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Well, Zootopia has been in theatres since the 18th here in Italy, and being the usual party animal that I am, I finally went to see it with my posse of friends. I’m lying, of course – nobody I know in real life is interested in anthropomorphic animals, so I took advantage of a two-hour break from university and attended a midday showing in a cinema with just six other people. Oddly, mostly males around college age. So if you want a furry’s opinion on it, here we go.

Let’s get the pressing issue out of the way. Is Zootopia a good movie? Yes.

Is Zootopia a great movie? I feel fairly confident in saying that, to me, yes.

Is Zootopia a masterpiece? It gets close at times. I have a few gripes that I’ll talk about– no spoilers at all, of course. You can read safely.

Now let’s talk.

There’s not much to say about animation and visuals, it’s Disney we’re talking about. Excellent designs abound, every single scene has a crowd of animals, each doing its own thing, the city always feels incredibly alive. A train ride in the first ten minutes provides some incredible imagery, sometimes verging on sci-fi/punk ideas as the artists flex their biceps and show us the details of what keeps Zootopia a habitable space for every species. Audio design is particularly strong, and I absolutely recommend a place with a good sound system, but I wasn’t that impressed by the movie’s score.

It’s a family movie, so don’t think it’s aimed “at the fandom” as some people hope. As much as it has its adult moments (and how), you need some suspension of disbelief to enjoy it, especially concerning the inner workings of a police force. The aww-power is strong, with a certain chubby cheetah quickly becoming the character in a Disney movie I wanted to hug the most in the last few years. The introduction also tugs at people’s hearts through wide eyes and large heads, and it’s incredibly effective. The animation colossus has done an incredible job with visual design, and I’m pretty sure that those of you with kids are going to have to buy a lot of toys this spring. And yet…

If it feels like I’m being vague, it’s because of the two real strengths of this movie: its structure and its balls. The story frames itself within a narrative we’ve all already heard a million times before – country character (Judy Hopps) is dissatisfied with her life, wishes to be more than she is, moves away in search of fortunes, meets a lovable rogue type (Nick Wilde) whose respect she has to earn, blah blah blah. Classic buddy adventure format. You come in the theater with the expectation of seeing a well-realized movie of that kind, and you do.

But the movie knows that. In a sense, it ditches a clearly defined three-act structure – or better, rolls with it and shines. There is a clearly defined point where the movie turns on its head and goes from pretty good to “it’s been two days and I’m still thinking about it” territory, and it uses parallelism and reincorporation in ways that honestly taught me a thing or two. It’s also quite brave; I’m not talking just about the theme, which is in fact developed along some strongly (and scarily) implied real world references, but the action too doesn’t pull any punches. And expect a few horror tropes to sneak in – Zootopia isn’t afraid of getting its paws dirty when it needs to, and it does get close to the line sometimes (but, alas, no spoilers).

It’s not a perfect movie. It left me with a strong feeling that they left a lot of scenes – a lot – on the cutting floor, leaving a certain character underdeveloped and lacking the denouement they deserve, and to be completely frank, there’s one person from all the commercials that feels like they’ve been shoehorned in by studio executives for how much they affect the plot. I’m really curious to watch an extended version, because it might be able to fix all my issues with it. It’s an unusually long movie as well – but as I said, the plot is unusual, and would have never worked had it been shortened down.

So, yeah. Hopes confirmed, Zootopia is great. And I REALLY want to talk about it – I want to avoid spoilers here, but there are two scenes in particular that when juxtaposed I find really hard not to read as an anti-Disney mindset statement, and I have a theory about it that pretty much only furries would lend an ear to. Get your buddy cops hat on, wear some nice shades, and enjoy. Nick is cool, and I can already imagine a tidal wave of fanart from how he turns out at the end of the movie. It’s managed to surpass my expectations, and I had already set them relatively high. It made me feel like a kid again.

I kinda missed that.

 

Read Only Memories: A New Cyberpunk Adventure
Develop by MidBoss, Rated M for Mature
Available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Ouya $9.99

Do you like Cyberpunk? Do you like stories where technology is rampant in all aspects of modern life? How about being a detective like from Blade Runner trying to solve the murder of your old friend only to discover a bigger conspiracy tied to a large corporations like 1984? Do you like cute, adorable robots? Then Read Only Memories is for you, my friend.

Read Only Memories is an old school adventure game released in October of 2015, but it offers a look at a future that not only celebrates the tropes of the sub-genre, but reflects what our own future might very well be.

You play, well, yourself. It’s Christmas time in Neo-San Francisco in the year 2064 A.D. Technology has advanced so much that the human body can be repaired and enhanced with cybernetic augmentation or genetic modification. Hybrids are looking less human and more like a furry convention. The Oculus Rift turns out to be a success as they are the common portable devices for people to use for the web. And most of all, Relationship Organizational Managers, or ROMs, have become the new IPhone, Roomba; pretty much all-common tech today, but it has cute little eyes. Aw.

However, all is not well. With technology moving at such a rampant pace, people get scared (because have you seen what happens in Terminator?) It leads to the Human Revolution, seeking to slow the progress of today, in fear that without checks and balances we might lose what makes us human.

