this episode, we're staying in Taiwan to talk to Paroto about his experience and background as a furry vocalist. Paroto is a blue doggo from Taiwan (currently studying in Japan) with a passion for singing. Also he's been part of the multinational Sempai Band since 2017. Join us as we interview our very first furry vocalist! In this episode, I acted as the interpreter for Paroto. If any native Chinese speakers would like to correct my errors or add to what I said, please feel free to do so! That would be greatly appreciated. ---- Social Media: Fox: https://twitter.com/foxnakh Burger: https://twitter.com/L1ghtningRunner http://www.youtube.com/c/LightningRunner Paroto: https://twitter.com/Paroto_Music https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6SDFVE9reFVTShzoOMvdag https://www.plurk.com/yah117728 https://www.facebook.com/ParotoMusic Footage from: https://twitter.com/Paroto_Music/status/1351128995568492544?s=20 https://twitter.com/Paroto_Music/status/1351028899573018626?s=20 https://twitter.com/Paroto_Music/status/1341371456970625025?s=20 https://twitter.com/Paroto_Music/status/1341027328852299776?s=20 https://twitter.com/Paroto_Music/status/1330124606305398785?s=20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMmzakPsD9g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sboXj9mzt1M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNz_z7CvncY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib6qSdYa8Ac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKSUKWpkT64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCYcHz2k5x0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J---aiyznGQ http://robioeugene.blogspot.com/2014/07/i-love-dubstep.html Stock images provided by Pixabay

Hi Papabear,

It's my first time writing this letter to your website after I saw your ad on FurAffinity a couple of months ago while I was working at home for a company I don't want to name here.

The thing is I have two dilemmas which I'm dealing this moment. The first one is with the family in which my old brother (mid-30s) finally moved out to a new apartment and live there after we had to put up with so much toxicity for everything, even when I had that job the first 3 months of this year.  It was so frustrating to live together when he judges from the food that my mom serves (who was a lawyer) to the dirt of this apartment. He pretends to be a rich, entitled dude but he goes to the fancy places (so he works as a sound engineer for live events for some artists) wanting to be part of that society. Also he's kinda narcissistic, specially with his previous ex-girlfriends. I tried to understand him about his past when he decided to go and live with his dad (a lawyer, too) after my mom divorced him; and then realize that the wasn't the ideal home to live, amid of the problems are having with the other family, including their finances.  It was an everyday conversation with my mom when she mentions that part and that's why my brother has an inferiority complex due to these problems. But it was a relief to leave the nest and face the reality to live alone and not depending from my mother and I all the time. Leaving that aside, I doubt I could talk with him after he treated and scolded me so badly for being a shy guy and being dependent for my mom. But that's not the way to treat a person like that, even when I'm jobless/unemployed.

What should I do in this case? Should I ignore it or try to forgive him?

The second issue is more personal. As I'm introvert guy and a degree holder with a little experience in Film and Television, I always wanted to be a full-time content creator and live from it, even though I already tried to write posts on my blog and uploaded videos on my YouTube channel; besides of monetizing and earned a few cents. The problem with this one is I feel remorse of getting late to the party and the constant perfectionism of each content I'm creating. Besides that, I have a lot of insecurities and a lot of episodes of anxiety and depression ending to postpone the main project. I told my mom about how these creators earn money from it and I'm aware that it's not easy to get enough followers in order to monetize the content.  And almost always get demotivated (mentally and creative) for this reason, until I wrote a script for a podcast I'm going to make this week. Being a loner has both advantages and disadvantages, so I tried to talk with other furs about the project and some of them was amazed and left some thumbs up, but they never asked me for a feedback or some moral support to keep going and staying afloat. And even I talked with some psychologists and some friends as well.

And I also want to learn to draw again and offer some commissions. So, I decided to undertake this path without leaving aside other projects that I have in mind, staring with the screenplays I'm writing.  Do you know if there's a way to be more confident with the people I surrond it and myself? I want to overcome this weakness.

I'm sorry that this letter is so extensive or long, but I hope this will be helpful for me, Papabear.

Thank You,

Gabbo The Fox (Colombia, age 28)

* * *

Hi, Gabbo,

Your letter is a little difficult to decipher, I fear, probably because English is your second language, but I think I get your meaning. So, the questions seem to be, in summary: 1) How do I deal with my brother? and 2) How do I gain confidence to become a better podcaster and online personality?

