Month: September 2017

New Milford councilman resigns after furor over “furry” activities By Barry Lytton and Katrina Koerting

Ahmar Wolf

Newstimes.com is reporting That a New Milford had to resign over being a furry.

Town Council member Scott Chamberlain had never made a secret of his deep involvement in Furry Fandom, a subculture of adults who dress in mascot-like animal costumes, attend role-playing conventions and interact regularly online.

It seems it all began when Mayor David Gronbach, saying elected officials should be held to a “higher standard,” called for Chamberlain’s immediate resignation, and within two hours party officials said he would resign all his town and party positions by Monday morning.

As enlightened as we like to think we are there is still furry hatred of the furry fandom especially in New Milford.

The article also goes on the say Scott Chamberlain writes what he calls a “soap opera” read by hundreds of users that includes furries in some sexual situations. He said these writings are posted to a site open only to adults, and that he writes under a pen name to keep his public and private lives separate.

You can find the article here

and can be found here on FA

Update: I have seen a bunch of reports now saying the reason he was asked to resign was because the man is pro rape.

Latest Update thanks to the Furry News Network who reports Chamberlain is only pro rape in his writings

Scientists Have Discovered A Fourth Type Of Chocolate, And It’s Naturally Pink

Ahmar Wolf

Really no joke and it’s not fake real pink chocolate

To quote the article by Amanda Adame

Stop everything! After decades of research, at a team of scientists at Swiss chocolate company Barry Callebaut have finally cracked the code and invented a totally new type of chocolate. The new concoction’s called Ruby, and it’s naturally pink!

Read more here

How to Get Shunned In the Furry Community

Ahmar Wolf

Re: The Tyranny of Pop Music by Perri Prinz

Ahmar Wolf

This video seems to require some commentary. Though I agree that modern Pop Music has been boiled down to its most basic components, is mostly composed and produced by the same 4 people creating a noticeably limited range, and tends to be compressed down to lo-fi, I feel like this commentator is going a bit overboard. So you are about to see an old-time Art Rocker put in the position of having to defend Pop Music.

The commentator addresses the music he disparages as “Ambient.” This is obviously incorrect. The music I hear in grocery stores is not, by any proper description, Ambient.

Growing up in the 60’s, “Elevator Music” was a popular genre that had two or three terrestrial radio stations in every city entirely dedicated to it. Those hipsters who are into the “Space Age Pop” thing will no doubt have encountered quite a bit of this almost exclusively orchestral music that consisted for the most part of de-fanged pop songs. No vocals, no modern instrumentation. Just very familiar melodies be-reffed of anything that might offend or distract.

Well, Rock fans found it offensive, because Rock music was designed to be rebellious, and they looked on anything Middle of the Road (MOR) as watering down the rebellion. But on the whole it was just ignored, as it was designed to be.

To hear this fellow talk, you would think he was talking about 1960’s MOR, rather than 21st century Pop Music. But, even if he was, even those who were offended by MOR would have thought such an extreme condemnation of it a wee bit excessive.

“Ambient Music” is what took over from MOR in the 1980’s, more often referred to as “New Age Music.” And this type of Background Music (BGM) certainly did fit the description he gives. Ambient Music, unlike MOR, was not based on recognizable melodies. It was based on being devoid of any kind of memorable or attention grabbing hooks. It was literally pure atmosphere, not meant to be seriously listened to or to register on the brain in any way. But still, though it was dismissed as music, it was generally thought well of as a healing device.

Beyond the 80’s, BGM stations abandoned the idea of special music for background and went into what was called “Lite Rock.” This was basically concentrating on the normal versions of the least offensive Pop Chart material. Thus BGM was no longer considered to be an instrumental thing. Though such stations continue to exist, this is not the format that I hear in super markets and drug stores.

Many store chains now maintain their own internet based radio stations which tend to include store commercials. And the music played on these radio stations tends to be programmed according to the stores main customer base. For example, the Save-A-Lot where I do most of my shopping programs no music designed to appeal to me as a 55 year old white person. They program music for Hispanics and 55 year old black people.

Fortunately I love old Soul and Funk Music. So this isn’t a problem for me. But I have to say, some of those extended James Brown tracks would never have qualified as BGM under any definition. And they do visibly irritate some of the white customers, because it’s an old black culture thing the younger white people have never been exposed to. So it comes off as music from another planet.

Now, Walgreen’s Drug Stores also have their own radio station. And they program some current Pop songs midst various oldies. And the new Pop songs they play only offend me if it’s a really terrible and unimaginative cover of an older song. But the other new songs are usually bouncy and provide a good feeling. Though there is nothing memorable about them, and nothing that would have made me run to the record store back in the day.