It’s a tense time to be alive.  So where are you in all of this?

You are a freelance journalist, looking to make your mark on the world.  But you don’t have the tech like most others have. Not even a ROM. Partially because you’re a hipster who loves to write on paper, but mainly because you’re flat-ass broke. Instead of hunting down the big stories, you’re forced to do simple reviews of common tech to feed the masses so you can feed yourself in your one room apartment.

After finishing your latest piece about a pair of headsets, you head to bed only to wake up the next day to find a ROM in your room. But this isn’t any ordinary ROM. This ROM is named Turing, and it can think for itself. That’s right, A.I. – and it needs your help. You see, your friend created Turing. He works for Parallax (basically this world’s Apple), but he was developing Turing in his spare time… until suddenly, a strange man took him hostage.  Turing escaped, but with nowhere to go, he came to you because of your relationship with his creator.

Turing asks you to help find his maker, discover the people behind his kidnapping, and find out why.  Of course, this somehow has to tie back to what Turing is.  As you put your journalist skills to work, you will meet (like any good mystery) a cast of colorful characters, red herrings, twist and turns, murder, and a bigger threat then you can possible imagine. Welcome to Read Only Memories.

The game itself is good, but it depends on what you are looking for. If you’re looking for a 360 degree interactive world – Read Only Memories isn’t a click everything, grab everything, try everything adventure game.  It’s more of a storytelling experience in tune to a visual novel. Most of the game is you and Turing going from destination to destination, finding people, talking to them, and then going to the next stop. There are moments where you will have to interact with object puzzles, but they are far and few in-between. The real puzzles are the dialogue trees.

While talking with characters, you will be given dialogue options.  Depending on what you choose, it can get you an important piece of information, build a good relationship with someone, or make them utterly hate your guts.  Those choices can lead you to success or failure with six different endings. The game itself is pretty laid back. It has funny moments, sweet moments, dark moments, but there’s nothing to really scare you.

Or so you think. Let’s avoid spoiling curve balls, but my God, I was not prepared and swear I almost had a panic attack when… No, no, no, go up, go up, go up, no, no, no, DAMNIT!

The big factor of the game isn’t just the story or amazing soundtrack which makes a lot of its personality. It’s how it builds its world with use of diversity, mainly with LGBT characters, and more importantly, how it doesn’t make it a big deal. There are no gimmicks like – ‘Look at me. Look at me. I’m Gay. I’m totally Gay. I’m the Gayest Gay that has ever Gayed’.  The game treats the topic like what a lot of LGBT people want. To be open as they are, but not having their orientation define everything they are.  It’s just a dimension of well rounded personalities.

I can relate to that because I’m gay, and moments when you talk to someone who in passing is revealed gay, not ashamed of it, and not having that be the focus of the character is a bloody Godsend. It doesn’t just stop at LGBT, though it’s the most prominent. The game loves to show off its many diverse dimensions from race, creed, gender, ordination, to nomenclature. When Turing is asking for your name, you have the choice of being referred to a he/she/or they, no matter what your name is. The game literally gives you the chance to play as yourself or as you want to see yourself.

And it’s believable. While some of the tech is pure sci-fi, the idea of a group of people from various backgrounds getting along is a future that can be possible. It may sound a bit unbelievable with today’s political climate, and the game shows not everything is as clean and peachy as you might think it is. But it’s an idea that a lot of people, like myself, believe in. Seeing it here is amazing.

There are hybrid Furry characters.  The only down side is they don’t do much. There’s a hybrid side character with a quest focused on them, but being completely selfish, I would have loved to see more animal people. Hey, what can I say? I’m a furry.

Read Only Memories is a good game. A play through can take up to 5-7 hours, and it has multiple save slots so you can play around with different choices and see what outcomes come out of it without having to play the entire game over. The mystery is good and hits on all the classic tropes people love about Cyberpunk with a retro look. Not heavy on the furry side, but if you’re looking for a good indie game that shows a fiction that could be reality, you can’t go wrong here.

-Pup Mattias

From the publisher MidBoss:

“Read Only Memories definitely has content that is interesting for the furry community. The struggles and the politics of hybrid rights are very relatatable, and members of society have the freedom to choose more animalistic features – and this choice is often very discriminated against. The character of Jess is an example of a hybrid with animalistic features, and the character of Pat is a large and expressive polar bear – super adorable!”

MidBoss is the studio formed by the creators of GaymerX.  (Read about GaymerX and their welcome to Furries.)  Their cyberpunk point and click adventure game Read Only Memories is on PC, MAC and Linux.

In Neo-San Francisco, a city of low-life and high tech, classy cocktails, neon lights and colorful characters, you will be embroiled in the depths of the city’s deepest scandal guided by an earnest and well-meaning ROM android.

Read Only Memories is the first major LGBT adventure game of this scope and budget, featuring BAFTA-nominated voice actors Adam Harrington (The Wolf Among Us, League of Legends) and Dave Fennoy (Batman: Arkham Knight, The Walking Dead, DOTA 2) and an exclusive chiptune soundtrack by 2 Mello.