Your brother is trying to be a big shot as a way to compensate for his own lack of self-confidence, which probably arose from growing up in a dysfunctional family. In my opinion, he's getting involved with a very shallow, money-grubbing crowd and will likely regret it, eventually. I would not recommend following his lead, and you don't have to accept his criticism of you or your life choices. Whenever he criticizes you, just smile and say, "Thank you for your advice. I will take it under consideration." Then, ignore him and do your own thing. He is a damaged person, and you would be wise not to worry about his opinions. 

Your second question is slightly related to your first because one of the best things you can do to boost your self-confidence is avoid toxic people like your brother and surround yourself with supportive, loving people. This is not to say you only want to have "yes men" around you (people who just agree with everything you say to make you feel better), but you do want people who care about you and try to support what you are doing in life and career.

Another thing you should do, you are already doing: pursue your dream. In this case, you are seeking to develop audio and video content online using what you have learned from your film degree (and congrats to you for completing your degree!). Don't worry if you are struggling at first. Everyone struggles at first! You are finding out that doing stuff for a college class is very different from real-world experience. You are going to have some failures, but the thing is to learn from your failures, grow, and improve. You won't have an instantly huge audience. Audiences take time to build. Be patient and keep at it! If you can do what you love for a living, you will be truly blessed throughout your entire life!

Next, don't compare yourself to others. Everyone has different experiences in their career and life paths. Some will be more successful than you, but you are not competing with them. Work on being unique unto yourself, providing people with something that has your own spin, your own personality, your own content. Be an individual and focus on what you are doing now, in the present. If you work hard now and develop your skills, eventually there will be a payoff.

Learn what you are best at, where your strengths are, and develop those. Meanwhile, keep an eye open for opportunities. You never know when something might develop that will open doors for you and your career. Also, keep learning new things. The industry you are in is constantly changing and developing. If you can keep up with all these changes, you will be doing better than a lot of your peers.

The more you learn, the more skills you develop, and the better you get at your job, the more confidence you will get. One day, you will realize, "Damn! I really know what I'm talking about, and I'm good at it, too!" At that point, you will have arrived.

Hugs,
Papabear​

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another FWG interview! In honor of Asian American And Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’ve reached out to several Asian furry authors to gain their perspectives on writing, every day life, and more. Today’s interview features Robert Baird.

Robert has been writing and posting stories within the fandom for over seventeen years so there’s no denying their experience. They were born in the United States but are currently residing in Berlin. With the introductions finished, let’s get on to the interview.

FWG: What would you say makes a good story?

Robert: I tend to gravitate towards stories with characters I can relate to, I think. I think a good story should be able to put the reader in someone else’s shoes. Not necessarily just to see new places or have new experiences, but even seeing the familiar through someone else’s eyes. I like that kind of intimacy, I think.

FWG: If you could convince everyone to read a single piece of literature right now, what would it be?

Robert: Okay, talk about being put on the spot. I’ll lead in by saying that I’m not sure there is one single piece of literature that I think will resonate with everyone, or maybe that is important for everyone to read, I find that I come back to A Canticle for Liebowitz often. I find something evocative in the idea of rebuilding, and perhaps also in the idea that we, as readers, might be aware of the cycles of history and I guess perhaps to break them.

FWG: Speaking of history, how would you say your heritage has affected your writing?

Robert: That’s also been cyclical, I guess I would say. Growing up, I never really thought too much about other cultures, and definitely not really my own. My dad was very “American,” I guess—things like Japanese folklore or observations weren’t much of a part of our lives. That fell to my mom to be a bit more interested.

As an adult, though, I’d say I’ve become a bit more aware of the way that other cultures are portrayed in popular culture, and I’ve made the effort to be more conscientious about that myself. It is less, if you follow, so much my heritage makes me want to write about Setsubun as it is that it makes me not want to write about other cultures in a way that is… “flattening,” for lack of a better word?

FWG: Trying to make sure you’re accurately depicting other cultures, making them interesting and engaging so people understand their significance. Something like that?