So I have to dispute what this fellow says that you hear some kind of droning, mind destroying sound everywhere you go in the world today. You are far more likely to hear oldies while shopping than the new, musically dead crap the record companies are pushing now. And oldies serve to remind the younger generation that music was not always as it is today, and open them to exploration of the classics.

Now, I can not say what people might hear in bars, or on modern Pop radio, because I don’t go there as a general rule. Second Life is the only space I get to share with the younger generations, and when I DJ they mainly want to hear oldies, because nobody there really disputes that oldies are better than newies.

However, there are some DJ’s in Second Life who specialize in newer genres whom I occasionally listen to. And some of the newer genres, particularly if they build on something retro, like Electro Swing, will actually get me punching up Amazon to buy an LP.

Where I think what this guy is saying actually applies would be various Techno genres that are so monotonous they could easily be composed and performed by computers with no human input at all. DJ’s have been fired from my virtual night club for concentrating too much on such genres.

But then he says you hear this music in every restaurant. I have never heard Techno in a restaurant. Techno, as far as I know, is mostly a club thing.

Then he talks about how music is no longer something you listen to as we did in years gone by. And I find this is true. But it’s not because I’ve changed the music I listen to. I play mostly vinyl. So the bulk of my music is between 30 and 100 years old. And it was all intended to grab the attention and be anything but ignored. Yet I continually find that I do end up tuning it out and ignoring it as if it were BGM.

This has nothing what so ever to do with the quality of the music. It has to do with my modern lifestyle. I simply am not able to divide my attention between the vinyl spinning on the turntable and whoever I’m typing to on Second Life. I am always doing something else, maybe as many as 3 things at once while the music is playing. I simply can not feel comfortable just sitting and giving my full attention to music, because I’ve been conditioned to feel like I’m being unconscionably wasteful of my time if my hands and eyes are not busy with something while the music is playing.

And, of course, while I’m composing something, like a story or this essay, no music at all can be played. Because composing is output mode. Nothing can be coming into my brain while it’s in output mode.

Then he says there is no law against noise pollution. And that’s just wrong. There are such laws in public space. And there’s no law that says you have to frequent private spaces that play music you don’t like. Seriously, why is this old white guy in a Techno club. Why isn’t he at symphony hall, a Jazz club or whatever? Or better still, just go home and play your records. Nobody’s forcing you to listen to Techno. Even in Second Life when the Techno or Death Metal gets annoying you can always turn the stream off and substitute your own music.

Then he talks about how the 2nd grade level of today’s lyrics probably has something to do with the diminishing vocabulary of the newer generations. I wouldn’t go that far. I would say that lack of creativity in Pop music hits them more in cultural terms. If all you’ve ever heard is Lady Gaga you’re not really prepared to tackle Beethoven, are you? You’re not necessarily even aware that there ever was such a thing as sitting down and listening to music.

I would think there are other things far more likely to be diminishing the new generation than music. TV, Video Games, Social Media, and above all else, an education system that ranks 14 midst other countries and 2nd in ignorance. Not to mention most children growing up with absent parents.

From every angle, the cards are stacked against the education of the new generations, and I really don’t think more stimulating Pop Music would do a hell of a lot to improve things. Especially when older, more intellectual music is out there if anyone wants it.

He recommends giving children an instrument to learn. Well, that’s all well and good if they take to it. But my recommendation is simply to do what was done for me. At the age of 4 I was given a record player and access to the record collections of everyone who lived in my house. I was thereby exposed to all the Pop Music of the early 20th century, Classical, Jazz, Folk and music from foreign cultures. As well as all manner of spoken word material.

Most people only read The Bible. I got to hear it fully dramatized. I was exposed to Shakespeare, poetry, history, famous speeches, literary classics, all before I had even begun to learn to read. I knew the entire evolution of American Popular Music before I started kindergarten because I had a record on the subject.

Thus I say that the true advantage to children, in terms of education, lies with the parents and what they choose to have in the house to expand the minds of the children before the educational system and the current pop culture get their mitts on them. Once that opportunity is missed, the education of children is out of the hands of anyone who really cares. And if the parents don’t care, kids are just screwed.

Anyway, in defense of Pop Music, it’s important to remember that there was a time when Pop Music sounded like this. And, by the grace of some future backlash against uninventiveness, it may eventually recover its former glories.