Read Only Memories is available from $14.99 USD on PC, Mac and Linux via Steam as well as the ROM homepage, itch.io, and Humble.

For more information, please visit http://midboss.com/rom/.  MidBoss have also found success through a # campaign on Twitter, featuring their main character Turing.  Participate and follow here.

Boom! Studios have a new full-color four-issue mini-series, Kennel Block Blues. Written by Ryan Ferrier and illustrated by Daniel Bayliss, you’ll find it on the shelves now. And oh my is it Furry! “Oliver is a good dog. A family dog. But without warning, he’s sentenced to Jackson Kennel, where he’s instantly placed on Death Row with the rest of his fellow inmates, awaiting a lethal appointment on The Table if salvation doesn’t come. He’ll need help escaping the Kennel, but when the stress of prison life builds, he starts escaping reality instead, imagining a fantasy world of cartoon friends. It’s time to break out…into a musical number?” There’s a preview with several images over at Comic Book Resources.

image c. 2016 Boom! Studios

Are you a furry? Do you like to drink? Do you have the gumption to submit your very own cocktail recipe to the [a][s] Furry Cocktail competition? Well we sure do hope so!

Test your palate and your pluck by submitting recipes and pictures of your very own furry or furry convention themed cocktails. Your character can be here!

Cocktails will be accepted based on three qualities:

Theme and originality: Does your cocktail really remind us of what it’s supposed to be? Does your sparkle dog shine brighter than all of the rest? Did you just give us a White Russian and call it the Wistful Arkie? Did you just give us a Sex on the Beach and call it Kyell Gold’s Secret Anthology? You cannot fool Chairman George!

Appearance: We will be including beautiful pictures of your cocktail, so remember to send them in! Or hideous ones. Whatever it’s supposed to look like. If not, we need detailed instructions on how it is prepared so that we can take the pictures ourselves. We are not trustworthy photographers, so it is highly recommended that you provide your own.  

Taste: Does it taste good (or at least on theme)? Are the components well-balanced? Do the flavor notes come through? Does it taste more like the individual flavors, or more like alcohol? Make sure not to overpower your drinks!

This project is mostly for fun and science so there will be no rewards. Disgusting or delighting Chairman George Squares and the [a][s] tasting panel will be its own reward. We will post some of the best and worst cocktails that we receive.

Submit your potable productions to: submit@adjectivespecies.com.

The Furry Future
Edited by Fred Patten
Cover Art by Teagan Gavet
446 pp., $19.95 (ebook, $9.95)
FurPlanet Productions, January 2015

The Furry Future collects nineteen short stories imagining how furries might come into being, whether created by humans, or discovered as aliens mankind must now learn to live with. Furries in science fiction settings offer a wide variety of ideas and approaches, and this anthology, edited by Fred Patten, does a good job mining different veins.

Fiction within the fandom that features a mixed population of anthropomorphic and human characters often centers on the idea that furries are a servant/minority class without equal rights. The protagonists are making their way through this world, either struggling to make sense of it, fighting for better treatment, or just trying to survive the abuses of the ruling class. The problem with these “fursecution” stories is they’ve been told many times before, and worse, they’re fairly easy to get wrong. Many of us reading these are minorities moving through a world where we aren’t treated equally—I’m a politically active black gay man, for instance—and too many fursecution stories show an insufficient grasp on the realities of this situation. It deeply matters to me, on a personal level, that these stories illuminate an understanding of what that’s like. While some of the stories in The Furry Future are stories featuring integrated societies, a fair number are stories about segregation and prejudice, and they work well only some of the time.

“Distant Shores” by Tony Greyfox features an astronaut forced into suspended animation to escape a catastrophe. She’s discovered by a terraforming crew of anthropomorphic animals, and learns the nature and consequences of all the scientific advancements that happened while she was under. The furries she meets are living, breathing people. Their temperaments are widely varied, and their past experiences push them toward extreme action when she arrives in their midst. In addition to being different species, a lot of the crew members come from different cultural backgrounds—their language is peppered with non-English terms. When the human protagonist discovers just why the members of the crew behave the way they do around her, it’s genuinely exciting to see how things play out—everyone, even the antagonists, come across as sympathetic and understandable. It’s a complicated situation that Greyfox navigates deftly.

Watts Martin’s “Tow,” about a woman who underwent a series of genetic modifications to make herself a human-animal hybrid called a totemic, is another story that deals with humanity’s reaction to the new and frightening head on. Martin uses a style that often creates a distance between the point-of-view character and the action around her, but the protagonist’s vulnerability (and investment) in her situation is palpable, making the stakes fairly high despite her physical advantages. And “The Analogue Cat,” by Alice Dryden, tells a tale of a brand-new creature who exists in the border between the old world and the new. It’s told in second-person perspective, in a way that works astonishingly well. Dryden uses the voice to create an immediacy and emotional impact that sneaks up on you.