Robert: Yeah. It sounds funny to even describe dad as “assimilated”—he’s second-generation, we had a very “American” kind of childhood. And so it really wasn’t until fairly recently that I started to realize the kind of subtler ways that representation matters.

Even in furry, I think — maybe because of its crossover with anime and perhaps some of the more exoticizing science fiction — there is a disconnect between, I guess, the reality of a culture and how it’s portrayed. Which from a writing point of view, that also means there’s so much nuance that gets lost. It’s almost like a reduction to the most monolithic common denominator.

FWG: Is there something you’ve learned about Japanese culture through your explorations as an adult you notice people tend to get wrong often?

Robert: I think, bluntly, there can be — or there was when I was in college, maybe; perhaps it’s started to fade — a sort of putting it on a pedestal, or treating Japanese culture as sort of aspirational, in a way that masks some of the maybe less savory aspects? I guess the converse is true as well, though.

Americans in particular tend to view East Asians, I think, as pretty well integrated into the American fabric. I was in my 30s when I realized that my grandparents’ names weren’t actually “Mary” and “Harry,” or that Japanese immigrant weren’t allowed to naturalize until the 1950s. That’s not something my dad talked about. As I said, there’s just a lot of nuance that makes for a great of complexity.

I think the way that cultures get reduced to evocative imagery or interesting stories also masks the extent to which that presentation is a deliberate construct. My dad and his parents were on their way to being interned before a white farmer decided he could use some extra help. But I never really heard about that. I heard more about my relatives who served in the 82nd Airborne at Normandy. That’s part of a deliberate process of constructing one’s own history.

FWG: On another tough issue, a lot of discussions have begun in the United States surrounding the Stop Asian Hate movement. As someone not living in the states, have you been forced to deal with any of the unfortunate bigotry people have been facing since the beginning of the pandemic?

Robert: So. Yes. But—and there’s a significant “but” here—the character of it is a little different in Europe, or at least in Germany. I’ve definitely had people warn me about parts of town it’s best not to go to, but for the most part it’s been subtler. Not overt dislike or even overt racism but more an awkward lack of familiarity.

That said, I know acquaintances here who’ve gotten some slurs or, you know, COVID-related accusations thrown at them on public transit, say. And I have, thankfully, not had to experience any of them.

FWG: Would you have any suggestions on how other authors (or any of our readers) can be allies and support Asian people during this time?

Robert: So I’ll say that in general I’ve been very fortunate, both here and in the United States. Most of it was sort of playground-level nonsense. I’d say that kind of points at my answer to your question.

Two things. One is that, if you’re a kid of the 90s, like I am… y’know, I grew up on the Internet, in this kinda “don’t be so sensitive” environment. I would say do your best to genuinely consider the impact of things that you’d otherwise be inclined to dismiss as harmless or “just joking” or whatever. It adds up, and the thing is, it doesn’t have to. We could be better about that.

The second thing I would say is to remember that cultures are not monolithic. There is no one “Asian-American experience.” I would venture to say there’s not even one “Pacific Northwestern half-Japanese-American experience.” We should always expect to see diversity, and to look for the empathy that lets us understand that there are millions of Asian-American voices and none of us speak for all of us.

So we should strive for the empathy to listen without needing what we hear to be an answer, or a canonical explanation— just another picture of that complex patchwork that is any and maybe especially one that has been in the spotlight so harshly but at the same time gets viewed as “the model minority.

FWG: Any last things you’d like to tell the folks reading?

Robert: No, I would say “thank you” to you for reaching out. And I would say to readers, I hope I’ve said something you can take home as useful or helpful. But also, that not everyone will agree, probably! And you should expect that! I do!

And I think it’s a constant project to, y’know, keep our ears perked to hear why, and listen. I try to do that myself, and to remember that the world is complex, that it is always better to err on the side of compassion, and that I hope we’re all getting better at it.

We would like to thank Robert once again for letting us interview them! You can find their work on their website, Writing.Dog, and follow their adventures in life on Twitter @matrioshkadog. We hope you enjoyed this interview and will tune in next week to see the next author we have to feature. Until next time, may your words flow like water.

At what point or what conditions would have to be met for you to think it's safe to have a furmeet? I just want to get an idea for various people's positions. I want to eventually host some furmeets in my area however with the corona and all I'm concerned about when it would be enough to call