KWOLF’S Furry Adventure #5 WAVELAND FURRY BOWLING (August 27th 2017)

Ahmar Wolf

K Wolf’s video of my last bowling meet

Spotlighting: Furry Nation: The True Story of America’s Most Misunderstood Subculture By Joe Strike

Ahmar Wolf

Furry Nation: The True Story of America’s Most Misunderstood Subculture
By Joe Strike

“Here is a vital and encyclopedic resource for all who are interested in the anthropomorphic fandom. Encompassing its beginnings and providing a comprehensive overview to the present day, it immediately attains the status of required reading…among all species.”
— Bill Holbrook, author of Kevin & Kell

“Joe Strike has been in furry fandom for over 25 years, and he knows it in depth. I am glad he has taken the time to get the history of furry right in Furry Nation.”
— Fred Patten, a founding father of furry fandom

“As an outsider of this community, I was entertained and enlightened by Furry Nation. Thanks to Strike’s years of dedication and reporting, I came to better understand and appreciate the depth and breadth of this artistic and creative community. Furs will be thrilled with an accurate, positive portrayal of their subculture by one of their own and regular humanoids like me will be treated to a colorful history of a community unlike any other.”
—Nicole Guappone, sex writer and essayist previously published by The Rumpus, Glamour, and others

Like herding cats, gathering the history of furry fandom has been called impossible. Furries love impossible things, so this is long overdue. I’m happy to say it was worth the wait. Joe Strike puts solid ground under the legs of the Furry Nation – genre, subculture, and yes, even kink – with his experience of watching it grow. This book is for original 1980’s fans, new ones looking back, and outsiders drawn to the weird coolness of talking animals. There’s many ways to get into it, but this is a unique view of how furries are breaking out.
— Dogpatch Press
____________________________________________________________

ABOUT FURRY NATION: THE TRUE STORY OF AMERICA’S MOST MISUNDERSTOOD SUBCULTURE

Furry fandom is a recent phenomenon, but anthropomorphism is an instinct hard-wired into the human mind: the desire to see animals on an equal footing with people. It’s existed since the beginning of time in prehistoric cave paintings, ancient gods, and tribal rituals. It lives on today—not just in the sports mascots and cartoon characters we see everywhere, but in stage plays, art galleries, serious literature, performance art—and among furry fans who bring their make-believe characters to life digitally, on paper, or in the carefully crafted fursuits they wear to become the animals of their imagination.

In Furry Nation, author Joe Strike shares the very human story of the people who created furry fandom, the many forms it takes—from the joyfully public to the deeply personal— and how Furry transformed his own life.

Joe Strike has written articles on film, TV, animation and related topics that have appeared in a variety of publications including the New York Daily News, Newsday, and the New York Press. He has been a regular contributor to the entertainment industry website Animation World Network since 2000 and has interviewed countless cartoon luminaries including Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter, Brad Bird, and Lauren Faust, creator of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Joe served as a writer/producer of on-air promotional campaigns for Bravo and the Sci-Fi Channel, where he worked with talents like Stan Lee, Ralph Bakshi and the cast of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. He has scripted the Nick Jr. TV series Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! and is the author of the kids’ comedy/adventure novel The Incredible Hare.

Learn more about Joe at http://www.joestrike.com/
___________________________________________________________
Furry Nation: The True Story of America’s Most Misunderstood Subculture
by Joe Strike
Cleis Press • October 10, 2017 • Price: $17.95 Trade Paperback Original • 288 pages
ISBN: 978-1627782326

http://cleispress.com
____________________________________________________________
For more information or to schedule an interview with Joe Strike, please contact:
–Allyson Fields at afields@cleispress.com or 212.989.0100
–Jenn Do at do@start-publishing.com or 201.815.1375
____________________________________________________________
An Excerpt from Furry Nation: The True Story of America’s Most Misunderstood Subculture

“It was a talking animal that got us into all this trouble.

If only that snake had kept its mouth shut, if only Eve hadn’t listened, we’d still be living in that peaceable kingdom known as Eden, our arms around our fellow creatures in a comradely hug: lions and tigers and bears— oh boy!

We’re animals too, in case you’ve forgotten. Want proof? Check your pulse; if you don’t have one you’re either a vegetable or a mineral. But we’ve got it all compared to other animals, don’t we? Where are their mega-malls, SUVs, Internet, all those material things that make our
lives worth living?

On the other hand, there’s a definite shortage of crooked politicians, greedy CEOs and financial swindlers in the animal world. They’re living la vida loca, the primal, sensual life we’ve traded in for a big brain and a thumb. There they are, naked and unashamed, screwing and shitting (and when they’re predators, killing) without a second thought, free of the neurotic baggage, social inhibitions and technological trinkets that weigh us down. ‘

Who wouldn’t envy that?

Way back when, the hard-and-fast line between people and animals wasn’t so hard or fast. It was natural to feel a kinship with your cattle if something out there in the dark would just as soon eat you as it would eat them.

Shamans spoke with animals and even turned into them on occasion. It was easy to imbue animals with powers far beyond those of mortal men, or imagine them as strange visitors from another world: turtles who carry the Earth on their backs, jackals who ferry the dead to the afterlife.