Not all the stories serve the tension between humans and newer sapient animals as well. Michael Payne’s “Emergency Maintenance” features a pair of furry detectives, set in a world where their kind is chafing at the bonds set for them by their human creators. While they’re allowed independent lives and some autonomy, the setting calls to mind the Jim Crow South; certain citizens might be legally free, but there’s a long way to go before they’re considered “equal.” Yet the detectives spend much of the story trading thinly-veiled barbs about their human patron while he’s standing right there. Living in a world where being a second-class citizen is ground into you all your life shapes your psyche in distinct and fundamental ways, and the way Chelisse relates to her boss and the humans around her rings false. Even so, the closing sequence, where Chelisse speaks with her pastor about an existential crisis, is effective, and a few of the plot elements are intriguing.

In “Experiment Seventy” by J.F.R. Coates, a created furry hides with a human good samaritan from a supposedly sadistic creator. We spend most of the story engaging with the awkwardness of first contact and learning more about the brief and tormented existence of this experiment. When the final confrontation comes, though, it’s a letdown. The creator’s revealed attitude only provokes more questions. MikasiWolf’s “The Future is Yours” features a human threatening to blow up his personal life and career due to a vague hatred of people enhancing their physical features and/or becoming furries. His actions are so extreme that it points to a near psychotic aversion to the concept, but his reasoning is never satisfactorily explained. Worse yet, his girlfriend only exists in the narrative for the sake of catalyzing his behavior.

On the “new furry” side of the anthology, “A Bedsheet for a Cape” from Nathaniel Gass is a winner. It essentially serves as an endearing origin story for a furry superhero. Arf is a wonderful character, and the ramifications of his adoption by Tarla and her family are fascinating. The handling of these new creatures by their creators makes sense even though it’s horrifying, and Arf’s slow climb from “living instrument” to “free-thinking person” is a joy to read. I’d love to see a novel set in this world.

“Lunar Cavity” by Mary Lowd details a furry alien/human collaboration that significantly changes both parties. The concepts on display are a virtual buffet of neat science fiction ideas that would be well-served in a longer epic, but she roots the action firmly in the psychology of her two protagonists to give us solid ground with which to navigate the world. The imagination and sensitivity on display here are impressive. Likewise, “Evolver” by Ronald W. Klemp features furry aliens and humans working together to solve a mystery about their shared origin. It leans into the differences between humans and aliens through well-realized characters, thoughtfully-created settings and crisp writing.

The post-human or non-human stories are the most exciting in the anthology, though. For me the jewel of the collection was Dwale’s “The Darkness of Dead Stars.” It’s a nasty—in the best possible way—bit of existential horror that seeps under your skin and stays there long after the story ends. A bio-engineered race of naked mole rats are trapped inside a ship searching fruitlessly for a life-sustaining planet in a universe approaching its heat death. The ship is slowly but steadily succumbing to its advancing age, and an entire level has been abandoned to a malicious entity the crew picked up in its travels. The story is richly atmospheric, almost oppressive in the way of great horror, and there’s a lot going on in the subtext that makes it worth reading again and again.

“Thebe and the Angry Red Eye” by David Hopkins is another bleak tale, and a wonderful way to close out the collection. An astronaut crash-lands on a Jovian moon after a failed expedition; his life is built around the things he must do to survive, and the extremity of the situation is such that the strain might be driving him insane. Again, the writing is powerful here, drawing you in to the desperation of our nameless protagonist and immersing you in his loneliness and ever-present fear. At what point is the effort needed to keep living too great a price to pay for the quality of life you have? Like most great science fiction, Hopkins imagines a scenario that pushes that question to its extreme. It’s a brutal, but beautiful, story.

“Trinka and the Robot,” from Ocean Tigrox, is a story about what happens when a new society rises from the ashes of the old. The tone of the tale makes it feel like young adult fiction, but that’s not a handicap; Trinka is a wonderful protagonist whose bravery and optimism provides a nice balance against the (justifiable) fearful conservatism from the rest of her tribe. This short story reads like the prologue to a series of novels that I would totally buy; hopefully, there’ll be more coming in this setting.

There are a half-dozen excellent stories here, another half-dozen good ones, and only a few that don’t land well. Most of the problems with the stories that didn’t work were the same: humanity wasn’t illuminated well enough through the concept, especially in the cases where they shared (or dominated) a world featuring other sapient people. With real-world racial issues splashed across recent news cycles, it’s disappointing to see stories that miss the opportunity to explore the mentality and motivations of these prejudices carefully. It would be wonderful to see stories that try to deeply understand the people who perpetuate these abuses and/or the minority populations who must endure them.

However, the best stories in The Furry Future imagine a future where both humans and anthropomorphic animals grapple with the complications of their existence in meaningful ways, drawing the realities of their environment into their personal lives and reflecting them back through their actions. No matter how far we advance technologically, or how different we may be physically, we still have to deal with the same foibles and problems we always have. The stories that do this best are ones I’d recommend to non-furry science fiction fans—they’re that good.

(Disclosure: Watts Martin, one of the contributors to The Furry Future, is Claw & Quill’s head editor.)

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

Shady Hollow: A Murder Mystery, by Juneau Black.
Philadelphia, PA, Hammer & Birch, October 2015, paperback $12.95 ([1] + 197 [+1] pages), Kindle $4.99.

This is a stereotypical murder mystery except for the funny animal cast. Shady Hollow is a small forest animal town where everybody knows everybody else. They’re all friendly, except maybe for grumpy toad Otto Stumpf.  But he’s considered cranky but lovable – until the morning that he’s found floating face down in the mill pond with a knife in his back.

Almost all the reviews call Shady Hollow “a Murder, She Wrote with animals”. The book begins with a Cast of Characters:

“Otto Stumpf: The grouchy, taciturn toad of Shady Hollow. Not many folk admit to liking Otto. The better question is who hates him.

Vera Vixen: This cunning, foxy reporter has a nose for trouble and a desire to find out the truth. Can she trust anyone around her?

BW Stone: The cigar-chomping skunk of an editor of the Shady Hollow Herald. BW (“Everything in black and white!”) loves a good headline. Would he kill to create one?” (p. 1)

The Cast goes on to profile thirteen others such as the lazy bear police chief, his bear deputy who does all the work, the hummingbird town gossip, the moose coffee shop owner, the beaver industrialist, and the raccoon small-time thief. Each is described suspiciously. As the popular coffee-shop proprietor, “If gossip is spoken, Joe has heard it. Maybe he heard too much.” As Vera investigates, everyone turns out to have a secret that he or she would rather keep hidden. But are any of the secrets serious enough to lead to murder? And how would a recluse like Otto have learned them?

Shady Hollow is developed leisurely at first, as befits a small town where “nothing ever happens”.

“For instance, today’s headline profiles the spelling bee winner. Ashley Chitters (mouse, eight years of age), proudly wearing the bright bee-shaped medal on a long ribbon around her neck. She has triumphed for the running, spelling ‘c-o-n-t-u-m-a-c-i-o-u-s’ with no hesitation whatsoever, to great applause. Her rival – a stoat who ironically was somewhat contumacious – tried to put an ‘i’ in lachrymose, to his detriment. Next to the article on the spelling bee queen is a recipe for peach cobbler from the rabbits of Cold Clay Orchards. The accompanying illustration makes the mouth water.

Such is the news in Shady Hollow.

Other things happen, of course. There is love and hate, deceit and betrayal. There is loyalty and disappointment, heroism and villainy, all of a small order. But these things are for the most part private, and secret. They take place behind closed doors, or underground in dens, or among the branches that shade the town so well. You do not see them aired about in the peaceful world of Shady Hollow.

But very soon, you will.” (pgs. 5-6)

For most of the residents of Shady Hollow, the murder is shockingly impossible to believe. They treat it almost as though it was a fatal accident, just very bad luck for Otto. For a few, it’s an opportunity.

“If the deputy remembered that he worked under Chief Meade, he didn’t seem to care. He could collect evidence, take pictures, and contact the Peaceful Hollow Funeral Home on Yew Street to collect Otto’s body before the Chief even rolled out of bed. He liked his job, and knew that he was good at it. It bothered him that he did most of the work and his boss took most of the credit, but it seemed petty to complain. After all, who really cared which bear solved the case of the stolen ice sculpture?

But now, he felt differently. Perhaps this tragedy would also be a stepping stone. Despite the situation, he felt some excitement in the pit of his stomach: there had never been a murder in Shady Hollow before.” (p. 17)

Until a second, public murder attempt is made. Then all Shady Hollow panics. Is there a serial killer? Is anyone safe? Is there a connection between the toad and the would-be second victim? Will there be more attempts? Will the police resist pressure to throw somebody, anybody into jail to create a false illusion of having solved the crimes? Can Vera Vixen continue to investigate without making herself a target of the killer?

“Vera sniffed loudly, but then she recovered. ‘We have got to catch this killer,’ she declared, peering into the mirror. ‘Bandages are not a good look for me, and I am starting to take things personally.’” (p. 122)

The animal natures of the cast are used to a minor extent. Birds like Lenore Lee, the raven bookstore owner, and Prof. Ambrosius Heidegger, the owl philosopher, can fly above the ground-based animals and travel in birds-eye routes, taking less time than those who have to travel by roads.

In an About the Author, Juneau Black is admitted to be the pen name of two mystery fans, Jocelyn Koehler and Sharon Nagel. The two are a bookseller and a former bookseller who have taken pains to make Shady Hollow an especially attractive example of book design, such as the ornate cover by James T. Egan. They intend this to be the first of a series. The second book, Cold Clay: A Shady Hollow Mystery, is already under way.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon

The artist known as Kira is the creator of artwork known as KiraKiraDoodles. (“Kirakira” is Japanese for “sparkle”, she happily tell you. She’ll also tell you she’s from Germany but recently moved to Southern California.) Taking a cue from popular Japanese art, she not only draws cute “chibi” characters (little doggies, little kitties, pokemon, and so forth) but she draws dozens of them together in exotic patterns that remind one of truly unusual wall paper. Then, she turns these patterns into not only art prints but lots of useful stuff like phone cases, purses, and even dresses — lots of dresses. (Look closely.) You can see lot of examples of her art pattern work at her web site, which includes links to her Etsy store, Redbubble store, and so forth.

image c. 2016 by KiraKiraDoodles

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

Lifeless, by Graveyard Greg.
Dallas, TX, FurPlanet Productions, January 2014, trade paperback $9.95 (105 pages).