At the same time, people living eye-to-eye with animals saw them as behaving like people: sly foxes, stubborn mules, deceitful serpents, regal lions and loyal dogs. We’re doing it to this day. We can’t help it—it’s hard-wired into our brains. There’s a word for it, giving animals human qualities: anthropomorphism.”

Seven Deadly Sins: Furry Confessions: A Review by Bill Kieffer

Ahmar Wolf

Information on where to get a copy of Seven Deadly Sins: Furry Confessions can be found here

I have a story in here. Way deep down in the sloth section. To be fair, the first thing I read when I got my free copy from the publisher was the framing sequences that tie the anthology together and help strengthen the theme.

I enjoyed these on the first pass through but on the second reading when I went back in to read the whole book… it came apart a bit. Or at least the opening for Lust did. I’ll save my final word on this until the end. I love this type of framing narrative, so maybe I am being too hard on it.

Of course, in keeping with the Lust theme in this section, perhaps this axiom is true… ‘It’s never as good as the first time.’

DON’T JUDGE ME
by Sisco Polaris

It may be a bad omen for a reviewer when the first story in an anthology challenges you not to judge it.

To be sure, the first two or three pages threw up a few red flags for me. I hated the way the character described himself. What was this world with humans and anthro peers? What’s the social moors were here? For gosh sake, there was an Orca in the steam room!!!

Then I realized I was thinking too hard; the narrator was just here for a needed servicing and the story left real world concerns behind, for both the reader and the narrator. Once we got into the sex, the author’s many skills really shone. I was transported to this world and I was there on my knees with the narrator. I opened myself up and I understood his submission and his pride in that. In his need for that.

The title became irrelevant.

Although I am not a big fan of body fluids, I understand the attractions and the glory of being rewarded with a shower of approval, if not love. And the somewhat anonymous nature of the steam-room is a staple of gay porn and memoirs for a reason. Connections are made quickly and rashly because time here is much too limited. It was the nature of gay sex in the Seventies and earlier. A needed Shadow World because homosexuality was a crime in so many places. A world I fear the current government may be trying to drag us back to.

And, then, the narrator is spent and he most leave the safe haven… Back in the real world, the title of the tale becomes very relevant again. Not to give spoilers, but… yeah, I found myself judging the narrator.

Yet, I understood. I do very much understand our narrator and I wonder at the hidden suppressed rage that lies beneath it all.

DOWN IN THE VALLEY
by Billy Leigh

This was a nicely plotted story with a less obvious tie to lust than the first. Of course, it’d be hard to be less subtle than the bottom’s tale.

Ralph Travers is a British Fennec Fox, a civil servant in a foreign posting in at a time when the sun doesn’t yet set on the British Empire. WWII is just around the corner as the Fox does his very best to keep his head down and carry on without attracting much attention.

Yet… a male has desires and we join Travers just as he braves a social excursion that nets him an invitation to a weekend getaway at a posh estate and a connection with a flyboy Wolf by the name of Giles.

Lust is an undercurrent in their relationship as they get to know each other, but it’s more of a love story. Lust is more accurately the driving force behind the antagonist of the piece, an American Feline by the name of Lois. She wants Giles.

The history and culture portrayed in the story feels well researched and authentic. It comes close to capturing the feel of the period and the proper attitudes of the expats. The only things I felt missing would be British spellings and maybe there should be a bit more jingoism in the dialogue and the narrative.

Yet, if you have to overlook something, one could do worse; One tell the tale in Polari. Sure, that’d be authentic, but then it would become both inscrutable and campy at the same time.

I’m not fond of the way Travers referred to the reader in the tale. The last story used this same device to great effect, but — here — it makes me wonder who Travers is confessing to. I imagine if he survives the upcoming battle he’d destroy the manuscript, but if he doesn’t… his lover would surely suffer.

It is not a particularly pleasant time to be outed.

Still, it’s a nice tale of romance and death.

CLICK
by T. Thomas Abernathy

One of the nicer things about Furry literature is how it can play into allegorical amplification; allowing us to explore and exaggerate uncomfortable issues like racism and sexism. If done well, you might even garner some sympathy for the devil.

Click is a perfect textbook example of what you can do with Furry to explore these themes. Except to imply that it reads like a textbook does it a disservice.

I’ve taken a turn or two creating bad people as leads, so I feel confident when I say the author did a great job in making Jack, a human, actually feel human. He’s tired, exhausted, angry, and — in the background — suffering a bit from blue balls. He’s not the worst person in the world, a nice guy by his own sights, in a situation where his worst traits come to the fore.

It’s guilt and shame that sent Jack running to the men’s room, not fear. Although it is fear that keeps him there. Lust is the catalyst. And the way that Jack tries to brace himself so he can leave his sanctuary is very human.