In the 2010 Deathless and this sequel novella Lifeless, the characters are all anthropomorphic animals, and species doesn’t matter. Ivan the Russian snow leopard (“‘You’re seven feet tall, weigh over three hundred pounds, and have a long, fluffy tail that I trip over too many times,’” complains his friend Tank the rabbit in a freezing Reno, Nevada winter) is an exchange student, living in a college apartment. He has a gay boyfriend, Tank the rabbit, who is a frequent visitor of his cousin Hopper and his roommate Darryl, a hyena. Tank lives with his nearby parents Nikki the rabbit, a martial-arts expert, and his father, a huge Greek bull of supernatural origins. Other friends are Scowl the cougar martial-arts trainer, Jolly the giant panda, and Brent and Brooks, the twin stallions. Everyone is easy with Ivan’s and Tank’s homosexual lifestyle.

Ivan has his own relationship with Russia’s mythology, and Deathless was about his pursuit to America by the Russian folkloric Koschei the Deathless with his undead monsters. All of Ivan’s new American friends rallied to save him. Now six months later in Lifeless, Ivan is again in supernatural danger after Tank and his parents have departed on an extended family vacation, and with the kidnapping of Brooks. Ivan is left to fight with the aid of Scowl, Brent, and new ‘morphs. New characters include … well, yarst! I can’t say much about Lifeless at all without giving away spoilers.

Let’s just say that Ivan and his friends now have a quest rather than a fight for their lives. New characters, good, neutral, and evil include anthro red foxes, a lion, and a monitor lizard. The hunt for an ancient mystic object leads them through Reno, Nevada’s glittery casinos. And what Ivan is holding on Donryu’s cover is not a cup of cappuccino.

Lifeless is complete in itself, but the booklet ends with a note that Ivan’s adventures will continue in Faithless, not yet published. Scowl, Tank, and the others will also have more adventures of their own in Graveyard Greg’s forthcoming Changes and Relationships.

–Fred Patten

• Buy Lifeless on Furplanet

We’re not sure exactly what to say about Kitty Jenkins: Purrvana, a new full-color comic created by Daniel De Sosa. Well, other than to say what he says: “Kitty Jenkins returns to guide you on an absurdly amusing odyssey through time and meowter space”. Gotcha. Mr. De Sosa also created the Animal Dreamers Art Therapy Coloring Book, so evidently imagination is not in short supply. It’s all published by Backwards Burd, a comic book publisher in the UK that specializes in diverse art styles and hand-printed zines. Not to mention 3-eyed space cats. Check out their web site for more interesting and unusual titles.

image c. 2016 Backwards Burd

Another episode of the best podcast ever! Vox has vanished once again. This time we discuss the importance of safety, end of The Onion and selfie murders. Come take a listen and enjoy Episode -48 - More missing birds

Roo and Tugs are in! It's the first Lost Episode we've done in a while and we...brought too much salt! Listen as Roo and Tugs debate everything from Tony the Tiger, to Zootopia overhype, to the passing of Rainfurrest, to Pokémon GO! It's classic debate FWIW at its best - plus we have NEW segments for you! And another reading from 50 Sheds of Grey, The Furry Edition. Listen to it, you know you want to! (Everybody's doing it!)



NOW LISTEN!

Show Notes

Nuka has re-recorded his panel from FC! If you've ever wondered about the furry fandom, now is a good time to watch this video!

Special Thanks

Syd
D'Otter
Degen

Music

Opening Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Century Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller– Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Some music was provided by Kevin MacLeod at Incompetech.com. We used the following pieces: Spy Glass, Also sprach Zarathustra . Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Get Psyched Music: Fredrik Miller - Universe, USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
worldsbestgrandpa - Pokémon - Polka Center OCRemix, USA: 2014. Based on Junichi Masuda - Pokémon Center Theme, USA: Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, 1996. Used with permission. (Original here.)
Closing Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Headnodic Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)

Next episode: There comes a time in life when many desire to give back to their community and help out those who need anything from just a hello and a hug to something far greater. Fur What It’s Worth will be joined in-person by Margaret Cho as we discuss how she gives back to her communities while laughing all the while. We’ll also read your questions (about ANYTHING) to her and get her responses! Your hard deadline is February 23, 2016 to send your voice clips and emails!

Special Request: This is a rare opportunity for our fandom to shine! If you have a friend or family member who appreciates Margaret’s work, please share the word! We’ll happily read their emails or play their voice clips on the air! S5 Episode 10 – The Revenge of the Lost Episode - Roo and Tugs are in! It's the first Lost Episode we've done in a while and we...brought too much salt! Listen as Roo and Tugs debate everything from Tony the Tiger, to Zootopia overhype, to the passing of

I got this in my email today from Missile Master Joe. This is too hilarious not to share. I don't intend to reply, of course, because this is either a joke or written by someone who is insane. I'll take it as a joke and share it accordingly. Oh, and whoever put me in charge of whatever the AAAC is, thanks for the promotion and your vote of confidence!