The violence at the end is a wonderful contrast to all that comes before.

All the stars for the author’s first story in print, too.

FUN AT THE MALL
By Teiran

*spoilers*

Wildfire the fox does his shopping at Yiffs R Us and he’s a power bottom. He seems like he might have been a fun character, if the story hadn’t gone dark. Mind you, I’m not above writing or enjoying a rape turnabout story, but I don’t think being a dismissive asshole is really enough to justify what happens with these characters in this story.

Maybe, the author might have sold me the plot better if these two knew each other well. If these two had a history, then their innate knowledge of each other and what the other might secretly desire, might justify pimping out the lion’s ass.

Or maybe there were a dozen other little things that in the story that were good but didn’t fall into place for that magic weave. Certainly, naming the victim “humanized” him and reduced the distance between the supposed villain and the reader. And then, I thought what if this was a man and a woman and the woman was being too aggressive and “had to be taught a lesson.”

Certainly, it’s not the author’s fault that I had that PC thought. It completely threw me out of the story.

And then there’s a the happy ass, tail up smiling lion at the end, accepting and even enjoying being used by serial strangers. Well, while I love the idea that all your cares could be f*cked away… I always thought this type of ending was an insult to real rape victims, unless the writer was careful to fully set the scene for that reveal, of course. It’s a Penthouse cartoon of an ending. The slut got what she/he deserved and enjoyed it at the end, so… happy ending.

I have to compare and contrast it with Click, the previous story. And I think Click succeeds for me and where “Fun At The Mall” fails for me covers three points.

1: The Protagonist. By having the the asshole as the protagonist in Click, he proves he’s a racist slime-ball and a hypocrite . By making Wildfyre the narrator *I* don’t see him as a victim turning the tables on Kevin.
2: The POV. In Click, Jack is able to take an anxiety attack and a guilty conscious and make this about his whole life. Kevin’s just an aggressive asshole by comparison.
3: Elevation. Maybe I am overly fond of the device/gimmick in Click, but I felt the story was elevated and full of depth. Sure, Jack may or may not be mutilated at the end, he may or may not deserve to be, but he felt like a real person. “Fun at the Mall” felt more like a lewd tale about this really cool guy who wanted to show a bully how to share.

BONES
by Searska Grey Raven

Our first story in Wrath is something of a reverse werewolf tale where the wrath feels a bit more like a virtue than a sin.

I thought it was awfully sweet and dark, like an expensive gourmet chocolate wafer that melts in your mouth and is then gone. There slight accent of bitterness is like a dash of salt on some caramel.

THOSE THREE LETTERS
by Rayah James

HIV

It’s enough to break man, a bone shattering bullet for any soldier to take. Orion let down his guard to love another and he feels betrayed. Enter Wrath.

Its a very short story and nicely done. I might have read dozens of similar revenge plot and stories over the years, but the author keeps it fresh and linear. There’s nothing particularly furry about it, mind you, but its still a good read.

FOR THE SINS OF THE FATHER
by Sisco Polaris

Sisco Polaris returns to explore wrath with a deeper insight into the emotional entanglements of vengeance and spite flavoured sex, which I enjoyed with a soupcon of a writer’s jealousy for the depth the author explores with his mc, Forrin.

As with his previous story in this anthology, the first few pages were a little rocky and awkward. Happily, I had less world confusion here. In the first story, I had to make the decision to accept the story for what it was. In this story, the suspension of disbelief came in more easily, more readily… more organically.

And I was quite happy with the pivots and the guilt building as Forrin seduces his younger target. I get sugar and spite.

I BURNED THE BRIDGES TO HEAVEN
by Weasel

Weasel’s reprint is rich and lush, full of dark images of a recovering victim of domestic abuse. The wrath in this case is lingering, even if the abuser, Andre, is long gone.

I’ve read it three times and I’m not at all sure I understand what is on that folded piece of paper, and I’m not at all certain what happened with the abuser, but I know a haunted victim when I’m in the head of run.

Weasel’s poetic description of the paranoia, the anxiety, and the flashbacks are well written. Even a squirrel can seem menacing when he reminds you, with a loving a touch, of the lion who scarred you. Yet, I feel I am missing a message between the lines and the settings.

THE COLLECTION
by T. Thomas Abernathy

The first story in the Greed section.

A tiger that likes bugs rather obsessively; you’d think that was the dark secret of the tail but you would be wrong.

This is a more sedate and slower story than his previous in Click. The anxiety of running late kept me turning the page, enjoying the drive and the character’s origin story. It might have gone a little too long, but only by a few dozen words. Once the tiger finally makes his Craigslist style meet, he is confident and reveals the full extent of his current hobby with a nice pay off.

I’m not sure it really reads modern greed to me, we are shown the pursuit of an earthly desire performed dishonestly. Classically, I know this is greed because, thank you Sunday School.

STAY
by Hypetaph

*spoilers*

Two things kept me from enjoying this story as much as I might have otherwise.

First: this second story in Greed, echoes the only other greed story in that there was a niggle in the story that distracted me slightly. In the sense that this didn’t just quite feel like greed. The both felt more like “covetousness” than capital G Greed. I know, my logic is flawed. What says Greed better than stealing, right?

Where the previous villain was something akin to a psychopath, Cecil — Kal’s Mother — is practically Suzie Homemaker. But she just cannot let go. We all know someone who has a mother like that, right? Kal comes across as quite sensible and totally level-headed compared to her. I’m guessing someone had to start adulting early.

The crime in this story is similar to the previous story; but not exactly. Had there been a story or more between them, I might have not made the connections so much.

And, of course, it may just be me.

Second: There was just a little too much head hopping. It’s only a few lines here and there, but I’d rather see the little clues that ring ominously than hear thoughts meant to soothe the reader into false sense of security (unless you’re talking an unreliable narrator, of course). I think this part might hold up for more people.

Still, Hype brings Kal alive for me, so there’s that.

THE BEAUTY REGIME
by Evelyn Proctor

This goes south fast and flirts with body horror like a college girl on her second bottle of Southern Comfort.

The feelings feel quite real, but the damage doesn’t quite completely ring accurate. The author doesn’t go cartoony with the injuries, but she might have paced them better.

Self-injury and self-hatred are worthy issues to explore and taking all that through a filter of envy is something I’d like to see. I would love to see the Lynx’s healing journey and the final half page was just not enough.

RICHARD CORY
by Tristan Black Wolf

I think this might be one of the best stories in here I’ve read in this collection. It hits the classic envy and throws in a heaping helping of Lust, too.

I like the few, well-placed red herrings here and there in the form of police reports and new articles. And if there was a fault, it was the mention of Lickapedia and it’s motto… but I am really being picky to mention it.

LUCY
by Dax

More than any other sin, writers seem to gravitate towards Envy. At least as for as this anthology goes, they do. This is the third of five entries and it deals with a classic trope: The Green Eyed Monster and the power of self-delusion.

It’s nicely done, but I’m going to have to use Fred Patton’s Funny Animal flag here. There’s just no plus or added flavor from this being a furry story. No scent marking, no social strata from the various species, or even feral emoting save for one white tail flickering in agitation in an early part of the story. After that, the tail is forgotten. All the tails are forgotten… and by the time we get to the confrontation… we don’t have a cat fight, we have a knife fight.

A happy cat’s tail can make a question mark. Two happy cats can make a heart with their tails. And just seeing that once, would have been a knife in Lucy’s heart.

DEVIL’S SNARE
by Faolan

The third offering for Envy brings us a look into vanity surrounding the furry specific head fur/hair. As with the previous story, this could have been humans as easily as wolves and foxes. There were a few missed opportunities to make things furrier (literally, as I question the difference between fur and hair, is good body fur overlooked so easily? Is great headfur a common social status marker between the species?) Hair envy between ladies seems kinda common; adding a multi-species furred covered society really should new depth and vectors to that.

But other than that, its a very good story. I’ve spent much time pondering the spell and what it all really means. Bad stories don’t inspire much contemplation, so there’s that, too.

BLACK FUR
by Gullwulf

I really liked this tale of Envy. I found the Envy subtle and justified. Envy can attract you to people as it seems to attract Cherize to Luciana. The multi-species society is explored as a sort of caste system and Cherize’s struggle is framed realistically in that universe, as is Luciana’s attempt to understand her new friend’s point of view and history.

I would liked to have explored the physiological differences between Jackals and Foxes in this setting, as I’m a bit dubious that Cherize’s plan has the slightest chance of working (but maybe that was the point?).

REPOSITORY
by Hypetaph

By its very nature, Sloth is not a very dramatic sin. Sloth is the sin of “what I should have done.” It’s also the most easily justifiable sin, because, like Greed, it can mislead the sinner with a rationale of pragmatism. Like Pride, it cloak itself in ignorance. It’s the failure of human spirit in the most subtle of ways and the consequences can be of life and death. The best way to explore Sloth, I believe, is by exploring the aftermath.

Which brings us to the first piece in this section.

I love this mood piece; it captured despair and denial so perfectly, yet teased us with some thin hope. The story is triggered by sloth and setting is awash with tokens of sloth; but our Park is actually working hard at keeping the clock from moving forward.