Ultimatum··21/02/2016··New Slavic Front

As instructed by our minister of foreign affairs and with the approval of the head of the state,we send you a ultimatum that you, as the main in charge of the Anthropomorphic Animal Appreciation Community (aka, the furry fandom),you are to accept and approve of all our following demands:

·The AAAC is required to stop all military acts against the NSF immediately
·The AAAC is required to obliterate and subdue all current organs responsible for ostracism,discrimination and propaganda towards our faction
·The AAAC needs to stop supporting aggressive acts towards normal and Slavic societies
·AAAC has to dismantle and demilitarize FDF (Furry Defence Force), the one mainly responsible for the conflict
·The AAAC is required to choose a side, neutral is not an option

As a leader of the AAAC,you have time until 26/02/2016 to either accept or decline.Declining will ultimately result in conflict between AAAC and NSF.

We hope you answer well.

Dear Papabear,

I've just stumbled upon your website, and boy am I happy to find some advice about being a furry! So thank you for all this.
​
I'm 16, and would love to go to a Furcon. It would be most reasonable to wait until I'm 18, but I've been waiting for so long as it is, and I'm super eager to see some real life fursuits and talk to real life furries! I don't know any other furries, and I guess you have to have a guardian if you are a minor to attend a con. 

My parents know that I'm a furry, but are not entirely supportive. They don't hate it, but they sure don't like it. As much as I attempt to educate them, they still think its weird, and my mom keeps trying to talk me out of it.
It might be putting my parents in a really weird position to be with me at a furcon. I'd hate to make other furries uncomfortable by the looks they'd get from my parents. 

What do you think Papa Bear? Any possible solutions to this problem, or wait till 18?

Thanks a ton!

Ampersand

* * *

Hi, Ampersand,

Now, how cute is that name you picked? :) I think the solution to your problem IS to take your parents to a furcon. The reason many adults fear or dislike furries is because they are ignorant of who we really are or get misinformation. Many parents who actually get to know us change their minds and really think it is a fun thing to do. 

Ninety-nine percent of a con is G-rated. In case you don't know, at the Dealers' Den and at the art show there IS some adult stuff, but the art shows always keep the adult stuff in a restricted area. Art books at the Dealers' Den are clearly marked and are kept in binders that are closed. Avoid them. Sometimes at some cons there is a booth for Bad Dragon. That is the one thing to keep well away from. That is a company that deals with sexual devices. That said, they are actually a very responsible company that always goes out of its way to talk about the importance of safe sex; however, you're too young for that. If you want to be extra cautious, just don't go into the Dealer's Den at all, but it would be a shame because there's a lot of neat stuff there.

Anyway, there are many MANY things to do at a furcon, including forums, activities, the fursuit parade, and so on. All of these are great fun and family friendly. Before going to a con, you can usually check out the website and see what activities and forums are available. Sit together with your parents and talk about the things you would like to do.

That's the best way to get over this hurdle with your parents: actually Experience a furcon!

Hope you do!

Hugs,
Papabear

So we were introduced to Clucked, a new full-color on-line comic created by Joie Brown and Joel Foster. “When a chicken lands on Earth in search of kin, he discovers that not only is his kind considered the tastiest thing in the universe… he’s also the only one left. Can he survive the hungering hordes, cosmic chases, and the entirety of the Galactic Federation long enough to save his homeworld?” Well if you want to help the creators bring us more of the trials and tribulations of Major Sanders (yes…), they have a Patreon link on their web site at www.cluckedcomic.com.

image c. 2016 by Joie Brown & Joel Foster

No CJ this week. Fayroe and Paradox dive into the world of science, culture, politics and religion in this strange episode filled with legitimate discussion. Or not.

Download MP3

Watch Video Media Discovery:

• Zootopia ad in germany
• Where’s the fair use?
• Katsucon damage
• Flickr album of Anthrocon 1997
  • Flickr Album
• Patreon CEO’s video

News:

• Eternal 5D Data Chip Can Record All Of Human History
• Wolves have different Dialects depending on Species
• Males Vs. Females and sexual conflict
• Scientists get ‘gene editing’ go-ahead

Emails:

• Maverick – “Religion and the fandom”
• NethGooRat – “Furry In A Human In A Furry In A Human”

FC-227 FurCast Prime - No CJ this week. Fayroe and Paradox dive into the world of science, culture, politics and religion in this strange episode filled with legitimate discussion. Or not.

No CJ this week. Fayroe and Paradox dive into the world of science, culture, politics and religion in this strange episode filled with legitimate discussion. Or not.

Download MP3

Watch Video Media Discovery:

• Zootopia ad in germany
• Where’s the fair use?
• Katsucon damage
• Flickr album of Anthrocon 1997
  • Flickr Album
• Patreon CEO’s video

News:

• Eternal 5D Data Chip Can Record All Of Human History
• Wolves have different Dialects depending on Species
• Males Vs. Females and sexual conflict
• Scientists get ‘gene editing’ go-ahead

Emails:

• Maverick – “Religion and the fandom”
• NethGooRat – “Furry In A Human In A Furry In A Human”

FC-227 FurCast Prime - No CJ this week. Fayroe and Paradox dive into the world of science, culture, politics and religion in this strange episode filled with legitimate discussion. Or not.

No CJ this week. Fayroe and Paradox dive into the world of science, culture, politics and religion in this strange episode filled with legitimate discussion. Or not.

Download MP3

Watch Video Media Discovery:

• Zootopia ad in germany
• Where’s the fair use?
• Katsucon damage
• Flickr album of Anthrocon 1997
  • Flickr Album
• Patreon CEO’s video

News:

• Eternal 5D Data Chip Can Record All Of Human History
• Wolves have different Dialects depending on Species
• Males Vs. Females and sexual conflict
• Scientists get ‘gene editing’ go-ahead

Emails:

• Maverick – “Religion and the fandom”
• NethGooRat – “Furry In A Human In A Furry In A Human”

[Live] FurCast Prime - No CJ this week. Fayroe and Paradox dive into the world of science, culture, politics and religion in this strange episode filled with legitimate discussion. Or not.

No CJ this week. Fayroe and Paradox dive into the world of science, culture, politics and religion in this strange episode filled with legitimate discussion. Or not.

Download MP3

Watch Video Media Discovery:

• Zootopia ad in germany
• Where’s the fair use?
• Katsucon damage
• Flickr album of Anthrocon 1997
  • Flickr Album
• Patreon CEO’s video

News:

• Eternal 5D Data Chip Can Record All Of Human History
• Wolves have different Dialects depending on Species
• Males Vs. Females and sexual conflict
• Scientists get ‘gene editing’ go-ahead

Emails:

• Maverick – “Religion and the fandom”
• NethGooRat – “Furry In A Human In A Furry In A Human”

FC-227 FurCast Prime - No CJ this week. Fayroe and Paradox dive into the world of science, culture, politics and religion in this strange episode filled with legitimate discussion. Or not.

Papabear, why do emotions gotta be so stupid?

I would love it if you could help me understand my biology and why I'm feeling so bleh about it. I've been with my boyfriend for over a year and a half and as far as emotional support, romantic interest, and communication go we are doing pretty swell. The part that's been driving me crazy is the sex ... or lack thereof. Everyone saw that line coming.

Though there's a snag that I'm having trouble finding info on. We are an open couple online. We allow each other sexually interact through role play, under a few rules. I know he still gets aroused but he seems content to idly tease himself online than come seek me out. I asked him if I can be a part of that and he said he didn't want our relationship to be brought down to trivial levels like that. It was almost as if he were embarrassed by it but he does it a majority of evenings.

Then on the other side is my own biology. I have never been so pent up in my entire life. We have been open online since the beginning. only when we moved in together did it start being a problem. I feel starved for intimacy. I'm the one who goes to him for 80% of sexual interaction. I'm the one whose always complementing him and flirting. And it's starting hurt more when he rejects and satisfy less when we do do the nasty. What the heck is wrong with my brain chemistry?

I love this man. I haven't connected with someone like this before. And I'm too stubborn to let something like this ruin what I have that's wonderful. You are the wise guru of furries. Any advice? 

Anonymous (age 24)
 
* * *

Dear Furiend,
 
Why “do emotions gotta be so stupid?” Well, because they are not connected to the brain, but to the heart, which contains no grey matter. But to the point: this is another case of online porn getting in the way of real-life sex. I had a letter similar to yours last year in which the couple had a loving relationship, but the man was having some difficulties. In that case, it helped the woman a lot to change her strategy by approaching her husband in a low-pressure way. Sometimes, believe it or not, a guy feels a bit intimidated by a mate who aggressively approaches him for sex (other men love that, but it varies). That might be the case here.

The other thing you mentioned was how he wouldn’t let you participate in his online role playing. He said he felt it would trivialize your relationship; you said it seemed more like he was embarassed. My sense is that you are probably correct. He’s somehow ashamed of whatever fantasy(ies) he’s indulging in online. What you need to do in this case is get him to open up about his fantasies to you in a frank discussion of your sexual preferences. You might need to be the one to break the ice here by “confessing” to him some of your kinkier preferences (works best if he doesn’t know one or two of them), and then invite him to do the same, telling him that you accept him and love him for who he is and that everyone has a kink or two that might be considered outrageous in “normal” society. Jim and I had this frank discussion years back, and the result was he had a much happier time in bed (no, I won’t tell you what his kink was, but it was “unconventional,” though hardly rare).

There is nothing wrong with your brain chemistry. You’re fine and you deserve a satisfying sexual relationship. (Oh, and just a note: sex is not “nasty”; it’s a beautfiul thing, a bonding thing, a natural thing. Remember, language is powerful, and the subtleties of using negative language in any discussion can lead to someone misinterpreting your attitudes and opinions). If you can afford it, you might try some sex counseling. So many people go it alone and end up not being able to communicate their needs properly, and the result can be the breakdown of the relationship. I know it’s hard to do at times, and it might seem trite, but talking is the best thing the two of you can do. If you want to someday take this relationship to the next level, you’ll need to resolve your sexual complications, obviously.

Hope that helps, at least a little. Write again any time if you need more input or have more information to offer.

Hugs,
Papabear