I’m not quite finished with the collection, but this piece so far best captures the sense of misery and regret of a sinner. Repentance… and self-recrimination… and self-flagellation. I’ve reread the story three or four times now and I’ve come away with a slightly different take on Park’s and on Simon’s sins and fates each time.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES
by Bill Kieffer (me)

Rather than review my own story, I thought I’d just note that Sladek is the only “pet” in the collection, shared by two masters. This is something that I’d always thought I’d have been good at, but never really had a chance to try. Mostly because it would be a lot of work to maintain (and you have to be very sure that you’ve got the right people).

RELATIONS
by TJ Minde

Aaron and Justin are lovers in this final tale of Sloth. It’s nicely descriptive and while the relationship is very realistic, the stereotype of rabbits is really all the furriness we get. Which is fine as I’m not aware of a human racial stereotype of everlasting randiness… except of course, young males in general.

This is a disappointing story only in the sense that its about a disappointingly real aspect of human adult relationships: Not bothering to reach out to reconnect. But as an example of Sloth it connects and leaves Aaron with a thin core of loneliness. Previously, I said that in a good Sloth story, you could only really show the aftermath of the sin, but the author proves me wrong by bringing us to a point where Sloth is active, is challenged, and wins by forestalling growth.

Nice job.

A VOICE NOT SPOKEN
by Stephen Coghlan

So, at first, I thought this might be a Furry version of 45’s election.
— an unexpected victory of a candidate no one took seriously
— the media concerns that were ignored as alarmists
— the steady degradation of rights of races/species considered dangerous

Sounds familiar, right? But much of this would have been written and accepted before the current administration would have been in place. No, it occurs to me that the inspiration is more Hitler than Trump.

Yet, there’s a significant difference here and that’s the bit of Zootopia in the world/city with a line clearly drawn between the herbivores and the carnivores… with the carnivores on the losing side.

I could make a lot of comparisons to different points of world history (Germany is not alone in hosting genocide, after all, nor is the recoil of a “minority” leader gaining power), but I’ll try to refrain and let others speak on that.

I like that this story follows Smokey as he does the very least that he feels he should. To not make waves. So, this is squarely in the sloth category; right up until the end, where a meaningless gesture is all that Korat cat can muster.

A good cautionary story for the subtlest of sins.

LISTMEMBER LOST
by Banwynn (Suta) Oakshadow

I know the story universe that this was written for. Over a decade after it was created for the small circle (200+) of listmembers on the Transformation Story Archive mailing list, this story would have definitely benefited from a more traditional introduction to the rules of this universe. So, as an author who wrote in this storyverse, let me give you all a short one after the fact.

—Imagine a mailing list where people got stories about Transformations into their emails and a were able to write and share in each other’s worlds where almost every story had at least one Mary Jane, named after our fursonas and often with out real names.
—Then imagine a powerful alien force deciding to make everyone on the list into what they seemed to want. But instead of outright wish fulfillment, the rules were that OTHER THAN THE TRANSFORMATION everything had to be written as realistically as possible. Some had mental as well as physical transformations.

(PLUG: you can read my own take here: https://www.fictionpress.com/s/598139/1/Jockeying-For-Position)

This story is a wonderful downward spiral of a young man who gets his wish, but not the mental transformation. His alienation and fear of rejection doesn’t really speak of Sloth to me, mind you… but more of a paralyzing fear that destroys any chance of a future. However, I can see how being frozen in place might evoke images of Sloth.

Like all the Sloth stories, there’s the taste of disappointment and sadness here that is part of Sloth’s package deal. Having four Sloth stories in a row might take a toll on the reader, and that might be the case with me. I had to go read other stuff and come back to this review, despite my knowing the quality of author’s work from our shared mailing list days.

So, my advice when reading the Sloth section, take a long break between each story.

VICTUALS
by Dwale

I looked forward to getting to Gluttony, for this is my own sin.

Dwale’s story is a nice take on the sin, without being overt about the source of the victuals in question. The descriptions of the characters are almost spartan, but efficient. The story-telling is lean and hungry.

I really can’t say more without spoilers. I expect we the readers really need to make our conclusions to the source of the nom noms in the story.

ANTHROPHAGY
by Zarpaulus

This is an interesting creation and one well suited for a collection of Anthropomorphic sins. The scenes of the feeding frenzy and then the meal planning as our narrator considers what must be done to store all the meat were extremely absorbing. I half expected a joyful continuation of a dark tour of cannibalistic charcuterie… I actually anticipated it, for the narrator of the piece started out being so dry and intellectual, that I cheered when s/he dived into the slaughter.

This story leaves me hungry for more.

THE MUSIC ON THE STREET
by Nighteyes Dayspring

I really enjoyed the struggle between Shadow and Trevor. The temptation and the Pride feel quite nicely portrayed. I was not sure if Pride was the true villain of the piece, as the lack of balance was really what caused the situation here.

And yet.

Trevor was rich enough; he could have asked for help to balance his life. He could have afforded it. Perhaps pride stopped him in the past.

I’d like to see more with Shadow. It’s hard to create a good musical performance in a text piece, I think. Nighteyes did very well here.

RUNAWAY
by Banwynn (Suta) Oakshadow

Another TF story! And yes, it still counts if the transformation happens off-screen. The story verse is in flux from the TFs, and the transformed, the morphs, are the new entrusted minority.

For me, this felt like a trip down memory lane (new story to me, but have I mentioned how much I love TF stories?) and Banwynn’s pretty deft at hitting all the right points in a story like this.

What I really liked was how Drever’s pride kept him from ditching Ramble or falling for the temptation of what the foxmorph all but threw at him.

SHELTER
by Avin Telfer

I am not sure how I feel about this story: at least how it reflects on the sin of pride. I mean, obviously, Todd is no longer the team player he might have been once and the only motivation he has to go on is his continuing research. And I guess its his pride that keeps him from fully joining the crew… but I can’t help but think his symptoms more reflect depression than someone being overly prideful.

Maybe I needed Todd to be a bigger prick to feel he deserves his final fate? When I come back to revise this for a more coherent review, maybe I will have a stronger answer.

DROP TOWER
by Varzen

Well… the opening was biblical and full of kinky debasement.

I liked this piece, even if I had to read it twice to understand Daani’s issue with the recording and her mortal limits. She seemed to be walking back from the cusp of ego-mania, flirting with the idea that she might never be more than a wanna-be goddess.

The goat and the bat made an interesting couple. I only wished that we had established the limits to the bat’s form early in the story, as I waited to see if he could save himself.

So, I really like the story and the characters, but I’m not sure what this says about Pride. Trying to read it through that filter leaves me uncertain… Modern BDSM thought is that the sub has all the power in the scene… but Daani seems “above” what I would think of a normal power play relationship.

MIGRATION SEASON
by J.A. Noelle

I really liked the realistic interactions of the various age groups here, along with the mix of young adult emotions and I’m pleased that there’s isn’t much BF crushing going here.

I liked the racial/breed (genus?) strife and how migration is the trigger, I like to place this sort of thing in my own work. It makes for a great allegory and it gives a clear reason to use multiple species. A lot of very artful and thoughtful decisions went into creating this world and the author made this look effortless. Bravo.

THE INTERLUDES
by Thurston Howl

*spoilers*

So, as I mentioned above, the first thing that I did when I got my hooves on this books was to read all the Interludes in a row.

Alone, and bereft of the stories they were supporting, the little vignettes were amazing and was probably the best framing structure I’ve read in an anthology since Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man. There was a real plot and the promise of interaction with the stories that made me want to read those stories I was skipping over… yet… there was a mystery that needed solving.

In reading the collection in the intended order, however, things seemed to fall apart. Part of that was knowing the mystery… but a large part of it was that these interludes were sort of tied to a story-telling contest on each sin. Who was telling each story and which story was a winner? I didn’t care when I was just reading the interludes, but after reading the stories? I found myself caring. And then when the number of stories between the interludes didn’t quite match the number of stories that seemed to be told, it made the contents feel disconnected.

Of course, knowing how the Derek, Zinc, and Barba make out after all seven sins are explored make me very much aware of the red herrings. But the outright contradictions revealed in the way of head hopping made me flinch. One character wonders if another might be a demon in one interlude; yet in the last interlude, they know the answer. And they are not surprised, because they have always known.

Overall, the anthology itself felt a little rushed. Not just because the stories felt a little uneven (only the rarest of anthologies escapes that fate, and often it’s only a matter of opinion, even so).

Too often, very similar themes and acts follow too closely in one story to the next. That’s bound to happen in the close quarters of the pages between a book cover. Mind you, it feels like each story got the right amount of editorial attention — there wasn’t a klunker in the book.

This was an ambitious collection and it called for a sharper editorial eye then I think it got.

THP is a new publisher and they’ve made quite a commitment to themed anthologies… I feel they are going to get better with each one.

Seven Deadly Sins: Furry Confessions can also be found on Amazon

Army soldier lives double life as furry character called Mark the Husky

Ahmar Wolf

He used to be shy, but found confidence in the furry life (Picture: mediadrumworld.com)

I salute our military furs, especially one who just happens to be a fursuiter currently in active service.

I salute Mark Smith and Metro.co.uk for doing a great article on what it like for him. Traveling the world, meeting other furries. The article also contains 4 videos included are things I never really thought about like fursuiting in South Korea.

Check out the article here

Furry Fuel…and Yes Folks It’s Real

Ahmar Wolf

More details here